Just Got Back 8/18 to 8/22 quip's and observations.

[dannyb63]

Hi all,
We just got back from Universal and I'd like to share our trip with you. First off in my planning for this trip I never found any real hard figures in one spot so as I go through this post I will try to provide #'s as best I can. I am a budgeter and I like to get the most out of my vacation dollar so maybe you can benefit from some of my ramblings.

Wed 8/18
We flew in the afternoon and our stay at the Portofino was not til thursday so I booked us into the Best Western Gateway, Right across the street from Wet N Wild. I got this place online for just under $70 for the night w/tax. Now its not the Ritz (nor the Portofino for that fact) but its nice for its age. The Hotel while it seemed the rooms were somewhat updated (Nice beds and a flat screen TV) the hallways were definitely in need of some paint and renovations. The Staff here is very personable. We took a cab here from the airport about $45 one way w/tip. The Cabbie was a very nice older gentleman (Tony Yellow Cab) and gave us his card for the trip back (He even said he gives 10% off on return trips)

I wanted to go to the park to get our Tickets (I had paid ahead for a Preferred annual pass and need tix for the rest of my family, DGF, DD15 & DD16). I went down and asked for a cab, The Bell Captain called and told me that he called for a van and its a flat rate of $8 ( Not bad $2 each). After we got Tix, My Pass and then purchased 3, 4 day, 2 park passes for 430-ish (Was over $500 but with pass discount saved about $70 bucks).

We checked out all the menu's at City Walk from here. Gotta make a battle plan for our next 3 nite's meals. After all voted, we decide on Bubba Gump , Hard Rock and Margaritaville. While at Margaritaville they talk my DGF into getting her Pic taken with a Parrot, Who proceeds to pull the earring out of her ear and either eat it or spit it somewhere we could not find (This is only the beginning of DGF's adventures).

Well now we get a cab back to Best Western and the cab ride for 4 back is only $5.50 HMMM I know its only 2.50 but I am maximizing money.

We are now hungry So we ask around the hotel where to get a decent meal. The consensus was Ponderosa ( the Bell Captain gave us a card for 10% off so he got back on my good side) So we walked over (About 2-3 blocks). Got right in. Now to help explain Ponderosa is a Steak & Buffet place. So for $10 to $12 each, we got a meal (Choices from Chicken to Steak with side) and the Buffet. Oh I will state this We are a eatin family, My DD16 can out eat most boys her age and is only 120lbs! add sodas for about $2 each and we came in just under $60. That was a good meal, a very fresh Buffet ( Salads, Pastas, Tacos and desserts) and the server we had was excellent!

We walked back to the room and headed down to relax by the pool. The girls got in their suits and said the pool was clean and nice. DGF and I sat under an umbrella. I decided to get us each a drink ( Heck I am on Vacation). Went into the bar and asked if I can take drinks to the pool and the Bartender said yes, "What would you like"? Well Last year while at Disney I found out that while on vacation I enjoy a tropical drink, So I said something tropical. She said that they really don't have a tropical drink menu but that she has an excellent Rum type lemonade that she does. Ok!!!! Let me tell you it was excellent!!!

Well gotta get up really early tomorrow so I shag everyone to bed around 9pm. Stop At The front desk to request a cab/van for 6am tomorrow!
(Thats day one Ill post more as the week goes)

 

[dakjoskaimiksmom]

Sounds great so far!

We love us some Ponderosa, too. You can't beat the price.

 

[dannyb63]

Thurs 8/19
Well Its 6am everyone is up, showered and we are on our way down to catch our ride to PBR. Down in the lobby I check out, No probs! Then out the door, Im looking for the van from yesterday, Only thing here is a very nice Escalade. The guy rolls down the window and asks if I called for a pick up at 6am? I say "yes", he says "Get in". He knows we are going to PBR so Im thinking cool ride for $8. We get to PBR and he unloads our baggage I get out $8 and he says " Oh for the premium vehicle its $15" I really need to start asking more questions before we get in!!!!

