Back from 1st visit to UO and PBH!

[crazymama]

Wow... what a great time we had! Loved UO...we had so much fun. I took on the DD and HULK and loved them both! I may be in my 40's now but not too old to go for those thrill rides! The parks didn't seen insanely busy... the wait times posted were usually around 15 minutes or less. But, it was still GREAT to have the express access. Every minute saved was another minute to do and see something else! I thought IOA was very cool... really liked the theming. Highlights were the above mentioned coasters, Spiderman (really fun), Ripsaw Falls (can you say SATURATED?) and, my 7 yr old DD's favourite the Flying Unicorn. The Mystic Fountain was fun to see and we liked Poseiden's Fury. It was a different kind of show!
Universal Studios was fun too. We had been to the one in California so some of it was familiar but I think the Mummy is better in Florida, at least as I can recall. Maybe it is just the same and only SEEMED more fun this time.
We ate at Margaritaville and Bubba Gumps. Both meals were good. No complaints. The atmosphere at Margaritaville was probably a bit more fun but the service at BG's was very good.

We really loved PBH! What a calm and serene place to return to after a wild day in the parks. It was very relaxing. We stayed Club level in a deluxe room and it was very nice. Lots of room to spread the 5 of us out. The food offerings in the club room were good. The pool is so nice... the kids loved it. We didn't have super hot weather much of the time we were there but Sunday the 18th and Wed the 21st were pretty good days for the pool. Polished off a couple of girlie drinks by the pool on those days. Yum. Also, really liked the pizza, salads and paninis at Sal's deli.

Well, that is it in a nutshell but, if anyone has any questions I will try to be of some help. I know how much this board helped me in planning this trip so if I can repay the favour, it would be great!

 

[damo]

Glad to hear you had a great time!

 

[goofie4goofy]

Thanks for posting! Glad you had a great time.

One of the things I love about UO is the on site hotels. You have the insanity of the theme parks but when you get back to the PBH you would never know you were at a theme park. I espically love the PBH too, very relaxing and serene.

I am in my 40's too and I love roller coasters and thrill rides........

You're never too old to act like a kid

 

[disneyfan67]

Thanks for posting and it sounds like you had a good trip. What's your over all impression of the PBH and did you get to see the other two resorts as well? Would you stay there again or try HRH or RPH? I'll be going in July for my first time and my family and I will also be staying at the PBH. Hard Rock was my first choice but there was no AAA rates available. The PBH seems like a real value with my rate, due to the bigger room size and the over all look of the resort. I'm still kind of partial to the look of the HRH and wish I could swing one of the club levels rooms there. I did get a good rate at PBH, so I can't complain.

I'm looking forward to this July and if all goes well, I'll be making a stay at Universal a mandatory part of my annual Disney vacations. I'm not a fan of open air roller coasters, but rides like the Mummy really have peaked my interest. Jurassic Park is also a must do on my list. I'm going to check out the other two resorts and see what appeals to me. Thanks again for posting.

 

[MSUBB1]

Thanks for the review! I would like to know what rides your 7 year old liked / disliked. We are going to Universal for the first time the first week of May (HRH can't wait!) and I have a DS 7 who is currently about 51 inches so the only things that he officially can't ride is the Hulk, DD, and Doc Doom. He is adventureous, although he hasn't been to a large theme park before (and this trip is going to be a total surprise!!)

So, looking for a little perspective on the rides from a 7 year old's point of view. (we also have a DS 5 that is 43 inches, but that is another story!)

Thanks!

 

[macraven]

thanks for sharing the excitement from your trip and stay at the hotel.


just consider yourself a little girl in a woman's body.
age is only in your mind.


i speak from authority on that.........

 

[bubba's mom]

Glad these boards were a help and you had a great time!!

 

[gopherit]

Thanks for the review! I would like to know what rides your 7 year old liked / disliked. We are going to Universal for the first time the first week of May (HRH can't wait!) and I have a DS 7 who is currently about 51 inches so the only things that he officially can't ride is the Hulk, DD, and Doc Doom. He is adventureous, although he hasn't been to a large theme park before (and this trip is going to be a total surprise!!)

So, looking for a little perspective on the rides from a 7 year old's point of view. (we also have a DS 5 that is 43 inches, but that is another story!)

Thanks!

