I flew in and out of Miami on US Airways, in general the flights were OK, IMHO the airline seems to be cutting corners on food, non essential repairs and another couple of non vital areas. I guess it's understandable in these harsh economic times but it does mean that US Airways has dropped back into the "middle of the pack" as far as I'm concerned , where as a couple of years back they were probably my first choice airline. I had a two hour delay on the way out, due to a "technical fault" and missed my connection at Charlotte. I have to say they were very efficient at rescheduling the connection. As I exited the plane I was told the new flight #, take off time and gate. Got into Miami and collected the car from Avis (booked via expedia) which was efficient and easily found the Wyndham Hotel that is just a couple of blocks from the airport/car rental collect area. Very nice hotel, looked like a good pool area and at $45 on hotwire it was an excellent deal.
Day One (June 9th)
This was mostly taken up with driving up from Miami to Orlando, took about 4 hours I guess. Nice easy drive, although the (minimum 10 foot) alligator road kill I saw on the side of the road towards the end of the drive was a little distracting. Wouldn't like to have him run across the road at night
. I checked in at OKW and quickly made my way to Orlando airport to collect Jana and Gus. We ate in Olivia's (OKW's restaurant) and I thought the food was OK. For some reason I got the dinner menu and Jana got the lunch menu. Pretty much the same stuff, just dinner is about half as much again in $$ terms, but I don't think you get anything more on your plate. IMHO, it's Olivia's is adiquate if you want something better than McD's/Pizza hut, but not as fancy as one of the table service in Y+B club or the monorail resorts, but considering the size of the resort I do think it's a little lacking in quality and ambiance particularly if you look at the cost of what is a pretty limited menu. Spent the rest of the day getting unpacked, watched some TV, catching up and a quick walk around the pool area so Gus could play on the swings. We were in the area near Old Turtle Pond in block 38. Nice room but just a woodland view.
Day 2)
Jana's favourite pastime shopping. Actually I had some things I needed as well, so we went to the outlet malls at LBV. We started with breakfast at Shoney's as we'd eaten early the previous day and were all hungry. Went and did some clothes shopping and then to Goodings at Crossroads for groceries. We finished the day with a couple of hours around the pool at OKW's 2nd pool at Old Turtle Pond and we got a pizza from Papa John's ( who I later found out will deliver to the WDW resorts. Much better pizza and cheaper than the ones advertised in the hotel blurb)
Day 3)
I had a "jippy tummy" , not sure of the cause I'd been feeling a little dodgy for a couple of days. We decided that it wasn't a good idea for me to go to the parks, but that Jana should take Gus to MK, given them some time together and to be honest I try to take a break from all the parks on a regular basis and MK was up for a rest. I got to lie in ( as much as possible) and by about 2.0 I was feeling a little better. I decided to try the massage service at OKW, as I have a knee injury and was told I'd benefit from some work on my calf and hamstrings. I booked up through the " Hank's rent and return" area. I thought this was very good and my muscles felt a lot better (bit of neck and back work as well
) cost was $65 which I thought was acceptable for an hour's getting beaten up 
. That evening we went to the Outback Restaurant in the Wyndham Palace resort in the DTD area (NOT TO BE CONFUSED with the Outback Steakhouse chain of restaurants) This is a PROPER restaurant. We only went because it is in the entertainment book and we got a "buy one entree get the 2nd free" deal, but I was really impressed by the service and quality of the food. I had a truly magnificent steak, Jana had king crab legs and Gus had probably the best and biggest portion of Mac'n'cheese I have seen. WE had a decent bottle of wine and the bill was $105. It would have been well worth the $140 it should have cost.