So into PBR we go. We head to the desk and let them know we have reservations for today. He (Shiv) looks us up, "Bay view room 2 beds"!
Yes I say, Then I politely ask " Is there an Upgrade available to us today"? Shiv looks and states " Well Club is sold out but I can move you to a Deluxe room. Its a little bigger and has a sofa bed besides the 2 queens". I ask is there a charge and he states No. Score!!! He then states "And that room is ready now" Double Score!!!! We get our keys and stumble around for 5 mins, Ok we got lost!! There I said it!! We ask for directions and get to our room 2260.
Room is on the ground level so besides being Beautiful, Spacious and now each of the girls get their own bed, we have a nice patio very near to the Bocce court. Well now it is almost 7am time to get to IOA so we can get a jump on WWOHP. Down to the dock we go and the line is huge. Ah, I state, I know a shortcut. We walked to the park using the shortcut stated here that goes through the HRH parking lot and made it there before the boat. Ha!

As we go through the common area there is a cart selling all kinds of Knick Knacks ( Sunscreen, Batteries, Fanny packs) what catches my eye are the Universal Lanyards with a Ziplock card pouch. I ask for the price, $5 each (used my Preferred pass and got 10% off) Give us 4! Very cool, it fits our hotel key and park pass, we put each facing out so all you gotta do is flip it for either.
We now get in line and wait til 7:45 for them to open the gate. We follow the crowd and have our hotel key ready for they are checking them at the end of POE. Off through Suess land We cut behind the shops at stated here and get to WWOHP.

Once in we got a locker near Dueling Dragons for the girls string bags & head straight to FJ. Olivanders already has about 50-60 people in line. Into the FJ line we go and get to the Greenhouse where we abruptly stop. The announcement states that there is some difficulty and sorry for the wait. We wait for about 45mins then everyone starts cheering. Rides up!!! We were on the lower level of the greenhouse at this point and it took about 10-15 mins to get into castle and up to the moving walkway.
Once on I will say that this ride is a bit rough and I have a slight problem with virtual reality motion sickness. But given that... THIS RIDE ROCKS!!! My Girls Agreed!

Ok here is what sucks about WWOHP. You get off the ride and are funneled into a shop that does not have enough room for the exodus and the CM's are fighting with the people from the lockers going the wrong way or the people from the ride going the wrong way. We got right onto FOTH with our hotel key. We wanted to get into Honeydukes but there was a line outside for that and forget getting into Dervish and Bangs. We did manage to look around (Its like being in the movie) used the bathroom and got a little of the Ghost voice in there. Line for butterbeer Huge! lets get some eats and come back later. On the way up we had our Pic taken with the Hogwart Express and the Conductor.

Got our bags from the locker, it cost us $3. I asked the CM as we left and asked if we can get back in with our hotel key. His answer "No" He informs me that I would have to wait in the line with the non hotel guests. So I asked when is a better time to come back he told us after 3pm. Ok!

Headed over to Crescent Moon Bakery They have Breakfast croissants. 3 of us wanted them and my DD15 just wanted a danish. We got our mugs from 2 years ago and got them filled for .85 each.( Thats with tax) So with refills & food used Preferred pass and breakfast was just over $18. The sandwiches were adequate they were a little crunchy for they had them in a hot box keeping them warm. ( So they are pre-making them).

From here we head to Marvel Island. We use our hotel key to get right on Hulk and Spiderman ( Twice). Got onto DD Fearfall and just as they were gonna launch us they announce "Due to weather we are closing the ride" HMMM looks pretty clear but I guess better safe than sorry! Checked out Toon Lagoon. Ripsaw falls is down and we decide to do Popeye later.


