themepark
Wanted: Your trip reports!<br><font color=00cc22>I
- Joined
- Jul 1, 2003
- Messages
- 1,469
Cast:
DH - Really looking forward to eating one of the infamous turkey legs
Me - Can't wait to see the Grinch in his lair!
DD(10) - Grinch lover in training, Always steals my bonus on MIB
DS9(8) - Flying Unicorn Fanatic, Proud to be tall enough to ride Dr. Doom, Still stretching to be tall enough to ride Hulk and DD.
The Surprise! - Christmas Day
We surprised the kids with a Grinchmas trip on Christmas morning. I wrapped their packed suitcases and enclosed a poem telling them about their surprise trip. Also included in their suitcases were their annual passes, some Jimmy Neutron candy, Grinch gloves for DD, and a Grinch hat for DS. We doubly surprised the kids with the fact that we were flying to Orlando instead of driving which we have always done! Yippppeeee! Off to the airport! Our flight was 2 hours late due to the bad weather in Orlando. I had hired Tiffany Town Car for our transportation. Our driver was waiting for us with our name on a sign at the bottom of the escalator at baggage claim. My DD turned to me and said "Who's that?" I said, "He is driving us to our hotel". She looked at me with huge eyes and said, "You hired a driver??" She loved it.
We stayed the first night at the Wyndham I-Drive. I had secured a room there before I knew we were flying. It was $32 on Priceline. Hard to beat. It was raining so they drove us around to our room in a van. My plans had been that we would find a place to eat within walking distance to have dinner on Christmas night. Well, it was pouring rain and we didn't really want to walk in that. So we ordered pizza from Flippers for our Christmas dinner. By the time the pizza arrived, it had stopped raining. We ate then DD and I explored the Wyndham grounds. It looked to be a nice place with 3 large pools and nice landscaping. Our room left a little to be desired though. Wet carpets around the a/c, sliding glass door that would not lock and we wereon the first floor where you walked straight out into the pool area. Anyway, the kids decided to go swimming in the heated pool which was right outside our room. THey had a blast swimming on Christmas night.
Checking In and The Beginning of Sickness - December 26
We woke up on Sunday morning to DS throwing up. Yes, he is sick and I mean sick. I will spare you the details. We called a taxi to pick us up for the short trip to RPR. We made it there around 10:30 or so. Check-in was a little odd at the Loews desk. I swear I think they pulled Daryl in off the street to work the front desk. He told us rooms were not ready (which we expected). We asked for an upgrade to Club with our Platinum card. He pretended to look but I don't think he did. It's ok though since we had already been upgraded when we made the ressie to a King Suite. We told him that DS was sick and asked if there was any way our room could be given priority to be cleaned. He did go in the back to ask about that. We got our keys and he didn't bother to tell us about the hotel or how the keys work at the parks. Thank goodness we had been there many times before so we knew all that anyway. When he asked us if we had a car and we told him no, he looked up at us like "you're lying" and again said "You don't have a car here today?" I was so flustered by DS being sick that I forgot to ask about my Loews welcome gift. I went back up to the desk and asked about that and he said "yeah it shows here that you want fruit and water" I said "yes" and left it at that. I didn't remember until later that they always have you fill out the form that states what gift you want which of course he did not do. I had also forgotten to ask about the charging privileges. Actually I have never had to ask before as they have always asked me. So I asked him about that and he assured me we did have "open privileges" which I thought was odd but at that time DS started running toward the bathroom so I departed to attend to him.
DD and I left RPR at around 11:00 and headed for UO. We decided it best that DH stay with DS since they weren't in the room and DH could follow DS into the bathroom if needed. DD and I rode The Mummy and Jimmy Neutron then decided to get some lunch. We went into Monsters Cafe where we had never eaten before. We loved the atmosphere in there. We got our food and I tried to pay with my room card. Guess what? It didn't work! I told the cashier I would just go ahead and pay cash, but she insisted that she just fill out this form that they have when there is a problem with the room keys. I agreed and we sat down to eat. A few minutes later the cashier and manager come up to my table and the manager informs me that when they called RPR to check on my room charge, RPR said I had declined charging privileges. UGH!!! I was embarassed but just paid with cash. The MC manager was very nice and told me we could get it taken care of at Guest Services. DH called to say they had gotten in the room and I told him the tale so he called the front desk and took care of it. After lunch, DD and I saw the Nick show, rode MIB, saw Animal Planet, rode ET, she rode Woody's coaster, we saw the Horror Make up Show and rode Shrek. The park was really not crowded and it was quite chilly and windy. We stayed for the parade and had a very uncrowded spot at Mel's Diner to watch. DD really enjoyed this. After the parade, we caught Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue then we walked back to RPR so could relieve DH. DS was still sick. DH had acquired a rollaway which they did not charge us for. We were in room 3400 which is a pool view King Suite. It was very nice and the view was great. He had inquired again about the Loews welcome gift and was initially told that APH rates were ineligible for the gift. He told them we booked a AAA rate, not APH. They were very apologetic and told him that with that rate we certainly did qualify for the gift and it would be right up. It never came. DD and DH not wanting to get back out in the cold, went to eat at Jake's. They brought back the PuPu Platter for me which was a pretty tasty platter of appetizers. We fell asleep early and hoped for no sickness the next day. DS was now feeling better.
