TRIP REPORT - The OtHeR SiDe of OrlanDo -lodging at WINDSOR HILLS

[mikkiwikki]

Ok I know this is the OtHeR SiDe of OrlanDo report so
a trip to the theme park doesnt really fit...but we DID make a trip to the DARK side on a few dates.

We arrive at the Studios - the day after Christmas

We started by getting Preferred parking and DASHING down the moving walkways...

They are building something interesting after you approach the entrance..BeetleJuice?

Make our way to toon town...not sure why...
Anyone old enough to remember Blondie?

So many great Photo ops here.

Son under a thought bubble

After a few rides (pics from dr. seuss high in the sky trolley train)

We made our way back to Bubba Gumps for lunch-

We have been here before and love it. Our Waitress is great and gives us all kinds of trivia questions..about Gump menu here

I had a Coronita...

Hubby had a Shrimp Po'BOY

DD Kids chicken Tender

DS Kids CheeseBurger

Stuffed shrimp for me.....HushPuppies app for Hubby ANDhmm cant find pics will add when I find.

Everyone thought the food was great and had no complaints

Total 81.18
but I used my landry's card and saved 10%!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

Did you not stay very long? Didn't look like you did very much that day.

 

[mikkiwikki]

Did you not stay very long? Didn't look like you did very much that day.

We were in ORLANDO for 12 days and had and Unlimited 14 day pass to Universal so were pacing ourselves
After lunch we went back to harry Potter Land WHICH>> after the next few days...I realized how lucky we were.
We tried to go to Harry Potter Land in a few days in the afternoon...and they were handing out tickets toget in at a later time...Like the land was FULL and you could not get in...

So here are the picks of Harry from that day at The Flight of the Hippogriff. We went on three times.
.

PLEASE note and pause for a moment on Dear Daughter...with Hippogriff to the tune of 25 bucks ..BUT
Please also note you get a 10% discount with your AAA card. TIP!

We actually went on Storm Accellerator 2 times...also...but then the kids just wanted to swim..Pics of Pool coming up

 

[mikkiwikki]

Back to Windsor Hills

Given the title of the report I feel compelled to infuse it with lots of memories from our lodging...so here goes! After a bit of roaming at Universal we were ready to relax at Windsor HIlls. On that first day the traffic wasnt so bad.as soon as we got back to our condo the kids were in their swimsuits and out the door for the pool.

We just loved it here. Mind you this was in December and it was gorgeous. about 75 degrees..and the pool was heated.
There was NEVER any trouble getting a lounge chair...Can't say that for the Poly

Enjoy! (try to ignore the tantalizingly stunning leg in the last shot....calm down boys...I'm married - lol)

Counting down the days until spring break...we will be back!

 

[mikkiwikki]

we've. done gatorland every time we go..we love it..its tourism at its best.

totally agree.
When we go back in april the only thing my daughter wants to do is gatorland!
Wow ...let me see...
178 for universal ticket or 40 for Gatorland ....Hmm...OK! What to choose?

Gatorland it is!

I promise to get through the next few posts soon to post my Gatorland pics because it really was a big win for us.

 

[Sprockie]

Awesome, can't wait for Gatorland pics. We're flying out of northern NY today and checking in to Windsor Hills tonight for 2 weeks! I will keep checking for your posts.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

WH does look nice. My parents have a timeshare at Orange Lake and this year she exchanged into the Sheraton Vistana so that's where we're staying in April. What are your dates in April?
I hear ya about no chairs at the Poly LOL! They definately need a bigger pool and deck.
Can't wait to hea about Gatorland. How much did you say tix were???

 

[mikkiwikki]

We always rent through National/Emerald Club, they make it so easy for you. Pick out any car, thats fun. I love to hear more about xmas dinner at the Peabody, menu, price and dress code.

p.s never answered this question
The dress code was casual...but most people were wearing nicer clothes.
My son had shorts on but a collared shirt, me and dd had nice dresses, and fit right in. There were no flip flops here.

