We don't need no stinkin' pixie dust...Universal here we come!

[tpuszcz]

Thank you for the encouraging report!

 

[schumigirl]

Glad you are having such a fantastic time!!

Nice your room was ready at RPR.......such a beautiful resort.

We are so looking forward to HE.....probably more than Gringotts ride, so glad to hear all the positive comments about it.

Hope you enjoy the rest of today and make it up nice and early tomorrow

 

[jerseygirl82]

I want to post this under the Resorts thread, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to create a new thread so I am going to put it with my trip resort.

I'm bummed to report that I am baffled as to how these rooms warrant a price tag of over $300/night with taxes and fees. Is it just because it is summer, coupled with the opening of DA? I like to think that I am pretty easy going when it comes to a place to sleep, but I draw the line when I get in the shower and have to wipe little hairs off of the wall and try not to vomit

Obviously we are having a great time at the parks so I will not let this ruin the rest of our time, but I don't think I would ever stay here again

 

[Lynne G]

Jersey, so sorry to hear of the poor housekeeping. I would have walked down to the front desk and asked for housekeeping to address the issue.

Glad you are not letting poor housekeeping ruin your trip.

We can't wait, we'll be there in another 5 weeks.

Thanks for doing this trip report.

Hope the rest of your time was great.

 

[damo]

You have to go to the front desk and tell them your issues. If nobody ever does that and just complains on message boards, nothing will ever get resolved.

We're staying at RPR in September for $167/night. Going during peak time always brings higher rates.

 

[schumigirl]

I want to post this under the Resorts thread, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to create a new thread so I am going to put it with my trip resort.

I'm bummed to report that I am baffled as to how these rooms warrant a price tag of over $300/night with taxes and fees. Is it just because it is summer, coupled with the opening of DA? I like to think that I am pretty easy going when it comes to a place to sleep, but I draw the line when I get in the shower and have to wipe little hairs off of the wall and try not to vomit

Obviously we are having a great time at the parks so I will not let this ruin the rest of our time, but I don't think I would ever stay here again

Did you report your complaints?

I assume they sent housekeeping in again.

Such a shame, in all our stays at RPR, we have never had any issues with cleanliness or housekeeping.

 

[jerseygirl82]

You have to go to the front desk and tell them your issues. If nobody ever does that and just complains on message boards, nothing will ever get resolved.

We're staying at RPR in September for $167/night. Going during peak time always brings higher rates.

Oh my complaints were discussed with the front desk I just wanted to mention this as part of my trip report and now that I have experienced this resort I can make a better decision next time about where to stay!

 

[jerseygirl82]

I know I'm not doing this in a conventional manner and I apologize, but I want to add real time updates while we are here and it is fresh in my mind. I promise I will have a more comprehensive report with pics when we get home.

Today I did Gringotts!!!! My journey began with a 5:30am alarm. DH graciously offered to stay behind with DD (4) because it wouldn't be fair to subject her to such madness, so I met my BFF and her hubby in the lobby at 5:50am and off we walked toward USO!

We arrived at the main gate with a very minimal crowd in front of us. I have to say, Universal rocked from the minute we walked up. The gates opened around 6:45 and everyone power walked in a very orderly fashion. We got up to the que for DA and waited a few moments (God bless those industrial fans!) before being ushered through DA toward Gringotts.

The inside of Gringotts is just incredible. We did wait a bit before getting into the video room because they were having trouble getting the lights off. Even still, by 7:15ish we had our special glasses in hand and could see the loading dock of the ride. Omg! It was going to take us just over an hour total to get on the ride! This is great!

Not so fast. Just after we get our glasses the ride goes down. And the lights go up. Cue moans and groans and feelings of dread. Fortunately everyone realizes just how fortunate we are to not be waiting 7 hours so we are in good spirits.

Then we hear the announcement that people have to be removed from the ride and we all remark that we are thankful it isn't us! There was an awesome ride attendant who kept us updated throughout - apparently they identified and removed the problem car and then sent techniciana through a number of times to make sure there were no other issues.

Around 8:30 the people in the loading area cheer - what do you see that we don't!? And then we see the people start to load and we all cheer! We were so close that we got into the 3rd train so that was great. As we settle in and get ready to go our entire car cheers - we are just happy to be on the ride!

I'm finding it hard to put into words how unique/amazing/etc this ride is. We did lose audio when Voldemort first appeared which was a bummer but at least we didn't get stuck! Down the road I will definitely be back to ride again!

When we got off the ride it was up to a 5 hour wait. A little while later it was temporarily closed. Transformers also temporarily closed - rough day for USO!

 

[macraven]

TF should be up later.
the FD did the evact help early in the afternoon.

 

[damo]

Oh my complaints were discussed with the front desk I just wanted to mention this as part of my trip report and now that I have experienced this resort I can make a better decision next time about where to stay!

Thanks for doing that. So many people don't bother and then they just come back and complain here. It is so important, for all guests, that any issues get reported. We've never had cleanliness issues at Universal and have been so impressed by the upkeep. It always bothers me when I hear that somebody has been upset by the lack of cleanliness since I just love the Universal resorts.

 

[HairyChest]

Did you visit portofino bay?
Im planning my first ever trip to universal and booked there, just want to know your thoughts.

 

[jerseygirl82]

Ok so we have been back a week and of course life is catching up with me but I promise I have lots of photos to share and trip info to report!

 

[macraven]

Ok so we have been back a week and of course life is catching up with me but I promise I have lots of photos to share and trip info to report!

pinkie swear?

 

[jerseygirl82]

Did you visit portofino bay?
Im planning my first ever trip to universal and booked there, just want to know your thoughts.

We didn't get a chance to get over to Portofino, but my best friend and her husband had dinner at BiCE before we got over to Royal Pacific and they said it was wonderful.

The hands down best part of being at Royal Pacific was walking to the parks. That was a huge bonus for us.

 

[jenninaustin]

I'm in the middle of planning my fantasy trip so I'm subbing!!!

I just recently joined ebates. What was the great deal you mentioned for that? Just want to make sure I find all the possible money saving options!

 

[Princess Angi]

Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Cielei]

Love to see more, and to your DD! (we share the same birthday)

 

[jerseygirl82]

I'm in the middle of planning my fantasy trip so I'm subbing!!!

I just recently joined ebates. What was the great deal you mentioned for that? Just want to make sure I find all the possible money saving options!

My ebates deal was 20% back on activities in Orlando Not sure how often that happens but it saved me almost $100! Hopefully it comes back around.

 

[jenninaustin]

My ebates deal was 20% back on activities in Orlando Not sure how often that happens but it saved me almost $100! Hopefully it comes back around.

very cool! what activities? Was universal one of them? (Sorry for the questions - I'm just in the middle of trying to make this as affordable as possible so we can GET A DATE TO GO!!!)

 

[jerseygirl82]

very cool! what activities? Was universal one of them? (Sorry for the questions - I'm just in the middle of trying to make this as affordable as possible so we can GET A DATE TO GO!!!)

It was all Orlando activities, including Universal and Disney