StitchandPooh'sMom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2006
- Messages
- 7,142
We just got back yesterday from one night at the Nick Hotel and three nights at RPR, and I just wanted to thank everyone for all the great information that I read here. I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but here is the good, bad and ugly:
Cast of characters: me, a confirmed Disney nut; DH, the anti-Mickey who would much rather be at Universal; DD7 and DD3. We had all been to Universal Studios before, but not to IOA. We had not stayed onsite.
Friday night: arrived at the Nick Hotel as a surprise for DD7. We didn't tell the girls where we were going - we just gave DD7 a printed map of the USA and had her color the states as we went through them. (We are from NC - not too taxing to color four states!). She thought we were going to WDW (knowing me as she does), so I told her that was not it to avoid any disappoinment. When we got to Orlando, we told her that we were staying some place she had seen on TV. Took her about three seconds to scream Nick Hotel!!! We had a two bedroom kids' suite with a Danny Phantom theme ($149 per night - thanks to the OP who posted the Travelzoo deal). I had signed up for the Holiday Inn Priority Club, so we got a coupon for popcorn and two drinks as our welcome amenity. The hotel was just as you would expect - fully geared to meeting a child's every need and wish. We liked the room layout with the separate bedroom and bunk beds for the kids.
We went swimming as soon as the girls could get their bathing suits on. DD3 is just 40 inches tall and could do the slides that didn't go into the pool, which she enjoyed with a little prompting from big sister. The pool was very crowded - can't imagine how it is at high season. Most people were very well-behaved. There was one boy about 10 years old who kept splashing DD3 and made her cry. I asked him to stop and he didn't, then I got in front of her and asked him again. When he splashed me, I told him not to start a fight he couldn't win and I splashed him until he slunk away. Not very adult, perhaps, but don't mess with the Mama Bear!
Of course, his parents were nowhere to be found, but you would think a boy that age could swim without his parents attached and not cause too much trouble.
We did the character breakfast Saturday morning, which both girls loved. My DH commented that this was not a place to find adults without children!
Moved to RPR Saturday. We had booked a water view room at the summer savings rate (179.00 per night - thanks to Valentine for posting that!). We did not receive any Loew's amenities, but I had been told when we changed our rate that it was not qualifying (I had called RPR directly to change rates). We were in room 1208 - we could see small glimpses of water if we looked around a big tree. Not a great view, but it was fine. The room was nice with a few minor annoyances. One of the lights over the bed didn't work (missing bulb) - it was fixed promptly. The sink drained extremely slowly. An employee from engineering came to fix it within a few hours, had to take the sink apart, then had to come back to put it back together. He was very nice and fixed it right, but it amazed us that no one had reported it before or that housekeeping hadn't discovered it. The sink was almost non-functioning, and the RPR employee said it was full of "gunk" (I believe that is the technical term
). With only one sink in the room, it should have been pretty noticeable!
The room cleanliness was not great, but it was OK. The carpet was stained, but we didn't stress over that. There was mold in the shower, which bothered me more than anyone else (because I do the bathroom cleaning at home, I'm sure!). We did not report it, but it could have been easily fixed with a bottle of Tilex and should have been apparent to housekeeping when they wiped down the shower. Not a big thing, but something we noticed. We did call for extra pillows, so after the sink, light, and pillows, we didn't want to seem too much like troublemakers and call for the mold!
The beds were comfy, but the pillows were terrible! They were very flat, and even DD7 asked if she could have two so she could sleep (hence the request for extra pillows). Next time we will bring our own!
We had lunch at Margaritaville, which was good, then we went to IOA. We loved the FOTL access, and we loved the theming of IOA! We all enjoyed Seuss Landing. Note to self: Do not take DD3 on Spiderman just because she is tall enough. Even after taking off her 3-D glasses, covering her eyes, and holding her head in my arms do it didn't bounce around, she still screamed to get off! I had meant to pack my Unofficial Guide to read up on the rides on the drive down, but I forgot it. We learned a quick lesson about the rides at IOA! Rookie mistake on our part -she didn't want to ride anything for a while after that! I know almost all of the WDW rides, but IOA was new to us and we (meaning I) should have prepared for the rides a little better.
We had dinner at Tcoup Chop, and it was OK. We had the dumpling box (good), the calamari (too much breading), rotisserie chicken (for $25, not any better than at the grocery store, but the rice was great!), and the clay pot (OK). DD7 had chicken fingers, which she said were OK. DD3 fell asleep before the appetizer and missed the whole experience. Service was good, although the server was not sure she could substitute carrots for DD7's french fries - "there might be an additional charge" - whatever, I just spent $25 on a rotisserie chicken - bring it on!
