AlexandNessa
<font color=red>Proud Redhead<br><font color=green
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2003
- Messages
- 5,407
We started off our trip at the GF Concierge. To read that TR, click here:
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=6881158#post6881158
The Cast:
Mike 35, my SO, takes our vacation money out of my engagement ring fund. Nonetheless, he is Mr. I-Dont-Plan-or-Make-Reservations.-Just-Tell-Me-Where-and-When-to-Show-up-and-What-to-Bring.
Me 32, Clearly takes advantage of the Just tell me where and when to show up and what to bring policy. Also known for hiding receipts and credit card bills so he doesnt readily know how much this policy is actually costing him.
And just a bit older than us:
Mikes big sis M,my best friend.
Mikes BIL B,never smiles for pictures, but promises hes having fun. He swears.
Resort Highlights: First of all, if youre a regular on the board, you might know that Mike and I had a lackluster stay at the PBH in March, so we switched our October ressie to the RPR. And why not spring for Club while were at it?
This was the best decision I made (even though the PBH offered a free night to come back. Free night, schmee night. Ick. We may not stay at the PBH ever again. Well, maybe. If we had to.)
I **loved** the Royal Pacific Resort! Oh, and Mike did too. We pulled up to the resort and were immediately greeted by friendly staff. (Unlike the PBH who never even said hello to us.) The RPR porter chatted us up and gave us HHN touring tips. (PBH: a tired, Checking in? No, goofball, we just like pulling up to a resort and unloading luggage for FUN!). Our RPR check-in person was so nice and friendly and efficient. (PBH: no smile, she barely said two words to us, and had to ask for my credit card about 10x). At the RPR, I hadnt even asked about our welcome gift since I had booked at the APH rate and we were told quite clearly at the PBH we didnt qualify for a welcome gift with a discounted rate. To our surprise, the RPR asked us what wed like for a welcome gift, and we even got to choose the type of beer. I knew wed be out late that night and asked her if they could deliver it 4 oclock the next day, Friday. She said sure. I half expected our beer and nuts wouldnt come at all, but alas, it came right on time. Awesome!
I knew the RPR was sold out that weekend and asked our check-in person if they had any rooms left that didnt overlook I4. She smiled and said that our room wasnt ready yet, but she didnt want to change it as we had a really nice view. Wow, was she right! Not only could we see the entire pool, we could see the waterway, Hulk, Dr. Doom, Dueling Dragons, Ripsaw Falls it was awesome! It was room 3724, which is a King Bed, Club room. It is one full hallway down and around the corner from the elevators. However, it is very close to both the ice machine and the Club Lounge.
The caveat, of course, is that we liked the resort. Not necessarily the room itself. We, who arent **exactly** light packers, found ourselves a little crowded. I thought about you families of 4 and 5 who squeeze into those rooms, and I thought, God Bless Ya! You all must be very neat and tidy people, and dont pack up your entire bathroom like we do. We liked that the sink was separate from the toilet and tub. But, there wasnt a whole lot of room for toiletry stuff on the vanity. It wouldve been nice to maybe even have a shelf under the sink area. Nope. Or even hooks to hang our toiletry bags on. Nope. Also, we thought they couldve used a throw rug or something in the sink area. Something to maybe break up the sound. With all the ceramic (Im guessing its ceramic) in the hallway/entry way and bathroom area, sound carried in the room. However, we forgave these things because most important was that the shower pressure was awesome! I take showers at home now and feel like I might as well be showering in the rain. I miss that shower.
The small room was also mitigated by our having access to the Club Lounge. I promise we didnt store our toiletries in there. We just used it to hang out if one of us was getting ready so we didnt trip over each other or if housekeeping was in the room. (Please note that we never figured out how to put away our ironing board it was stuck open- so this added to the clutter.) Since Mikes Sis and BIL joined us, it was also a great place to meet up or socialize for a drink before heading out for the evening.
