kmc33
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2002
- Messages
- 1,045
Our first ever trip to Universal Orlando and Portofino Bay Hotel!
This was a long weekend get-a-away for my husband and me. We left Pittsburgh on a late flight on Thursday evening. We were due to arrive to MCO at close to 11:00 pm, but due to thunderstorms, we didnt land to nearly midnight. I bid on a 3* MCO hotel through Priceline and received the Renaissance Orlando Airport for $28. The free airport shuttle service worked well.
Friday
Friday morning we were picked up by Cartier Towncar to go to the Portofino Bay Hotel. We booked a standard room at the Entertainment rate of $155 for 3 nights. At check-in it was confirmed that my Loews First number was on the reservation and that we would receive a bottle of red wine. We were given room 1475, a garden view in the East Wing with a balcony. It was a nice standard room. I enjoyed the balcony and did not mind the walk which there was more walking than had we stayed in the west wing.
After checking in, we walked down to the dock to catch the boat to Citywalk. The boat transportation was very efficient and a relaxing way to travel to/from the parks. Friday we went to Universal Studios. I purchased multi-day tickets online and obtained them at the electronic kiosk which was quick and easy. In fact, there was a pretty good line to buy tickets, so I was glad to be able to bypass it. And with the Express Pass privileges, we walked to the front of the line and never had to wait more than 5 minutes for an attraction. It was great! Especially with a short stay, it really allowed us to be able to see all the attractions and rides and still have time to relax in the parks and at the resort.
At Universal Studios, we had lunch at La Bamba Café. The food was very good with a nice selection of barbeque/ Tex-Mex items. We got milkshakes at Schwabs for dessert. I had the best chocolate shake ever. My favorite rides at Universal Studios were Shrek and MIB. But there were a lot of other enjoyable rides and shows too. We also enjoyed happy hour at Finnegans half price beers and live music (singer/guitarist).
Dinner was at Mama Dellas and it was absolutely fabulous. The food, the atmosphere, the strolling musicians it was our favorite meal of the trip. And even with all of the favorable reviews that I read before going, it lived up to the expectations! The calamari appetizer was very good. We ordered a single to share and at first I thought the waitress mistakenly gave us a double! The salad was excellent. And we ordered eggplant parmesan (with fresh mozzarella) and fruit de mare. Both were delicious. Unfortunately, we had no room for dessert.
Saturday-
Islands of Adventure was our plan for today. First up, The Hulk, which turned out to be my favorite ride. We got wet on Ripsaw Falls and Jurassic Park before the rains hit! We dried off some before having lunch at Mythos. No sooner than we sat down for lunch it started pouring again. Lunch at Mythos was as good as I had read. I had the daily risotto. Hubby had the tortilla soup and the tomato/mozzarella salad. And again, the FOTL access enabled us to ride everything before sitting down to lunch! Then we headed back to PBH and enjoyed time at the Beach Pool.
Saturday evening we went to Margaritaville and met Gary and Gail whom we met on the DIS Board, learning that we will be sailing together on the Magic in January. It just so happened that they were in Orlando at the same time as us. They were a lot of fun and we had a nice time at Margaritaville.
Sunday
Alas, our last full day. We had breakfast at Trattoria del Porto. There was a very nice buffet, but not wanting to overdo it, we decided to order from the menu. I had the Frittata de Portofino which was an open faced omelet with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato it was very good and so were the potatoes. We went over to the parks to hit a few rides that we had yet to try. And back to Schwabs for another milkshake! Next we checked out the pool at HRH. The slide was longer than the one at PBH, although we really enjoyed slide at PBH since it had some of the same fun features it just wasnt as long overall. It was fun atmosphere at HRH pool with NFL games on at the bar and cabanas and music playing. The PBH was a little quieter, so it just depends what you are in the mood for. For us it was a nice way to spend Sunday afternoon.
When we got back to our room, I realized that the wine had never been delivered. Before leaving home, I realized that with the Entertainment rate, we might not get it. However, since the PBH check-in staff member asked me which amenity I wanted, I didnt think that was the issue. I pushed the star service button and was told it would be up within 20 minutes. In fact, the couple times we did call with questions or needing something, star service handled it very happily and quickly. The service at PBH was outstanding! And the bottle of Santa Christina red wine was very smooth although not a wine connoisseur, I enjoyed it.
We had planned to go to the Latin Quarter for dinner (which I now have to do next time) but neither of us was very hungry and we decided to opt for the piano entertainment at Pat OBriens. This was a nice little place reminiscent of New Orleans. It was very casual and a good place for appetizers and finger food. Particularly good were the buffalo wings (spicy but not too hot) served with carrots, celery and bleu cheese dressing. Also enjoyable was the coconut shrimp.
We checked out Monday morning feeling like we had just arrived the night before! The weekend went too quickly. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the PBH. I cant wait to go back. PBH is a destination in itself we didnt even get a chance to try the spa treatments. I guess we will just have to go back!
This was a long weekend get-a-away for my husband and me. We left Pittsburgh on a late flight on Thursday evening. We were due to arrive to MCO at close to 11:00 pm, but due to thunderstorms, we didnt land to nearly midnight. I bid on a 3* MCO hotel through Priceline and received the Renaissance Orlando Airport for $28. The free airport shuttle service worked well.
