Live from HRH

[tchrchgo]

Arrived today at approx. 12:10 pm, original time supposed to be 11:48 arrival. Amazingly our bag was first off plane and driver waiting for us!

Weather was 80, sunny and gorgeous when we arrived. Room was ready at HRH at 2pm when we checked in. My kids are either strange or were tired, because they wanted to watch tv in the room rather than swim. Finally at 3 pm I dragged them off to IOA to get the lay of the land. We have the farthest room from lobby, but close to walking path. Took us about 10 minutes to walk to IoA. Walked about WWoHP, super crowded. Did not attempt rides yet, will wait for early entry tomorrow. We hadn't eaten since 6 am Chicago time, so we went at 345 for an early dinner to Mythos.

I REALLY wanted to love this place, I did. But it was awful. My filet was so salty I couldn't eat it, and definitely no where near prime meat. My son's cheeseburger was a black circle with cheese on it, and the bun was hard and over toasted. They did remove those items from our bill, but we definitely won't be eating there ever again.

After dinner at IoA we went on the cat and the hat ride and the seuss trolley ride. We used express lines for both and walked right onto both rides. On our way back to the HRH we stopped at USF to see the Macy's parade, which was very nice, with great balloons. And we went on ET. I don't really understand the express pass for this ride. Everyone stands together outside, and you don't go into the express line until after you get in and go through the line. But again there was really no wait at all for this ride. I wish we hadn't been so tired from traveling as the crowds at USF were really thinning out after dinner. I hope it's that way again tomorrow night.

We decided to take the boat back from city walk to HRH. In the RPR and PB lines, there had to be at least 50 people waiting for their boats. We saw one RPR boat fill to capacity leaving people still waiting in line. The HRH line had 10 people in it, and when our boat came it only brought 3 people from HRH. I guess most people walk. We definitely will try the pedicab at least once. I was really disoriented when we got off the boat at HRH and had trouble finding way back to room. I think we'll stick to walking.

We went to the pool, which unfortunately was not very warm, so my kids did not last long. And the swim up movie of the night was A Christmas Carol with George C. Scott, yawn.... So after a little swimming we went for ice cream at the shop here at HRH. $7.99 for two cups of single scoop ice cream. It was tasty, but $8 for two scoops???

Kids now fast asleep, so I'll join them, as we'll be up at the butt crack of dawn for early entry.

More to come.... Thanks for reading!

 

[Metro West]

Sorry you had a bad experience at Mythos. Might I recommend Thunder Falls Terrace for lunch during your visit? I love that place!

Hope you have a wonderful holiday and a great time in the parks.

I will be looking forward to the next installment.

 

[tchrchgo]

Discovered the hard way there is apparently no hot water at HRH. Brrr, certainly woke me up quickly. Played around the faucet and can get it lukewarm but not hot. Trying to decide if it's worth saying anything to hotel or just deal.

My kids had ants in their pants this am so we ended up at IoA at 6 am for early entry. Spent the time waiting talking to a nice family from PA, and realized with all the inside info I shared with them about WWoHP that I've spent WAY too much time on these boards!

They let us in at 6:50 am, and I was surprised by how many people were in line for early entry. I started out with a brisk pace to the FJ but lost my endurance halfway there, and was passed by many running teens and preteens. Even with all that we walked right on to FJ, and all I can say is "awesome!". We immediately went back into line, but by 7:20 the line was down to the greenhouse, and it took 10 minutes to get to the ride at 7:30 am. I can absolutely see why you can't have loose objects. I think the only guarantee of not losing items is a pocket that buttons closed.

We tried butter beer just for posterity. Tried both frozen and regular. They were ok, but nothing we need to do again. We were done with WWoHP by 8:00, so we went to Jurassic park where the kids walked right onto pteranodon flyers and we all donned our ponchos and went on the Jurassic river ride. They took the most hysterical photo during the drenching. One son's hood had fallen back, so in the photo myself and my other son are covering our face with the poncho hood, and my other son is getting drenched in the face!

Went to three broomsticks for the breakfast that came with our package. Even with "reservations," we still waited in the same line as everyone, and ordered and received our food the same way. The way they do seating is interesting. The whole time I waited in line for the food I was wondering if there'd be seats for us, but there was a quick turn around and prompt seating. Pleasant surprise. Food was ok, but definitely not worth the $40 without a package.