 

[mikkiwikki]

WH does look nice. My parents have a timeshare at Orange Lake and this year she exchanged into the Sheraton Vistana so that's where we're staying in April. What are your dates in April?
I hear ya about no chairs at the Poly LOL! They definately need a bigger pool and deck.
Can't wait to hear about Gatorland. How much did you say tix were???

Yep DDLUVSDISNEY - Couldnt believe I paid so much and could not even sit my but down near a pool on my vacation at the Poly. Total rip.
Like I said never had a problem finding a spot at WH...

Regarding Gatorland - We got our tix from unofficial tourist. They had the lowest prices. here they were. Ill post Gatorland tomorrow. Have to sleep!
-------------------------------------------------------------
1 Day 1 Park (Gatorland)
-------------------------------------------------------------

2 * Adult ($ 19.95) = 39.90
2 * Child ($ 12.95) = 25.90

 

[QuirkyBelle]

Whew! All caught up. I can't believe I didn't realize you'd started a TR. Looks like a great time so far, the ducks in particular. Can't wait to read more!

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

So glad I found your report!
We are doing universal in June and staying at Windsor hills.
Can't wait to hear how the rest of the trip went.

 

[mikkiwikki]

Whew! All caught up. I can't believe I didn't realize you'd started a TR. Looks like a great time so far, the ducks in particular. Can't wait to read more!

Quirky!! Thanks for subbing! ducks were cool ...Im skipping to GAtorland next...because I think that is what everyone here is interested in
Organizing my pics.....next hour they will be up!

 

[mikkiwikki]

So glad I found your report!
We are doing universal in June and staying at Windsor hills.
Can't wait to hear how the rest of the trip went.

new Subscriber!
Yes we loved Windsor HIlls...we are going back in April - I just actually asked hubby what he wanted to do...and he said he'd like to do a non-theme park trip..maybe some nice beaches...He LOVED Orlando Science Center too.
...so I guess our april trip will be more PURELY offsite.

 

[mikkiwikki]

Ok so GATORLAND...This really was a big win for us. The kids had so much fun here. My first advice is to CHECK when the land opens...I mistakenly read in an old tourist book...that it opened at 9am. Well apparently that is not all year long. We arrived at nine and they did not open until 10.

I was thinking No biggie we can drive around and grab a bite..but there literally are no restaurants for miles around this place. I think we ended up at some faraway convenience store to grab donuts...

Anyways. When it opened at 10 we had a blast..

Great Photo Ops

great family pic! In the famous Gator Jaws

blurry dd being a ham...

Now - we had already purchased our tickets at undercover tourist...so walked right up...to the window where a lady stamps your hand. NOW here is the TIP...listening?

You walk up to the window and the nice lady says if you want to ride the train its an extra 8 bucks a person. WELL what kid doesnt want to ride a train right?

BUT ....

You MUST go immediately at 11am when it opens to ride the train. Believe me....don't wait if you want to do it.

We got swept up in the animals...and made the mistake of waitingto try to get on the one train stop around 2 pm. MISTAKE

The line was so long there was no way we were waiting. So we spent 8x4 and never rode. SO lesson learned..and I hope this helps someone! (it did look like a very nice train we just didnt think it was worth waiting 30 mins for - around 2pm when we got over there)


As soon as you walk in you see all these baby gators..notice the christmas decorations. The kids were all like WHOOAAA....whoa!! and I was like wow..that's a lotta gators!

Very nice poster explaining how BRUNO was a gator that is very agressive and had attacked numerous trainers....One man had his hand chomped and its on Utube if you want to watch! Im not kidding thats what the poster next to this one said!

poster explaining the difference in Albino versus Leucistic gators.

The educational component of this park is awesome ...there are many people willing to answer your questions, and very helpful, and personable. I really got the feel of what Florida must have felt like before the theme parks moved in. So Awesome

Many more pics to come...we really loved gatorland...part 2 tomorrow!

