I'm a little late, but....with the holiday's and all, hope you'll excuse this tardy report!
We had the pleasure of staying at Portofino Bay 12/5 - 8. We had a wonderful time!
Our trip started off with SNOW at Boston's Logan Airport. After a 2 hour delay, we were finally able to board, and sat on the plan for an hour waiting to be deiced before heading down the run way. To add some additional pain and frustration the entire Winchester High School Band was also on-board our plane! They were good kids, just wound up, noisy and didn't like staying in their assigned seats! Much to our delight, we finally touched down in Orlando shortly after 1 AM on 12/6.
We drove to Portofino Bay and checked in around 2 AM. The lobby was very nice, although part of it was curtained off, under construction "for our future enjoyment". The front desk staff was excellent and went out of their way to find a great room for us. Thanks to these boards, we came well equipped with lowes, fan cllub and entertainment cards! We had an Entertainment rate of $170. a night in a deluxe bay view room. We were granted an upgrade to a pool view villa. Room was on the second floor (really ground level) and was a beautiful room. I honestly can't remember the room number right now. It was very spacious. Loved the bath! The BED, ahhhhh...that was a real treat! At 5'3" I literally had to hop up to climb into bed each evening, but the bed and bedding were so comfortable! Room had a great sound system and our own personal fax machine!
As expected, we were starving by the time we got to the hotel. We had split a turkey roll up at the airport, thinking we would be in Orlando by 11 and able to get a quick bite on the way to the hotel. WRONG. All the places to grab something to eat at Logan had closed...they didn't care that hundreds of people were still millling around waiting for planes! So, we opted for burgers at 2 AM. They arrived by 2:30, and $60. later we were enjoying them in our room. Oh, the $60., did include 2 bottles of mineral water! Most expensive hamburger I've ever eaten! Looking over the room service menu I had to chuckle...they have a pet room service menu page!! (should have faxed that back to the office!)
Firday, 12/6 ..no sun, some misty rain and COLD!! We went to Islands of Adventure. Where were the people?? We were amazed at how low the crowds were. We had no desire to get wet, too cold, and no desire to be whipped around on the roller coasters, so we opted for spider man. Great ride! We used our room key for fast access, but really didn't need it...Our vehicle wasn't even full!
OK, after all the talk on these boards about Mythos (spelling?) we set out to find this place for a late lunch. We were misdirected by at least 3 staff members. We finally found the place only to be told it was closed that day for a private party...boo hoo! Why can't everyone be informed of these things, so the first person we asked could have told us don't bother trying to find it because it was closed? A minor inconvenience, but still annoying!
Seuss landing...Adorable! All the who's from whoville were walking about talking with the guests. The Whobulation was a wonderful show and the grinch was very good! I can't imagine how long each of these people spend in makeup each day!
A word about transportation...We LOVED the boat system. Very convenient, and we never waited more than 5 minutes for a boat to arrived. Fantastic that that it takes you to City walk and you're only a short walk to either the studios or IOA. We loved how the parks were so close to each other and just an easy stroll between them! City Walk was all decked out for the holidays and was quite festive in the evenings.
We tried Ma Ma Della's for Dinner. A great place. Our waiter was Vinny...and he was a real character! Really got into his part. We met ma ma too. Our food was great and we really enjoyed our evening here.
Saturday, 127 - SUN...but still cool. Went to the Studios. There wasn't anyone here! No waits for ANY rides. MIB...we stayed on for2 turns...no one waiting! Loved this ride. much better than Buzz at MK. More adult themed, and lots of theming that made your laugh. We were finally able to ride Jaws, every time we've been to the studio's Jaw's was down. Can't say we were that impressed! Not much has changed in this park, but we did really enjoy the ghost buster and blues brothers christmas shows.
5 months ago I made reservations at Emeril's. We had a very nice dinner here, but in all honesty I don't think I would bother going back again. Service was good, but very rushed. Food was good, but not memorable. We don't mind paying $$'s for good food, but frankly we flet a bit ripped off after dropping $260. for the evening. The cheapest bottle of wine on their menu was $65. I've had better food at WDW. Maybe it was just an off day in the kitchen. I had buffalo, and it was on the tough side. Had buffalo later on in the week at Artist Pointe/Wilderness Lodge/WDW and it melted in my mouth. It was also $25. cheaper than Emeril's! Glad we tried it though.
Room Key front of the line access...what a great perk...of course, the parks were dead and we really didn't need it, but if you're there during busy periods it would be great!
We will be back...we really enjoyed Portofino bay. Very comfortable and Excellent Service. Every staff member went out of their way to make us feel welcome. We got our welcome gift of a bottle of Wine.
We had the special 5 day park tickets. On our last evening we upgraded to an annual pass for $15. additional per ticket. That's quite a bargin! We paid $89. for the tickets originally. We plan to be back in Orlando next fall and Christmas season.
Thank you all for all the wonderful information you shared that helped to enhance our Universal vacation experience!
