BuzzandAriel'smom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 10, 2006
- Messages
- 1,154
Hello! We just got back last night arriving in Chicago to some snowy, windy, weather! Here is my first ever trip report.
Friday 3/2: Awoke at 3 am to leave by 4 to get to the airport and begin our getaway. Flight had to be re-routed over Tampa because of bad weather. That made me a little worried but have no fear; the weather in Orlando was BEAUTIFUL! The weather man on tv even seemed surprised, it was 89 degrees! So we used FL Tours for our town car service. No grocery stop though because our flight was too late
. We arrived at RPR and fell in love. The check-in was fast. Our room wasn't ready, it was only 12pm so we changed clothes in the bathroom and stowed our luggage with bell services and went to the Islands dining room. As soon as we ordered my cell phone rang telling us our room was ready. Food: I had the smoked turkey sandwich and it was great. DH had the quesadillas and they were great as well. Let me stop right now and say that we are disney lovers at heart, but the food at US area was WONDERFUL! So much better than anything we had at Disney. We made zero reservations and just ate whatever sounded good when we were hungry. So from here on out if I mention food just assume that it was terrific because we did not receive any food that was less than great!
We got our room. Tower 3, 3625, king bed highway view. Not a great view but it never bothered us. So from there we decided since it was so warm that we would go to IoA and do the water rides. We walked because we couldn't find the water taxi dock! And it was a nice walk. About 10 minutes. Our tickets were the $85 deal and it was great. We came and went as much as we wanted. We rode Spiderman first but forgot the 3d glasses! So that was a little strange. Then we did Jurrassic Park. Not really impressed with the animatronics on the one. From there we were going to do Ripsaw falls but I chickened out. Then we decided to do Popeyes Bilge Rat Barge. Now I have heard nothing about this ride other than the passing comment that you might get wet. We got SOAKED. Down to our socks and unmentionables! It was a funny ride though. I laughed the whole time! Then DH wanted to do Spiderman again, but with glasses. I wanted to sit in the sun and dry. While I was sitting there the Super Heros came out on atvs and did autograghs. That was neat. From there we did storm force. It was like tea cups on red bull! Then DH did Hulk and I waited, and waited, apparantly the power went out and he was stuck on the ride! Half of the park was without power. He finally came out and said that they had to get a tool and unhook their harnesses to get them out. Luckily he was at the very end of the ride. So with the power out we went back to the hotel and got in the hot tub. That was very nice. Then we got ready and ate at Jakes. We got the potato skins, I got the iceberg wedge salad and Dh got a burger. We were so ehausted from our long traveling day that we were asleep by 8:30!
3/3: We got up early and had the Breakfast Buffet at the Islands. Very expensive! $16.50 and I am not a big eater. Great food but a little pricey. Then we went back upstairs and changed clothes because it was not shorts weather. It was overcast and cold. 57 to be exact. So we put on jeans and sweatshirts and headed to US before it opened. We did Shrek, Mummy, Jaws, MIB (2x), Back to the Future and ET all before 11am! Then we did Terminator and I fell asleep during it! From there we did Twister my feet were tired! It is all standing. So we decided to go to lunch at NBA cafe. I had the Margherita pizza and Dh had the Take three sampler. This was one of our favorites. We actually did this same meal on another night we liked it so much. After lunch we went to IoA and did the Dr. Seuss area. And headed back to the Lost continent. DH did Dueling Dragons and LOVED it. This was his favorite ride. After that it started raining. No actually pouring is the correct word. So we donned our ponchos and went shopping. Then we went to Nascar for dessert. Nice place. I had Key lime pie, DH had cheesecake. Then we were done so we headed back to relax in the hot tub, in the rain! When it was time to head out for dinner we were happy that we put our winter coats in our suitcase instead of leaving them in the car back in Chicago. We wore our coats to CityWalk and we were the only ones not shivering! We tried to go to Margeritaville but the wait was 1:45 so we walk back to the Latin Quarter and walked right in. It was really nice. Nice atmosphere. Quick food. We split the fajitas. We did a little more shopping and then called it a night around 9pm. This was Mardi Gras night and it was a little busy but not crazy. The lady behind us on the boat had obviously had a little too much at Mardi Gras and she almost tossed her cookies on the boat!