Day 4)
We pool hopped to Coronado Springs and spent a good part of the day here. VERY nice pool area, Gus enjoyed the slide they had and he amused himself in the "dig area, in the play area, on the slide and generally sploshing around. We left there about 4.00 ( my only critisism of the pool area at Coronado is that it does lack a little shade) and went back to OKW to freshen up, then headed over to the Mall at the Millenium. This is the top of the range as far as I'm concerned, some stunning shops and the architecture itself is really quite special. Jana came over a little glassy eyed on more than one occassion, but I think it was the Jimmy Choo (shoe) outlet that was having a sale that really had her head swimming. With their sale prices starting at $230 a pair ( I'd guess in the UK they start about £400 or $625). I msut admit, I'm not much into shoes ( womens in particular
LOL) but I did think the designs were something special and arguably worth the prices. That evening we ate in the Cheesecake factory located in the mall. This is so far superior to the counter service version offered at DQ that it really is a shame to use the same name. We had nachos to start , Jana had encheladas I had something mexican but can't remember the name, but I know it was jolly good, Gus had Mac'n'cheese ( you may be noticing a pattern with Gus's food). Cost was $75, we were too full to order any cheesecake, which is a massive shame because they have about 40 different varieties, but we did order one piece as a take out for Jana's breakfast the next day )
Day 5) Checked out from OKW and made our way to Portifino Bay hotel at Universal, we did a little shopping at the Belz outlet. We checked into the PBH at about 1.30 and I was suprised that our room was ready. UNFORTUNATELY I discovered pretty quickly ( missing bath was a clue) that we had been given a handicapped room. Rang down to the front desk and requested to be moved which was handled pretty efficiently, although IMHO it's an issue that should not have to be handled. I've had this happen at a multitude of places and it's a major bugbear that it happens with no explanation. If they are trying to "foist" handicap rooms on people, IMHO, a much more effective way to do it is in the case of "early check ins" like me say " sorry but your room is not ready yet, but if you'd like to get into a room now we have a room available. It is handicap accessable but you can have it immediately" I'd guess 15-20% of people would say OK, I'll take it. On the other hand ( if you're sold out) then the handicap rooms go to the people who check in last. "Sorry sir/madam but we're sold out and that's all that's left" . IMHO it's just wasting the guests time and that of the bellhops and the front desk to change it all again. Anyway Gus was booked into the kids club as Jana and I were off to Tchoup Chop, the Emiril's sister restaurant in the Pacific Royal Resort. I thought the cost for Gus was a bit pricey at $45 for the night. They did also have an option of $25 if you're less than 2 hours where food is optional ( but an extra cost). My memory says that's considerably more than Disney's kids clubs. Gus's eyes lit up when he heard they had mac'n'cheese on the menu and we scurried off to get the bus to the RPR.
Tchop chop was simply outstanding. Wonderful decor, tables not too close together, the service was so good ( we had three main servers and a couple of others wandered in when multiple items arrived) that I gave the main waitress, who was probably the best waiter/ress I've ever had and I spend A LOT of times in decent restaurants, an extra $10 cash in hand ( on top of the tip on the credit card)to acknowledge her efforts. We had a cocktail each to start ( I got 2 bloody marys cos they brought up one with no alcohol in at first, I think the waitstaff were put off with the speed I knocked the virgin one back LOL), some egg rolls, Jana had the Kobe short ribs ( very tasty) and I had a Hawaiian Plate with chicken, ribs, and a pork chop, for dessert Jana had a cheesecake and I went for Pineapple upside down cake all washed down with a reasonable bottle of wine. Bill came to $140, which may look a little pricey for 2 people but this was worth the money. Good food, very nice atmosphere, interesting decor and top class service. It's a place I'd happily return to.
Day 6) We spent at Universal Studios, Gus nor Jana are really into the big coasters and thrill rides so IOA is a bit of a waste of time at the moment. Gus really enjoyed ET ( I think it was in rehab our last visit) , Twister and Terminator but I think his favourite was MIB ( mine too
) So much so we went and rode it immediately afterwards. I must say that the "express pass" system at Universal where hotel guests can use their room keys as automatic "passes" is wonderful. I understand that Disney can't match this system because Disney has 23 hotels and Universal only 3, but this does give the Universal system a massive superiority over Disney's. For people like me, a DVC member, the advantage makes it well worth checking out of my Disney resort and moving over to Universal ( avoiding the high cost weekend points) for the two nights. We were able to cover pretty much all of the park by 3.00 (there is also an EE for Universal hotel guests) and we went back to enjoy the excellent themed pool at PBH. That evening we ate in the Trattoria restaurant in the hotel which was a pretty good Italian style buffet ( Gus made a fine attempt ate eating them out of mac'n'cheese 
) where we got the entertainment rate for Jana and I , with a couple of beers I think it was about $50. After the meal Gus ran around the Piazza area and climbed onto a variety of mopeds and into a variety of sportscars they have placed around the dock area as "props" , I had a couple of cappucinos and Jana checked out the shops around the area. IMHO this is a very pretty area and with a coffee shop (Italian variety not American hotel) , an Ice cream parlour, a couple of restaurants and a bar it's a great place to unwind at the end of the day and people watch.
