Just returned this evening after a quick, wet but wonderful 3 day visit. We are longtime Disney lovers but let our passes expire last fall just to take a little break and try some new things. We knew from past experience that staying onsite was the way to go (and this was before WWoHP even existed), so back in February we took advantage of a great FL resident rate on a club level room and booked 2 nights at Royal Pacific. This was our second time staying at RPH, but the first on club level. After reading reviews here on the DIS boards, we felt it was worth a try, and we weren't disappointed.
This was also a surprise trip for DDs 10 and 8. We packed secretly and even managed to sneak our dog out of the house to stay with a neighbor without notice. (OK, so maybe they aren't the most observant children ...)
Day One:
We left home around 9:30 a.m. DDs wondered where we are going-- we had just told them it would be a fun outing. As we approached Orlando, DD10 seemed to have figured it out, but kept it to herself while DD8 was literally all over the map: "Busch Gardens? Miami? Atlanta?"
As we took the US exit off I-4, DD10's suspicions were confirmed. She was thrilled, given that a visit to US/IOA this summer was her special request after devouring the Harry Potter series over the past few months. DD8 was also excited, though a little nervous eyeing the Hulk coaster on our approach.
At about 11:00 a.m. we pulled up to Royal Pacific and the girls were even happier to learn that we are staying over and not just there for the day. Our room was not yet ready, but we received our room keys (just no room number) stowed our luggage, printed our Express Passes at a kiosk in the lobby and headed out to IoA on foot.
Originally we had planned to hit US the first day, since we would be at IoA for early entry on the second day. However, we felt the impending tropical storm would have more of a negative impact on IoA attractions, so we decided to head over there first while the weather was still decent.
After a pleasant walk (it was overcast but not yet raining), we entered IoA without any issues. I had ordered FL Resident APs online and had them delivered via FedEx so we could go straight to the turnstiles. While DH and I were prepared with our FL driver's licenses, we weren't asked for them.
We proceeded directly to Superhero Island, and DD10 and I rode Hulk while DH took DD8 on Storm Force Accelerator. As Hulk approached the unloading area, DD10 declared it her New. Favorite. Ride. We met back up with DH and DD8 and rode Spiderman. This was the first time we have been since the update, and it didn't disappoint. Then both DDs and I hit Dr. Doom. This was the longest Express wait of the day, about 20 minutes. They only had one tower going most of the time, so I am guessing it was slower than usual. We all enjoyed the ride, but DD8 (the one who won't ride Hulk) felt "it wasn't scary enough."(?!?)
Next up was Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. I had purchased brand new waterproof jackets (not quite Gore-tex like George Costanza's, but close), which we all donned for the ride. Lots of fun, and yes, we got drenched. So we immediately followed up with the Popeye ride. This is by far the best version of the circular raft genre we have experienced. Much longer and more exciting than Kali River Rapids at AK. Everyone on our raft got pasted, but it was all good. We were pleased to note that our jackets did what they promised and kept us dry underneath. This would prove especially useful the next day ...
At this point it was about 2 p.m. and we received a text message that our room was ready. Since we were already wet we made one last stop at Jurassic Park and got soaked once more. Then we made our way back to the hotel.
Not surprisingly, our room turned out to be on the 7th floor of Tower 3 (which is the club level) and conveniently close to the elevator. We unpacked a bit and then headed to the lounge, where afternoon snacks were being served. These consisted of Uncrustable sandwiches, granola bars, apples, bananas, goldfish, potato chips and a snack mix. These would be the same offerings each afternoon of our stay. For drinks there were dispensers of water and apple juice, as well as cans of Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite. There was also always a station with coffee and hot water for tea.
After refueling we changed and made our way down to the pool. At this point the weather looked pretty ominous, but we knew that Tropical Storm Andrea would likely make pool time the next day impossible, so we tried to make the most of it. Beautiful pool area, and the girls dove right in. They swam for a while, then entered a kids' pool jump/splash contest. As we watched, we could see very dark, fast moving clouds on the horizon, and sure enough within 5 minutes we were in the midst of a downpour. We scrambled up into the building and headed back up to our room.
After we all got cleaned up we wandered back over to the lounge (seeing a pattern yet?) where the evening's offerings included baked ziti, focaccia, antipasto salad and crudite. There were definitely folks there who seemed to be making a meal of it. The girls and I had some salad and veggies and I enjoyed a glass of wine.
The weather was still dicey, so rather than venture out to Citywalk for dinner we decided just to head downstairs to the Orchid Lounge for some sushi. It was a nicer, relaxed atmosphere, and the girls appreciated the comfy seating. The sushi was yummy and just the right amount since we had already had a first course upstairs and then returned later for "sweets hour" at the club lounge-- cookies and apple cake. ;-)
It had been a full first day, and knowing we would be up at dawn for early entry to WWoHP, we called it an early night. As we slept, Tropical Storm Andrea moved in ...