Through Jurassic Park, We head to Pteranodon Flyers they tell Us that we need a kid under 48 inches with us each to ride. We are all over 5'10". Ugh They sure know how to burst our bubble. Couldn't find any kids to borrow either. We also decide to do The river adventure later.
Through Lost Continent missed the Sinbad show and took a pass on Poseidon's Fury.
Well By now I have had 4 refills on my Diet Coke ( Ah the elixir of life!)
We do the Cat in The Hat ride. Its now about 2-ish. Lets head back to the Hotel for some A/C and a little pool time.
We catch the boat back and get to our room. We change and since we are in the Villa wing we are like 50 steps from the Beach pool but we head a bit further to the Villa pool.( Supposedly Quieter) We get some towels and hop in, The pool Is like Bath water, Very nice! Jimmy the server for the pool comes by and asks if we would like anything so I Get a Miami Vice ( Pina Colada & Strawberry Daiquiri, Very nice on a hot day by the pool!) The Family gets water and we order Chips & Salsa to snack on! Total bill $21.
There are a bunch of kids in the pool playing Marco Polo and a lady gets off her lounge and tells them to be quiet that this is the adult pool. They try to play quiet but it does not last long.

After Our snack we head back to the room to Shower and change. Time for dinner. Tonight Hard Rock Cafe. We walk over ( Using Shortcut) I have the All Access card so that gets us a table fairly quick. They hand my DD16 a guitar and pose us for a Rockin Family Pic! We all pretty much ordered burgers ( Which all agreed were excellent) and we bought the pic when they brought it by ($20). Now the girl compared the annual pass discount vs All Access. Pass $9 now or access ($20) later I took the $9 now so dinner was about $80 out the door.

We headed to the park and checked out WWOHP at night. With everything lit up was very cool ( Reminded me a lot of the time I spent in England). We got back in line for FJ ( It was only 20 mins!!) after we got off we realized we missed Dragon Challenge earler. DGF is not a coaster freak so she took the bags and on we went (5 min wait with express). We got off to find her in line getting a Butterbeer & Pumpkin Juice. Butterbeer is a lot like cream soda ( Yummy). DD16 did not like it and Pumpkin juice reminded me a lot of mulled cider, DD16 really liked it, the rest of us passed. Caught The end of the Frog Choir and were told that the Triwizard Spirit Rally would be in 5 mins. So we hung around for that (Cool Dancing and they pose afterwards with you for pics) and then came the rain.
Lets head back to the Hotel. We walk back (again shortcut/ In the rain). We are tired and wet so I tell everyone we will sleep in tomorrow Yea!

 

[tfoster]

Love all of your details - thanks for taking the time to write them! Looking forward to the rest of your stay!

 

[Metro West]

Great so far...keep it going.

 

[christophfam]

 

[dannyb63]

Thanks All for reading!

Fri 8/19

Well It was nice to sleep in we are up and out by 9:30. No boat at the dock so we hoof it ( You guessed it ... Shortcut). Today is US day. We enter and we are hungry so we head over to Beverly Hills Boulangerie. They are a bakery like Crescent Moon in IOA. They offer a breakfast croissant but with bacon or ham so we order 3 bacons and a muffin for dd15 a couple of chocolate milks, my diet coke refill and with the Ap disc we are about 18.50. Now this time we have to wait for our sandwiches I can see off to the side that someone is making them and I will tell you that they were tastier than the ones we got yesterday.

