Hi all,
We're back from a seven-night stay at the Radisson Resort Parkway. We had a good time but we wouldn't stay at this hotel again. The bad outweigh the good. I also toured several other hotels (for work) including the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge & Sheraton Safari.
Who went:
Me - Jennifer 29 - Travel Agent
DH - Dennis 29 - Computer Technician
DD - Katie 3 - Princess #1
DD - Julie 2 - Princess #2
My Mom - Lorrie - Unemployed
My Dad - Lee - Pharmacist
Our flight was good (Northwest) & car rental went smooth (Alamo).
The hotel (Radisson Resort Parkway) was gracious enough to let us check in early (12:30PM). However, they charged my debit card for both rooms plus an additional $100.00 per room authorization for incidentals. Front Desk did not tell me this until $900 charge was put on my card. We attempted to get these charges reversed all week and were unsuccessful. Had my parents not been with us to spot us the cash for their half of these charges we would have been screwed. So be warned, if you have any serious problems do not expect much help from the front desk. They are poorly trained, give out incorrect information and for the most part are rude. The housekeeping staff was very attentive and polite. We were pleased with those services.
The pool and grounds at this hotel are beautiful, but I don't really have many other good things to say unfortunately. Had my parents not been traveling with us we would have left and found another hotel - mostly due to the situation with our credit card.
The rooms are very, very small - especially the bathrooms.
The restaurants are way overpriced except Pizza Hut. Sandwiches at Lobby restaurant were $8.00 each. Cafe in the Court for breakfast was $55 for 4 adults and dinner for 4 adults was $90. The restaurant adds a 15% tip automatically to the bill which is annoying. The drinks at the pool bar and sports lounge are also way overpriced $4.00 for a beer/ $7.00 & up for mixed drinks. There are no vending machines except for soda - which were $1.00 each. They have minibars in the room but we didn't touch it b/c we assumed the items were pricey.
The fees for phone calls, in-room movies and internet access were very high also.
The playgound is old & needs to be redone. Also way in back of the property - bad location across the parking lot which is not really safe for kids.
Would we stay here again? No. The pool is great, but there are more bads than goods. We would have been very upset had we paid full price for the rooms. For anybody staying here in the future beware of incidental fees and don't hand over a credit card to the front desk that you plan on using for other things on your trip. Luckily, we didn't plan on doing too many parks b/c my Mom is not a park person - so we didn't have to buy additional park hoppers - not that we could have anyway due to our sorry finincial situation.
Sunday - We slept in and ate breakfast at Shoney's on 192. They had a good buffet for $3.99 per adult & the kids ate for free. We stopped at the car dealership next door because they had two tigers you could take your picture with. We went back to the hotel to meet my parents and hung out at the pool. Later that afternoon we went to the Wilderness Lodge and my parents went to Walmart for supplies. The Lodge is absolutely gorgeous - and where we would have stayed if we didn't cancel our fairytale vacation package b/c my parents didn't want to pay disney hotel prices. We had lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe which is a hoot. Don't forget to ask for ketchup (Hee Hee). Then we took the boat over to Fort Wilderness to visit the petting zoo and do pony rides. Petting zoo is free but not many animals, some goats, a few sheep and a pig. The pony rides are $3.00 each - which is higher than last time we were there (only $1.00 each). We stayed a the Lodge seven years ago on our honeymoon. We went back to the Radisson to eat dinner at Cafe in the Court. The kids ate free and I had a 20% off coupon. The bill was still $90.00 for four adults with a 15% tip added automatically.
Monday - We went to the Magic Kingdom. The crowds were bad for this time of year - probably due to Fairytale Package. We used fastpass alot. The crowds did thin out later in the afternoon. When we first arrived they had all the characters (Mickey, Minnie, Donald & Goofy plus others greeting kids. DH got in line for Mickey and after he was in line for 20 minutes a very rude CM told him "The line ends here - You have to go see Mickey at Toon Town or the guy in the suit will pass out." I was in line with my parents buying tickets and did not realize this happened until later. I have since sent an email to Disney about this b/c when I caught up to DH my DD's were both crying b/c "A bad guy told them they couldn't see Mickey and he was sick!" Other than that, we had a good day. Rode Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, the carosel, Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain. Did not do as many rides as we like but had to take it slow b/c we were with my parents. We stayed for the fireworks and then went to McDonalds for a quick bite before retiring for the evening. After kiddies were in bed DH and I went for a dip in the hot tub while Grandma & Grampa kept an eye on DD's. I knew bringing them with would have some perks!
