ADP Live From Universal & Disney World

[crazydisneyman]

That is awesome that you got to sit next to her on the plane.

I hope you have a very relaxing day.

And stop posting at 1:48AM ?????

You are on vacation.....

 

[ADP]

Hi Everyone

I'm posting from the RPR pool. The weather is beautiful today! I hope it stays this way for tonight because we are going to the resorts luau. I believe the luau cove is covered so it should be ok as long as there is no lightening.

I'll post some photos later

To Kim - We miss you and love you very much. We can't wait until you get here!

 

[cocowum]

Hi Everyone

I'm posting from the RPR pool. The weather is beautiful today! I hope it stays this way for tonight because we are going to the resorts luau I believe the luau cove is covered so it should be ok as long as there is no lightening

I'll post some photos later

To Kim - We miss you and love you very much. We can't wait until you get here!

Awwww!

 

[Cyrano]

P.S. I forgot to mention in an earlier post that on the plane down to Orlando Anna and I got to sit next to Divine; the tree lady who wanders and entertains guests at the Animal Kingdom. She's a contortionist who can walk on stilts. She told us all about her job and how often she works. A very cool way to start our Orlando vacation.

A very cool start to your vacation

 

[ADP]

Wow, that's really cool you got to sit next to Divine. What was she doing in Indy? Friends or relatives there, or did she have a performance?

I'm bummed my attempt at going to Universal Studios a couple weeks ago was foiled. However, Aaron you're making me see the right way to do it. I think we need to stay on site to get the FOTL access if we go.

She was in Indy attending a private party. She actually went to a private residence and did her act. She said it was a giant BBQ behind some mansion. Sounded pretty interesting.
You've got to try out Universal Dave. They have some amazing attractions and the resorts are very nice. The room key front of the line access is so incredible; especially in the summer when the parks are more crowded. We've saved so much time. Spiderman had 60 minute regular line wait; where the express pass line only had a 5 minute wait. A HUGE diference.

Dave, that is the ONLY way to do Universal!!

Hi Aaron:

It's been enjoyable reading your report and the pictures are excellent. You've shared some really nice ones of Anna.

How crowded has Universal been when comparing it to Disney parks?

Have a Great Day and looking forward to your updates...

Mark

The Uninversal parks are not as crowded as the Disney parks; however, the wait times are up there, and more than I expected. I think the Super Bowl promo they did last February has helped. They gave away over 1 million tickets to households across the country after their Super Bowl commercial aired. A very good deal.

That is awesome that you got to sit next to her on the plane.

I hope you have a very relaxing day.

And stop posting at 1:48AM ?????

You are on vacation.....

I like to stay up late when I'm on vacation.

 

[ADP]

Tuesday, July 28th

Hi Everyone,

We are back from our morning/afternoon at the pool and the gym. I got A LOT of sun today. The weather has been very nice so far and the pool was very crowded.

We stayed at the pool for about 3 hours and enjoyed relaxing and swimming. Anna got caught up play volleyball in the pool. I think she could have done it all day if I would have let her.

The RPR pool is very nice, pretty large, and has several chairs around for guests to choose from. Here are some pictures I took while we were at the pool
The pool has a ship water feature which shoots water in several different directions. This pool does not have a water slide, but the ship does help make up for the lack of a slide.

This resort has a very nice pool bar. I got the chance to enjoy a drink during our time at the pool.

There is also an ice cream stand at the pool. You have to eat it fast though or else it will melt.

The pool workers conducted kids actvities at the top of each hour. One of the contests was a splash contest. Anna participated in the contest and won the event out of 5 other girls. I was so proud at the splash she made belly first.
Here's Anna entering the pool and starting her splash.

After the contest we took a picture with the activities coordinator.

Once we left the pool we headed back to the room. I changed and decided to head down to the gym. this is a first for me. I never dream of working out while on vacation. I usually workout on Tuesdays back home with Kim so I wanted to stay on our routine. It wasn't the same without her. I had a good workout, but missed her company.

After the workout I took some pictures of the gym. They have a combination of machines and free weights as well as treadmills and bikes. I focused on cardio, core, and upper body today; arms, shoulders, chest, etc.

