We're here SSR 18 Aug to 1st Sept - live TR Now with pictures!

[Clare D]

Well I'm a bit behind on my live TR so I thought I best come and join the party.

Sunday 17 Aug
Booked via Quidco and Holiday extras the mystery hotel with parking. For £108 we had a night at the Marriott Windsor with 15 days parking. Hotel fine. Ate at the local Harvester which was very busy. Could have done with a good clean mind you, food did the job.

Monday 18 Aug
Flying with US airways from LHR to Charlotte and we have a 2 hr 25 minute stop before we fly down to Orlando. Plane was the A330 and we had a friendly crew. IFE was good, Rio 2 for the kids which they enjoyed. Food was pasta or meatballs, didn't bother as I'm not a plane food fan. USB ports on each arm rest.

Just was we were coming into land DS 1 was sick. I think due to plane becoming quite warm. Thankfully I had a bag so no mess anywhere. He's normally ok so fingers crossed on way home.

Flight left late but we still arrived on time. Immigration was fine. Got through in about 30 mins and did bag drop and back through security. This was very straight forward compared to Chicago last year. Quite a decent little airport. Had some food and back on board for the Orlando flight.

Only delay was getting luggage. Did Alamo self service after doing save time. Asked for driving licence info and home address again, not quite save time. Now this is where I got annoyed. Hubby had paperwork and we had booked a full size for a change. DH approached the man and was told he only had a choice of 2 cars whereas I know you have the choice of the row. So hubby went to the 2 cars we had been told to choose from. Next to us was a Town and Country the rest were Chrysler 200. I said to DH we could have any but next thing the better car had been taken. Next time I'm in charge of the paperwork

Got to SSR we have a deluxe studio booked. We are in Congress park overlooking DTD. I did request close to pool and transport. We realised bulb was out bathroom but as we had got here later due to a wal mart stop we reported next morning. I did request an extra fleece blanket, this has still not arrived.
Bulb also missing above bed, drawer stuck, handles hanging off and another bulb out above bed. All sorted once reported but not really the Disney experience you come to expect.


Here is the view of DTD from our room.
Tuesday 19 Aug
Today we have a relax day planned, very unusual for us, after a trip to Cape May buffet. The beach club is a beautiful resort this is definitely somewhere where I would love to stay in the future. Good character interaction but not a great deal of food choices compared to Chef Mickey's. Probably won't be back here.

Once done here it was a trip to the Springs pool which was busy. I've found the resort to be busier here compared to the same time last year. No beds left in the shade either. Kids loved it though.
DTD in the evening for a quick wander and Wolfgang Puck express for dinner. Food great as usual. I told a white lie and said we had 4 adults in party for our counter service as DS2 who is 6 is not a fan of the counter service options as it is so limited. We just had pizza and salad to share but there was so much.

Thankfully the walkway has reopened between SSR and DTD so a quick 5 minute walk and we were back in the room.

Wednesday 20 Aug
Yesterday we were in MK now I'm pretty organised and hadn't realised that it was EMH. Now we normally don't do EMH am parks as they are busy. Well this was no exception. The park was busy all day but we got what we wanted to do and our fast passes worked well.
Lunch at Cosmic Rays. Signs advising you could only sit down once you had your food. Well this was not working and people were sanding with trays of foods whilst others saved tables. The food was good but the place was a mess. Full bins and nobody cleaning and removing the trays that were piled high on the bins with food on them. I mentioned the bin situation to a CM as I left as otherwise it would be everywhere.

Back to the pool in the afternoon and then back to MK for be our guest. Food very good, I had the strip steak as did DH and DS1 had the pork and DS2 the kids steak. Server friendly but got mixed up our root beer order with the diet coke order on the table next to us. Thankfully I realised before anyone sipped any and we did a swap. Also didn't bring out the water we ordered so I had to ask for this or the extra rolls that he asked if we wanted. Oh well.

Today we are off to EPCOT so I'll update again later.

The weather BTW is very hot. No rain since we have arrived and Tuesday DH said after seeing it on the TV in the gym was the hottest day of the year. A cold front is supposed to come in later this week, like look forward to that.

 

[BigMommaMouse]

Hope you guys had a great day today. It does look hot over there, keep cool.