Ok Bellies content we need a plan, we head straight to HRRR its about 30 min wait so on we go, DDGF sits out. In line we meet 3 teens together and ask if one of them would like to ride with me ( I promised not to hold their hand) we get on and that lap bar is tough to get down but I got it. Now I am prepared with some of the secret songs but opt for one of the standard choices so I get a video. I choose ZZ Top! The DD's choose some Hip Hop and the ride starts. I will say the first half of this ride is a screamer, But the second kind of bored me. In all I give it 3 stars, Not as intense as Hulk but the soundtrack makes it unique! We catch our vids at the end and laugh at each other but for 30 bucks we pass.
As we get off we decide to head to Shrek 4D. We had seen part 3 in the theatre last month so this was an excellent choice. With Express pass we walked right on. Even though we saw this 2 years ago it still packed some suprises.
We get out and we see there are a bunch of Characters out so we head to get some pics. We get Marilyn Monroe with Lucy, Curious George, Woody and Scooby. From here straight to Twister, No wait with express. DD15 hates tornado's, I and DGF offer to sit out with her but she says she will hide behind us so on we go. More of a short show than a ride but really cool effects anyway. We get off and DD15 is glad we are out of there. We see mummy around the corner and beeline!!!
This one a fav ride of all, so we stash our bags in a locker in into the express line we go. As we walk through the catacombs I use my deepest voice and chant Imotep Imooootep! all three smack me and tell me to Stop That!! Within 5 mins we are on!! We love this ride, You don't need to see the movie to enjoy but we all have and we all agree it makes it better. We get off and right back on. Awesome!! Ok lets get our bags an keep moving. Time for a Diet coke, DD15v is not really a pop drinker and has been getting waters in our other cup but I notice that the menus has a spot for Iccee refills 2.99 so I ask if that is for the cups like we have and the answer is yes, so dd15 gets a blue raspberry!
Well Beetlejuice is already started and the wait on disaster is 60 mins so we move on to Jaws. Ah gotta get a pic with the shark and using express we get on in less than 10 mins. What makes this ride is the TM and our girl was great she really played it well and we still jump at the shark popping up. We stop for a Nathans hot dog ( I cant resist a good dog) Use the AP discount and with a soda refill its about $8. Well now its time for MIB!

This is another fav . We stash the bags and with express we are on in minutes. I explain to all what I read here to get more points. Shoot the smaller things, Keep shooting all the time, Shoot the other car and when to press the red button. Well I got about 300k but they all got like 30 -40k. So we get right back on. This time I explain again and I get 237k and the family all got over 150k. We almost get on again but DGF is feeling a little dizzy. So time to get the bags and head to The Simpsons.

This ride makes me sick, When we rode it two years ago I almost threw up. But I go anyway ( I know now to close my eyes if I start feeling queasy). With express I would say it took about 15 mins to get on. We put our things aside and off we go into the world of the Simpsons, Remarkably I made it through 90% of this ride (had to close my eyes near the end). Its about 3pm now so we head back to PBR for some pool time.
After walking back we change and head back to the Villa pool. HMM where's Jimmy ? Not here today but there was a girl there happy to take our order so now we would like 2 Miami Vices and the DD's would like a smoothie ( they gave us a taster yesterday and the DD's loved it) berry we believe. No eats today, We get our Beverages and the bill is about $40 with tip. Hey! I just realized this, should I have been asking for an AP disc. at the pool? Oh Well Maybe next time!

After some pool time its time to get ready for Dinner. Tonight its Margaritaville. We change and walk over by about 6pm. I go up and ask for a table for 4, they tell me its about 45 mins to an hour I show them my hotel key and she says about 20 -30 mins then. Now I know I could have avoided any wait by making reservations at the park or through the hotel in advance but I never knew exactly when we would want dinner so 20-30 mins is ok. While waiting we decide to see if they found DGF's earing and that would be No! We hang out front and before we know it our pager goes off.

They seat us fairly near the back of the restaurant (near the elevator) but we are glad to be seated. We peruse the menu and myself and DD16 decide on Jerk Chicken, DGF gets the catch of the day and DD15 has a chicken sandwich. While waiting for our food this place is got so much going on, besides music and videos everywhere there are 2 people on stilts making all kinds of balloon creations ( they come to your table and are a riot) DD's got a elephant and a crown respectively. The Volcano goes off at the bar and that is an event of itself as is the Margaritaville Song. The food comes and is delicious. The Chicken made our noses run and DGF said her fish was awesome, as was DD15's Sandwich. Bill was just over $80 with AP disc.

Well by this time we are done. So Back to the PBR we go, Besides we did not get desert at Margaritaville so we can get Gelato. We walk back I give the DD's some money for Gelato and DGF and I order a drink at the Thirsty Fish Bar. They have a nice duo there playing some jazz/light rock. The DD's come back and we taste their Gelato (Mango was excellent and Double Chocoalte was rich). They finish and head to the room ahead of us and after DGF and I finish our drinks we head up to the room also. Forgot what i spent here but I think gelato $7-8 and drinks were like $15.
Well Off to bed we gotta get up early tomorrow for WWOHP ptII.