The Club Lounge staff was very friendly and pleasant, and always addressed me by name whenever I entered the lounge. If youre staying Club soon, tell Shannan I said hi. Since people always ask, the breakfast offerings were fresh fruit and pastries, yogurts and cereals, warm cinnamon buns and toast and bagels. They had some potato chips and fruit out until evening appetizers. On Thursday night they actually had fried shrimp. That was the last we saw of that. From Friday through Monday, all they had was either a potato or pasta salad, cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, and tortilla chips with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream. Thats it. Nothing warm at all. They had beer and wine. You had to ask for it; it wasnt out for the taking (which doesnt matter to us, but might to others). If you wanted a mixed drink, this went by the honor system (its $5 a pour), and you were asked to fill out a card with your name and room # so you could be charged. Water, coffee, and tea were out all day. Juices were out in the morning (I think Orange Juice and Apple Juice? Sorry, Im not a juice drinker.). Sodas were out for most of the day. Please note that bare feet and bathrobes are not welcomed in the Club Lounge. Fortunately, I dont know this from first-hand experience. We all received a flier stating as much on our first day.
We were very excited to come back from HHN on Thursday night to find that Dale McDaniel (RPR General Manager) had sent a lovely bottle of chilled champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to our room to welcome us to the resort and stating that if we needed anything during our stay that we should contact him directly. Awesome! M & B later saw on the housekeeping cart that our room was listed as a VIP room along with 2 suites and 1 other room. Dont know how we got on that list. Dont care either! Did I mention it was awesome?!
Now, before everyone goes out and changes his or her ressie to the RPR, please note that M & B did not share our great enthusiasm for the resort. They liked it fine, but alas, were not on the VIP list and it showed. Their room was 3737, which was at the end of the hallway from the club lounge and two full hallways down from the elevator. Please note that if your club room is on the same side of the hallway as the club lounge (as theirs was), you have a most lovely view of I4. Their room also included a view of the roof, a swamp, and fallen tree. There was a huge scuff mark on the wall where someone had obviously tried to move the couch and the thermostat didnt work in that room either. They couldnt get the room to cool down.
A call to Star Services wasnt very helpful for them. It was after the club lounge closed or they wouldve dealt with the concierge staff. All Star Services kept asking them is if they were in the room all day. B couldnt figure out what that had to do with anything since they were in the room then. Finally, Star Services agreed to send an engineer to the room but never did. M & B also had trouble trying to find their dry cleaning they had sent out. Star Services was once again rude and kept telling them to look in their closet. (I believe the conversation went, Hi, Im just trying to locate my dry cleaning. Did you look in the closet? Yes, I did, its not there. Look again.) Honestly folks. The room is not that big. They promised it was not in the room; thats why they were calling. They eventually did get their dry cleaning a day later. And, you guessed it. No champagne and chocolate covered strawberries for them, unless you count that we shared ours with them.
We, on the other hand, had no problem with Star Service when we were late getting out one evening and missed turn-down service. I called to order it before we left for after dinner drinks, and they were polite, pleasant, addressed me by name, and said they would send someone up promptly.
Mike and I got trinkets during turn-down service every night. We got magnets, a lei, a key chain, stickers, and a potpourri shell. M & B didnt get anything. Ever.
HHN
10/28 the four of us went, armed with express passes. This wasnt fun for the rest of my crew because every house we went through, the scare actors knew I was the screamer. You scream once and youre done for. I think they had radios to let the other scare actors know I was coming. (Attention all scare actors, weve got a short unnatural blonde whos a screamer. I repeat, a screamer. Last seen wearing a blue top and white shorts. Appears to be with 3 other people who are looking quite bored. The blonde, on the other hand, may have peed her pants.) We tried putting me in the front of the line, in the back of the line, hiding in the middle. Didnt matter. They were only after me. I was creeped out after a while, and had my fill of houses for the night. The one I hated most was Nightmares, because I hate clowns. In some houses, I scrounched down and waddled through pleading, please dont scare me. Im not scared. Please dont scare me. Mike was wicked proud. Its been reported before, but there had to be a beer stand every fifteen feet, and I think Im being conservative here. B imagined all the beer stand workers hiding in the tunnels under the park during the day, just waiting to get out at night. He also wondered where in the world they had room to store all the beer carts. Nonetheless, we did partake in the beer (how could we not?), and we did enjoy the Bill and Ted Show. Although I have to say, this one really isnt for kids. Side commentary here: as we were entering the park, there were families (plural) with strollers and one foreign family in front of us with small kids on harnesses. Mike and I gave each other the wide-eyed, What are you people thinking look. Honestly. Get a babysitter and leave the kids at home. This isnt MNSSHP. Its nighttime, its scary, and theres LOTS of alcohol about. Its not worth it for them just to see the parade.
