Ariel'sMom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2000
Our family:
Me, Mom, 40, chief trip planner
DH, 51, get-us-up-in-the-morning chief
DD, 14
DD, 11
Sister-in-law, 50, staying at PBH
Niece, 12
Our flight was not leaving until 6:45 p.m. so we really had almost a whole day ahead of us. The late check-out time was noon so we decided to pack up that morning and leave our luggage with bell service so we didn't have to come back. I packed everyone's bathing suits on top just in case we wanted some pool time before heading out. Our use of bell service both arriving and departing was great. I checked in the bags--even my purse, but kept my wallet and flight itinerary. We arrived at US about 9:45 a.m. to see the sites we had missed on the first day and have a leisurely pace. Our first ride was ET and I was so impressed with this ride. There was no line and we arrived in time to go into the first station where you present your name. I could see where this could get pretty crowded, but it was a breeze for us. I loved the theming in the queue--I wish we hadn't walked so fast through it as there were a lot of details. I loved the bike-shaped seat and we had the front row, which was nice. I also loved the feeling of riding through the sky. This was a visually beautiful ride that we all agreed was very cool. Be sure to listen at the end. While we were waiting for other things to open, we hit BTTF and MIB again. That MIB was a hoot. I realized I had been in the same-side car each ride, but didn't get a chance to try the other side. It would have been nice to see if I missed seeing targets on the other side. We then headed back to the entrance area as we had missed all of the production central area. The Hanna Barbera ride opened at 11 a.m., I think, and rather than have us go through an express entrance, they had us go to the beginning of the line and enter there. I think everyone in line got in as it can fit a lot of people. I really enjoyed this ride--I loved seeing the cartoon characters that were so familiar and feeling like we were part of the adventure. Universal does a really good job with the whole interaction thing. Youngest DD really wanted to see Nickelodeon Studios and I wanted to accomodate her as we had told her we couldn't take the time to try for Slime Time Live. DH and older DD decided to pass. (At this point sis-in-law and niece took off on their own as they had an earlier flight). I asked the attendant and found out the tour was about 40 minutes. I was hoping DH and DD would ask, too, and come back. I think DD really enjoyed the tour because she was familiar with all the shows they talked about. I was happy I always got a seat on the bench! The end was really fun. They took us into a floor area with bleachers around it that looked like a set on a show and kids sat on two sides and adults sat on the other two. Our guide came up to me and said "you are going to be the cheerleader on this team." I said that was okay but I'm not sure I had a choice! Turns out I had to ride a tricycle with a motorcycle helmet on during one of the games where the kids try to throw bean bags on the velcro jacket they had me wear. It was pretty funny and DD was pleased mom was embarassing herself! DD did not get picked for any events, but she enjoyed it all a lot. I was happy we took the time to do the tour. We met up with DH and DD outside and went to the first showing of the Alfred Hitchcock show (though we were getting pretty hungry and I get pretty ornery when I'm hungry)! My only disappointment with this show was that it really didn't tell you very much about Hitchcock's cinematography tricks. It was more of a tribute to his work, which was well deserved. The live action set was a little strange--our cast member was kind of goofy. I did wonder if they were going to reinact the knife scene of Psycho with volunteers, which they did not. They did have audience volunteers for the last part of the production and DH was chosen to act out the falling-from-a-building scene in one of Hitchcock's movies (can't remember the name right now). It was fun to watch two grown men pretend they were actors. DH had spotted La Boulangerie for lunch in this area and we chose it because the sandwiches looked really fresh and less heavy than the food we had been eating. We had one soup, two sandwiches and potato salad, and a green salad that was plenty for the four of us. It was now late enough for The Gory...Make-up Show, which started at noon. The waiting area had a nice exhibit and monster clips on the monitor. The attendant let in the handicapped folks first and then the FOTL/Express Line. We sat in the front row and waiting about five minutes before they let in everyone else. It was nice to be able to study the sets--the jars of body parts were a nice touch. This was one of the few places where they asked you to sit in the center area in front of the stage rather than all the way over--they must have been able to tell by the crowd size how full the auditorium was going to be. We really enjoyed this show. It was all live with special effects and the two commentators fed off each other very well. It almost seemed like much of their dialogue was ad lib. The audience member they chose was a Japanese woman who's name was pronounced "mommy," which, of course, they had a lot of fun with. The fly machines were a little lame, but fit with the humor of the show. By now