Just back from out stay at RPR from June 29th to July 7th.
Parks were extremely crowded but not a problem with express pass and early entry. I cannot fathom trying to enjoy the parks without those perks. Waited about 35 minutes after getting to Olivander's at 7:10 am. That was our longest wait entire trip. FJ was a steady walking pace onto the ride after that and again near park closing on single rider line. Lockers were kind of a pain because of all the crowds but not a huge deal.
At SW we did not have any express passes for the rides. We got there at opening and did those first. No waits. Did everything, all shows (except tresure hunt kids show) and rides in one day with the exception of feeding the dolphins and rays but I don't reccommend this type of touring unless you really can't get back a second day and if you really don't mind hustling from one thing to the next. We did go back for half the day on July 4th. Feeding the dolphins is very expensive (considering the small dish of fish you get) but even so was great fun. I'd even spend the money to do it again. If you like coasters, don't miss Manta. It was my favorite of all the parks.
Went to Aquatica on July 4th from opening to 3:30. I was very worried about lines but it wasn't as bad as I expected. No lines really until after 10:00 am and then we didn't wait more than 20 minutes I'm estimating for anything.
RPR was lovely and the staff all extremely friendly. Coffee maker did not work properly all the time and despite my leaving a note about it, it never got replaced. It wasn't a big deal as with enough fiddling we could get it to work. Kids loved the pool, especially the mother duck with her new babies that made themselves right at home in the pool with all the crowd
My only complaint at RPR was that the a la carte breakfast items were just ridiculously priced. Paid almost $11.00 for 2 bagels and small danish and another $2.13 for a single serving milk container.
Was not terribly impressed with the food at the CityWalk resturants. There was nothing wrong but I guess I expected more from the various reviews I read beforehand. One note: the coupons from the Orlando Coupons website were more restrictive than lead to believe. After showing them to the waitresses we discovered most could only be used if you ordered only certain items from the menu and none of the accepting resturants were familiar with the Kids-Eat-Free card I purchased.
Had a great time overall but did get kind of bummed when I left a bag with a dress I purchased in an IOA bathroom by mistake. Never got turned into Lost and Found. My own fault. Park attractions were lots of fun and staff were just as friendly and helpful as at Disney I thought.
Parks were extremely crowded but not a problem with express pass and early entry. I cannot fathom trying to enjoy the parks without those perks. Waited about 35 minutes after getting to Olivander's at 7:10 am. That was our longest wait entire trip. FJ was a steady walking pace onto the ride after that and again near park closing on single rider line. Lockers were kind of a pain because of all the crowds but not a huge deal.
At SW we did not have any express passes for the rides. We got there at opening and did those first. No waits. Did everything, all shows (except tresure hunt kids show) and rides in one day with the exception of feeding the dolphins and rays but I don't reccommend this type of touring unless you really can't get back a second day and if you really don't mind hustling from one thing to the next. We did go back for half the day on July 4th. Feeding the dolphins is very expensive (considering the small dish of fish you get) but even so was great fun. I'd even spend the money to do it again. If you like coasters, don't miss Manta. It was my favorite of all the parks.
Went to Aquatica on July 4th from opening to 3:30. I was very worried about lines but it wasn't as bad as I expected. No lines really until after 10:00 am and then we didn't wait more than 20 minutes I'm estimating for anything.
RPR was lovely and the staff all extremely friendly. Coffee maker did not work properly all the time and despite my leaving a note about it, it never got replaced. It wasn't a big deal as with enough fiddling we could get it to work. Kids loved the pool, especially the mother duck with her new babies that made themselves right at home in the pool with all the crowd
My only complaint at RPR was that the a la carte breakfast items were just ridiculously priced. Paid almost $11.00 for 2 bagels and small danish and another $2.13 for a single serving milk container.Was not terribly impressed with the food at the CityWalk resturants. There was nothing wrong but I guess I expected more from the various reviews I read beforehand. One note: the coupons from the Orlando Coupons website were more restrictive than lead to believe. After showing them to the waitresses we discovered most could only be used if you ordered only certain items from the menu and none of the accepting resturants were familiar with the Kids-Eat-Free card I purchased.
Had a great time overall but did get kind of bummed when I left a bag with a dress I purchased in an IOA bathroom by mistake. Never got turned into Lost and Found. My own fault. Park attractions were lots of fun and staff were just as friendly and helpful as at Disney I thought.
