I will try to provide as much info as possible without going overboard or making this too long. Hope to help some others out as much as everyone on here helped me/us.
Just some things to know about our trip is that we stayed at RPR; thus, had the express pass for the parks. Also, my folks are AAA members so there are some other discounts we received (e.g. two drink cup passes where refills with the cups no matter the day were about $0.80 with tax). Just a word of advice, if you are an AAA member, ask everyone whenever you are buying something if there is a discount.
On Sunday August 22 we arrived at RPR around 5pm after driving up from south FL. Once we arrived the room was ready and we basically transferred everything from the car to the room. After getting settled, we walked to City Walk @ 730pm and went out to Margaritaville, which was absolutely great. We chose to eat outside and had no wait. Thank you for the heads up on the coupons from orlandocoupons.com where we were able to get free margaritas with purchases of entrees (we aren’t big drinkers). My brother, who is 14, was called up on the stage and everyone on the patio was rocking out to the evening's live entertainment that played covers of classic rock from the 70s and more modern stuff as well. The waitress was great and the food came out not too quickly nor too late. Everyone enjoyed their meals; mom got the popular cheeseburger and was in heaven and I got the nachos which rocked! Pop got fish and bro got steak. Everyone sampled each others food...you know, to make sure it wasn’t "toxic"
...and came to the conclusion that Margaritaville is a must for everyone at least once.
MONDAY
Next day, we hit Universal at about 10am or so. We were able to do some rides without much wait except the Simpsons, which was about 5-10min, and HRRR (later in the day). The latter my pop, bro, and myself (mom can’t handle the roller coasters and watched the backpack while basking in the afternoon sun on turf outside the ride) did the single rider line and waited about 30min. The ride was great and definitely recommend it to any thrill seeker; its a great concept and the music during the ride makes it that much better. Hit The Mummy and that never disappoints and neither does the Blues Brothers show in the street just across from the ride. We all jammed out to the classics like Soul Man while laughing at ourselves and the actors. Just a FYI, no backpacks or anything on the Mummy so get the locker before heading on the ride. There is usually someone at the entrance telling everyone, but just in case they need to use the bathroom or take lunch.
We ran around and did this magic show at some point. It was very entertaining; however, it was a glorified live infomercial promoting the DVDs they wanted to sell. Disappointing that it was all about the dollar, but it was a good show. We also did the Beetlejuice show and it wasn’t anything to write home about in my opinion, but others may really enjoy it.
We had the meal deal plan this day and it was OK to have, but decided that it was not worth it for the following days. Reasoning is that the parks were closing earlier and it wasn’t conducive to be tied to the park for meals. The plan worked out well for this day and we ate at Louie's, the International Cafe, and Mel's; all were great. I am very health conscious and; although, the fare at each of the parks is not the healthiest, you have options and can make some pretty nutritious meals out of the choices available.
That evening, since we had the meal deal, we expanded and opted for the $6 extra to be able to catch dinner at one of the select restaurants on City Walk and we chose the Bob Marley place. The menus for this option are all set (at each restaurant) and you can chose from a variety of foods and we all were satisfied (I got the vegetarian patties, mom got the curry chicken, and bro got fish sticks...I think...'tastes like chicken!.'). Oh, the plantain or yucca fries are sic!!! So good. We retired back to the hotel by about 930pm and crashed after a full day.
TUESDAY
Tuesday morning brought excitement as we were doing the WWoHP area. With AAA we signed up for the 3 Broomsticks breakfast that was at 830. We arrived at the turnstiles at about 720am and were let in at 730am. We then walked through the main entrance-way, but had to wait again to really enter the park. Once 8am rolled around everyone jetted in and headed to WWoHP. Upon entrance, we headed to HPFJ and were disappointed to see a huge line, but it was because of the ride being down.
Just a side-note: be nice to the associates. It’s not their fault the ride isn’t working. I felt terrible for this one older gentleman who was getting so much grief from everyone about the ride being down. He kept his cool, but did not deserve the comments and attitudes he got.
So with it being 815am and breakfast at 830am, we decided to walk around, get a frozen butterbeer (it was so humid and hot), and then head to the breakfast. Oh, but wait...Dragon Challenge was open and we had the express pass...could we make it before breakfast? Sure! Pop, bro, and myself hit it up and loved every second of it. Then we headed over to 3 Broomsticks for the breakfast. I wrote a quick review of our experience in this (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2537677&page=2) thread.
