US/IOA 1/21 to 1/25! We had warm Weather!

[ckmiles]

Just back from a looong weekend at Universal in Orlando.

The facts:

We stayed at HRH for 4 nights; had purchased the $99 park passes (for 1 week)

My name is Cindy and my travel companion is Jeff. We are great friends and enjoy traveling together, this was our 3rd trip to the Orlando area together.

Overall we had a great time. The weather was fabulous, and we accomplished everything (and more) that was planned.

I have lots of pictures that I will share, (assuming I can get them to post properly)

Hopefully I can get the report started tonight.

[ready4mouse]

popcorn:: Looking forward to hearing all about it!

[Jillisa]

We are going this Friday for a nice 3 day weekend, staying at the HRH for my son's birthday. I can't wait to hear about your trip. :)

[pixeegrl]

popcorn::

[JAL2525]

Can't wait to hear...I'm happy your getting warm weather. :banana:It has been really chilly this year.:)

[ckmiles]

We had a 10am flight out of White Plains, NY (great small airport), which is only about 45 minutes away but due to major down county rush hour traffic we left at 6:15am.

I am not a morning person at all, but going on vacation seems to make getting up a little easier :cool1:

Our flight left on time (Jet Blue rocks!) and we actually arrived early! 30 minutes early! So we were off to retrieve our luggage and rental car.

We rented from Alamo (got a great deal of $68 for 5 days!). I highly recommend the Kiosks for Alamo, it took us 5 minutes to complete the paperwork and we were off to pick out a car.

I always make sure to check the car carefully for any dents or scratches, a few cars had a marks so we finally found one that was acceptable we put the luggage in the trunk and took off. It was a Hyundai accent. It had MANUAL windows. I had no idea they still made cars with manual windows...

Anyway...off to the resort, check in was smooth, I did not ask for an upgrade but the CM was nice enough to to tell me that he would give me a room on a higher floor. Not familiar with the hotel set up I figured the higher the better...well I was wrong.

Our room was facing the front of the hotel with a view of the roof...

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture276.jpg

Our room is the one underneath the room with the balcony

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture339.jpg

Our view (yes those are the spot lights that illuminate the Hard Rock sign at night...)

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture341.jpg

[ckmiles]

We are not ones to hang out in our room so we were not really concerned about the view..

So we still had 3 hours left to tour the park so we chose Universal Studios. We walked over (got our tickets at the Will Call Kiosk) and walked right over to RRR. The wait was 20 minutes. The ride was a little scary for me so Jeff decided to ride it alone.

Now Jeff does not really the message boards, so he did not have the wealth of information I did (that DIS!). I did not say anything to him about what I read. But was eagerly waiting to hear his review. Jeff is a roller coaster junky, loves all coasters all the time (that is how I convinced him to go on this trip!)

He got off the ride (could not figure out how to pick a song) but said the ride was so smooth and so fast, he loved it! I figured I would have a chance to ride it later on our trip so we moved on..

Rode the Mummy, Jaws, MIB, ET, and the Simpsons (note on the Simpsons, hated it, go so sick will not ride again). we also did Shrek, and Jimmy Neutron. We decided because we were not going to Disney we would ride everything in the parks. We got alot done in only 3 hours, the park was very quiet.

We had dinner at Nascar cafe (jeff's a big nascar fan). Food was mediocre at best, probably would not eat there again. Back to the room to crash...it was a long day..

Next day...Kennedy Space Center! :banana:

[DISman13]

Tremendous, I love Universal Trip Reports!

[donaldduck352]

We love TR's keep it comming..:thumbsup2

[pixeegrl]

How did you get such a great price on car rental?! Also, can't wait to hear about KSC as DH wants to go when we are down in August....

[DISNEYLOVER70]

Yee ha! A new US/IOA trip report! We are going in April and can't wait !!!! :) Anxiously waiting for your next installment!!

I too would love to know how you scored such a great rate on your car rental!!! :goodvibes:goodvibes

[Worfiedoodles]

Yea! A new TR! :woohoo: Enjoying it so far!

Maria :upsidedow

[ckmiles]

Thanks everyone for stopping by to post! I really appreciate it!

As for the car rentals, Alamo always gives great deals about 2 weeks before your travel date, and the let you stack codes (ie use a promo code AND a coupon)

Mousesavers.com and our own DIS boards always have people posting coupon codes etc. The one I found on here was for $10 a day and it worked. Alamo never requires you to show the coupon you used, and by using the kiosk we hardly had any interaction with any alamo employee! (no offense to anyone that works there of course :rolleyes1)

[ckmiles]

I will admit I am a space geek. I am so completely amazed at the fact that we can send people into space. I was every shuttle launch and landing, and get totally ingrossed in all of the show and commentary..

