The Grinch Wouldn't Let Me Take Photos, But We Still Had Fun!

[Worfiedoodles]

Hi and to my Non-TR, TR! I call it that because my dh was totally opposed to taking photos of just about everything, so I don't have any

I do have a few posts to talk about the trip, so let's get started!

This trip was June 18-28. The participants were myself aka Maria (40ish) DH aka Dennis (45ish) and ds aka Ben(11). We spent 3 days at my SIL's in Tampa, then on to Universal for 7 nights at PBH. We flew from Boston's Logan Airport into MCO, and rented a car with Hertz. This was our second stay onsite, we previously stayed at RPR in 2007.

Now to start on the trip -- I generally don't do TRs. Dennis won't let me take pictures of food, so they aren't very exciting. I'm also intimidated, which, yes, I realize is ironic (I'm a grants professional, so I write for a living). Anyway, we got off to a great start -- I even got up before 5 and ran on the TM for an hour before we left. The cab ride to the airport (about 5 minutes away) was uneventful, except for the driver telling us about someone trying to sell him something the night before. After we got to the airport, Dennis explained to me it was drugs . I'm pretty naive, I had no idea that was what he was talking about . The airport was completely full. I mean there was nowhere to sit anywhere near our gate (JetBlue), and we were about an hour early. The flight was uneventful, I was very happy that I fit into the seat better than our last flight in January, so I was feeling good. We got our baggage fairly quickly, and took the shuttle to get our rental car. We had requested a different car than what we received, but it had plenty of trunk space and was $125 less, so I didn't complain. We stopped for a quick bite at Cracker Barrel before heading out. I haven't been to a Cracker Barrel in years, they don't have them in MA. It wasn't as good as I remembered. I think I've gotten so used to healthy food, it just didn't taste as yummy. I had a chicken salad, so it wasn't even that bad for me. I was disappointed the menu didn't jump out at me like I remembered. I just didn't want that heavy, fatty food.

We drove over to my SIL's house in Wesley Chapel (near Tampa), where we stayed for 3 days. We spent a ton of time around her pool, it is very restful and incredibly comfortable. They even have a tv screen mounted above one of their seating areas. It was great to spend alot of time with my 3 nieces. My oldest niece is 19 and out of the house, but she came by every day to see us. The next girl is almost 18, and will be a senior in high school next year, and from what I can tell she basically doesn't leave the couch. Her "job" is to watch her 10 yr. old sister during the day, I think it's good Bethany is pretty self-sufficient. My little niece is a cheerleader and fashion plate. DS had a great time hanging with her (he's 11), and when we took them to Busch Gardens people thought they were siblings. He has dark brown hair and eyes like me, and she's blond with blue eyes, but their features are similar enough for that resemblance. It also helps that Dennis has red hair and blue eyes. Anyway, we went on the Rhino Rally and Bethany was chosen to sit up front with the driver, and he kept teasing her about her brother behind her. She got a big kick out of it since she doesn't actually have a brother. Ben (ds) also thought it was a hoot. You can see where people thought they were siblings -- when were calling "Benjamin" and "Bethany" in the same breath!

The last night at my SIL's we had a little excitement around the pool area. It is a screened living area, and a large black snake was hanging out by one of the doors to the yard. Right then, I remembered why I don't want to live in FL. I couldn't handle "Reptiles 'R Us". They've also had alligators by the lake in back of their house, they hear wild boar in the woods next to their house, and the bugs are huge. They also live on a golf course, and that would unnerve me, too. I guess I've just become an urban girl. Good thing we have lots of regions in this country to suit everyone!

We got up on Father's Day and drove over to Orlando. I'll pick up there in my next installment, but let me say on the drive over we stopped at a rest stop, and there was a sign warning that poisonous snakes had been seen in the area.

Maria

 

[keishashadow]

wild boarsnext to golf course, talk about a hazard!

i'll give u a pass re no pics of restaurant food, i've the same ban

so, how'd u like BushGardens?

 

[donaldduck352]

Wesley Chapel used to be very country.Alot of farms and swamps.Now subdivisions popped up all over the place and wildlife are still there.Wild boars are A huge problem down here(along with gators and snakes)but Florida has uped the cost of hunting permits to the point that most people wont buy.Plus its hard to hunt them in A residential area!!Snakes and gators move when the water gets high in the swamps..

On too your TR,great so far.Need more please!!