it was early afternoon and we had to decide if we were going to push ourselves and hit IOA or just take it easy. We opted for the latter and headed for a second trip to Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue. This show was really funny and the music was great. I think the newness of the first time made it better the first time, but we really enjoyed it. I had promised DDs we would get dots (ice cream) and remembered that a stand was in Amity. I was so glad we visited this area of the park again. On our first day, we were so early that the streets were empty. On the last day, the weather was hot and the streets were hopping and it really did feel like we were in a scenic coastal town in the middle of summer. It was almost 3:00 and we decided to head back to HRH for one last swim. The woman at bell service took us back to our bags and we collected our suits and lotion and headed for the bathrooms near the beach cafe to change. I kept all our clothes on a table by our beach chairs and DDs hit the pool. It was getting hot so I soon followed after them and DH watched our stuff. It felt great to be in the water. About 4:30 we showered at the outdoor showers, which were freezing! Then changed our clothes in the bathroom and I got a plastic bag from bell service to put our wet bathing suits in and packed them. I think they often have people doing this. The person I gave our luggage ticket to called us a taxi and we were headed out about 5:15. It went so smoothly, I couldn't believe it. Using a taxi to and from the airport worked out really well for us. I knew we might have trouble with our flights on the way so I didn't want to reserve a towncar and I didn't want to have to stop other places with the shuttle. It turns out that a family of four for a taxi to USF costs the same as the shuttle and less than the towncar. They had estimated prices marked on the taxi stand and ours cost $40 one way with tolls and tip. I really liked the flexibility of the taxi, plus I didn't have to worry about the towncar being there when I needed it or fitting my schedule to the shuttle schedule.
Our stay at HRH and visit to USF was the perfect short vacation. We really needed something that was stressfree and we got it. The staff and surroundings of HRH could not have been nicer. The ability to walk to everything and not have to deal with a car or shuttle made me feel really pampered. Everyday was pure entertainment. Thanks for reading!
Hard Rock Hotel 4/01
Wyndham Palace 7/00
Port Orleans & DCL 12/00
Disneyland Paris 4/99
AllStar Sports 2/98
[This message was edited by Ariel'sMom on 04-08-01 at 11:12 AM.]
[This message was edited by Ariel'sMom on 04-08-01 at 11:20 AM.]
[This message was edited by Ariel'sMom on 04-08-01 at 11:31 AM.]
Me, Mom, 40, chief trip planner
DH, 51, get-us-up-in-the-morning chief
DD, 14
DD, 11
Sister-in-law, 50, staying at PBH
Niece, 12
Our flight was not leaving until 6:45 p.m. so we really had almost a whole day ahead of us. The late check-out time was noon so we decided to pack up that morning and leave our luggage with bell service so we didn't have to come back. I packed everyone's bathing suits on top just in case we wanted some pool time before heading out. Our use of bell service both arriving and departing was great. I checked in the bags--even my purse, but kept my wallet and flight itinerary. We arrived at US about 9:45 a.m. to see the sites we had missed on the first day and have a leisurely pace. Our first ride was ET and I was so impressed with this ride. There was no line and we arrived in time to go into the first station where you present your name. I could see where this could get pretty crowded, but it was a breeze for us. I loved the theming in the queue--I wish we hadn't walked so fast through it as there were a lot of details. I loved the bike-shaped seat and we had the front row, which was nice. I also loved the feeling of riding through the sky. This was a visually beautiful ride that we all agreed was very cool. Be sure to listen at the end. While we were waiting for other things to open, we hit BTTF and MIB again. That MIB was a hoot. I realized I had been in the same-side car each ride, but didn't get a chance to try the other side. It would have been nice to see if I missed seeing targets on the other side. We then headed back to the entrance area as we had missed all of the production central area. The Hanna Barbera ride opened at 11 a.m., I think, and rather than have us go through an express entrance, they had us go to the beginning of the line and enter there. I think everyone in line got in as it can fit a lot of people. I really enjoyed this ride--I loved seeing the cartoon characters that were so familiar and feeling like we were part of the adventure. Universal does a really good job with the whole interaction thing. Youngest DD really wanted to see Nickelodeon Studios and I wanted to accomodate her as we had told her we couldn't take the time to try for Slime Time Live. DH and older DD decided to pass. (At this point sis-in-law and niece took off on their own as they had an earlier flight). I asked the attendant and found out the tour was about 40 minutes. I was hoping DH and DD would ask, too, and come back. I think DD really enjoyed the tour because she was familiar with all the shows they talked about. I was happy I always got a seat on the bench! The end was really fun. They took us