Doodlebug939
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2003
Love reading about your trip report. It is nice to hear the good and the bad. Can you share which Springhill hotel it? So many hotels down there!
10 Days at Universal/Sea World - Our Trip Report
- Thread starter rowan555
- Start date
rowan555
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
You could potentially walk to Aquatica, but I wouldn't recommend it. You REALLY don't want to walk to Sea World, as the entrance is way over on the other side. The shuttle was quick, easy, and always on time.
Regarding overplanning - just stop! You don't need to do anything other than loosely make a park plan for each day, of which park you intend to visit. You can fill in the evenings with dinners, Downtown Disney, and maybe Disney Quest if you want a mini Disney fix. Actual planning for the whole day is neither needed nor IMO desirable for these parks. Just go with the flow and you'll be fine.
rowan555
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
Springhill at Sea World, which is a sister hotel to the Fairfield, and they share the same pool, gym, and park shuttle.
rowan555
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
Real life is interrupting my forum posting, lol, so here's the review I posted on Trip Advisor about the Fun Spot.
We spent a day at Fun Spot America as a low key break from our days at Universal and Sea World. I didn't expect much, but we'd gotten a pretty good deal on the all day ride and go cart passes, so I figured we'd spend a few hours there and hopefully have a nice time. I have to say, Fun Spot was a true highlight of our trip.
This location has some brand new additions, which is why we chose it over the Kissimmee location. I'm really glad we did. The two new rollercoasters were surprisingly fun, even after repeated visits to Islands of Adventure to ride Hulk and Dragon Challenge. White Lightning was probably the most fun we had all day - riding it at night in the rain was a treat. The go cart tracks were fun, and each one was different, so it didn't get boring. The Paratrooper and Rip Curl were fun and very nostalgic for me, as those were two of my favorite rides at a park I used to visit as a child. The Enterprise ride was VERY fun and worth the visit just to be able to ride that one again and again.
In addition to some fun rides and go cart tracks, there is a restaurant and an arcade/snack bar area. The $5 drink cup with unlimited refills was a big hit on the hot day we visited, and we also took advantage of the $5 popcorn with $1 refills. Prices on food were quite reasonable, but we took a break at lunch time and ate off site (Sweet Tomatoes and Del Taco are a block away - and both are excellent, by the way).
Restrooms and eating areas were pristine, and despite the crowds as the day progressed, they were kept clean. After the rainstorm which hit in the evening, employees dried the benches throughout the park with leaf blowers - what a nice touch!
I must say that the number one draw of this park is the staff. Everyone we encountered from the moment we walked in and got our wristbands through the really nice young man who sold my daughter a caramel apple as we left the park at 10 that night were some of the most friendly, enthusiastic people we encountered during our entire trip. The go cart staff should be commended for their ability to remain patient and keep smiles on their faces - I have to say, I would probably want to punch some of those kids (and adults) who simply don't seem willing to follow the rules. Nevertheless, the staff remained friendly no matter how obnoxious the guests might have been. I actually wanted to find a manager to commend him/her on the great staff and the wonderful overall experience, but once the rain began, everyone was so busy that I didn't want to take up anyone's time.
We hope to visit Orlando again soon, and Fun Spot is the one "definite" on our list of things to do again. I wish we lived closer, we'd buy annual passes in a heartbeat. Thanks for a wonderful day to everyone at Fun Spot America.
We spent a day at Fun Spot America as a low key break from our days at Universal and Sea World. I didn't expect much, but we'd gotten a pretty good deal on the all day ride and go cart passes, so I figured we'd spend a few hours there and hopefully have a nice time. I have to say, Fun Spot was a true highlight of our trip.
This location has some brand new additions, which is why we chose it over the Kissimmee location. I'm really glad we did. The two new rollercoasters were surprisingly fun, even after repeated visits to Islands of Adventure to ride Hulk and Dragon Challenge. White Lightning was probably the most fun we had all day - riding it at night in the rain was a treat. The go cart tracks were fun, and each one was different, so it didn't get boring. The Paratrooper and Rip Curl were fun and very nostalgic for me, as those were two of my favorite rides at a park I used to visit as a child. The Enterprise ride was VERY fun and worth the visit just to be able to ride that one again and again.
In addition to some fun rides and go cart tracks, there is a restaurant and an arcade/snack bar area. The $5 drink cup with unlimited refills was a big hit on the hot day we visited, and we also took advantage of the $5 popcorn with $1 refills. Prices on food were quite reasonable, but we took a break at lunch time and ate off site (Sweet Tomatoes and Del Taco are a block away - and both are excellent, by the way).
Restrooms and eating areas were pristine, and despite the crowds as the day progressed, they were kept clean. After the rainstorm which hit in the evening, employees dried the benches throughout the park with leaf blowers - what a nice touch!
I must say that the number one draw of this park is the staff. Everyone we encountered from the moment we walked in and got our wristbands through the really nice young man who sold my daughter a caramel apple as we left the park at 10 that night were some of the most friendly, enthusiastic people we encountered during our entire trip. The go cart staff should be commended for their ability to remain patient and keep smiles on their faces - I have to say, I would probably want to punch some of those kids (and adults) who simply don't seem willing to follow the rules. Nevertheless, the staff remained friendly no matter how obnoxious the guests might have been. I actually wanted to find a manager to commend him/her on the great staff and the wonderful overall experience, but once the rain began, everyone was so busy that I didn't want to take up anyone's time.
We hope to visit Orlando again soon, and Fun Spot is the one "definite" on our list of things to do again. I wish we lived closer, we'd buy annual passes in a heartbeat. Thanks for a wonderful day to everyone at Fun Spot America.
rowan555
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
Hopefully this works...my Facebook is public. Here are some photo highlights of the trip...
https://www.facebook.com/susangilleland/posts/10151860706148081
https://www.facebook.com/susangilleland/posts/10151860706148081
vacation_junkie
Have Suitcase...will Travel :)
- Joined
- Sep 13, 2009
Awesome pictures! That donut is HUGE!!!!
Thanks for sharing your trip report, sounds like you and your daughter will have long lasting memories of this mother daughter trip together. I can't wait until my daughter is older so we can do something similar without the boys. I still haven't posted my trip report yet, I am really slacking off.
Can you tell me how much and where you got this deal? We are coaster fanatics and want to add these to our list, but don't have a lot of time or money to devote to it.
rowan555
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
bestoforlando dot com is where I got the discounted tickets - best deal of the trip. I think the tickets came to about $31.50 each with tax. $5 for a drink cup with free refills forever, lol, and a $5 huge popcorn bucket with $1 refills made it even better! We left and went a block away to Sweet Tomatoes for a GREAT lunch (had a b1g1f coupon, spent $9 for us BOTH, and we stopped at Del Taco, also a block away, on the way home. Again, we used a coupon from Facebook and spent $3 for dinner for both of us. I wish I could go re-do this entire day!
rowan555
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2002
Thanks! We're going to try to make this an annual thing - a girls trip for just the two of us. I'm looking at our options for late next spring and thinking about St. Louis - some great museums, a Six Flags park that looks nice, and airfare should be pretty cheap. As much as we loved Universal/Sea World, I think it would be cool to try something new each year (although the annual pass I bought is sadly going to go to waste now, haha).
tinkerbellmagic
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2003
Wow, I really loved your 'telling it like it is' trip report. I was able to get a better idea of what these parks and rides are like. Lots of helpful hints! Thanks for sharing!
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