 

[Julia Ann]

Sounds like you are having a fab time, shame about the room bulbs etc hope it's sorted.

Enjoy the rest of your trip

 

[Portugal1000]

Glad you are having a good time. I am looking forward to that cold front too. Been here over 2 weeks and 30 minutes of rain so far.
We have stayed at SSR 3 times and always got a room in grandstand as we loved that pool, never busy and lots if umbrellas.
I never understand when there isn't enough shade at pools in this heat.
Have fun.

 

[Cyrano]

Sounds like you are having a great time

 

[Clare D]

Thursday 21st Aug
Today was EPCOT and by the time we'd cleared bag drop and had got into the park it was about 9.10. We headed over to Test Track as I'd FP'd Soarin instead. We waited about 40 mins.

Our next FP was for Spaceship Earth and this was the first time in a few years I've actually seen a big queue for the ride. We then headed over to Sunshine Seasons for lunch before Soarin. At one point it was showing as having an 80 minute wait.

Once into the World Showcase the crowds seemed to ease off but was hot so we headed inside for a while to cool off.

Dinner was at Teppan Edo which was excellent. There was a man though with a medic as he had collapsed due to the weather. The medic said he was from Florida and this was far too hot for him. Thankfully as we left Teppan Edo we had our first rain.

Friday 22 Aug
Yesterday was Blizzard Beach. We managed to get the big slides done before too busy, I didn't do Summit Plummet as it scares me but DS who is 6 did it for the first time.

Left early afternoon as starting to get very hot. When we jumped into the car the temperature gauge was reading 101 degrees. Back to the resort pool and some laundry and then dinner at California Grill.
As we were getting ready to go out the heavens opened but this really helped cool things down.

Here is the castle from the California Grill

Wow the views from California grill are amazing. The back of the contemporary is very pretty and we were sat in the wine room which was very intimate. We could see the EPCOT fireworks and DHS and made our way onto the viewing deck for wishes. We could also see the water pageant and all the small boats that accompany this with their lights on. I think this was probably a better room as I can imagine in the main dining room you could see the lights reflecting off the glass instead.
Food was delicious. We had the California sushi roll to share, the filet of beef all round and the cheeseboard, chocolate pudding and backyard BBQ desserts. DS2 had the kids steak and crispy treats to go.
Well worth 2 credits each.






On a side note wi-Fi here at SSR is running at full strength. We've had no problems at all with it

 

[Clare D]

Ops pic too big

 

[disneyholic family]

Wednesday 20 Aug
Yesterday we were in MK now I'm pretty organised and hadn't realised that it was EMH. Now we normally don't do EMH am parks as they are busy. Well this was no exception. The park was busy all day but we got what we wanted to do and our fast passes worked well.
Lunch at Cosmic Rays. Signs advising you could only sit down once you had your food. Well this was not working and people were sanding with trays of foods whilst others saved tables. The food was good but the place was a mess. Full bins and nobody cleaning and removing the trays that were piled high on the bins with food on them. I mentioned the bin situation to a CM as I left as otherwise it would be everywhere.

i'm disappointed to hear about cosmic rays.....
when we were there last august, they had the place running with military precision!!...
they had it blocked off so that you couldn't get into the table area without your tray...
you could only enter from one door, all the others were blocked...
and they had many CMs running around cleaning tables and then coming forward to the CM in the front who was holding everyone to lead you to a clean table...
you never had to wait more than a couple of minutes to get a table..
it was brilliant...
i'm sorry to hear they're not doing that this year!!!!

 

[Clare D]

Sorry everybody it's been a bit hectic.
Saturday 23rd August
Today we had been booked onto the preview for the DVC but I decided to cancel as I'm not sure it is right for us. They are pushing the GF at the minute, which I'm sure is beautiful. The lady I spoke to didn't push me at all to rebook.

I stead we decided to have a chill out day and had some pool time at the Congress Park pool. It was very relaxed around here. Plenty of beds and we spent a lovely couple of hours here before heading off to the Lake Buena Vista outlets. DH and DS bought plenty in the Nike shop but nothing else.

