Told DD we are going back to RPR

[tarheelmjfan]

please define "what not".....

You are so bad! Glad you're back!!!

 

[rcraw45425]

Bubba's Mom, it's not just Florida with the left hand driving, we live in GA and notice it a lot in Alabama as well! Of course over there it's just as likely to be a tractor with a cultivator thing on the back driving in the left lane, hanging over into the right lane

 

[bubba's mom]

You are so bad! Glad you're back!!!

I'm not bad....just curious.... Anyway, we were just at Kings Dominion for 2 days, and lemme tell ya....I plan to "report" on it on the boards, but don't have much time till Sunday (or Sat. nite IF I can get on the computer....mine took a crap, and we're down to DS' and DH's).... anyway, I will sum it up in 4 words....ready? IT AIN'T NO UNIVERSAL!!!!! Altho it was nice to a point, the park, the food, the service, the hotel....we are so spoiled w/ UO, we're probably not going back to KD anytime in the near, or far, future..... let's say my DH said he got LOTS to put in our trip report......but, I will trip report this weekend and am looking forward to our UO trip in Feb.....so, till then.............

 

[robvia]

The parks up north are nice, and I've been to PKD, but once to go to IOA and stay onsite, you'll be spoiled.

First of all, the parks up north don't have fancy onsite hotels, except for Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio. PKD has a Best Western next door. The thrill rides are better, but the overall experience is lacking because the parks don't open until 10am, and then they have long lines.

This is exactly what happened to us a couple weeks ago at Six Flag Great Adventure (what I call SFNJ). We got there at 09:30am, went to Kingda Ka, and it was down. Went to El Toro, down. Superman, Down. I mean, they don't care about having the rides ready in the morning. They all opened later that afternoon as we were leaving.

The other differance with the parks up north, is they don't have the elaborate theming in the queues, with the music. When you wait in line for a Six Flags ride, it's in a regular queue with no music, no tv screens, boring. You go on the ride, have a minute of fun, then it's back to waiting in boring lines in the hot sun.
When you walk around IOA, you feel like you're in a movie, in a different world. It's the themes and music that make this happen.

 

[aztecgoods]

I'm tired & a bit hungover just reading your post. You must be quite a bit younger than me. I haven't had that much adrenaline pumping through my veins in years.

Have you ever considered the reason you've taken a different girlfriend each visit, may be because all that adrenaline combined with alcohol & no sleep makes you look & act like a performer at HHN.

I know what you're thinking, you think I'm like Jerry Seinfeld that breaks up with a girl for eating peas one at a time instead of scooping them, but I'm not. I have finally found the perfect girl, so as said, probably won't have to say that anymore. I have had a run of bad luck with girlfriends the last 10 years or so with a few good ones in between (See report on last years trip with psycho ex girlfriend titled "Weekend getaway at U turns into spendfest of ridiculous proportions" I horned in on her thread for that report) but that will give you an example.

But those days are all behind me I am actually getting some aniversary surprises for new girl today (this month was 1 year).

Look forward to BM's report on Kings Dom.
I have wanted to visit all of those parks including BG at Williamsburg, but I have a feeling I will leave them all with what BM said, "they ain't no universal." I like 6-Flags over TX near Dallas, and its a nice park with some super coasters but ItANU.

 

[bubba's mom]

Look forward to BM's report on Kings Dom.

Done! On Universal trip report board!
ps---sorry for "hijacking" your thread rpbert1

 

[rpbert1]

Thats ok Bubbas Mom, you can hijack my threads anytime.lol

 

[tarheelmjfan]

rpbert1,
I haven't forgotten you. I'm in the process of planning a Thanksgiving getaway to St. Augustine. As soon as I've finished reading every website on the net that even mentions the word St. Augustine, I'll get back to your hotel issue.

 

[rpbert1]

Its ok Tarheelmjfan, i booked the RPR for the 3 weeks, DW and DD where not to keen on the beach ,so i just booked the extra week at the RPR, although this could be changed.

 

[rpbert1]

Motherfletcher, got a price by email from DonCesar Beach as i could not get prices on line, they had no AAA, yet but wanted $295 a night plus $20 resort fee & taxes a night, surely the prices will come down considerbly by next year.
i have the 3 weeks booked at the RPR and unless they come down i will just keep the 3 weeks there

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Motherfletcher, got a price by email from DonCesar Beach as i could not get prices on line, they had no AAA, yet but wanted $295 a night plus $20 resort fee & taxes a night, surely the prices will come down considerbly by next year.
i have the 3 weeks booked at the RPR and unless they come down i will just keep the 3 weeks there

We got a postcard from Don Cesar a couple weeks ago offering a rate of $159. I'm sure they'll come down some. We've never stayed there, so I don't know what the pricing trend is. I agree with Motherfletcher though. It's a fabulous resort. They even have their own reef that you can snorkel to from their beach.

