AuroraluvsPhillip
Placed in Gryffindor, so red is my color
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2004
- Messages
- 1,310
Cast:
Me, 45, trip planner, leary of trying someplace "not Disney"
DH, 45, wanted to stay at HRH, wish granted
DD, 15, thrill ride junky, dreaming about the Hulk coaster for weeks prior to trip
I didn't have a clue about UO, so I bought the book by Kelly Monaghan to familiarize myself with the parks and attractions. I also looked over the Universal section in the UG.
We decided to start our trip at Universal even though most people recommend doing Disney first. We booked 3 nights at the HRH, basic garden view room. Unfortunately, we paid rack rate for our dates despite having AAA, Fan Club, and Ent. card. Hopefully, next year we can get a room discount.
We arrived around 6pm or so on Saturday night. Check in was quick and efficient. I was a little nervous that the service wouldn't be up to par with Disney standards after staying at the GF last year, but I'll tell you, the hotel was beautiful and the service everywhere we went was excellent, with everyone so friendly and helpful. I had no complaints at all about the hotel and would go back there in a heartbeat. I loved listening to the music in the restaurants and the elevators; I loved my gift CD; I've been listening to it in my car since I've been home!
We were in room 6091 in the back facing the boat dock. The room was clean, I loved the decor and vanity and bathroom area were spotless. The only thing I wish the room had was a balcony...
The first evening I had made a 7:40pm PS at the Hard Rock Cafe. We took the boat over to CityWalk and were ushered into the HRC. It is a really noisy, fun place with music videos playing. The servers are a hoot; they all climbed up on various areas of the restaurant to do the YMCA dance to the video of the Village People! Funny! We had hamburgers, which were decent; the desserts were awesome. My DH got to keep his drink glass as a souvenir. Afterwards we wandered all around the restaurant checking out all the rock n roll memorabilia such as clothing, guitars, gold records. We looked into the "Elvis" and the "Beatles" rooms. I took a picture of DD standing next to the actual doors from the old Abbey Rd. studio. Cool.
Sunday morning we did US. This was our first time to either of these parks. No rush to get there since we had FOTL!!! Talk about feeling like a celeb! It's like a continuous Fastpass!
Of course, the first thing we head for is the Mummy...now I am a total wimp on rides. I rode Space Mtn. for the first time last year since I had been 16 yrs. old and it scared the living daylights out of me, so I did not go on it again until I was 44, despite two other Disney trips. Yeah, I know..what a wimp. Anyways, I loved SM last year; went on it a bunch of times so I figured I could handle the Mummy, another dark coaster ride with special effects. Well, the Mummy is now my favorite! We went on it 5 times in a row; it is pretty cool; I just wish the ride was longer! My DD says now I am ready to try RNR next year!
During the day we did all the major attractions at US except Back to the Future, which I knew we couldn't handle and Jimmy Neutron which we weren't interested in. The park wasn't really crowded at all compared to Disney later on in the week, but we just walked right on everything with our resort ID's.
That evening we took the boat to PBH and ate at MamaDella's which was very nice. We walked around PBH to check it out, but I liked the ambience at HRH better, but that's just me. I think older couples, and folks without kids would prefer the quieter atmosphere of PBH, but baby boomers and people with teens or even school age kids would like the HRH.
Monday we ate b'fast at the Kitchen..I forgot to mention that we had b'fast there each morning and the buffet was great...you get your coffee, tea and fresh OJ, then you can hit the buffet. You can get your omelette made fresh or you can serve yourself from a huge selection of different b'fast items. My DD loved the oatmeal. We loved the cut up fruit and the strawberries.
And while I'm on the subject: Coffee!! There is a Starbucks/Emack and Bolio's at HRH!!! Yippee!! So much nicer than the Nescafe at WDW...
So Monday we did IOA. We headed immediately to the Hulk as my DD had psyched herself up for months to go on this ride. I absolutely refuse to ride coasters where I can see what's coming, so she went on alone...whoa! She loved it and went on again with my DH, who didn't do so hot with the inversions...had to move slowly afterwards for about an hour, so he skipped Spiderman...we went on. I found the 3-D video stuff very disconcerting, so I did close my eyes for a good portion of the ride. Now that I know what it's all about, I'll be better next time! But once was enough for us this time around.