10/31 - Mike and I went back on our own for Halloween. We mistakenly figured it wouldnt be so crowded as it was a Sunday. Wrong! I didnt think we needed express passes, but we did. Wed missed Hells Gate Prison on Thursday, and figured we stand in line for it. The sign said it was a 30-minute wait. Fine. After at least 45 minutes, we were hot, tired, and only half-way through the line. You know its bad when you pass several beer stands while youre in line. We bolted and decided to leave and meet M & B for after-dinner drinks at City Walk. The express passes on Thursday were worth it. An hour-long wait to get into the houses on Sunday wasnt. Thats just us. Besides, this was our last night with M & B, so we skipped the rest of HHN and spent it with them.
Where we ate:
Margaritaville twice. We all gave this place rave reviews, and our favorite server Hank even made me my own special margarita that wasnt on the menu. We still have yet to see the volcano blow though. We learned that when JBM has bands and its crowded, they actually have party motivators to get you to dance. Mike was a victim of them one night when I was not immediately near by, and the girl asked M if she were Mikes wife or girlfriend. M said, Nope, Im his sister. That did it. Party motivator girl dragged Mike out onto the dance floor. We all have a cross to bear. Fortunately, mine is having a handsome boyfriend! Youll notice the party motivator people sitting at tables which have lots of food that need to be bussed. B heard one of them complaining that theyd only received one 10-minute break that night.
The Kitchen we had Friday night ressies here. Dinner was good, not great. The service was great, and we were entertained by Doug the Magician. The chef came by to say hello and chat, and despite our drinks, dinner was only $175 for the 4 of us, including tip. Not bad since we had appetizers as well. I had the lobster bisque special as an appetizer. It was more like a puree, and if youre ever there when its on the menu, it should be avoided. The baked mac & cheese received accolades as well as a special pizza they had on the menu that night. I had steak (it was a bit fatty) to which I added shrimp. I suppose dinner was great for everyone but me.
Tchoup Chop - Excellent as usual. God did we eat. B and I both had the saki sampler. Ick. I didnt need 4 sakis to learn that I dont like it. As it was $19, I forced myself to drink what I could and then made Mike finish it. We ordered about 4 appetizers, which we shared. I had the filet, to which I added scallops. Mike had the chicken to which he added scallops. M had the seafood special, to which she added scallops. B had some kind of lo-mein like pork dish, to which he did not add the scallops. Wow, were these scallops melt-in-your-mouth good. They were big too, and probably we could have shared two sides instead of three. You got 3 scallops, and they were prepared to complement your meal. Yum. M got the pecan pie for dessert and Mike and I ordered our favorite, Banana Cream Pie. We all shared. Excellent. Oh, and if there are any fellow Bloody Mary fans out there, may I recommend the Hoki Hoki Mai. This is made with wasabi instead of horseradish, and had a hint of soy sauce instead of Tabasco. Awesome! I should have stuck with those instead of the saki sampler. (Did I mention that was ICK!)
Mythos this was good, but not as good as the reviews Id been reading. Mike had some kind of wrap. M & B had burgers. I had a pasta primavera with shrimp. We were too full for dessert so we skipped it.
Louies Pizza is this whats catty-corner across the street from Finnegans at USF? We had a pizza and Miller Lites here before HHN. Whatever.
Pat OBriens oh wait, we didnt actually EAT here. Excellent Bloody Marys though. Wished I skipped the Hurricanes. When you have a good crowd and good players on the piano, this is the place to be, and I think we went here at least 3 times.
Jakes Bar Oh, wait, we didnt actually eat here either. We went for drinks after dinner at Tchoup Chop. We wanted to avoid CW because HHN was sold out that night, and we figured CW would be packed. Jakes had a lounge singer that night that could put you to sleep. Leave it to my crew to egg her on and request every Carpenter song she knew how to sing. Mike even asked her for Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head, and told her to give it her best effort. For a $5 tip, she sure tried. When she didnt know all the words, it was my crew who gladly helped her out. My apologies if you were with us on 10/30 at about 10 or 11 oclock. We dont get there often. I promise.
Bula Bar Now here we actually ate. The burgers were good. I had the spinach and crab dip which was about 2 tablespoons of dip and 80-million chips.
Confisco Grille I met Barry and Karin for a mini-DIS meet. It had good cinnamon French toast, but if youre not much of a breakfast eater, and dont have kids, and youre not at a DIS meet, Id save your bucks. Mike was mortified when I told him that Wolverine came up to me, and I asked, Who are you? Even more mortified when I pushed further, Are you a good guy or a bad guy? Mike was glad he slept in that day.