That being said, I could NOT wait for this day. I convinced Jeff that we had to get there early (9 am when it first opened) because it could be crowded. And I did not wait to have to fight with hoards of people to see the space stuff.

Jeff was game (actually I dont think he really cared), but Jeff also likes his sleep, alot. He's a terrible snorer (good thing he wont read this...:thumbsup2) so I am usually awake much earlier that he is. I turn on the TV, slam the door, open the blinds all to subtly awaken him. Finally he gets up and we are on our way.

The ride is about an hour with hardly any traffic. I had purchased our tickets online (with a coupon code to save $5 each), so we walked right in. The day had started out cloudy and rainy, but amazingly it was a bright blue sky when we boarded the buses.

Side note for those who have not been to KSC- you cannot drive to the shuttle launch area, or to the any other restricted area. They offer bus tours which get you closer but no where near as close as I would have liked!

There are 3 stops on the bus tour. The first one for us was the observation deck. from here you can see the 2 launch pads as well as the track the crawler takes to get the shuttle there.

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture281.jpg
This is the launch pad with the space shuttle Endeavor being prepared for launch (it is scheduled to launch on feb 7th)

This is the crawler path (it moves 1 mph) to get the shuttle to the pad
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture286.jpg

We were so far away but the shuttle was so large! It was very cool to see!

The bus drivers are very informative and will answer any questions you may have. They also point out alligators (which I had never seen before!)

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture323.jpg
My first alligator!

The next stop is by far the coolest! Its the story of the Apollo 11 mission the moon landing.

I will continue in the next post (I dont know how big these posts can be..)

[ckmiles]

I will finish tomorrow..sorry the computer ate my last post, and I'm too tired to re-type!

[christophfam]

Looking forward to your next installment!! :goodvibes

[BadBlueBird]

Looking forward to your next installment!! :goodvibes


popcorn::

[armstrong80]

I hope it's warm when I go. My girlfriend and I are going March 5th to the 12th. We went to Disney this time last year and it was cold every day until the last 2, she wasn't very happy. I don't mind it being cool but as long as it's not freezing.

[Coach81]

We are not ones to hang out in our room so we were not really concerned about the view..

So we still had 3 hours left to tour the park so we chose Universal Studios. We walked over (got our tickets at the Will Call Kiosk) and walked right over to RRR. The wait was 20 minutes. The ride was a little scary for me so Jeff decided to ride it alone.

Now Jeff does not really the message boards, so he did not have the wealth of information I did (that DIS!). I did not say anything to him about what I read. But was eagerly waiting to hear his review. Jeff is a roller coaster junky, loves all coasters all the time (that is how I convinced him to go on this trip!)

He got off the ride (could not figure out how to pick a song) but said the ride was so smooth and so fast, he loved it! I figured I would have a chance to ride it later on our trip so we moved on..

Rode the Mummy, Jaws, MIB, ET, and the Simpsons (note on the Simpsons, hated it, go so sick will not ride again). we also did Shrek, and Jimmy Neutron. We decided because we were not going to Disney we would ride everything in the parks. We got alot done in only 3 hours, the park was very quiet.

We had dinner at Nascar cafe (jeff's a big nascar fan). Food was mediocre at best, probably would not eat there again. Back to the room to crash...it was a long day..

Next day...Kennedy Space Center! :banana:

Great to hear your news on HR3!!! We will be there on the 14th, and I also plan to head to the coaster that evening to try it out.. 20 minute wait would be OUTSTANDING!!!

[armstrong80]

So we still had 3 hours left to tour the park so we chose Universal Studios. We walked over (got our tickets at the Will Call Kiosk) and walked right over to RRR. The wait was 20 minutes. The ride was a little scary for me so Jeff decided to ride it alone. :banana:


Where are the kiosk located? I haven't been to universal in at least 12 years and never been to islands and i have to get my tickets at the kiosk and just wondering where they are?:cool1:

[ky07]

Where are the kiosk located? I haven't been to universal in at least 12 years and never been to islands and i have to get my tickets at the kiosk and just wondering where they are?:cool1:
I believe they are to the left of the ticket windows at the will call cause you can't miss them you will see the screen that you have to put in your info :thumbsup2

[armstrong80]

thanks:banana:

[rpbert1]

enjoying your TR, looking foward to the rest and some more pics

[klacey1]

Excited for the rest! We always fly out of White Plains, although after our terrible experience at the Delta counter this past time, DBF would rather just fly out of JFK or LaGuardia. 684 is scaaary in the mornings, good thing you left so much room to ride.
Too bad you didn't like the Simpsons-- we LOVED this ride! Are you usually motion-sick??

