ADP Live From Disney World & Universal Too!

i'm very impressed with the restaurant manager for offering the desserts to you as a token compensation...
that's indicative of good management...

i agree with Lisa, you're report is making me re-think our plans for visiting universal/ioa...
we're not big universal fans...we've been there twice...the second trip we did it onsite to get front of the line....

reading your report, i guess we'll give it another go..
but it probably will only be in time for harry potter...

i'll be in orlando in may, but DD, DS and DH won't be....we probably won't all make it together until 2010...is that when harry potter opens?...

anyway...i LOVE your report and pictures..

oh and thanks for the dessert pictures...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

that raspberry napolean looks wonderful....
but i don't care how big it is, i DON'T SHARE MY DESSERTS....you can have anything else you want off my plate - but heaven help you if you touch my dessert.. :eek:

You're welcome. I think the new Harry Potter area will be super well done. Waiting until it opens maybe a good call. I don't think we'll be back to Universal until it opens.

:lmao: Share dessert at your own risk!
 
Friday, Oct. 24th

Hi Everyone,

I'm sitting in the Orlando airport waiting for our flight which is delayed 10 minutes. Not a big deal. The weather is overcast right now, but it's expected to clear soon.

Our day started at the Hard Rock Club lounge where we enjoyed breakfast. It's been really nice having the club lounge available for breakfast. We don't have to scramble for other options and delay our trip to the parks. It was a real time saver; although getting to the parks a little later was no big deal with the express pass access.

After we officially checked out we headed for Universal Studios. When we entered the park we headed right and ran into some characters who were out signing autographs and taking pictures.

Here are a few photos from our character interaction

The Simpsons RV. The Simpson characters were on the other side
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Anna and I with none other than Marilyn Monroe
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We also ran into the characters from Madagascar. Madagascar 2 will be in theaters soon
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The one thing you will notice as you walk through Universal Studios is a replica walk-of-fame. a good portion of the street has star lables; however, some are still blank for future stars.

Here's a photo of a star you will see while walking along the walk-of-fame
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There was a noticable increase in crowd levels today at Universal Studios. I guess because its Friday. With the express pass access lines were not a problem, but stand-by wait times ranged from 10 minutes on the secondary attractions to 60 minutes on the headliner attractions.

Here's a shot of the crowd along the streets at Universal Studios. Some of the crowd was there to see the Simpsons, but we found this type of crowd all through the park today.
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Attractions we experienced today were the Simpsons Ride, Men in Black, Jimmy Neutron, Shrek 4-D, Curious George's Playhouse, and The Mummy.

As we were heading out of the park today we saw a prop from the 1980s Back To The Future movies.
The Dolorean with the Flux Capacitor in the back.... :laughing:
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As we walked past the future area of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit I snapped this photo of the signage outside the construction site. It gives you a graphic of what the coaster will look like. It looks a bit extreme, but what else would you expect of a Universal coaster.
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We left Universal Studios around 2:30 and headed back up to the Hard Rock Hotel Club Lounge. One of the gentlemen was kind enough to help me out printing out a form I needed to fax into Dreams Unlimited Travel to transfer a reservation. He even faxed the letter for me. A very nice gesture. We had a few snacks and drinks before we loaded up our car and headed to the airport.

Our flight is about ready to board so I'll leave you with one final photo of the Hard Rock Hotel who made our stay at Universal wonderful.

A saxaphone Chandelier near the 3rd floor lobby. A big thanks to the staff at the Hard Rock Hotel.
Rock On!
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Up Next:
A look back at our trip
Some final thoughts
 
Friday, Oct. 24th

Hi Everyone,

I'm sitting in the Orlando airport waiting for our flight which is delayed 10 minutes. Not a big deal. The weather is overcast right now, but it's expected to clear soon.

Wow - neat pics, Aaron!! Seems you can post from ANYwhere!! Poolside, Airports... I expect in-ride TR's next!! :rotfl:

Travel safely!!
 

The Dolorean with the Flux Capacitor in the back.... :laughing:
Picture162-2.jpg

:rotfl2: Remember when this looked SO futuristic!! How funny!


Wonderful report, Aaron! Thanks so much for being SO on top of it. I felt like I was vacationing with you... well... kinda!!;)
 
:rotfl2: Remember when this looked SO futuristic!! How funny!

when the door's open it still looks futuristic-ish....a bit anyway....or maybe just silly looking with the door open...

i actually knew people who owned deloreans......and the man himself.....he was definitely one of those suave dashing types.....

and he did design a car that the beach boys sang about (GTO)...

Note - never get me started on anything having to do with GM .....or ford or chrysler or anything automotive for that matter.....they were my world growing up.......


GREAT GREAT GREAT report Aaron (DH's name is aaron by the way)..

i can't wait for your next trip!!!
 