We went in August with a dd who was 6 and 2 DS (9 and 11). They really loved Spidey, and all those water rides at IOA. (Plan to get REALLY WET!) Not many of us enjoyed Jurassic - but that's because (a) we had just gotten dried off, and this ride surprisingly got us all SOAKED - like, worse than Dudley's OR the Barges! ANd also becasue (b) the landing at the bottom was so rough (sudden impact) that DS11 hit his head on the chest restraint and frankly, I felt a bit jostled as well. OVer at US, they loved MIB, BTTF (sadly, closing this month! ) and the Shrek Movie. We thought Jimmy Neutorn was good, too (but we all think Carl Weezer is such a hoot anyway...). DS9 was disappointed in Twister and Jaws and has zero urge to do either ever again, LOL, but thought Earthquake was "ok". DS9 was juuuust tall enough to do Hulk and Dueling Dragons, and LOVED those, but ds11 (who was plenty tall enough for either) only did Hulk on his last day, poor kid - just not a big coaster fan! Our dd was 44" for our trip - there were a few things she couldn't do, but she enjoyed the daylights out of the things she COULD! And she is VERY eager to grow a few inches so she can join her dad and brothers on the Hulk.

I twas too funny, actually, on DUdleys - dd just met the height requirement, and was quite excited to ride, but started spatting with her brother over WHO would get to be in the VERY FRONT of the log. I didn't really want her in the front, becuase she's so light, I feared she might not hold on and fly right out! SO I had insisted that her brother sit in the first spot, then her, then me, then dad, then DS11 (who wanted to hide behind his dad anyway!) Well, as we approach the cue to board the log, I can see the attendant eyeing my sobbing dd, and no doubt thinking, "Those HORRID parents are FORCING this child to ride!" SO she stops us, measures dd and says, "Well, you pass - but if YOU DON'T WANT TO RIDE, why don't you nad your mom just step aside and let's discuss swapping options... " Well, this sent dd into a REAL tizzy - "WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DON'T GET OT RIDE? IT'S NOT FAIR!!!!!" I had to explain to the attendant that she wasn't crying out of fear - she was crying out of ANGER, and that the attendant was making her ANGRIER!! THe attendant understood and let us board, and the NEXT time through, she recognized us and made a big deal about letting dd ride up front (with me right behind her, clutching onto her shirt for good measure!!)

 

[crazymama]

Hi! Finally getting a chance to get back to some of your questions!

My overall impression of PBH was that it was very peaceful and classy. I know that some people see the decor as a bit cheesy. I can sort of understand that but I was more than happy to suspend my disbelief and pretend I was somewhere in Italy! I found the the service was good. People were very friendly and helpful. Checking in was a bit of a pain. We had to be out of Windsor Hills in the morning so showed up at PBH by 11:00. I realize this is way before check in and didn't expect the room to be ready. They said they would call me on the cell phone when the room was ready... any time between "now" and for sure by 4:00. We wanted a leisurely non-park day so had lunch at Sal's and then the rest of the family hung out by the pool for the afternoon. I just wandered around getting the "lay of the land." By 3:55 we still hadn't got a call which I thought was strange because the desk clerk had told me the hotel was not that full. I went to check and the room still wasn't ready. By now I was anxious to get our stuff in etc. The kiddies were done with swimming. So, the clerk gave a different room which she assured me was identical to the other (deluxe with pull out couch.) Hauled our bags up and the room did not have a pull out couch. So, they found us another room. In the end it was fine. Just seemed like a drawn out check in process.

I did go to the Hard Rock one day out of curiosity. The lobby and pool area seemed very nice. My impression was that it is much more revved up and busy. There is a completely different feel there from PBH. It would be fun to try someday but I was happy with our choice!

In terms of the rides that my 7 yo DD liked they would include:

US - Jimmy Neutron, Shrek 4D, Jaws, Woody's Rollercoaster, ET, and The Animal Actors Show
She also did Twister and BTTF which she was lukewarm on. She really hates loud noises so that is always a challenge. She didn't want to do Earthquake or MIB which I doubt she would have liked.

IOA- Spiderman, Ripsaw Falls, The Flying Unicorn, the Pterandon Flyer (can you say LONG WAIT for very little reward?), The Seuss Trolley and the Cat In the Hat.
She went into Poseidon's Fury which was okay but a bit loud for her. She didn't attempt Jurassic Park.

I hope that helps! I can't wait to go back sometime! Any other questions feel free to ask!

 

[gopherit]

My overall impression of PBH was that it was very peaceful and classy. I know that some people see the decor as a bit cheesy. I can sort of understand that but I was more than happy to suspend my disbelief and pretend I was somewhere in Italy! I found the the service was good. People were very friendly and helpful. Checking in was a bit of a pain. We had to be out of Windsor Hills in the morning so showed up at PBH by 11:00. I realize this is way before check in and didn't expect the room to be ready. They said they would call me on the cell phone when the room was ready... any time between "now" and for sure by 4:00. We wanted a leisurely non-park day so had lunch at Sal's and then the rest of the family hung out by the pool for the afternoon. I just wandered around getting the "lay of the land." By 3:55 we still hadn't got a call which I thought was strange because the desk clerk had told me the hotel was not that full. I went to check and the room still wasn't ready. By now I was anxious to get our stuff in etc. The kiddies were done with swimming. So, the clerk gave a different room which she assured me was identical to the other (deluxe with pull out couch.) Hauled our bags up and the room did not have a pull out couch. So, they found us another room. In the end it was fine. Just seemed like a drawn out check in process.

