yoopermom
Come join Bravo by the fire...
- Joined
- Sep 27, 2000
- Messages
- 4,409
Cast:
Me, Terri the Yoopermom, turned 35 during the trip, trip planning fanatic
Yooperdad, 39, would rather be in a national park than a theme park
Yooperson, 7, thrill seeker and animal lover extraordinaire
(and joining us later )
DM, who loves WDW, but hates to fly (WDW wins out, I promise)
DSF (whose age enabled us to get a great rate at HIFS)
Day Two: December 27, Universal IOA and my birthday!
No matter how tough life got the past few months, I had my mantra, Ill be spending my 35th birthday at the Hotel California, to help me get by. I know its really the Hard Rock, but its designed to look just like what I always thought the Eagles Hotel California would look like, and that was my favorite song as a teenager, so give the birthday girl a break, okay? We woke up late (we had sworn not to use an alarm clock on the whole trip, its called vacation for a reason, right?), and looked out the window to see the beautiful gardens surrounding the boat dock. The room was really lovely, and I never got tired of looking at the details, from the shirring of the curtains to the handles on the dresser. The bathroom was large, but was my only tiny cause of complaint with the room layout. The only place to put anything was on a small, three tiered, glass and metal round stand, that already held quite a few extras supplied by the hotel. Now, Im no princess, but even I have a few bathroom supplies Id like to spread out! (I dont know if the regular bathrooms are the same way, anyone?) I have to say that my favorite aspect of the room was the bedding and the towels. Ive never even noticed them before in any hotel, but at the HRH, their quality is impossible to miss. Even the purple towels used at poolside were thick and fluffy!
We went a few steps outside our room, down the beautiful open staircase, and poked our noses in the restaurant. It would have been over a half hour wait for the $13.95/each breakfast buffet, so we gave it a pass. Right out the doors, and there was our boat waiting to take us off on our big adventure of the day at IOA! We had the best weather of our entire trip these first two days, high 60s, light breeze and sunny (although much colder after the sun went down). I had bought our passes through AAA in the early fall when they were running a buy-two-days-get-one-day-free special. DS and I were most excited by our magical room keys that would give us front of the line access on most rides. This was the best investment we ever made, I truly believe. Without it, we NEVER would have got as much done as what we did, and our frustration levels would have been umpteen levels higher. I seriously think that, next to kringle, its the best thing invented in the past hundred years!
Ate breakfast at the bakery directly inside the gates of IOA, not cheap, but large portions. A ham/egg/cheese croissant was $4.99, plus DS+DH shared a chocolate éclair, while I had a birthday piece of kringle (no one makes it like the bakeries in Racine, do, but this was pretty darn good). We ate outside because the weather was so beautiful, but the birds were a constant menace. The very nice British lady sitting at the next lady pointed out that a bird had pooped on my coat. Of course my Midwestern ears had to ask her to repeat herself twice, because I had no idea what she was saying, but it was nice of her to warn me, just the same! DS got the giggles over the idea of mom getting pooped on right away on her birthday morning (what can I say, it doesnt take much to amuse a seven year old ).
After this bit of funny business, we strolled to our left so that thrill-seeker son could get his fill of Hulk and Spiderman right away. I cant say it often enough that FOTL saved our day. We never waited more than ten minutes (often walked right on), even when the regular queue was 70-80 minutes. Even the lines to get the express passes were often longer than the FOTL lines were to get on the ride itself! I really wanted to go on Spiderman because the Travel Channel special had emphasized how great it was. I didnt send the guys through first to check it out (as I learned to do later). I have to say that it was really amazing, but I was not prepared for how much it was going to hurl me around. My kringle stayed down, but my back felt as though it had had a chiropractic adjustment by the time I got off! It was really spectacular, though, and, I think, is one of the best rides in Orlando. I sat on a bench and caught my breath while the guys (say it with me) went to the FOTL for Hulk. Before I knew it, they went screaming overhead (they said it was just the ride itself making that noise, but ). They ended up being the last to get on the ride before it had to be shut down due to technical difficulties. I cant imagine how the people reacted who had been waiting in line to ride it for over an hour. We noticed it was shut down frequently that day, so were glad the guys got to ride it when they did. This also started my habit of questioning my way to the exit (sometimes they came out in the expected gift shop, some half way around the other side of the park, it seemed!). I really enjoyed waiting for them, though, because there was always another person waiting, too, who seemed equally bored, and therefore willing to talk to a complete and total stranger. (Warning: I love talking to anybody and everybody on vacation, I figure Ill never see them again, and they always seem to have a great story to tell.)
