Jan. trip + pics finally uploaded = A very late TR!!

[NashvilleTrio]

US/IOA Trip report January 4 to January 8, 2007

So, I know this report is like 4 months+ late, but we just today got our pictures uploaded from our camera, so I thought it'd be nice to do the report and add pictures.

Day 1 - Thursday
We woke up at 4:15am on Thursday morning to catch a 6:25am Southwest flight. No problems with the flight, however we chose to sit in the very front set of seats which seemed like a good idea at the time, but we realized later that we had no trays. So at refreshment time, mom (ME) had a lap full of napkins, snacks, and a can drink while trying to make sure that DS keeps his drink from spilling. Good thing we arrived in Orlando 10 minutes EARLY!

We had scheduled a car service and our driver was waiting for us in the baggage claim area. The drive was uneventful. We made a quick stop at Publix to pick up some snacks and drinks. Then we arrived at HRH, which seemed to be fairly busy for a Thursday morning. We thought we were going to use the Loews First check in, but we had forgotten to use our LF info when we made the ressie. So we waited in the regular line for a while, checked in, then went over to luggage services to have them hold our laptop because our room was not ready yet. They informed us that they couldn’t take our laptop but instead we had to take it back over to the check in desk so they could put it in the safe. AARRGGHH! So back we went and waited in the line again. Fun, fun, fun...

After we finally got rid of the laptop, we were off to US. We had decided to let our 6 year old son pretty much call the shots on this day, so our first stop was Mummy. Great ride as usual. Our son is funny – he likes the ride, but he keeps his eyes closed through most of it! After the ride, we let him buy a Magi symbol necklace in the gift shop.

Next was Jaws, which had a fairly long line – even the Express line was pretty long. I think we waited in express line for about 15-20 minutes. We were boarded in the very back seats which I like.

MIB was after that – this line was short – even the stand-by. Fun ride – DH won, son 2nd, and I was last.

Then we decided to do BTTF since it may be our last chance – DH and I didn’t enjoy it much – DH has some motion sickness issues anyway, and I don't like the idea of DH possibly vomiting during the ride! But DS was ready to go again!! It was also a little warm during the ride as well which didn’t help DH.

Next we had lunch at Int. F&F Festival. We didn't see much on the menu that DS would eat, so we first grabbed him a hot dog from a nearby stand. I had chicken parmesan which tasted much better than it looked. And DH had cheeseburger/fries.

Woody's Coaster and the Fievel & Curious George areas were next – we hadn’t done these before this trip and we enjoyed them. One sort of downer was that there were 3 boys that were probably 13 or 14 years old in Curious George ball house that were being punks. They were purposely throwing balls at other people, including us, and hitting them and us in the face and head. DH had some "words" with them, but we ended up just ignoring them and they finally left.

Then we headed over to ET which didn’t have a line at all. And we actually were able to understand ET when he said our names this time!! After that we started to head toward the exit, but DS wanted to climb the wall over by Mummy in the New York area – he did the easy one with the ladder and proudly rang the bell at the top!!

After US we headed to IOA – We did Spiderman first. How cool is this ride? We all love it! Especially the part where it feels like you're flying up to the top of the buildings!

Next DS chose to do Dudley Do-Right's which is always fun. We were ready by this time to have a little spray of water on our faces. Nice cool down. Then we headed to JP River Adventure since we were already a little wet. After that we took a break and watched the Sinbad Show. That's a cool show!

Then we went to Suess Landing to ride Cat in the Hat. Aaahhh - air conditioned ride! In the Cat in the Hat gift store, we bought a pressed penny book.

By this time we were about out of steam, so we headed back to the hotel for swim and showers.

We had dinner that night at the Kitchen and we all had some excellent food. I had the special which was grilled shrimp and grouper on a bed of arugula with grilled asparagus – Delicious!

DH had Steak and Cake which was a rib-eye steak (I think) and a crab cake, and DS had PB & J with fries and strawberries. For dessert, DH and I split a chocolate cake. Yummy! I've heard some other people give not so good reviews of the Kitchen, but we must've hit it on a good night because our experience was excellent!!

Ok - more to come later!!!! Thanks for reading!!
-Melissa

 

[NashvilleTrio]

Day 2- Friday

We started this day at IOA and had brought our camera with us to take pictures. And DH did just that...many, many pictures! Nah, I'm glad he is the picture taker because he definitely does a better job than I do. So throughout the day we were stopping periodically for photo time!

We first did the character breakfast at Confisco’s – It was a good buffet with pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon, sausage, croissants, etc. We got to see Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 & 2, and Spiderman. Amazingly it wasn't crowded at all this particular morning. I think there were only about 5 or 6 other families there when we were. Spiderman stayed at our table for a long time and talked with DS. DS loved it!

