Hi all,
My son (age 11) and I just returned this morning from a great vacation at Universal and the RPR. Thought I'd share some brief feedback about our trip:
Royal Pacific Resort: We loved this hotel! Stayed at the Portofino last year and the RPR is hands down a much more enjoyable hotel in my opinion. From the decor, to the very friendly staff, to the pool area activities, to the room, our stay was fantastic. We loved the fact that we could easily walk to IOA in the mornings (we were usually at the front gates by 6:30am or so). The only thing this hotel is missing is a pool slide, but they (almost) make up for this with the pool activities, ping pong tables, etc. We will definitely stay here again - at least until the new hotel (Cabana Bay) opens in a couple of years.
Island of Adventure: WWoHP: What can I say? Love this place, especially the Dragon Challenge roller coaster. Forbidden Journey has lost a bit of it's appeal (we've ridden over 30 times) but still a fantastic ride. I will say that the single rider line was a toss up as far as saving time: a couple of times it seemed as if the employee boarding the ride went out of their way to fill seats from the standard line, going very far back into the line to call up parties to fill the seats. The word is definitely out about the single rider line, so enter this line with caution. Sometimes it works to save time, sometimes it doesn't. Ollivander's is, of course, not to be missed, but I advise you to absolutely stop here first thing in the morning. The lines can get insanely long for a few minutes in the shop. We went in the shop a couple of times and saw a new Wizard who I think is very entertaining. His 'show' is a bit different than what we saw last year. My son was chosen to be fitted for a wand, so that was very fun.
We also loved Hulk, Popeye Barges, Ripsaw Falls, and Flight of the Hippogriff (WWoHP). The trolley ride at Seuss Landing is a must-ride, IMO. Seuss Landing is just such a happy place! Chills you out after the hustle and bustle of WWoHP
Universal Studios: It's all about Despicable Me! This ride is so fun and so cute! The Express Lane works very well here - many times we walked right onto this ride. Sadly, the gift shop is sold out of fluffy unicorns for the forseeable future (mfg issues?) but there are lots of other cute items to buy. Rip Ride Rockit is absolutely amazing! Seems they are building a new Harry Potter ride where Jaws used to be, but nobody inside the park would confirm this fact.
Misc:
1. Cleanest bathrooms: By the exit out of Universal. By far.
2. Water: Buy these roll up disposable bottles and ask to have them refilled. They will save you a fortune! The staff is more than happy to refill these bottles.
3. Food:
Seuss Landing @ IOA is a great little place for lunch. Reasonable prices, IMO, and best of all - air conditioning. My son and I would often split a meal and it was plenty. No meal deals for us.
Three Broomsticks: Only real 'restaurant' we ate at within the parks. Stopped in for breakfast (Dragon Challenge wasn't running yet) and found the food to be just ok. Again, we ordered one adult meal and shared it. Ended up leaving half the food on the plate because it was just kind of 'blah'.
4. Be prepared for crowds in WWoHP. The rest of the park can be serene and appear kind of empty, but WWoHP will be PACKED! We found it a bit difficult navigating all of the large groups of teenagers on tours, but in the end we just ended up going to other areas of the park when WWoHP became just too much for us.
5. Take ponchos and/or umbrella! We bought some fairly decent ponchos at Target before we left for our trip. We were so happy to have them on the water rides and during the daily afternoon rainstorms.
6. Stay on site and take advantage of the early admission and Express Lane! Absolutely, totally, 100% worth it!
This is it for now. I'll add more as I think of things.
I've picked up so many great tips on these boards I thought I would share a few.
We can't wait to go back to Orlando again next summer!
My son (age 11) and I just returned this morning from a great vacation at Universal and the RPR. Thought I'd share some brief feedback about our trip:
Royal Pacific Resort: We loved this hotel! Stayed at the Portofino last year and the RPR is hands down a much more enjoyable hotel in my opinion. From the decor, to the very friendly staff, to the pool area activities, to the room, our stay was fantastic. We loved the fact that we could easily walk to IOA in the mornings (we were usually at the front gates by 6:30am or so). The only thing this hotel is missing is a pool slide, but they (almost) make up for this with the pool activities, ping pong tables, etc. We will definitely stay here again - at least until the new hotel (Cabana Bay) opens in a couple of years.
Island of Adventure: WWoHP: What can I say? Love this place, especially the Dragon Challenge roller coaster. Forbidden Journey has lost a bit of it's appeal (we've ridden over 30 times) but still a fantastic ride. I will say that the single rider line was a toss up as far as saving time: a couple of times it seemed as if the employee boarding the ride went out of their way to fill seats from the standard line, going very far back into the line to call up parties to fill the seats. The word is definitely out about the single rider line, so enter this line with caution. Sometimes it works to save time, sometimes it doesn't. Ollivander's is, of course, not to be missed, but I advise you to absolutely stop here first thing in the morning. The lines can get insanely long for a few minutes in the shop. We went in the shop a couple of times and saw a new Wizard who I think is very entertaining. His 'show' is a bit different than what we saw last year. My son was chosen to be fitted for a wand, so that was very fun.
We also loved Hulk, Popeye Barges, Ripsaw Falls, and Flight of the Hippogriff (WWoHP). The trolley ride at Seuss Landing is a must-ride, IMO. Seuss Landing is just such a happy place! Chills you out after the hustle and bustle of WWoHP
Universal Studios: It's all about Despicable Me!
This ride is so fun and so cute! The Express Lane works very well here - many times we walked right onto this ride. Sadly, the gift shop is sold out of fluffy unicorns for the forseeable future (mfg issues?) but there are lots of other cute items to buy. Rip Ride Rockit is absolutely amazing! Seems they are building a new Harry Potter ride where Jaws used to be, but nobody inside the park would confirm this fact.Misc:
1. Cleanest bathrooms: By the exit out of Universal. By far.
2. Water: Buy these roll up disposable bottles and ask to have them refilled. They will save you a fortune! The staff is more than happy to refill these bottles.
3. Food:
Seuss Landing @ IOA is a great little place for lunch. Reasonable prices, IMO, and best of all - air conditioning. My son and I would often split a meal and it was plenty. No meal deals for us.
Three Broomsticks: Only real 'restaurant' we ate at within the parks. Stopped in for breakfast (Dragon Challenge wasn't running yet) and found the food to be just ok. Again, we ordered one adult meal and shared it. Ended up leaving half the food on the plate because it was just kind of 'blah'.
4. Be prepared for crowds in WWoHP. The rest of the park can be serene and appear kind of empty, but WWoHP will be PACKED! We found it a bit difficult navigating all of the large groups of teenagers on tours, but in the end we just ended up going to other areas of the park when WWoHP became just too much for us.
5. Take ponchos and/or umbrella! We bought some fairly decent ponchos at Target before we left for our trip. We were so happy to have them on the water rides and during the daily afternoon rainstorms.
6. Stay on site and take advantage of the early admission and Express Lane! Absolutely, totally, 100% worth it!
This is it for now. I'll add more as I think of things.
I've picked up so many great tips on these boards I thought I would share a few.
We can't wait to go back to Orlando again next summer!