Following breakfast we headed back to HPFJ and it was still unoperational or inoperational (are those even words?) so my bro and I headed over to Ollivanders and checked stuff out. It was PACKED, I mean frustratingly packed...like rush-hour traffic frustrating. Despite the crowds, my bro got a wand for his birth date (that is written correctly, not birthday as in a gift...there are different wands depending on when you birth date lands in a lunar calendar cycle...supposedly) and was stoked, but other than that it was mobbed and we got outta there ASAP after checking out the book in the cage of course...what's that little monster called anyways?
Headed out and hit up the candy shop where pop got flavored jellybeans (awesome flavor names, but not mentioning here...you have to see 'em yourself) and fudge. Bro and I checked out the shop next to it which had all these gizmos and gadgets that were all fun. Got another butterbeer and headed to the other side of the park. On our way, the skies were darkening and after riding the Hulk it was a bit too ominous so we decided to head back to the hotel. This was our plan originally since all of the great advice about not bringing any bags to WWoHP, BUT the difference was that we were forced back due to the weather. We got soaked on the walk back…bad timing..., but we did ride the Hulk once! After getting warmed up, we chilled in the room for a little while. My mom and I hit Wal-Mart (which is about 10min drive with lights from RPR; there is also a Whole Foods, 7-11, Chevron, Wendy’s, and Kmart on the way) and then came back to RPR with the rain becoming a drizzle. We decided to go back to the parks and packed up meals and walked back over to IOA. Now we headed back to WWoHP and the ride was still down and the place was mobbed with the line for HPFJ reaching the bridge for Jurassic Park so we went over to Spiderman and then to Jurassic Park. We did rides and shops on the way and by night, we were pretty shot from the early morning and decided to go back to the hotel.
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday brought cloudy skies in the morning and we packed up the ponchos and headed over to Universal Studios. This day was similar to Monday; thus, the report will be brief.
We did all the same rides again, but hit up Shrek 4D, Twister, and the horror make-up show. The latter is great and recommend it to everyone…age appropriate, of course. It was funny since this day I didn’t bring my sunnies (i.e. sun glasses) with the morning clouds and threat for rain, but the sun actually came out! We also hit up Jaws and relaxed in Amity for a little bit.
Later in the afternoon (@430 or 5) my bro and I hit up HRRR two times and had a blast. We did the single rider line and, with God’s will (my bro and I live over 800 miles away from each other and do not get much time together), were able to enjoy the ride together in the first row of the front car! Unreal to share the experience with him since he L-O-V-E-S roller coasters and thrill rides.
After this we went on Jimmy Neutron and were pleasantly surprised. From there we went to City Walk and hit Bubba Gump Shrimp for dinner. We all enjoyed a wonderful meal together and had a great time with our waitress who gave us Forest Gump quizzes each time she came to our table. Following this, I headed over to TCBY for some low-fat frozen yogurt (Yeah, yeah. I mentioned my health-conscious ways so I was enjoying every second of it). Cone in hand, I headed back to the hotel with the fam. Once there my bro, mom, and I decided to hit up the pool for an evening swim and dip in the hot tub. Both were very relaxing and a great way to unwind from another full day.
THURSDAY
Last day in the parks and headed back to IOA, but did not go for the early entry. Headed over to the Fear Fall first, then Hulk, and then over to the water rides in Toon Lagoon which was a relief from the sun that was shinning brightly (enjoyable with the sunnies in place on my face!).
Just a note for the water rides: you get drenched. If you are planning on doing them bring a change of clothes, shoes, and/or ponchos.
Following the water rides we had lunch, which we packed up ourselves. Next we walked towards WWoHP and hit up HPFJ (finally!), the Dueling Dragons, and all the other things we did on Tuesday, minus the 3 Broomsticks. HPFJ had a pretty long wait, but in my opinion it was worth it.
After we got our last butterbeer, we went to Poseidon’s Furry Tour and we had a significant wait which was probably related to bad timing with the tours. Getting slower and slower as the afternoon went on, we headed to Seuss Landing and had fun on the sky train tour. From here we went back to the Hulk, rode it and did the Accelatron as well; then to Spiderman. Whipped, we all decided enough was enough and went through the main entrance walkway to look in the shops (where the Christmas shop is) and then headed to the Hard Rock for dinner. After this I went to TCBY and met up with my bro and mom who decided to hit the pool at RPR for some more swimming and poolside ice cream sundaes (the RPR has an ice cream bar that stays open late). Again, a nice way to end a long day.
FRIDAY
Checked out and packed the car to drive back to south FL.
Hope you all enjoyed the review and weren’t bored to death, but if you got this far you obviously found it somewhat helpful and that was my intent. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you have and I will do my best to help you out. I would like to say thank you to everyone on the boards for lending their input and time which was invaluable in planning out trip.
