After getting the news about Jaws so glad we made it there before it closed!
Strange thing is while we were there my son said he had a feeling this announcement was coming so he insisted on riding it as much as he could.
If you are going in the next few weeks ride it at night it's even better.
Ok, first things first: Royal Pacfic Resort was beautiful, we felt like we were in Hawaii, the landscaping is breathtaking. The service was second to none. From the moment we stepped out of the shuttle to the moment we left we were treated like royalty. Every employee we encountered was super nice and friendly from the housekeeping staff to the restaurant staff. Check-in was unusually fast and efficient and hassle free. Since I was paying cash for everything and had already prepaid the stay I was expecting to still have to leave a cash deposit for incidentals but nope, she said not necessary! I was like what? You are not afraid we will run off with the furniture,lol.
Unfortunately we did not get any of the rooms I requested BUT the clerk made sure we were happy with the room we DID get and we were very satisfied. We ended up in Tower 2 on the top floor with a great view if IOA and the Hulk coaster. We had a corner room next to ice machine room and away from the elevators, very quiet and that's what we wanted. In fact the whole 6 night we were there we never heard a sound except for people returning to their rooms in the evening and even that was rare.
Yes the room was small but we were only 2 people and we were not in the room that much anyway. The room was pretty and when we first entered there was even a tropical smell in the room. The only complaint we had was you can't adjust the ac yourself and we found it warmer than we like but we called the front desk and it was immediately adjusted by maitenance and I mean within 5 mins it was done!
Housekeeping was fantastic, lots of towels, rooms always made up on time and so friendly.
We ate at Jakes the first day, great food and service. Ate the buffet breakfast a few times bit it became boring after a few days so ordered off the menu, eggs benedict was soooo good. Can't comment on dinner anywhere there because we ate at the parks or Citywalk every night.It was nice to get a Starbucks coffee in the morning in the Orchid Lounge.The only complaint is they need a minimart or food place of some type for late night snacks to get pizza etc because there isn't anything except room service which can really be expensive. There are 2 gift shops but only chips, pop, ice cream and candy to eat there.
The Ferry shuttle was wonderful and so nice to be so close to the parks. We hardly ever had to wait more than 10 mins and usually only about 5. Drivers were great. You can walk through the path but its a long walk for slow pokes like myself.
The pool area is beautiful but never had a chance to use it but looked like fun!
If we do go back this is the only hotel for us from now, was our first stay but not our last.
Early Entry; Believe it or not we never used it, never needed it.We have been to US several times so we could do the parks in half the time newcomers did it. We were going to use it for one day for WWOHP but we just happened to wander over to IOA on our first day there at around 5:30pm and there was only a 10 minute wait for FJ....we were shocked...fyi..it was a Saturday. 3 days later on a Tuesday, whole different story,lol....always a long wait. But here is a well kept secret that not too many people know about....
if you are a small party of 2 or 3 use the SINGLE RIDER LINE!!!! If you don't mind sitting next to a stranger it is the fastest way to get on the ride, seriously!!! Now make sure you take turns using this line or make sure you don't let on you know each other lol...TRUST ME ON THIS....my son rode it several times in a row when there was a 90 min. wait. He literally waited only a few mins and a couple times walked right on!
Now as for me? I could only ride it the one time because unfortunately it made me really nauseous for two hours after and I couldn't tell you what the ride was all about because I had my eyes closed the whole time as I felt queasy right from the get go! So if you are prone to motion sickness I do not recommend this ride. My son said it was very cool!
Another well kept secret is get your Butterbeer from the Hoggs Head Tavern instead of the outside carts...the lineups are very long and slow moving at the carts and there is always just a short line up in the tavern.
Ok let me tell you the Butterbeer is soooo delicious and addictive.
The village itself is so cool and I enjoyed just sitting and taking in the atmosphere and hearing the soundtrack. It does get very crowded especially in the giftshops, they sure made them tiny!
Both parks were moderately busy but the first 2 days we didn't use the express pass, it wasn't busy enough and we felt stupid doing so. But when it picked up it came in handy and we used it alot. We loved the perk of having our packages sent to our hotel.
Restaurants: Louis Pizzaria in US has the best pizza, we ate at Lombard's Landing with had great food and service. As usual Monster's Cafe was closed, disapointed yet again, we have yet to eat there it is always closed no matter what time of year we go.
At IOA: Mythos was a real disapointment, food was mediocre and service very slow. and there is no atmosphere, it's just as if you are eating in a cave, big deal, our waiter had zero personality.
At Citywalk we ate at Emerils which we loved last time but was terrible this time food wise. Service was fine,almost too fast like they wanted us in and out quickly and the food was rather bland.
Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville on the other hand was awesome!!! Food the best meal we had and service fantastic, our waiter Baker was a hoot and atmosphere was fun. We also ate at Hard Rock which was pretty good and Nascar which was just ok food wise.
We had a super time overall, must have rode JAWS a dozen times, sad it's leaving....we were planning another trip in about about a year but probably won't go back unless they replace it with something aweome and hopefully not another motion simulator ride that I can't enjoy! If they get rid of ET that will be the end of my trips to US I am afraid. First Kong, then BTTF now Jaws, it's just not as much fun in my opinion. But then I am old lol....don't like the new rides that make me feel ill. But my 22 yr old son feels the same way about Jaws. If I had the money we would go back over the holidays just to ride JAWS one more time.
For those wondering about purchasing tickets from Undercover Tourist, do it, we did and had no problems with our tickets.
It is very depressing being back home in the cold, I want to live in Florida!
