OK folks – Here’s my trip report. Instead of doing the boring day-by-day report, I decided to break it up into sections and sub-sections so you can skip what you want, and read what you want. So, away we go:
Universal Orlando
We started the trip off with 5 nights at Universal. We had a Club Level room at the Royal Pacific. Probably 7th time we’ve stayed there, and we obviously love it. However, I will NEVER waste money on a Club Level room again. The Club Level was on the 7th floor, yet we had a 6th floor room. Not that it mattered much, as with the exception of breakfast, which was no better than what you get for free at Fairfield Inn, the food offerings were awful. The had a small bowl filled with Coke and Sprite cans (no fridge). A bucket of ice. For snacks they had small pretzels, chips, and some fruit. That was it. Otherwise, as always, the hotel was great. The staff is so friendly there, and they keep the place in beautiful shape.
The Universal Parks were awesome. The new Despicable Me ride is fantastic (as far as simulators go). The detail of the pre-show and Gru’s house is perfect. I got to do front row on The Hulk, Rip Ride Rockit and both sides of Dragon Challenge. Awesome! We had 1 issue at Universal. We took the kids on The Simpsons ride (which is really well done, and very funny). However, there are 2 rows on each car, and the back row is not any higher than the front row. We got seated in the back row behind 4 very tall people, and the kids could barely see the screen (I couldn’t either.) I went to Guest Relations later that day to give my opinion on the set-up, not thinking they’d care but it would make me feel better. Anyways, an attraction supervisor came out, spoke to me, apologized saying he agreed and they were looking into a way to resolve the problem. Then, he walked my family over there, made a couple of calls, and go us back onto the ride in a car by ourselves, in the most center part of the theater. I thought that was awesome! Definitely will be sending Universal an email about his kindness.
Sea World
On one of the days we were at Royal Pacific we went to Sea World, which personally, I don’t care for. I really don’t enjoy sitting in the blazing sun for shows, with no AC. Just not my thing. I wanted to ride both Kraken and Manta. My oldest (11) wasn’t up for Kraken, so I rode alone. I loved it. Great fun, though not quite as good as The Hulk. Manta, I can not see why everyone loves this coaster. I hated it. It was uncomfortable to begin with. On the very first dive when you go into the big loop, you are basically going backwards, which I don’t like. For about 7 seconds, my head felt like it was going to explode and I couldn’t breathe. The rest of the ride wasn’t as bad, but it’s so disorienting, I found it hard to enjoy.
Disney
First, the resort. Boardwalk Villas. Loved it. Can not believe the poor reviews I’ve read about it. The villa was beautiful and spacious. The resort itself has so much to do, and you really feel like you’re in the middle of everything. We didn’t go to any of the restaurants, but we made good use of the Bakery and Sweet Shop. Only problem with the resort was the bus service. Very slow, but that’s typical of the Deluxe Resorts. Pool was great. Performers on the Boardwalk were great. CM’s were great.
The parks all looked very good. Although, one thing I could not understand was the Bakery on Main Street. There was a scrim and work done on that building for what, 7 months? The windows looked great, but the awning going into the shop looked awful. They didn’t touch it. That was just bizarre. The parks, Magic Kingdom especially, were literally, overrun with Brazilian Tour Groups. Never seen so many in my life. Nothing new here. Many of the groups were well behaved, but some did the typical loud, obnoxious chanting. The one thing I really thought was handled poorly by Disney was how they let these groups just lie anywhere they wanted to. Seriously, the Magic Kingdom looked like a huge homeless section of a major city much of the time.
Splash didn’t look horrible, but it has issues. The porcupine in the beginning has a broken arm. The bunny sweeping the porch was missing an ear (though that was fixed after a few days.) None of the splashing water effects worked in the scene before the big drop. And Brer Fox lost his hat in one of the scenes.
Thunder looked great, though the man in the tub that spins wasn’t working the entire time. The ride also seemed slower than usual.
Fantasyland is coming along nicely.
They need to get rid of the dance party in Tomorrowland. It’s horrible and ruins the ambience.