Friday
Friday morning we were picked up by Cartier Towncar to go to the Portofino Bay Hotel. We booked a standard room at the Entertainment rate of $155 for 3 nights. At check-in it was confirmed that my Loews First number was on the reservation and that we would receive a bottle of red wine. We were given room 1475, a garden view in the East Wing with a balcony. It was a nice standard room. I enjoyed the balcony and did not mind the walk which there was more walking than had we stayed in the west wing.
After checking in, we walked down to the dock to catch the boat to Citywalk. The boat transportation was very efficient and a relaxing way to travel to/from the parks. Friday we went to Universal Studios. I purchased multi-day tickets online and obtained them at the electronic kiosk which was quick and easy. In fact, there was a pretty good line to buy tickets, so I was glad to be able to bypass it. And with the Express Pass privileges, we walked to the front of the line and never had to wait more than 5 minutes for an attraction. It was great! Especially with a short stay, it really allowed us to be able to see all the attractions and rides and still have time to relax in the parks and at the resort.
At Universal Studios, we had lunch at La Bamba Café. The food was very good with a nice selection of barbeque/ Tex-Mex items. We got milkshakes at Schwabs for dessert. I had the best chocolate shake ever. My favorite rides at Universal Studios were Shrek and MIB. But there were a lot of other enjoyable rides and shows too. We also enjoyed happy hour at Finnegans half price beers and live music (singer/guitarist).
Dinner was at Mama Dellas and it was absolutely fabulous. The food, the atmosphere, the strolling musicians it was our favorite meal of the trip. And even with all of the favorable reviews that I read before going, it lived up to the expectations! The calamari appetizer was very good. We ordered a single to share and at first I thought the waitress mistakenly gave us a double! The salad was excellent. And we ordered eggplant parmesan (with fresh mozzarella) and fruit de mare. Both were delicious. Unfortunately, we had no room for dessert.
Saturday-
Islands of Adventure was our plan for today. First up, The Hulk, which turned out to be my favorite ride. We got wet on Ripsaw Falls and Jurassic Park before the rains hit! We dried off some before having lunch at Mythos. No sooner than we sat down for lunch it started pouring again. Lunch at Mythos was as good as I had read. I had the daily risotto. Hubby had the tortilla soup and the tomato/mozzarella salad. And again, the FOTL access enabled us to ride everything before sitting down to lunch! Then we headed back to PBH and enjoyed time at the Beach Pool.
Saturday evening we went to Margaritaville and met Gary and Gail whom we met on the DIS Board, learning that we will be sailing together on the Magic in January. It just so happened that they were in Orlando at the same time as us. They were a lot of fun and we had a nice time at Margaritaville.
Sunday
Alas, our last full day. We had breakfast at Trattoria del Porto. There was a very nice buffet, but not wanting to overdo it, we decided to order from the menu. I had the Frittata de Portofino which was an open faced omelet with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomato it was very good and so were the potatoes. We went over to the parks to hit a few rides that we had yet to try. And back to Schwabs for another milkshake! Next we checked out the pool at HRH. The slide was longer than the one at PBH, although we really enjoyed slide at PBH since it had some of the same fun features it just wasnt as long overall. It was fun atmosphere at HRH pool with NFL games on at the bar and cabanas and music playing. The PBH was a little quieter, so it just depends what you are in the mood for. For us it was a nice way to spend Sunday afternoon.
When we got back to our room, I realized that the wine had never been delivered. Before leaving home, I realized that with the Entertainment rate, we might not get it. However, since the PBH check-in staff member asked me which amenity I wanted, I didnt think that was the issue. I pushed the star service button and was told it would be up within 20 minutes. In fact, the couple times we did call with questions or needing something, star service handled it very happily and quickly. The service at PBH was outstanding! And the bottle of Santa Christina red wine was very smooth although not a wine connoisseur, I enjoyed it.
We had planned to go to the Latin Quarter for dinner (which I now have to do next time) but neither of us was very hungry and we decided to opt for the piano entertainment at Pat OBriens. This was a nice little place reminiscent of New Orleans. It was very casual and a good place for appetizers and finger food. Particularly good were the buffalo wings (spicy but not too hot) served with carrots, celery and bleu cheese dressing. Also enjoyable was the coconut shrimp.
We checked out Monday morning feeling like we had just arrived the night before! The weekend went too quickly. We had a wonderful time and really enjoyed the PBH. I cant wait to go back. PBH is a destination in itself we didnt even get a chance to try the spa treatments. I guess we will just have to go back!
It was very informal. There was some outdoor seating in a courtyard with fans blowing. The indoor seating was more bar like. So, definitely not a fancy place. I thought the wings were a good spicy (I like spicy food). So for someone who doesn't like spicy they might be hot. As for the pianos, I don't know what time they start. But it was Sunday night and when we went over there around 7 pm there was one guy playing and other joined him maybe around 8 pm. It says on the Citywalk guid, 2 for Tuesdays at Pat O'Brien's, so that seems to be a good night for specials 7 pm - 2 am. 2 for 1 heinekens and Amstel Light. World famous Hurricane specials all night.
