I'd like to share my trip experience and thank everyone for the tips I picked up on this site.
We spent May 1-7 at Universal, staying at Hard Rock Hotel. Our group consisted of myself, husband, 2 stepssons (14 and 18) and my MIL. We had 2 adjoining rooms on the Club 7 level and enjoyed the services there immensely. I believe that we actually saved money by taking advantage of the daily breakfast, happy hour and dessert hour and I KNOW we saved $ by traveling after the Spring break. We used Tiffany Towncar Service round trip and found them prompt and definitely user-friendly. Since it was our first time with them we qualified for a $5 coupon, reducing our overall cost.
Not the types to rise and shine too early, we did find that IOA was far more crowded than US in general - however with the advantage of the express pass we seldom had to wait for any of the rides. The boys certainly enjoyed riding all the roller coasters (not for me, thanks!) as many times as their stomachs would allow. On Tuesday we managed to make it to IOA shortly after 8 AM and we were able to enjoy Forbidden Journey with no line whatsoever! (The boys repeated this on Thursday, again no line.) Similarly, at Universal the kids rode HRRR more times than I would have thought possible. Amusing note - my MIL was a featured player in the Monster Makeup Show.
Lunches were trips to Whopper Bar, Moe's, Panda; dinners at Margaritaville, Bubba Gumps, Bob Marley (one of the best and least expensive), Hard Rock Cafe and The Kitchen at HRH (where we met Homer Simpson and Scooby Doo!). Quick note about Hard Rock Cafe - one of the employees at the Rock Shop at HRH told us about a VIP tour that's available for free at the Cafe, featuring John Lennon's and other rock memorabilia. Not always available, depending on other events taking place, but definitely worth it if you can arrange it. Our docent, BK, was outstanding. Another feature at HRH was a commplimentary shuttle to Sea World, which we enjoyed on Wednesday.
All in all one of our best vacations ever - can't wait to go back!
We spent May 1-7 at Universal, staying at Hard Rock Hotel. Our group consisted of myself, husband, 2 stepssons (14 and 18) and my MIL. We had 2 adjoining rooms on the Club 7 level and enjoyed the services there immensely. I believe that we actually saved money by taking advantage of the daily breakfast, happy hour and dessert hour and I KNOW we saved $ by traveling after the Spring break. We used Tiffany Towncar Service round trip and found them prompt and definitely user-friendly. Since it was our first time with them we qualified for a $5 coupon, reducing our overall cost.
Not the types to rise and shine too early, we did find that IOA was far more crowded than US in general - however with the advantage of the express pass we seldom had to wait for any of the rides. The boys certainly enjoyed riding all the roller coasters (not for me, thanks!) as many times as their stomachs would allow. On Tuesday we managed to make it to IOA shortly after 8 AM and we were able to enjoy Forbidden Journey with no line whatsoever! (The boys repeated this on Thursday, again no line.) Similarly, at Universal the kids rode HRRR more times than I would have thought possible. Amusing note - my MIL was a featured player in the Monster Makeup Show.
Lunches were trips to Whopper Bar, Moe's, Panda; dinners at Margaritaville, Bubba Gumps, Bob Marley (one of the best and least expensive), Hard Rock Cafe and The Kitchen at HRH (where we met Homer Simpson and Scooby Doo!). Quick note about Hard Rock Cafe - one of the employees at the Rock Shop at HRH told us about a VIP tour that's available for free at the Cafe, featuring John Lennon's and other rock memorabilia. Not always available, depending on other events taking place, but definitely worth it if you can arrange it. Our docent, BK, was outstanding. Another feature at HRH was a commplimentary shuttle to Sea World, which we enjoyed on Wednesday.
All in all one of our best vacations ever - can't wait to go back!