Off to Meet The Grinch! - December 27
Since we did not receive our Loews welcome gift, we inquired again about it and got the APH run around again. We reminded them we booked AAA and were told we would receive it that night. We went to IOA and immediately to the Grinch's Lair. We waited in line for 25 minutes to see the Mean One. He was pretty funny and mean. "Get Out..you had your picture made so GO!" We enjoyed that and bought the pic of him with the kids. It was almost time for the first Whobilation so we found a spot and watched the show. I LOVED it! Very good condensed version of the movie. The Whos look so real! We vowed to come back and get it on video. We ate lunch at Circus McGurkis. DH had the Grinch's Feast and everyone else had chicken. The park was ALOT more crowded today and the temps were a little warmer. We rode the Flying Unicorn several times, the kids played in JP Discovery Center and Camp Jurassic. We saw the Outer Tunes band in Toon Lagoon while the kids ate Dippin Dots. We then rode Spiderman and Dr. Doom. DD didn't want to ride Dueling Dragons or Hulk on this trip which was odd. She usually begs to do those rides first. We headed back over to Seuss Landing for the 4:00 Whobilation. We got there early so we could be in the front for videoing purposes. While I held our spot, everyone else went to ride Cat in the Hat. The kids played in If I Ran the Zoo and rode CITH a few times. The Whobilation was great again but I couldn't see the Grinch riding in on his sleigh from where I was. Martha MaeWho posed for pictures and wished everyone Happy Wholidays after both of the shows we saw. We decided to walk back to RPR to refresh and get sweatshirts. On the way back, DH started turning green. Uh oh. It was his turn to be sick. The kids and I went back out to UO and rode Shrek and Jimmy then DS insisted we eat at NBA City. We had to wait about 20 min and were seated upstairs. They then decided they were tired and didn't want to stay out for the fireworks (which was the original plan) so we headed back to RPR. The King Suite was a godsend! Sick people in one room, everyone else in the other room. We watched the fireworks from the room. We could see the IOA fireworks but not much of the UO ones. No Loews welcome gift again.
Mom and Dad are Sick and We're Stuck in the Room! - Dec. 28
Don't worry. I will not go into detail about what I did that day. The kids had room service for lunch and made a trip to the arcade downstairs and finally around 3:00pm DH took them down to the pool. They didn't stay long as it was still quite chilly. DH said he was feeling much better so they got ready and headed off for UO for the Macy's Parade. I can't remember what else they said they did other than eating at Margaritaville. I watched the Torch Lighting Ceremony from the room. I had a message on the phone from Housekeeping saying they respected our Do Not Disturb sign but wanted to make sure we got anything we needed or they would even come service our room if we wanted. We had asked the maids for supplies during the day and were set. I thought this to be excellent customer service. DH and the kids did come back pretty early and DH immediately went to bed. He wasn't feeling so good after all. THe kids and I watched the fireworks from the room again. I ordered soup from room service which I couldn't eat. There wasn't anything wrong with it. I just should not have ordered it. I also got ice cream for the kids which they loved. It came with chocolate syrup and sprinkles on the side. Plus points for me to end an otherwise dreary day for the kids. At one point earlier in the day, DS declared this "our worst trip to Orlando ever. :-(
Check-out Day - December 29
Yes it was already time to go and we had managed to have someone sick each day. Oh wait! We still have a full day since our flight doesn't leave until 9:00pm! I am feeling much better so we pack up, have our luggage stored and head out to UO. We saw the Ghostbusters Holiday Show which the kids and I loved and I got on video. DH isn't much into the Ghostbusters but he appeases us. We rode MIB, Woody's Coaster, saw the Horror Make Up Show and rode Shrek. We decided it was time for lunch and I was actually feeling quite hungry. We headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe. I ordered a sandwich (couldn't tell ya what kind) and ate about half of it and realized that was a mistake. DD ordered a pizza and couldn't eat. The Hard Rock folks were nice enough to take the pizza off our bill since DD didn't touch it. We did not ask them to do this, they just did which I thought was incredibly nice and certainly did not expect. I thought "Oh no! It's DD's day to be sick and we have no room or bed and have to fly home that night". She and I rode the water taxi back to RPR and hung out in the Orchid Court lounge all day. She never got sick but was very pale and complained of queasiness all day. She slept a little and I sat in a chair. Again, I will spare you the details, but will only say that my day was unpleasant. DH and DS spent the rest of the day in both parks. DS got picked to participate in the Nick show and naturally DH did not have the cameras with him so we have no proof. DH told DS on the way in that he would be picked since they didn't have a camera. I don't remember what else they did other than a guy shooting basketball gave DS the huge Spongebob he won. The guy had won numerous prizes playing games and his girlfriend didn't want any more of them so he was giving them away to kids. Guess who I sat next to on the plane that night? Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? LOL! DH said the Whobilation tree was pretty when it was lit up that evening.
Our Tiffany Town Car was waiting for us out front 10 minutes early so we departed for MCO. We arrived, checked our bags at the curb, walked right through security with no lines and found our gate. Total time from leaving RPR to sitting at the gate was 35 minutes. Was that a record or something? I finally started feeling better and DD was now feeling better and was able to eat a sandwich before we took off. The flight home was fine and I was ready to pack up and go back as soon I woke up the next day.
Conclusion
I did see the Grinch and loved the Whobilation.
DH never got to eat the coveted turkey leg.
Check-in was out of the norm of our other RPR stays. We have always been greeted kindly and received bountiful advice and information and people bending over backwards. We just weren't as lucky this time. Although we did get in our room much sooner than 4:00pm and for that I am thankful since DS was so sick.
Our Grinchmas trip did not go exactly as planned but I was thrilled when I dropped the kids off at school on their first day back and my DD jumped out telling her friends, "I got the BEST Christmas gift EVER! A trip to Universal Studios!"
DH - Really looking forward to eating one of the infamous turkey legs
Me - Can't wait to see the Grinch in his lair!
DD(10) - Grinch lover in training, Always steals my bonus on MIB
DS9(8) - Flying Unicorn Fanatic, Proud to be tall enough to ride Dr. Doom, Still stretching to be tall enough to ride Hulk and DD.
The Surprise! - Christmas Day
We surprised the kids with a Grinchmas trip on Christmas morning. I wrapped their packed suitcases and enclosed a poem telling them about their surprise trip. Also included in their suitcases were their annual passes, some Jimmy Neutron candy, Grinch gloves for DD, and a Grinch hat for DS. We doubly surprised the kids with the fact that we were flying to Orlando instead of driving which we have always done! Yippppeeee! Off to the airport! Our flight was 2 hours late due to the bad weather in Orlando. I had hired Tiffany Town Car for our transportation. Our driver was waiting for us with our name on a sign at the bottom of the escalator at baggage claim. My DD turned to me and said "Who's that?" I said, "He is driving us to our hotel". She looked at me with huge eyes and said, "You hired a driver??" She loved it.
We stayed the first night at the Wyndham I-Drive. I had secured a room there before I knew we were flying. It was $32 on Priceline. Hard to beat. It was raining so they drove us around to our room in a van. My plans had been that we would find a place to eat within walking distance to have dinner on Christmas night. Well, it was pouring rain and we didn't really want to walk in that. So we ordered pizza from Flippers for our Christmas dinner. By the time the pizza arrived, it had stopped raining. We ate then DD and I explored the Wyndham grounds. It looked to be a nice place with 3 large pools and nice landscaping. Our room left a little to be desired though. Wet carpets around the a/c, sliding glass door that would not lock and we wereon the first floor where you walked straight out into the pool area. Anyway, the kids decided to go swimming in the heated pool which was right outside our room. THey had a blast swimming on Christmas night.
Checking In and The Beginning of Sickness - December 26
We woke up on Sunday morning to DS throwing up. Yes, he is sick and I mean sick. I will spare you the details. We called a taxi to pick us up for the short trip to RPR. We made it there around 10:30 or so. Check-in was a little odd at the Loews desk. I swear I think they pulled Daryl in off the street to work the front desk. He told us rooms were not ready (which we expected). We asked for an upgrade to Club with our Platinum card. He pretended to look but I don't think he did. It's ok though since we had already been upgraded when we made the ressie to a King Suite. We told him that DS was sick and asked if there was any way our room could be given priority to be cleaned. He did go in the back to ask about that. We got our keys and he didn't bother to tell us about the hotel or how the keys work at the parks. Thank goodness we had been there many times before so we knew all that anyway. When he asked us if we had a car and we told him no, he looked up at us like "you're lying" and again said "You don't have a car here today?" I was so flustered by DS being sick that I forgot to ask about my Loews welcome gift. I went back up to the desk and asked about that and he said "yeah it shows here that you want fruit and water" I said "yes" and left it at that. I didn't remember until later that they always have you fill out the form that states what gift you want which of course he did not do. I had also forgotten to ask about the charging privileges. Actually I have never had to ask before as they have always asked me. So I asked him about that and he assured me we did have "open privileges" which I thought was odd but at that time DS started running toward the bathroom so I departed to attend to him.
DD and I left RPR at around 11:00 and headed for UO. We decided it best that DH stay with DS since they weren't in the room and DH could follow DS into the bathroom if needed. DD and I rode The Mummy and Jimmy Neutron then decided to get some lunch. We went into Monsters Cafe where we had never eaten before. We loved the atmosphere in there. We got our food and I tried to pay with my room card. Guess what? It didn't work! I told the cashier I would just go ahead and pay cash, but she insisted that she just fill out this form that they have when there is a problem with the room keys. I agreed and we sat down to eat. A few minutes later the cashier and manager come up to my table and the manager informs me that when they called RPR to check on my room charge, RPR said I had declined charging privileges. UGH!!! I was embarassed but just paid with cash. The MC manager was very nice and told me we could get it taken care of at Guest Services. DH called to say they had gotten in the room and I told him the tale so he called the front desk and took care of it. After lunch, DD and I saw the Nick show, rode MIB, saw Animal Planet, rode ET, she rode Woody's coaster, we saw the Horror Make up Show and rode Shrek. The park was really not crowded and it was quite chilly and windy. We stayed for the parade and had a very uncrowded spot at Mel's Diner to watch. DD really enjoyed this. After the parade, we caught Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue then we walked back to RPR so could relieve DH. DS was still sick. DH had acquired a rollaway which they did not charge us for. We were in room 3400 which is a pool view King Suite. It was very nice and the view was great. He had inquired again about the Loews welcome gift and was initially told that APH rates were ineligible for the gift. He told them we booked a AAA rate, not APH. They were very apologetic and told him that with that rate we certainly did qualify for the gift and it would be right up. It never came. DD and DH not wanting to get back out in the cold, went to eat at Jake's. They brought back the PuPu Platter for me which was a pretty tasty platter of appetizers. We fell asleep early and hoped for no sickness the next day. DS was now feeling better.
Off to Meet The Grinch! - December 27
Since we did not receive our Loews welcome gift, we inquired again about it and got the APH run around again. We reminded them we booked AAA and were told we would receive it that night. We went to IOA and immediately to the Grinch's Lair. We waited in line for 25 minutes to see the Mean One. He was pretty funny and mean. "Get Out..you had your picture made so GO!" We enjoyed that and bought the pic of him with the kids. It was almost time for the first Whobilation so we found a spot and watched the show. I LOVED it! Very good condensed version of the movie. The Whos look so real! We vowed to come back and get it on video. We ate lunch at Circus McGurkis. DH had the Grinch's Feast and everyone else had chicken. The park was ALOT more crowded today and the temps were a little warmer. We rode the Flying Unicorn several times, the kids played in JP Discovery Center and Camp Jurassic. We saw the Outer Tunes band in Toon Lagoon while the kids ate Dippin Dots. We then rode Spiderman and Dr. Doom. DD didn't want to ride Dueling Dragons or Hulk on this trip which was odd. She usually begs to do those rides first. We headed back over to Seuss Landing for the 4:00 Whobilation. We got there early so we could be in the front for videoing purposes. While I held our spot, everyone else went to ride Cat in the Hat. The kids played in If I Ran the Zoo and rode CITH a few times. The Whobilation was great again but I couldn't see the Grinch riding in on his sleigh from where I was. Martha MaeWho posed for pictures and wished everyone Happy Wholidays after both of the shows we saw. We decided to walk back to RPR to refresh and get sweatshirts. On the way back, DH started turning green. Uh oh. It was his turn to be sick. The kids and I went back out to UO and rode Shrek and Jimmy then DS insisted we eat at NBA City. We had to wait about 20 min and were seated upstairs. They then decided they were tired and didn't want to stay out for the fireworks (which was the original plan) so we headed back to RPR. The King Suite was a godsend! Sick people in one room, everyone else in the other room. We watched the fireworks from the room. We could see the IOA fireworks but not much of the UO ones. No Loews welcome gift again.
