Trip report-6 nights at Hard Rock w/8yr old PART 1

[bryandog1974]

Our family just got back Sunday from 6 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel. We booked a room/park ticket package direct through Universal. I have AAA and looked at other deals but for us this was the best for what we wanted. I have to submit my vacations for year in December and I like the adavance planning. I booked this April trip in early December. This was our X-mas gift to ourselves. Our family includeds my daughter (8), my wife and myself (40ish).

Arrived Monday night at MCO. Did not rent car. Used a Tiffany Town Car service. Booked a booster seat and a grocery stop online. Booked a round trip through them. Our driver stopped at a Publix 5 mins away from our Hotel. Grocery stop worth it simply for buying a case of water and other small snacks.

Arrived at Hard Rock at 7pm Monday night. Everyone was attentive and friendly from the get go. Used the bellstaff to grab our bags while we checked in. He gave us a card to give to the bell counter once we checked in. From stepping out of the car to the bellman unloading our bags in our room was less than 10mins!

The 3rd floor is the lobby level. The hotel has 6 elevators so you are never waiting long.

Stayed on the 5th floor. Garden room with 2 queens. Was overlooking the driveway/main entrance. Sound proofing is fantastic on those front windows. We never heard cars or people arrving. Room has mini fridge. We stored 6 waters, 6 soda cans and some juice boxes with out trouble. Kuerig for coffee in room. TV is pretty big for a 375 sq ft room. Didn't measure but it looked at least 45". Bathroom set up is awkward but overall it is ok. Housekeeping did a good job. Hair dryer and qtips are provided in room.

Pool was great. We would spend the first part of the day in the park and then make it back to the room around 1:30-3pm. They have a live musician from 12-3 some days. He did some great Prince covers the day his death was announced. They also have kid activites like a relay race, scavenger hunt and other things. If you need more than 3 chairs together it can be tough. But we were able to get seats in the middle of the day while we were there. They serve food and drinks there. It is only 4'6" at its deepest. The water slide is fun for all ages. Vibe is good and it is family friendly. Towels are provided free of charge.

Ate at the Kitchen one night. Dinner was great. I had the rotisserie chicken and it was fantastic. They have this giant dessert. I think it is called the Kitchen sink. It is like 5 cakes and pies layered in one. Didn't order it but it looked like a awesome indulgence for a party of 6.

Had coffee and ice creams at Emack's during stay. The have make lattes, espressos etc. They have a decent selection of doughnuts, muffins etc. Had a really good sundae one night.

Used room service on arriving night. Good food. Note-ordered a separate side of onion rings and mashed potatoes. The portions were very big. A nice surprise.

Got to get to work. Will post some park stuff in a couple of hours

 

[Kivara]

I'm reading along; sounds like a great trip so far

 

[tortilla24]

Following along! Interested in reading about what your DD liked most as a have a 9 year old coming with me in June!

 

[bryandog1974]

PART 2

One of the great things about staying at the Hard Rock is that it is super close to the parks and City Walk. If you wanted to walk the path along the waterway it is less than a 10 min walk to US. Or you could take the boat that brings you to the City Walk area. It is a nice option especially at the end of the day. They run about every 15 mins or so.

Everyday we were there it was Universal Studios that had the early admission for onsite guests. Did this only a couple of days. By staying at the Hard Rock you get the express pass with your tickets so lines are only an issue for the some of the Harry Potter rides. It is a nice perk and the ride attendants do give preference to the express pass customers when queuing the line. When US had early admission only the Harry Potter/Diagon Alley area was open along with Shrek and Minions. You wake up early to get a short line for Gringotts/Minions and to be not so packed in Diagon Alley.

Universal Studios was my daughter favorite park. She's 8 so no Rip Rock it or Mummy but she did about everything else. She plays the Simpsons tapped out app game with me sometimes so she is familiar with the characters and really enjoyed that area of the park. There are really a lot of great photo opportunities in the Simpson area of the park. My daughters favorites were the Simpson Ride, Transformers and Minions. I love the Mummy and ended up liking Transformers more than I thought I would. This park is loaded with motion rides. My wife is iffy with those rides. She closes her eyes. She said the ones that really bothered her were Simpsons, Transformers and Minions in that order. She said Gringotts didn't bother her. Diagon Alley is done really well. It more detailed than Hogsmeade in my opinion. There are so many little things to look for. And if you get an interactive wand remember small movements. There are "wand helpers" at the spots to use your interactive wand through out Diagon Alley so that your child or yourself will not get frustrated.And i think you can only get the Butterbeer Ice Cream at Florean Fescue's Ice Cream Parlour in Diagon Alley. The live shows we enjoyed the most were Fear Factor and Animal Actors. Those shows are always a bit different.