Peggy Sue
We had the pleasure of staying at Portofino Bay 12/5 - 8. We had a wonderful time!
Our trip started off with SNOW at Boston's Logan Airport. After a 2 hour delay, we were finally able to board, and sat on the plan for an hour waiting to be deiced before heading down the run way. To add some additional pain and frustration the entire Winchester High School Band was also on-board our plane! They were good kids, just wound up, noisy and didn't like staying in their assigned seats! Much to our delight, we finally touched down in Orlando shortly after 1 AM on 12/6.
We drove to Portofino Bay and checked in around 2 AM. The lobby was very nice, although part of it was curtained off, under construction "for our future enjoyment". The front desk staff was excellent and went out of their way to find a great room for us. Thanks to these boards, we came well equipped with lowes, fan cllub and entertainment cards! We had an Entertainment rate of $170. a night in a deluxe bay view room. We were granted an upgrade to a pool view villa. Room was on the second floor (really ground level) and was a beautiful room. I honestly can't remember the room number right now. It was very spacious. Loved the bath! The BED, ahhhhh...that was a real treat! At 5'3" I literally had to hop up to climb into bed each evening, but the bed and bedding were so comfortable! Room had a great sound system and our own personal fax machine!
As expected, we were starving by the time we got to the hotel. We had split a turkey roll up at the airport, thinking we would be in Orlando by 11 and able to get a quick bite on the way to the hotel. WRONG. All the places to grab something to eat at Logan had closed...they didn't care that hundreds of people were still millling around waiting for planes! So, we opted for burgers at 2 AM. They arrived by 2:30, and $60. later we were enjoying them in our room. Oh, the $60., did include 2 bottles of mineral water! Most expensive hamburger I've ever eaten! Looking over the room service menu I had to chuckle...they have a pet room service menu page!! (should have faxed that back to the office!)
Firday, 12/6 ..no sun, some misty rain and COLD!! We went to Islands of Adventure. Where were the people?? We were amazed at how low the crowds were. We had no desire to get wet, too cold, and no desire to be whipped around on the roller coasters, so we opted for spider man. Great ride! We used our room key for fast access, but really didn't need it...Our vehicle wasn't even full!
OK, after all the talk on these boards about Mythos (spelling?) we set out to find this place for a late lunch. We were misdirected by at least 3 staff members. We finally found the place only to be told it was closed that day for a private party...boo hoo! Why can't everyone be informed of these things, so the first person we asked could have told us don't bother trying to find it because it was closed? A minor inconvenience, but still annoying!
Seuss landing...Adorable! All the who's from whoville were walking about talking with the guests. The Whobulation was a wonderful show and the grinch was very good! I can't imagine how long each of these people spend in makeup each day!
A word about transportation...We LOVED the boat system. Very convenient, and we never waited more than 5 minutes for a boat to arrived. Fantastic that that it takes you to City walk and you're only a short walk to either the studios or IOA. We loved how the parks were so close to each other and just an easy stroll between them! City Walk was all decked out for the holidays and was quite festive in the evenings.
We tried Ma Ma Della's for Dinner. A great place. Our waiter was Vinny...and he was a real character! Really got into his part. We met ma ma too. Our food was great and we really enjoyed our evening here.
Saturday, 127 - SUN...but still cool. Went to the Studios. There wasn't anyone here! No waits for ANY rides. MIB...we stayed on for2 turns...no one waiting! Loved this ride. much better than Buzz at MK. More adult themed, and lots of theming that made your laugh. We were finally able to ride Jaws, every time we've been to the studio's Jaw's was down. Can't say we were that impressed! Not much has changed in this park, but we did really enjoy the ghost buster and blues brothers christmas shows.
5 months ago I made reservations at Emeril's. We had a very nice dinner here, but in all honesty I don't think I would bother going back again. Service was good, but very rushed. Food was good, but not memorable. We don't mind paying $$'s for good food, but frankly we flet a bit ripped off after dropping $260. for the evening. The cheapest bottle of wine on their menu was $65. I've had better food at WDW. Maybe it was just an off day in the kitchen. I had buffalo, and it was on the tough side. Had buffalo later on in the week at Artist Pointe/Wilderness Lodge/WDW and it melted in my mouth. It was also $25. cheaper than Emeril's! Glad we tried it though.
Room Key front of the line access...what a great perk...of course, the parks were dead and we really didn't need it, but if you're there during busy periods it would be great!
We will be back...we really enjoyed Portofino bay. Very comfortable and Excellent Service. Every staff member went out of their way to make us feel welcome. We got our welcome gift of a bottle of Wine.
We had the special 5 day park tickets. On our last evening we upgraded to an annual pass for $15. additional per ticket. That's quite a bargin! We paid $89. for the tickets originally. We plan to be back in Orlando next fall and Christmas season.
Thank you all for all the wonderful information you shared that helped to enhance our Universal vacation experience!
Peggy Sue