Had a look in the converse shop and there was plenty there, t shirts 2for $30 for adults.
After this it was a trip to the Mall at Millenia. I love it here and could happily spend a fortune. Once we arrived we checked I. At the Cheesecake Factory and it was a 50 minute wait. This was fine as it gave us a quick look around. Enforce eating.
Love it here. We made the mistake of Nachos to start to share and then I couldn't eat the Jambalaya main that I ordered and even DS couldn't finish his burger off. 2 pieces of cheesecake to go. The Oreo and lemon meringue which we happily polished off once we had made some room back at the resort. DH also had jambalaya and DS the mac and cheese which he assured me he liked and then left it.

Sunday 24th August
DHS today. Rode Rock n Roller Coaster without FP first thing and it was about a 20 min wait.
Had FP for Star Tours, Toy Story Mania and Tower of Terror. It was hot today and we had a reservation later for Hollywood Brown Derby. First time here and the food was excellent. As we were on the Fantasmic Dinner Package you also got a starter. We had the chopped salad and the crab spring rolls. For our main we had the filet of beef, duck and the grouper and as we have 3 adult dining plans we also sampled one of each on the desserts which were delicious. I would definitely go back here.
Stayed for Fantasmic but we'd been in the park 12 hours by the time it had finished we made our way out. We will do the frozen fireworks another night.

 

[dixonsontour]

sounds like you are packing tons in

 

[micksn]

12 hours in a park I like my afternoon break too much, especially in the heat

 

[Clare D]

12 hours in a park I like my afternoon break too much, especially in the heat

We do too. This was a rarity for us but as we had a reservation at 5.30 we decided to stay. We just headed inside to the AC for a bit instead.

 

[Clare D]

Monday 25thAugust
Up early today so we can check into the Hard a Rock for the night.
Check in was straight forward, the Express Pass machines weren't busy and we were straight onto the water taxi. By 8.15 we had arrived at UIoA and were straight into HP.
We had a bit of a queue for the Forbidden Journey as the ride stopped for about 20 minutes but it soon got going again. I think this is a great ride but since Diagonal Alley has opened Hogsmede didn't seem as busy as last year.
We then used the Express pass to ride the Dragons and did the Hippogriff.
Once we had looked around we were off to Jurassic Park where we got wet through so we then ride Dudley Do Rights ripsaw Falls and the barges. Well by this time we were wet through but thankfully there was a lovely breeze and it's warm so within a couple of hours we had dried out.
It was then across to do Spider Man, the Hulk and Dr Dooms Fear Fall. The Express Pass makes a huge difference here and by early afternoon we were heading back across to Hogsmede and the Three Broomsticks for lunch.
I always find UIoA very limited for indoor counter service. When it's hot I prefer to sit inside so we made do here. Whilst in the queue a CM was selling the Universal Dining Plan. It was $19.99 per adult and $12.99 per child. It included lunch with drink, a snack and a drink later so we bought 3 adult and 1 child.
Lunch was chicken and ribs with corn and potatoes. DS1 had the Cornish pasties with garden salad and DS 2 has chicken. The chicken and ribs was $14.99 and a drink is nearly $3.99 so the dining plan had already paid for itself.
After lunch we jumped onto the Hogwarts Express.
Now I love Disney but HP is showing what Universal are made of. The station is so real and that's before you even step onto the train. All I can say is brilliant. Even DH who hasn't watched all the HP films was impressed and we hadn't even got to Diagon Alley.

Wow, wow, wow. This place is amazing. It was really busy and there were kids everywhere with the interactive wands pointing them at windows here there and everywhere and then these magical things were happening.
There were stage performers doing tales from Beedle the Bard. It really has a great atmosphere and nobody seemed to mind that Gringotts had a 2 hour wait.
We decided to use our snack credit at the Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlour and each had a cone. DH had chocolate chilli, DS 1 had a scoop of apple crumble and a scoop of chocolate and raspberry, , DS2 had a scoop of chocolate and vanilla and I had Earl Grey and lavender. The chilli chocolate blows your head off.
We decided to leave DA for the day so did MIB, the Simpsons, ET, the Mummy twice - DS2 who us 6 and now tall enough to ride loved it and then DS1 did Rip, Ride a Rocket.
By this time we were shattered so headed back to the HRH and picked up our luggage and went to the room.