 

[mdb78]

I am enjoying your trip report! I feel like I went with your family or watching a show. Great details!

 

[mom2mikel]

LOVING all of your details.....we are going in just over 2 weeks -- this is building the excitement even more..

 

[Brit_Jude]

Just caught up - thanks great trippie!

 

[debsters41]

I am so glad I found this report. You are giving just the details I have been looking for!

 

[dannyb63]

Hi, sorry all we have been sick as dogs since last Thurs. Probably vacation depravation!

Sat 8/21

Up and at em!! Up and out by 7am. Today is WWOHP round 2. We leave PBR and forgo the boat for the shortcut (We have given up on the boat totally, we have found that even when it was there that we could make it to the parks just as fast on foot).
We wait for the gates to open and today the open about 7:35. We head through the park and are in WWOHP in minutes. We look at Olivander's and the line again is like 50 people deep so we all agree that this officially becomes a pass. DD15 states that if it were a ride she would wait but for a little show she can pass. So off to FJ we go. Today we get a Locker there for our bags and locate one fast get our things in and then are funneled into the line.
We get all the way into the castle almost to the Sorting Hat and here comes the announcement "The ride is down indefinitely". Well a ton of people start using the exits and we look at each other and decide we give it 20 or 30 mins and see what happens. About 10-15 mins pass and suddenly we are moving. Rides Up!! We are on in like 2 minutes. As always it is awesome. We don't tire of this ride at all. We get off get our bags. Man is this locker area a hassle. Make sure you go the right way or you will be sternly redirected. We shop a little in the gift shop DD15 wants a necklace that Hermignie wears. We ask and are told that that is sold at Hot Topic. Ok Thanks!
DDGF holds the bags as we ride Dragon again. I love suspended coasters and of course with express it was a walk on. After this we notice that we can actually get into Honeydukes. Kids, I got two words for you Cauldron Cakes! We look around see if there is anything the kids want and suprisingly the answer is no. So to the counter we go and our breakfast appetizer is a cauldron cake. This little thing was very good. A little chocolate cake filled with a chocolate type custard and a chocolate handle. Gone in 2 bites!!!! They were a couple of bucks apiece and I got an Ap disc on the bill so under 10 bucks.
Hey now that we had a morsel we are hungry. Well we have already had the parks breakfast offerings so lets see what Citywalk has. We exit and look around and decide we liked the look of the breakfast offerings at Pastamore. DD15, DDGF and I all opt for the breakfast pizza with tons of sausage and bacon and DD16 gets the breakfast platter ( Eggs, Potatoes and meat of choice) Some juice and a Diet coke refill for me and the bill with AP disc. is about $18 and some change. The pizzas were very yummy and fresh and DD had her plate done before we were halfway.

Alright all nourished, we head back to the park. Once in we head to Marvel island and see them clearing the street for the Super heros to arrive (If I remember right the music changes also) So we wait to get some pics of them coming on their ATV's and then they all take a position on the street for you to get pics with them (Spiderman heads into the store). So we line up for pics with Rogue & Storm, We take a family photo with them like we are ready to fight. Wolverine, He was way cool, Nice guy. Spiderman, this is taken on a green backdrop so they can sell you a comic cover with you and spidey on it. Captain America, Now I had worn my Captain America T-Shirt today, so I had to get my pic with him and when I get there he notices and says "hey thanks for representing". I believe that was it, a lot of fun and we got pics to prove it. Well they all take off on their ATV's and we head to Spiderman. Show our Express and walk right on. Man I will never tire of that.

