AWilliams
Wishing on a star...
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2000
- Messages
- 325
Click Here For Trip Report with Photos:Amy & Joe do Universal - Day 1
Jet Blue
Our alarm went off at 4:00, but I was already up and getting ready to go. We left the house at 5:00, but didn't get into the airport until 6:00 (had to take a shuttle from the parking lot). Our flight left at 6:45, so we were late!!! We were rushed through check-in, but then held up at security. We finally made it into the plane about 10 minutes before it was to depart. With all that rushing around I didn't even have a chance to get nervous about the flight. The leather seats were great and the flight wasn't booked, so we had an extra seat in our row. The Direct TV was also very cool and helped to pass the time. The flight was smooth and we landed a half hour earlier than expected!
Avis
We picked up our luggage and made our way to the Avis desk. There were a few people in line in front of us, but it went quickly. The car was in the garage right outside the door, very convenient. I received a conference rate, but had to get a compact (Cavalier). It was tiny and hard to drive after being use to an SUV! We had great directions and were at the Hard Rock Hotel in about 20 minutes!!
Hard Rock Hotel
As we pulled up to the front of the resort we saw the guitar fountain and the place looked really beautiful. We parked at the entrance and went to check-in. There was no line and our room was ready! We parked the car ourselves and carried our luggage to our room. The parking lots were great and I always found a spot really close to the door. Our room was not in the best condition. The carpets, furniture, etc all looked a bit worn. We also had no view (hotel roofline pretty much). Since there was no balcony and we didn't plan to spend any time in the room, we figured it was good enough. We were still in our "northeast" clothes, so we changed and headed for the pool!
The pool area was bigger than I had pictured. We had a few drinks and then went for a swim. I was surprised at how close we were to everything. All the parks, resorts, and CityWalk were within a ten minute walk of the HRH. We did take the boat a couple of nights though.
Universal Studios
This was my first trip to Universal Studios, but Joe had been once before. We made our way to Jaws as our first ride of the trip. Since we were staying on site we had Front of the Line privileges for every ride. We never waited for more than 10 minutes to go on anything the whole trip. This was an incredible perk! Next, we went on Earthquake. We stopped at Finnegan's for lunch. The food and atmosphere were great (there was a guy playing Irish tunes). Joe went out to catch part of the Blue's Brothers show. We walked around for a while checking out all the buildings and back lot stuff. Finally, we went on Twister which was my favorite ride of the day. Joe's favorite was Jaws. It was really hot out, so we headed back to the hotel for another swim. When we got back to the room our complementary wine and nuts had arrived. We put it into the minibar to drink later.
Margaritaville
Margaritaville was our first stop at CityWalk. I had never been to one and was really looking forward to it! We had a few Margaritas at the volcano bar and then ate dinner on the patio. For entertainment they had a guy playing Buffett music and people on stilts making parrothead balloon hats for everyone. We walked around Citywalk for a while, but it had been a long day, so we headed back to the resort and fell right asleep.
Jet Blue
Our alarm went off at 4:00, but I was already up and getting ready to go. We left the house at 5:00, but didn't get into the airport until 6:00 (had to take a shuttle from the parking lot). Our flight left at 6:45, so we were late!!! We were rushed through check-in, but then held up at security. We finally made it into the plane about 10 minutes before it was to depart. With all that rushing around I didn't even have a chance to get nervous about the flight. The leather seats were great and the flight wasn't booked, so we had an extra seat in our row. The Direct TV was also very cool and helped to pass the time. The flight was smooth and we landed a half hour earlier than expected!
Avis
We picked up our luggage and made our way to the Avis desk. There were a few people in line in front of us, but it went quickly. The car was in the garage right outside the door, very convenient. I received a conference rate, but had to get a compact (Cavalier). It was tiny and hard to drive after being use to an SUV! We had great directions and were at the Hard Rock Hotel in about 20 minutes!!
Hard Rock Hotel
As we pulled up to the front of the resort we saw the guitar fountain and the place looked really beautiful. We parked at the entrance and went to check-in. There was no line and our room was ready! We parked the car ourselves and carried our luggage to our room. The parking lots were great and I always found a spot really close to the door. Our room was not in the best condition. The carpets, furniture, etc all looked a bit worn. We also had no view (hotel roofline pretty much). Since there was no balcony and we didn't plan to spend any time in the room, we figured it was good enough. We were still in our "northeast" clothes, so we changed and headed for the pool!
The pool area was bigger than I had pictured. We had a few drinks and then went for a swim. I was surprised at how close we were to everything. All the parks, resorts, and CityWalk were within a ten minute walk of the HRH. We did take the boat a couple of nights though.
Universal Studios
This was my first trip to Universal Studios, but Joe had been once before. We made our way to Jaws as our first ride of the trip. Since we were staying on site we had Front of the Line privileges for every ride. We never waited for more than 10 minutes to go on anything the whole trip. This was an incredible perk! Next, we went on Earthquake. We stopped at Finnegan's for lunch. The food and atmosphere were great (there was a guy playing Irish tunes). Joe went out to catch part of the Blue's Brothers show. We walked around for a while checking out all the buildings and back lot stuff. Finally, we went on Twister which was my favorite ride of the day. Joe's favorite was Jaws. It was really hot out, so we headed back to the hotel for another swim. When we got back to the room our complementary wine and nuts had arrived. We put it into the minibar to drink later.
Margaritaville
Margaritaville was our first stop at CityWalk. I had never been to one and was really looking forward to it! We had a few Margaritas at the volcano bar and then ate dinner on the patio. For entertainment they had a guy playing Buffett music and people on stilts making parrothead balloon hats for everyone. We walked around Citywalk for a while, but it had been a long day, so we headed back to the resort and fell right asleep.
