The crush of humanity... Our first Universal experience

[disneyfan67]

Hello, welcome and thank you to all who are reading my first ever trip report.

This trip report is part one of a two part-er that is currently in the works. This part will focus on my family's first trip to Universal and of course the second part of our vacation will take place on the Disney trip board. I want to make clear to all who enter this thread to know that this will not be a negative filled, Universal bashing, Disney is perfect, type of Trip report. I found Universal enjoyable, different, stimulating, and entertaining. Some of you enjoy calling Universal the Darkside as a joke, but you will hear or see none of that from me.

I gave it the tittle you see because of my experience of going to Orlando in late July and seeing the crowds or the "Human Stew" as I heard it called and feeling the blast furnace heat for the first time. I have never experienced anything quite like it since my previous trips to Orlando were in October, February, and late April/early May. My Disney TR will be tittled in the same manner. I also will be postings pictures as I'm new to this and my digital camera as well. Any tips from you who have done this before, would be welcomed and appreciated.

OK, everyone set and ready? Then on with the show.


Background of the family members (or the Players as some would say) involved in our first, but not last, Universal adventure.

(DH) or Eddie as I like to be called) A fairly simple at times 40 year old Disney loving, stay at home father during the day, overworked small business owner at night. I believe in working long and hard, but also try to stop once in a while and enjoy the silliness, fantasy, and amazement that Disney and Universal provides for it's customers. There's a part of me who enjoys the resorts/parks more than most average teenagers. I love good technology and enjoy the themes/fantasies of the parks, hotels and rides. My mind is always thinking, evaluating, and seeing room for improvement if needed, so don't be offended when you come across my opinions and ideas.

(DW) A loyal, loving wife to me and the mother of fraternal twin boys who are both special needs children. My wife has the unique ability to get along with just about anyone (mostly other moms) and makes friends faster with people she just meets than anyone I have ever seen in my life. A very kind person who has generous heart and probably puts up with way too much nonsense from me and our two children.

(DS 1) Who happens to be ADD and quite the source of my daily worries and struggles as a father. He tests me and my sanity on a hourly basis. He's a handsome, unique 10 year old child and my wife and I love him dearly. But can get to be a huge handful and the first question out of our mouths usually is: Where's DS1 and what's he doing or where's he going? He's been the independent explorer since he could successfully walk and run on his own and is quite vocal about what he wants and usually doesn't understand why he can't have it all. Marketing executives must love my son because he falls for every gimmick and promotion that the Disney channel and McDonald's, etc, can come up with. I think Disney and Universal gift shops were designed with him in mind. He's never met a gift shop or toy aisle he could walk away from LOL!


(DS 2) He's also is a handsome, unique 10 year old boy and is a high functional autistic child. He has his moments and sometimes his autism can get the better of him at times, but can melt your heart with his looks and his simple outlook on life. He literally lives in a different world at times and can be comical with his truthfulness and how he refers to himself in a 3rd person sort of way. He loves things in multiples, mainly his Matchbox/Hot wheels cars and collects dice. He has somehow collected probably over 250 little cars over the years and can spend hours putting them in elaborate designs that only his mind can come up with. He can have meltdowns as we call them, and my wife and I are cautious with him in new surroundings. Luckily, Universal suited him just fine at times.


Up next: The planning, the worries, the excitement, and the departure to Orlando.

 

[goofy!]

Great start! Can't wait to read more.

 

[bubba's mom]

 

[lindalinda]

Waiting for more!

 

[phamton]

I'm already hooked! Can't wait for the next installment!

 

[ATAfamily]

Looking forward to reading all about your trip.

 

[tlinus]

Bravo Eddie -

What a wonderful start - cannot wait for more!!

 

[Subrbnmommy]

 

[dsmom]

patiently waiting for more
Love what you have written so far. We too have a special-needs child- our son is 8 and has autism and epilepsy. It helps to read about the experiences of other children- can't wait to read more!

 

[Cass]

Great start Eddie! I'm hooked and waiting for more

 

[disneyfan67]

Sorry for the delay, fellow Dis'ers. I have been playing catch up ever since I got in the door late Saturday night. I'm finally starting to feel like my old self and things are slowly returning to normal, or whatever passes for normal in my house. Everyone ready? Then on with show....


Stage one, the start of our adventure and how it got all started.

Just to fill you in on a little more info on me. I love tropical themes and I'm fascinated with the tiki culture, especially the retro look of the 60's. I love most of the Hawaiian/Island culture and have followed it for years. I'm similar to Walt Disney in that way because he was a fan of it as well and the Tiki Tiki room, Adventure land, and the Polynesian resort was also a product of that. I love the Polynesian resort and I'm a regular viewer of Steve Seifert's Unofficial Polynesian web page. It was announced in November 06 that a gathering of Polynesian fans was to take place in July 07 and they managed to secure a large block of rooms at a great discounted price. You can bet my wife and I were not only excited, but literally jumped at the chance. You're probably wondering how all of that fits into my Universal visit. Just be patient, it all makes sense soon and comes into focus.

I just wanted to add a little note here. I had a chance to meet Steve for the first time on this trip and he truly is one of the nicest and most generous people you can ever hope to meet in life and I'm proud to call him a friend. I just had to add that. Back to the story.


All right, so we book a week stay at the Poly and think all is well, right? Wrong! My left hip which was getting bad for the past 4 years decided to let me know it couldn't wait anymore and made it clear that it wouldn't do anymore vacations. I went back to the doctor a week later and he told point blank, Eddie, it's got to be replaced now and has needed so for quite while. Well, my wife and I had some serious and emotional discussions and decided to do it. In a blink of my eye and after a battery of tests, I was going under the knife in less than a month after my initial visit. We decided as a family to keep the vacation plans in place and I told my wife if I died on the table (which me being very overweight was a distinct possibility) that to go to the Polynesian and celebrate my life there. OK, enough of that and obviously I made it through the surgery and rehab with flying colors.

Now if I could just be as successful at losing the weight I have packed on over the years. It's a work in progress.

While I was rehabbing and off of work for 6 weeks at home, I was surfing the Dis more than ever and starting visiting the Universal boards. Needless to say, you Universal folks caught my attention and got me thinking, why not do a little side trip to see how other side lives? So I added onto my trip by two days and booked a AAA rate of $191 a night for 2 nights at the RPH, my limo ride there by FL tours and left it at that, right? Wrong again! A couple of things happened. AlexandNessa (aka "Jodie") mentioned on a thread I was on, to check out the PBH and see if they have a AAA rate because of the larger room sizes, etc and to join LF. Thank you so much Jodie for your good advice, you are the best!

I originally wanted to do the Hard Rock but no AAA was available and this vacation was getting more elaborate and expensive by the moment, so I held off on my decision. Then lindalinda submitted a beautiful TR on her spring trip to the PBH and took some great pictures that sealed the deal. I called back and made a reservation at the PBH for a standard room with 2 queen beds and in the West wing as my first choice. I called back later with my LF card number to make sure it got added on to the reservation. I noticed the 7 day passes for $80 something dollars per person and jumped on that as well. Hotel room, limo transportation, and theme park tickets were all done and I was off looking for cheap airfare.



I found on Orbitz 4 round trip tickets from ORD to MCO with a layover in Atlanta (both ways) for $117 per person with tax on Delta airlines.
Note to all parents with special needs children:
Don't ever due a layover if you can help it. It was very hard on my DS2 and while in Atlanta waiting for our flight to Orlando and he getting damn near unbearable and starting to have mini meltdowns. Hell, I was starting to get impatient as well. Luckily for us, Delta airlines on the way back home to ORD was kind enough to delay our flight by so much, that we had to literally run for our lives in order to catch the connecting flight. There was no time to even use the bathroom, let alone give a child a chance to complain on why we have to wait so long. No more layovers or Delta airlines for me.
More on that later.


A couple weeks later I was on the transportation board and I mentioned the price FL Tours gave me for my 3 way transfer.

From MCO to PBH

PBH to the Polynesian 2 days later with grocery stop

Polynesian to MCO 7 days later, all for the grand total of $175 by a sponser of the DIS, FL Tours.

Then AlexandNessa struck again. Jodie recommended that I save 50 bucks and go with Sun Ray transportation and to give them a call. I did and they were 50 bucks lower than FL Tours and no extra charge for a bigger vehicle, like FL Tours was doing to me. I booked a trip with Bob from Sun Ray and promptly cancel with FL Tours. Now remember that last part.


Up next: Wake up kids! It's time to go to Universal and Disney, the limo is coming and were running late.

 

[jillybeene71]

great...so far

 

[hayanyujah847]

I love your TR so far and am thrilled to read one from someone 'near Chicago'! I'm in Skokie now but grew up in Glenview (both north suburbs).

 

[dsmom]

I love your writing style! I admire you for flying with your children - we have not done it with our son yet(severely autistic) but would love to try it one day.
Can't wait to read more!

 

[goofy!]

More Please!!!

 

[disneyfan67]

More Please!!!

Oh, it's coming, trust me. I just wanted to say thanks to all who encouraged me and said the nice things so far. I wish I had more pictures like Cass does, but I was still getting used to my new digital camera (my first one) and some of the shots of the room and pool didn't come out. Cass certainly has taken some beautiful shots though and I'm in awe. At the end of my report I'll post what I have.

 

[wwessing]

I LOVE the details. . . please keep it up. We have a dd14 with a mental impairment, OCD, and many behaviors similar to an autistic child. We also have a dd10 with ADD and our dd8 has a severe case of ATTITUDE.

I've gotten some great information from others here who have children with disabilities. We have to travel differently, and as you know, the smallest details can make the greatest difference.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR!

 

[BrerVixen]

Looking forward to your next post

 

[disneyfan67]

All right, here we go with more of the report.