DS, the aforementioned thrillseeker, felt that Dr. Doom was too reminiscent of Tower of Terror (the only ride that has ever truly terrified him), so we skipped it. We worked our way leisurely in that direction, stopping frequently since DS feels a strong attraction to gift shops, street entertainment, and games of chance. The crowds, which had not been to bad earlier, really began to grow in the early afternoon. Our stomachs were grumbling, so DS+DH headed for Dueling Dragons while I checked out the Fake Tree Overprice Medieval Grub Tavern (as DH sarcastically put it). DS came off DD rather white-faced, so its probably good that I made him go on it before he ate, rather than after. We didnt have more than a ten-minute wait to order, and the food was edible, if nothing special. DS had the kids ribs, which included fries and an apple; DH had a burger and fries; and I had the ribs/chicken combo, which included fries, cornbread, and corn on the cob.
I have to comment, generally, on how well themed I thought each island was, and how good the signage was. The traffic flowed very well, and we never found ourselves in the middle of nowhere (like we sometimes do at WDW). It was very clean, despite being so busy, and all the park employees were friendly. I have to make special mention of two: the nice young man at Terminator 3-Ds Express Lane (at U.Studio) wondered why I was going out when I had just gone in. When I told him I was worried about my back, he told me that there was stationary seating, walked me in specially, and made sure I was okay. What was weird was that afterward DH said that none of the seats had any movement at all, so Im not sure what that was all about! The second, a young man working at one of the games, saw DSs wild enthusiasm, and pointed down about three games to one that he thought DS would enjoy the most (thanks to him I had to get a box to hold the stuffed dog that wouldnt fit in any of our suitcases ).
I knew, in the a.m., that we would have to make the choice between starting with the thrill rides vs. Grinchmas and Seussville. Well, by the time we got to Grinchmas in late afternoon, it was packed. DS and I did Carouseussel and One Fish, Two Fish, but ended up not waiting to meet the Grinch himself. It was over an hour, and we were just really tired. If I had truly known how well FOTL was going to work, we would have started with Grinch, but, oh, well. Instead, we headed back to the Hard Rock, where DH napped, DS went down the pool slide over and over and over again, and I celebrated my birthday by lolling in the hot tub, watching the sun set over the Hotel California (excuse me, Hard Rock), and listening to the music that seems to come from everywhere. Life really doesnt get any better! Managed to make it back up to the room to watch Survivor and crawl into bed.
Me, Terri the Yoopermom, turned 35 during the trip, trip planning fanatic
Yooperdad, 39, would rather be in a national park than a theme park
Yooperson, 7, thrill seeker and animal lover extraordinaire
(and joining us later )
DM, who loves WDW, but hates to fly (WDW wins out, I promise)
DSF (whose age enabled us to get a great rate at HIFS)
Day Two: December 27, Universal IOA and my birthday!
No matter how tough life got the past few months, I had my mantra, Ill be spending my 35th birthday at the Hotel California, to help me get by. I know its really the Hard Rock, but its designed to look just like what I always thought the Eagles Hotel California would look like, and that was my favorite song as a teenager, so give the birthday girl a break, okay? We woke up late (we had sworn not to use an alarm clock on the whole trip, its called vacation for a reason, right?), and looked out the window to see the beautiful gardens surrounding the boat dock. The room was really lovely, and I never got tired of looking at the details, from the shirring of the curtains to the handles on the dresser. The bathroom was large, but was my only tiny cause of complaint with the room layout. The only place to put anything was on a small, three tiered, glass and metal round stand, that already held quite a few extras supplied by the hotel. Now, Im no princess, but even I have a few bathroom supplies Id like to spread out! (I dont know if the regular bathrooms are the same way, anyone?) I have to say that my favorite aspect of the room was the bedding and the towels. Ive never even noticed them before in any hotel, but at the HRH, their quality is impossible to miss. Even the purple towels used at poolside were thick and fluffy!
We went a few steps outside our room, down the beautiful open staircase, and poked our noses in the restaurant. It would have been over a half hour wait for the $13.95/each breakfast buffet, so we gave it a pass. Right out the doors, and there was our boat waiting to take us off on our big adventure of the day at IOA! We had the best weather of our entire trip these first two days, high 60s, light breeze and sunny (although much colder after the sun went down). I had bought our passes through AAA in the early fall when they were running a buy-two-days-get-one-day-free special. DS and I were most excited by our magical room keys that would give us front of the line access on most rides. This was the best investment we ever made, I truly believe. Without it, we NEVER would have got as much done as what we did, and our frustration levels would have been umpteen levels higher. I seriously think that, next to kringle, its the best thing invented in the past hundred years!