My only gripe ( and they are minor ones) with Universal is it's easy to get the impression they are trying to squeeze the last few cents out of you. The kid's club I thought pricey, they charge you for parking ($6 per day if you self park and $12 per day to valet) now the car park IS underground so you do get a cool car so I can see some argument for charging, but it is no more than 2 minutes to drive and the carpark is basically UNDER the hotel, the lift brings you up to maybe 30 yards from the entrance to the hotel. Took me 3 minutes to get back to the entrance, is it worth an extra $6 per day to have someone do it for you? I think not. My final gripe (again not exclusive to USF hotels as I faced this in Miami at the end of the trip) is a bottle of Evian water placed in one's room in a prominant position with a little jacket on it saying "As a service to our guest" and going on to "for your convenience we have placed this in your room..." it's only in tiny print at the end ( most people will have gone to sleep if they read this far) is it the blighters tell you they are going to charge you ( in the case of PBH $7.5 plus 15% tax and I think plus service , hotel in Miami $3.5 plus tax) $10 basically for a litre bottle of water when I had at first assumed it was a complimentary bottle. If they think they are offering their guests a "service" that will be appreciated, IMHO they are very much mistaken. It is far more likely to leave the guest with a bad taste in their mouth when they realise the situation. There is a mininbar in the room for $£"* sake !!! It's not like the guest is unable to get a drink. To add insult to injury the "service to our guest " water was room temp, the minibar was chilled and the minibar was less expensive !!!!! I can only conclude it's a way to nick an extra $10 out of an unsuspecting guest that doesn't read the leaflet on the bottle, but IMHO it does what is an excellent hotel with great staff a disservice and I'd wish they stopped it. I know it's minor and petty, but it's little things like that, I believe, that can leave a guest feeling they have been taken for a ride, and a ride that they didn't need an express ticket for.
Day One (June 9th)
This was mostly taken up with driving up from Miami to Orlando, took about 4 hours I guess. Nice easy drive, although the (minimum 10 foot) alligator road kill I saw on the side of the road towards the end of the drive was a little distracting. Wouldn't like to have him run across the road at night
. I checked in at OKW and quickly made my way to Orlando airport to collect Jana and Gus. We ate in Olivia's (OKW's restaurant) and I thought the food was OK. For some reason I got the dinner menu and Jana got the lunch menu. Pretty much the same stuff, just dinner is about half as much again in $$ terms, but I don't think you get anything more on your plate. IMHO, it's Olivia's is adiquate if you want something better than McD's/Pizza hut, but not as fancy as one of the table service in Y+B club or the monorail resorts, but considering the size of the resort I do think it's a little lacking in quality and ambiance particularly if you look at the cost of what is a pretty limited menu. Spent the rest of the day getting unpacked, watched some TV, catching up and a quick walk around the pool area so Gus could play on the swings. We were in the area near Old Turtle Pond in block 38. Nice room but just a woodland view. Day 2)
Jana's favourite pastime shopping. Actually I had some things I needed as well, so we went to the outlet malls at LBV. We started with breakfast at Shoney's as we'd eaten early the previous day and were all hungry. Went and did some clothes shopping and then to Goodings at Crossroads for groceries. We finished the day with a couple of hours around the pool at OKW's 2nd pool at Old Turtle Pond and we got a pizza from Papa John's ( who I later found out will deliver to the WDW resorts. Much better pizza and cheaper than the ones advertised in the hotel blurb)
Day 3)
