Figured I would post it here instead of the "report" section..
Stayed at HIFS and I must say we were impressed. Since we had plans each day to do something different, we were barely at the hotel. I am sure that if your stay involves sitting around the pool the entire day, then maybe another hotel will suit you better. I have some PIZZA HUT free party coupons if anyone wants them. Just e-mail me your address and time of stay and I will get them off to you.
The breakfast was good and hot and served our needs each morning. There was plenty of stuff to do for the kids which was welcomed. With a family of 5 and kids all big breakfast eaters, the free buffet was just what we needed.
Day1: arrived mid afternoon and headed to IOA just to see what it was about...was hot and crowded so we just hit a few rides and left for a dinner at Bahama Breeze. Food and drinks were good wait was about 1/2 hour.
Day2: left early morning to drive to Tampa to spend the day at Busch Gardens. Kids (12/11/9) just loved it and so did M & D
. Very lite crowds so we were able to hit just about every ride and then some. There is something to be said about having fun with limited crowds at these theme parks. We have never been to BG so maybe others are tired of it and go to the new places. We had fun. We left there about 7ish and drove to the Gulf (Treasure Island) for dinner at one of the beach spots. Had a cold beer and burger and even had time to let the kids dip their feet into the water. Drove back to HIFS and got back just in time to take a guick swim (11:45pm) before they closed the pool for the night.
Day3: Drove to Daytona Beach for the day. Lounged around on the beach, swam and even rented a golf cart and toured the entire beach. For those that have never been to this beach, it is a must stop. Even if you are a secluded beach lover, the watching of traffic on a beach is something to experience. Left in time to head back for dinner. Went to the Crab House and was not overly impressed. Food was ok, a little overpriced for what you get.
Day4: Spent the day at USO and enjoyed all the attractions (except the Mummy which had a 2 hour wait and 1 hour FOTL wait). Was very hot all day, had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe which is a must see for anyone. Left just before closing and headed to dinner at Sonny's BBQ. Sonny's had some trouble, they had staff quit and not show up for the holiday weekend, was understaffed, under prepared for food and needless to say our visit was very poor. They discounted the bill 10%, gave my 11yo a fee meal since he asked for chicken and they ran out....everyone highly recommended this place but our experience was a bad one.
Day5: Spent the entire day again at IOA and to our surprise was uncrowded most of the time. We figured everyone was doing Memorial Day activities and not theme parks. We were able to ride the dragons again and again (re-entry door) with a maximum 5 minute wait (best roller coaster). We hit the raft water ride twice (again re-entry) and in the second time, we got hung up inside the tower lift and they could not get it restarted so we all had to exit the ride. They were kind enough to give us each a free FOTL one ride pass which we used at RipSaw falls later in the day when the wait was 60 minutes. Rode Hulk and all the others. Left and had dinner at Sweet Tomatoes...very good dinner.
Day6: relaxed for a few early morning hours and left for the airport to head home. Was HOT all the time mid 90's and even hit 100 one day. Was glad to be back home where the weather was mid 70's.
Overall our Florida trip was great. We all had a great time. We had thought we made a mistake about staying offsite but once we got down there and realized the wait lines were not that bad, we would do it again. We did not have any FOTL or express passes and still were able to do everything we wanted. If you can get out of bed early get to the theme parks at opening bell, you will enjoy very limited crowds until about noon at which time the wait lines increased. We never waited on any ride (except Mummy) for more than 45 minutes at the busiest time. Average was 20-30 minutes on all days.
Turnoffs, biggest turnoff was the disrespectful school kids that came as a group to IOA and USO and started hopping the lines in order for them all to ride together. These are kids that are probably early teenagers all wearing the same outfits so we knew what we were up against. My husband and others politely asked them to stay in line and they disrespected the warnings and kept skipping the lines. The school chaperones were just as bad and let the kids do as they wanted. Some got their punishment when they reached the ride and everyone told the operator about what had happened
. Most of them could have used a size 12 boot in the rear and a lesson on respecting others. But we did not let that ruin our fun. We just avoided them when we could.
Thanks to all of you for the information on this site that allowed us to enjoy our trip. Again, if anyone is interested, I have free Pizza Hut party coupons on a first come first served basis.