Tuesday - went to breakfast at Denny's and the flea market on 192. Came back to the hotel and decided to have a pool day to relax. Stayed at the hotel and had pizza for dinner. DH and I went to Pleasure Island after the kids fell asleep. (Perks!) Went to the Adventurer's Club for some Kangalooshes and stayed for a show where DH got picked on (Hee Hee!). Then went over to the comedy club for the last show, which was just OK. Went into Mannequins - the dance club w/ revolving dancefloor but music was too loud and vertually empty. Went over to 70's/ 80's dance club which is where everybody was.
Wednesday - went to MGM Studios. Did Great Movie Ride which was Ok. I thought they re-did this ride. What exactly did they do b/c it seemed the same to me? Then my parents went to Indiana Jones and we did Little Mermaid. Then we had lunch at the ABC Commissary which is typical park food. We did the back lot tour during a thunder shower so under the tram we didn't get wet. Then headed over to Beauty and Beast with dd's and Grandma, while Grampa and DH rode Rockin Roller Coaster & Tower of Terror. Grandma went shopping b/c she is a chicken and I rode Tower of Terror with my Dad and DH took Katie on for the first time. I thought she'd be petrified but she loved it and frequently re-lives the experience. "Mommy, we went in a haunted hotel and in an elevator and went up and down and up and down and up and down. I wanna do that again - pretty pleeeeeze!" Fantasmic was canceled due to lightning so DH and I rode Rockin Roller Coaster one more time & we left and had dinner at Denny's on 192.
Thursday - We had to meet my dad's friend that works at Universal Studios for free passes. We met them at Perkins for breakfast in Davenport (15 minutes) from hotel. Grandma & Grampa hung out with their friends the rest of the day and went to the mall. We decided to look at houses. "We're here every six months anyway - how cool would it be to move to Orlando!" Well, anyway I found my dream home for a very reasonable price and we're seriously considering selling our home and moving! Our realtor suggested we put our house on the market after the holidays - so maybe next Christmas we'll live in Orlando! How cool would that be! That evening we went to Old Town on 192. DH rode the mechanical bull. We got one of those old-time pictures taken. DH was civil war soldier and me and the dd's were southern belles - very cute! We rode the ferris wheel and some kiddie rides. Played a game and won the girls some stuffed puppies. We ate at A & W Root Beer (Foot Long Hot Dogs) and got ice cream cones for desert. We browsed the shops but didn't buy anything.
Friday - Went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. This was free due to my Dad's connections and within our sorry budget. Grandma was pooped and chose to stay at the hotel. Haven't been here in like four years. They raised parking fees from $7 to $8 per car. First thing I noticed was that there are pigeons at Universal. The dd's had a good time chasing them while we were renting our stroller. What is Disney doing to their pigeons I wonder?????? Their stroller prices are also $1 higher than Disney and you don't get $1 back - so really $2 higher. The crowds were bad but thinned out in the late afternoon. Universal has their own version of Fastpass & you can also upgrade your ticket for a front of the line pass. Didn't get those so don't know how much it is. We did Jimmy Neutron ride which is OK. Then met Sponge Bob right after the ride which the girls loved! We saw alot of characters at Universal - all the Rugrats - Scooby Doo - these silly guys on stilts that made dd's balloon animals. DH & my dad went on Twister. Don't let your little ones on this ride! When we were on our honeymoon - we saw kids in there and they were screaming bloody murder to get out! It's scary - but cool if you're an adult. Next we went on Jaws - which I took the kids on. They were a little traumatized but the shark didn't eat them. Me, my dad and Katie went on Back to the Future while DH took Julie to the Animal Planet show. Katie like flying in the car but wasn't pleased when the dinosaur ate us! DH said the Animal show was good. Next we did Terminator which the kids slept through. This is problably the best ride/show at Universal, in my opinion. Then we went over to Islands of Adventure and rode Spiderman about four times b/c no line!!!!! We also me Spiderman and the X-men outside the ride. We rode Jurassic Park about four times also b/c no line!!! They have a terrific play area over by the flyers for the kids - lots of slides and interactive fountains - and you can hear the dinosaurs!!!! I took Katie and the Flying Unicorn and then we headed over to Dr. Seussland and rode the Caroussel, Cat in the Hat and One Fish Two Fish (which is like Aladdin carpet ride but you get sprayed with water). As we were leaving we stopped at Citiwalk and let the kids play in the big interactive fountains.