Capt Quints our favorite fast food in any theme park, anywhere!
The Parks Highlights
USF:
MIB I hit new highs on MIB. Thats right, Jodie finally learned how to line up her gun. Look out! One time Mike and I were in the car with two other folks and we had an average score of I think close to 500K. Like idiots, Mike and I and the other couple all raised our hands in the air, and yelled Galaxy Defenders! Youd have thought we won the lottery.
The Mummy this was the first time we were on it, and the consensus in our crew was the same as many people on the board: awesome but too short! I looked for the DM several times. I could never find the 5-year pin, and I felt like too much of an idiot asking random people, Are you the Dark Marauder? Although, I think I have it narrowed down to two people. Barry gave me one clue, which didnt help me pinpoint him. Next trip.
BTTF- is this not the most slap yourself senseless ride in the world? Mike insisted our crew sit in the back row, so our heads would properly be bashed against the back of the car. Mine got slammed and as my head came forward, it ripped out a huge chunk of my hair, and I muttered something Im not proud of. My apologies to the 3 children in the front row of our car. Probably need to extend that to the cars on our right and left too.
IOA:
We got to ride in the front row of both Fire and Ice!! Awesome. You have not ridden Dueling Dragons until youve ridden in the front row. We had all of a 10-minute wait to ride the front row of ICE. Awesome. We immediately headed over to ride the front row of FIRE. More awesome. Fire is definitely better. Definitely Fire. Definitely Better. Only on Mondays. Never on Sundays.
Storm Force Accelatron Mike is a woos and doesnt really like to spin. Good thing I had my best buddy M to go on with me!
Even better: we skipped Poseidens Fury. Ever hear of the term addition by subtraction? Others will beg to differ. This is just Mikes and my humble opinion.
Hopefully, this will work to see our pics:
http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=504417028105&page=1&sort_order=0
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&postid=6881158#post6881158
The Cast:
Mike 35, my SO, takes our vacation money out of my engagement ring fund. Nonetheless, he is Mr. I-Dont-Plan-or-Make-Reservations.-Just-Tell-Me-Where-and-When-to-Show-up-and-What-to-Bring.
Me 32, Clearly takes advantage of the Just tell me where and when to show up and what to bring policy. Also known for hiding receipts and credit card bills so he doesnt readily know how much this policy is actually costing him.
And just a bit older than us:
Mikes big sis M,my best friend.
Mikes BIL B,never smiles for pictures, but promises hes having fun. He swears.
Resort Highlights: First of all, if youre a regular on the board, you might know that Mike and I had a lackluster stay at the PBH in March, so we switched our October ressie to the RPR. And why not spring for Club while were at it?
This was the best decision I made (even though the PBH offered a free night to come back. Free night, schmee night. Ick. We may not stay at the PBH ever again. Well, maybe. If we had to.)
I **loved** the Royal Pacific Resort! Oh, and Mike did too. We pulled up to the resort and were immediately greeted by friendly staff. (Unlike the PBH who never even said hello to us.) The RPR porter chatted us up and gave us HHN touring tips. (PBH: a tired, Checking in? No, goofball, we just like pulling up to a resort and unloading luggage for FUN!). Our RPR check-in person was so nice and friendly and efficient. (PBH: no smile, she barely said two words to us, and had to ask for my credit card about 10x). At the RPR, I hadnt even asked about our welcome gift since I had booked at the APH rate and we were told quite clearly at the PBH we didnt qualify for a welcome gift with a discounted rate. To our surprise, the RPR asked us what wed like for a welcome gift, and we even got to choose the type of beer. I knew wed be out late that night and asked her if they could deliver it 4 oclock the next day, Friday. She said sure. I half expected our beer and nuts wouldnt come at all, but alas, it came right on time. Awesome!
I knew the RPR was sold out that weekend and asked our check-in person if they had any rooms left that didnt overlook I4. She smiled and said that our room wasnt ready yet, but she didnt want to change it as we had a really nice view. Wow, was she right! Not only could we see the entire pool, we could see the waterway, Hulk, Dr. Doom, Dueling Dragons, Ripsaw Falls it was awesome! It was room 3724, which is a King Bed, Club room. It is one full hallway down and around the corner from the elevators. However, it is very close to both the ice machine and the Club Lounge.
