My Trip to Orlando/St. Petes (photos added)

[cabmom]

Hi everyone,

Here is the low down on our trip:
We arrived in Buffalo at 4pm for our 7:10pm flight(too early with 3 young boys). We were delayed til 7:45pm, but made up the time in the air arriving at 9:45pm in Orlando. I told Cabdad to go get the luggage and I'll go get the car. We split the kids and went our way. I get info for car and was told to go exchange contract for keys out in parking lot, I say I'll go get my husband first. I'll cut to the chase. It took me an hour to find him, he was not looking for me, he was waiting curbside for me to pick him up. I guess I was supposed to be psychic in knowing he be waiting for me to pull up and pick him up! We go to parking lot to get the car and find out the terminal is closed in the garage and have to go back in and get the keys from the desk. Well, to say the least I was not pleased.
We took the wrong turn leaving the airport so it took us over an hour instead of 1/2 hour. We finally got to the villa at about 12:30. We were in bed by 1am.
Wed: We got to Universal Studios at 11:30, picked up our AP's and 5 days tickets from will call kiosks. Met up with my friend from England(I'll post photos later) and spent a couple of hours together. We did quite a few rides and had a great day. Went over to friends rental villa at Orange Grove, boys had swim, pool was like tea/soup it was so warm.
Thurs: We went to Islands of Adventure. This was the best day out of the whole trip. I did the Mummy and it has to be my all time favorite rides now. You have to try it! I'm not much of a roller coaster rider, but this one is not to be missed. Jimmy Neutron ride is hillarious, please do this one as well, it's not just for the little kids. If you are prone to motion sickness, sit up front. Shrek 4D was awesome as well. Spiderman, I couldn't keep my eyes open as the motion sickness was setting in. The kids loved it though. Cabdad did The Hulk on his own, he said he really enjoyed it. Cabdad and Aaron did Jurrasic Park ride. I didn't do it this time as I got soaked the last time. I think I've mixed up some of the rides in the parks here. It was an excellent and exciting trip all around. Had dinner with friend from England again at her villa.
Fri: We did a mix of both parks again. Had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, boys were impressed with the restaurant. We stayed pretty much til close and I got some night shots. We also went to downtown disney and bought lots of stuff. Again, went to friends villa to visit.
Sat - Wed: We went to St. Petes to stay with in-laws, did the beach on Tues.
Overall, it was a fantastic trip! The weather was beautiful the whole time.
The villa we rented was a Regal Palms Resort. When we go back I will never rent that far offsite again. The villas are out on Hwy 27. The only advantage for the villa was it was close to a Super Walmart and my friends villa further up in to Clermont. We got it at a bargain of $77/night, but the air didn't work and we never used the pool that had a lazy river. We didn't have time. We only really slept there. If I was going to do non park things, then it is a great location.
We again arrived too early at the airport. We took off at 4:10pm and arrived Buffalo at 6:30pm
So there's my report! I'm hoping to squeak in another trip this year so I can use my AP for Universal and also maybe get a day at Disney.
Marilynn

 

[riu girl]

Your trip sounded wonderful. We also just returned (Dec 31) from Orlando/beach holiday. I loved the idea of relaxing at the beach after running around at WDW.

Mind if I ask a couple of questions re: Universal.

1. What age would be appropriate for the Spiderman and Hulk ride? DS4 is only 40 inches but just loved Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion, Dinsoaur etc. at WDW. He had no difficulty on any rides and wished he had been tall enough for Space Mountain.

2. Do you know the height requirements for Spiderman and Hulk at Universal?

3. Also, how did you find the staff at the Universal parks (friendliness, helpfullness etc). in comparison to WDW?? I have a "special" daughter and was surprised at how accomodating they were with her at WDW. For this reason alone, I would really hesitate to take her to any other attractions in the Orlando area since I'm sure the staff couldn't possibly be as wonderful with her as they were at WDW.

Sorry to hear about your rental car problems. What airline did you fly out of BUF and how did you like it??

Suzy V.

 

[PoohBWV]

Sounds like a wonderful trip in spite of your airport mix up. Remember, a bad day on vacation is still better than a good day at work.

 

[Sandyincanada]

Welcome back! Sounds like a fun trip. Too bad you couldn't open your eyes in Spiderman, the ride is amazing....I can't wait to try The Mummy!

Riu, your DS would probably like Spiderman, he may be abit young for Hulk which is pretty wild. The Universal board would be able to answer these questions easily.

 

[cabmom]

Thanks everyone!

Suzy, my youngest is 4 and he liked the Spiderman ride. Note in picture above he was wearing his costume all day in the park. He asked Spiderman where his webshooters were and Spiderman said here in my wrist and let him feel a bump that was there.
I'm not sure about the height requirements. I do know that they are listed on their site though. I don't believe little children are allowed on the hulk.
The staff and characters couldn't have been more inviting and friendly then they were. They made the visit even more special for the boys. The park was not busy at all while we were there.
We went Southwest and got our tickets for $376 for all 5 of us. They are an excellent airline to fly with!
Poohbwv, I couldn't agree more!

Marilynn

Drove thru the gates, but didn't go in!

 

[phamton]

Great report! I'm glad you had a wonderful time.

Thurs: We went to Islands of Adventure. This was the best day out of the whole trip. I did the Mummy and it has to be my all time favorite rides now. You have to try it! I'm not much of a roller coaster rider, but this one is not to be missed. Jimmy Neutron ride is hillarious, please do this one as well, it's not just for the little kids. If you are prone to motion sickness, sit up front. Shrek 4D was awesome as well. Spiderman, I couldn't keep my eyes open as the motion sickness was setting in. The kids loved it though. Cabdad did The Hulk on his own, he said he really enjoyed it. Cabdad and Aaron did Jurrasic Park ride. I didn't do it this time as I got soaked the last time. I think I've mixed up some of the rides in the parks here.

Mummy, Jimmy Neutron, and Shrek are at Universal. Spiderman, Hulk, and Jurassic park are at Islands of Adventure.

Here are the height requirements:

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS®

Revenge Of The MummySM- Must be at least 48".

Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktoon Blast™- Must be at least 40”. Persons under 40” must experience this attraction from an adjacent stationary location.

Back To The Future The Ride® - Must be at least 40” ; 40” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

MEN IN BLACK™ Alien Attack™ - Must be at least 42” ; 42” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster® - Must be at least 36” ; 36-48” must be accompanied by an adult


UNIVERSAL’S ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE®

Jurassic Park River Adventure® - Must be at least 42” ; 42” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Pteranodon Flyers® - Must be at least 36” ; 36” to 56” must be accompanied by an adult. Guests over 56” must be accompanied by a guest meeting this requirement.

Dueling Dragons® - Must be at least 54”.

Flying Unicorn® - Must be at least 36” ; 36” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

The Cat in the Hat™ - Under 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Caro-Seuss-el™ - Under 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish™ - Under 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls® - Must be at least 44” ; 44” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges® - Must be at least 42” ; 42” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Incredible Hulk Coaster® - Must be at least 54”.

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man® - Must be at least 40” ; 40” to 48” must be accompanied by an adult.

Doctor Doom’s Fearfall® - Must be at least 52”.

Storm Force Accelatron® - Under 48” must be accompanied by an adult.