First Stay at HRH - Where Lemons Turned into Luscious Lemonade

[wdwrule]

This past weekend (12/3-12/5), hubby and I took a quick trip to UO. We drove Friday evening to BWI airport where we had super cheap Spirit flights. We landed under two hours later in Orlando and were whisked away by Tony Hinds himself. Along the way, we actually saw Disney’s Merriest Party fireworks! Beautiful reds and greens. The timing was impeccable!

We were very excited to stay at HRH for the first time. We’ve now stayed at almost all of the UO resorts but this was one of the couple we still needed to try. As we approached the resort, it looked stunning. So beautiful! We entered the impressive lobby and made our way to the check-in line. There was only one family in front of us and one team member at the desk. We were tired as it was 11:30pm or so, but we were just taking it all in. It didn’t take long at all and it was our turn. Eric was very friendly and welcoming and told us about the resort etc. We were about halfway through checking in and he ended up calling a manager who came out to chat with us.

Now, I’ve always heard about people being magically upgraded to a special room category and I thought omg this is it! We’re actually going to be surprisingly upgraded! Here’s where the lemon starts…

Derek came out and said ‘I’m very sorry but we have no rooms available.’ I thought… ummmm what?!?! We didn’t complain once, in fact we were speechless. I do believe my jaw may have dropped though! He must’ve seen my expression and quickly continued to explain that they will transport us immediately to Royal Pacific for the night and that RP would transport our luggage to HRH the next day. He also stated that this night would be comped.

We were fine with that, as we were still trying to comprehend everything. I guess we’ll never know why there weren’t enough rooms available even though I booked months ago. I know there were a few events going on and they are also refurbing sections of HRH so maybe a combo of both. They did in fact though immediately drive us to RP. This was a bit of a lemonade moment because hubby never stayed at RP and he always wanted to. Daughter and I stayed there a few months ago and loved it so I was excited to see what he thought of it.

He loved the lobby and it smelled wonderfully like PBH …same scent I believe. We went to the front desk and handed the letter that Derek from HRH gave us to give to RP about being comped. We laughed along with the front desk TM about it being our eviction notice After the night’s crazy events, we asked her if the bar by the lobby was open… and of course it had just closed a couple of minutes ago but she explained Jake’s downstairs would still be open. So we dropped our bags in the room and took a moment to admire it. It was wonderful and loved the bathroom… we are big fans of showers instead of tubs with doors instead of shower curtains.

We then went down to Jake’s and had a much needed beer and realized we were both a little hungry and split a burger. Oh my, was this burger incredible! It was dripping with juice, thick and fresh. This was the best burger we had so far in all of UO from previous trips. The fries were good as well. We chatted a bit and chuckled at some girls who were a bit too sloshed. There was hardly anybody in there at that time. I believe it was also an IO meetup night so I’m sure plenty of people were in the parks. That, and it was probably 12:30am or so at this point. Then fatigue hit and off to bed.

To be continued with a day at the parks then off to check in… again… at HRH. This time, more lemonade moments.

 

[macraven]

Always something good on the menu at Jakes
Agree they have good burgers !

 

[Lynne G]

Yay, glad to hear you are still enjoyed your time, even with the switch of hotels. Yep. Jake’s is one of the places my DD will order a burger. She only likes a few sit down places’ burgers.

Waiting to read room received at HR.

 

[wdwrule]

Yes I agree with you both! Oh my that burger was great! Another delicious burger I had awhile back was at Confisco’s. It was the Wagyu beef burger on the AP menu.

 

[wdwrule]

After a good night’s sleep, we got ready for a full day at the parks. Hubby went to Tuk Tuk for some Starbucks while I finished getting ready. He ordered me a chai tea with a splash of almond milk and long story short, they weren’t an official typical Starbucks. Instead they supplied some Starbucks drinks. They didn’t have chai tea bags but ended up making a chai latte (chai syrup) which was good.

Then we dropped our luggage off at luggage services and explained the situation about sending them to HRH. It was quick and easy. We then walked to IoA. The security check point line was long but it moved quickly and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. I love thin jacket weather there!

We bee-lined it to Velocicoaster and had a thrilling two rides in a row. For thrills, this is my favorite ride. It’s so smooth and doesn’t knock me around like Hulk does. The fast acceleration in the tunnel is my favorite part. From my previous trip, my daughter talked me into putting my hands up on the ride and now it is a must do! It gives you a whole other experience! Right before the acceleration tunnel I recommend to anyone to try to keep your arms up until the end of the ride, especially during the barrel roll right above the water. You really feel like you’ll fall out and gives it that extra level of thrill. I even talked hubby into trying it.