Next my DD did Ripsaw Falls and got soaked; my DH was still a little queasy so me and DD did Bilge Rats Barges together and got drenched...I don't think you could possibly stay dry on that ride, even with a poncho...unlike Kali EVERYONE gets soaked at some point!!
Then the 3 of us did Jurassic Park ride. I really went on for the dinosaurs. I had never been down a flume ride in my life because I don't like heights, so I wouldn't ride Splash Mtn. I knew the drop was coming at the end but it was dark, so I couldn't see how far up we were. Yikes...I screamed and closed my eyes the whole way down...but I survived! I wasn't eager to do it again, though I did finally do Splash Mtn. later in the week, once only! I must be getting braver in my old age!
Of course, my DD had to do Dueling Dragons. I took her eyeglasses so she wouldn't lose them, and she couldn't see too well in the lines! She wanted to ride Ice, but ended up on Fire and loved it!
We had a 3:30pm PS for Mythos which my DH really wanted to try, having heard great things about it. The meal was very nice and I would definitely go there again. Our bill was $72 for the 3 of us.
We went back to HRH after dinner..we were pretty tired out. We used the walkway most of the time after the initial couple of times on the water taxis; the walk was very pretty and relaxing. We had purchased HRH sweatshirts in the hotel store and they came in handy in the evenings!
Tuesday was check out day. We threw the bags into the rental car and headed back to IOA for a few more rides. DD did DD again; tried for Ice, but ended up in the line for the front row of Fire! She liked it though; thought it was cool!! We saw the Poseidon's Fury show; did Jurassic Park ride once more; then walked through Seuss area, rode the Cat in the Hat and the Carousel. Then we headed over to Disney...
All in all, I was very impressed by everything at UO. Our resort was great; restaurants were good; FOTL can't be beat although it wasn't overly crowded when we were there. I like how the parks, hotels and CityWalk are all in close proximity to one another. In conclusion, I left reluctantly and I am looking foward to going again, hopefully next year!
Thanks for reading, sorry so long!
How I feel when I'm at the HRH:
Me, 45, trip planner, leary of trying someplace "not Disney"
DH, 45, wanted to stay at HRH, wish granted
DD, 15, thrill ride junky, dreaming about the Hulk coaster for weeks prior to trip
I didn't have a clue about UO, so I bought the book by Kelly Monaghan to familiarize myself with the parks and attractions. I also looked over the Universal section in the UG.
We decided to start our trip at Universal even though most people recommend doing Disney first. We booked 3 nights at the HRH, basic garden view room. Unfortunately, we paid rack rate for our dates despite having AAA, Fan Club, and Ent. card. Hopefully, next year we can get a room discount.
We arrived around 6pm or so on Saturday night. Check in was quick and efficient. I was a little nervous that the service wouldn't be up to par with Disney standards after staying at the GF last year, but I'll tell you, the hotel was beautiful and the service everywhere we went was excellent, with everyone so friendly and helpful. I had no complaints at all about the hotel and would go back there in a heartbeat. I loved listening to the music in the restaurants and the elevators; I loved my gift CD; I've been listening to it in my car since I've been home!
We were in room 6091 in the back facing the boat dock. The room was clean, I loved the decor and vanity and bathroom area were spotless. The only thing I wish the room had was a balcony...
The first evening I had made a 7:40pm PS at the Hard Rock Cafe. We took the boat over to CityWalk and were ushered into the HRC. It is a really noisy, fun place with music videos playing. The servers are a hoot; they all climbed up on various areas of the restaurant to do the YMCA dance to the video of the Village People! Funny! We had hamburgers, which were decent; the desserts were awesome. My DH got to keep his drink glass as a souvenir. Afterwards we wandered all around the restaurant checking out all the rock n roll memorabilia such as clothing, guitars, gold records. We looked into the "Elvis" and the "Beatles" rooms. I took a picture of DD standing next to the actual doors from the old Abbey Rd. studio. Cool.
Sunday morning we did US. This was our first time to either of these parks. No rush to get there since we had FOTL!!! Talk about feeling like a celeb! It's like a continuous Fastpass!
