Just back from HIFS!!!

[taylor1293]

Just back from 11 nights at Disney and Universal.

2 nights at HIFS, 5 at BWV, and 4 at HRH.

At HIFS we were in room 1401. Our room was facing the parking lot and had a Disney theme. We were very happy with it :).

If anyone has any questions about HIFS, I'd be happy to answer them :)

Teresa

[KittenLittle]

Was your suite ready when you checked in?How was the breakfast? How was the pool?? Thanks!

[taylor1293]

Yes, but we didn't check in until 8:00 that night because we drove down from Illinois.

The breakfast was fine. Cereal, donuts, bagels, toast, drinks, and hot foods (bacon was awful like it was last year).

The pool was great, the girls really enjoyed it.

The hotel was quite crowded with tons of kids everywhere! But it was very quiet in our room which faced the parking lot.

Hope that helps :)

Teresa

[KittenLittle]

Yep! Sure does!!
We will be spending 1 night at the end of August-can't wait!:bounce:

[ellie&mattys mom]

I forgot to ask you where in Illinois!!

Was the room clean...I read a few bad reports....Did you use the microwave or anything were you satisfied with the room...
so then you would reccomend Hard Rock first due to the room size....

thanks!!

[taylor1293]

Hi Amy :),

We are over by St. Louis :).

I think either way would be okay. We didn't feel too cramped going from the largest to the smallest room. But I really missed the washer/dryer at BWV!

At HIFS, our room was very clean. As was our room last year. Our refrigerator didn't work but maintenance came to our room quickly with a replacement.

Teresa

[MK Familystone]

Hi !

Can you give some details of the location, rate , and size etc.

Thanks!

THE MAGIC HAPPENS!!!
:jester: :jester: :jester:

[taylor1293]

I'd be happy to give info about HRH :)

Our room was on the club level, the 7th floor. We were right next to the lounge. I was concerned about noise, but it was never a problem. The room was fairly small, but managable because of all the drawer/closet space. (there were 5 of us)

We booked through www.hotelkingdom.com (4th night free special). Our room rate, including tax was around $231 a night.

Hope that helps :)

Teresa

[Brenna]

Taylor1293 - Thanks for the great info! We're going to HIFS in October for 10 nights. I know you were there for 2 nights and I'm wondering if you used the shuttle to WDW at all? We're pretty sure we'll be renting a car, but am curious. Thanks!

[taylor1293]

No, we didn't use a shuttle this year or last year when we stayed at HIFS.

I've heard mixed reviews about the shuttle. IMO, a rental car would be best. You are just minutes from the parks and with a rental car you would be able to come and go as you please :)

Teresa

[Brenna]

Teresa

That's what I've been hearing (reading!), that it's often faster to drive your own car to the parks. Plus, we want to go to Sea World and possibly Universal Studios, too. Having a car would definitely give us more freedom.

Did you have a themed suite? King? Queen? Just curious about the space. DD is 11 (but about 5'5" already!) and DS is 8 (and not too far behind!). We're not sure whether to go with the bunk beds or the twin beds. DD also has scoliosis so she has to wear her back brace 16 hours a day, although we'll probably let her slide while on vacation and wear it only while sleeping. Concerned about the bunk beds not giving her much room for sitting up, rolling over, etc. (We are going to try and see if her dr. will let her go without it for the 10 days - can't hurt to ask, right?).

Thanks - there's nothing like first hand information!!

Brenna :wave: (I love this smiley!)

[taylor1293]

Brenna,

Yes, we had a kidsuite and my girls (ages 9 and 2) loved it! Last year we had the train theme and this time it was the Disney theme.

My MIL slept on one of the bunks at night, so there should be plenty of space for your son :)!

I'm not sure about enough room for your DD. I would think that the top bunk would provide plenty of space for her. Otherwise there are two other options. The first is the pull out bed on the sofa and the second is the pull out bed in the kids room (folds out from the wall)

Teresa

[Brenna]

I know our son would just love the bunk beds! I think our daughter would, too! Since there are options for her in case she needs more room, maybe we'll get the bunk beds - plus DH and I get the KING bed!

Thanks so much and I'll be sure to post again if (when) more questions arise! We're just beginning the planning!!

[Brenna]

Teresa:

Does HIFS have a car rental counter right there? I thought I read somewhere that you could rent a car right there in the hotel?

Brenna

[taylor1293]

Brenna,

The king bed is great :)

I don't remember seeing a place to rent cars, but you may want to call the hotel directly and ask :)

Teresa

[Brenna]

I may have confused HIFS with another hotel . . . have checked out so many over the past month! I will give them a call to see.

Thanks, Teresa!

Brenna

[LOVETHATMOUSE]

Hi! Booked 3 nights in December at HIFS. How was the child check in? My dd read about it on the website (she's 7, will be 8) and wants to know what the gift was. This is our first time there, so we are enjoying all the posts about the hotel.

[taylor1293]

There is a little check in for kids right next to the main check-in. They sign in their first names and get a goody bag. It's really cute :).

I can't remember what was in the bag (DH took them and I never really saw what was in it?), but I do know that there were tokens for the game room in it.

Teresa

[professorandmom]

Did you try to do any laundry? How crowded was it?

Thanks for all the information - we leave in a few weeks and it is exciting to read about where we are going!
Barbara

[taylor1293]

Edited because I thought the question was about HRH's laundry facilities, not HIFS. HIFS does have adequate laundry facilities, IMO.

Teresa

[professorandmom]

taylor1293,
Did you mean that you didn't do laundry at HIFS or HRH? I am curious about HIFS?

Has anyone else done laundry there or should I plan to do it elsewhere (laundrymat)?
Barbara

[taylor1293]

I didn't do laundry at either HRH or HIFS. We did it when we were staying at BWV's because we had the w/d in our room!

However, last year I did do laundry at HIFS, and found no problem getting a machine in the middle of the day :)

Sorry for the confusion!

Teresa

[anabelle]

I just got back from HIFS last week. I did do laundry. I did it at 10:30 PM and it took about 1.5 hours. It was a little crowded. There were about 5-6 washers and 8 dryers. The dryers were very slow but your dollar went a long way. We were in building 10 and the laundry room was on the 6th floor of that building.

We had a clown themed room and the kids did not like it. They mentioned that they would have liked the Coke room better. We checked in at 3 PM and the rooms were just starting to become available on the family pool side. There were plenty of rooms on the lap pool side. I do not suggest a room on the ground floor especially on the pool side. The kids stay in the pool until they kick them out at 11 PM.

If your daughter needs to wear a brace I do not recommend the small bed that pulls out of the wall. It barely fit my 5 year old. The sofa bed is probably a better option. Before you book make sure you get a cert for the free pizza party. The pizza is very good. Lots of people on the forum have them.

[Brenna]

Anabelle:

Great advice. I don't think my kids would like a clown theme, either. I think DS would be afraid!

I'm thinking we may be better off with the queen for us and twins for them. I'm not 100% sure DS would sleep alone in the room, so having DD on the pullout might not work? Sometimes even here at home he sleeps with her or vice versa. I'm sure it's something that he'll outgrow soon, but for now that's how it is.

We still have time and once we tell the kids about the trip, we'll get their opinions.

Thanks for the info about washing clothes, too. Good to know there were more than 2 machines (although I'm sure it's still not enough with the amount of people staying there). Thanks!!

Brenna