We're here!

[DIXIEGMCSM]

We checked in Friday, may 12th at 8 PM with our dog Cody. Had to wait 15-20 minutes to check in at RPR. Cody "the yellow lab" has issues, he is afraid of everything. Our concern was that he express's his fear by pooping. He can poop walking, running, doesnt matter where and he can do it multiple times! So we checked into our room first and left him in the car "with it running and a/c on". We were put in tower two room 2145, great view of the dog park! Fortunately ther was an entrance to the dog park that we could bring Cody in the back way. He only pooped once in the middle of the road coming from self parking. The room is very nice and clean. We were concerned about stains and odors, which there were none, except for the ones Cody could smell! All the staff has been very nice and we are impressed with the facility. Took the boat to CW that evening and went to Margaritaville, had a real good meal, teryaki steak was fab, and the nachos are stacked at least a foot high. They had a very good band that night. Next day got up early and was in line for US at 8:15AM, they opened at 8:45AM. It was worth the wait cause we walked on everything we wanted to do before 11:00 am without having to use FOTL. We wandered through IOA but didn't do anything this trip. We will go back on a weekday when it isn't so packed. Headed back to the RPR at 2:30pm and ate lunch at Tchop chop, outstanding food and the service was like no other. Two servers assigned to each table and they are attentive, got up to use restroom and the server was there folding the cloth napkin I sat down on the table! Had the hawaiian platter and it was excellent. Went back to room to let dog out and took a quick nap. Went back to CW and it was quite crowded, we just sat and people watched for a couple hours and went back to RPR. We went to Jake's American Bar and had terrible service and the food was a close second. Today is Mother's Day and we have'nt decided what to do yet. The parks and restaraunts are going to be packed. I will let you know what we did next thread. We have till Saturday the 20th before we leave!

 

[gschmerl]

You should try Tchoup Chop for dinner. We had four servers and liked the food better than our lunch there.

 

[left210]

Just curious - why do you bring your dog on vacation? I dont mean that in a mean way because I love dogs and have 4 of them but would never consider bringing them on vacation even if I only had one.

 

[DIXIEGMCSM]

Because we prefer not to burden our friends and family to dog sit. The kennels are awful and our dog is very scared of things that are not familiar. So do we enjoy the extra effort of bringing the dog? no, we could have alot more fun if we didn't have to worry about him. But on the other hand it's way, way, way, way, better than bringing a child!!!!!!!

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Because we prefer not to burden our friends and family to dog sit. The kennels are awful and our dog is very scared of things that are not familiar. So do we enjoy the extra effort of bringing the dog? no, we could have alot more fun if we didn't have to worry about him. But on the other hand it's way, way, way, way, better than bringing a child!!!!!!!

Right, cause you cant just leave the child in the room for 8 hour clips, let him/her out to pee and leave again. That poor dog.

 

[DIXIEGMCSM]

The longest we have stayed out is about five hours. We always pop in and let him out and spend an hour or two playing and walking him. Its also a good excuse for a rest. We are here for a 9 day stay and I bet we've walked 60 miles in the past 4 days! I even take my dog to work with me, so he is more fortunate than most pets that are alone for 8 to 10 hour work days.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks for checking in with us. I can totally understand your reasons for taking your dog. One of the reasons we now go to UO instead of WDW is that Loews allows us to bring Molly to their hotels. She travels well. Actually, she loves being on the go.

We took a cruise to Alaska last June & left her with a neighbor. We were gone 17 days. When we returned home, she had lost at least 5 lbs. Her normal weight is about 16 lbs. She was pitiful looking. It wasn't because they didn't try to feed her. She just missed us & wouldn't eat. Fast forward to Nov., then Apr. We drove all the way to NC to leave her with my Dsis & BIL who she knows well, hoping she would do better. One cruise was 10 days & one we were gone a total of 13 days. The same thing happened. She also pulls out patches of hair, when she gets nervous.

On the other hand, when we take her with us, it's life as usual. I feed her & when it's time for bed, we're there. She eats like normal, & doesn't get nervous. Staying in the hotel room with her blanket & toys is just like being home. Like you, we never stay in the parks more than 3 or 4 hrs. at a time. Most any is used to being left alone for that long. I've been to kennels & heard the dogs yelping. You'll never convince me that leaving a pet in a kennel is the best option. JMO

Back to the fun stuff... I'm really looking forward to hearing more about your trip. We're staying at HRH this time, but I'd love to read your restaurant reviews. Please, share your dining experiences with us, when you get a chance. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[mjgruber]

Thanks for checking in with us. I can totally understand your reasons for taking your dog. One of the reasons we now go to UO instead of WDW is that Loews allows us to bring Molly to their hotels. She travels well. Actually, she loves being on the go.

We took a cruise to Alaska last June & left her with a neighbor. We were gone 17 days. When we returned home, she had lost at least 5 lbs. Her normal weight is about 16 lbs. She was pitiful looking. It wasn't because they didn't try to feed her. She just missed us & wouldn't eat. Fast forward to Nov., then Apr. We drove all the way to NC to leave her with my Dsis & BIL who she knows well, hoping she would do better. One cruise was 10 days & one we were gone a total of 13 days. The same thing happened. She also pulls out patches of hair, when she gets nervous.