 

[circelli]

I'm here and ready to read about your fun ::

 

[macraven]

i'm finally back in town and playing ketchup on the threads.

yours was the first i started to read.


i'm getting into your trippie so don't stop now!

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Looks like I'm not too late to the party ...

Great trip report so far!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

wild boarsnext to golf course, talk about a hazard!

i'll give u a pass re no pics of restaurant food, i've the same ban

so, how'd u like BushGardens?

We enjoyed Busch Gardens, but I think it would have been better if ds was either younger or older -- he was too old for the kiddie rides, and too young for the big coasters (or too chicken ) so we missed the headliners. But we still enjoyed our day!

Wesley Chapel used to be very country.Alot of farms and swamps.Now subdivisions popped up all over the place and wildlife are still there.Wild boars are A huge problem down here(along with gators and snakes)but Florida has uped the cost of hunting permits to the point that most people wont buy.Plus its hard to hunt them in A residential area!!Snakes and gators move when the water gets high in the swamps..

On too your TR,great so far.Need more please!!

I can't imagine seeing someone come down my street with a hunting rifle, so I guess the boars will stay! Wow, I can see why it's hard to get rid of them, or control the population!

I'm here and ready to read about your fun ::

More fun to come, I promise! Next installment coming right up!

i'm finally back in town and playing ketchup on the threads.

yours was the first i started to read.


i'm getting into your trippie so don't stop now!

Yea! Mac is here, we can start the party!

Looks like I'm not too late to the party ...

Great trip report so far!

The party is never really started until all the Homies arrive!

Thanks for reading!

Maria

 

[Worfiedoodles]

And the non-TR, TR continues...

We arrived in the Orlando area, and this was it -- my furtive visit to WDW property! DH was determined we were not going to spend any serious time in the Motherland. He really can't stand it. We literally drove past Pop and Caribbean Beach to get to DTD. I wanted to stop, but of course that wasn't happening. We hadn't told ds about this day (I was afraid it would come and Dennis would balk about going there). We parked and went in by the humongous Disney store, and decided to start shopping there. We picked up a shirt for ds and some gold filigree Mickey head earrings for me. DS also bought a POTC snowglobe. He collects snowglobes, but I was surprised as he's never been that into the movies. Anyway, we left and headed toward Once Upon a Toy. Then, I spotted it! My quarry was the new store, Tren-D. I had heard about it and seen photos in a blog, and I knew they had things with my name on them! This store is amazing for girly-girls, tons of totally cute baubles and bangles. I left with a Minnie mug and a cute pink plaid cosmetic bag with a black cut-out Mickey on it. While I was in Tren-D, Dennis and ds were doing their best to spend the first of ds's vacation money on Star Wars/Disney characters. Princess Leia Minnie and Luke Skywalker Mickey left the store with them. By this time, we were a bit hungry. I had planned on eating at Earl of Sandwich, but ds wasn't interested and wanted to sit down and eat chicken fingers... (he'd been deprived at his Auntie's, where they were not served). So we went to Rainforest Cafe. We had a fairly quick wait, and were seated right under the gorilla. Did you know that thing is really loud when it starts animating? Well, now we do. DS managed to stuff himself with chicken fingers and fries, dh and I shared the big sampler plate substituting extra cheese sticks for calamari, which neither of us do.

I wanted to have dessert at Ghirardelli's but we were all full -- so we decided to go to Goofy's candy company for something to enjoy later. We left with make your own pretzel rods (dipped in dark chocolate and covered in peanuts, then drizzled in caramel), another Stitch slushy cup, a couple of pieces of fudge (orange cream and milk chocolate) and chocolate covered espresso beans. Full and shopped out (Dennis said this was more Disney than he needed), we got back in the rental car and headed for the Portofino Bay Hotel at UniversalOrlando.

Next Up: Checking in, Checking out the Club, and Checking for Geckos

Maria

 

[tink1957]

Great report so far, we're headed to HRH for 2 nights before our CSR 11 night wallet busting trip in Sept. & I can't wait to read about your trip.

 

[macraven]

i like Earl of Sandwich.
some good food and it's cheap...

 

[Metro West]

Lovin it so far...can't wait for more!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Great report so far, we're headed to HRH for 2 nights before our CSR 11 night wallet busting trip in Sept. & I can't wait to read about your trip.

We stayed at CSR for marathon weekend last year. Beautiful resort, awesome pool area, and fantastic rehabbed rooms!

i like Earl of Sandwich.
some good food and it's cheap...

I was bummed we didn't get to eat there -- we'll be back in January and I will be having a sandwich!

Lovin it so far...can't wait for more!

More coming right up in the next post!

Maria

 

[Worfiedoodles]

So, back to the non TR -TR:

We arrived at Loew's Portofino Bay Hotel, which is an on-site hotel at Universal. The drive to the entry was quite windy, I can't imagine negotiating that at any speed. Hey, this is just like Portofino, Italy! There are classic cars parked out front, and the entire facade is quite gracious and looks just like an Italian village, set on a lake. There are small boats dotting the inner bay area, and vespas parked around it. It's quite a lovely palazzo.

After checking in and making sure we showed our Loew's number (free, and gets you perks), we went to our room. We were lucky to be given a room on the second floor with a balcony (but their separated by hedges, so it's more like a patio) overlooking the Villa pool. This is a more quiet, adult pool. Only about 3' deep, but surrounded by padded loungers, cabanas, fountains, plunge pools, and with food service. They also play 50s era music, usually American tunes by Italian singers (think Frankie Valli). I'm not sure if the patio was a room upgrade, we were supposed to be entitled to one if it was available.

This is where the stay kind of runs together. I can't pinpoint specific items to specific days, but I can speak generally about the rest of the trip.

We stayed club level, so we had access to the lounge. We found that breakfast suited us perfectly well -- fresh fruit, pastries, oatmeal, cream of wheat, cold cereal (no Lucky Charms, but they did have Fruit Loops!), juice, milk, tea, coffee, etc. There were Italian ices, yogurt raisins, and mixed nuts in the afternoon, along with chewy granola bars. The pre-dinner appetizers were often quite hefty, I made a meal of them twice. There were fresh veggies and dip and cheese and crackers, plus hot yummies -- things like chicken on a stick, quesadillas, etc. There were also little pasta salads in martini glasses and dessert glasses, plus beer and wine. Speaking of beverages, there were Coke products available at all times, but you had to ask specifically for bottled water, it's kept in the back. Dessert was different every night. There were always cookies, and usually some sort of pastry, too, plus milk. I got in the habit of having hot tea every night before bed, actually that's something I already do at home.

I should go back to the room. The room itself was plenty big with two queen beds, the bathroom was quite large, with separate tub and shower. There was one bathrobe waiting, of course that was for mom. The room had an lcd tv, and a Keurig coffee maker. This is what we use at home, so it was very familiar. The mini bar fridge was stocked pretty tight, but we found room for Nesquick and some lunch meat and cheese. The patio had two chairs and a table, we asked for another chair and they brought one over from next door Here is where I decided I was done of reptiles. There were geckos everywhere on the patio. I kept expecting to hear a squish every time I stepped outside. And by the way, the walking path to the Universal parks showed that the geckos are not always able to get out of the way of tourists and the pedicabs.

We had made a stop at Wal-Mart (which I highly recommend), so we had snacks for the room for when the lounge was not available. Dennis prefers to eat "4th meal", so we had to make sure he wouldn't go hungry!

The hotel's main pool, the Beach pool, has a great slide, and was a very pleasant place to pass an afternoon. Games for the kids every hour, and they bring around little treats -- frozen grapes, slush, etc. DS was not impressed with the dive-in movies, the screen was not that big, and I think he was expecting more.

We visited the 3rd pool, the hillside pool, but did not go in. It was just a cement pond, nothing special.

We were in the gym most mornings. Ok, I skipped 2, but Dennis was always there when it opened at 6. There were plenty of TM's, ellipticals, stairsteppers and Nautilus, plus free weights. I fell in love with their citrus water, it was yummy! The gym is part of the spa, so you have to sign in and if you are not club or a Loew's member there's a fee.

The parking garage is underground, which was nice as it kept the car cooler. Daily parking fees applied, so if you're not going to use a car most days I wouldn't get one.

If anyone has questions, feel free to ask. I'm sure I'm forgetting obvious stuff someone visiting might want to know.

I'll cover eating and riding in a future installment, as well as the wonders of water parks!

Maria

 

[macraven]

woot, she's on a roll........

