Prince Eric1
<font color=red>DISboard Ghostbuster<br><font colo
- Joined
- Oct 13, 2002
- Messages
- 1,442
Our third day started a little rough. We got up and waited for the bus from RPR to Seaworld. We got there about 40 minutes early and there were two other families waiting already. The first bus arrived shortly after ten, but the park opened at 9:00. Well, when the bus got there the people were like animals and bulled their way onto the bus. The last three families on the bus were mine and the other two that waited ahead of us. The other families children and mine had to stand the entire ride while able bodied men sat on their butts and none offered a woman or child a seat. That really iritated me and I made a couple comments out loud that these grown men could rush the bus but not offer a seat to a child. Sorry to vent, but this still makes me really irritated. When we got to SW it was very crowded and we stopped and got our second day free passes and bought tickets for the polar tour and endangered species tours. We fed the Stingrays, which is very cool, did the penguin exibit, and went to the Dolphin feeding. We bought a few trays of food for Stingrays and Dolphins and took lots of pictures. We also bought a couple pictures of the kids feeding and petting the dolphins. We all loved it. We ate lunch at the Woodfire Pizza. The food was decent and the kids meals come with souvenier Shamu plastic cases.
We then did the save the species tour. It was very hot and the tour was really boring, seemingly for everyone including the guide. It finally got to the end for the good part and we went into the enclosed area with the exotic birds and small deer. The birds landed all over us, especially my wife, and we got to feed them. It was really cool and made it worth it just for the novelty. We then had to head across the park for the Polar tour. Again, nothing exiting, but at the end we all got to pet a Magellanic (sp?) penguin. That is the only reason we took the tour so it was worth it. We hit the wild arctic and did the Shamu show. You have to have a seat about 30 minutes prior to the beginning for this one as it fills up fast. The kids were getting hot and tired and we went to the parking lot and caught a cab to the hotel. It came to about $12.50 for anyone considering this option.
The next morning we got up early and got a cab from RPR to SW. It was $12.50 again and we were there at opening. It was a very hot day and no one was there at opening. We did Journey to Atlantis with no wait other than for a delay because the ride broke down. This was a decent ride and the kids liked it. We hit the Clyde and Seymour show which was very funny in a campy way and the kids loved it. Then we hit the Dolphin and Pets Ahoy shows which we all enjoyed as well. We bought several trays of food at Pacific Point preserve where you can feed the seals and took lots of pictures. The kids loved the shark encounter and the clydesdale horses. We hit the dolphin nursury and areas we missed and fed the stingrays again on the way out.
We could have easily spent two full days at SW but spent about 1 1/2 days. We missed Kraken and Mystify as it just got too hot the second day to stay and the kids were getting seriously overheated. It was a great time and the kids loved feeding the animals.
During our stay at Universal we ate at Motown twice, Pat O'Briens, and Tchoup Chop. Motown was marginal, with our first meal being horrible. I had a pork sandwhich that was very fatty and I didn't eat it, and my kids had hot dogs that they wouldn't touch. My wife had a burger that was very good. Our second trip my wife and I had Sirloin steaks that were good and the kids had a hamburger and chicken tenders, both good. We used the Clearchannel certificates both times and left the certificate with about a 25% tip each time and left, so we did not see a reaction to the certificat at this location.
At the Tchoup chop my wife and I had the Hawaiin platter and the kids had the chicken tenders. We waited about 20 minutes to be seated for our 7:30 ressies, which wasn't horrible considering it was extremely busy. The food was exellent and my wife and I ate everything exept for the potatoes, which we didn't like. The kids were overtired that night and each ate about one piece of chicken and left the rest.
At Pat O'Briens I ordered the Coppertop Steak, my wife the bourbon chicken sandwich, and my kids had chicken as usual. We ordered the buffalo wings for appetizers and my wife and I both thought they were the best wings we ever had. The steak was great, maybe my best meal of the trip, tender and juicy while still well done. Even my kids liked my steak when they tried it. My wife said the bourbon chickne was okay, but wouldn't order it again. She loved my steak and I would recommend it to anyone. When the check came, I was putting in the certicate and tip (about 25% as the service had been exellent) and the waiter saw the certificate and suddenly and rudely made a statement that we should have told them about it when ordering. I stated that it didn't say we had to and he stated that it was on the letter that came with it. All of a sudden the service went from great to lousy, but I had already put the tip in and just decided to leave. I really wish I had pulled his tip out and left him a penny, but I didn't want to get angry and let his arrogance ruin my time.
On Friday we did the character breakfast at the Consfisco Grill, where they had Wolverine, Bluto, the Cat in the Hat, and my youngest daughters beloved Spiderman. The guy in the Spidey costume was great and provided great interaction. Bluto was really playful and Wolverine was pretty cool, though it was obvious most of the kids there wanted spidey. The characters came out two at a time, Spidey and Wolverine first, then when they left the Cat in the Hat and Bluto came out. The breakfast was good, eggs, french toast, bacon, sausage, potatoes, fruit, croussants, pastries, sausage gravy, biscuits, etc.