Saturday, Oct 25th
Post Trip Report


Hi Everyone,

We are back home after our flight last night. Our flight was delayed only 10 minutes, but the pilot made it up in the air. Southwest does a great job with everything. By the way, the giant tiger in the earlier photo laying on the bed made it home safely. Since we are light packers we wrapped the tiger in a giant garbage bag the Hard Rock Hotel provided us and checked it in as a regular piece of luggage. It arrived on the carousel in Indy with no problem.

Splitting our trip between Disney and Universal worked out pretty well. The one thing I'd suggest to anyone using this strategy is going to Disney World on the front-end of your trip and then going to Universal on the back-end of your trip. The reason is front of the line express access at Universal really spoils you. Using the express pass at the front-end of your trip and then going to Disney where you might wait 45 minutes in line would be a real downer in my opinion. I know Disney offers fastpass and there are ways around crowds like getting to the parks early, but those types of modifications make your vacation a bit more stressful and rushed.

If you do plan on going to Universal do make it a point to stay on site. The 3 Universal hotels are all considered deluxe level in my opinion. They are priced higher than Disney value or moderate resorts, but the express pass access you get while staying on site is priceless in my opinion. Getting a Universal AP for the hotel discount pays for the AP itself and then some depending on the number of nights you stay in the Universal hotel.

Food -
Let me start by saying the food at both Universal and Disney and their resorts is getting very expensive. It seems every year the prices rise. Although Universal food prices are a bit cheaper they are expensive as well. Paying $31 per person plus tax and tip for dinner at the Crystal Palace is outrageous. Disney has a way of manipulating its guests. I honestly believe the reason the restaurant and counter food prices are increasing is to push us to purchase their dining plan. When you look at it the dining plan is a much better deal than going without the plan. I always thought the Disney Dining Experience (Tables of Wonderland) was a better value than the plan, but I'm not so sure anymore with these last round of price increases. We've said it before, but if guests keep filling Disney restaurants they will keep increasing their prices based on demand; however, there has to be a tipping point when people stop going to Disney restaurants. I'm seriously thinking of renting a car for each trip in the future and going off-site every so often to dine. The cost savings will pay for the rental car and then some.

Let me also mention I firmly believe the quality of the food at Universal is better than Disney. There seems to be more care taken by the food preparers at Universal than at Disney. I'm not only speaking of the restaurant food, but even the counter and snack foods served in the parks. Bottom line is Universal provides a better value for food and beverage.

As usual the Food & Wine festival at EPCOT was a hit with us. We enjoyed sampling the food and drink around World Showcase. We did notice less F & W booths this year than in the past. I'm not sure why, but it was noticable. I do wish they offered more than 2 or 3 food options at each booth, but the choices they do offer are pretty good. Oh! And just a quick rant, if you are standing in line for more than 3 minutes, please have your money out and know what you want before getting to the cashier to place your order. :sad2: It really hellps everyone behind you.

Theme Parks -
We enjoyed both resorts theme parks. Just a quick observation, but Disney's parks are a bit cleaner in general. The restrooms and common areas are both cleaner. I do think Islands of Adventure gives a little cleaner of an appearance since it is a newer theme park (opened in 1999). Universal Studios on the other hand could use some sprucing up. It's starting to show some age from the last time we visited. The retheming of the Simpsons from Back to the Future has helped, but some of the other areas could use a little TLC.

As far as attraction technology Universal offers a better product in my opinion. I thought the visual affects on the Simpsons ride were superior than anything I've seen at Disney World. Spiderman continues to blow my mind everytime I ride it. Someone much smarter than me figured how to make that attraction work. It was ground breaking in 1999 and it is still ground breaking today.

As far as overall theming you still can't beat Disney's appeal. They do a great job from the queue line to the post show. The little touches Disney puts into their attractions does not show up at Universal. You will find little references on Universal attractions, but it is nowhere near Disney's calibar. I'm hopeful the new Harry Potter area will show that Universal can outpace Disney's overall theming.

Transportation -
We really didn't experience any problems with transportation on this trip. Since we had a rental car at Disney we used it when we thought we might have to wait. We did take a Disney bus once and the boat between Hollywood Studios and EPCOT with hardly any wait time.

The transporation at Universal was by boat from our resort to City Walk. Once you are at City Walk you walk to the theme park you wish to visit. We took the boat on some occassions and then walked on other occassions. The walking paths from the resorts to Citywalk are very well landscaped and lit up at night. It's really a peaceful and enjoyable walk. There are cyclists who will take 3 people from City Walk to your resort for tips only. A nice alternative if you are in a hurry and don't want to walk or wait for a boat. Since Universal is a much smaller resort than Disney World the boat rides range from 5 to 10 minutes each way.

Resorts -
It's really not fair for me to compare Pop Century to the Hard Rock Hotel since one is a value resort and the other is a deluxe resort. I'll just say Pop Century is a nice, clean value resort with decent amenities for the price. We paid $74 each night with an AP discount. We did dine in the food court, but we did not use the pool or other amenities of the resort because we wanted to experience more in the theme parks. For us Pop Century was no more than a bed and bathroom at night and in the morning.