Of course, the first thing we head for is the Mummy...now I am a total wimp on rides. I rode Space Mtn. for the first time last year since I had been 16 yrs. old and it scared the living daylights out of me, so I did not go on it again until I was 44, despite two other Disney trips. Yeah, I know..what a wimp. Anyways, I loved SM last year; went on it a bunch of times so I figured I could handle the Mummy, another dark coaster ride with special effects. Well, the Mummy is now my favorite! We went on it 5 times in a row; it is pretty cool; I just wish the ride was longer! My DD says now I am ready to try RNR next year!
During the day we did all the major attractions at US except Back to the Future, which I knew we couldn't handle and Jimmy Neutron which we weren't interested in. The park wasn't really crowded at all compared to Disney later on in the week, but we just walked right on everything with our resort ID's.
That evening we took the boat to PBH and ate at MamaDella's which was very nice. We walked around PBH to check it out, but I liked the ambience at HRH better, but that's just me. I think older couples, and folks without kids would prefer the quieter atmosphere of PBH, but baby boomers and people with teens or even school age kids would like the HRH.
Monday we ate b'fast at the Kitchen..I forgot to mention that we had b'fast there each morning and the buffet was great...you get your coffee, tea and fresh OJ, then you can hit the buffet. You can get your omelette made fresh or you can serve yourself from a huge selection of different b'fast items. My DD loved the oatmeal. We loved the cut up fruit and the strawberries.
And while I'm on the subject: Coffee!! There is a Starbucks/Emack and Bolio's at HRH!!! Yippee!! So much nicer than the Nescafe at WDW...
So Monday we did IOA. We headed immediately to the Hulk as my DD had psyched herself up for months to go on this ride. I absolutely refuse to ride coasters where I can see what's coming, so she went on alone...whoa! She loved it and went on again with my DH, who didn't do so hot with the inversions...had to move slowly afterwards for about an hour, so he skipped Spiderman...we went on. I found the 3-D video stuff very disconcerting, so I did close my eyes for a good portion of the ride. Now that I know what it's all about, I'll be better next time! But once was enough for us this time around.
Next my DD did Ripsaw Falls and got soaked; my DH was still a little queasy so me and DD did Bilge Rats Barges together and got drenched...I don't think you could possibly stay dry on that ride, even with a poncho...unlike Kali EVERYONE gets soaked at some point!!
Then the 3 of us did Jurassic Park ride. I really went on for the dinosaurs. I had never been down a flume ride in my life because I don't like heights, so I wouldn't ride Splash Mtn. I knew the drop was coming at the end but it was dark, so I couldn't see how far up we were. Yikes...I screamed and closed my eyes the whole way down...but I survived! I wasn't eager to do it again, though I did finally do Splash Mtn. later in the week, once only! I must be getting braver in my old age!
Of course, my DD had to do Dueling Dragons. I took her eyeglasses so she wouldn't lose them, and she couldn't see too well in the lines! She wanted to ride Ice, but ended up on Fire and loved it!
We had a 3:30pm PS for Mythos which my DH really wanted to try, having heard great things about it. The meal was very nice and I would definitely go there again. Our bill was $72 for the 3 of us.
We went back to HRH after dinner..we were pretty tired out. We used the walkway most of the time after the initial couple of times on the water taxis; the walk was very pretty and relaxing. We had purchased HRH sweatshirts in the hotel store and they came in handy in the evenings!
Tuesday was check out day. We threw the bags into the rental car and headed back to IOA for a few more rides. DD did DD again; tried for Ice, but ended up in the line for the front row of Fire! She liked it though; thought it was cool!! We saw the Poseidon's Fury show; did Jurassic Park ride once more; then walked through Seuss area, rode the Cat in the Hat and the Carousel. Then we headed over to Disney...
All in all, I was very impressed by everything at UO. Our resort was great; restaurants were good; FOTL can't be beat although it wasn't overly crowded when we were there. I like how the parks, hotels and CityWalk are all in close proximity to one another. In conclusion, I left reluctantly and I am looking foward to going again, hopefully next year!
Thanks for reading, sorry so long!
How I feel when I'm at the HRH:
