MarkMichaels
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2001
- Messages
- 244
Quick Trip report March 20th March 27th 2005. This trip was going to be just Universal, IOA, Wet N Wild, and Sea World for the week, no Disney at all other than 1 night of Disney Quest. We just thought the crowds at Disney would be too big to have any fun. After going off season when you can almost walk on the rides, its hard to wait 90 minutes for something youve already done, at least to us.
Sunday March 20th we flew from Moline, Il to Orlando via Delta. I didnt really like the itinerary since we had two 20 minute layovers, in Cincinnati and Huntsville, AL, but the flights went great and I would go that route again in a heartbeat.
We had a National car that I used the Sams club rate. It was the best I could find for the week, but only by a couple of dollars.
Our first two nights were at the Sheraton Studio City. We were in room 1213 which had a good view of Wet n Wild and IOA. We didnt do much at the hotel, but its a nice place to stay and for Universal, its a great location.
Sunday afternoon and Monday morning we went to Sea World. We all thought this place was packed! Monday we got to the park early and got to Kraken right at 9 when they dropped the rope. Sea World does not open till 9 am, that what it says on the signs and they stick to it. IOA an USF both were letting guests in early. We were on rides at 8:45 at IOA a couple of times. Kraken is a great coaster. I would be hard pressed to list my favorites between Hulk, Fire and Ice and Kraken, they all are great in there own way. Hulk has that great starting shot to get you going, but suspended coasters are more fun for us. I think Kraken is probably more fun than Fire or Ice, but when you add the close calls of Fire and Ice intertwining, it really makes them great.
Monday afternoon we went to Downtown Disney to eat at our favorite, Rainforest Café and go to Disney Quest. We joined the Rainforest Safari Club a couple months ago, and that was worth it for us. I think it cost $15 for the year, but we got a $10 gift certificate plus 10% off our meals or a free appetizer, plus 10% off merchandise purchases. There was a 45 minute wait when we got there, but one flip of the membership card and we were instantly swept to our seats. Very nice perk. Disney Quest was OK, weve been there a few times, so nothing new but it was fun. Seems like the new trend is for parents to stay in line for the major attractions and let the kids run wild, then right before its there turn, the whole family of 50 magically appears right in front of you. I dont really agree with this, only seems fair to make everyone whos going to ride stay in line.
Tuesday we moved to the Hard Rock and Universal. We had a club room booked but had requested either a deluxe, kids suite, or pool view if the deluxe werent available. I think its odd that you cant directly book any of those rooms. We were told that the hotel was full and made to feel that we were lucky to have a room at all. I had only made our reservations 8 months ago. We got room 7017, overlooking the roof of the valet parking in front of the hotel. We thought about complaining and seeing if we could change rooms the next day, but didnt, it wasnt that big of a deal. Its fun to be able to see Hulk running from a pool room view, but oh well.
We had ok weather for the week, the sun didnt come out till Sunday as we were leaving though. It was warm enough for the pools and shorts all week, but the sun would have been a nice plus. We went to Wet N Wild on Thursday for a few hours in the morning. It was a little chilly, but not bad. We left at about 11:30, the lines were getting really long and we were hungry. I think our theme for the week was a couple hours at a time. We would only stay at a park for a couple hours then either go back to the hotel or switch parks. I think we avoided noon 4 in the parks most days just because of the crowds. At IOA, we could get there first thing and ride Hulk, Spidey, Fire & Ice by 9:40 with no real waits, even in the regular lines. By 11, we would have a good 10 minute wait with our FOTL, but thats not bad compared to the regular lines. FOTL was unlimited and they were only scanning our room cards on Hulk, and that was the first day only. Our first day, the scanner flashed red our second time thru and said it had only been 11 minutes since our last ride, but the guy just laughed and waived us thru.
On Friday we had cabana 10, the Stevie Wonder cabana at the HRH pool. We went to the park and rode Fire and Ice in the front rows of each, then went back to the pool. We just work our suits under our clothes so we could go back and forth to the parks and the cabana without having to run to our room and change each time. After a few hours and some great service at the pool, my son and I ran back to ride Mummy and MIB. It had just started to sprinkle as we left MIB so we hurried back and got caught in a pretty good rain right as we got to the cabana. A couple of minutes later, they closed the pool and kicked us out of the cabana. The pool never reopened and we did get our money back for the cabana, but we had to ask twice. I guess the rule is that if the pool closes for more than 4 hours between 9am 9pm, they dont charge you.
Saturday was the Mardi Gras parade and concert. We went to this parade two years ago and comparing them, we liked the old one better. This was fun, just didnt seem like it was as big as the old one. I couldnt believe how crowded the concert was. At about 7pm we scoped out the concert area to see if there was a good place to watch the parade and concert from, but that area was already pretty full. We decided to go down one of the side streets that were less crowded and watch the parade. I think it was about 7:40 when we found some sidewalk to sit on. At 9 when the parade started, the streets all looked to be packed. The kids got their share of beads and we listened to a few songs before turning in.
We ate at Margaritaville a couple of times, NBA city, and the Latin Quarter. Latin Quarter was really good, the room key worked good for getting us a table as they were busy. NBA city was ok, nothing special. And while we like Margaritaville, the burgers seemed really greasy this time. The best meal of the week came from a Buffalo Wild Wing place on International drive, those were fantastic! I-Drive, by the way, was crazy busy all week. When your from a small town in the Midwest, its hard to get used to traffic that doesnt move like that.
On Sunday the 27th we flew home via Airtran thru Atlanta. I guess we were pretty lucky to get home with all the storms in Atlanta. Our flights were delayed, but we made it home about 2 hours later than scheduled on some fairly bumpy flights. Our flight attendant told me we were lucky to get in and out as most of Atlanta airport was closed, and the reclosed the south side again right after we took off.
All in all, it was a fun week, but two or three days at Universal would have been plenty. Since we had pretty much seen and done everything but the Mummy before, I guess it just wasnt as exciting. On the other hand, were glad we didnt do Disney because of how bad the crowds were. I doubt we would go back at Easter or any peak time again. Even with FOTL, I get uncomfortable trying to weave thru crowds that size with the kids. Next year our spring break is a month before Easter, maybe well try Disney again then.
Let me know if you have any questions, Ill try to answer as best I can.
Mark
Sunday March 20th we flew from Moline, Il to Orlando via Delta. I didnt really like the itinerary since we had two 20 minute layovers, in Cincinnati and Huntsville, AL, but the flights went great and I would go that route again in a heartbeat.
We had a National car that I used the Sams club rate. It was the best I could find for the week, but only by a couple of dollars.
Our first two nights were at the Sheraton Studio City. We were in room 1213 which had a good view of Wet n Wild and IOA. We didnt do much at the hotel, but its a nice place to stay and for Universal, its a great location.
Sunday afternoon and Monday morning we went to Sea World. We all thought this place was packed! Monday we got to the park early and got to Kraken right at 9 when they dropped the rope. Sea World does not open till 9 am, that what it says on the signs and they stick to it. IOA an USF both were letting guests in early. We were on rides at 8:45 at IOA a couple of times. Kraken is a great coaster. I would be hard pressed to list my favorites between Hulk, Fire and Ice and Kraken, they all are great in there own way. Hulk has that great starting shot to get you going, but suspended coasters are more fun for us. I think Kraken is probably more fun than Fire or Ice, but when you add the close calls of Fire and Ice intertwining, it really makes them great.
Monday afternoon we went to Downtown Disney to eat at our favorite, Rainforest Café and go to Disney Quest. We joined the Rainforest Safari Club a couple months ago, and that was worth it for us. I think it cost $15 for the year, but we got a $10 gift certificate plus 10% off our meals or a free appetizer, plus 10% off merchandise purchases. There was a 45 minute wait when we got there, but one flip of the membership card and we were instantly swept to our seats. Very nice perk. Disney Quest was OK, weve been there a few times, so nothing new but it was fun. Seems like the new trend is for parents to stay in line for the major attractions and let the kids run wild, then right before its there turn, the whole family of 50 magically appears right in front of you. I dont really agree with this, only seems fair to make everyone whos going to ride stay in line.
Tuesday we moved to the Hard Rock and Universal. We had a club room booked but had requested either a deluxe, kids suite, or pool view if the deluxe werent available. I think its odd that you cant directly book any of those rooms. We were told that the hotel was full and made to feel that we were lucky to have a room at all. I had only made our reservations 8 months ago. We got room 7017, overlooking the roof of the valet parking in front of the hotel. We thought about complaining and seeing if we could change rooms the next day, but didnt, it wasnt that big of a deal. Its fun to be able to see Hulk running from a pool room view, but oh well.
We had ok weather for the week, the sun didnt come out till Sunday as we were leaving though. It was warm enough for the pools and shorts all week, but the sun would have been a nice plus. We went to Wet N Wild on Thursday for a few hours in the morning. It was a little chilly, but not bad. We left at about 11:30, the lines were getting really long and we were hungry. I think our theme for the week was a couple hours at a time. We would only stay at a park for a couple hours then either go back to the hotel or switch parks. I think we avoided noon 4 in the parks most days just because of the crowds. At IOA, we could get there first thing and ride Hulk, Spidey, Fire & Ice by 9:40 with no real waits, even in the regular lines. By 11, we would have a good 10 minute wait with our FOTL, but thats not bad compared to the regular lines. FOTL was unlimited and they were only scanning our room cards on Hulk, and that was the first day only. Our first day, the scanner flashed red our second time thru and said it had only been 11 minutes since our last ride, but the guy just laughed and waived us thru.
On Friday we had cabana 10, the Stevie Wonder cabana at the HRH pool. We went to the park and rode Fire and Ice in the front rows of each, then went back to the pool. We just work our suits under our clothes so we could go back and forth to the parks and the cabana without having to run to our room and change each time. After a few hours and some great service at the pool, my son and I ran back to ride Mummy and MIB. It had just started to sprinkle as we left MIB so we hurried back and got caught in a pretty good rain right as we got to the cabana. A couple of minutes later, they closed the pool and kicked us out of the cabana. The pool never reopened and we did get our money back for the cabana, but we had to ask twice. I guess the rule is that if the pool closes for more than 4 hours between 9am 9pm, they dont charge you.
Saturday was the Mardi Gras parade and concert. We went to this parade two years ago and comparing them, we liked the old one better. This was fun, just didnt seem like it was as big as the old one. I couldnt believe how crowded the concert was. At about 7pm we scoped out the concert area to see if there was a good place to watch the parade and concert from, but that area was already pretty full. We decided to go down one of the side streets that were less crowded and watch the parade. I think it was about 7:40 when we found some sidewalk to sit on. At 9 when the parade started, the streets all looked to be packed. The kids got their share of beads and we listened to a few songs before turning in.
We ate at Margaritaville a couple of times, NBA city, and the Latin Quarter. Latin Quarter was really good, the room key worked good for getting us a table as they were busy. NBA city was ok, nothing special. And while we like Margaritaville, the burgers seemed really greasy this time. The best meal of the week came from a Buffalo Wild Wing place on International drive, those were fantastic! I-Drive, by the way, was crazy busy all week. When your from a small town in the Midwest, its hard to get used to traffic that doesnt move like that.
On Sunday the 27th we flew home via Airtran thru Atlanta. I guess we were pretty lucky to get home with all the storms in Atlanta. Our flights were delayed, but we made it home about 2 hours later than scheduled on some fairly bumpy flights. Our flight attendant told me we were lucky to get in and out as most of Atlanta airport was closed, and the reclosed the south side again right after we took off.
All in all, it was a fun week, but two or three days at Universal would have been plenty. Since we had pretty much seen and done everything but the Mummy before, I guess it just wasnt as exciting. On the other hand, were glad we didnt do Disney because of how bad the crowds were. I doubt we would go back at Easter or any peak time again. Even with FOTL, I get uncomfortable trying to weave thru crowds that size with the kids. Next year our spring break is a month before Easter, maybe well try Disney again then.
Let me know if you have any questions, Ill try to answer as best I can.
Mark
