ADP Live From Universal

[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 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 wortha 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

 

[Mad Hattered]

Excellent report! Looks wonderful!

 

[macraven]

Excellent report! Looks wonderful!

i saw you on the food porn thread.

you should have just said, Cardinals rule......




and Robert, to keep on topic, this is a fantastic report!!

 

[ADP]

Thanks Mac & Everyone for your kind words.

Good morning everyone,

We are going to Islands of Adventure today. Later in the day we we'll head to Universal Studios. We plan on grabbing breakfast at IOA over at the Croissant Moon Bakery.

We also plan on taking the boat over to Portifino Bay later. 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.

 

[ADP]

Hi Everyone,

We are back from our morning//afternoon. We went to Islands of Adventure and then over to Portifino Bay for lunch. We are now back in our room for an afternoon rest. We will be headed to Universal Studios later this evening.

Islands of Adventure was somewhat crowded this morning. Here is a shot of the crowd and Spiderman wait time.

Spiderman wait time....45 minutes in the stand-by line and 5 minutes in the Express line.

Here are some attraction wait times at around Noon today

On our way around the Islands of Adventure we stopped and paid a visit to the talking water fountain. This guy shoots water everywhere at guests. Anna got soaked!

I mentioned this on Facebook, but Islands of Adventure is thick with Thing 1, 2, 3, and 4 merchandise. It's everywhere. It must be a big draw for Universal.

Some of the best views at Islands of Adventure can be found in Jurassic Park. The viewing areas are hidden, but if you look around you can find them.
Here one behind the Burger Digs restaurant

After we left Islands of Adventure we went to visit the beautiful Portifino Bay Resort. This place is gorgeous and because I'm Italian I like it even more.
Here are a couple shots of the resort. There are a lot of Italian flags waving around the resort.

We had lunch at Sal's Deli. The pizza was pretty good.

After we left Sal's we walked around a little more and enjoyed the courtyard. We took the boat back to City Walk where we transferred to the Royal Pacific Resort boat. Later we are going to Universal Studios one last time to get in a couple more attractions.

More to come later!

 

[ADP]

Hi Everyone,

We went to Universal Studios tonight, but some storms rolled through so we cut our evening short. We were able to hit the ice cream shop at Universal Studios and ride the Simpsons and Jimmy Neutron before we had to leave.

During our short time at the park I did manage to snap this picture of the Simpsons attraction.

Tonight is our last night at the Royal Pacific. We really enjoyed our time here. The staff is great, and everyone was very helpful. Our room was in great shape with a flat panel TV. The room sizes are standard, but they are well appointed. The resort amenities are very good. And I'd be amiss if I didn't mention the front of the line access at the theme parks. It saved us soooo much time. It made our vacation so much more relaxed. I'd highly suggest staying onsite; especially during the months when schools are out. The pool is very nice and very large. Big enough to accommodate the entire resort.

Here's a shot I took just roaming around the resort. You'll find a lot of spots around the resort to relax and escape the everyday hustle and bustle of life.

Anna and I got a chance to meet Laura tonight. Thanks Laura for meeting us. It was a pleasure meeting you and sharing our stories.

Tomorrow we are moving to AKV. One of our favorite resorts. We plan to spend a lot of time at the resort since we want to avoid the heat and crowds in the afternoon hours.

More to come!

Next Up:
Checking in at AKV
Uzuma Springs Pool
Downtown Disney
Dinner at Raglan Road

 

[ADP]

Thursday, July 30th

Hi Everyone,

We've transitioned from Universal to Disney World. We checked into AKV Jambo a little while ago. The resort is still very beautiful. We are planning on heading down to the pool, and then later heading over to Downtown Disney for some shopping and dinner. On Saturday we are moving up to the Kilamanjaro Club Level. We are really looking forward to it.

We had some friends who live near us in Indy drive us from Universal to Disney World. They even made a stop for us at the nearby Wal-Mart on 535. We can't thank them enough!

Here are some photos I took as we transitioned between the resorts.
The RPR check-in check-out desk

The courtyard near the RPR lobby

The main entrance to the resort. A bridge lined with frogs welcoming you to the South Pacific

And finally, walking into the lobby of AKV for the first time. Nothing beats the feeling of walking into this resort lobby. The resort has a distinct smell that seems to welcome you and reminds you your on vacation.

I'll be back with more later from Downtown Disney and Raglan Road.

For now I'm going to stop my trip report here since we left Universal, but feel free to click on the link in my signature. You can follow the rest of our Disney World vacation on the podcast forum.