Now today we check the time so we can catch The Sinbad stunt show and see we have enough time to get over there. On the way lets get some refills. Diet Coke and water. Well on our way we drop the cup of water and that sucker splits right open. Well, throw it away and we can get another after Sinbad. Into Sinbad we go, Hey there is an Express pass entrance lets go there. We get in and notice that the first 5-6 rows have big drops painted on the seating. Ah the wet section! We opt for a few higher. A very cool live show about 30 -40 mins long and very entertaining. After leaving we head for Poseidon's Fury. We show our express and wait about 5 mins before we are let into the Tour/Show. Very cool might be a little scary for little ones but the end is just awesome (OOOh the water tunnel is way cool!). On the way out I am thirsty so lets get a refill and a new cup. We get to a stand and give them the one cup and explained we needed to purchase a second for we dropped our other one and it split open. The girl behind the counter asked where it was, We said in the garbage, Oh she said for We would have replaced it for you. DOH!! Oh well, live and learn and for those of you reading take note.

Alright we have saved the water rides for last so lets do it! Off to Jurassic Park. We show our Express and its on in a couple of mins. A great ride the T-Rex always get DDGF. Well we got a little wet lets get really wet. Yup Off to Popeye & Bluto's Bilge rat rides. We show our express and its a walk on so as we try to board the tube we are trying to take off our shoes and socks ( I hate walking in wet footwear) and stow them in the middle of the tube before we depart. This ride not only gets you wet it assures that you will be soaked!!! Well now that we are soaked we dry off our feet (We took a hand towel from the hotel before we left) Put on our socks and shoes and decide to skip Rip saw falls and head back for .... You guessed it some pool time. We walk back to PBR change and hit the pool. No drinks today just some down time.

After we get an hour or two at the pool we decide its dinner time. We head up and clean up and change. We Hoof it to City Walk and today its Bubba Gump. Well we walk by it and all the way to IOA and ask where it is and they direct us. Well by now its starting to drizzle and we know its gonna pour soon. So we get to Bubba's and at the first ressie stand we stop and ask for a table. They state that they are pretty backed up with a very large party that we should go to the next stand for the other dining room. Ok! we walk up and ask for a table for 4 she takes our name and I show her my resort key for preferred seating and she states "Oh that doesnt work here we are not owned by universal" Ok how longs the wait then? She says about 15 mins. I say cool and its starts to pour. She tells us to come in and wait near the bar inside. Oh instead of taking your name they ask for the name of you Fav Super Hero well I said Capt America of course. They call us in after about 15 and we sit down. We order some iced tea and sodas. The staff is hugely friendly we get the sampler app while we look at the menu. Now a quick statement here ... This place is all based on the movie Forest Gump. The girl brings our drinks and asks if we are ready to order I decide on the shrimp boat mess( A nice seafood bucket), DGF gets the Tilapia , DD16 gets the drunken shrimp and DD15 ( Not a seafood fan) gets the chicken/pear salad. Before the girl leaves she asks us a Forest gump trivia question, Like what is the shrimp boat captains middle name ? She leaves and we all look at each other like What? We have all seen the movie but have no clue. She returns with our app and tells us the answer ( Never would have gotten it) and asks us like 4 more of which we knew 3, We feel better now. The app plate is excellent some fried shrimp, Spinach/ artichoke dip with chips, and I am lost on the rest but it was all good. Oh on your table is a stand with 2 license plates one says Run Forrest Run and the other Stop Forrest Stop. We were told if you needed anything to just flip it to Stop. So I needed another soda so I flipped it and the first staff member to walk by our table stopped and asked what we needed I said a refill and they went and got it. This is great service!!!

Our meals come, My bucket with shrimp and crab claws was excellent, tried some of DDGF's Tilapia and that was also yummy. I assume the DD16's drunken shrimp was good for it was gone in a flash. DD15 said her salad was also very good. We skip desert and pay the bill. With appetizer and Ap Disc $88.12.
It has stopped raining so we head back to the park. We need to walk off some of this dinner. Tonight its just all about walking around taking in the park at night so we walk all over casually. Now its about 9 and I am thirsty but nothing is open. Man shoulda got a refill sooner, well near the front we spy Cinnabon is still open. So we stop and decide hey we got a little room for desert. So I get in line and DD15 asks if she can get a funnel cake next door. Sure here is $6. We wait about 10-15 mins ( The problem here is everyone in front of us is ordering some blended coffee thing and there is only one person in there serving the window). We persevere and get 3 Cinnabons, show Ap pass and get discount so about $10 with my refill. The girls have gotten a table outside the backwater bar and we sit down. Our rolls are all a little dried out and the funnel cake looked the same so here is your warning that if you want these items before the park closes, beware they may have sitting out for a bit before you get them. Not good eats!
We walk back to PBR and head to bed gonna sleep in a little tomorrow before we check out. One last day in the parks/ One more post.