We spent all day Sunday at IOA, mainly in Seuss Landing. DD7 doesn't do upside down coasters, although she did ride Dr. Doom's Fear Fall with me (kind of lame compared to Tower of Terror, IMO). The highlight of the day was more than doubling DH's score on MIB - hee, hee, hee. Thanks to MIB9's for the tips - I read them surreptitiously in the car, but since I had never ridden MIB, I couldn't remember it all. I did manage to score the bonus by pressing the red button, but I couldn't make the other car spin. DH demanded to know my secrets since he was so thoroughly beaten!
We had lunch at Mythos on Sunday. We loved the tomato, mozzarella and basil flatbread and the gooey chocolate banana cake. We didn't love the Chef's pizza or the Tempura Sushi Shrimp - both were OK. We didn't like the shot desserts that we tried. The creme brulee was more like cheesecake with caramel sauce - firm on the bottom on gooey on top, than like creme brulee - crunchy on top and creamy on the bottom. DD7 got the carrot cake shot and didn't like it.
We ate at Mama Della's Sunday night - the best meal of the trip. We had calamari again - much, much better than at Tchoup Chop. Even the DD's were devouring it. DD7 said her spaghetti was the "best ever", which DD3 had a very yummy PB&J with chips, strawberries and blueberries. The risotto was wonderful, and the lasagna was good but a little dry. Even better than the food was the service. When our server (the wonderful Gina) saw the kids eating carrots from the salad bowl, she brought them a platter of carrots with a side of dressing - much more personalized than Tchoup Chop's "Don't know if we can do carrots - there might be an additional charge."
We started Monday at Universal Studios, but there was not much for DD3 to do. She wouldn't do anything in the dark, which ruled out most things she was tall enough for. We did talk her into trying E.T., which she sort of enjoyed (after recovering from the dark part, which is almost all of it). She loved Barney, and she and I went back to IOA while DH and DD7 stayed at the Studios.
Here are my observations:
1. Staying onsite is so worth it, even during a slower time. On Monday afternoon, many IOA rides were closed due to lightning in the area. We were able to get on One Fish, Two Fish in between closures with FOTL access - the line was huge. My kids also loved the Seuss Trolley and insisted on riding the purple and green tracks multiple times each. We would have spent the whole weekend in line without FOTL since the lines were about 30 minutes each time for that ride. When many of the rides were down for weather, the lines at the few rides that were open got huge fast.
2. We tried to ride Pteranodon Flyers at 9:30 am, but the wait was already 45 minutes long. The team member was almost discouraging people from getting in line - "It's an 80 second ride, a 45 minute wait and no express passes, people!" If your kids have to do it, go there first!
3. We enjoyed the RPR despite any wear it is showing. We would stay there again, or maybe the Portofino (DH thought the piazza feel was right on with Italy). We did not check HRH while we were there, but would probably stay there if the DD's were older.
4. For my kids, WDW is still the place to be. DD3 is tall enough to ride some of the rides at Universal, but not brave enough. She liked the Barney show, tolerated E.T., and loved Seuss Landing (except the Cat in the Hat ride, which is dark and spinning). DD7 was not quite tall enough for Hulk and Dueling Dragons, and she wouldn't ride Mummy or Jaws. She liked Earthquake, Twister and Dr. Doom's Fear Fall. She was also scared on Spiderman, but not as much as her sister! We will definitely return to Universal, but it will be a few years. For us, it was a very fun trip in between WDW trips, but it wasn't WDW. (Before I get fussed at, we didn't expect it to be WDW - just saying.) Of course, YMMV with your own kids.
5. DH enjoys Universal much more than WDW, although he did admit that WDW offers more for kids that are our kids ages. He especially appreciated the value of Universal!
6. The theming at IOA is as good, and quite possibly better, than anything WDW has to offer. We felt fully immersed in each land as we went through, and we all thought the theming at Seuss Landing was way better than Fantasyland. We were all very impressed with Seuss Landing!
Thanks to everyone for all the information on this board! I am usually a lurker on this board, and I learned so much about rates, restaurants, and rides that made our trip so much better! Thanks to the posters about the room rates, and thanks to tarheelmjfan for the coupon book info. Thanks to MIB9's for letting me beat DH's score! Thank you very much!