Grace and Peace.
Just some things to know about our trip is that we stayed at RPR; thus, had the express pass for the parks. Also, my folks are AAA members so there are some other discounts we received (e.g. two drink cup passes where refills with the cups no matter the day were about $0.80 with tax). Just a word of advice, if you are an AAA member, ask everyone whenever you are buying something if there is a discount.
On Sunday August 22 we arrived at RPR around 5pm after driving up from south FL. Once we arrived the room was ready and we basically transferred everything from the car to the room. After getting settled, we walked to City Walk @ 730pm and went out to Margaritaville, which was absolutely great. We chose to eat outside and had no wait. Thank you for the heads up on the coupons from orlandocoupons.com where we were able to get free margaritas with purchases of entrees (we aren’t big drinkers). My brother, who is 14, was called up on the stage and everyone on the patio was rocking out to the evening's live entertainment that played covers of classic rock from the 70s and more modern stuff as well. The waitress was great and the food came out not too quickly nor too late. Everyone enjoyed their meals; mom got the popular cheeseburger and was in heaven and I got the nachos which rocked! Pop got fish and bro got steak. Everyone sampled each others food...you know, to make sure it wasn’t "toxic"
...and came to the conclusion that Margaritaville is a must for everyone at least once. MONDAY
Next day, we hit Universal at about 10am or so. We were able to do some rides without much wait except the Simpsons, which was about 5-10min, and HRRR (later in the day). The latter my pop, bro, and myself (mom can’t handle the roller coasters and watched the backpack while basking in the afternoon sun on turf outside the ride) did the single rider line and waited about 30min. The ride was great and definitely recommend it to any thrill seeker; its a great concept and the music during the ride makes it that much better. Hit The Mummy and that never disappoints and neither does the Blues Brothers show in the street just across from the ride. We all jammed out to the classics like Soul Man while laughing at ourselves and the actors. Just a FYI, no backpacks or anything on the Mummy so get the locker before heading on the ride. There is usually someone at the entrance telling everyone, but just in case they need to use the bathroom or take lunch.
We ran around and did this magic show at some point. It was very entertaining; however, it was a glorified live infomercial promoting the DVDs they wanted to sell. Disappointing that it was all about the dollar, but it was a good show. We also did the Beetlejuice show and it wasn’t anything to write home about in my opinion, but others may really enjoy it.
We had the meal deal plan this day and it was OK to have, but decided that it was not worth it for the following days. Reasoning is that the parks were closing earlier and it wasn’t conducive to be tied to the park for meals. The plan worked out well for this day and we ate at Louie's, the International Cafe, and Mel's; all were great. I am very health conscious and; although, the fare at each of the parks is not the healthiest, you have options and can make some pretty nutritious meals out of the choices available.
That evening, since we had the meal deal, we expanded and opted for the $6 extra to be able to catch dinner at one of the select restaurants on City Walk and we chose the Bob Marley place. The menus for this option are all set (at each restaurant) and you can chose from a variety of foods and we all were satisfied (I got the vegetarian patties, mom got the curry chicken, and bro got fish sticks...I think...'tastes like chicken!.'). Oh, the plantain or yucca fries are sic!!! So good. We retired back to the hotel by about 930pm and crashed after a full day.
TUESDAY
Tuesday morning brought excitement as we were doing the WWoHP area. With AAA we signed up for the 3 Broomsticks breakfast that was at 830. We arrived at the turnstiles at about 720am and were let in at 730am. We then walked through the main entrance-way, but had to wait again to really enter the park. Once 8am rolled around everyone jetted in and headed to WWoHP. Upon entrance, we headed to HPFJ and were disappointed to see a huge line, but it was because of the ride being down.
Just a side-note: be nice to the associates. It’s not their fault the ride isn’t working. I felt terrible for this one older gentleman who was getting so much grief from everyone about the ride being down. He kept his cool, but did not deserve the comments and attitudes he got.
So with it being 815am and breakfast at 830am, we decided to walk around, get a frozen butterbeer (it was so humid and hot), and then head to the breakfast. Oh, but wait...Dragon Challenge was open and we had the express pass...could we make it before breakfast? Sure! Pop, bro, and myself hit it up and loved every second of it. Then we headed over to 3 Broomsticks for the breakfast. I wrote a quick review of our experience in this (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2537677&page=2) thread.