We then rode Forbidden Journey and grabbed a frozen Butterbeer. I was hoping for a hot Butterbeer but Hogshead wasn’t open yet. Love the frozen though! Then, we went on Hagrid’s since we each got a time for virtual queue. Since we both got a time separately we were able to ride twice back to back.


We then got an early lunch at one of our favorite QS places, Thunder Falls. This food is always so good and fresh and is not your typical burger and chicken nuggets place. They have amazing rotisserie chicken, pork, rice bowls etc. We split a rice bowl with pork and each had a Stella. This meal is soooo good! Also got an extra side of beans and tried the Brookie.
Oh my the Brookie was incredible! If you like brownie batter/fudge, you’ll love it. It was very chocolatey.

We then rode more rides and headed out to Citywalk. We were going to get a drink at Margaritaville but then saw a long line to get into the restaurant. Hubby checked around the corner to see if the bar window was open and it was. We never used this before but there was only one customer in line so we figured we’d give it a try. I always wanted to try their classic ‘Perfect Margarita’ so we each got one. Holy moly this truly was the perfect margarita! This was our favorite drink from the whole trip. Simple and limey. So refreshing! We sipped these slowly as we headed towards the Studios end since we decided to soon check in to HRH… lol again.

Refreshed from our beverage and excited to finally stay at and explore HRH, we meandered along the walkway to check into our original hotel of choice. There were two families ahead of us in the check in line but we just soaked everything in from the awesome lobby.

We were greeted warmly and were checked in officially. Towards the end of the process one of the managers, Andrew, apologized for the mistake and gave us two vouchers for the breakfast buffet at The Kitchen. Wow totally unexpected as we felt the first night’s compensation was sufficient. This was such a pleasant surprise and a bonus gesture of amazing customer service. He then said our luggage arrived and grabbed it for us. He offered to bring it up but we just said we’d take it since we were headed up to check out the room.

I love the HRH rooms and the layout! We had a 2 queen garden view and it was very spacious. The beds were very comfortable and the view was nice. It was near the walkway which was one of my original requests. It was such a fun, bright room! We then walked around the resort a bit to explore.

We ended up at the pool bar which had such a fun vibe and a live DJ who was creating some awesome mixes. We ended up getting a Hendrick’s gin drink which was fabulous.

Then, after some people watching, chatting and just enjoying our time, we headed back to the walkway and into Studios.

To be continued with Studios, Mannheim Steamroller, and another lemonade moment.

 

[Lynne G]

Like to hear about the concert, as looking forward to seeing it this Sunday. Enjoying your report.

 

[wdwrule]

After enjoying and exploring HRH briefly, we headed back to the parks, this time Studios. I just love Christmas… Christmas music, lights, decorations, etc. For me, I feel like Studios is a bit more festive generally than IoA overall. I love how they pipe holiday music in throughout and it gives such a classic holiday feel. The huge tree is just glorious too.
This was my second time through the holiday themed tribute store but hubby’s first. It’s fantastic! I love how you can smell the scent of saw dust in Santa’s workshop. So many amazing touches throughout!

We hit tons of rides and saw the massive Megatron out.

We also got on the Jimmy Fallon ride. It’s such a silly one but it makes me laugh every time. “Basketful of puppies”

Each trip, we try to go to a ‘new-to-us’ restaurant and this time it was Antojito’s. We really loved the food here and the vibe although it was very loud, perhaps because of the high ceiling. Our reservation was for 6:00 but we ended up going in early around 5:30. There weren’t a ton of people around us but it was very loud as far as being able to hear our own conversation. Chips and salsa were brought out and we ordered some drinks. I got a margarita but it tasted more fruity/berry than lime. Still good though. Later the mariachi band/singers came out and they were fantastic! Very talented and entertaining to watch.

We ordered some food and hubby also ordered the cafe con leche (espresso with milk and sugar). I had a delicious burrito …

Our server was very attentive and kept apologizing for the coffee not being ready yet. Finally she said someone was trying to get it at another venue because they were out. We said no problem, whenever, and that we weren’t in a hurry. It finally did come out towards the end of our meal and she insisted on taking it off our tab. I tried a few sips and it was delicious and probably the most smooth tasting espresso I’ve ever had. We were so full and made our way back to Studios.