The caveat, of course, is that we liked the resort. Not necessarily the room itself. We, who arent **exactly** light packers, found ourselves a little crowded. I thought about you families of 4 and 5 who squeeze into those rooms, and I thought, God Bless Ya! You all must be very neat and tidy people, and dont pack up your entire bathroom like we do. We liked that the sink was separate from the toilet and tub. But, there wasnt a whole lot of room for toiletry stuff on the vanity. It wouldve been nice to maybe even have a shelf under the sink area. Nope. Or even hooks to hang our toiletry bags on. Nope. Also, we thought they couldve used a throw rug or something in the sink area. Something to maybe break up the sound. With all the ceramic (Im guessing its ceramic) in the hallway/entry way and bathroom area, sound carried in the room. However, we forgave these things because most important was that the shower pressure was awesome! I take showers at home now and feel like I might as well be showering in the rain. I miss that shower.
The small room was also mitigated by our having access to the Club Lounge. I promise we didnt store our toiletries in there. We just used it to hang out if one of us was getting ready so we didnt trip over each other or if housekeeping was in the room. (Please note that we never figured out how to put away our ironing board it was stuck open- so this added to the clutter.) Since Mikes Sis and BIL joined us, it was also a great place to meet up or socialize for a drink before heading out for the evening.
The Club Lounge staff was very friendly and pleasant, and always addressed me by name whenever I entered the lounge. If youre staying Club soon, tell Shannan I said hi. Since people always ask, the breakfast offerings were fresh fruit and pastries, yogurts and cereals, warm cinnamon buns and toast and bagels. They had some potato chips and fruit out until evening appetizers. On Thursday night they actually had fried shrimp. That was the last we saw of that. From Friday through Monday, all they had was either a potato or pasta salad, cheese and crackers, veggies and dip, and tortilla chips with salsa, guacamole, and sour cream. Thats it. Nothing warm at all. They had beer and wine. You had to ask for it; it wasnt out for the taking (which doesnt matter to us, but might to others). If you wanted a mixed drink, this went by the honor system (its $5 a pour), and you were asked to fill out a card with your name and room # so you could be charged. Water, coffee, and tea were out all day. Juices were out in the morning (I think Orange Juice and Apple Juice? Sorry, Im not a juice drinker.). Sodas were out for most of the day. Please note that bare feet and bathrobes are not welcomed in the Club Lounge. Fortunately, I dont know this from first-hand experience. We all received a flier stating as much on our first day.
We were very excited to come back from HHN on Thursday night to find that Dale McDaniel (RPR General Manager) had sent a lovely bottle of chilled champagne and chocolate covered strawberries to our room to welcome us to the resort and stating that if we needed anything during our stay that we should contact him directly. Awesome! M & B later saw on the housekeeping cart that our room was listed as a VIP room along with 2 suites and 1 other room. Dont know how we got on that list. Dont care either! Did I mention it was awesome?!
Now, before everyone goes out and changes his or her ressie to the RPR, please note that M & B did not share our great enthusiasm for the resort. They liked it fine, but alas, were not on the VIP list and it showed. Their room was 3737, which was at the end of the hallway from the club lounge and two full hallways down from the elevator. Please note that if your club room is on the same side of the hallway as the club lounge (as theirs was), you have a most lovely view of I4. Their room also included a view of the roof, a swamp, and fallen tree. There was a huge scuff mark on the wall where someone had obviously tried to move the couch and the thermostat didnt work in that room either. They couldnt get the room to cool down.
A call to Star Services wasnt very helpful for them. It was after the club lounge closed or they wouldve dealt with the concierge staff. All Star Services kept asking them is if they were in the room all day. B couldnt figure out what that had to do with anything since they were in the room then. Finally, Star Services agreed to send an engineer to the room but never did. M & B also had trouble trying to find their dry cleaning they had sent out. Star Services was once again rude and kept telling them to look in their closet. (I believe the conversation went, Hi, Im just trying to locate my dry cleaning. Did you look in the closet? Yes, I did, its not there. Look again.) Honestly folks. The room is not that big. They promised it was not in the room; thats why they were calling. They eventually did get their dry cleaning a day later. And, you guessed it. No champagne and chocolate covered strawberries for them, unless you count that we shared ours with them.
We, on the other hand, had no problem with Star Service when we were late getting out one evening and missed turn-down service. I called to order it before we left for after dinner drinks, and they were polite, pleasant, addressed me by name, and said they would send someone up promptly.