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

We also love Earl of Sandwich ... and usually head there on our arrival night in Orlando for a quick bite to eat. Wal-mart is also another stop for us during our stay - mostly for snack type things - but then if we had all the food you did staying club level, I probably wouldn't need to buy snacks ...

 

[circelli]

woo hoo still reading

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Eating and Riding -- the Best Part!

First, filling our faces:

We had our car, so we did venture offsite for some meals. Golden Corral on I-Drive was not the bargain I remembered. It was still inexpensive, but not so yummy

We enjoyed ice cream treats at Sonic and Dairy Queen -- that's about all I'd recommend. The rest of the menu seemed to look better on the boards than in real life.

Best Lunch at CityWalk: Margaritaville. We love the Volcano Nachos, and hey, It's 5 o'clock Somewhere...For an almost-tea-totaller like me, I had a top shelf margarita and it almost put me under the table. Just a word of warning, it's powerful if you're not much of a drinker!

Also worth mentioning: NBA City. Good-sized portions, and perfectly viable food.

The Whopper Bar was just a Burger King on steriods -- not bad, but not exceptional, either. Lots of toppings, but the interior is part of the food court -- not complaining, just don't expect something more sumptious.

Best in Park: Mythos! We really enjoyed our lunch here. Great variety, and a welcome step up from usual theme park dining. I highly recommend planning a respite in your day by dining in this relaxing venue.

DH had a beer in Finnegan's while ds and I rode the Mummy. He pronounced it worth the trip, I had wanted to eat there but we just weren't hungry at the right time.

We ate pizza at Sal's Market Deli (PBH) more than once. A good size, and quite delicious! We had gelato from the Gelataria almost every day -- a good selection of flavors, I'm missing the spumoni right now!

Then, thrills and chills:

US
Our new favorite ride is The Simpsons -- truly not to be missed! We found it to be well worth the wait, although all our waits were short since we had the Express pass.

We also found MIB and the Mummy to be rides we wanted to do over and over. Still working on getting that score up!

We love the Horror Make-up Show, and who doesn't have fun with Beetlejuice?!

We totally skipped the Kids Zone and ET, just no interest from ds, and frankly, I'm not sad I didn't have to sit through the Barney show like I did when he was 4 I am sad we missed the animal actors show, I hope to catch it on our next trip.

We thought Jaws, Disaster, Shrek and Jimmy Neutron were good, but a one-time ride. Couldn't get ds to do Twister, he thought it looked boring and having done it, I agreed with him.

IOA
We found Dueling Dragons, Dudley Do-Right, Bluto's Bilge Barges, and of course Spiderman (our previous favorite ride) to be repeaters. DS is not ready for the Hulk (and neither am I!), and once around Jurassic Park and Seussville was enough (when ds was younger, we spent much more time in both, just a function of his age, not what was available). DS terrified me on our first ride on DD -- he kicked off his shoes just before we started up the incline. I was afraid I was going to have to buy him more in the park! Luckily, they were waiting for us when we returned. He learned to sit on them after that...and I was able to enjoy our other rides!

I was impressed with the amount of time the Marvel superheros were out and about with and after their parade. The characters were quite accessible.

We found both parks to be clean, the team members to be friendly, and a great time was had by all.

Transportation by boat was so easy! What a great start or end to your day, much quicker due to shorter distances than at the Motherland, and quite peaceful.

I was disappointed in the changes in the Endangered Species store on CityWalk since our 2007 visit. The selection of kids items was greatly reduced, and it just didn't seem to have the same flavor any longer. I am very pleased to say this was my only disappointment, so you can imagine how great our trip was!

I'll hit the water parks in my next installment -- we went to both Aquatica and Wet 'n Wild.

Maria

 

[Worfiedoodles]

woot, she's on a roll........

It's really quiet at work today, so I had a little time to post more! I'm also coaching on the BL Challenge WISH thread this week, so I probably should have waited to start the TR, but I figured if I didn't start I never would!

We also love Earl of Sandwich ... and usually head there on our arrival night in Orlando for a quick bite to eat. Wal-mart is also another stop for us during our stay - mostly for snack type things - but then if we had all the food you did staying club level, I probably wouldn't need to buy snacks ...

Yep, I thought it was a little silly to buy food, but my dh likes to eat at 11 or so, and the lounge isn't open that late. We had to have sandwich supplies, and of course, who can vacation without chips and cookies?

woo hoo still reading

Still writing, we had a great time!

Maria