Stayed at HIFS and I must say we were impressed. Since we had plans each day to do something different, we were barely at the hotel. I am sure that if your stay involves sitting around the pool the entire day, then maybe another hotel will suit you better. I have some PIZZA HUT free party coupons if anyone wants them. Just e-mail me your address and time of stay and I will get them off to you.
The breakfast was good and hot and served our needs each morning. There was plenty of stuff to do for the kids which was welcomed. With a family of 5 and kids all big breakfast eaters, the free buffet was just what we needed.
Day1: arrived mid afternoon and headed to IOA just to see what it was about...was hot and crowded so we just hit a few rides and left for a dinner at Bahama Breeze. Food and drinks were good wait was about 1/2 hour.
Day2: left early morning to drive to Tampa to spend the day at Busch Gardens. Kids (12/11/9) just loved it and so did M & D
. Very lite crowds so we were able to hit just about every ride and then some. There is something to be said about having fun with limited crowds at these theme parks. We have never been to BG so maybe others are tired of it and go to the new places. We had fun. We left there about 7ish and drove to the Gulf (Treasure Island) for dinner at one of the beach spots. Had a cold beer and burger and even had time to let the kids dip their feet into the water. Drove back to HIFS and got back just in time to take a guick swim (11:45pm) before they closed the pool for the night. Day3: Drove to Daytona Beach for the day. Lounged around on the beach, swam and even rented a golf cart and toured the entire beach. For those that have never been to this beach, it is a must stop. Even if you are a secluded beach lover, the watching of traffic on a beach is something to experience. Left in time to head back for dinner. Went to the Crab House and was not overly impressed. Food was ok, a little overpriced for what you get.
Day4: Spent the day at USO and enjoyed all the attractions (except the Mummy which had a 2 hour wait and 1 hour FOTL wait). Was very hot all day, had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe which is a must see for anyone. Left just before closing and headed to dinner at Sonny's BBQ. Sonny's had some trouble, they had staff quit and not show up for the holiday weekend, was understaffed, under prepared for food and needless to say our visit was very poor. They discounted the bill 10%, gave my 11yo a fee meal since he asked for chicken and they ran out....everyone highly recommended this place but our experience was a bad one.
Day5: Spent the entire day again at IOA and to our surprise was uncrowded most of the time. We figured everyone was doing Memorial Day activities and not theme parks. We were able to ride the dragons again and again (re-entry door) with a maximum 5 minute wait (best roller coaster). We hit the raft water ride twice (again re-entry) and in the second time, we got hung up inside the tower lift and they could not get it restarted so we all had to exit the ride. They were kind enough to give us each a free FOTL one ride pass which we used at RipSaw falls later in the day when the wait was 60 minutes. Rode Hulk and all the others. Left and had dinner at Sweet Tomatoes...very good dinner.
Day6: relaxed for a few early morning hours and left for the airport to head home. Was HOT all the time mid 90's and even hit 100 one day. Was glad to be back home where the weather was mid 70's.
Overall our Florida trip was great. We all had a great time. We had thought we made a mistake about staying offsite but once we got down there and realized the wait lines were not that bad, we would do it again. We did not have any FOTL or express passes and still were able to do everything we wanted. If you can get out of bed early get to the theme parks at opening bell, you will enjoy very limited crowds until about noon at which time the wait lines increased. We never waited on any ride (except Mummy) for more than 45 minutes at the busiest time. Average was 20-30 minutes on all days.
Turnoffs, biggest turnoff was the disrespectful school kids that came as a group to IOA and USO and started hopping the lines in order for them all to ride together. These are kids that are probably early teenagers all wearing the same outfits so we knew what we were up against. My husband and others politely asked them to stay in line and they disrespected the warnings and kept skipping the lines. The school chaperones were just as bad and let the kids do as they wanted. Some got their punishment when they reached the ride and everyone told the operator about what had happened
. Most of them could have used a size 12 boot in the rear and a lesson on respecting others. But we did not let that ruin our fun. We just avoided them when we could.Thanks to all of you for the information on this site that allowed us to enjoy our trip. Again, if anyone is interested, I have free Pizza Hut party coupons on a first come first served basis.
