HO-HO-HO..We`ll put the RUM in Pa-Rum-Pum-Pum-Pum! 16 holiday nights at SF & RPR. A Nov/Dec 2023 Trip Report

[schumigirl]

Christopher Lloyd, who played Doc Brown in the movies, is my husband's fourth cousin! They have a shared ancestor who was a major figure in the Underground Railroad on Long Island, and was a New York State Senator (Nathan Lapham.) Christopher is descended though Nathan's son Jesse, and my husband is descended through his son Arden. So I have a bit of a soft spot for Doc Brown, even though the actor has no idea lol. Whenever we see that character in the park I smile.

How cool is that!!!

Yes, I can see why you`d have a soft spot for him knowing the connection there, he is a very good actor and some of the characters have him down to a tee!!!

Ancestry is amazing, you never know what you`re going to find!!

 

[schumigirl]

We went straight to the car when we got off the boat as we were technically homeless right now till our room was ready and we had a destination in mind to go for lunch today.

Samuel had told us they had enjoyed some good burgers in a place called Twin Peaks on I Drive so we were intrigued to give it a try as we had never gone before. When it opened several years I got very excited thinking it was based on the TV show called Twin Peaks from the early 1990`s. I was sorely disappointed to find out it wasn`t.

I loved that show, it did have a cult following and it hooked me from the first few seconds, and our Kyle is named after the lovely Kyle McLachlan who played the wonderful Special Agent Dale Cooper who enjoyed a damn fine cup o coffee and that Cherry Pie! Yep, loved it. The Log lady was a hoot but Bob had to be one of the scariest characters in a tv show!!! Sorry, I`m rambling again.

But, this was not anything like that, it is supposed to be a Wilderness Lodge themed sports bar and obvious comparisons to Hooters which we really like, but haven`t been there for a long time, so we were curious as to how good this place was.

The top part of I Drive once you pass the newer Universal hotels has some parts that aren`t very nice, they have the tackier gift shops and very much a tourist spot, but when you go further on it does get a little nicer, by the time you hit where the Orlando Eye is, or Icon Park as it likes to be known is, you can see where the money has been spent as it just looks cleaner in general down here.

We`ve been on the eye many times and you do get some lovely views from up there, Tom asked me once if I wanted to go on the StarFlyer.....

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Not for a million dollars.

We headed into Twin Peaks and my first feeling was it appeared quite nice, not overly friendly as we went in, but not unfriendly, we were taken to a booth and told Evelysse would be with us soon. She did take her time I have to say and the place wasn`t really that busy to be honest.

It`s a nice menu with loads of options and when our young lady did appear to take out drinks order it struck me she looked very young, they all did.

I`m not sure if that`s a sign of me getting older, but the Hooters girls all seem a little more mature in nature and attitude and had a lot of confidence, but I felt they just seemed much younger in general.

However she was very nice.

Tom ordered a Dr Pepper and I asked for a Cabernet, then we really studied the menu`s.

If you are a beer drinker, they had more than enough choices on their board and they did seem to promote their beers when you go in.

Tom went for the Hottie Jalapeno Popper Flatbread which was made up of chicken, Bacon, jalapenos, parmesan, cheddar and mozzarella, white sauce, pepper and a bacon ranch dressing, it was not the most inspiring looking flatbread I have to say but it was quite tasty in the end.

I knew I was going to have a burger, and went with the Smokestack Burger which came with brisket, jalapenos, tomato, sweet bbq sauce and chipotle mayo which seemed to be missing. I omitted cheese and red onion.....but it did come with both cheese and red onions, but easy to pick off, not an issue at all.

It was nice burger, well cooked and had some flavour, but wasn`t the best burger I had ever tasted, it sounds as if I didn`t enjoy it, I did, I just expected more.

Our waitress came to take the plates away when we were done and noticed the cheese and onions on the top of the bun which I never eat and apologised, she said she had asked for them to be left off, I told her no problem it wasn`t an issue and it really wasn`t.

Would we go back there? Probably not, maybe at night it would be better, there was nothing wrong with it to be fair, it just didn`t do anything to make us want to go back. I always feel bad when somewhere just doesn`t click with us, but this one didn`t.

Just as we arrived we got a txt from M saying our suite was ready so as soon as we finished we got back in the car and headed home to get settled into our room as we headed out into the car park we wished we were still in the park as it was gorgeous now, gloriously warm and sunny, but we had some unpacking to do.

It`s very unusual to see this entrance completely deserted, day or night, so we snapped it when we saw there was no-one around, the gateway to the rest of our stay

Our luggage was being sent up in a few minutes so we headed up in to an immaculate suite, it was so fresh as the rooms always are, housekeepers at both Sapphire and RP are always amazing and we have never had one single complaint about the housekeeping, they do a wonderful job.

