Party of three - myself, DH and DS (age 9). This was our first time to US Orlando. We booked our trip to RPR via the Internet in January (prior to discovering this board). Got decent rates ($171.75/nt) for a 2 queen bed waterview room through Expedia. Thanks for the tips on the LoewsFirst card, enrolled the end of June (still have never received the card in the mail though).
7/29 - arrived at RPR around 7 pm (after dealing with DH lost luggage from Alaska airlines). P.S. Alasksa - thanks for sending it to LAX for us instead of Orlando - how do you lose luggage on a non-stop flight anyways??. Checked in by Ketsia - very wonderful experience! Told her about this board and that her name had been referenced on it already (along with Pia's). She was so excited that she wanted the web address to give to her boss. Had a 4 day ongoing conversation with her about it - she said it made her feel like a celebrity! Did not ask to be upgraded (after hearing about all of your various attempts to). Did request our Loews amenity (beer and nuts) and received the teen backpack for our son as well as the A+ kids card for straight A's on DS report card (although we never used it at the restaurants, DS liked the attention). Also mentioned to Ketsia that it was DS 10th b-day in a few days. She secretly took note. When we got to the room, it was a 1 king with pullout. We didn't bother to change to the 2 queens, it was very nice - however much smaller than we thought it would be. I could not imagine a family any larger than 3 or 4 trying to stay in this size of a room. Anyways, resort is beautiful, and great service from Ketsia. Walked to IOA to get our US/IOA tickets via the kiosks - very easy and no lines in the evening. Wandered into IOA to look around. Ate dinner at Mythos, great meal, not bad prices. Fireworks were cancelled due to rain and lightning, which we enjoyed out of our window seat at Mythos instead. Walked back to RPR and retired for the evening. We took the water taxis the rest of the time (it was pretty hot for the walk and we didn't mind waiting a few extra minutes for the taxis).
7/30 - Did the whole IOA thing. Would never attempt this in the summer without FOTL. The crowds were big, but we never had to wait more than 15 min. (which was pretty rare). Had lunch at the Enchanted Oak Tavern. Nice atmosphere, pretty good meal. Portions are huge for the prices. Did most all of the rides. Huge thunderstorm in late afternoon - got wet (we liked all the thunderstorms though, they were kind of exciting). Since we were already wet, we decided to go ahead and got SOAKED at the Ripsaw Falls and Bilge Rat rides. Yes, you will get SOAKED. Went back to RPR to dry out. Received our amenity (Corona's and nuts and a special candy basket with stuffed toy for DS b-day along with a handwritten b-day card from the staff). Changed and went to CityWalk for dinner. Checked out US and did MIB for a preview of tomorrow. Ate at Hard Rock around 9:30 pm, good service, food was pretty good, price not bad. Ride overview: Spiderman - A, Dueling Dragons (Ice) - A (not for faint of stomach like me however), Jurassic Park - B+ (you can get very wet in the front seat), Ripsaw Falls - B+, Bilge Rat - A-.
7/31 - Spent the day at US. Again, FOTL was a huge plus. Were able to do any ride we wanted to. This park was my personal favorite. I liked it better than IOA (I'm not especially a thrill rider). Ate an early lunch at Mel's Diner (11 am), good burgers and priced decently. Go there early as it gets really busy at lunchtime. Did lots of rides and shows. Loved the Horror Makeup show the best. Beetlejuice's Graveyard Review was good too. Ghostbusters show was rained out so went back to RPR for a swim (pool is fabulous). Huge, and even when crowded in the afternoon/early evening, plenty of room and lounge chairs. We had rented a car so we went offsite to the Crab Pot on International Drive for dinner. Great seafood. Watched the evening fireworks from the pool. Ride overview: MIB - A+, Terminator - A, Shrek - A+, Jimmy Neutron - A, Jaws - B+, Horror Makeup show - A+++, Beetlejuice - B.
8/1 - Split our time between the two parks to finish up. Did IOA first, DH and DS started with a wake up call on the Hulk (good thing they didn't eat first). Ate lunch at Jurassic Park (the rib and chicken place) food was good. Got wet (again) on Jurassic Park ride then did Fire dragon and Spiderman again. Went over to US and did ET (my personal favorite) and MIB. Saw the Wild West, Animal Planet and Nickelodian shows (liked them all - hint, watch out for the splash zone at the Wild West show - you will get wet!). Went offsite for dinner again - fabulous Japanese Steakhouse on Kirkman Road! Ride overview: Hulk - A+, Dueling Dragons (Fire) - A, ET - A, Wild West show - B-, Animal Planet - A+, Nickelodian show - A+ (kid participation was great for DS).
8/2 - Checked out in morning and drove to West Palm Beach for the remainder of our Florida stay. Overall, loved the RPR - nice staff, clean rooms, good amenities (even though we only got the Miami Herald we asked for twice on the day we checked out). Water taxis were great (be prepared to walk though during lightning storms). Looked at the HRH and PBH also while there, want to try the HRH if we ever get back there. I'm sure that I missed some of the rides we went on, but these were the highlights. In conclusion, we expected to be entertained, amazed and pampered on this vacation, and were definitely not disappointed! We will be lifelong fans!