As for the Hard Rock Hotel it was a nice place to stay. The pool is the best I've experienced in Orlando. It's laid back and has a lot of nice features to it like the under water speaker system, the long pool slide, and the Beach Club pool bar is large, covered and a great place to spend time and relax.

My only complaint I had about the Hard Rock was the feel of the resort. When you walk inside the property it has a museum feel to it. The memorabilia, the walls, and the floor gave me the feeling I was walking through the museum of art. The staff also gives you a feeling of look, but don't touch. Don't get me wrong, they were extremely helpful and pleasant it's just how they came across. Would I stay their again? Yes, for sure. I'd probably spend even more time at the pool area.

Well, that pretty much covers it. I'm sure there is more I could say, but hopefully I covered it over the last 7 days in the trip report. If you have any questions please feel free to ask.

The next trip will be a solo trip for Mousefest. I'm really looking forward to meeting many of you at the various meets. It will be my first solo trip to Disney World. I don't know if I'll be able to provide a full live trip report at Mousefest because of time, but I'll certainly try to post as many comments and pictures as possible. I'm sure there will be many others like me who will post their comments and pictures as well throughout the Internet community.

Until then I'll see you right here on the DIS! :)

Next Trip:
December 9th - 16th
Mousefest 2008
Saratoga Springs & All-Star Music
 
Yea Aaron -- another successful trip!!!! You really do have a talent for doing these reports as they are informative and fun...keep up the good work!
 
Great trip report, Aaron! I always enjoy vacationing with you!

I'm of the mind to let the WDW restaurants know how I feel by taking my dining business offsite. I know the full intention of a dining plan is to keep you onsite, but I really hate being a slave to food, especially mediocre and overpriced food. I will still eat at a favorite restaurant or buffet onsite from time to time, but I refuse to be held hostage any longer, dining-wise. The rental car has become a new necessity on my WDW trips.
 
Yea Aaron -- another successful trip!!!! You really do have a talent for doing these reports as they are informative and fun...keep up the good work!

Thanks Lisa...I'm glad you find them informative. Believe it or not, I look back on these reports months later to see what we've experienced, kind of like a diary...:laughing:

Great trip report, Aaron! I always enjoy vacationing with you!

I'm of the mind to let the WDW restaurants know how I feel by taking my dining business offsite. I know the full intention of a dining plan is to keep you onsite, but I really hate being a slave to food, especially mediocre and overpriced food. I will still eat at a favorite restaurant or buffet onsite from time to time, but I refuse to be held hostage any longer, dining-wise. The rental car has become a new necessity on my WDW trips.

Thanks Mindy. You know, it kind of saddens me, but I'm starting to think along those lines as well. Mousefest won't be too bad since its a solo trip and I'm not really making any ADRS. I just plan on eating counter service or snacking around. However, our next family trip we may find ourselves eating off property a bit.
 
Anna and I with none other than Marilyn Monroe
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Hey, um.... Aaron? Susan (Merrie Poppins) and I both agreed you were not the type to be the least bit rude, but...um... Where's your right hand in this picture?? :rotfl:
 
Hey, um.... Aaron? Susan (Merrie Poppins) and I both agreed you were not the type to be the least bit rude, but...um... Where's your right hand in this picture?? :rotfl:

:lmao: It was on her back. I swear! You've made Kim curious as well. :rotfl: I think I maybe in the dog house tonight and its only 40 degrees outside. :)
 
:lmao: It was on her back. I swear! You've made Kim curious as well. :rotfl: I think I maybe in the dog house tonight and its only 40 degrees outside. :)

Oops. Sorry!! :blush: Maybe I shoulda sent a PM... :rotfl:


Always pre-read the boards before sharing... :thumbsup2

As the Wizard of Oz said (sort of) Pay no attention to that hand behind the curtain....;)
 
Great report as usual Aaron. I'm glad you had a fun & safe trip. :thumbsup2 Cocowum and I are really looking forward to meeting you and the rest of the crazies at MouseFest. See you soon. :goodvibes
 
that was a great summary Aaron!!!

you should do this professionally.

i hope you have some time to report from mousefest (perhaps a group report from those of you who are going - a thead of many differnt posts)..
it would be so nice to be able to go along for the ride so to speak.

as for eating offsite....we always eat some of our meals offsite....we rent a car and head for sweet tomatoes almost every day....as well as a few other of our favorites...
we typically eat no more than one meal on property each day (sometimes not even one)...
 
Great trip report!

We saved quite a bit on our trip this past week by eating half of our meals at the condo. Publix near the Sheraton Vistana had great bakery and deli items plus a decent beer selection. We also ate at Chick-a-fila and the MC Donald's near the All-Stars (higher pricing). I am estimating our daily food costs that included F&W, 1 cs (Flame Tree), 5 Disney table service meals, 2 bars for drinks and appetizers (T-Rex, Tambu Lounge), groceries, and fast food to be about $50-60 a day (including alcohol---we don't drink much). I did not get the DDE/Tables in Wonderland card.
 














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