Wednesday July 25th, our last day at home and we still have ton of stuff to do, even though we have been preparing for our trip for quite sometime. My DW took the day off from work and thank God! I had set the suitcases in the corner of the living room and had started packing since Monday the 23rd. I didn't realise my two wonderful children decided to add what they thought we needed for the trip. When my wife decided to double check what was packed so far, she found the boys had added over 30 more shirts to the suitcase! We waited until Sunday the 22nd to tell them and I wished we had waited until the 25th, to tell the truth. DS 1 was beginning to make us crazy with his way of helping and deciding what he thought should be done. DS2 was right behind him and a willing partner in crime. It was a long 3 days leading up to our departure.


Drove dog to the vet for boarding and took my sons along just so my wife could get things finished in peace. Still didn't matter though, because we were still making changes all the way up to an half hour before our limo arrived. I can't completely describe how crazy our day was because it's almost impossible to put into words. I went to work at 5pm and left what little there was to do, in my wife's hands. My good friend Rich who helped take care of my business while I was gone, was beyond helpful that day and because of his extra help, I was able to get home by 10 pm. Which, BTW, is 3hours earlier than I normally do. In retrospect, I would have been better off working my regular later hours, because when I got home my 2 sons were in the death grip of the dreaded "night before vacation syndrome". When I walked in the door, you would have thought my kids had drank a 12 pack of Mountain Dew or something. Now mind you our limo was scheduled to arrive by 4:30 am and it was almost 11 pm and no one in the house was ready for sleep. Yeah, this adventure was going to be fun, with just 2 hours of sleep under our belts.


We were all finally were in bed by midnight, but you could hear my kids whispering to themselves and giggling. If I had a dollar for every time I went into their room to get them to settle down, I could book another trip at the Portofino. The funny thing was my wife and I are laying in bed and we're just as excited as the kids. My wife looked at the clock and said, it's 12:30 and if we go to sleep right now, will get 3 hours if we're lucky. I think we both tossed and turned until about 1:30 and I remember seeing the alarm clock tell the time. I woke up around 3 am before the alarm went off and started getting ready. My kids had heard me walk downstairs and were like, Dad, is it time? Only if they could get up like this when it's a school day.
Coffee was brewing, showers were going and before you knew it our limo was in the driveway at 4:30 am sharp. Man, those suitcases were heavy! It was so weird driving to the airport in the complete dark and getting to ORD so early.

Once at the airport we used skycap for checking our luggage. (Yeah we don't have to lug the heavy bags to the counter, since we already had our boarding passes. It was worth the 5 buck tip and I said a silent prayer that our luggage would find it's way back to us. Onto security, as some you might remember my new artificial hip might cause a problem, well it did. Thinking I was prepared I had a card and letter from the doctor stating the date and information about the surgery. Well let me just say that was not needed and was completely useless, I might add. They made me stand there with arms in the air like a scarecrow and with my wallet in my hand, while they proceeded to pat me down and run the wand all over me, again and again.. Of course, it still was going off when it went over my left hip though. The security guy would give me the look like maybe I was the first 6ft, 310 pound terrorist he had ever came across. I twice offered all the paper work and the card from my doctor, but decided that it would make better use as toilet paper, if our flight ever got lost and was low on supplies



The wife and kids were already through and just waiting until I got the all clear. Then we made it to our departing gate with a lot of time to wait. This was the part I was starting to dread. We all got a little breakfast at McDonald's, yet ate very little and waited until it was time to board the plane.
They did let us board early because of DS2 and that seemed to keep his autistic tendencies in neutral for the time being.. The flight was good to Atlanta, we were very lucky that our departing gate to MCO was just across from the gate we landed at. Too bad the returning flight back to Atlanta a week later wasn't as easy and I was fooled into thinking the Atlanta airport wasn't that bad. More on that later.

We boarded our flight from Atlanta to MCO, all went smooth, when we arrived at MCO and the excitement was building! We proceeded to the baggage claim area where we seen 2 drivers on opposite sides of a column at the end of the escalator, with our name on their boards. (Sun Ray & FL tours). We had cancelled our reservation with FL tours months ago. Talk about FL Tours dropping the ball. I told that driver that I canceled the reservation months ago. He didn't speak, but more of less grumbled something and got on his cell phone. I called FL Tours when I later checked into the Portofino but never heard back from them.


Hurray! We're finally in FL and the whole family was beyond excited. Roger was our driver from Sun Ray, what a really nice guy. The Suburban he had was clean and comfortable. While we're driving he gave us an update on what was new in Orlando. I can't fully describe how professional he was and as long as Bob and Roger own Sun Ray, they will always have my business. A+++ Fantastic service!

When we arrived on Universal property I was absorbed in taking it all in. The property just leading up to the Portofino was a lot bigger than I imagined and was very pretty and well landscaped, IMO. As we pulled up to the entrance of the Portofino, Roger gave us some parting words. "The Portofino is nice, but you might want to get a GPS unit and a guide map after you check in". I found out later how correct he was. This place was enormous, but more on that later!



Next up: Checking in, getting lost in the hallways of the PBH, and finally finding our way.

 

[DonnaLeah]

Great job on the trip report!! Patiently waiting for more!!!