On the other hand, when we take her with us, it's life as usual. I feed her & when it's time for bed, we're there. She eats like normal, & doesn't get nervous. Staying in the hotel room with her blanket & toys is just like being home. Like you, we never stay in the parks more than 3 or 4 hrs. at a time. Most any is used to being left alone for that long. I've been to kennels & heard the dogs yelping. You'll never convince me that leaving a pet in a kennel is the best option. JMO

Back to the fun stuff... I'm really looking forward to hearing more about your trip. We're staying at HRH this time, but I'd love to read your restaurant reviews. Please, share your dining experiences with us, when you get a chance. Enjoy the rest of your trip!

That is One Neurotic Dog

 

[DIXIEGMCSM]

We are on our last full day here at UO, it's sad to think that I will have to work again to actually pay for this trip! Last night went to tchoup chop for dinner. We had three servers this time and the service exceeds your expectaions! The food is wonderful, we both had the hawaiian platter which is combination of fabulous chicken and pork. I had a version of a bloody mary that was super, the mia tia was too much sugar! All in all the food was a let down at the resort restaurants, the resort uses one kitchen for all the restaurants. Although they had different menus the food was edible at best. Margaritaville had very good food and I couldn't stop drinking the razzberry margaritas, they are very tasty! Hard rock cafe is the best value with the best quality and we ate there often. We wanted to try more restaurants, but found ourselves full most of the time after one meal (and numerous drinks throughout the day). Speaking of, if you are a bloody mary fan, make sure you try the one at hard rock cafe. Don't order at the small bar between the cafe and the auditoruim because they don't make the same drinks as the restaurant and the cadillac bar. We went to SW twice and recommend the beer tasting it was fun. SW food is also a big let down so if your out spend your money at one of the restaurants between UO and SW. We really enjoyed the Chicago pizza at Uno's on internarional drive. We have enjoyed the casual pace between the nine day stay and the FOTL we just wander in and out of the park jumping on one of the attractions we enjoy and leaving to go to the pool. We explored the other resorts and found RPR our favorite theme and facility. HRH would be our second choice and portifino has way too many stairs to get around, it also seemed baron, no trees or landscape to enjoy. Time toget inthe shower so we can enjoy our last ful day here, I will update when we get home.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

That is One Neurotic Dog

Wow, what a kind reply!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We are on our last full day here at UO, it's sad to think that I will have to work again to actually pay for this trip! Last night went to tchoup chop for dinner. We had three servers this time and the service exceeds your expectaions! The food is wonderful, we both had the hawaiian platter which is combination of fabulous chicken and pork. I had a version of a bloody mary that was super, the mia tia was too much sugar! All in all the food was a let down at the resort restaurants, the resort uses one kitchen for all the restaurants. Although they had different menus the food was edible at best. Margaritaville had very good food and I couldn't stop drinking the razzberry margaritas, they are very tasty! Hard rock cafe is the best value with the best quality and we ate there often. We wanted to try more restaurants, but found ourselves full most of the time after one meal (and numerous drinks throughout the day). Speaking of, if you are a bloody mary fan, make sure you try the one at hard rock cafe. Don't order at the small bar between the cafe and the auditoruim because they don't make the same drinks as the restaurant and the cadillac bar. We went to SW twice and recommend the beer tasting it was fun. SW food is also a big let down so if your out spend your money at one of the restaurants between UO and SW. We really enjoyed the Chicago pizza at Uno's on internarional drive. We have enjoyed the casual pace between the nine day stay and the FOTL we just wander in and out of the park jumping on one of the attractions we enjoy and leaving to go to the pool. We explored the other resorts and found RPR our favorite theme and facility. HRH would be our second choice and portifino has way too many stairs to get around, it also seemed baron, no trees or landscape to enjoy. Time toget inthe shower so we can enjoy our last ful day here, I will update when we get home.

Thanks for the update! I hope you enjoy your last day at UO.

 

[Universal_Studios]

I know what you mean about your dog, we would love to take our dog on our holidays but we cant because we live in england. I think its a grate that there is kennels at IOA and USF, i wish alton towers over in the UK would do the same thing.

 

[DIXIEGMCSM]

We didn't use kennels, our dog is crate trained. We take our crate and set it up in the hotel room. When we go out, we put him in it so housekeeping can do there thing without having to worry about the dog. It also helped the dog feel more comfortable with his familair "house". Everyone at the resort was very friendly and seemed to love the interaction with the four legged guests.

 

[femail]

isn't it funny how people are so quick to judge when you treat your animals better than most people treat their kids? if you think about it, as long as there is a minimum of care to your dog, whose concern is it that you go out of your way and above and beyond the "pet" status? when an animal is treated like part of the family, it acts like one; and they just don't stay around here long enough when you feel like that... i could tell story after story of my "babied" babies... but some just don't want to hear it..

i say... when you see one that is outside, rain, snow, sun, without protection, without food or water for hours at a time, without so much as a kind word, who you can tell is abused because they step so much as the wrong way outside, think.. what is going on on the inside? how about those children that live there too? THEN quit driving by and ignore.. THEN judge.. and i promise never to bite my tongue or turn the other cheek when someone is so quick here to judge.. and i promise, i A. wont say another word.. i was looking for universal stuff, really, for september... and B. all y'all were so kind not to flame on.. have a great nite!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.