3/4: We did the continetal breakfast at the Islands lounge and then headed to IoA to do the rest of the rides and shows and do some repeats. We rode everything except Ripsaw and Dr. Doom. I rode Unicorn 5 times
while DH rode Dragons 4 times. We had an early lunch at Margaritaville, we both had Cheeseburgers in Paradise. Then we did some repeat rides at Universal and then went to Hard Rock for dessert. We had the peanutbutter crunch. We didn't really care for Hard Rock. There was a dance competition going on and the dancers were trying to change in the restrooms and it was very busy there. Then we went to IoA and saw Poseidon and Sinbad. And then Dh did Hulk again and Spiderman again. We once again went back to the hot tub and then got ready for dinner and went back to the NBA cafe.
Overall: We had a great time. Express pass was wonderful! We walked on to everything. With the dance competition and it being a weekend it got kind of crowded so we were really glad to have the EP. We really like RPR and found it to be nice and quiet. The boat ride was very nice and relaxing and usually already at the dock when we got there. The restaurants were so good. I think because they are independantly owned.
Rides:
Jurrasic Park: Didn't care for it
Spiderman: DH loved it (rode 3x)
Hulk: dh liked it, a little jerky (rode 3x)
Deuling Dragons: Dh's favorite ride (rode 5x)
Unicorn: My favorite (rode 5x with a bunch of 8 year old girls!)
Sinbad: Cheesy
Poseidon: Okay. Dh thought the end movie part could have been better.
Dr. Seuss area: great for kids. Cat in the Hat ride was crazy!
Bilge rats: Bring your bathing suit!
Twister: Okay
Shrek: Funny, a little intense for very small children.
Mummy: Me-scared
Dh loved it (3x)
Jaws: funny
Earthquake: okay
MIB: Fun (2x)
Back to the future: A little jerky, but fun.
ET: may need a re-hab. Lookin' a little sad.
Terminator: We didn't care for it. Host was funny but movie was boring.
So that is my review. We had a great vacation and when we go to disney this summer we might be changing our plans a little to include a stay at RPR and go to US and IoA with the kids!
Let me know if you have any ????s.
Friday 3/2: Awoke at 3 am to leave by 4 to get to the airport and begin our getaway. Flight had to be re-routed over Tampa because of bad weather. That made me a little worried but have no fear; the weather in Orlando was BEAUTIFUL! The weather man on tv even seemed surprised, it was 89 degrees! So we used FL Tours for our town car service. No grocery stop though because our flight was too late
. We arrived at RPR and fell in love. The check-in was fast. Our room wasn't ready, it was only 12pm so we changed clothes in the bathroom and stowed our luggage with bell services and went to the Islands dining room. As soon as we ordered my cell phone rang telling us our room was ready. Food: I had the smoked turkey sandwich and it was great. DH had the quesadillas and they were great as well. Let me stop right now and say that we are disney lovers at heart, but the food at US area was WONDERFUL! So much better than anything we had at Disney. We made zero reservations and just ate whatever sounded good when we were hungry. So from here on out if I mention food just assume that it was terrific because we did not receive any food that was less than great!We got our room. Tower 3, 3625, king bed highway view. Not a great view but it never bothered us. So from there we decided since it was so warm that we would go to IoA and do the water rides. We walked because we couldn't find the water taxi dock! And it was a nice walk. About 10 minutes. Our tickets were the $85 deal and it was great. We came and went as much as we wanted. We rode Spiderman first but forgot the 3d glasses! So that was a little strange. Then we did Jurrassic Park. Not really impressed with the animatronics on the one. From there we were going to do Ripsaw falls but I chickened out. Then we decided to do Popeyes Bilge Rat Barge. Now I have heard nothing about this ride other than the passing comment that you might get wet. We got SOAKED. Down to our socks and unmentionables! It was a funny ride though. I laughed the whole time! Then DH wanted to do Spiderman again, but with glasses. I wanted to sit in the sun and dry. While I was sitting there the Super Heros came out on atvs and did autograghs. That was neat. From there we did storm force. It was like tea cups on red bull! Then DH did Hulk and I waited, and waited, apparantly the power went out and he was stuck on the ride! Half of the park was without power. He finally came out and said that they had to get a tool and unhook their harnesses to get them out. Luckily he was at the very end of the ride. So with the power out we went back to the hotel and got in the hot tub. That was very nice. Then we got ready and ate at Jakes. We got the potato skins, I got the iceberg wedge salad and Dh got a burger. We were so ehausted from our long traveling day that we were asleep by 8:30!
