soccerchick
Dis Veteran<br><font color=red>My husband has rice
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2002
- Messages
- 2,300
We went to Orlando for the softball world series tournament for my DD. We decided to go a week early and do some of the parks. Our group consisted of DH(44), me(42), DD12 and DS8.
We did the 14 day Orlando Flex ticket and had no issues with it. We did do some hotel hopping, but with a car, it was fine and DH didn't complain especially since the perks were worth it IOHO.
For the first four days, we stayed at a SW partner hotel - Marriott's Fairfield Inn. For $79/night, we got shuttle to parks, Quick Que (would have been $100 to purchase at the park/ $25 each x 4), an okay breakfast, and a very nice, clean hotel. The staff was very attentive. Our hairdryer didn't work and within minutes of reporting it, a worker was in our room switching it out. The shuttles were on time. My only complaint about the shuttle was that I would have liked an early evening shuttle to go back to the night shows. You can even see some of the fireworks from the hotel. We watched one night from the pool as our room was on the backside of the hotel.
Highlights at SW: Manta, Kraken, feeding dolphins and sea lions. DS finally hit the magic 54 inches tall so he could ride everything on this trip. Quick Queue was awesome, especially for the Atlantic ride and Turtle Trek which had long lines (Brazilian tour groups). Use single rider for Manta as a time saving option. Kids loved feeding the animals. The dolphins always had a line, but you can time the sea lions during a Clyde and Seamore show and have the place to yourself. You do have to avoid the birds trying to steal the fish. We talked to one of the CM's who was very knowledgeable about them. The sea lions were funny and would bark at you to get your attention for some fish. Even with Quick Queue it took us two days to see and do everything. On return trips during week two, we did the night shows and the rollercoasters. Could pretty much walk on at night.
Aqautica - beautiful park and a lot of fun. We visited twice. It was easy to find seats/lounge chairs, even some with shade. The only ride that had a long line (30 minutes) was the one with the tube that went through the dolphins' area. No one in our group thought this was worth the wait at all. DS claims he saw the dolphins through the tube, but I doubt it. Line is mostly in the heat too. Our favorite was the Roa's Rapids and the kids could have spent all day in it. My SeaWorld Tips: If you get a locker and you arrive at opening, it is far less crowded to go to the lockers near Adaptations. If you have small kids and like to keep track of them like I do, dress them in loud/bright bathing suits and swim shirts. DS had a white one and a blue one. He still blended in with all the other brown-haired 8 year old boys in the kids’ play/splash area. Also, this park is killer on pedicured toes. My polish scraped off my big toes on my first trip down the Taumata Racers.
After a few days at SW, we changed to Royal Pacific Resort. We checked in early, got our Express Passes, and headed to US. These were a life saver for Minion Mayhem and many others. The locker process was pretty easy, but my suggestion would be for all rides to find the lockers at the back since they will be less crowded. This worked best at HP’s FJ, Hulk, Rip Ride Rock It and Mummy. Also, just send one person to get/retrieve items in the locker to reduce crowds. Kids liked this park (especially the Mummy and Simpson rides), but much preferred IoA, so we only did 1.5 days here.
At IoA, Harry Potter is very well done. Both kids are HP fans and loved the castle and Hogsmeade. They found something new there with each visit. Even when FJ has a long line (longest we waited in was 30 minutes; saw it as high as 90), it moves continuously and there are things to look at, so it was never a painful wait. We did early entry to ride, then we’d do the single rider line every now and then. I was shocked by how little this line was used. Everyone liked frozen butter beer. The dragon roller coasters never had more than a 10 minute wait posted. Even if you don’t do roller coasters, you should take the path up to the ride (there’s a path to leave it and watch at the exit) just to see the Tri-wizard decorations, the flying car, and a great view of the castle. Express Passes made it possible to get a ton done and then go back to the hotel for the afternoon to swim and relax after our early morning. Between Harry Potter and meeting Captain America, DD was in heaven.
We all really liked Royal Pacific. We spent the afternoons at the pool. They have some “counselors” to run games and such for the kids and the adults. We played corn hole and DS did the splash contest one afternoon. DS loved the boat and the soaker guns. There are beach balls, noodle floats and a volleyball net in the water. We did not venture to the beach areas. We did dinner one night at the pool while the kids played and watched the nightly 8:30 movie. Food was fine, drinks were really pricey (most around $15). We stuck with beer. Happy hour started at 9 pm. On Friday they had the Olympic opening ceremonies.
Week two was interrupted with softball games at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, but we made it to the parks when not at the ball fields. We were off site with the softball team, so no express pass or quick queue this week. It seemed less crowded (far fewer Brazilian tour groups), but on mornings when we could, we got up early and hit the parks. You can get a lot done by 11 without a lot of lines and then utilize single rider where possible. Water rides were crowded in the middle of the day. Nights were not very crowded at Us or SW and not terrible at IoA.
We did one day at Wet N Wild; greatly preferred Aquatica.
I’d be happy to try to answer any questions.
We did the 14 day Orlando Flex ticket and had no issues with it. We did do some hotel hopping, but with a car, it was fine and DH didn't complain especially since the perks were worth it IOHO.
For the first four days, we stayed at a SW partner hotel - Marriott's Fairfield Inn. For $79/night, we got shuttle to parks, Quick Que (would have been $100 to purchase at the park/ $25 each x 4), an okay breakfast, and a very nice, clean hotel. The staff was very attentive. Our hairdryer didn't work and within minutes of reporting it, a worker was in our room switching it out. The shuttles were on time. My only complaint about the shuttle was that I would have liked an early evening shuttle to go back to the night shows. You can even see some of the fireworks from the hotel. We watched one night from the pool as our room was on the backside of the hotel.
Highlights at SW: Manta, Kraken, feeding dolphins and sea lions. DS finally hit the magic 54 inches tall so he could ride everything on this trip. Quick Queue was awesome, especially for the Atlantic ride and Turtle Trek which had long lines (Brazilian tour groups). Use single rider for Manta as a time saving option. Kids loved feeding the animals. The dolphins always had a line, but you can time the sea lions during a Clyde and Seamore show and have the place to yourself. You do have to avoid the birds trying to steal the fish. We talked to one of the CM's who was very knowledgeable about them. The sea lions were funny and would bark at you to get your attention for some fish. Even with Quick Queue it took us two days to see and do everything. On return trips during week two, we did the night shows and the rollercoasters. Could pretty much walk on at night.
Aqautica - beautiful park and a lot of fun. We visited twice. It was easy to find seats/lounge chairs, even some with shade. The only ride that had a long line (30 minutes) was the one with the tube that went through the dolphins' area. No one in our group thought this was worth the wait at all. DS claims he saw the dolphins through the tube, but I doubt it. Line is mostly in the heat too. Our favorite was the Roa's Rapids and the kids could have spent all day in it. My SeaWorld Tips: If you get a locker and you arrive at opening, it is far less crowded to go to the lockers near Adaptations. If you have small kids and like to keep track of them like I do, dress them in loud/bright bathing suits and swim shirts. DS had a white one and a blue one. He still blended in with all the other brown-haired 8 year old boys in the kids’ play/splash area. Also, this park is killer on pedicured toes. My polish scraped off my big toes on my first trip down the Taumata Racers.
After a few days at SW, we changed to Royal Pacific Resort. We checked in early, got our Express Passes, and headed to US. These were a life saver for Minion Mayhem and many others. The locker process was pretty easy, but my suggestion would be for all rides to find the lockers at the back since they will be less crowded. This worked best at HP’s FJ, Hulk, Rip Ride Rock It and Mummy. Also, just send one person to get/retrieve items in the locker to reduce crowds. Kids liked this park (especially the Mummy and Simpson rides), but much preferred IoA, so we only did 1.5 days here.
At IoA, Harry Potter is very well done. Both kids are HP fans and loved the castle and Hogsmeade. They found something new there with each visit. Even when FJ has a long line (longest we waited in was 30 minutes; saw it as high as 90), it moves continuously and there are things to look at, so it was never a painful wait. We did early entry to ride, then we’d do the single rider line every now and then. I was shocked by how little this line was used. Everyone liked frozen butter beer. The dragon roller coasters never had more than a 10 minute wait posted. Even if you don’t do roller coasters, you should take the path up to the ride (there’s a path to leave it and watch at the exit) just to see the Tri-wizard decorations, the flying car, and a great view of the castle. Express Passes made it possible to get a ton done and then go back to the hotel for the afternoon to swim and relax after our early morning. Between Harry Potter and meeting Captain America, DD was in heaven.
We all really liked Royal Pacific. We spent the afternoons at the pool. They have some “counselors” to run games and such for the kids and the adults. We played corn hole and DS did the splash contest one afternoon. DS loved the boat and the soaker guns. There are beach balls, noodle floats and a volleyball net in the water. We did not venture to the beach areas. We did dinner one night at the pool while the kids played and watched the nightly 8:30 movie. Food was fine, drinks were really pricey (most around $15). We stuck with beer. Happy hour started at 9 pm. On Friday they had the Olympic opening ceremonies.
Week two was interrupted with softball games at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports, but we made it to the parks when not at the ball fields. We were off site with the softball team, so no express pass or quick queue this week. It seemed less crowded (far fewer Brazilian tour groups), but on mornings when we could, we got up early and hit the parks. You can get a lot done by 11 without a lot of lines and then utilize single rider where possible. Water rides were crowded in the middle of the day. Nights were not very crowded at Us or SW and not terrible at IoA.
We did one day at Wet N Wild; greatly preferred Aquatica.
I’d be happy to try to answer any questions.