I had a "jippy tummy" , not sure of the cause I'd been feeling a little dodgy for a couple of days. We decided that it wasn't a good idea for me to go to the parks, but that Jana should take Gus to MK, given them some time together and to be honest I try to take a break from all the parks on a regular basis and MK was up for a rest. I got to lie in ( as much as possible) and by about 2.0 I was feeling a little better. I decided to try the massage service at OKW, as I have a knee injury and was told I'd benefit from some work on my calf and hamstrings. I booked up through the " Hank's rent and return" area. I thought this was very good and my muscles felt a lot better (bit of neck and back work as well
) cost was $65 which I thought was acceptable for an hour's getting beaten up . That evening we went to the Outback Restaurant in the Wyndham Palace resort in the DTD area (NOT TO BE CONFUSED with the Outback Steakhouse chain of restaurants) This is a PROPER restaurant. We only went because it is in the entertainment book and we got a "buy one entree get the 2nd free" deal, but I was really impressed by the service and quality of the food. I had a truly magnificent steak, Jana had king crab legs and Gus had probably the best and biggest portion of Mac'n'cheese I have seen. WE had a decent bottle of wine and the bill was $105. It would have been well worth the $140 it should have cost. Day 4)
We pool hopped to Coronado Springs and spent a good part of the day here. VERY nice pool area, Gus enjoyed the slide they had and he amused himself in the "dig area, in the play area, on the slide and generally sploshing around. We left there about 4.00 ( my only critisism of the pool area at Coronado is that it does lack a little shade) and went back to OKW to freshen up, then headed over to the Mall at the Millenium. This is the top of the range as far as I'm concerned, some stunning shops and the architecture itself is really quite special. Jana came over a little glassy eyed on more than one occassion, but I think it was the Jimmy Choo (shoe) outlet that was having a sale that really had her head swimming. With their sale prices starting at $230 a pair ( I'd guess in the UK they start about £400 or $625). I msut admit, I'm not much into shoes ( womens in particular
LOL) but I did think the designs were something special and arguably worth the prices. That evening we ate in the Cheesecake factory located in the mall. This is so far superior to the counter service version offered at DQ that it really is a shame to use the same name. We had nachos to start , Jana had encheladas I had something mexican but can't remember the name, but I know it was jolly good, Gus had Mac'n'cheese ( you may be noticing a pattern with Gus's food). Cost was $75, we were too full to order any cheesecake, which is a massive shame because they have about 40 different varieties, but we did order one piece as a take out for Jana's breakfast the next day ) Day 5) Checked out from OKW and made our way to Portifino Bay hotel at Universal, we did a little shopping at the Belz outlet. We checked into the PBH at about 1.30 and I was suprised that our room was ready. UNFORTUNATELY I discovered pretty quickly ( missing bath was a clue) that we had been given a handicapped room. Rang down to the front desk and requested to be moved which was handled pretty efficiently, although IMHO it's an issue that should not have to be handled. I've had this happen at a multitude of places and it's a major bugbear that it happens with no explanation. If they are trying to "foist" handicap rooms on people, IMHO, a much more effective way to do it is in the case of "early check ins" like me say " sorry but your room is not ready yet, but if you'd like to get into a room now we have a room available. It is handicap accessable but you can have it immediately" I'd guess 15-20% of people would say OK, I'll take it. On the other hand ( if you're sold out) then the handicap rooms go to the people who check in last. "Sorry sir/madam but we're sold out and that's all that's left" . IMHO it's just wasting the guests time and that of the bellhops and the front desk to change it all again. Anyway Gus was booked into the kids club as Jana and I were off to Tchoup Chop, the Emiril's sister restaurant in the Pacific Royal Resort. I thought the cost for Gus was a bit pricey at $45 for the night. They did also have an option of $25 if you're less than 2 hours where food is optional ( but an extra cost). My memory says that's considerably more than Disney's kids clubs. Gus's eyes lit up when he heard they had mac'n'cheese on the menu and we scurried off to get the bus to the RPR.