 

[dannyb63]

Sun 8/22
Well we slept in a bit, but not too long we have breakfast reservations at 9am at Cofisco grill. I spotted people going in there on our first morning (thurs) and inquired as to what the deal was? They told me it was a Character breakfast and you needed reservations. I asked my teenagers if they would be interested in this and to my suprize they said yes. So At the park ressie desk I asked for a table for 4 and they said I could do it on Sun Morning. So here we are Sunday!

We pack our bags and head down to the desk to check out, Our plane does not leave til 7pm so we really have a whole day at the parks. I told everyone to put a change of clothes in the zipper part of their suitcase in case we want to change later before going to the airport. At the desk they square up our bill, No issues! tell us that we can leave our bags at the bell desk and also tell us that we can use the spa to change later if we want. Also if you would like to shower at the spa its $10 ( Changing is free)

We take the shortcut over to the parks Confisco is in IOA so thats on the agenda first. We walk in give them our name and are seated in like 2 mins. Suzie our server takes a drink order and asks if we are having the buffet, We say yes and are all set. The dining room has 2 food lines. The main one has a statue of The Cat in The hat at one end and Spiderman at the other. My powers of deduction tell me this will be our characters. Well the food is nice there is fruit and cereals,Then in the chaffing dishes are eggs, potatoes, Bacon, Sausage, Little green eggs and ham sandwiches ( very good), Oatmeal and yogurt. The other table has Waffle sticks and french toast with all the fixins.
Ok we got some food we sit down and a few tables down is the cat in the hat. He will be by us soon, so kids get out your cameras. Suzie shows up with the drinks and sets them out for us and as she is cutting over DGF, the Cat In The Hat, who was at the table next to us turns around to greet us, knocking the drinks out of suzies hands and all over DGF.
Well the cat took off (Hid in the corner, Knew he was a bad kitty) and suzie quickly got some towels and a person with a mop. She is apologizing profusely. Hey we understand, We are not upset, just that all DGF's clothes are at the hotel. Well the Manager comes over and talks to us and offers a new set of clothes from the shops across from Confisco. DGF is very thankful and we tell the manager that we will do that after breakfast. Now a lady brings the Cat over to us Personally and states how bad he feels, for him. DGF says ' Let Me pull your tail and Ill call it even" To which he turned around for said pull. We took some pics with him and off he went. Then here comes Spiderman. He was very nice stayed in Character the whole time. Then Thing 1 and 2. They are a little mischievous but they were fun and we got picks with all.
Ok Breakfast is over lets pay the bill and get DGF some dry clothes. The bill ( with tip already added) was $91. With all the commotion i forgot to ask for the AP disc ( Oh well). The manager took us across the way and handed us to the manager at the clothes shop and DGF was shopping. She found a nice pair of shorts and a tee shirt to match there was a little changing tent outside she donned her new outfit and the nice lady put her wet clothes in a bag for us and the manager asked her to sign a form for the clothes and we were off.

Ok We want to go back to US. on the walk there we encountered our 5 or 6th photographer of our trip. We take some pics. I show him the tickets i saved from all the pics that we have been taking for 4 days.He asks if we would like to see our pics. We planned on buying one anyway (A memento of our trip) So yes lets look. We go inside the photo shop in US and he starts to show us our pics ( Only the ones we took at US) and says that we can have them all put on a disc for $30. Hey i like that better, How many pics can we put on a disc " as many as you like". Well then can you take some more? Sure he says. We go out of the shop and he takes a couple of family shots, A few of the girls and a few of me and DGF. Also mixed in are some Magic shots. You know hold out your hands and look suprized shots. so we pocket those tickets and say we will be back later.