Mom and Dad are Sick and We're Stuck in the Room! - Dec. 28
Don't worry. I will not go into detail about what I did that day. The kids had room service for lunch and made a trip to the arcade downstairs and finally around 3:00pm DH took them down to the pool. They didn't stay long as it was still quite chilly. DH said he was feeling much better so they got ready and headed off for UO for the Macy's Parade. I can't remember what else they said they did other than eating at Margaritaville. I watched the Torch Lighting Ceremony from the room. I had a message on the phone from Housekeeping saying they respected our Do Not Disturb sign but wanted to make sure we got anything we needed or they would even come service our room if we wanted. We had asked the maids for supplies during the day and were set. I thought this to be excellent customer service. DH and the kids did come back pretty early and DH immediately went to bed. He wasn't feeling so good after all. THe kids and I watched the fireworks from the room again. I ordered soup from room service which I couldn't eat. There wasn't anything wrong with it. I just should not have ordered it. I also got ice cream for the kids which they loved. It came with chocolate syrup and sprinkles on the side. Plus points for me to end an otherwise dreary day for the kids. At one point earlier in the day, DS declared this "our worst trip to Orlando ever. :-(
Check-out Day - December 29
Yes it was already time to go and we had managed to have someone sick each day. Oh wait! We still have a full day since our flight doesn't leave until 9:00pm! I am feeling much better so we pack up, have our luggage stored and head out to UO. We saw the Ghostbusters Holiday Show which the kids and I loved and I got on video. DH isn't much into the Ghostbusters but he appeases us. We rode MIB, Woody's Coaster, saw the Horror Make Up Show and rode Shrek. We decided it was time for lunch and I was actually feeling quite hungry. We headed over to the Hard Rock Cafe. I ordered a sandwich (couldn't tell ya what kind) and ate about half of it and realized that was a mistake. DD ordered a pizza and couldn't eat. The Hard Rock folks were nice enough to take the pizza off our bill since DD didn't touch it. We did not ask them to do this, they just did which I thought was incredibly nice and certainly did not expect. I thought "Oh no! It's DD's day to be sick and we have no room or bed and have to fly home that night". She and I rode the water taxi back to RPR and hung out in the Orchid Court lounge all day. She never got sick but was very pale and complained of queasiness all day. She slept a little and I sat in a chair. Again, I will spare you the details, but will only say that my day was unpleasant. DH and DS spent the rest of the day in both parks. DS got picked to participate in the Nick show and naturally DH did not have the cameras with him so we have no proof. DH told DS on the way in that he would be picked since they didn't have a camera. I don't remember what else they did other than a guy shooting basketball gave DS the huge Spongebob he won. The guy had won numerous prizes playing games and his girlfriend didn't want any more of them so he was giving them away to kids. Guess who I sat next to on the plane that night? Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? LOL! DH said the Whobilation tree was pretty when it was lit up that evening.
Our Tiffany Town Car was waiting for us out front 10 minutes early so we departed for MCO. We arrived, checked our bags at the curb, walked right through security with no lines and found our gate. Total time from leaving RPR to sitting at the gate was 35 minutes. Was that a record or something? I finally started feeling better and DD was now feeling better and was able to eat a sandwich before we took off. The flight home was fine and I was ready to pack up and go back as soon I woke up the next day.
Conclusion
I did see the Grinch and loved the Whobilation.
DH never got to eat the coveted turkey leg.
Check-in was out of the norm of our other RPR stays. We have always been greeted kindly and received bountiful advice and information and people bending over backwards. We just weren't as lucky this time. Although we did get in our room much sooner than 4:00pm and for that I am thankful since DS was so sick.
Our Grinchmas trip did not go exactly as planned but I was thrilled when I dropped the kids off at school on their first day back and my DD jumped out telling her friends, "I got the BEST Christmas gift EVER! A trip to Universal Studios!"