Strange thing is while we were there my son said he had a feeling this announcement was coming so he insisted on riding it as much as he could.
If you are going in the next few weeks ride it at night it's even better.
Ok, first things first: Royal Pacfic Resort was beautiful, we felt like we were in Hawaii, the landscaping is breathtaking. The service was second to none. From the moment we stepped out of the shuttle to the moment we left we were treated like royalty. Every employee we encountered was super nice and friendly from the housekeeping staff to the restaurant staff. Check-in was unusually fast and efficient and hassle free. Since I was paying cash for everything and had already prepaid the stay I was expecting to still have to leave a cash deposit for incidentals but nope, she said not necessary! I was like what? You are not afraid we will run off with the furniture,lol.
Unfortunately we did not get any of the rooms I requested BUT the clerk made sure we were happy with the room we DID get and we were very satisfied. We ended up in Tower 2 on the top floor with a great view if IOA and the Hulk coaster. We had a corner room next to ice machine room and away from the elevators, very quiet and that's what we wanted. In fact the whole 6 night we were there we never heard a sound except for people returning to their rooms in the evening and even that was rare.
Yes the room was small but we were only 2 people and we were not in the room that much anyway. The room was pretty and when we first entered there was even a tropical smell in the room. The only complaint we had was you can't adjust the ac yourself and we found it warmer than we like but we called the front desk and it was immediately adjusted by maitenance and I mean within 5 mins it was done!
Housekeeping was fantastic, lots of towels, rooms always made up on time and so friendly.
We ate at Jakes the first day, great food and service. Ate the buffet breakfast a few times bit it became boring after a few days so ordered off the menu, eggs benedict was soooo good. Can't comment on dinner anywhere there because we ate at the parks or Citywalk every night.It was nice to get a Starbucks coffee in the morning in the Orchid Lounge.The only complaint is they need a minimart or food place of some type for late night snacks to get pizza etc because there isn't anything except room service which can really be expensive. There are 2 gift shops but only chips, pop, ice cream and candy to eat there.
The Ferry shuttle was wonderful and so nice to be so close to the parks. We hardly ever had to wait more than 10 mins and usually only about 5. Drivers were great. You can walk through the path but its a long walk for slow pokes like myself.
The pool area is beautiful but never had a chance to use it but looked like fun!
If we do go back this is the only hotel for us from now, was our first stay but not our last.
Early Entry; Believe it or not we never used it, never needed it.We have been to US several times so we could do the parks in half the time newcomers did it. We were going to use it for one day for WWOHP but we just happened to wander over to IOA on our first day there at around 5:30pm and there was only a 10 minute wait for FJ....we were shocked...fyi..it was a Saturday. 3 days later on a Tuesday, whole different story,lol....always a long wait. But here is a well kept secret that not too many people know about....
if you are a small party of 2 or 3 use the SINGLE RIDER LINE!!!! If you don't mind sitting next to a stranger it is the fastest way to get on the ride, seriously!!! Now make sure you take turns using this line or make sure you don't let on you know each other lol...TRUST ME ON THIS....my son rode it several times in a row when there was a 90 min. wait. He literally waited only a few mins and a couple times walked right on!
Now as for me? I could only ride it the one time because unfortunately it made me really nauseous for two hours after and I couldn't tell you what the ride was all about because I had my eyes closed the whole time as I felt queasy right from the get go! So if you are prone to motion sickness I do not recommend this ride. My son said it was very cool!
Another well kept secret is get your Butterbeer from the Hoggs Head Tavern instead of the outside carts...the lineups are very long and slow moving at the carts and there is always just a short line up in the tavern.
Ok let me tell you the Butterbeer is soooo delicious and addictive.
The village itself is so cool and I enjoyed just sitting and taking in the atmosphere and hearing the soundtrack. It does get very crowded especially in the giftshops, they sure made them tiny!
Both parks were moderately busy but the first 2 days we didn't use the express pass, it wasn't busy enough and we felt stupid doing so. But when it picked up it came in handy and we used it alot. We loved the perk of having our packages sent to our hotel.
Restaurants: Louis Pizzaria in US has the best pizza, we ate at Lombard's Landing with had great food and service. As usual Monster's Cafe was closed, disapointed yet again, we have yet to eat there it is always closed no matter what time of year we go.
At IOA: Mythos was a real disapointment, food was mediocre and service very slow. and there is no atmosphere, it's just as if you are eating in a cave, big deal, our waiter had zero personality.
At Citywalk we ate at Emerils which we loved last time but was terrible this time food wise. Service was fine,almost too fast like they wanted us in and out quickly and the food was rather bland.
Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville on the other hand was awesome!!! Food the best meal we had and service fantastic, our waiter Baker was a hoot and atmosphere was fun. We also ate at Hard Rock which was pretty good and Nascar which was just ok food wise.
We had a super time overall, must have rode JAWS a dozen times, sad it's leaving....we were planning another trip in about about a year but probably won't go back unless they replace it with something aweome and hopefully not another motion simulator ride that I can't enjoy! If they get rid of ET that will be the end of my trips to US I am afraid. First Kong, then BTTF now Jaws, it's just not as much fun in my opinion. But then I am old lol....don't like the new rides that make me feel ill. But my 22 yr old son feels the same way about Jaws. If I had the money we would go back over the holidays just to ride JAWS one more time.
For those wondering about purchasing tickets from Undercover Tourist, do it, we did and had no problems with our tickets.
It is very depressing being back home in the cold, I want to live in Florida!
