J.C.&ALI'SMOM
I really had to bite my tongue on that one.
- Joined
- Jul 12, 2000
- Messages
- 4,937
I know what you are thinking, "What do you expect in Orlando in July?" But we have been during this same time before and this July 13-23rd seemed hotter and the heat affected us more.Players:
Reynic - WDW lover and Intercot devotee
DH - enjoys WDW a lot but not as much as I
DD8 - horse lover
DD6 - character lover
DMom - my mother and converted to WDW vacations
DDad - Daddy goes to be with us and the girls, would rather be fishing, miraculously their 5th trip with us to WDW.
Itinerary:
July 13-16th Hard Rock Hotel and US/IOA
July 16-23rd Polynesian and WDW
We left a day early and drove down to Brunswick, GA and stayed the night in the Embassy Suites. My parents were going to come down later, they weren't visiting Universal. The Embassy Suites is attached to the mall and we were able to eat at Ruby Tuesdays just steps away from the hotel entrance. Had a good complimentary breakfast and I would recommend it to anyone who is driving down.
Arrived at HRH and went right to US. We enjoy the US/IOA experience, particulary DH. It is fun but for me, not as wholesome and positive as WDW. Not that it is vulgar, but the focus of the theme is different, more adolescent and young adult. That is my opinion, however. Our stay at HRH was very good the room was in a great location near the elevators, but we got no noise from them. We got to experience most everthing we wanted at the parks and got to meet and greet with the characters from Madagascar. DD6 was really pleased with this! We ate at Hard Rock Cafe, went offsite to Mall at Millenia and ate at Cheesecake Factory. My mom and dad came on our last afternoon so we took them to the Mall and ate at Brio. All of these were great meals. Mom and Dad stayed one nite at the Royal Pacific before we were to check in to the Polynesian the next day. Mom said the hotel was beautiful, but the rooms were just average. She would prefer to stay at one of their other hotels than to stay there again.
There were some problems. Dh took DD8 to Spiderman and were to meet us at Suess Landing at One Fish, Two Fish. DD6 and I were in line and saw them come up to the ride, then walk away. The attraction was then closed while we were next in line, due to weather. We exit the line and go to the center of Suess Landing to find DH and DD8. They are not there and I thought they went to see anther attraction instead of waiting and would be right back. So we wait, and wait, and wait. After 1 1/2 hours of waiting I phone the room and they are there I was so furious I broke out in tears. Turns out he waited a few minutes at the quick service spot in Suess Landing and then went back when it looked like rain. He ought to thank God that I am a forgiving person! The next day I was having difficulty with the heat. I experienced headache and tiredness. DH ended up going on most of the attractions with the girls and I parked myself outside of some gift shops and sat in the rented stroller with my Misty Mate! I recovered that afternoon after some time in the AC and some food and drink.
The positives of this part of the trip did outweigh the two negatives and we did enjoy our visit to US/IOA.
We got up bright and early to check in to my favorite resort, the Polynesian. My girls had stayed with Mom and Dad at RPH so we went on to check in and they came later, after a detour toward AKL, due to my Dad's unwillingness to read signs. When we all finally did get together we hotfooted it over to MK. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH! It feels like home! DH was on the FastPass Mission to keep us from waiting in lines and we saw a lot! After having max. fun we head back to see our rooms. I requested connecting rooms in Samoa. We got what I think were the best rooms for us! Samoa 1604-1605, first floor facing the Nanea Volcano Pool. We could walk out the sliding glass door and over the grass directly to the pool. It was so convenient to hop back in the room and get a drink and return to the pool, or walk out at night and see the fireworks. I would stay in these rooms on every trip we take to WDW!!! (if I could)
The next few days we could feel the toll that the heat was taking. We tried to keep up the pace but eventually gave in to spending more time at the resort, not that that is bad! But I am someone who enjoys a lot of park time, and I had to refigure my plans for this trip. Some days we got up and went to the pool first, that would not be something I would have willingly done in the past :wink: My Dad had some dizzy spells and it was a little scary at times. So my commando nature was toned down pretty quickly. It is more important to have fun and maintain everyones energy and attitude than spending 10 hours per day in the parks. Live and learn.
We didn't do much as far as EMH is concerned. DH and I took the girls to AK EMH and it was great! We pretty much covered what we wanted to see (except the Boneyard and FOTLK) and the temps were great. On the last night Mom and Dad and I took DD6 to MK for Wishes and Spectro. I could not tell that the crowds lessened much after closing that night. It was still pretty crowded but we didn't stay for very long after closing. We were beat!!
We had meals at O'Hana, Kona Cafe, Portobello Yacht Club, 1900 Park Fare. Offsite at Bahama Breeze, Giordano's and Joe's Crab Shack. We had great meals throughout the trip. I only made 3 ADRs and changed one of those twice! So this was a not a really planned trip, we played it by ear a lot. Counter service was Cosmic Ray's, Pinocchio's Village Haus, Electric Umbrella, Backlot Express, Studio Catering, Pizza Planet, Captain Cook's. We also had the required snacks: turkey legs, Dole whips/floats, Citrus Swirls, School Bread from Norway, margaritas from San Angel Cantina.
We had a lot of fun and will be looking forward to our next trip!