[Coach81]

popcorn::

[ckmiles]

Excited for the rest! We always fly out of White Plains, although after our terrible experience at the Delta counter this past time, DBF would rather just fly out of JFK or LaGuardia. 684 is scaaary in the mornings, good thing you left so much room to ride.
Too bad you didn't like the Simpsons-- we LOVED this ride! Are you usually motion-sick??


I only get motion sick when the ride really bumps you around, and when I watch any IMAX movies....:confused:

[ckmiles]

I have been really bad about finishing this! Must keep going before I forget!

[ckmiles]

Ok so after the observation tower viewing, we were off to the next building. Apollo/Saturn Exhibit. This was by far the coolest exhibit. At first you walk into a large holding room where you watch a movie about various space missions, most importantly Apollo 11 (the moon landing/walking mission). It shows old footage of news reels and newspaper clips (very informative).

Next you enter into a room that has the actual control panels from the Apollo 11 mission

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture297.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture302.jpg

In the room you witness a re-enactment of the launch with the countdown, and the lights on the monitors going off. It was exciting, as you felt like it was really going to launch. And those are actual lab coats worn by the members of the launch team!

But the best part of this exhibit is when you walk into the next room. Its the actual rocket used to launch Apollo 11.

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture307.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture312.jpg
The cockpit

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture311.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture306.jpg

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture310.jpg

This was so awe inspiring, it makes you appreciate the enormity of the project as well as how much goes into getting people into space. I could have spent all day here...

There is also a little cafe in there that service warm food and snacks, at this point you have the option of 2 buses, one takes you back to the main area with the IMAX movies and gift shop, or the next stop is the International Space Station Building. We went on to the Space station.

Im at work so I do not have access to the other pictures so I will finish tonight, I promise.

As we were on the bus, the driver pointed out a large bald eagles nest, its kind of hard to see but once you see it its huge! Most of the land surrounds the KSC is all protected wetlands, so they got lots of wildlife and its up close and personal!

[klacey1]

I've never had a big interest in the space center (unlike DBF), but your pictures make it look amazing!!

[ckmiles]

We moved on to the Space station building. In this building, all of the parts that are sent up to attach or repair the space station are thoroughly tested and retested to ensure there will be no issues using them in space. Everything is conducted in a clean room, I didnt take any pictures here (your behind glass and one level above all fo the work)

There was a NASA employee in the area who was taking questions, so I bothered him for a while...:lmao:

Also in this building is old sections of the space station which you can walk through at see what its like to live on the space station

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture314.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture315.jpg

After this stop we returned to the main area. There are 2 IMAX movies to watch (I dont watch them, I get motion sickness) Also there is the Astronaut memorial (which was closed for painting)
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture322.jpg

Also there is a retired space shuttle that you can walk thru

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture317.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture320.jpg

The fuel cells...
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture321.jpg

The inside of the shuttle
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture319.jpg

Also there is a 'graveyard' of old rockets that is pretty impressive..

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture326.jpg
http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture325.jpg

After some shopping, and Jeff getting a case of astronaut ice cream (not really but he loves that stuff)

We stopped at Sonic for a late lunch, we do not have one of these in CT so it was a novelty stop for us. It was pretty good!

We came back to the hotel, went to IOA for 2 hours, then went to Margaritaville for a light dinner. They have the BEST Margarita's! Seriously fab!

We had the Volcano nachos (we shared them and that was enough for dinner)

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii211/ckmiles/Picture335.jpg

Next day 2 parks in one day!

[ckmiles]

I've never had a big interest in the space center (unlike DBF), but your pictures make it look amazing!!

Thank you! It was really very interesting and fascinating, I highly recommend it!

[pixeegrl]

Thanks everyone for stopping by to post! I really appreciate it!

As for the car rentals, Alamo always gives great deals about 2 weeks before your travel date, and the let you stack codes (ie use a promo code AND a coupon)

Mousesavers.com and our own DIS boards always have people posting coupon codes etc. The one I found on here was for $10 a day and it worked. Alamo never requires you to show the coupon you used, and by using the kiosk we hardly had any interaction with any alamo employee! (no offense to anyone that works there of course :rolleyes1)

Thanks!

[pixeegrl]

Thanks for the pics of KSC. DH wants to go and it looks like it will be quite interesting!