Just got back from RPR 9/21 - 9/26

[alundeen]

First, a little about the trip's attendees:
Me- Female, age 35, trip planner.
Hubby - Male, age 40, kid at heart.
Oldest child - Male, turns 10 in a few weeks, has been waiting 5 years for this trip.
Youngest child - Male, turned 2 in May, devil in disguise.
Mother in law - age 66, trip trooper, could not have survived this trip without her.

Our last trip to Universal was September 2005. Hubby, oldest child (almost 5 at the time) and I stayed at the HRH for 3 nights and the Nickelodeon hotel for 3 nights. Had such a great time that we promised our oldest we would return for his 10th "double digit" birthday. How time flies and little did we know our family would grow to 4 during that time.

Knowing we would be traveling with a 2 year old, we persuaded my wonderful mother in law to join us on this amazing adventure. I started planning our trip in May. Our original plan was to be in Orlando during my son's 10th bday, however the RPH rates were so much cheaper in September that we convinced our son to go early by throwing in a slumber party on his actual bday.

In May, we booked 5 nights 9/21-9/26 at RPH Club Level for $216/night using the Stay More Save more discount. I thought that was a deal considering we paid much more per night in 2005 without Club level.

In preparation for our trip to Universal, my oldest and I started reading the Harry Potter books together. We didn't get through all of the books but did see all of the movies to date, which was enough to know about everything that is displayed at the WWoHP.

9/21
At the last minute, we decided to book a rental car via Enterprise. We were able to use my employer's corporate rate which was the cheapest I could find. I also had an Entertainment Guide coupon for a free upgrade however really didn't think they would let me use it since I was using a discounted corporate rate. To my surpise, they honored the free upgrade coupon. They gave us a row of standard cars to choose from and my oldest choose a PT Cruiser. This would not have been my choice but I went along. We were able to fit our luggage in the trunk but could not squeeze in the stroller. The rep offered us a Ford Escape at no additional charge and as we were walking to it, I jokingly remarked the Ford Expedition nearby would be great. To my shock, the rep said we could have the Expedition if we wanted. Jackpot!! Knowing what we would have paid for an Expedition rental for a week, I tipped him $40 and off we went.

We arrived at RPR at 6pm and our room was ready. Knowing that we would not be arriving until 6pm to check in, I had contacted the hotel multiple times to request certain room numbers based on this site's recommendations and was assured I would get one of my choices. I had requested an even number room for a pool view but my main request, regardless of a specific room number, was for a room close to the Club Room to save my mother in law some walking. When we checked in, I again explained we were traveling with my mother in law and was told our room was close to the Club Room. Well, we were assigned an odd number room (highway view) that was at the very end of the hall. I was disappointed but didn't complain since the distance to the Club Room was not a long walk even though any other room would have been closer.

Hotel and room was just like the pictures on their website. We booked two queen beds. We were cramped. Luckily, we didn't spend alot of time in our rooms. So glad we booked on Club level. It was nice to unwind in the Club room where our 10 year old could watch TV and our 2 year old could play with the toddler toys. As for the Club food offerings, I posted details under the Hotel pages. Money well worth spent!

After we got settled into our room, we went to Margaritaville for dinner. Used the free margarita coupons I found on the orlandocoupons.com site. Dinner was $100 and spent another $100 on t-shirts. It wasn't until later that we learned we could have saved 10% ($20) by showing our AAA card.
If you have AAA, make sure to bring it with you and ask about a AAA discount anytime you purchase anything at Universal, IOA and CityWalk. Some of the boutique shops don't but I think all of the restaurants do.

While waiting 45 minutes for a table at Margaritaville, we strolled passed the outdoor vendors along CityWalk and bought our oldest a $29 personalized airbrush t-shirt. No way would I ever spend $29 on a flimsy t-shirt but were on vacation for my son's "double digit" bday and he was milking this for all he could. I originally tried to use my debit/Visa card to pay for the shirt. The young guy seemed to have trouble running my card through, he tried twice and then asked if I had any cash because he couldn't get the card machine to work. I did so I paid cash. When we got home yesterday, my husband reviewed our bank account online and sure enough, there are two separate $28.95 debit charges to our account. Still need to contact the bank to dispute the charges. Not sure what will happen since I don't think I kept the receipt so we may end up paying $90 for a cheap airbrushed t-shirt that has my son's name on it.

9/22
We bought the 3 day pass at Costco for $139.99, thinking I would be saving money. However, the ticket windows at Univesal/IOA advertised a 3 day pass for $139.99.

After breakfast in the Club room, we went to Universal Studios first. FOTL pass was awesome. Crowds were larger than I anticipated so FOTL was great. We had no wait times at all during our entire trip using FOTL. At times, I felt guilty that we were allowed to go directly to the front of the line, but I quickly got over it as the weather was pretty warm. So glad we didn't have to wait in line in the heat. I was surprised that my 2 year old was tall enough to ride many of the attractions. I figured I'd have to hang out in the Barney area all day but he was able to do Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, ET, and the Woody Woodpecker roller coaster. He loved them all.