We did have a really great trip and can't wait to plan another to Universal or Disney, though the next will probably be to Disney. The girls loved the rides and shows at Universal and SW and couldn't wait to tell family and friends when we returned. They loved the characters and especially loved the pool at the RPR. The staff at the parks and hotel were very friendly and they all seemed to make comments about the girls face paintings when they had them, saying how pretty they were. It was a very good time and we can't wait to go again.
We then did the save the species tour. It was very hot and the tour was really boring, seemingly for everyone including the guide. It finally got to the end for the good part and we went into the enclosed area with the exotic birds and small deer. The birds landed all over us, especially my wife, and we got to feed them. It was really cool and made it worth it just for the novelty. We then had to head across the park for the Polar tour. Again, nothing exiting, but at the end we all got to pet a Magellanic (sp?) penguin. That is the only reason we took the tour so it was worth it. We hit the wild arctic and did the Shamu show. You have to have a seat about 30 minutes prior to the beginning for this one as it fills up fast. The kids were getting hot and tired and we went to the parking lot and caught a cab to the hotel. It came to about $12.50 for anyone considering this option.
The next morning we got up early and got a cab from RPR to SW. It was $12.50 again and we were there at opening. It was a very hot day and no one was there at opening. We did Journey to Atlantis with no wait other than for a delay because the ride broke down. This was a decent ride and the kids liked it. We hit the Clyde and Seymour show which was very funny in a campy way and the kids loved it. Then we hit the Dolphin and Pets Ahoy shows which we all enjoyed as well. We bought several trays of food at Pacific Point preserve where you can feed the seals and took lots of pictures. The kids loved the shark encounter and the clydesdale horses. We hit the dolphin nursury and areas we missed and fed the stingrays again on the way out.
We could have easily spent two full days at SW but spent about 1 1/2 days. We missed Kraken and Mystify as it just got too hot the second day to stay and the kids were getting seriously overheated. It was a great time and the kids loved feeding the animals.
During our stay at Universal we ate at Motown twice, Pat O'Briens, and Tchoup Chop. Motown was marginal, with our first meal being horrible. I had a pork sandwhich that was very fatty and I didn't eat it, and my kids had hot dogs that they wouldn't touch. My wife had a burger that was very good. Our second trip my wife and I had Sirloin steaks that were good and the kids had a hamburger and chicken tenders, both good. We used the Clearchannel certificates both times and left the certificate with about a 25% tip each time and left, so we did not see a reaction to the certificat at this location.
At the Tchoup chop my wife and I had the Hawaiin platter and the kids had the chicken tenders. We waited about 20 minutes to be seated for our 7:30 ressies, which wasn't horrible considering it was extremely busy. The food was exellent and my wife and I ate everything exept for the potatoes, which we didn't like. The kids were overtired that night and each ate about one piece of chicken and left the rest.
At Pat O'Briens I ordered the Coppertop Steak, my wife the bourbon chicken sandwich, and my kids had chicken as usual. We ordered the buffalo wings for appetizers and my wife and I both thought they were the best wings we ever had. The steak was great, maybe my best meal of the trip, tender and juicy while still well done. Even my kids liked my steak when they tried it. My wife said the bourbon chickne was okay, but wouldn't order it again. She loved my steak and I would recommend it to anyone. When the check came, I was putting in the certicate and tip (about 25% as the service had been exellent) and the waiter saw the certificate and suddenly and rudely made a statement that we should have told them about it when ordering. I stated that it didn't say we had to and he stated that it was on the letter that came with it. All of a sudden the service went from great to lousy, but I had already put the tip in and just decided to leave. I really wish I had pulled his tip out and left him a penny, but I didn't want to get angry and let his arrogance ruin my time.
On Friday we did the character breakfast at the Consfisco Grill, where they had Wolverine, Bluto, the Cat in the Hat, and my youngest daughters beloved Spiderman. The guy in the Spidey costume was great and provided great interaction. Bluto was really playful and Wolverine was pretty cool, though it was obvious most of the kids there wanted spidey. The characters came out two at a time, Spidey and Wolverine first, then when they left the Cat in the Hat and Bluto came out. The breakfast was good, eggs, french toast, bacon, sausage, potatoes, fruit, croussants, pastries, sausage gravy, biscuits, etc.
We did have a really great trip and can't wait to plan another to Universal or Disney, though the next will probably be to Disney. The girls loved the rides and shows at Universal and SW and couldn't wait to tell family and friends when we returned. They loved the characters and especially loved the pool at the RPR. The staff at the parks and hotel were very friendly and they all seemed to make comments about the girls face paintings when they had them, saying how pretty they were. It was a very good time and we can't wait to go again.
) as I didn't expect it to be so rough. 