We were overlooking the pool and the room was lovely. 2 proper beds with lovely duvets, bliss.
We then spent ages in the pool, watched the Universal Fireworks and had dinner at the pool bar. This was lovely food but not cheap.


Then we headed for bed as we were going to have another early start.

 

[Clare D]

Tuesday 26th August - Universal
Thankfully a couple of people had said that park entry was at 7.30 for hotel guests so we were at the turnstiles for 7.15 ready to ride HP and the Escape from Gringotts.
Universal are very organised here. They have staff along the entire route ensuring that the queue moves in an orderly fashion. They do send you around the back of the restrooms near Grimmauld Place so you can't take a direct route. It was only 7.50 and we were queuing outside by the Knight bus but it moved quickly.
Inside is fantastic I just wish I'd not left my phone in the locker to take some pictures of the bank foyer but I didn't have any pockets.
We were moving all the time right until the last part when the ride stopped and we were then huddled together in the lower part of the bank. We must have been waiting for at least 30 minutes.
Now this ride is amazing and is my favourite ride. As we left the queue was 135 minutes
I won't give any details but I can't imagine that anybody wouldn't be impressed.










Once we'd finished at Diagon Alley we stopped for a pastry and we did the other rides we'd missed before. We even did some of the older attractions like Disaster and Twister as it was nice to come out of the sun.
We decided to head back after we did the minions ride so we walked back to the Hard Rock and got back into the car. We had said we would get the train back to Hogsmede and do Zeus Landing but DS2 was getting tired. He'd fallen asleep in the Terminator show.
We'd been really lucky with the weather as it had said chances of rain but we haven't had a drop and a nice breeze had come.
DS2 and I were that tired we went to bed before our ADR at O'Hanas.
Headed to the Poly and had a short wait before we were seated.
The pineapple and coconut bread was yummy but nobody else was keen. Rest of the food was very nice. Salad with lettuce leaf wraps, chicken wings and legs, noodles with veg and beef, pork and prawn skewers. I enjoyed the pork dumplings. We were all full when the bread and butter pudding arrived with vanilla ice cream and a banana sauce but I had a bit and it was nice even though I'm not a fan of that type of pudding.
I also enjoyed a Lapu Lapu










This was the quickest TS meal we've had and we were out of there within an hour and 20 mins back on the mono rail and no wait at the bus stop for the SSR bus.
The resort boats queues were huge and some of the resort buses.

 

[BigMommaMouse]

Great report looking forward to more.

 

[Clare D]

Thanks for coming along everybody. I now know how to add pictures so hear with me and I'll start attaching to the posts.

 

[1andrea]

We're here now too and was at Universal yesterday and now! Enjoy the rest of your trip :0)

 

[Clare D]

We're here now too and was at Universal yesterday and now! Enjoy the rest of your trip :0)

Hope you're having a great time and haven't had huge queues. Enjoy your holiday

Wednesday 27th - pool day and Cat Cora

Having a pool day today after a busy couple of days. I did some laundry first thing and the non tumble dry items have dried on plastic hangers at the back of the sun lounger. Thankfully it is dry heat today so has been really pleasant



Here is my water baby first thing. He is going to miss the pools next week. This was at The Springs pool about 9am.

 

[PJB71]

Really enjoying your TR

Hope you enjoy the rest of your stay

 

[igk]

Hope you're having a great time and haven't had huge queues. Enjoy your holiday

Wednesday 27th - pool day and Cat Cora

Having a pool day today after a busy couple of days. I did some laundry first thing and the non tumble dry items have dried on plastic hangers at the back of the sun lounger. Thankfully it is dry heat today so has been really pleasant



Here is my water baby first thing. He is going to miss the pools next week. This was at The Springs pool about 9am.

We're at SSR right now too for a week since Sunday.
I won't hijack your thread but just to say having a great time - mightily impressed with SSR - peaceful, very good quality rooms and nice surroundings. Dinner last night at Turf Club was excellent.
Weather great and crowds in the parks very manageable.
Not enough hours in the day - just stopped back at the room for a coffee and shower before heading out to Epcot for Coral reef dinner.

I'm enjoying reading your report