Following breakfast we headed back to HPFJ and it was still unoperational or inoperational (are those even words?) so my bro and I headed over to Ollivanders and checked stuff out. It was PACKED, I mean frustratingly packed...like rush-hour traffic frustrating. Despite the crowds, my bro got a wand for his birth date (that is written correctly, not birthday as in a gift...there are different wands depending on when you birth date lands in a lunar calendar cycle...supposedly) and was stoked, but other than that it was mobbed and we got outta there ASAP after checking out the book in the cage of course...what's that little monster called anyways?
Headed out and hit up the candy shop where pop got flavored jellybeans (awesome flavor names, but not mentioning here...you have to see 'em yourself) and fudge. Bro and I checked out the shop next to it which had all these gizmos and gadgets that were all fun. Got another butterbeer and headed to the other side of the park. On our way, the skies were darkening and after riding the Hulk it was a bit too ominous so we decided to head back to the hotel. This was our plan originally since all of the great advice about not bringing any bags to WWoHP, BUT the difference was that we were forced back due to the weather. We got soaked on the walk back…bad timing..., but we did ride the Hulk once! After getting warmed up, we chilled in the room for a little while. My mom and I hit Wal-Mart (which is about 10min drive with lights from RPR; there is also a Whole Foods, 7-11, Chevron, Wendy’s, and Kmart on the way) and then came back to RPR with the rain becoming a drizzle. We decided to go back to the parks and packed up meals and walked back over to IOA. Now we headed back to WWoHP and the ride was still down and the place was mobbed with the line for HPFJ reaching the bridge for Jurassic Park so we went over to Spiderman and then to Jurassic Park. We did rides and shops on the way and by night, we were pretty shot from the early morning and decided to go back to the hotel.
WEDNESDAY
Wednesday brought cloudy skies in the morning and we packed up the ponchos and headed over to Universal Studios. This day was similar to Monday; thus, the report will be brief.
We did all the same rides again, but hit up Shrek 4D, Twister, and the horror make-up show. The latter is great and recommend it to everyone…age appropriate, of course. It was funny since this day I didn’t bring my sunnies (i.e. sun glasses) with the morning clouds and threat for rain, but the sun actually came out! We also hit up Jaws and relaxed in Amity for a little bit.
Later in the afternoon (@430 or 5) my bro and I hit up HRRR two times and had a blast. We did the single rider line and, with God’s will (my bro and I live over 800 miles away from each other and do not get much time together), were able to enjoy the ride together in the first row of the front car! Unreal to share the experience with him since he L-O-V-E-S roller coasters and thrill rides.
After this we went on Jimmy Neutron and were pleasantly surprised. From there we went to City Walk and hit Bubba Gump Shrimp for dinner. We all enjoyed a wonderful meal together and had a great time with our waitress who gave us Forest Gump quizzes each time she came to our table. Following this, I headed over to TCBY for some low-fat frozen yogurt (Yeah, yeah. I mentioned my health-conscious ways so I was enjoying every second of it). Cone in hand, I headed back to the hotel with the fam. Once there my bro, mom, and I decided to hit up the pool for an evening swim and dip in the hot tub. Both were very relaxing and a great way to unwind from another full day.
THURSDAY
Last day in the parks and headed back to IOA, but did not go for the early entry. Headed over to the Fear Fall first, then Hulk, and then over to the water rides in Toon Lagoon which was a relief from the sun that was shinning brightly (enjoyable with the sunnies in place on my face!).
Just a note for the water rides: you get drenched. If you are planning on doing them bring a change of clothes, shoes, and/or ponchos.
Following the water rides we had lunch, which we packed up ourselves. Next we walked towards WWoHP and hit up HPFJ (finally!), the Dueling Dragons, and all the other things we did on Tuesday, minus the 3 Broomsticks. HPFJ had a pretty long wait, but in my opinion it was worth it.
After we got our last butterbeer, we went to Poseidon’s Furry Tour and we had a significant wait which was probably related to bad timing with the tours. Getting slower and slower as the afternoon went on, we headed to Seuss Landing and had fun on the sky train tour. From here we went back to the Hulk, rode it and did the Accelatron as well; then to Spiderman. Whipped, we all decided enough was enough and went through the main entrance walkway to look in the shops (where the Christmas shop is) and then headed to the Hard Rock for dinner. After this I went to TCBY and met up with my bro and mom who decided to hit the pool at RPR for some more swimming and poolside ice cream sundaes (the RPR has an ice cream bar that stays open late). Again, a nice way to end a long day.
FRIDAY
Checked out and packed the car to drive back to south FL.
Hope you all enjoyed the review and weren’t bored to death, but if you got this far you obviously found it somewhat helpful and that was my intent. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you have and I will do my best to help you out. I would like to say thank you to everyone on the boards for lending their input and time which was invaluable in planning out trip.
Grace and Peace.