Went back to hotel at 10 am and used pool. Sun was in and out, and when it was in it was chilly, so once again we only lasted a short time before going to the room to rest. Of course, once we were settled in the sun came out full force and we watched the people have fun the sunny pool while my kids played ds

Ordered room service and my son managed to get ketchup on the white comforter. Hope we don't get charged. I'm making him scrub himself silly. Wanted to add: food very good. I highly recommend the turkey club- delicious and a great value- for $14 got a HUGE sandwich cut in two, high quality turkey, and comes with a generous side salad.

Going back to the parks later.

Thanks for reading.

 

[Metro West]

Keep it coming.........

 

[tchrchgo]

Thin crowds last night was a fluke. Packed tonight at IoA. Elbow to elbow, could not even walk around without being knocked into, blocked by a slow moving group, or being run over by a stroller or electric wheelchair. Still loving the express pass- only waited about 3 minutes for MIB when sign out front said 45 minute wait. Walked right on to jaws, ET and Seuss trolley. Ended up on a different Seuss trolley track which went through circus mcgurkus cafe- pretty cool IMHO.

Our extra early entry venture really jet lagged one son- he took a 3 hr nap till 540 pm and then in the park at 640 pm said he was too tired to continue so we came back to HRH. Used pedal cab both to and from IoA. I know the tips add up each way but it's still a pretty fun and cool way to get around. I said I need to get my DH a pedal cab to take myself and kids around at home!

Since we ordered room service I didn't want to pay for a restaurant for dinner, so we took advantage of the pizza deal at emack and Bolio. $19 for a 16 inch cheese pizza. Was ok. Not terrible, not fab.

Going to attempt to go to bed early for early entry again tomorrow, but won't leave hotel so early. This morning people could get there around 640 and still get in quickly. They opened all the turnstiles, on both sides of big gate for early entry, so people could line up on both sides. Just an FYI for anyone coming this week.

And sssh.... A surprise for my kids tomorrow... They don't know I'm taking them to the islands grill at rpr for the character dinner. I know there are mixed reviews but my kids are suckers for character meals.

Thanks again for reading!

 

[macraven]

when you take the express line inside of ET, you do bypass a lot of the scenes that are set up to entertain you inside the building.

if you have time, and the lines are not long, do the regular line that snakes around inside the building of ET.


hope the rest of your vacation is wonderful!


don't worry about a stain on the bed cover in your hotel room.
you won't be charged for it.

 

[tchrchgo]

Started day out early again for early entry to HP. Rode FJ twice in a row. Each time I see things I missed the time before, and each ride seems more extreme than the last. What was interesting is that they had extra turnstile set up at the front gate. One worker said they were expecting large crowds today, but I have to say I actually thought the parks were lighter today. Except... We walked onto ET and there was no one in line outside. When we left there was a huge line down past the gift shop and a 25 minute wait.

Had grinch breakfast at confisco. Two words... Never again. Ever. Even if it was free.

Came back to HRH where my son proceeded to take another 2 hour nap. Woke him up at 1145 and we went to USF where he had a $7 hot dog followed by a $6 ice cream cone. I can see how the meal deal can make sense.

Rode ET again, and finally rode the Simpsons ride. Was pretty cool, except it was hard to see the screen in the second row. My son said all he could see was the baseball hat of the man in front of him.

Then we headed back to HRH so the boys could swim. They conned me into buying them these huge, ginormous inflatable pool floats, one whale and one turtle. Have no idea how I'll deflate it to go home. Considering giving or selling it cheap to an incoming family here at HRH.

Had dinner at islands grill for the character meal. I think my problem is that I've done character meals at Disney where the food is good and the characters don't do just one round around the room and then leave. Service was horrid. 45 minutes after ordering a noodle soup dish, my kids had visited the kids' buffet three times and I still had no meal. When they finally brought my food the pork and wontons were so overcooked, and my kids were done eating, so I sent it back and just had some snacks in the hotel room. So far the only decent food I've had was the turkey club from room service.

I think we're going to take a break from the parks tomorrow and use the pool if it doesn't rain.