 

[rpbert1]

thanks tarheelmjfan, i think i read reports of a similar price for the RPR so prices will or should be similar, do not know why there quote was so high, will wait and see as plenty of time to decide.
Have you got your trip all arranged for thanksgiving

 

[tarheelmjfan]

thanks tarheelmjfan, i think i read reports of a similar price for the RPR so prices will or should be similar, do not know why there quote was so high, will wait and see as plenty of time to decide.

Loews seems to do that with their hotels. They start high, then reduce them at intervals. The rates fluctuate a lot too. I guess all the upscale chains do that. They adjust the rate by supply & demand. If they can get people to book early at the highest rate & leave it at that, they come out great. Then they'll reduce the rate for those who didn't bite the 1st time. We know to wait to bite, then keep checking for the rate to go down after booking. I bet they hate people like us. The only time they don't reduce the rates much is high season. Summer in most of FL isn't considered high season. The theme parks are an exception, because of kids being out of school.

Have you got your trip all arranged for thanksgiving

Of course, not. We finally decided on a place to stay, & got that booked. Now, I need to narrow down all the places we want to eat & things we want to do & see into a manageable number. It's kind of hard to fit in 10 tours & 3 attractions each day, especially for laidback tourists like us. Naturally, there's also all those tours, attractions, & restaurants I haven't discovered yet.


ETA: I'll keep you updated on any postcards we receive from the Don.

 

[rpbert1]

thankyou tarheelmjfan, it must be great to be able to drive where you want to go ,when you live there. I want to retire there but would have to convince our older children to go to, as DW would not want to leave them,

 

[goofy!]

rpbert1 and tarheelmjfan - we vacation like you do. We just like to take things easy.

Although the Colorado airfares are terrible (I wish we could find the airfares that are reported from the East Coast!!!), we are not in a hurry to do everything. We also subscribe to the 'we will catch it next time' vacation strategy.

Last time we went for an extended period - we stayed 10 days at the PBH, and still did not manage to catch all the shows. We discovered the joys of renting a cabana at Hard Rock, playing at the PBH pool, shopping at the outlets and just hanging around on the balcony, having a drink and watching the boat come in. We did venture over to KSC to watch the shuttle, but that was as adventurous as we got

Even when we go for a shorter time, we never manage to do everything, as we are just lazy, lazy.

We are going at Thanksgiving for 9 days and are planning the same kind of vacation.

 

[goofy!]

We got a postcard from Don Cesar a couple weeks ago offering a rate of $159. I'm sure they'll come down some. We've never stayed there, so I don't know what the pricing trend is. I agree with Motherfletcher though. It's a fabulous resort. They even have their own reef that you can snorkel to from their beach.

We stayed at the Don Cesar condos (Beach House Suites By Don Cesar http://www.beachhousesuites.com/ ) about a block down from the pink castle, and we loved it. It was owned by Don Cesar, so you could walk down the beach and enjoy all the amenities at the main resort. It was absolutely beautiful. The only drawback is we went during a terrible Red Tide outbreak and the huge amounts of dead fish, horseshoe crabs and eels on the beach were unsettling. So, we packed up and headed over to Universal early. But I am looking forward to going back, now that we can enjoy our Platinum status there!

We have also stayed at the Ocean Hammock Beach Resort just south of St. Augustine. Also a gorgeous resort with a golf course, right on the Atlantic and 5 pools for the kids, including a lazy river. Although, even with the dead fish, we preferred the gulf beaches over the Atlantic beach.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We stayed at the Don Cesar condos (Beach House Suites By Don Cesar http://www.beachhousesuites.com/ ) about a block down from the pink castle, and we loved it. It was owned by Don Cesar, so you could walk down the beach and enjoy all the amenities at the main resort. It was absolutely beautiful. The only drawback is we went during a terrible Red Tide outbreak and the huge amounts of dead fish, horseshoe crabs and eels on the beach were unsettling. So, we packed up and headed over to Universal early. But I am looking forward to going back, now that we can enjoy our Platinum status there!

We have also stayed at the Ocean Hammock Beach Resort just south of St. Augustine. Also a gorgeous resort with a golf course, right on the Atlantic and 5 pools for the kids, including a lazy river. Although, even with the dead fish, we preferred the gulf beaches over the Atlantic beach.

I'm biased, but I also think the Gulf beaches are much nicer than those on the Atlantic. Not only is the beach nicer, but the water is too. My DH & DS do like to spend a few nights a year on the Atlantic to play in the waves. We stayed in a gorgeous resort at Daytona Beach Shores this summer. It's called Shores Resort & Spa & the rooms were in a word "opulent". We had been avoiding Daytona for a while now. It just wasn't our idea of a nice place to visit. Shores has been totally renovated & opened under new management. It's also away from the party crowd, so we thought we'd give it a try. We'll definitely be returning often.