wdwphanatic
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 29, 2001
- Messages
- 445
I posted a quick HRH report on the Resorts board, but just thought I'd check in to let everyone on this board know that we had a good time... Just wish the weather had cooperated better! We've been to Orlando in Feb. 4 times now (2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004) and NEVER had such bad weather as this time... Ugh, it was chilly, cloudy, and even rainy during most of our 4-day trip. It's disappointing when you come all the way from NJ for a few days in the sun and the sun is in hiding a lot of the time!
Nonetheless, we thoroughly enjoyed both US and IOA. We went on several of our favorite rides lots of times, thanks to the phenomenal FOTL benefit, and ate at several of the restaurants we'd been anxious to try...
As far as the parks are concerned, I would have to say that I enjoyed the atmosphere of both about equally. I know that lots of people much prefer IOA, but I really thought US was well themed as well. My top 5 favorite rides at both parks were (in order of preference) The Hulk (OMG, what an awesome rollercoaster this is!), Spiderman, Shrek 4D, Men in Black and Dueling Dragons... I also really enjoyed Jimmy Neutron and Terminator 2. I was underwhelmed with ET, Earthquake, Jaws, Twister, Beetlejuice, Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges (though it was pretty chilly and we got MAJORLY WET!), Jurassic Park River Adventure and Discovery Center, Sindbad and all of Seuss Landing... The biggest shock was that Back to the Future wasn't even one of my favorites. I was expecting to love this ride because I loved the movie, but it wasn't nearly as arresting as I thought it would be.
As far as the restaurants are concerned, we ate at Mythos for dinner, which we liked. The food was very good and the view awesome! The service left a bit to be desired, however. We also ate at the HRH's Kitchen restaurant for breakfast every day. The buffet was ok -- not as good as BC's, for example, and a bit expensive. We also ate at NBA City for dinner (good food, great service and reasonable prices), Margaritaville (very loud and crowded, but pretty good service and ok food), and Hard Rock Cafe (good service, decent food and excellent atmosphere). For lunch one day we ate at the Italian fast-food place at US (in the NY section, I believe), which was excellent. Otherwise, we basically just grabbed a bite here and there from vendors for lunch. I did feel that the food selection was not fantastic (a lot of the same stuff everywhere) and the restaurants, both sit-down and fast-food, didn't have the same level of theming as Disney's, IMO.
All in all, I'd say we enjoyed our trip to US/IOA. I can't say I liked it better than WDW -- in fact, I still like WDW better. The best parts of the stay were having FOTL (I WISH they had this at WDW!!!) and that everything was within easy walking distance. I thought the HRH was nice -- definitely a good value for the price I paid thru HotelKingdom. I still like BCV at WDW better, but HRH was much nicer than many of the Disney resorts and comparably priced (if you get a good discount!). The admission prices to US/IOA also cannot be beat -- we paid $89 for 4 5-day passes and got the 5th pass free! Disney charges about $260 for a 5-day pass, though you do get to visit 2 additional parks and a water park/Pleasure Island -- and unused days never expire. Still, US/IOA is a very good value and a lot of fun to visit... I'm very glad we went, and hope to return before too long so we can experience The Mummy!!!
Let me know if you have any questions -- everyone on this board has been sooooo helpful to me, I'd like to return the favor!!
Gosh, now that I look at this lengthly epistle, I guess I don't have to do a trip report, right??!!??
Happy trails,
Sarah
Nonetheless, we thoroughly enjoyed both US and IOA. We went on several of our favorite rides lots of times, thanks to the phenomenal FOTL benefit, and ate at several of the restaurants we'd been anxious to try...
As far as the parks are concerned, I would have to say that I enjoyed the atmosphere of both about equally. I know that lots of people much prefer IOA, but I really thought US was well themed as well. My top 5 favorite rides at both parks were (in order of preference) The Hulk (OMG, what an awesome rollercoaster this is!), Spiderman, Shrek 4D, Men in Black and Dueling Dragons... I also really enjoyed Jimmy Neutron and Terminator 2. I was underwhelmed with ET, Earthquake, Jaws, Twister, Beetlejuice, Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges (though it was pretty chilly and we got MAJORLY WET!), Jurassic Park River Adventure and Discovery Center, Sindbad and all of Seuss Landing... The biggest shock was that Back to the Future wasn't even one of my favorites. I was expecting to love this ride because I loved the movie, but it wasn't nearly as arresting as I thought it would be.
As far as the restaurants are concerned, we ate at Mythos for dinner, which we liked. The food was very good and the view awesome! The service left a bit to be desired, however. We also ate at the HRH's Kitchen restaurant for breakfast every day. The buffet was ok -- not as good as BC's, for example, and a bit expensive. We also ate at NBA City for dinner (good food, great service and reasonable prices), Margaritaville (very loud and crowded, but pretty good service and ok food), and Hard Rock Cafe (good service, decent food and excellent atmosphere). For lunch one day we ate at the Italian fast-food place at US (in the NY section, I believe), which was excellent. Otherwise, we basically just grabbed a bite here and there from vendors for lunch. I did feel that the food selection was not fantastic (a lot of the same stuff everywhere) and the restaurants, both sit-down and fast-food, didn't have the same level of theming as Disney's, IMO.
All in all, I'd say we enjoyed our trip to US/IOA. I can't say I liked it better than WDW -- in fact, I still like WDW better. The best parts of the stay were having FOTL (I WISH they had this at WDW!!!) and that everything was within easy walking distance. I thought the HRH was nice -- definitely a good value for the price I paid thru HotelKingdom. I still like BCV at WDW better, but HRH was much nicer than many of the Disney resorts and comparably priced (if you get a good discount!). The admission prices to US/IOA also cannot be beat -- we paid $89 for 4 5-day passes and got the 5th pass free! Disney charges about $260 for a 5-day pass, though you do get to visit 2 additional parks and a water park/Pleasure Island -- and unused days never expire. Still, US/IOA is a very good value and a lot of fun to visit... I'm very glad we went, and hope to return before too long so we can experience The Mummy!!!
Let me know if you have any questions -- everyone on this board has been sooooo helpful to me, I'd like to return the favor!!
Gosh, now that I look at this lengthly epistle, I guess I don't have to do a trip report, right??!!??
Happy trails,
Sarah
(This is what happens when I'm tired!!) 