I knew Mannheim Steamroller was performing live tonight so we went there and watched for about 15 minutes or so. It was so lovely!! I’ve always listened to their Christmas music so it was very surreal hearing it and seeing them live!

I thought it was nice and respectful that they temporarily shut down Rip Ride Rockit so everyone could just take it all in. The music and lighting effects took you to another world.

Then it was back to the rides and having more fun.

Tired from our night before, we headed back to the hotel. Here’s where another lemonade moment struck. We opened our room door and dropped our park bags. I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, and there on the counter was a beautiful display of chocolates and fruit!

The chocolate guitars were adorable and everything was very tasty! Never finished it all completely but there were really good truffles and chocolate covered pretzels as well. Such a nice touch!

Then off to bed for a last day but full day at the parks before the flight home. To be continued including breakfast buffet at The Kitchen and lunch at Hard Rock Cafe…

 

[wdwrule]

Departure day is always a sad day but we made the most of it… starting with the breakfast buffet at The Kitchen. We got there early and I think there were only two families or so besides us. Everything was good and fresh. I had a made to order omelette and then couldn’t resist the made to order pancakes and Belgian waffle (complete with guitar imprint). Hello carbs!


Service was excellent and very attentive. There was a lot of variety of cold and hot foods available. If it weren’t for the comped vouchers, we probably would’ve have eaten here for breakfast; only because we love heading straight to the parks as soon as we’re ready and usually just grab something quick to eat while walking to the parks or walking around in the parks. That, and we hate shelling out money for pancakes and eggs when we’d rather put it towards lunch and/or dinner. However this was a nice change of pace and everything was delicious.

Then it was off to Studios to hit up some rides and just take in the lovely vibes here.


We rode some rides then headed to get a hot Butterbeer. Oh so creamy and comforting! Then perused around Knockturn Alley.


After a bit we started to think about lunch before places got too busy. On a whim, we figured we’d try Hard Rock Cafe on Citywalk and low and behold, they took us right in. I really enjoy visiting Hard Rock Cafes from various places and this was our first at this location. The atmosphere was very fun and nostalgic of course.

I had a burger here and it was really good. If I had to choose, I’d say the burger I had at Jake’s was just a bit better but this was still very good. It was cooked perfectly to my preference, medium rare and was very juicy and fresh.

The picture doesn’t do it justice at all but everything was so good. I forget the name of the drink but it was some kind of hurricane drink.

Then it was off to more rides. We saw a mini parade/cavalcade with Shrek characters which was cute.


There were so many snacks I wanted to try but was just too full from our meals most of the time. However, I knew the Grinch ice cream cookie sandwich was seasonal so I just had to try this one.

Oh. My. Goodness! This was so incredibly delightful! The texture of the soft sugar cookies with the creamy ice cream was just so wonderful. It was vanilla heaven and I’m usually a chocolate gal. I hope this somehow occurs more than seasonal in some way, shape or form.

After more rides and looking through shops we decided to get a light dinner before our departure to the airport. Hubby wanted a gyro from Fire Eaters Grill and this was delicious and packed full of flavor. Mobile ordering here worked like a charm thank goodness because the regular line was very long. I couldn’t decide what I wanted but finally decided to mobile order a sandwich from Bread Box. Hubby advised me to mobile order it at least 15 minutes in advance because when he was here with our daughter recently, he said it took a long time even ordering way in advance. Very odd because all of the other places during our past few stays have been fabulous with mobile ordering. Well, he wasn’t kidding. I ordered it and clicked “I’m here” at least 15-20 minutes prior to arriving and then ended up waiting at least another 20 minutes. The restaurant wasn’t that busy at all with inside customers so maybe they get a lot of mobile orders.

We walked back to HRH, with sandwich in hand, to eat in the lobby while waiting for Tony to kindly take us back to MCO. Hubby and others rave about Bread Box sandwiches but unfortunately my tuna sandwich tasted like mustard in the mix. It didn’t list it in the description but for whatever reason it tasted like it had mustard in it, and that is one condiment I do not care for. I still ate it anyways and it was filling and very fresh.

We sat and enjoyed the lobby until Tony came, right on time as usual.







Overall, we had a fantastic time. Lemons were turned into lemonade thanks to all of the amazing customer service. I felt like they went above and beyond when things could’ve turned sour. We didn’t complain once yet they went out of their way to make it right.

Thanks for reading along and I hope something from my report may help someone else. Happy New Year!

 

[macraven]

Thank you for sharing your trip with us

your pictures were great and the last aerial one is amazing !