After breakfast we went to Seuss Landing and rode Cat/Hat, High in the Sky Trolley, Caro-Seuss-el, Red Fish Blue Fish, and then bought some candy in the store beside the High in the Sky ride.

Ok - this next pic is my most favorite from our whole trip!! DH & DS on Red Fish, Blue Fish!! Love it!!!

This is a cool tree that's at the end of Suess Landing on the LC side.

Then on to Lost Continent – I rode Fire dragon while DH and DS went on to the unicorn roller coaster. The express line on DD was lame – noone was at the castle entrance to check for FOTL passes and the line was long- I think most people thought it was the regular line because it was the only line where you saw people standing when you entered the castle – maybe it was just crowded that day, but the wait was about 20 minutes…not too express if you ask me! Oh well - the ride was still fun!

Next we went JP area – The River Adventure was temporarily down so we went on to eat lunch at Thunder Falls Terrace. I had the chicken soup and salad, DH had rotisserie chicken with red potatoes, and DS had pb&j sandwich. (I wish now we had taken some food pics, but we didn’t at all. Oh well, that’ll be something to do next trip.)

After DS was finished eating, we let him go outside Thunder Falls where he had a blast dodging the splash from River Adventure ride! Hey- we realize the ride is running again!! So we head over for another RA ride!
(DS is the one on the left with the red shirt)

Guess what area was next? You got it - Toon Lagoon!! We rode Dudley’s then we let DS play on Me Ship, The Olive while DH walked around the back path behind that area taking pics.

Pic of Hulk taken from behind Me Ship, The Olive

Then we rode Popeye/Bluto’s (PS – we cheat on this ride and wear our ponchos - hey, I only need 1 shower a day!)

Next on to Marvel Island to ride Spidey where our DS finally decides he wants to wear his glasses. (He’s a little freaked out by the whole 3D thing) He didn’t wear them the whole time, but hey, it was a start!!!

After Spiderman, we went over to Dr. Dooms Fear Fall. Darn, DS is still about an inch too short. Maybe next trip! (He looks pitiful, doesn’t he?)

After this defeat, we decide we need a drink refill and some ice cream. Then we headed back to the hotel.

We had dinner that night at NBA City. The wait was about 30 min, but worth it! We had teriyaki wings for appy, pepperoni pizza for me, bbq chicken pizza for hubby, and hot dog for DS.

Alrighty - that's it for Day 2. Day 3 coming soon!!!
-Melissa

 

[macraven]

you have a great report.

my sons have the same spidey shirt your son is wearing.
it's hard to get littles to take that shirt off at bedtime isn't it....



i saw one of your pics on pic of the day thread but the one you posted in this trip of fire and ice at the crossing over point is fabulous............i still root for ice to win but it's always a tie...


write some more!

 

[Deweysgirl]

Fabulous trip report so far! Just what I needed to get psyched for our upcoming trip next week! We are huge Mouse fans, been to WDW a million times, but this is our first trip ever to US/IOA. Thanks for sharing these wonderful pics too, it really helps in visualizing everything!

 

[AlexandNessa]

Don't feel bad. We took a trip to WDW, did a DCL cruise, and finished with Universal. In December. Our pictures are still not uploaded. That's our sucky part of having a digital camera and only being able to upload via dial-up.

Anyway, great TR! Great pics.

 

[NashvilleTrio]

Day 3 - Saturday

We made this our sleep in day, but still woke up around 8:30. We ordered room service for breakfast and just lounged around in the room for a while. Then we left for US about 11am. Stopped for a quick pic with Woody since DS had purchased a Woody head/hat the night before! Cute!

Then we headed straight to do the Madagascar character meeting. We were about 3rd in line, so we quickly got to see the penguins and Alex!! Photo op!! (PS - son just picked these smilies out for you guys)

Next we did Mummy, then we walked over to see Donkey & Shrek. We had a funny moment here…DH was wearing a bright green shirt and while he was standing by the rope to take a pic of DS with Shrek, Shrek noticed him (I guess because of his green shirt) and came over and gave DH a hug! Too bad I didn’t have the camera because that was definitely a “Kodak” moment!!!
And isn't Donkey hilarious? I was cracking up just listening to him talk to all the kids in line. If you haven't stopped to see him, you should try it.

After that we headed over to Twister and got in the front row! I think we like that one the best because you experience more of the effects.

Next we had lunch. DH and I had ham/swiss croissants from the Pastry Co. in the San Francisco area and DS had mini corn dogs from Nathan’s.

Then we were off to Jaws, but even the express line was long, so we skipped it and went on to BTTF (DH decided to sit this one out) then we went to Curious George area where we let DS get soaked!!! He had a blast!