 

[JenSinMA]

The trip to Universal was literally 24 mins...BUT I have to say we seemed to hit traffic consistently on the way back from universal...on the 3 days we went...each time... so it put the trip back around 35-40 mins.

Thanks for the drive time info. That's so weird that it took so much longer getting back. I wonder if it was because the week after Christmas is busy in general in Orlando. My hope is that it will be less busy/trafficky all around when I'm there, the 3rd week of April. But like you said, I'm not really worried about time spent on the drive back, just curious how much time to allow to get up there in the morning for rope-drop.

Oh, and I officially booked at Windsor Hills--yay! 7 of us extended family in a 4BR house called McDuck's Pad. Can't WAIT!! My biggest concern now is that we won't have enough time to hit the parks *and* enjoy WH to the fullest. LOVE your pics of WH pool area. Thanks and keep it coming!

 

[BrerMama]

I am crazy about wanting to go to Gatorland. I have no idea why I want to go so badly, I just am all "We're going to Gatorland." Thinking about doing it first thing on our break day, then we'll have the afternoon and evening to relax. Can't wait to read more!

 

[preschoolmom]

I am crazy about wanting to go to Gatorland. I have no idea why I want to go so badly, I just am all "We're going to Gatorland." Thinking about doing it first thing on our break day, then we'll have the afternoon and evening to relax. Can't wait to read more!

This is me, too! When I just read your post to my husband, he was all, "I thought you wrote that!"

I'm looking forward to the next installment!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

My boys will probably love Gatorland too. Now to convince DH. Lokking forward to more pics.

 

[mikkiwikki]

Oh, and I officially booked at Windsor Hills--yay! 7 of us extended family in a 4BR house called McDuck's Pad. Can't WAIT!! My biggest concern now is that we won't have enough time to hit the parks *and* enjoy WH to the fullest. LOVE your pics of WH pool area. Thanks and keep it coming!

COOL JENSINMA! Im sure you will love it there!

Thanks for reading Gatorland part 2 coming up!

 

[mikkiwikki]

Gatorland Upclose Encounters Show

This is a show that has bleachers. You basically find a spot & then two very nice fellows take to the stage ..mention they have a bunch of boxes delivered to them from all over the world.. Are there any volunteers from the audience that would be willing to help them with the contents of the boxes..??

Our hosts were very funny - cracking jokes every minute and keeping the audience laughing. They really engage the audience The show starts with them picking an especially squeamish audience member to assist them with the mystery boxes.

It goes something like this VIDEO

IN the end they get an audience member to hold a tarantula...

Next up getting a group to hold a boa Constrictor.

We really enjoyed this show and would not hesitate to see again.

More pics

Waterpark at Gatorland

NEXT we were off to the gator wrestling show

DD sitting on a gator

Next off to the Swamp walk . I have to say this was surreal...like untouched foliage as far as the eye could see...pristine untouched floridaland scapes ...so quiet and beautiful.

Right around a corner here we saw the biggest spider I have ever seen in my life.. about 9 Inches across..more than the size of my hand...just sitting on a tree a bit away from the walkway...I spotted it then kinda encouraged everyone to walk quickly by it....Gave *everyone* the heeby jeebies...but very cool to see nontheless. This experience is the real deal

Cannot believe more people do not flock here...it's so much better than Animal kingdom!

Ended our day with the huge tortoises.

You can't tell from this pic but they are really quite active...this guy had just walked all around and stopped for a rest when we snapped this picture.

Next off to bed...hope you enjoyed...tomorrow...
GRINCHMAS at UNIVERSAL

I neglected to mention that we ate lunch here...standard burgers and fries...not much to report...good food for a good price.
You can see in the pic above my daughter holding a gatorland souvie sippie cup..(comes with all kids meals) She still has it and is begging to go back to Gatorland for spring break.