Our florida and Universal trip.2011 Day 1

[rpbert1]

Arrived Sat, not much happened that day, and checked into Florida Mall Hotel for 3 nights.
Got a lovely Dodge Avenger, all leather seats ,heated not that we would use that, and a lot better than car i ordered , which was cheapest 2 door, also got ugraded seats to Economy Plus from Chicago to MCO
Hotel is quite nice and ideal for a bit of retail therapy for DW,
Note to DHs out there, prepare for huge CC bills, just seen what DW & DD spent , so maybe not my best idea.
Anyway spent all day shopping till 6pm, then it was off to Walmart to get some food, that was our first full day over, dreading today as Florida Mall is open till 9pm , and think i will spend some time at the pool today, got some pics of Hotel entrance to FM so not much of a day, and expect today to be similar.
Will eventually get to Universal in 2 weeks so please be patient

Our Car

entrance to mall from hotel

Hotel

Day 2.

Well not much happened today,only more shopping till 7pm, how do women do so much shopping , definetly think staying here was a mistake on my part, DW thinks its great but CC says different to me.
Looking forward to moving to Hilton Garden Inn and doing something more than shopping

 

[Metro West]

Waiting for more.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

Haha. I guess I'll have to be patient but I'm in.

 

[Bluer101]

Sounds great Robert, except for the shopping.

 

[damo]

You are just encouraging them by staying at a hotel by a mall...just saying.

 

[rpbert1]

You are just encouraging them by staying at a hotel by a mall...just saying.

I will not make that mistake again

 

[rpbert1]

Not sure i am doing this correctly but anyway.
We moved late afternoon, after DW did a bit more shopping, to Hilton Garden Inn, its not a bad place to stay , very clean and although the pool area is small there is never many people there. we unpacked and relaxed at the pool for a couple of hours,

was planning SW tonight, but promised DD we would go to IHOP for dinner, this is her Fav place to eat, and we allow her to pick once a week. Wento Lake Buena Vista one, and had quite a nice meal there ,i had sirloin steak and was very nice, also had the funnel cake but was not impressed with it, much prefer Universals.
arrived back and the fireworks where started at SW, so DD got some on video from the window of our room



that was our day, nothing really happening, but then we do take it easy a lot of the time.
Just a bit about Hilton Garden Inn, i got a great deal $70 approx a night and includes a cooked breakfast, and 3 unlimited fastpasses value $43 each approx, which i was planning to buy anyway, which makes it a great deal IMHO

 

[schumigirl]

Oh I do like the sound of that hotel

I`m not a shopper in the UK but over there........different story

Sounds good so far, looking forward to the rest of your trip

 

[rpbert1]

will post dates rather than days as a lot of time will be spent relaxing.
so Wed 6th july.
spent the morning at a relativly empty pool area

we decided to go to Seaworld in the afternoon and spent a few hours there. made use of the free Unlimited quick queue, walked onto all 3 rides with no wait which was great as Journey to Atlantis was 90 min and Manta was similar.

watched the horizons show which was good

A rare pic of me

Then we saw santa , who must have been on Vacation at seaworld as well


we went back to the hotel ,which was about a 6 min walk from SW, as we had planned to go back that evening for Shamu Rocks, which we had never seen, and the show and fireworks where excellent. DD decided she wanted to sit in the Soak Zone so we all got throughly soaked

.

thurs the 7th

was a pool day till 3pm when it started raining, We are going to Cirque Soleil tonight, as it was my Birthday, which DW forgot again, which is a regular occurance when we are in Florida, she seems to loss track of time and days.
The show was very good, and we all enjoyed it, we had dinner in HOB which was ok , but thought it was expensive for what it is.
had a couple of beer in the hotel before going to bed, for medicinal purposes of course.

Fri 8th July

Well got up this morning to DW singing Happy Birthday, asked her what she was doing, said its my birthday, had to enlghten her that it was yesterday, and remind her that its becoming a regular occurance when on holiday, but then we do not have any watch to keep track of time, we just go as we want , and not worry about time.
we did very little today, and as it started to rain in the afternoon, we went and bought some presents to take home.
Went to SW tonight, and watched Shamu and Pets Ahoy which we all enjoyed, rode Manta a few tmes , also did the Sky Tower, something we had never done, and got an amazing view of the area. Never took a camera, so no pics.
Getting washing done as we move to st petes tomorrow, staying at www.gulftidesinn.com which is a small place of 8 apartments or efficencies around a pool , which gets great reviews from all who have stayed.
will update tomorrow hopefully

 

[rpbert1]

Quick update on DDs comp.
Have been in St petes from sat, place we are staying in is excellent , all apartments set around the pool, and a guy from Canada where most seem to be from, did the BBQ tonight, everyone is very friendly and the place is excellent, only thing there is no maid service, but for the prices we are not complaining about making a bed.
Have not done very much just chilled here and at the beach which is a 2 min walk, definetly a place i would recommend

 

[ATAfamily]

Can't wait to read more

 

[rpbert1]

Have not really done much since arriving at RPR, think we have been at the parks about 6 hours max in nearly 2 weeks.
have not took any pics, well maybe about 10, as have all pics of the same things. Did most of the rides,and planning WWHP tomorrow evening . we did it the Sunday after we arrived. Had planned an early start Monday, so went to IOA and WWHP about 9:15 and walked on twice, could have got a few more but DW wanted to Browse the shops. This saved an early morning start, advised others at the pool to try it as they did not want to do the early start ,but felt they had to, so they went that night after 9pm and got riding ab few times, and this is what a lot are doing who only want to do the ride.
So we have had a great 2 weeks at RPR yet again.
Have seen a few friends i have made here over the years, Elsa in Orchid Lounge, surprised us with a huge plate of fruit, cheeses and crackers, caught up with David at the pool and Sasha who is a lovely girl and Marianne who has been working at the pool for a couple of years and Jakes before that, who arranges all the games, Edd who works nights at checkin and Craig manager front desk, all great people ,and always remember us
just to contact a guy who has left who was a lifeguard here Hurley, so will have his phone number hopefully tomorrow.
What can i say about the staff here that would do them justice, cannot think of a word at this time, but they are all so welcoming and friendly and will do anything for you to make the stay a good one, so looking forward to coming back next year hopefully, if i can fit it in on our way home from California, as like my DW said when we arrived at RPR " It's Like Coming Home"