Almost all the meals were great. Standouts included 50’s Prime Time and Via Napoli. Even Sci Fi was greatly improved this time. We did have 1 gross experience, and 1 very upsetting experience. Gross one was at San Angel Inn. We went for lunch and before we ate, I went to wash my hands in the restroom. Well, I had a Seinfeld moment. One of the waiters walked out of a stall after flushing the toilet, and walked right out without washing his hands. We decided, if that was our waiter, we wouldn’t be staying. Luckily, it wasn’t.
The next experience, was odd and I know some are going to say Disney was in the right, and I can see why they’d say it, but I still don’t agree. Ohana. It’s my favorite restaurant at Disney. We had 3 reservations for the 11 days we were there. The first dinner was all we went to. Food was fine, but here’s what happened. I have twin 5 year old. The cost of the feast for 3 – 9 year old is $19. Yeah it’s pricey, but you know that going in. Anyways, one of my boys was sound asleep through the entire meal. In his stroller, didn’t eat a thing. The waitress (who was very rude) knew this obviously. She mentioned to us that if my other son didn’t want the feat, he could have mac n cheese or chicken tenders. So, he wanted the mac n’ cheese. Everything is fine, except for the rudeness of the waitress. Anyways, we get the bill, and I see they’ve charged us $19 each for both my twins. I get it. They could use those seats for other people, but come on – It’s Disney. Every restaurant (besides V&A’s) is going to have kids and sometimes, they’re gonna be asleep. I asked for a manager. She came over, I explained the situation to her. She said she understood. She took one of the kids meals off, but still ended up charging us $19 for my son who only had a bowl of mac n cheese. This was on the 11th. When I got back to our room, I called the restaurant and left a voicemail letting them know I was unhappy. We checked out 11 days later and never got a call back. I should also add in, we have a long, wonderful history with Ohana. We were married at the Polynesian and had our wedding dinner there. We’ve eaten there probably 15 times over the years. It was very disheartening.
Whoooo…..that’s all I can think of. Please feel free to ask any questions and I’ll answer them for you.
Universal Orlando
We started the trip off with 5 nights at Universal. We had a Club Level room at the Royal Pacific. Probably 7th time we’ve stayed there, and we obviously love it. However, I will NEVER waste money on a Club Level room again. The Club Level was on the 7th floor, yet we had a 6th floor room. Not that it mattered much, as with the exception of breakfast, which was no better than what you get for free at Fairfield Inn, the food offerings were awful. The had a small bowl filled with Coke and Sprite cans (no fridge). A bucket of ice. For snacks they had small pretzels, chips, and some fruit. That was it. Otherwise, as always, the hotel was great. The staff is so friendly there, and they keep the place in beautiful shape.
The Universal Parks were awesome. The new Despicable Me ride is fantastic (as far as simulators go). The detail of the pre-show and Gru’s house is perfect. I got to do front row on The Hulk, Rip Ride Rockit and both sides of Dragon Challenge. Awesome! We had 1 issue at Universal. We took the kids on The Simpsons ride (which is really well done, and very funny). However, there are 2 rows on each car, and the back row is not any higher than the front row. We got seated in the back row behind 4 very tall people, and the kids could barely see the screen (I couldn’t either.) I went to Guest Relations later that day to give my opinion on the set-up, not thinking they’d care but it would make me feel better. Anyways, an attraction supervisor came out, spoke to me, apologized saying he agreed and they were looking into a way to resolve the problem. Then, he walked my family over there, made a couple of calls, and go us back onto the ride in a car by ourselves, in the most center part of the theater. I thought that was awesome! Definitely will be sending Universal an email about his kindness.
