phyllisnnj
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Nov 18, 2003
- Messages
- 392
We spent a week at Disney before heading to Universal.
Saw Blue Man Group 8/31 Friday night. Its a very good show. Everyone enjoyed the show especially my 13-year-old nephew. Blue Man Group is a very nice option for the family (a solid B+). Just not a must do.
Checked-in early Saturday morning to get our room keys for FOTL. Walked over to Islands of Adventure. FOTL was great and worth it. The FOTL lines were very short and we were able to ride multiple times. The Spiderman ride was great!! 13-year-old nephew loves roller coasters and enjoyed both Dueling Dragons and the Hulk coasters. It was everyones first time to IOA. The 13-year-old Disney World Fan ranked IOA as #1 out of all of the Disney World and Universal Parks.
TIP: If you want to ride the in the first car for Dueling Dragons do it first thing after park opening. Family members indicated that the lines was long for the first car even with FOTL therefore they skipped it.
The only bad part about IOA is that when the summer thundershowers roll through almost all of the IOA rides shut down since most of the rides are outdoor. Even the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad stunt show was cancelled due to potential thunder in the area.
We had lunch at Mythos. It definitely lived up to the hype. We would highly recommend this park restaurant to our friends and family. Hubby was disappointed that they only served lunch. LOL, he wanted to eat all of our meals here.
Sunday we went to the studios. The best ride was the Mummy. Since my nephew got a little bored with the studios and wanted to return to IOA for the thrill rides, we missed Shrek 4D, Jimmy Neutron and the Horror Make-up show.
We had lunch at the Hard Rock Café. Lunch was nothing special. We had burgers. They were ok. LOL, I guess it didnt help that we walked past the charbroiled aroma from Mels Drive-In Diner on the way to the café.
We were scheduled to stay Saturday 9/1 and Sunday 9/2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel in a Deluxe Room with two queen beds. The Hard Rock Hotel was sold out Labor Day Weekend. We had housekeeping problems with our rooms on both Saturday and Sunday. Each time it appeared minimum housekeeping was done (linens were changed and bathroom received a quick wipe down). Both days we spoke with management and decided not to stay at the Hard Rock. Management was very understanding and apologetic however we wont be returning to the Hard Rock Hotel for future stays. All of the public areas were very impressive including the bathrooms in the main lobby area, which everyone agreed was spotless. However the level of room cleanliness is not what we would expect from an AAA four diamond hotel.
Saw Blue Man Group 8/31 Friday night. Its a very good show. Everyone enjoyed the show especially my 13-year-old nephew. Blue Man Group is a very nice option for the family (a solid B+). Just not a must do.
Checked-in early Saturday morning to get our room keys for FOTL. Walked over to Islands of Adventure. FOTL was great and worth it. The FOTL lines were very short and we were able to ride multiple times. The Spiderman ride was great!! 13-year-old nephew loves roller coasters and enjoyed both Dueling Dragons and the Hulk coasters. It was everyones first time to IOA. The 13-year-old Disney World Fan ranked IOA as #1 out of all of the Disney World and Universal Parks.
TIP: If you want to ride the in the first car for Dueling Dragons do it first thing after park opening. Family members indicated that the lines was long for the first car even with FOTL therefore they skipped it.
The only bad part about IOA is that when the summer thundershowers roll through almost all of the IOA rides shut down since most of the rides are outdoor. Even the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad stunt show was cancelled due to potential thunder in the area.
We had lunch at Mythos. It definitely lived up to the hype. We would highly recommend this park restaurant to our friends and family. Hubby was disappointed that they only served lunch. LOL, he wanted to eat all of our meals here.
Sunday we went to the studios. The best ride was the Mummy. Since my nephew got a little bored with the studios and wanted to return to IOA for the thrill rides, we missed Shrek 4D, Jimmy Neutron and the Horror Make-up show.
We had lunch at the Hard Rock Café. Lunch was nothing special. We had burgers. They were ok. LOL, I guess it didnt help that we walked past the charbroiled aroma from Mels Drive-In Diner on the way to the café.
We were scheduled to stay Saturday 9/1 and Sunday 9/2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel in a Deluxe Room with two queen beds. The Hard Rock Hotel was sold out Labor Day Weekend. We had housekeeping problems with our rooms on both Saturday and Sunday. Each time it appeared minimum housekeeping was done (linens were changed and bathroom received a quick wipe down). Both days we spoke with management and decided not to stay at the Hard Rock. Management was very understanding and apologetic however we wont be returning to the Hard Rock Hotel for future stays. All of the public areas were very impressive including the bathrooms in the main lobby area, which everyone agreed was spotless. However the level of room cleanliness is not what we would expect from an AAA four diamond hotel.
Thanks for sharing your trip! 