Its time for some rides. We head to Jimmy Neutron. Show our hotel key for express ( Its still good on the day you check out) and right in we go. For a kids ride this Show type ride still has a few good bumps in it. We like it. Once out we check out HRRR over 60 mins gotta skip. We walk over to Mummy and again show our keys and are in in 2-3 mins. Once off of this we see that we can get into Beetlejuices Graveyard Revue. We walk in and get a seat and enjoy this monster rock and roll show. Very entertaining but very hot up front sit back more for the back section has fans at least you will have some breeze. No time for Disaster so Off to MIB and with express its a walk on. This time collectively we scored very high we got Galactic defender and at the end of the ride you see a little video that we haven't seen yet. Very cool!!! We skip the Simpsons and head for the Hollywood horror show. We are a little early and notice A Despicable Me like Billboard roped off. I see Scooby and Shaggy are out so I head over there to ask one of the "Handlers" If they know. They say yes that 'Dave" ( one of the minions) will be there in a half an hour just before the Make up show. Cool! so we hop into Mels for a snack Some chicken fingers and Chili Cheese fries. With Ap disc about $10 including refills. We finish eating just in time to see them walking Dave out so we hop over and we get a few picks of the girls with him.
We head from there into the Make up show. This is a great show. We all love it just scary enough but the 2 hosts are a riot. Lots of jokes and pranks on the audience members. We were in the front row and DS15 was worried that she would be picked luckily the boy 2 over from her was picked. Lots of fun and its in the AC. We pop into the Nick shop and see that Spongebob is there taking Pics and there is no one there. We get over and take about 3 shots just as Jimmy Neutron lets out into the shop and there is an instant line. The girl tells us that they may be able to add our pics to the CD but it may crash the system.

Well we got about a half an hour before we have to head back to the hotel to get our bags so DGF and I head to the photo shop to see about this picture CD thing while the girls go and check out the Universal Store. We go in and the girl at the counter starts to help us. I give her all my US pic tickets, She tells me the paper tickets are from rides and they cannot be retrieved at the shop (Only the ride). Darn! But the rest she pulls up and tells us that she will work on those with us before she attempts the Spongebob ones for they sometimes give the system problems. What I liked here is that she gave us a sheet of borders and characters and as she pulled up each pic she asked us to pick out a border, She cropped out unnecessary people and on the magic shots she asked who we wanted to put in our hands!! She even put sunglasses on us for in one pic we were squinting too much. Very cool!! When we had all our pics done she saved them and then retrieved our Spongebob photos with no problem ( i Think the Shrek and one other can be done this way also). We put some bikini Bottom borders on those and then put everything from US on one disc. With Ap Disc $26.

Ok Disc in hand lets walk back and get our bags. On the way I call Tony from Yellow cab and tell him what time we want to be picked up. Once at PBR we retrieve our bags and we all want to change ( We are all kinda sweaty) so off to the spa to change into some fresher clothes. We have a few before our cab arrives so we plop down in the lobby and relax. DGF notices everyone getting a drink from a large glass jug thing. We walk over and its some type of juice ( I forgot what the label said) so we all get a cup and it was very refreshing. Tony showed up 10mins early and called me from the pick up area. So we gather our bags and head to the airport, Since we were a return cust. Tony gave us 10% off our fare of $37 so with tip $40 from PBR to MCO.
And now its back to reality!

 

[mdb78]

Glad you all had a great ending to your trip! Thanks again for sharing and especially for sharing the prices. It's helping me a lot with planning.

 

[cagenot]

Great report, very detailed and informative. Thanks

 

[debsters41]

Thanks for the information! I was excited to hear about the photo disc. I had never heard about that before!

 

[jessrose18]

thanks for the detailed info! love your report

 

[Rpsemont]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write. I've only read through day, but and subscribing to it's bookmarked for me to come back and finish at another time.

Anne

 

[quentina]

Can anyone share the shortcut from the Hard Rock hotel with me??