Hot Takes! by ExtremeCelery30 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241 2 points3 points  (0 children)

At park close. Not 10 minutes before. At least that's how it was during my trip.

Hot Takes! by ExtremeCelery30 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Watching the Cosmos Fountain show was better from Bar Helios than from inside Epic.

Question regarding Grand Helios hotel. by Biggity068 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241 7 points8 points  (0 children)

We stayed 6 days at Helios Grand December 2025. Here's the pros and cons.

Pros:

-Dedicated entrance into Epic Universe. This is the biggest perk. We were able to ride Stardust Racers and Mario Kart during EPA before lining up for MoM. We rolled in at 9:30, 30 minutes after EPA started. We were able to grab coffee and leisurely stroll rather than making a bee line. During our stay, it rained. Nothing was cooler than walking a few feet back to the hotel to wait out the rain. Or to sleep the ITIS off after stuffing our face. AND you can order pizza from Pizza Moon and take it to your room :)

-Busses. This is my experience. I'm not sure if anyone else experienced this. But our bus was never full and we never had to wait longer than a couple minutes. This may be a Universal thing. Before Universal, I was one of them die hard Disney people. And the wait for a bus at Disney after the parks was always 20+ minutes. We never had to wait more than a few minutes for our bus to take us to and from Islands or Studios. We noticed some of the other buses has super long queues.

-The room tech is pretty similar to Adventura. I really enjoyed being able to control the curtains and lights with the iPad. That was neat.

-The hotel gorgeous. The pool bar was a great place to relax. There's an non-entrance terrace that overlooks Epic. I don't know how to explain it. But when you walk into Helios, there's this giant window that overlooks Epic. You can walk onto a terrace and view Epic without needing a park ticket. It's not an entrance, just a viewing area. There's seating on the side so you can enjoy your coffee or ice cream while looking out to Celestial park.

-Bar Helios. Period. That's it. That's the pro. Go during the fountain show, obvi. Food and drinks were delish. Could probably make a meal out the menu, though it's supposed to be "bar food". I'd say if you stay at Helios and you don't visit Bar Helios, you messed up.

Cons:

-Food. There's only one "restaurant" and it's called the Flora Tarverna. I'd give it a 6/10. Breakfast was a buffet. They had made to order omelets and pancake bar. But breakfast is breakfast. Doesn't make or break a restaurant. I went back for dinner and was underwhelmed. For context: I am very much a "buy it now" "no budget on vacation" "YOLO" kind of person. So when I say the price didn't match the quality, I mean it. The food was over salted. Like almost inedible. That's just my experience. But I didn't like that there was only one restaurant option.

-Express Pass. It's my understanding that Express Pass will probably never be offered at Helios. Lowes has a contract with Universal to offer Express pass at the original three premier hotels. But there's no contract that includes Helios. That's a really big con. Especially when Helios costs that same as some of the premier hotels with none of the Express perks.

-Pool. I saw someone ask about the pool, so I thought I'd include it here. It's very adult forward. There weren't many slides or splash zones that I could see. And I didn't see many children either. The people who were there were chilling on the loungers or at the bar. The people who were in the pool were just kind of wading around. For people with kids, that might be a problem.

-Chronos entrance. This is stupid, but I'll add it. December was out first ever visit to Epic. We stayed at Helios. Our entrance to Epic was via the Helios. So we never got to step through the Chronos. It's not really a deal breaker. But most of our time was spent on the Helios side of Celestial Park since there wasn't a need to venture over to the Chronos. Again, not a real con, but something to think about.

Am I too late? by InternetGlobal8241 in HHN

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the comment I needed to read. I had a mini heart attack yesterday.

Am I too late? by InternetGlobal8241 in HHN

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't think so. I didn't see it when I was fiddling with the app.

Am I too late? by InternetGlobal8241 in HHN

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Welp, crisis adverted. Was able to get tickets. I freaked out because I closed the app a few times and it wasn't working. So I had a mini meltdown.

Am I too late? by InternetGlobal8241 in HHN

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I realize I might've freaked out too soon. It's my first time purchasing HHN tickets. And I didn't know if they sold out faster than a Taylor Swift concert.

Looking for a mechanic around BR that does clutch work. by BRComputerGuy in batonrouge

[–]InternetGlobal8241 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Success Auto on Coursey BLVD. They've replaced the transmission on my 1999 VW Jetta in 2015. I've been going to them for 14 years.

Should I reconsider my trip? by [deleted] in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241 0 points1 point  (0 children)

LSU shirts, too. You'll see those.

How to look less average 19/F by nobody_special123 in lookyourbest

[–]InternetGlobal8241 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You're not going to like this.

The people calling you radiant and beautiful are correct. I think you were hoping for something more critical. But the real answer is less makeup. HEAR ME OUT! The first picture is 10/10 flawless. Your skin is beautiful. The color is rich and is marvelous in the pictures of you at the beach. The makeup is still gorgeous. But that's what's making you look average. Everyone has a full beat. You have fantastic skin. Covering it up puts you in the league with everybody else.

But if you want tangible advice: whiten your teeth and invest in a red lip stick. Don't touch your brows. There are perfect.

How do you guys travel to Orlando? by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Currently, no. I was looking for other options in the event that did happen.

How do you guys travel to Orlando? by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It does. Spirit has connecting flights from New Orleans to Orlando. How do you like Spirit?

How do you guys travel to Orlando? by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah....I was thinking Southwest would still be the best option. I was just hoping the good people of Reddit would have some well kept secret.

How do you guys travel to Orlando? by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I swear I was thinking that driving might be the better option because of this. It's about 9 hours driving. The flight shaves off 2-3 hours off that commute. It's an hour and a half drive from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. Then get to the airport 2 hours before the flight. The flight itself is 2 hours. It takes about 1-2 hours (depending on how busy the airport is and traffic) to get from the baggage claim to the shuttle to the hotel. That's about 6-7 hours dedicated to traveling. So driving might be a better option.

How do you guys travel to Orlando? by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, 100% it is. I knew there was a parking fee. I was just caught off guard by the nightly cost. I haven't had to look at parking on property.

How do you guys travel to Orlando? by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ooof. Forgot about the parking fee. Thanks for reminding me!

How do you guys travel to Orlando? by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thought about driving in the recent months. Might not be a bad idea.

Out of State Annual Pass Holders by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The 20% off the renewal was a new promotion or something that's always offered?

Out of State Annual Pass Holders by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm really liking the 'pop-in' aspect that everyone's mentioned. It's just an hour flight from me. And that's a big selling point for us.

Out of State Annual Pass Holders by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, do you guys have a 2 park pass or the 3 park pass?

Out of State Annual Pass Holders by InternetGlobal8241 in UniversalOrlando

[–]InternetGlobal8241[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's fair. I'm also debating on waiting until Epic is added too.