Universal and Islands of Adventure is more adult themed than Disney, however there are more things for little ones to do than I thought. We saw many characters and the employees were just as nice (or nicer) than the Disney CM's we encountered this trip. We also noticed it is much easier to find a place to buy a beer at Universal than at Disney. We noticed a lot of tired parents kicking back with a brew towards the end of the day. Overall, we had a good time and will definitely come back.
Saturday - we checked out of the hotel late at no charge (1:00pm). We used the pool in the morning and then went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for lunch. Boma's was unfortunately closed and do not serve lunch - only their fast food place was open. We decided to check out the Animals anyway. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is just OK compared to the Wilderness Lodge in my opinion. The only animals you could view were pelicans, yaks and zebras! I don't know about you - but if I paid $200 plus per night and all I saw were some yaks I'd be upset! There are no giraffes or elephants or ostriches. Their pool is bigger than Wilderness Lodge but their grounds are not as pretty. I would definitely choose the Wilderness Lodge over Animal Kingdom. I was personally not impressed. They need more restauants and more animals!!! We left and went to the Mercado for lunch to do some last minute souvenoir shopping. We left for the airport reluctantly at 3:00pm. Came home and started planning our next trip - or maybe move to Orlando.......
We're back from a seven-night stay at the Radisson Resort Parkway. We had a good time but we wouldn't stay at this hotel again. The bad outweigh the good. I also toured several other hotels (for work) including the Wilderness Lodge, Animal Kingdom Lodge & Sheraton Safari.
Who went:
Me - Jennifer 29 - Travel Agent
DH - Dennis 29 - Computer Technician
DD - Katie 3 - Princess #1
DD - Julie 2 - Princess #2
My Mom - Lorrie - Unemployed
My Dad - Lee - Pharmacist
Our flight was good (Northwest) & car rental went smooth (Alamo).
The hotel (Radisson Resort Parkway) was gracious enough to let us check in early (12:30PM). However, they charged my debit card for both rooms plus an additional $100.00 per room authorization for incidentals. Front Desk did not tell me this until $900 charge was put on my card. We attempted to get these charges reversed all week and were unsuccessful. Had my parents not been with us to spot us the cash for their half of these charges we would have been screwed. So be warned, if you have any serious problems do not expect much help from the front desk. They are poorly trained, give out incorrect information and for the most part are rude. The housekeeping staff was very attentive and polite. We were pleased with those services.
The pool and grounds at this hotel are beautiful, but I don't really have many other good things to say unfortunately. Had my parents not been traveling with us we would have left and found another hotel - mostly due to the situation with our credit card.
The rooms are very, very small - especially the bathrooms.
The restaurants are way overpriced except Pizza Hut. Sandwiches at Lobby restaurant were $8.00 each. Cafe in the Court for breakfast was $55 for 4 adults and dinner for 4 adults was $90. The restaurant adds a 15% tip automatically to the bill which is annoying. The drinks at the pool bar and sports lounge are also way overpriced $4.00 for a beer/ $7.00 & up for mixed drinks. There are no vending machines except for soda - which were $1.00 each. They have minibars in the room but we didn't touch it b/c we assumed the items were pricey.
The fees for phone calls, in-room movies and internet access were very high also.
The playgound is old & needs to be redone. Also way in back of the property - bad location across the parking lot which is not really safe for kids.
