AWilliams
Wishing on a star...
- Joined
- Aug 2, 2000
- Messages
- 325
Click Here for Trip Report with Photos:http://www.netamy.com/amyandjoe/travel/orlando404/orlando4042.htm
DAY 2: Monday, April 26th
Conference: Renaissance Orlando Resort at Seaworld
The alarm in the room was set for, but I got up early and turned it off. For the next three days I would be attending a conference at the Renaissance Orlando Resort at Seaworld. I headed down to the car and it was very pleasant out. I had directions, but didn't know which way to turn leaving the resort. I chose correctly and within minutes was on I Drive. It only took about 15 minutes to get to SeaWorld and there was barely any traffic. I glanced down at the clock it was an hour earlier than I had thought. The clock in the hotel room had been wrong!!! It worked out well because I was a bit late before and now I would be a bit early. The Renaissance Orlando was right across the street from SeaWorld. I caught a glimpse of Kraken and it looked cool. Parking for the conference was easy as was the registration. The resort was really beautiful, no theming, just really classy. Lunch wasn't that great (Mexican buffet), but I ate out by the pool and tried to work on my tan. A few more sessions and I was on my way back to the HRH. There is a ton of stuff along I Drive. I saw the Hard Rock Vault and tons of resorts and shopping!
Hard Rock Hotel: Beach Club
Joe spent his day at the Hard Rock Hotel Beach Club (pool). When I arrived back at the hotel he had racked up a nearly $50 bar tab! He should be good and ready to go on the rides at IOA now!!! We both really enjoyed the pool area at the Hard Rock. It was great to have servers take your food and drink orders at your chairs. There were also lots of different areas to sit in, sandy beach, tables&chairs, cabanas, etc. You needed to show your room key in order to get two towels and were given a wristband at that time. You also needed your room key to get into the pool area from the parks.
Islands Of Adventure (IOA)
This was the first time at IOA for the both of us. I really liked the theming as we walked through the Port of Entry. It felt like we were entering a distant land and added to the excitement. We went under the bridge and there it was.....I had been looking forward to riding the Hulk coaster for months and the time had finally arrived!! Joe decided he should watch and hold the camera while I rode. I got in line and was in the car in no time. Love that FOTH! The acceleration up the hill was great. From there the ride just flew by. I loved the tunnel and all the loops. It was a great rush. I got off with a huge grin on my face.
Next up was Spiderman. We almost bypassed the 3-D glasses pick-up since there was no line! In some parts of the queue we wondered if we had accidentally wandered into an unrestricted office area. It was quite realistic. This was a great ride! I even had to close my eyes a few times. We both gave it two thumbs up. On to the Jurassic Park River Adventure. Again there was no line. We were seated next to two kids who kept commenting on how fake everything looked the whole ride. It made it less fun for us, but I thought the ride was fantastic. We took in the scenery in the Jurassic Park area for a while.
Confisco
Joe hadn't eaten since breakfast, so we headed for Mythos. It was closed! I was really disappointed as this was one of only two places I had planned to eat. I'm not sure why it was closed and it was listed as open on the daily guide. We wanted a sit down dinner, so we decided on Confisco. The restaurant was pretty empty and we were seated right away. We didn't get a waitress for about 5 minutes though. The food and service were okay, but I wouldn't recommend the place. The bar next to the restaurant was full and looked like a fun place.
We planned to stay in the park until closing and we still had an hour to go. It was still hot out, so I suggested we try the water rides!! We headed to Ripsaw Falls, but it had broken down (we overheard that this happens quite frequently with this ride). So next was the Bilge Rats Barges. The ride vehicle was just like the Kali River Rapids at AK, but the ride was ten times wetter and faster!! When we got off we looked like like drowned rats! It was refreshing, but I hadn't dressed for the occasion and was quite soggy. I thought about going on Hulk to dry off, so we headed that way. Walking under the ride, Joe was struck by a falling quarter. It actually left an impression on his arm! Everyone around us scattered to grab the change. It looked like some of them stand there all day waiting. I decided I would rather dry off shopping, so we hit the store on the way out.
Hard Rock Hotel: Emack & Bolios
Our room was rather warm when we return, so I checked the thermostat and it was 71. I had set it to 65 (the lowest you can set it to), but it didn't seem to have enough power to cool off the room. Some areas of the hotel were very cool and others were quite hot. It would have been nice to be able to open the windows since it did cool off outside at night. We decided to stay "in" and take a tour of the hotel. Our first stop was ice cream at Emack & Bolios. It was pretty good. Joe had had breakfast here this morning and enjoyed the coffee and muffins. Next we stopped into the hotel gift shop. I liked watching the monitors with webcams at other Hard Rock locations. The shop attendant was very helpful and gave us info on some of the costumes and props in the hotel. I thought there would be more memorabilia around the hotel, but I think what was there was done well. We got back to the room and watched a little tv. I set the alarm and double checked the clock to make sure the time was still right (I had fixed it earlier)! Off to sleep.......