Mike and I got trinkets during turn-down service every night. We got magnets, a lei, a key chain, stickers, and a potpourri shell. M & B didnt get anything. Ever.
HHN
10/28 the four of us went, armed with express passes. This wasnt fun for the rest of my crew because every house we went through, the scare actors knew I was the screamer. You scream once and youre done for. I think they had radios to let the other scare actors know I was coming. (Attention all scare actors, weve got a short unnatural blonde whos a screamer. I repeat, a screamer. Last seen wearing a blue top and white shorts. Appears to be with 3 other people who are looking quite bored. The blonde, on the other hand, may have peed her pants.) We tried putting me in the front of the line, in the back of the line, hiding in the middle. Didnt matter. They were only after me. I was creeped out after a while, and had my fill of houses for the night. The one I hated most was Nightmares, because I hate clowns. In some houses, I scrounched down and waddled through pleading, please dont scare me. Im not scared. Please dont scare me. Mike was wicked proud. Its been reported before, but there had to be a beer stand every fifteen feet, and I think Im being conservative here. B imagined all the beer stand workers hiding in the tunnels under the park during the day, just waiting to get out at night. He also wondered where in the world they had room to store all the beer carts. Nonetheless, we did partake in the beer (how could we not?), and we did enjoy the Bill and Ted Show. Although I have to say, this one really isnt for kids. Side commentary here: as we were entering the park, there were families (plural) with strollers and one foreign family in front of us with small kids on harnesses. Mike and I gave each other the wide-eyed, What are you people thinking look. Honestly. Get a babysitter and leave the kids at home. This isnt MNSSHP. Its nighttime, its scary, and theres LOTS of alcohol about. Its not worth it for them just to see the parade.
10/31 - Mike and I went back on our own for Halloween. We mistakenly figured it wouldnt be so crowded as it was a Sunday. Wrong! I didnt think we needed express passes, but we did. Wed missed Hells Gate Prison on Thursday, and figured we stand in line for it. The sign said it was a 30-minute wait. Fine. After at least 45 minutes, we were hot, tired, and only half-way through the line. You know its bad when you pass several beer stands while youre in line. We bolted and decided to leave and meet M & B for after-dinner drinks at City Walk. The express passes on Thursday were worth it. An hour-long wait to get into the houses on Sunday wasnt. Thats just us. Besides, this was our last night with M & B, so we skipped the rest of HHN and spent it with them.
Where we ate:
Margaritaville twice. We all gave this place rave reviews, and our favorite server Hank even made me my own special margarita that wasnt on the menu. We still have yet to see the volcano blow though. We learned that when JBM has bands and its crowded, they actually have party motivators to get you to dance. Mike was a victim of them one night when I was not immediately near by, and the girl asked M if she were Mikes wife or girlfriend. M said, Nope, Im his sister. That did it. Party motivator girl dragged Mike out onto the dance floor. We all have a cross to bear. Fortunately, mine is having a handsome boyfriend! Youll notice the party motivator people sitting at tables which have lots of food that need to be bussed. B heard one of them complaining that theyd only received one 10-minute break that night.
The Kitchen we had Friday night ressies here. Dinner was good, not great. The service was great, and we were entertained by Doug the Magician. The chef came by to say hello and chat, and despite our drinks, dinner was only $175 for the 4 of us, including tip. Not bad since we had appetizers as well. I had the lobster bisque special as an appetizer. It was more like a puree, and if youre ever there when its on the menu, it should be avoided. The baked mac & cheese received accolades as well as a special pizza they had on the menu that night. I had steak (it was a bit fatty) to which I added shrimp. I suppose dinner was great for everyone but me.
Tchoup Chop - Excellent as usual. God did we eat. B and I both had the saki sampler. Ick. I didnt need 4 sakis to learn that I dont like it. As it was $19, I forced myself to drink what I could and then made Mike finish it. We ordered about 4 appetizers, which we shared. I had the filet, to which I added scallops. Mike had the chicken to which he added scallops. M had the seafood special, to which she added scallops. B had some kind of lo-mein like pork dish, to which he did not add the scallops. Wow, were these scallops melt-in-your-mouth good. They were big too, and probably we could have shared two sides instead of three. You got 3 scallops, and they were prepared to complement your meal. Yum. M got the pecan pie for dessert and Mike and I ordered our favorite, Banana Cream Pie. We all shared. Excellent. Oh, and if there are any fellow Bloody Mary fans out there, may I recommend the Hoki Hoki Mai. This is made with wasabi instead of horseradish, and had a hint of soy sauce instead of Tabasco. Awesome! I should have stuck with those instead of the saki sampler. (Did I mention that was ICK!)