Would we stay here again? No. The pool is great, but there are more bads than goods. We would have been very upset had we paid full price for the rooms. For anybody staying here in the future beware of incidental fees and don't hand over a credit card to the front desk that you plan on using for other things on your trip. Luckily, we didn't plan on doing too many parks b/c my Mom is not a park person - so we didn't have to buy additional park hoppers - not that we could have anyway due to our sorry finincial situation.
Sunday - We slept in and ate breakfast at Shoney's on 192. They had a good buffet for $3.99 per adult & the kids ate for free. We stopped at the car dealership next door because they had two tigers you could take your picture with. We went back to the hotel to meet my parents and hung out at the pool. Later that afternoon we went to the Wilderness Lodge and my parents went to Walmart for supplies. The Lodge is absolutely gorgeous - and where we would have stayed if we didn't cancel our fairytale vacation package b/c my parents didn't want to pay disney hotel prices. We had lunch at Whispering Canyon Cafe which is a hoot. Don't forget to ask for ketchup (Hee Hee). Then we took the boat over to Fort Wilderness to visit the petting zoo and do pony rides. Petting zoo is free but not many animals, some goats, a few sheep and a pig. The pony rides are $3.00 each - which is higher than last time we were there (only $1.00 each). We stayed a the Lodge seven years ago on our honeymoon. We went back to the Radisson to eat dinner at Cafe in the Court. The kids ate free and I had a 20% off coupon. The bill was still $90.00 for four adults with a 15% tip added automatically.
Monday - We went to the Magic Kingdom. The crowds were bad for this time of year - probably due to Fairytale Package. We used fastpass alot. The crowds did thin out later in the afternoon. When we first arrived they had all the characters (Mickey, Minnie, Donald & Goofy plus others greeting kids. DH got in line for Mickey and after he was in line for 20 minutes a very rude CM told him "The line ends here - You have to go see Mickey at Toon Town or the guy in the suit will pass out." I was in line with my parents buying tickets and did not realize this happened until later. I have since sent an email to Disney about this b/c when I caught up to DH my DD's were both crying b/c "A bad guy told them they couldn't see Mickey and he was sick!" Other than that, we had a good day. Rode Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Peter Pan, It's a Small World, the carosel, Buzz Lightyear and Space Mountain. Did not do as many rides as we like but had to take it slow b/c we were with my parents. We stayed for the fireworks and then went to McDonalds for a quick bite before retiring for the evening. After kiddies were in bed DH and I went for a dip in the hot tub while Grandma & Grampa kept an eye on DD's. I knew bringing them with would have some perks!
Tuesday - went to breakfast at Denny's and the flea market on 192. Came back to the hotel and decided to have a pool day to relax. Stayed at the hotel and had pizza for dinner. DH and I went to Pleasure Island after the kids fell asleep. (Perks!) Went to the Adventurer's Club for some Kangalooshes and stayed for a show where DH got picked on (Hee Hee!). Then went over to the comedy club for the last show, which was just OK. Went into Mannequins - the dance club w/ revolving dancefloor but music was too loud and vertually empty. Went over to 70's/ 80's dance club which is where everybody was.
Wednesday - went to MGM Studios. Did Great Movie Ride which was Ok. I thought they re-did this ride. What exactly did they do b/c it seemed the same to me? Then my parents went to Indiana Jones and we did Little Mermaid. Then we had lunch at the ABC Commissary which is typical park food. We did the back lot tour during a thunder shower so under the tram we didn't get wet. Then headed over to Beauty and Beast with dd's and Grandma, while Grampa and DH rode Rockin Roller Coaster & Tower of Terror. Grandma went shopping b/c she is a chicken and I rode Tower of Terror with my Dad and DH took Katie on for the first time. I thought she'd be petrified but she loved it and frequently re-lives the experience. "Mommy, we went in a haunted hotel and in an elevator and went up and down and up and down and up and down. I wanna do that again - pretty pleeeeeze!" Fantasmic was canceled due to lightning so DH and I rode Rockin Roller Coaster one more time & we left and had dinner at Denny's on 192.