into a floor area with bleachers around it that looked like a set on a show and kids sat on two sides and adults sat on the other two. Our guide came up to me and said "you are going to be the cheerleader on this team." I said that was okay but I'm not sure I had a choice! Turns out I had to ride a tricycle with a motorcycle helmet on during one of the games where the kids try to throw bean bags on the velcro jacket they had me wear. It was pretty funny and DD was pleased mom was embarassing herself! DD did not get picked for any events, but she enjoyed it all a lot. I was happy we took the time to do the tour. We met up with DH and DD outside and went to the first showing of the Alfred Hitchcock show (though we were getting pretty hungry and I get pretty ornery when I'm hungry)! My only disappointment with this show was that it really didn't tell you very much about Hitchcock's cinematography tricks. It was more of a tribute to his work, which was well deserved. The live action set was a little strange--our cast member was kind of goofy. I did wonder if they were going to reinact the knife scene of Psycho with volunteers, which they did not. They did have audience volunteers for the last part of the production and DH was chosen to act out the falling-from-a-building scene in one of Hitchcock's movies (can't remember the name right now). It was fun to watch two grown men pretend they were actors. DH had spotted La Boulangerie for lunch in this area and we chose it because the sandwiches looked really fresh and less heavy than the food we had been eating. We had one soup, two sandwiches and potato salad, and a green salad that was plenty for the four of us. It was now late enough for The Gory...Make-up Show, which started at noon. The waiting area had a nice exhibit and monster clips on the monitor. The attendant let in the handicapped folks first and then the FOTL/Express Line. We sat in the front row and waiting about five minutes before they let in everyone else. It was nice to be able to study the sets--the jars of body parts were a nice touch. This was one of the few places where they asked you to sit in the center area in front of the stage rather than all the way over--they must have been able to tell by the crowd size how full the auditorium was going to be. We really enjoyed this show. It was all live with special effects and the two commentators fed off each other very well. It almost seemed like much of their dialogue was ad lib. The audience member they chose was a Japanese woman who's name was pronounced "mommy," which, of course, they had a lot of fun with. The fly machines were a little lame, but fit with the humor of the show. By now it was early afternoon and we had to decide if we were going to push ourselves and hit IOA or just take it easy. We opted for the latter and headed for a second trip to Beetlejuice Graveyard Revue. This show was really funny and the music was great. I think the newness of the first time made it better the first time, but we really enjoyed it. I had promised DDs we would get dots (ice cream) and remembered that a stand was in Amity. I was so glad we visited this area of the park again. On our first day, we were so early that the streets were empty. On the last day, the weather was hot and the streets were hopping and it really did feel like we were in a scenic coastal town in the middle of summer. It was almost 3:00 and we decided to head back to HRH for one last swim. The woman at bell service took us back to our bags and we collected our suits and lotion and headed for the bathrooms near the beach cafe to change. I kept all our clothes on a table by our beach chairs and DDs hit the pool. It was getting hot so I soon followed after them and DH watched our stuff. It felt great to be in the water. About 4:30 we showered at the outdoor showers, which were freezing! Then changed our clothes in the bathroom and I got a plastic bag from bell service to put our wet bathing suits in and packed them. I think they often have people doing this. The person I gave our luggage ticket to called us a taxi and we were headed out about 5:15. It went so smoothly, I couldn't believe it. Using a taxi to and from the airport worked out really well for us. I knew we might have trouble with our flights on the way so I didn't want to reserve a towncar and I didn't want to have to stop other places with the shuttle. It turns out that a family of four for a taxi to USF costs the same as the shuttle and less than the towncar. They had estimated prices marked on the taxi stand and ours cost $40 one way with tolls and tip. I really liked the flexibility of the taxi, plus I didn't have to worry about the towncar being there when I needed it or fitting my schedule to the shuttle schedule.
Our stay at HRH and visit to USF was the perfect short vacation. We really needed something that was stressfree and we got it. The staff and surroundings of HRH could not have been nicer. The ability to walk to everything and not have to deal with a car or shuttle made me feel really pampered. Everyday was pure entertainment. Thanks for reading!
Hard Rock Hotel 4/01
Wyndham Palace 7/00
Port Orleans & DCL 12/00
Disneyland Paris 4/99
AllStar Sports 2/98
[This message was edited by Ariel'sMom on 04-08-01 at 11:12 AM.]
[This message was edited by Ariel'sMom on 04-08-01 at 11:20 AM.]
[This message was edited by Ariel'sMom on 04-08-01 at 11:31 AM.]