We went back to the Club room for lunch and then headed over to IOA. My youngest loved Seuss land and was able to ride all of the Suess rides. We then headed over to the Harry Potter area. It was amazing but it was extremely crowded so we didn't stay long. We wondered over to Jurassic Park and my youngest fell asleep in the stroller so we all went back to the hotel. My hubby and oldest swam for an hour and my mother in law, youngest and I went to Club room and grabbed a bite to eat.

We decided to take the rental car out for some sight seeing on International Drive. I was surprised and depressed to see all of the restaurants and shops that had gone out of business. We passed a huge McDonald's (the one with the big french fries in lights) and my oldest begged us to eat there. At first, I said absolutely not. He pleaded and told us that he had seen this McDonalds on a television show as one of the best McDonalds in the world. I thought he was making this up but he insisted it was true and told us all about it as we continued to drive in search of a place to eat. Since us adults had eaten some food in the Club room, we really weren't that hungry. Knowing how bad my oldest wanted to see this particular McDonalds, I surprised him and agreed to take him there. And, he was right about what he told us. There is an arcade inside it and it serves much more than fast food. I made sure to get a picture of my oldest in front of the sign that reads the Most Unique McDonalds in the World.

By the time we got back to our hotel room, we all were exhausted....and it was only Wednesday!

9/23
Hubby, oldest and I got up early to take advantage of the early park entry while my youngest and mother in law slept in. We got to IOA at 7:45am and there was already a crowd waiting to get in. They opened the gates at 8am and we (along with everyone else) immediately headed over to WWoHP. Thanks to other posts, I knew we needed to visit Olivanders as soon as possible. My oldest wanted to go to Hogwarts first but I insisted on Olivanders explaining to them the line will only get longer if we wait. We were the first group of the day to go in and as we waited in line I went on and on about how cool it would be to get picked for a wand. When we were let in, the park staff person moved the children towards the front so they could get a better view. The wizard character in Olivanders came out and was so serious. He went back and forth a few times in front of the group looking at everyone before choosing a person from the crowd. Then it happened. He stopped in front of my oldest and asked him to join him up front. I was beaming with pride, while my oldest was a little embarrased. I was so thrilled I hardly remember what all was said but it was awesome. Of course, we had to purchase the wand that picked my oldest and had it delivered to our room the next day. My oldest thought I was over reacting when I tried to convince him that people from all over come to Olivanders in hopes of getting selected from the crowd. He started to believe me when the next day we were in our hotel elevator and a younger couple asked "Hey, aren't you the wand kid?" and went on and on about how cool they thought it was that he got picked.
So the rest of the trip, we teasingly called our oldest the "wand kid."

We were able to go through all of the Harry Potter rides several times with no wait. So glad we went early because we passed it later in the day and lines for Hogwarts was a 2+ hour wait. Went back to the hotel around 10:30am to meet up with our youngest and mother in law. Headed back to Universal and let my 2 year play in the water areas in the Curious George area while my oldest and hubby rode some other rides. My youngest loved, loved, loved getting wet. We came prepared and put him in a swimsuit with a change of clothes. We had lunch at Mel's Diner. Nothing great but it hit the spot. We used our AAA and saved $4.00. From then on, we used our AAA card anytime we bought ANYTHING. This includes the gift shops as well as food.

We went back to our hotel room to relax and change clothes before heading to Bubba Gumps for dinner. I don't eat shrimp (or meat) so I was limited to a side salad. My oldest and hubby enjoyed the shrimp. The waiter accidentally put a $49 charge to our debit/Visa card, in addition to the correct $90 charge for dinner. Luckily the waiter discovered his error, told us about it, and said we should see a $49 credit in a couple of days. So far, still waiting for the credit to appear. In reviewing our bank account online, all of our other devit/Visa charges made during the trip checked out okay. Keeping fingers crossed we don't have any other surprise charges.

Well, I need to go to bed now so I'll pick up where I left off tomorrow.

 

[Lou Holtz]

Really enjoying the report. What kinds of things did you eat at Club Level?

 

[alundeen]

Breakfast each day included hot oatmeal, warm cinnamon rolls, donuts, muffins, pastries, toast, bagels, fresh fruit (watermelon, pineapple, cantelope, strawberries) and yogurt along with milk, juice, and Starbucks coffee.

Afternoon snacks included packaged PB&J sandwiches, potato chips, pretzels, trail mix, snack mix, packaged granola bars and fruit (apples, oranges, bananas).

Evening offerings included cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, chips and salsa, and a salad and one warm dish that varied each night (chicken and oriental noodles, chicken and rice, fish and rice, beef and noodles, ravioli dish). Complementary inexpensive wine and bottled beer (Corona, Bud, Bud Light, Miller Light and a few others I can't recall) was also available from 4:30-6:30. After spending all day at the parks, my husband could hardly wait til 4:30.