3/3: We got up early and had the Breakfast Buffet at the Islands. Very expensive! $16.50 and I am not a big eater. Great food but a little pricey. Then we went back upstairs and changed clothes because it was not shorts weather. It was overcast and cold. 57 to be exact. So we put on jeans and sweatshirts and headed to US before it opened. We did Shrek, Mummy, Jaws, MIB (2x), Back to the Future and ET all before 11am! Then we did Terminator and I fell asleep during it! From there we did Twister my feet were tired! It is all standing. So we decided to go to lunch at NBA cafe. I had the Margherita pizza and Dh had the Take three sampler. This was one of our favorites. We actually did this same meal on another night we liked it so much. After lunch we went to IoA and did the Dr. Seuss area. And headed back to the Lost continent. DH did Dueling Dragons and LOVED it. This was his favorite ride. After that it started raining. No actually pouring is the correct word. So we donned our ponchos and went shopping. Then we went to Nascar for dessert. Nice place. I had Key lime pie, DH had cheesecake. Then we were done so we headed back to relax in the hot tub, in the rain! When it was time to head out for dinner we were happy that we put our winter coats in our suitcase instead of leaving them in the car back in Chicago. We wore our coats to CityWalk and we were the only ones not shivering! We tried to go to Margeritaville but the wait was 1:45 so we walk back to the Latin Quarter and walked right in. It was really nice. Nice atmosphere. Quick food. We split the fajitas. We did a little more shopping and then called it a night around 9pm. This was Mardi Gras night and it was a little busy but not crazy. The lady behind us on the boat had obviously had a little too much at Mardi Gras and she almost tossed her cookies on the boat!
3/4: We did the continetal breakfast at the Islands lounge and then headed to IoA to do the rest of the rides and shows and do some repeats. We rode everything except Ripsaw and Dr. Doom. I rode Unicorn 5 times
while DH rode Dragons 4 times. We had an early lunch at Margaritaville, we both had Cheeseburgers in Paradise. Then we did some repeat rides at Universal and then went to Hard Rock for dessert. We had the peanutbutter crunch. We didn't really care for Hard Rock. There was a dance competition going on and the dancers were trying to change in the restrooms and it was very busy there. Then we went to IoA and saw Poseidon and Sinbad. And then Dh did Hulk again and Spiderman again. We once again went back to the hot tub and then got ready for dinner and went back to the NBA cafe.Overall: We had a great time. Express pass was wonderful! We walked on to everything. With the dance competition and it being a weekend it got kind of crowded so we were really glad to have the EP. We really like RPR and found it to be nice and quiet. The boat ride was very nice and relaxing and usually already at the dock when we got there. The restaurants were so good. I think because they are independantly owned.
Rides:
Jurrasic Park: Didn't care for it
Spiderman: DH loved it (rode 3x)
Hulk: dh liked it, a little jerky (rode 3x)
Deuling Dragons: Dh's favorite ride (rode 5x)
Unicorn: My favorite (rode 5x with a bunch of 8 year old girls!)
Sinbad: Cheesy
Poseidon: Okay. Dh thought the end movie part could have been better.
Dr. Seuss area: great for kids. Cat in the Hat ride was crazy!
Bilge rats: Bring your bathing suit!
Twister: Okay
Shrek: Funny, a little intense for very small children.
Mummy: Me-scared
Dh loved it (3x)Jaws: funny
Earthquake: okay
MIB: Fun (2x)
Back to the future: A little jerky, but fun.
ET: may need a re-hab. Lookin' a little sad.
Terminator: We didn't care for it. Host was funny but movie was boring.
So that is my review. We had a great vacation and when we go to disney this summer we might be changing our plans a little to include a stay at RPR and go to US and IoA with the kids!
Let me know if you have any ????s.
Scares me