Cast of characters: me, a confirmed Disney nut; DH, the anti-Mickey who would much rather be at Universal; DD7 and DD3. We had all been to Universal Studios before, but not to IOA. We had not stayed onsite.
Friday night: arrived at the Nick Hotel as a surprise for DD7. We didn't tell the girls where we were going - we just gave DD7 a printed map of the USA and had her color the states as we went through them. (We are from NC - not too taxing to color four states!). She thought we were going to WDW (knowing me as she does), so I told her that was not it to avoid any disappoinment. When we got to Orlando, we told her that we were staying some place she had seen on TV. Took her about three seconds to scream Nick Hotel!!! We had a two bedroom kids' suite with a Danny Phantom theme ($149 per night - thanks to the OP who posted the Travelzoo deal). I had signed up for the Holiday Inn Priority Club, so we got a coupon for popcorn and two drinks as our welcome amenity. The hotel was just as you would expect - fully geared to meeting a child's every need and wish. We liked the room layout with the separate bedroom and bunk beds for the kids.
We went swimming as soon as the girls could get their bathing suits on. DD3 is just 40 inches tall and could do the slides that didn't go into the pool, which she enjoyed with a little prompting from big sister. The pool was very crowded - can't imagine how it is at high season. Most people were very well-behaved. There was one boy about 10 years old who kept splashing DD3 and made her cry. I asked him to stop and he didn't, then I got in front of her and asked him again. When he splashed me, I told him not to start a fight he couldn't win and I splashed him until he slunk away. Not very adult, perhaps, but don't mess with the Mama Bear!
Of course, his parents were nowhere to be found, but you would think a boy that age could swim without his parents attached and not cause too much trouble.We did the character breakfast Saturday morning, which both girls loved. My DH commented that this was not a place to find adults without children!
Moved to RPR Saturday. We had booked a water view room at the summer savings rate (179.00 per night - thanks to Valentine for posting that!). We did not receive any Loew's amenities, but I had been told when we changed our rate that it was not qualifying (I had called RPR directly to change rates). We were in room 1208 - we could see small glimpses of water if we looked around a big tree. Not a great view, but it was fine. The room was nice with a few minor annoyances. One of the lights over the bed didn't work (missing bulb) - it was fixed promptly. The sink drained extremely slowly. An employee from engineering came to fix it within a few hours, had to take the sink apart, then had to come back to put it back together. He was very nice and fixed it right, but it amazed us that no one had reported it before or that housekeeping hadn't discovered it. The sink was almost non-functioning, and the RPR employee said it was full of "gunk" (I believe that is the technical term
). With only one sink in the room, it should have been pretty noticeable!The room cleanliness was not great, but it was OK. The carpet was stained, but we didn't stress over that. There was mold in the shower, which bothered me more than anyone else (because I do the bathroom cleaning at home, I'm sure!). We did not report it, but it could have been easily fixed with a bottle of Tilex and should have been apparent to housekeeping when they wiped down the shower. Not a big thing, but something we noticed. We did call for extra pillows, so after the sink, light, and pillows, we didn't want to seem too much like troublemakers and call for the mold!
The beds were comfy, but the pillows were terrible! They were very flat, and even DD7 asked if she could have two so she could sleep (hence the request for extra pillows). Next time we will bring our own!
We had lunch at Margaritaville, which was good, then we went to IOA. We loved the FOTL access, and we loved the theming of IOA! We all enjoyed Seuss Landing. Note to self: Do not take DD3 on Spiderman just because she is tall enough. Even after taking off her 3-D glasses, covering her eyes, and holding her head in my arms do it didn't bounce around, she still screamed to get off! I had meant to pack my Unofficial Guide to read up on the rides on the drive down, but I forgot it. We learned a quick lesson about the rides at IOA! Rookie mistake on our part -she didn't want to ride anything for a while after that! I know almost all of the WDW rides, but IOA was new to us and we (meaning I) should have prepared for the rides a little better.
We had dinner at Tcoup Chop, and it was OK. We had the dumpling box (good), the calamari (too much breading), rotisserie chicken (for $25, not any better than at the grocery store, but the rice was great!), and the clay pot (OK). DD7 had chicken fingers, which she said were OK. DD3 fell asleep before the appetizer and missed the whole experience. Service was good, although the server was not sure she could substitute carrots for DD7's french fries - "there might be an additional charge" - whatever, I just spent $25 on a rotisserie chicken - bring it on!