Late night (8-9pm) desserts includes cookies (PB, chocolate chip, oatmeal, M&M) and one dessert that varied each night (chocolate brownies, pineapple upside down cake, cheesecake, lemon bars).

Canned pop (Coke, Diet Coke and Sprite) and lemon water was available all day long. Bottled water also available all day upon request.

Club room had two flat screen TVs, a computer, and a few toddler toys that kept our 2 year old entertained. Since there were 5 of us in one room, it was nice to hang out and relax in the Club Room.

 

[alundeen]

9/24
After breakfast in the club room, Hubby, oldest and I hit IOA at 8am and returned to WWoHP. We did Forbidden Journey twice and bribed my oldest with $10 to ride the Dueling Dragons and he loved it. We had to do both the red and blue dragons several times. Again, no lines which was great. There is a pretty big waiting area outside just before you enter Hogwarts. Knowing how long it takes just to make your way through Hogwarts with no line, I remember thinking there is no way the line would get so long that people would be waiting outside of Hogwarts. I was wrong. We were in the Jurassic Park area later that day and I could see the line filled up the waiting area outside. I was shocked.

After the Dueling Dragons, we stopped at Honeydukes for chocolate frogs and jeally beans of every flavor. By 9:30am, the store was crowded. Universal may want to consider expanding the size of Olivanders and the rest of the stores in WWoHP because they are all too small. After waiting in line to buy Butterbeer, I asked what it tastes like and was told butterscotch and shortbread which didn't sound good to me at the time so I passed on it. Now I regret not at least trying it.

After WWoHP, my hubby and I rode the Hulk while my oldest waiting in the child swap area. Loved the Hulk but didn't attempt to bribe my oldest to try this ride. I headed back to the hotel around 10:30 to meet up with my youngest and mother in law while my hubby and oldest rode the water rides. IOA was already starting to get crowded. I suspect the opening day of HHN brought in the crowds so I was glad Friday was out last day at the parks.

Hubby and oldest got so soaked on the Popeye ride that they decide to come back to the hotel to change clothes. After grabbing fruit and PB&J sandwiches in the club room, we all headed back to IOA to take my youngest through Suessland one last time. Hubby and oldest were so miserable in their wet sandals that they ended up buying some Crocs at one of those street carts in ToonTown(saved $6 using our AAA card).

After Suessland, we headed over to Universal Studios because we had convinced our oldest to ride the Mummy. He rode it once but didn't want to ride it again. By 4pm, crowds were already lined up for HHN. I didn't know that Universal was closing at 5pm but we were ready to leave. The HHN crowd made for some interesting people watching as we headed back to RPR. Many were in costumes or HHN shirts.

We relaxed in the club room and after three glasses of wine (two too many) I was ready to go to bed. Felt better after taking a quick shower and all of us headed to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Music was way too loud for my mother in law but she toughed it out. Since we had eaten some food in the club room, hubby and I shared some nachos which was more than enough for two people. Went to the HR shop for some souvenir t-shirts. My mother in law even found two cute t-shirts for herself. Between our dinner and shopping, using our AAA card saved us close to $30.

It rained while we were eating but had stopped by the time we were done shopping so we made our way to the boats to head back to RHR. Just as we were getting on the boat, we were told the boats would no longer be running due to lightning. We were told shuttle buses were waiting near the US entrance to take everyone to their onsite hotels. We were among the first to make it to the pick up area but there were no buses. We waited for about 20minutes (which seems like 2 hours with a cranky 2 year old) when an empty shuttle bus drove up and kept right on going pass the group of us waiting. Someone flagged down the driver. The driver stopped and told us another bus was right behind him to pick us up and kept on going. Who knows where he went, must have been the end of his shift. We waited another 15 minutes before the first bus showed up. Had we known it was going to be a 30 minute wait, we would have just walked to RHR from the boat area. Luckily, we were at the front of the line and got on the first bus. Who knows how long it took the rest of the buses to arrive. By the time we got to RHR, we were exhausted but glad to finally get back to our room.

 

[damo]

The difference between the three day Costco pass and the three day pass at the park is that the Costco pass doesn't expire until 2013 but the pass you buy at the park will expire within 14 days of your first use. That was what makes the Costco pass a good deal. You can use one day each year if you want. Normally, you would have to buy a new ticket.

 

[Lou Holtz]

When you say the line was all the way out of the castle at one point, I think that was actually the line for the lockers, not the ride.

 

[alundeen]

Yes, the main entrance takes you to the lockers first. Once you pass the lockers, you start through what reminded me of a tunnel walkway that eventually leads you outside. This outside area is covered and has fans all around. Once you wind your way around, you then go back inside and come to the Phoenix statue. It was this outside waiting area I was referring to. I was surprised to see this area was full of people waiting for the ride. Sorry for the confusion.