7/29 - arrived at RPR around 7 pm (after dealing with DH lost luggage from Alaska airlines). P.S. Alasksa - thanks for sending it to LAX for us instead of Orlando - how do you lose luggage on a non-stop flight anyways??. Checked in by Ketsia - very wonderful experience! Told her about this board and that her name had been referenced on it already (along with Pia's). She was so excited that she wanted the web address to give to her boss. Had a 4 day ongoing conversation with her about it - she said it made her feel like a celebrity! Did not ask to be upgraded (after hearing about all of your various attempts to). Did request our Loews amenity (beer and nuts) and received the teen backpack for our son as well as the A+ kids card for straight A's on DS report card (although we never used it at the restaurants, DS liked the attention). Also mentioned to Ketsia that it was DS 10th b-day in a few days. She secretly took note. When we got to the room, it was a 1 king with pullout. We didn't bother to change to the 2 queens, it was very nice - however much smaller than we thought it would be. I could not imagine a family any larger than 3 or 4 trying to stay in this size of a room. Anyways, resort is beautiful, and great service from Ketsia. Walked to IOA to get our US/IOA tickets via the kiosks - very easy and no lines in the evening. Wandered into IOA to look around. Ate dinner at Mythos, great meal, not bad prices. Fireworks were cancelled due to rain and lightning, which we enjoyed out of our window seat at Mythos instead. Walked back to RPR and retired for the evening. We took the water taxis the rest of the time (it was pretty hot for the walk and we didn't mind waiting a few extra minutes for the taxis).
7/30 - Did the whole IOA thing. Would never attempt this in the summer without FOTL. The crowds were big, but we never had to wait more than 15 min. (which was pretty rare). Had lunch at the Enchanted Oak Tavern. Nice atmosphere, pretty good meal. Portions are huge for the prices. Did most all of the rides. Huge thunderstorm in late afternoon - got wet (we liked all the thunderstorms though, they were kind of exciting). Since we were already wet, we decided to go ahead and got SOAKED at the Ripsaw Falls and Bilge Rat rides. Yes, you will get SOAKED. Went back to RPR to dry out. Received our amenity (Corona's and nuts and a special candy basket with stuffed toy for DS b-day along with a handwritten b-day card from the staff). Changed and went to CityWalk for dinner. Checked out US and did MIB for a preview of tomorrow. Ate at Hard Rock around 9:30 pm, good service, food was pretty good, price not bad. Ride overview: Spiderman - A, Dueling Dragons (Ice) - A (not for faint of stomach like me however), Jurassic Park - B+ (you can get very wet in the front seat), Ripsaw Falls - B+, Bilge Rat - A-.
7/31 - Spent the day at US. Again, FOTL was a huge plus. Were able to do any ride we wanted to. This park was my personal favorite. I liked it better than IOA (I'm not especially a thrill rider). Ate an early lunch at Mel's Diner (11 am), good burgers and priced decently. Go there early as it gets really busy at lunchtime. Did lots of rides and shows. Loved the Horror Makeup show the best. Beetlejuice's Graveyard Review was good too. Ghostbusters show was rained out so went back to RPR for a swim (pool is fabulous). Huge, and even when crowded in the afternoon/early evening, plenty of room and lounge chairs. We had rented a car so we went offsite to the Crab Pot on International Drive for dinner. Great seafood. Watched the evening fireworks from the pool. Ride overview: MIB - A+, Terminator - A, Shrek - A+, Jimmy Neutron - A, Jaws - B+, Horror Makeup show - A+++, Beetlejuice - B.
8/1 - Split our time between the two parks to finish up. Did IOA first, DH and DS started with a wake up call on the Hulk (good thing they didn't eat first). Ate lunch at Jurassic Park (the rib and chicken place) food was good. Got wet (again) on Jurassic Park ride then did Fire dragon and Spiderman again. Went over to US and did ET (my personal favorite) and MIB. Saw the Wild West, Animal Planet and Nickelodian shows (liked them all - hint, watch out for the splash zone at the Wild West show - you will get wet!). Went offsite for dinner again - fabulous Japanese Steakhouse on Kirkman Road! Ride overview: Hulk - A+, Dueling Dragons (Fire) - A, ET - A, Wild West show - B-, Animal Planet - A+, Nickelodian show - A+ (kid participation was great for DS).
8/2 - Checked out in morning and drove to West Palm Beach for the remainder of our Florida stay. Overall, loved the RPR - nice staff, clean rooms, good amenities (even though we only got the Miami Herald we asked for twice on the day we checked out). Water taxis were great (be prepared to walk though during lightning storms). Looked at the HRH and PBH also while there, want to try the HRH if we ever get back there. I'm sure that I missed some of the rides we went on, but these were the highlights. In conclusion, we expected to be entertained, amazed and pampered on this vacation, and were definitely not disappointed! We will be lifelong fans!