Sea World
On one of the days we were at Royal Pacific we went to Sea World, which personally, I don’t care for. I really don’t enjoy sitting in the blazing sun for shows, with no AC. Just not my thing. I wanted to ride both Kraken and Manta. My oldest (11) wasn’t up for Kraken, so I rode alone. I loved it. Great fun, though not quite as good as The Hulk. Manta, I can not see why everyone loves this coaster. I hated it. It was uncomfortable to begin with. On the very first dive when you go into the big loop, you are basically going backwards, which I don’t like. For about 7 seconds, my head felt like it was going to explode and I couldn’t breathe. The rest of the ride wasn’t as bad, but it’s so disorienting, I found it hard to enjoy.
Disney
First, the resort. Boardwalk Villas. Loved it. Can not believe the poor reviews I’ve read about it. The villa was beautiful and spacious. The resort itself has so much to do, and you really feel like you’re in the middle of everything. We didn’t go to any of the restaurants, but we made good use of the Bakery and Sweet Shop. Only problem with the resort was the bus service. Very slow, but that’s typical of the Deluxe Resorts. Pool was great. Performers on the Boardwalk were great. CM’s were great.
The parks all looked very good. Although, one thing I could not understand was the Bakery on Main Street. There was a scrim and work done on that building for what, 7 months? The windows looked great, but the awning going into the shop looked awful. They didn’t touch it. That was just bizarre. The parks, Magic Kingdom especially, were literally, overrun with Brazilian Tour Groups. Never seen so many in my life. Nothing new here. Many of the groups were well behaved, but some did the typical loud, obnoxious chanting. The one thing I really thought was handled poorly by Disney was how they let these groups just lie anywhere they wanted to. Seriously, the Magic Kingdom looked like a huge homeless section of a major city much of the time.
Splash didn’t look horrible, but it has issues. The porcupine in the beginning has a broken arm. The bunny sweeping the porch was missing an ear (though that was fixed after a few days.) None of the splashing water effects worked in the scene before the big drop. And Brer Fox lost his hat in one of the scenes.
Thunder looked great, though the man in the tub that spins wasn’t working the entire time. The ride also seemed slower than usual.
Fantasyland is coming along nicely.
They need to get rid of the dance party in Tomorrowland. It’s horrible and ruins the ambience.
Almost all the meals were great. Standouts included 50’s Prime Time and Via Napoli. Even Sci Fi was greatly improved this time. We did have 1 gross experience, and 1 very upsetting experience. Gross one was at San Angel Inn. We went for lunch and before we ate, I went to wash my hands in the restroom. Well, I had a Seinfeld moment. One of the waiters walked out of a stall after flushing the toilet, and walked right out without washing his hands. We decided, if that was our waiter, we wouldn’t be staying. Luckily, it wasn’t.
The next experience, was odd and I know some are going to say Disney was in the right, and I can see why they’d say it, but I still don’t agree. Ohana. It’s my favorite restaurant at Disney. We had 3 reservations for the 11 days we were there. The first dinner was all we went to. Food was fine, but here’s what happened. I have twin 5 year old. The cost of the feast for 3 – 9 year old is $19. Yeah it’s pricey, but you know that going in. Anyways, one of my boys was sound asleep through the entire meal. In his stroller, didn’t eat a thing. The waitress (who was very rude) knew this obviously. She mentioned to us that if my other son didn’t want the feat, he could have mac n cheese or chicken tenders. So, he wanted the mac n’ cheese. Everything is fine, except for the rudeness of the waitress. Anyways, we get the bill, and I see they’ve charged us $19 each for both my twins. I get it. They could use those seats for other people, but come on – It’s Disney. Every restaurant (besides V&A’s) is going to have kids and sometimes, they’re gonna be asleep. I asked for a manager. She came over, I explained the situation to her. She said she understood. She took one of the kids meals off, but still ended up charging us $19 for my son who only had a bowl of mac n cheese. This was on the 11th. When I got back to our room, I called the restaurant and left a voicemail letting them know I was unhappy. We checked out 11 days later and never got a call back. I should also add in, we have a long, wonderful history with Ohana. We were married at the Polynesian and had our wedding dinner there. We’ve eaten there probably 15 times over the years. It was very disheartening.
Whoooo…..that’s all I can think of. Please feel free to ask any questions and I’ll answer them for you.