Tchop chop was simply outstanding. Wonderful decor, tables not too close together, the service was so good ( we had three main servers and a couple of others wandered in when multiple items arrived) that I gave the main waitress, who was probably the best waiter/ress I've ever had and I spend A LOT of times in decent restaurants, an extra $10 cash in hand ( on top of the tip on the credit card)to acknowledge her efforts. We had a cocktail each to start ( I got 2 bloody marys cos they brought up one with no alcohol in at first, I think the waitstaff were put off with the speed I knocked the virgin one back LOL), some egg rolls, Jana had the Kobe short ribs ( very tasty) and I had a Hawaiian Plate with chicken, ribs, and a pork chop, for dessert Jana had a cheesecake and I went for Pineapple upside down cake all washed down with a reasonable bottle of wine. Bill came to $140, which may look a little pricey for 2 people but this was worth the money. Good food, very nice atmosphere, interesting decor and top class service. It's a place I'd happily return to.
Day 6) We spent at Universal Studios, Gus nor Jana are really into the big coasters and thrill rides so IOA is a bit of a waste of time at the moment. Gus really enjoyed ET ( I think it was in rehab our last visit) , Twister and Terminator but I think his favourite was MIB ( mine too
) So much so we went and rode it immediately afterwards. I must say that the "express pass" system at Universal where hotel guests can use their room keys as automatic "passes" is wonderful. I understand that Disney can't match this system because Disney has 23 hotels and Universal only 3, but this does give the Universal system a massive superiority over Disney's. For people like me, a DVC member, the advantage makes it well worth checking out of my Disney resort and moving over to Universal ( avoiding the high cost weekend points) for the two nights. We were able to cover pretty much all of the park by 3.00 (there is also an EE for Universal hotel guests) and we went back to enjoy the excellent themed pool at PBH. That evening we ate in the Trattoria restaurant in the hotel which was a pretty good Italian style buffet ( Gus made a fine attempt ate eating them out of mac'n'cheese ) where we got the entertainment rate for Jana and I , with a couple of beers I think it was about $50. After the meal Gus ran around the Piazza area and climbed onto a variety of mopeds and into a variety of sportscars they have placed around the dock area as "props" , I had a couple of cappucinos and Jana checked out the shops around the area. IMHO this is a very pretty area and with a coffee shop (Italian variety not American hotel) , an Ice cream parlour, a couple of restaurants and a bar it's a great place to unwind at the end of the day and people watch. My only gripe ( and they are minor ones) with Universal is it's easy to get the impression they are trying to squeeze the last few cents out of you. The kid's club I thought pricey, they charge you for parking ($6 per day if you self park and $12 per day to valet) now the car park IS underground so you do get a cool car so I can see some argument for charging, but it is no more than 2 minutes to drive and the carpark is basically UNDER the hotel, the lift brings you up to maybe 30 yards from the entrance to the hotel. Took me 3 minutes to get back to the entrance, is it worth an extra $6 per day to have someone do it for you? I think not. My final gripe (again not exclusive to USF hotels as I faced this in Miami at the end of the trip) is a bottle of Evian water placed in one's room in a prominant position with a little jacket on it saying "As a service to our guest" and going on to "for your convenience we have placed this in your room..." it's only in tiny print at the end ( most people will have gone to sleep if they read this far) is it the blighters tell you they are going to charge you ( in the case of PBH $7.5 plus 15% tax and I think plus service , hotel in Miami $3.5 plus tax) $10 basically for a litre bottle of water when I had at first assumed it was a complimentary bottle. If they think they are offering their guests a "service" that will be appreciated, IMHO they are very much mistaken. It is far more likely to leave the guest with a bad taste in their mouth when they realise the situation. There is a mininbar in the room for $£"* sake !!! It's not like the guest is unable to get a drink. To add insult to injury the "service to our guest " water was room temp, the minibar was chilled and the minibar was less expensive !!!!! I can only conclude it's a way to nick an extra $10 out of an unsuspecting guest that doesn't read the leaflet on the bottle, but IMHO it does what is an excellent hotel with great staff a disservice and I'd wish they stopped it. I know it's minor and petty, but it's little things like that, I believe, that can leave a guest feeling they have been taken for a ride, and a ride that they didn't need an express ticket for.