Ate breakfast at the bakery directly inside the gates of IOA, not cheap, but large portions. A ham/egg/cheese croissant was $4.99, plus DS+DH shared a chocolate éclair, while I had a birthday piece of kringle (no one makes it like the bakeries in Racine, do, but this was pretty darn good). We ate outside because the weather was so beautiful, but the birds were a constant menace. The very nice British lady sitting at the next lady pointed out that a bird had pooped on my coat. Of course my Midwestern ears had to ask her to repeat herself twice, because I had no idea what she was saying, but it was nice of her to warn me, just the same! DS got the giggles over the idea of mom getting pooped on right away on her birthday morning (what can I say, it doesnt take much to amuse a seven year old ).
After this bit of funny business, we strolled to our left so that thrill-seeker son could get his fill of Hulk and Spiderman right away. I cant say it often enough that FOTL saved our day. We never waited more than ten minutes (often walked right on), even when the regular queue was 70-80 minutes. Even the lines to get the express passes were often longer than the FOTL lines were to get on the ride itself! I really wanted to go on Spiderman because the Travel Channel special had emphasized how great it was. I didnt send the guys through first to check it out (as I learned to do later). I have to say that it was really amazing, but I was not prepared for how much it was going to hurl me around. My kringle stayed down, but my back felt as though it had had a chiropractic adjustment by the time I got off! It was really spectacular, though, and, I think, is one of the best rides in Orlando. I sat on a bench and caught my breath while the guys (say it with me) went to the FOTL for Hulk. Before I knew it, they went screaming overhead (they said it was just the ride itself making that noise, but ). They ended up being the last to get on the ride before it had to be shut down due to technical difficulties. I cant imagine how the people reacted who had been waiting in line to ride it for over an hour. We noticed it was shut down frequently that day, so were glad the guys got to ride it when they did. This also started my habit of questioning my way to the exit (sometimes they came out in the expected gift shop, some half way around the other side of the park, it seemed!). I really enjoyed waiting for them, though, because there was always another person waiting, too, who seemed equally bored, and therefore willing to talk to a complete and total stranger. (Warning: I love talking to anybody and everybody on vacation, I figure Ill never see them again, and they always seem to have a great story to tell.)
DS, the aforementioned thrillseeker, felt that Dr. Doom was too reminiscent of Tower of Terror (the only ride that has ever truly terrified him), so we skipped it. We worked our way leisurely in that direction, stopping frequently since DS feels a strong attraction to gift shops, street entertainment, and games of chance. The crowds, which had not been to bad earlier, really began to grow in the early afternoon. Our stomachs were grumbling, so DS+DH headed for Dueling Dragons while I checked out the Fake Tree Overprice Medieval Grub Tavern (as DH sarcastically put it). DS came off DD rather white-faced, so its probably good that I made him go on it before he ate, rather than after. We didnt have more than a ten-minute wait to order, and the food was edible, if nothing special. DS had the kids ribs, which included fries and an apple; DH had a burger and fries; and I had the ribs/chicken combo, which included fries, cornbread, and corn on the cob.
I have to comment, generally, on how well themed I thought each island was, and how good the signage was. The traffic flowed very well, and we never found ourselves in the middle of nowhere (like we sometimes do at WDW). It was very clean, despite being so busy, and all the park employees were friendly. I have to make special mention of two: the nice young man at Terminator 3-Ds Express Lane (at U.Studio) wondered why I was going out when I had just gone in. When I told him I was worried about my back, he told me that there was stationary seating, walked me in specially, and made sure I was okay. What was weird was that afterward DH said that none of the seats had any movement at all, so Im not sure what that was all about! The second, a young man working at one of the games, saw DSs wild enthusiasm, and pointed down about three games to one that he thought DS would enjoy the most (thanks to him I had to get a box to hold the stuffed dog that wouldnt fit in any of our suitcases ).
I knew, in the a.m., that we would have to make the choice between starting with the thrill rides vs. Grinchmas and Seussville. Well, by the time we got to Grinchmas in late afternoon, it was packed. DS and I did Carouseussel and One Fish, Two Fish, but ended up not waiting to meet the Grinch himself. It was over an hour, and we were just really tired. If I had truly known how well FOTL was going to work, we would have started with Grinch, but, oh, well. Instead, we headed back to the Hard Rock, where DH napped, DS went down the pool slide over and over and over again, and I celebrated my birthday by lolling in the hot tub, watching the sun set over the Hotel California (excuse me, Hard Rock), and listening to the music that seems to come from everywhere. Life really doesnt get any better! Managed to make it back up to the room to watch Survivor and crawl into bed.