Then we let DS change his clothes and went over to the Horror Movie Make-up Show. Wow – this is a great show. The hosts are very funny and we had the privilege of sitting in the front row.

After that show we did the T2 show and then went back over to Jaws where the line was way shorter so we did 2 rides before heading out.

After Jaws we were ready to eat, but we had waited too long and pretty much all the places to eat were closing. But we stopped and got some healthy snacks…a huge rice krispy treat and some fudge!! Mmmm, sugary goodness! We were pretty tired at this point, so we decided to do room service again for dinner. DH and DS went swimming while we were waiting on our food.

More to come later!!
-Melissa

 

[NashvilleTrio]

Deweysgirl, Mac, and AlexandNessa,

Thanks to you all for your nice comments re: our report. I'm so glad to finally be doing one!!! It's fun to share the memories with people that we know enjoy US/IOA as much as we do.

Keep watching for more!!!
-Melissa

 

[tpayne]

Great pictures!!!I'm soooo homesick

 

[macraven]

melissa, you are doing a fab job on your trip report!

i'm so glad you decided to do one.
looking forward to more of your writings.

 

[ATAfamily]

Great job!! I love all the pictures in your trip report. It really gives it that special touch. I can't wait to read more about your trip. BTW, that DD photo with Fire & Ice was awesome!

How did you like the HRH? Did you find the rooms spacious enough?

 

[NashvilleTrio]

Great job!! I love all the pictures in your trip report. It really gives it that special touch. I can't wait to read more about your trip. BTW, that DD photo with Fire & Ice was awesome!

How did you like the HRH? Did you find the rooms spacious enough?

Hubby here...

The HRH is really nice. The layout of the room, the 2 vanities in the bath area, the flat panel TV & DVD player made it a great place to relax. There are only 3 of us, but we felt the room had a good amount of room -- noticable improvement from the RPH (although good choice too).

We're hoping to head back in July for 2 nights. A quick get-a-way for the adults while our son is visiting his grandparents. We're going to try the PBH, but I'm guessing the HRH is going to be my favorite of the three.

And while I'm on the subject of the HRH...

I was afraid that the staff were going to be full of attitude. That couldn't be further from the truth. Check-in (although slow), bell services, cleaning, pool, etc were all wonderful.

And even if you don't stay at the HRH, do try and make time to eat a meal at the kitchen. The "Steak & Cake" (actually a Filet, not Ribeye as referenced above) was out of this world delicious. My wife shared some of her entree and it was great too --- although a little too "foo foo" for my manly tastes.

 

[jayster]

I read great reports like yours and I cannot wait the 30 days until we go!!!! Your descriptions are great and the pics are crisp and clear!! Im glad you had such a great time!! My wife wants a quiet resort vacation every year (Mexico, Bahamas) but me and my 6yr old DS talked her into USO and IOA for three years in a row now!!...I'll be suprising her with a Spa treatment this year along with a quiet dinner for the two of us at Emeril's. She'll come around...(I think she secretly loves the whole thing!)

 

[robvia]

I guess the HRH got the message about the snooty attitudes and losing reservations at checkin.
You'll enjoy the PBH even if the pool is not as "hip." What the PBH pool is missing is a restaurant inside the gate, but the resort itself is beautiful. The PBH pool has 2 hot tubs, a slide, and a pathway under a water fall. Best to eat and drink in your room before heading over. Ask for a room in the west wing, that will be closer to the pool.

The room size of the PBH is slightly larger, and the bathroom is huge. You can always walk over to the HRH pool if you want to hang out and have a few drinks. The walk is only 8 minutes boat dock to boat dock.

I think this will become more of a trend, that being people stay at the PBH and walk over to the HRH pool for the action.

 

[NashvilleTrio]

Thanks again to everyone for their great comments!

Here is the conclusion to our report:

Days 3 & 4 - Sunday and Monday

Ok, so during our trip, I typed in daily notes specifically for this TR, but unfortunately I don’t remember all the details for these last 2 days because I got lazy and didn't do so. I do remember that we went to both parks again and had a blast as usual. Sunday evening we decided to eat at City Walk.

We tried Margaritaville, but it was way too crowded and too long of a wait for us. We don't really drink, so it's not like we could pass the wait time at the bar or anything. So we kept walking and ended up at Bubba Gump’s.

The wait here was pretty long as well - even with us showing out hotel key we waited about 30 minutes or more. The food was pretty good. I had a shrimp scampi dinner, DH had chicken caesar salad, and I don't remember what DS had. We hadn’t eaten here before and we like the atmosphere and the “Run Forrest Run” and “Stop Forrest Stop” signs. After dinner we just walked around City Walk for a while before going back to the hotel for packing and bedtime. On Monday we were able to go back to the parks for a while as well because our car service wasn’t scheduled to pick us up until about 3pm.