This was also a surprise trip for DDs 10 and 8. We packed secretly and even managed to sneak our dog out of the house to stay with a neighbor without notice. (OK, so maybe they aren't the most observant children ...)
Day One:
We left home around 9:30 a.m. DDs wondered where we are going-- we had just told them it would be a fun outing. As we approached Orlando, DD10 seemed to have figured it out, but kept it to herself while DD8 was literally all over the map: "Busch Gardens? Miami? Atlanta?"
As we took the US exit off I-4, DD10's suspicions were confirmed. She was thrilled, given that a visit to US/IOA this summer was her special request after devouring the Harry Potter series over the past few months. DD8 was also excited, though a little nervous eyeing the Hulk coaster on our approach.
At about 11:00 a.m. we pulled up to Royal Pacific and the girls were even happier to learn that we are staying over and not just there for the day. Our room was not yet ready, but we received our room keys (just no room number) stowed our luggage, printed our Express Passes at a kiosk in the lobby and headed out to IoA on foot.
Originally we had planned to hit US the first day, since we would be at IoA for early entry on the second day. However, we felt the impending tropical storm would have more of a negative impact on IoA attractions, so we decided to head over there first while the weather was still decent.
After a pleasant walk (it was overcast but not yet raining), we entered IoA without any issues. I had ordered FL Resident APs online and had them delivered via FedEx so we could go straight to the turnstiles. While DH and I were prepared with our FL driver's licenses, we weren't asked for them.
We proceeded directly to Superhero Island, and DD10 and I rode Hulk while DH took DD8 on Storm Force Accelerator. As Hulk approached the unloading area, DD10 declared it her New. Favorite. Ride. We met back up with DH and DD8 and rode Spiderman. This was the first time we have been since the update, and it didn't disappoint. Then both DDs and I hit Dr. Doom. This was the longest Express wait of the day, about 20 minutes. They only had one tower going most of the time, so I am guessing it was slower than usual. We all enjoyed the ride, but DD8 (the one who won't ride Hulk) felt "it wasn't scary enough."(?!?)
Next up was Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. I had purchased brand new waterproof jackets (not quite Gore-tex like George Costanza's, but close), which we all donned for the ride. Lots of fun, and yes, we got drenched. So we immediately followed up with the Popeye ride. This is by far the best version of the circular raft genre we have experienced. Much longer and more exciting than Kali River Rapids at AK. Everyone on our raft got pasted, but it was all good. We were pleased to note that our jackets did what they promised and kept us dry underneath. This would prove especially useful the next day ...
At this point it was about 2 p.m. and we received a text message that our room was ready. Since we were already wet we made one last stop at Jurassic Park and got soaked once more. Then we made our way back to the hotel.
Not surprisingly, our room turned out to be on the 7th floor of Tower 3 (which is the club level) and conveniently close to the elevator. We unpacked a bit and then headed to the lounge, where afternoon snacks were being served. These consisted of Uncrustable sandwiches, granola bars, apples, bananas, goldfish, potato chips and a snack mix. These would be the same offerings each afternoon of our stay. For drinks there were dispensers of water and apple juice, as well as cans of Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite. There was also always a station with coffee and hot water for tea.
After refueling we changed and made our way down to the pool. At this point the weather looked pretty ominous, but we knew that Tropical Storm Andrea would likely make pool time the next day impossible, so we tried to make the most of it. Beautiful pool area, and the girls dove right in. They swam for a while, then entered a kids' pool jump/splash contest. As we watched, we could see very dark, fast moving clouds on the horizon, and sure enough within 5 minutes we were in the midst of a downpour. We scrambled up into the building and headed back up to our room.
After we all got cleaned up we wandered back over to the lounge (seeing a pattern yet?) where the evening's offerings included baked ziti, focaccia, antipasto salad and crudite. There were definitely folks there who seemed to be making a meal of it. The girls and I had some salad and veggies and I enjoyed a glass of wine.
The weather was still dicey, so rather than venture out to Citywalk for dinner we decided just to head downstairs to the Orchid Lounge for some sushi. It was a nicer, relaxed atmosphere, and the girls appreciated the comfy seating. The sushi was yummy and just the right amount since we had already had a first course upstairs and then returned later for "sweets hour" at the club lounge-- cookies and apple cake. ;-)
It had been a full first day, and knowing we would be up at dawn for early entry to WWoHP, we called it an early night. As we slept, Tropical Storm Andrea moved in ...