Thursday - We had to meet my dad's friend that works at Universal Studios for free passes. We met them at Perkins for breakfast in Davenport (15 minutes) from hotel. Grandma & Grampa hung out with their friends the rest of the day and went to the mall. We decided to look at houses. "We're here every six months anyway - how cool would it be to move to Orlando!" Well, anyway I found my dream home for a very reasonable price and we're seriously considering selling our home and moving! Our realtor suggested we put our house on the market after the holidays - so maybe next Christmas we'll live in Orlando! How cool would that be! That evening we went to Old Town on 192. DH rode the mechanical bull. We got one of those old-time pictures taken. DH was civil war soldier and me and the dd's were southern belles - very cute! We rode the ferris wheel and some kiddie rides. Played a game and won the girls some stuffed puppies. We ate at A & W Root Beer (Foot Long Hot Dogs) and got ice cream cones for desert. We browsed the shops but didn't buy anything.
Friday - Went to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. This was free due to my Dad's connections and within our sorry budget. Grandma was pooped and chose to stay at the hotel. Haven't been here in like four years. They raised parking fees from $7 to $8 per car. First thing I noticed was that there are pigeons at Universal. The dd's had a good time chasing them while we were renting our stroller. What is Disney doing to their pigeons I wonder?????? Their stroller prices are also $1 higher than Disney and you don't get $1 back - so really $2 higher. The crowds were bad but thinned out in the late afternoon. Universal has their own version of Fastpass & you can also upgrade your ticket for a front of the line pass. Didn't get those so don't know how much it is. We did Jimmy Neutron ride which is OK. Then met Sponge Bob right after the ride which the girls loved! We saw alot of characters at Universal - all the Rugrats - Scooby Doo - these silly guys on stilts that made dd's balloon animals. DH & my dad went on Twister. Don't let your little ones on this ride! When we were on our honeymoon - we saw kids in there and they were screaming bloody murder to get out! It's scary - but cool if you're an adult. Next we went on Jaws - which I took the kids on. They were a little traumatized but the shark didn't eat them. Me, my dad and Katie went on Back to the Future while DH took Julie to the Animal Planet show. Katie like flying in the car but wasn't pleased when the dinosaur ate us! DH said the Animal show was good. Next we did Terminator which the kids slept through. This is problably the best ride/show at Universal, in my opinion. Then we went over to Islands of Adventure and rode Spiderman about four times b/c no line!!!!! We also me Spiderman and the X-men outside the ride. We rode Jurassic Park about four times also b/c no line!!! They have a terrific play area over by the flyers for the kids - lots of slides and interactive fountains - and you can hear the dinosaurs!!!! I took Katie and the Flying Unicorn and then we headed over to Dr. Seussland and rode the Caroussel, Cat in the Hat and One Fish Two Fish (which is like Aladdin carpet ride but you get sprayed with water). As we were leaving we stopped at Citiwalk and let the kids play in the big interactive fountains.
Universal and Islands of Adventure is more adult themed than Disney, however there are more things for little ones to do than I thought. We saw many characters and the employees were just as nice (or nicer) than the Disney CM's we encountered this trip. We also noticed it is much easier to find a place to buy a beer at Universal than at Disney. We noticed a lot of tired parents kicking back with a brew towards the end of the day. Overall, we had a good time and will definitely come back.
Saturday - we checked out of the hotel late at no charge (1:00pm). We used the pool in the morning and then went to the Animal Kingdom Lodge for lunch. Boma's was unfortunately closed and do not serve lunch - only their fast food place was open. We decided to check out the Animals anyway. The Animal Kingdom Lodge is just OK compared to the Wilderness Lodge in my opinion. The only animals you could view were pelicans, yaks and zebras! I don't know about you - but if I paid $200 plus per night and all I saw were some yaks I'd be upset! There are no giraffes or elephants or ostriches. Their pool is bigger than Wilderness Lodge but their grounds are not as pretty. I would definitely choose the Wilderness Lodge over Animal Kingdom. I was personally not impressed. They need more restauants and more animals!!! We left and went to the Mercado for lunch to do some last minute souvenoir shopping. We left for the airport reluctantly at 3:00pm. Came home and started planning our next trip - or maybe move to Orlando.......