While in the parks we got a Coke Freestyle mug. $11.99 for the mug an unlimited refills every 10 minutes during the day of purchase.We shared the mug between us. To add an extra day was $6.99. Same thing everyday you re-up it. Unlimited refills every 10 minutes. Worked out well. The Coke Freestyle locations are spread out throughout the parks and they are self serve.

Lockers. We had a backpack with snacks and water with us. It is a pain at certain rides(Forbidden Journey). But you can take your bags on a good portion of rides. If I remember correctly the only pack free rides are Dr Doom, Forbidden Journey, Mummy, Rip Rockit, Dragon Challenge and Men in Black. You can bring it on River Adventure if you think you can keep your pack dry. Transformers, Simpsons, Hippogriff, Spiderman all let you bring your bag with you.

Got soaked at Islands of Adventure. Did all the water rides in succession. Rip Saw falls gets you extra soaked. If you are really drenched there are these powerful walk in dryers that help. They have at least one near all the water rides. But they are $5. The heat blowers last probably 3 mins or so and 4 people could fit in at a time. My daughter liked the flight of the Hippogriff coaster and Seuss land. She did ride Forbidden Journey and Spiderman but they were not her favorites. My daughter loved the Suess Train we must have rode it 8 times during our stay. I love Forbidden Journey. The queue is even cool. And I feel that the red coaster(left) in Dragon Challenge is better one. It brings you very close to the ground at high speeds.The Hogwarts Express is a cool option to get you from one park to another. We used it at least 4 times. You do need a park to park ticket to take advantage of this. The ride itself it neat and a easier way to park hop.


I'll add one more post tonight about City Walk/restaurants/shows etc.

 

[schumigirl]

Nice report!!

Glad you enjoyed so much of the hotel, all it had to offer and the parks too.........

 

[bryandog1974]

Nice report!!

Glad you enjoyed so much of the hotel, all it had to offer and the parks too.........

Thank you. Planned it out so that we were able to take advantage of the resort. Didn't do that last year at Port Orleans and regretted it.

 

[schumigirl]

That is good to hear. The resorts are all lovely and it's nice to be able to spend some time in them along with park time too........

Will your daughter go for the bigger rides next trip maybe......... Although sounds like she had a ton of fun as it was......

 

[bryandog1974]

I hope she does some of the more intense rides next time. She is almost at the magic 54" height which allows her to ride everything. Single rider is speedy and sometimes you can chat up whoever is next to you . But it is always more fun with someone you know.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

My 9 year old loved RRR. The Mummy he got a little motion sick on but he did say later he would have ridden it again. Is she just not that into thrill rides yet?

 

[bryandog1974]

I think the dark rides still bother her. And when she can't really see the ride beforehand she gets a little antsy. Took some coaxing to get her to go on Forbidden Journey. She did like it but didn't love it.

 

[bryandog1974]

PART 3

Food
Ate a muffin, banana or light breakfast in the room each day. We are light morning eaters. There are a couple of benches about 3/4 the way between Hard Rock and US on the path along the waterway. Makes for a nice spot in the morning. We did eat lunch in the park most days. Usally a burger, fry, shake combo. Food is pretty consistent through out the quick service locations. Had a luch combo at Mels and Krusty Burger in US. And at the quick service location across from Spiderman in IOA. Has sitdown meals at Cowfish, Margaritaville and NBC. Service was great at each location. Cowfish and Margaritaville both get busy for dinner. I would make a reservation in the AM of the day you want to go there for dinner. But it not necessary. Cowfish was packed the day we went for dinner. We didn't have reservations but the wait was only 20 mins.Had a portabella sandwich at NBC that was great and the sushi and the "high class hillbilly" was tasty at Cowfish.

On our last night we went to the Wantilan Luau at the Loews Royal Pacific Resort. For the first hour while you are there the band plays some Hawaiian tunes and the buffet is open. Food was ok. A nice selection. There is a kids buffet with kid favorites too. They serve mai thai with dinner. The mai thai's tasted more like a drink mix than a adult beverage. But if you wanted it there was a free bar that had wine and beer. Show was ok. Lots of hula dancers and a great fire dancer. This was a nice time but probaly would not do it again. I have been to the Ohana Luau at Disney and that is just a better show.

Went to Blue Man on Thursday night. Great show and had great seats. I have been to a Blue Man show in Boston. The shows are similar with some of the same "skits". But I hadn't seen it in 10 years and my daughter never had seen them before. She really liked the show. It was one of the highlights of the trip for her.