I did go to the Hard Rock one day out of curiosity. The lobby and pool area seemed very nice. My impression was that it is much more revved up and busy. There is a completely different feel there from PBH. It would be fun to try someday but I was happy with our choice!

How ironic - you were at PFB, wondering about HRH - and we were at HRH, wondering about PFB! While We loved our stay at HRH, in the end we decided that PFB would have been more our speed, LOL - we went over there to visit and loved it. HRH does have GREAT "field position", though - it was SO CONVENIENT! We found it so simple to take a mid-day break and walk back to the room, swim in the pool, then head back to the parks for dinner and evening fun. But we aren't exactly "hard Rockin' material", I guess. (Let's face it - rock stars ain't always beautiful, and my DS was greatly disturbed to wake up to a pensive Jimi staring down on him every morning! ) The decor at HRH was more eclectic, the enviro more "electric" than PFB... we thought PFB seemed so tranquil and relaxing! THe pool felt "cooler" at PFB too - HRH is so shallow, it heats up quickly in the sun. I was glad to see your comments about the staff there being good - that was the only neg thing I had heard re: PFB - some folks have complained of "snooty" or rude staff there (taken duly with a grain of salt). DH balked initially at the prices of the on-site hotels, but once he experienced FOTL, he was SOLD on it, and decided PFB would be GREAT! Did you look into RPR at all? We never went over there - but I think they don't have as good a fit for a fam of 5 like ours (or do they? Anone want to offer a comparison for us?!?) One thing I did recall wasthat RPR did NOT have a slide - always a requirement for my kids, LOL! Anyway - at HRH we had a deluxe 2Q room with sleeper sofa and that room was PERFECT for us. I toyed with Club Room but didn't do it - thinking now that might be a good deal, from a b'fast point of view, if nothing else! Maybe next time. FWIW - HRH did the SAME thing to us re: the phone call. We checked in at 9am, and then tooled around US, waiting for our room phone call - but it never came. At 4:30 I called - still not ready. 5 pm - still not ready. So we went back to the hotel at 6 and at the front desk, they acted like they had our room # ready a looooong time ago, and couldn't figure out why I was never called. Weird. But the staff there was very nice, very efficient, with a very helpful conceirge desk too. So if looking at Jimi every morning doesn't phase ya, you'll enjoy it!

Sorry - didn't mean to hijack your thread! PFB sounds lovely (we would be more than happy to pretend we're in Italy, too! : )

 

[Soccerpooh]

So sorry to "hijack" this thread, but I did a little searching on Storytime at Windsor Hills and noticed that you stayed at one of their townhomes on this trip. Do you mind sharing your experience? If you would like, PM me. (I was going to PM you, but I felt like I would be stalking you in some way! )
Glad to hear you enjoyed Universal- we LOVE it! Planning on spending a day or two there this trip!
TIA!!!!!

 

[crazymama]

Hey... stalk away! Well, we were very happy with the Story Time 2 townhouse. The location is very convenient both from the perspective of the distance from the WDW parks and the clubhouse/pool area. We were all of a 2 minute walk there. It was great. I don't know exactly where the other 3 Storytime places are located. It was well-supplied with towels and kitchen stuff (except for the lack of dishcloths.. which I told Villa Direct about!). It was clean and very comfortable. There were a couple of glitches. For example, there were smokers next door for the first couple of days and they would smoke on the patio which drifted right into our area. It was really pretty thick and my son is asthmatic. Not great. The sign posted in the townhouse stated that smoking was allowed on the patios so we didn't have a leg to stand on. Oh well... they checked out on the third day and no one else moved in for the rest of our stay.

There had been some concerns in the past from other posters who had some ant invasion problems but, we had no such issues. No critters bugged us... saw the occasional little lizard outside which the kids loved!

Checking in at Villa Direct was very user friendly... even after hours... as was dropping off the keys. There was a Publix about a couple of miles down the 192 and lots of restaurants etc in the vicinity.

We would happily stay there again. It was soooo nice to come home to a place where we could all stretch out in our own space and have an oasis of calm after the busy busy days at the parks! If you have any other questions feel free to ask away!

 

[Soccerpooh]

Thanks so much for the quick reply! I am so glad to hear you enjoyed your stay! You answered a lot of my questions, but i may PM you as our vacation gets closer with questions. There is a thread over at Orlando Hotels and Attractions specifically about Storytime Orlando Rentals. If you could post a review over there and tell of your stay that would be great- cannot find much specifics on Storybook on these boards! Thanks again!

 

[Akdar]

Have you tried <a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com" target="_blank"style="text-decoration:none; color:red">Trip Advisor</a>

I always check with this site when swapping out a Timeshare.