Cubiclegirl
Late adapter
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2000
- Messages
- 41
Cast Mom 49, Dad 50 and DS 15 from Massachusetts.
Flew SWA from Providence, RI on Sunday, Feb 19th. Much better experience than Logan Airport in Boston. Our Florida Tour driver was waiting for us at the baggage claim. This was one of my best ideas (TY DIS). For not much more money we didnt have to deal with the Mears shuttle and we took advantage of the grocery stop. Great drivers, awesome service.
We arrived at PBH at around 2 and checked in at the Loews first desk. Even though I had booked a Bay View room at the stay 4 get 20% off rate, I thought it wouldnt hurt to ask if an upgrade was available. There was! We were given a deluxe room in the Villa section. It was a great spot near two pools and the fitness center. The biggest difference was the bathroom. It was very large with a separate tub and oversize glassed in shower. The beds were comfy and the towels fluffy. No robes though. Still not bad for a Loews Blue card. Since we wanted to save our 5 day passes for M-F, we didnt go to the parks. It was overcast that day, so not great for the pool. We explored the hotel, played bocce and walked to Citywalk and had dinner at Margaritaville. (Secret if you eat at the tables next to the bar with the volcano you dont have to wait.) The volcano wasnt working right but we enjoyed ourselves. Great margaritas and chicken wing appetizer sandwiches just so-so. This was the first of many meals where we saved 10% with our AAA card. We were tired from all the traveling so we went back and watched the Olympics on TV.
The rest of our days mostly went like this I wake up early and hit the fitness center. (Free with Loews card, $12 otherwise). Go back, try to wake up DH and DS. Do you know that 15 year old boys will sleep 12 hours straight if you let them? They finally get up and go for a run. They come back, shower and we finally leave the room for a late breakfast or lunch. We luck out M-Th with the weather. A couple foggy starts but eventually sunny and low 80s. After lunch we hit the parks, stay a few hours, then go back for a pool break. Wed go back to the parks at 6 or so. The crowds were much less then. Wed have a late dinner priority seating came in handy here. We didnt always need it but it makes a big difference when the restaurant is crowded. We had several good meals lunch at Mythos and NBA, dinner at Hard Rock, Pat OBriens and Pastamore. We had seen mixed reviews for Emerils before we left, so we didnt chance it. Trattoria del Porto at PBH has a great breakfast. On Tuesday, Pat OBriens has 2 for 1 drink night, so DH and I stayed at the piano bar after dinner. (Try the coppertop steak). This was a very fun place. When the piano players got tired, 2 new ones came to take their place, so the music never stopped.
We last went to Universal 5 years ago so we enjoyed the new attractions Fear Factor and the Mummy. We rode all the coasters and went on MIB, many, many times. The new bag policy is a pain though. In case you dont know, on many rides Hulk, Dueling Dragon, Mummy and MIB for example, you cant even have a small backpack or fanny back. However baggy pants and jackets with bulging pockets are perfectly ok, so dress accordingly. Free lockers are provided but they would often have lines. It was a little tricky figuring out how to use them. The parks were lovely and clean as always so it was a pleasure walking around. I didnt think the crowds were bad at all.
On Thursday we took the free hotel shuttle to Wet & Wild. Even though it was a warm, sunny day, there was hardly anyone there. We went on all the slides many times until we couldnt climb stairs anymore. Great day.
On Friday we checked out, stored our luggage and went to parks one last time. Our town car came late afternoon and we spent our last night at an airport hotel since our flight was very early Saturday morning. We are now back with the snow and the 20 degree temps. Cant wait for Spring.