Overall
Had a great time. 6 nights might sound like a lot for Universal but it was great. Made a effort to slow down and take advantage of the resort and the things that have been there but we never did. And staying in one of the hotels that included the express pass will be what we do from now on. Being able to walk to the park and city walk and not to have to wait for a bus was really nice.

Hope some of this information is helpful. I have been a member on this site since 2006 but I do not post. There always seems to be many more people more well informed. But the boards and members have been extremely helpful and informative over the years in planning our Orlando trips. Everything is still fresh in my head if I can be of help.



Thanks

 

[schumigirl]

Thank you for taking the time to write your report..........it will absolutely be helpful for folks to read. We love to hear folks experiences.

6 nights is a decent time to spend there.......no rushing about and it's lovely you had time to enjoy the resort too.

I wonder if they've changed the cocktails at the luau......ones we had were fresh and very strong! But things change don't they sometimes........

Again, glad you and your family had such a lovely time at UOR..........when are you going back........

 

[bryandog1974]

Thank you for taking the time to write your report..........it will absolutely be helpful for folks to read. We love to hear folks experiences.

6 nights is a decent time to spend there.......no rushing about and it's lovely you had time to enjoy the resort too.

I wonder if they've changed the cocktails at the luau......ones we had were fresh and very strong! But things change don't they sometimes........

Again, glad you and your family had such a lovely time at UOR..........when are you going back........

I am hoping to go back next year during April vacation again. I have only been during that week or the first week of December. But might just pull my daughter out school on a off week. I do prefer going on the less busy weeks. Some of the off weeks looked to be cheaper on flights from the Boston area.

I noticed you have gone in September/October on your trips. Do you find the weather/crowds/rates agreeable at that time ?

 

[schumigirl]

We love September/Oct..........it is still really hot in September, doesn't suit everyone but we are real lizards and absorb heat as we spend most of the year cold.......lol......humidity can be high but it doesn't bother us now. Think we are used to it now.

Crowd wise it is quiet. Not as quiet as it once was, but midweek is very manageable......weekends are much busier and horror nights can bring crowds later in the day......horror night get busier the further on it goes.

Park hours aren't as late as mid summer, but suits us as we don't spend all day every day in the parks.

Glad to hear you plan to go back though........

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

By all means, keep posting!!! I do love the TR with pictures and details, but also love the ones that are written out and to the point. For example, I am going on all adult vacation in 6 weeks. It is just my wife and I, with a friend joining us midweek. He has never been, and I have been back and forth on the luau as a last night signature event.

They are two of the pickiest eaters I have ever met and I am a foodie, so that should be fun...they flat out decided that they were not willing to try the food at the luau, so we are not going. I don't want to spend $250 for hula dancing and a fire dancer (although I would love it) and then head over to Jake's to feed them. Your review was a huge help for me. You never know what hits with different people.

And now you have knowledge, especially HRH - the hotel threads always have questions about it.

Hope to see you around more...I always took my kids out of school. My son is now 12, so it is getting harder for us. At 8 years old, I believe they learn as much that week as any week in school, and my wife and I both work in schools.

 

[peanutmomma]

Great trip info!

We'll be at HRH with the boy (9) in August and I've been going back and forth about Blue Man tickets. Good to hear about a kiddo similar in age enjoying the show!

 

[bryandog1974]

Great trip info!

We'll be at HRH with the boy (9) in August and I've been going back and forth about Blue Man tickets. Good to hear about a kiddo similar in age enjoying the show!

I bet he will love the show. We sat in the first row and I was concerned about the loudness so I brought earplugs. It was a little loud but she didn't want or really need them. We sat in the "poncho" section. They provide the ponchos. We sat in AA 18,19 and 20 and was somewhat part of the show. And we went on a Thursday night which has cheaper tickets then Friday and Saturday.

 

[kittylady1972]

Great reviews thanks. I was actually debating the Luau and the Blue Man Group show myself. I've done the Luau at Disney but many many years ago and without kids. Was thinking of taking my kids to that and/or Blue Man group. After your review, sounds like maybe I should just aim for Blue Man as my DH has been talking about seeing that show for a LONG time.

 

[bryandog1974]

Great reviews thanks. I was actually debating the Luau and the Blue Man Group show myself. I've done the Luau at Disney but many many years ago and without kids. Was thinking of taking my kids to that and/or Blue Man group. After your review, sounds like maybe I should just aim for Blue Man as my DH has been talking about seeing that show for a LONG time.

I would definitely do Blue Man if you can. And especially if you haven't seen another Blue Man show in another locale. I think any kid 7 yrs old and up would enjoy the show as well..