Here are the photos.

Tinight we are headed for the Royal Pacific Wanitilian Luau. We are looking forward to it. I'll have pictures and share our experience tonight.

More to come!

 

[dpuck1998]

Tuesday, July 28th

Hi Everyone,

We are back from our morning/afternoon at the pool and the gym. I got A LOT of sun today. The weather has been very nice so far and the pool was very crowded.

We stayed at the pool for about 3 hours and enjoyed relaxing and swimming. Anna got caught up play volleyball in the pool. I think she could have done it all day if I would have let her.

The RPR pool is very nice, pretty large, and has several chairs around for guests to choose from. Here are some pictures I took while we were at the pool
The pool has a ship water feature which shoots water in several different directions. This pool does not have a water slide, but the ship does help make up for the lack of a slide.

This resort has a very nice pool bar. I got the chance to enjoy a drink during our time at the pool.

There is also an ice cream stand at the pool. You have to eat it fast though or else it will melt.

The pool workers conducted kids actvities at the top of each hour. One of the contests was a splash contest. Anna participated in the contest and won the event out of 5 other girls. I was so proud at the splash she made belly first.
Here's Anna entering the pool and starting her splash.

After the contest we took a picture with the activities coordinator.

Once we left the pool we headed back to the room. I changed and decided to head down to the gym. this is a first for me. I never dream of working out while on vacation. I usually workout on Tuesdays back home with Kim so I wanted to stay on our routine. It wasn't the same without her. I had a good workout, but missed her company.

After the workout I took some pictures of the gym. They have a combination of machines and free weights as well as treadmills and bikes. I focused on cardio, core, and upper body today; arms, shoulders, chest, etc.

Here are the photos.

Tinight we are headed for the Royal Pacific Wanitilian Luau. We are looking forward to it. I'll have pictures and share our experience tonight.

More to come!

She must have honed her splash skills over the July 4th weekend

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Thanks for more pictures Aaron. I definitely want to try Universal. I still have my Super Bowl ticket. I just need to get down there again before Dec. 31st.

Congrats to Anna on the splash contest, and congrats to you for continuing to workout. Boy, that gym looked crowded... I guess it wasn't hard to find a machine.

 

[LeahZ]

Thanks for the great reports and pictures! I love live trip reports!

 

[Sooze]

I love your live reports!! Thanks for being so very very up-to-date!

I simply cannot WAIT until the Harry Potter attraction opens at Universal... but we will probably wait for a year after it opens to go see it. I can't imagine the MADHOUSE that place will be when it first opens!!

Glad to see you and Anna are having such a great time!!

 

[ADP]

Hi Everyone,

We are back from the RPR Luau. This report will be shorter than I want because, quite honestly I'm a bit tired and not feeling 100%. I think I got too much sun today.

We attended the luau tonight and had a great time. This was the first luau I'd ever attended. Each of the main theme park resorts in Orlando offers some sort of Luau. Most of the reviews I've read put the RPR luau second behind the one at Sea World. Most put the one at the Polynesian last.

We checked into the luau cove at 5:30PM. The luau starts at 6:00. After you check-in you are given a table assignment. At 5:30 an entertainer named Duke comes out to entertain guests waiting to enter the luau. He plays a eukulale and sings.
The Wanitilan Luau check-in area

Anna was pulled from the line tonight and Duke showed her how to hula and a few other tricks.

At 6:00PM we walked up to the luau cove and were seated at our table by a server. I was surprised to see we were sitting with 8 other people. Since we were the first ones at our table we could choose which seats of the 10 we wanted.

Here is the stage at the luau cove.

Here is a photo of our table at the luau. We had a lot in common with the people at our table. 2 of the girls were in competivit cheer like Anna. One couple's parents live in Fishers, IN; where we live. We had a lot to talk about.

The food is located in the back of the cove or seated areas. It's an all you care to eat buffet. Most of the food was asian/south pacific inspired. I didn't really find anything offensive. All the food was good. There was a carving station with a full pig roast and other meets. There was also a dessert table with dessert shots and many small tarts.