We spent all day Sunday at IOA, mainly in Seuss Landing. DD7 doesn't do upside down coasters, although she did ride Dr. Doom's Fear Fall with me (kind of lame compared to Tower of Terror, IMO). The highlight of the day was more than doubling DH's score on MIB - hee, hee, hee. Thanks to MIB9's for the tips - I read them surreptitiously in the car, but since I had never ridden MIB, I couldn't remember it all. I did manage to score the bonus by pressing the red button, but I couldn't make the other car spin. DH demanded to know my secrets since he was so thoroughly beaten!
We had lunch at Mythos on Sunday. We loved the tomato, mozzarella and basil flatbread and the gooey chocolate banana cake. We didn't love the Chef's pizza or the Tempura Sushi Shrimp - both were OK. We didn't like the shot desserts that we tried. The creme brulee was more like cheesecake with caramel sauce - firm on the bottom on gooey on top, than like creme brulee - crunchy on top and creamy on the bottom. DD7 got the carrot cake shot and didn't like it.
We ate at Mama Della's Sunday night - the best meal of the trip. We had calamari again - much, much better than at Tchoup Chop. Even the DD's were devouring it. DD7 said her spaghetti was the "best ever", which DD3 had a very yummy PB&J with chips, strawberries and blueberries. The risotto was wonderful, and the lasagna was good but a little dry. Even better than the food was the service. When our server (the wonderful Gina) saw the kids eating carrots from the salad bowl, she brought them a platter of carrots with a side of dressing - much more personalized than Tchoup Chop's "Don't know if we can do carrots - there might be an additional charge."
We started Monday at Universal Studios, but there was not much for DD3 to do. She wouldn't do anything in the dark, which ruled out most things she was tall enough for. We did talk her into trying E.T., which she sort of enjoyed (after recovering from the dark part, which is almost all of it). She loved Barney, and she and I went back to IOA while DH and DD7 stayed at the Studios.
Here are my observations:
1. Staying onsite is so worth it, even during a slower time. On Monday afternoon, many IOA rides were closed due to lightning in the area. We were able to get on One Fish, Two Fish in between closures with FOTL access - the line was huge. My kids also loved the Seuss Trolley and insisted on riding the purple and green tracks multiple times each. We would have spent the whole weekend in line without FOTL since the lines were about 30 minutes each time for that ride. When many of the rides were down for weather, the lines at the few rides that were open got huge fast.
2. We tried to ride Pteranodon Flyers at 9:30 am, but the wait was already 45 minutes long. The team member was almost discouraging people from getting in line - "It's an 80 second ride, a 45 minute wait and no express passes, people!" If your kids have to do it, go there first!
3. We enjoyed the RPR despite any wear it is showing. We would stay there again, or maybe the Portofino (DH thought the piazza feel was right on with Italy). We did not check HRH while we were there, but would probably stay there if the DD's were older.
4. For my kids, WDW is still the place to be. DD3 is tall enough to ride some of the rides at Universal, but not brave enough. She liked the Barney show, tolerated E.T., and loved Seuss Landing (except the Cat in the Hat ride, which is dark and spinning). DD7 was not quite tall enough for Hulk and Dueling Dragons, and she wouldn't ride Mummy or Jaws. She liked Earthquake, Twister and Dr. Doom's Fear Fall. She was also scared on Spiderman, but not as much as her sister! We will definitely return to Universal, but it will be a few years. For us, it was a very fun trip in between WDW trips, but it wasn't WDW. (Before I get fussed at, we didn't expect it to be WDW - just saying.) Of course, YMMV with your own kids.
5. DH enjoys Universal much more than WDW, although he did admit that WDW offers more for kids that are our kids ages. He especially appreciated the value of Universal!
6. The theming at IOA is as good, and quite possibly better, than anything WDW has to offer. We felt fully immersed in each land as we went through, and we all thought the theming at Seuss Landing was way better than Fantasyland. We were all very impressed with Seuss Landing!
Thanks to everyone for all the information on this board! I am usually a lurker on this board, and I learned so much about rates, restaurants, and rides that made our trip so much better! Thanks to the posters about the room rates, and thanks to tarheelmjfan for the coupon book info. Thanks to MIB9's for letting me beat DH's score! Thank you very much!
So, either DH & I are riding alone, or waiting for DBIL and his "crew" to join us later and leave DS w/ them while we ride....either way, I'm riding next time!