Mythos this was good, but not as good as the reviews Id been reading. Mike had some kind of wrap. M & B had burgers. I had a pasta primavera with shrimp. We were too full for dessert so we skipped it.
Louies Pizza is this whats catty-corner across the street from Finnegans at USF? We had a pizza and Miller Lites here before HHN. Whatever.
Pat OBriens oh wait, we didnt actually EAT here. Excellent Bloody Marys though. Wished I skipped the Hurricanes. When you have a good crowd and good players on the piano, this is the place to be, and I think we went here at least 3 times.
Jakes Bar Oh, wait, we didnt actually eat here either. We went for drinks after dinner at Tchoup Chop. We wanted to avoid CW because HHN was sold out that night, and we figured CW would be packed. Jakes had a lounge singer that night that could put you to sleep. Leave it to my crew to egg her on and request every Carpenter song she knew how to sing. Mike even asked her for Rain Drops Keep Falling on My Head, and told her to give it her best effort. For a $5 tip, she sure tried. When she didnt know all the words, it was my crew who gladly helped her out. My apologies if you were with us on 10/30 at about 10 or 11 oclock. We dont get there often. I promise.
Bula Bar Now here we actually ate. The burgers were good. I had the spinach and crab dip which was about 2 tablespoons of dip and 80-million chips.
Confisco Grille I met Barry and Karin for a mini-DIS meet. It had good cinnamon French toast, but if youre not much of a breakfast eater, and dont have kids, and youre not at a DIS meet, Id save your bucks. Mike was mortified when I told him that Wolverine came up to me, and I asked, Who are you? Even more mortified when I pushed further, Are you a good guy or a bad guy? Mike was glad he slept in that day.
Capt Quints our favorite fast food in any theme park, anywhere!
The Parks Highlights
USF:
MIB I hit new highs on MIB. Thats right, Jodie finally learned how to line up her gun. Look out! One time Mike and I were in the car with two other folks and we had an average score of I think close to 500K. Like idiots, Mike and I and the other couple all raised our hands in the air, and yelled Galaxy Defenders! Youd have thought we won the lottery.
The Mummy this was the first time we were on it, and the consensus in our crew was the same as many people on the board: awesome but too short! I looked for the DM several times. I could never find the 5-year pin, and I felt like too much of an idiot asking random people, Are you the Dark Marauder? Although, I think I have it narrowed down to two people. Barry gave me one clue, which didnt help me pinpoint him. Next trip.
BTTF- is this not the most slap yourself senseless ride in the world? Mike insisted our crew sit in the back row, so our heads would properly be bashed against the back of the car. Mine got slammed and as my head came forward, it ripped out a huge chunk of my hair, and I muttered something Im not proud of. My apologies to the 3 children in the front row of our car. Probably need to extend that to the cars on our right and left too.
IOA:
We got to ride in the front row of both Fire and Ice!! Awesome. You have not ridden Dueling Dragons until youve ridden in the front row. We had all of a 10-minute wait to ride the front row of ICE. Awesome. We immediately headed over to ride the front row of FIRE. More awesome. Fire is definitely better. Definitely Fire. Definitely Better. Only on Mondays. Never on Sundays.
Storm Force Accelatron Mike is a woos and doesnt really like to spin. Good thing I had my best buddy M to go on with me!
Even better: we skipped Poseidens Fury. Ever hear of the term addition by subtraction? Others will beg to differ. This is just Mikes and my humble opinion.
Hopefully, this will work to see our pics:
http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=504417028105&page=1&sort_order=0
). I'm heading back to RPR in a few weeks - can't wait ! - we had the same awesome view you did on our first trip (whatever summer it was they opened). Jan trip has to be back at HRH (for the teens!), but this trip is just my sister and I bringing our little nephew - I know he'll love the RPR pool. Also hoping to squeeze in lunch at Tchoup Chop - in August I took my whole crew of "20 somethings" and I was too sick with a sinus headache to eat - they all kept raving about the 'best meal we've ever had' and everything looked so fabulous - this trip I hope to actually taste some of that awesome food. My sis and I are both huge JB fans, so a meal there is also a must . . . "fins to the left. . ."