The cost of the luau included all the mai tais you could drink. I have to say they were very weak. I don't think there was very much alcohol in them if any at all.

As for the entertainment, I'd say it was above average. They had a polynesian band, 4 hula dancers, and a fire dancer. They performed various hula dances, and fire tricks. They also pulled several volunteers from the crowd.
Here are some photos of the entertainment

This laua was a bit expensive and for that reason I don't give it really good marks. It's good, but not worht the $80 we paid for it. $80 was for 1 child and 1 adult and as I mentioned included all the mai tais you can drink albeit weak. I also got a 10% discount for being a Universal annual passholder.

At the end of the luau a few of the hula dancers came out to take pictures.

So that was our experience. If you've ever wanted to try something like this you should. It's worth a shot to try it out to see if you like it.

Tomorrow morning we are headed back to Islands of Adventure. We took today off from the parks to try and rest and relax. We still have a long way to go on our vacation.

Up Next:
Islands of Adventure
Pictures from other areas of the Royal Pacific
A stop at Portifino Bay

 

[Launchpad11B]

Get some sleep buddy. Don't overdue it and make yourself sick! Do I sound like your mother???!!! Have a great day today. Tell Anna, me and Jennie say hello!

 

[Mouse Skywalker]

Hi Everyone,

We are back from the RPR Luau. This report will be shorter than I want because, quite honestly I'm a bit tired and not feeling 100%. I think I got too much sun today.

Hey Aaron, sorry to hear you're feeling a bit run down. Take care of yourself buddy. Get some rest so you can make it through your vacation.

 

[Sooze]

Sure hope you're sleeping in today! Thanks for the luau report. Do you know why the Poly is ranked so low?

 

[ADP]

Sure hope you're sleeping in today! Thanks for the luau report. Do you know why the Poly is ranked so low?

I'm not exactly sure. It seemed like in the articles I read the Polynesian luau was raited lower because of the food, entertainment, price, and value.

 

[ADP]

Good morning everyone,

We are going to Islands of Adventure today. Later in the day we we'll head to Universal Studios.

I'm feeling better. Thanks Paul...Anna says hi back.

We plan on grabbing breakfast at the Crossiant Moon Bakery over at Islands of Adventure. I haven't mentioned this yet, but as a Universal resort guest you get automatic priority seating at all sit down restaurants on property. When we went to Margaritaville the other day there was a 25 minute wait for our party. When I told them I was a resort guest I got the next available table for our party size. We only waited 5 minutes. It was really nice!

We also plan on taking the boat over to Portifino Bay. The resort is beautiful and I like to just stroll around. We'll probably grab some lunch while we are there.

We plan on checking out a little early tomorrow to head over to the Animal Kingdom Villas.

 

[georgemoe]

Nice reports Aaron. Glad you are feeling better today. Deb says hello to you and Anna. Have a great day today!

 

[crazydisneyman]

Hi Everyone,

We are back from the RPR Luau. This report will be shorter than I want because, quite honestly I'm a bit tired and not feeling 100%. I think I got too much sun today.

...

The food is located in the back of the cove or seated areas. It's an all you care to eat buffet. Most of the food was asian/south pacific inspired. I didn't really find anything offensive. All the food was good. There was a carving station with a full pig roast and other meets. There was also a dessert table with dessert shots and many small tarts.

First of all, I am glad that you had a good time at the Luau. I like the idea of the buffet. Disney should consider that I think. It would make the dinner less chaotic and rushed.

I am glad that you didn't find anything offensive.

Interesting use of words there.

I hope you take at easy today. Three hours of Florida sun is alot. Have a great day! Tell Anna we said hello.

 

[Sooze]

I'm not exactly sure. It seemed like in the articles I read the Polynesian luau was raited lower because of the food, entertainment, price, and value.

Geez, that means EVERYTHING about it is sub-par... yikes!

 

[ADP]

Hi everyone

We are at The Portifino Resort enjoying some lunch at Sal's Deli. Afterwards we are going to grab some ice cream. This is a welcomed afternoon break. The Portifino is a beautiful resort. Viva Italia!!!!