DAY 2: Monday, April 26th
Conference: Renaissance Orlando Resort at Seaworld
The alarm in the room was set for, but I got up early and turned it off. For the next three days I would be attending a conference at the Renaissance Orlando Resort at Seaworld. I headed down to the car and it was very pleasant out. I had directions, but didn't know which way to turn leaving the resort. I chose correctly and within minutes was on I Drive. It only took about 15 minutes to get to SeaWorld and there was barely any traffic. I glanced down at the clock it was an hour earlier than I had thought. The clock in the hotel room had been wrong!!! It worked out well because I was a bit late before and now I would be a bit early. The Renaissance Orlando was right across the street from SeaWorld. I caught a glimpse of Kraken and it looked cool. Parking for the conference was easy as was the registration. The resort was really beautiful, no theming, just really classy. Lunch wasn't that great (Mexican buffet), but I ate out by the pool and tried to work on my tan. A few more sessions and I was on my way back to the HRH. There is a ton of stuff along I Drive. I saw the Hard Rock Vault and tons of resorts and shopping!
Hard Rock Hotel: Beach Club
Joe spent his day at the Hard Rock Hotel Beach Club (pool). When I arrived back at the hotel he had racked up a nearly $50 bar tab! He should be good and ready to go on the rides at IOA now!!! We both really enjoyed the pool area at the Hard Rock. It was great to have servers take your food and drink orders at your chairs. There were also lots of different areas to sit in, sandy beach, tables&chairs, cabanas, etc. You needed to show your room key in order to get two towels and were given a wristband at that time. You also needed your room key to get into the pool area from the parks.
Islands Of Adventure (IOA)
This was the first time at IOA for the both of us. I really liked the theming as we walked through the Port of Entry. It felt like we were entering a distant land and added to the excitement. We went under the bridge and there it was.....I had been looking forward to riding the Hulk coaster for months and the time had finally arrived!! Joe decided he should watch and hold the camera while I rode. I got in line and was in the car in no time. Love that FOTH! The acceleration up the hill was great. From there the ride just flew by. I loved the tunnel and all the loops. It was a great rush. I got off with a huge grin on my face.
Next up was Spiderman. We almost bypassed the 3-D glasses pick-up since there was no line! In some parts of the queue we wondered if we had accidentally wandered into an unrestricted office area. It was quite realistic. This was a great ride! I even had to close my eyes a few times. We both gave it two thumbs up. On to the Jurassic Park River Adventure. Again there was no line. We were seated next to two kids who kept commenting on how fake everything looked the whole ride. It made it less fun for us, but I thought the ride was fantastic. We took in the scenery in the Jurassic Park area for a while.
Confisco
Joe hadn't eaten since breakfast, so we headed for Mythos. It was closed! I was really disappointed as this was one of only two places I had planned to eat. I'm not sure why it was closed and it was listed as open on the daily guide. We wanted a sit down dinner, so we decided on Confisco. The restaurant was pretty empty and we were seated right away. We didn't get a waitress for about 5 minutes though. The food and service were okay, but I wouldn't recommend the place. The bar next to the restaurant was full and looked like a fun place.
We planned to stay in the park until closing and we still had an hour to go. It was still hot out, so I suggested we try the water rides!! We headed to Ripsaw Falls, but it had broken down (we overheard that this happens quite frequently with this ride). So next was the Bilge Rats Barges. The ride vehicle was just like the Kali River Rapids at AK, but the ride was ten times wetter and faster!! When we got off we looked like like drowned rats! It was refreshing, but I hadn't dressed for the occasion and was quite soggy. I thought about going on Hulk to dry off, so we headed that way. Walking under the ride, Joe was struck by a falling quarter. It actually left an impression on his arm! Everyone around us scattered to grab the change. It looked like some of them stand there all day waiting. I decided I would rather dry off shopping, so we hit the store on the way out.
Hard Rock Hotel: Emack & Bolios
Our room was rather warm when we return, so I checked the thermostat and it was 71. I had set it to 65 (the lowest you can set it to), but it didn't seem to have enough power to cool off the room. Some areas of the hotel were very cool and others were quite hot. It would have been nice to be able to open the windows since it did cool off outside at night. We decided to stay "in" and take a tour of the hotel. Our first stop was ice cream at Emack & Bolios. It was pretty good. Joe had had breakfast here this morning and enjoyed the coffee and muffins. Next we stopped into the hotel gift shop. I liked watching the monitors with webcams at other Hard Rock locations. The shop attendant was very helpful and gave us info on some of the costumes and props in the hotel. I thought there would be more memorabilia around the hotel, but I think what was there was done well. We got back to the room and watched a little tv. I set the alarm and double checked the clock to make sure the time was still right (I had fixed it earlier)! Off to sleep.......
Wonderful pics too! Looking forward to reading more about your trip, keep 'em coming.
