Well, we were at RPR 8/21-8/27. Flew in for the last part of Tropical Storm Fay and got out before Gustav could get anywhere near us. Had a really great time, in spite of a couple of glitches. First things first: RPR was a beautiful hotel. I hadn't requested a room in advance, so our view was of the highway and shuttle bus pickup area (Room 3557), but I don't spend much time in room anyway, so it was OK. Also, if we had been facing the park, my son (7yo) would have spent all his time watching Dr. Doom go up and down. He was strangely fascinated by watching that ride.
We had 2 days of almost complete rain, and then sun for most of the day w/ rain between 3 and 5 pm. Plenty of time to enjoy the parks, especially w/ FOTL. That is the greatest perk and there is no way that I would ever go to Universal again and not stay on site. We really enjoyed the parks, although my son was not brave enough to go on a lot of the rides. He also got really freaked out by Spiderman, which really upset me because a friend of mine had told me it was not a big deal. Then later that day, he slipped on the boat at the pool and cut his face right near his eye.
We thought he might need stitches, but I went to the store and got steri-strips and liquid bandage and that did the trick. That was actually one of my few complaints about the hotel service. The lifeguards were really nice about cleaning up his face at the pool, and security said that they would shuttle me to a walk-in clinic to get him checked, but when I said I wanted to go to Walgreens, I had to pay for a cab myself. I also thought a call to c heck up on him would have been inice afte4r the fact, but I got nothing. Maybe I'm expecting too much? Anyway, that same night, we realized that DH lost his cell phone somewhere in IOA. We never did find it.We also were able to pool hop during our trip. DS loved the pool at HRH; must have done the slide about 100 times. Think I might try there next time we go.
As for meals, we ate at Islands for breakfast buffet, and 2 dinners (one character w/ Scooby and Shaggy, DS's favorites). Food was good, but not fantastic. We also ate at Tchoup Chop, which was good. Funny thing is that I did not think the food was terribly priced but I thought the wines and cocktails were ridiculous. It was an experience. Best food, though, hands down was Mythos. OMG, it was amazing!!! Truly, one of the best meals I've had in a long time. I had the pork w/ the pistachios and blueberries and I wish I could have it again tonight for dinner.
For transportation to and from the airport, we used cbc trnasportation. It was $90 round trip plus tip. I found the driver to be punctual (even though our flight was 30 minutes early), professional and pleasant (the 3 p's). I would recommend trying them. The only problem my husband had w/ them was that we had to pay for the round trip service when they dropped us off at RPR. He worried that there was no incentive for them to come back for us.
All in all, it was a great trip and I really appreciate all the help I got from the people on this board. We'll probably wait a few years until DS is older to return to Universal, but I know we will definitely go back. If only to ride the Hulk!
Sorry so long but it was great. Gotta go do laundry now