Hard Rock Hotel

Our room was nice - really no complaints except we didn’t really like the feel of the duvet covers. So we took them off and then were able to enjoy the nice soft down comforters. We left a note for housekeeping asking them to leave them off for our stay and they complied. We put them back on at check out day.

The DVD player in room was great – we had brought a few DVD’s to play on our laptop but it was much nicer to watch them on the tv. Also, I liked that the vanity area had a wall that allowed some privacy from the others in the room.

We decided to pay for the internet connection during our stay, but later found out that even though they advertise it as 24 hours it was really only available from 3:00pm to 2:59pm the next day – so if you decided to connect at 9am one morning you actually only got it until 2:59 that day instead of until 9am the next morning. So, not a big deal, but just a detail that would’ve been nice to know ahead of time.

Here are a couple of pictures from the walking path from HRH to the parks...

Overall we had an awesome time and can't wait to get back!!! Thanks again to everyone who has read and commented on our report. Feel free to ask any questions and we'll help you out as best we can!!

Here are a few more random pictures...Enjoy!!

 

[disneyfan67]

First off to the OP, better late than never when it comes to trip reports, IMO.

I thank you for taking the time to post your pictures and experiences. Because it's helps those of us who haven't been to Universal and are always on the search for real pictures and realistic reviews. The more I look at your room photos of the HRH, the more happier I am with my choice of the PBH. Don't get me wrong, the HRH looks nice, but your room looked a little too modern to me and there seemed to be a lot of white color to the room, or is it just me? The warm colors of the PBH are starting to grow on me. Thank you for the tip about trying out the Kitchen. I'm going to see if we can fit in on our upcoming trip.

Good pictures and I hope to be able to take some of my own as well as you did, for my trip report.

 

[macraven]

i'm so glad you liked the horror make up show.
i find it awesome and always recommend it to others in the forums to see.

do you have a favorite ride or attraction for each park?


hrh is my home base. i like pbh also but what sways me is the proximity to the park using the shortcut way from hrh.

i stayed at rph last year in order to join the 3 way club.
the layout at that hotel didn't thrill me.


so glad you had a great time at universal!
thanks for your trip report.

 

[NashvilleTrio]

First off to the OP, better late than never when it comes to trip reports, IMO.

I thank you for taking the time to post your pictures and experiences. Because it's helps those of us who haven't been to Universal and are always on the search for real pictures and realistic reviews. The more I look at your room photos of the HRH, the more happier I am with my choice of the PBH. Don't get me wrong, the HRH looks nice, but your room looked a little too modern to me and there seemed to be a lot of white color to the room, or is it just me? The warm colors of the PBH are starting to grow on me. Thank you for the tip about trying out the Kitchen. I'm going to see if we can fit in on our upcoming trip.

Good pictures and I hope to be able to take some of my own as well as you did, for my trip report.

Thanks so much!

Yeah, the HR rooms do have a contemporary or modern feel to them. Maybe part of the reason for that is the recent room remodel. But I don't know what they looked like before. Another reason for the "white" look is that we took off the Duvet covers which were kind of a green and brown color. Here's the only picture I have of the duvet cover - not the best one, but you can see the colors...

So, those did add a little more color to the room when they were on.
(PS - the bright red pillow is ours that we brought from home)

 

[NashvilleTrio]

i'm so glad you liked the horror make up show.
i find it awesome and always recommend it to others in the forums to see.

do you have a favorite ride or attraction for each park?
That's a tough question...Our son just told me that his fav at IOA is Spiderman (big surprise) and at US is Jaws. I think my favorite at IOA is probably Ice Dragon; and at US...um...probably Mummy. I like everything!!! (I'll let my DH answer this question later when he's home from work)

hrh is my home base. i like pbh also but what sways me is the proximity to the park using the shortcut way from hrh.

Yeah, we haven't stayed at PBH yet - planning to try it in July. We liked both RPH and HRH, but I personally like RPH a little more for some reason. I think it feels more like a "resort" to me or something. But, yes, we definitely liked the short walk from HR.

i stayed at rph last year in order to join the 3 way club.
the layout at that hotel didn't thrill me.


so glad you had a great time at universal!
thanks for your trip report. You are welcome!!!

 

[macraven]

Ice Dragon rules.............

 

[bubba's mom]

thank you for taking the time to write that TR and pix.....sounds like a great time! (can't believe some of the EP lines were long at that time of year tho? ) nonetheless....you had EP and a great time! thanks for sharing!