We love this suite at RP, the King Suite is more than enough for the two of us and even when Kyle stayed with us, we had plenty of room, one bathroom isn`t an issue as after almost 34 years together, there are no surprises anymore. The barn door seems to be a problem for some people, they don`t like it as some seem to think it lacks privacy, but I think if you`re with family the bathroom situation here is fine, well it is for us anyway.

There is loads of storage in the King Suite, you have a second double closet off the sitting room where the safe, ironing board and iron are located, drawers in the unit under the tv and then what you have in the bedroom.

The bed is so comfy!!!

And again, plenty of drawer space as well as the closet, so for us we have more than enough space for all the stuff we travel with. Probably far too much of course, but I`d rather have too many clothes as not enough. I do tend to live our vacations with a certain mantra.....or so I`m told......

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That might be true.

For years we always had a theme park/pool view, which is lovely, but as we sometimes come back to the room for a mid afternoon snooze, the pool can get noisy during that time at certain times of the year, so a good few years ago we asked Raymond if we could get the opposite view as it is quieter, and it works for us better. We still see lights at night which is something I quite like to fall asleep to, Tom would have complete darkness when he`s falling asleep, but generally he doesn`t mind here.

The shower is in with the toilet and the sink is separate which is ideal for one person to be showering while the other gets ready, in our case, I shower first while sleeping beauty sleeps longer, then as he showers, I dry and straighten my hair, it works well for us.

The water pressure in this hotel is wonderful! You certainly know you`ve had a shower in these ones.

The products placed in the rooms are nice, I do like their shampoo and conditioner, but buy my own shower gel for our stay, but they are replenished regularly and they do leave plenty in your room for you to use and if you do need more, you can call Star Services on your phone if you don`t catch your housekeeper and they will arrange more to be sent to your room and you call that number for anything else you need, they are incredibly helpful when you call.

We were over the moon to see the wonderful array of amenities that the lovely M had arranged to be in our room for our arrival, it is always so lovely to see the thought and consideration that goes into making guests feel special and M really does so much for us and we appreciate it so much. Lovely lady who we absolutely adore!

The strawberries and fruit sushi we would enjoy later!!!

These were a lovely surprise for us today again!

There is a picture of the fridge in the RP sticky on the hotel board, but people always ask about the size of the fridge in the rooms and this is basically what you get unless you have the Presidential or Hospitality Suites where you get a full size fridge freezer, but for other rooms it`s a regular hotel fridge and it does hold a decent amount of items.

I send M off a txt to thank her for the lovely room and for all the treats she had arranged to be in here today, genuinely we are so grateful for the kindness we are shown.

Our luggage arrived and we began to unpack and hang everything up, when Kyle stays he gets the closet off the sitting room and Tom and I share the one in the bedroom, but now it`s just the two of us, I get the one in the bedroom just for me!!!!

It doesn`t take us long to get unpacked, I potter around the bedroom thinking Tom is very quiet so I look through and he is snoozing on the sofa and he is out for the count, took him about a minute to unpack. I swear he could fall asleep in the middle of the freeway!!

I stay in the bedroom and get my ipad, send a couple of emails and pop on the Dis for half an hour then went through for a shower while sleeping beauty still slept, but once I put the hairdryer on, he woke up and he went in the shower too.

It was Club Lounge time now, so we headed down and saw Carlos and Sunyen and they were asking all about the drag show and were glad we enjoyed it.

We had just arrived when Egle appeared to say hello, she is the manager of housekeeping for T3 and we`ve known her forever, lovely lady who we had run into on Saturday at the charity event. She always pops in to say hello when we`re here and checks if everything is fine with our housekeeping, which it aways is of course. We have a catch up and she heads home for the evening, but we`ll see her some more over the trip.

I had a few glasses of wine and Tom had beer tonight for a change, we weren`t hungry right now, and did think of going into the park, but to be honest, we didn`t have the notion and I think that night was the one we realised, much as though we love Christmas, I don`t think we`d come back for the Holidays again. We don`t need the special events to enjoy coming here, we had been to Mardi Gras several times and that was something that we didn`t feel the need to ever do again.

We sat and chatted the evening away and it always passes so quickly and we decide not long before service finishes we`ll have some chicken here and not bother going out for dinner again. I think this was the trip we ate the most times in the lounge, but when it`s convenient, why not.
Tonight they had a salad with my favourite Citrus dressing they have, it`s very nice, but I didn`t actually have any tonight.

Tonight they had jerk chicken and sweet honey plantains, something I`d never had before and I can honestly say I wish I had been hungrier!!!
They were amazing!!

We shared a plate with some of the chicken and plantains, that was more than enough for us tonight and it was lovely.

We chatted to the staff for a while and once again as we left we did think of heading into Citywalk for a time, but we didn`t, instead we took some wine and went to the room to rent a movie and we`d snack on the strawberries and fruit sushi.

The rooms always look so cosy at night, turndown do a lovely job and put the lights on dim and leave some water with a lovely little card, it`s a nice touch.

The cushions were still in place from where Tom snoozed!

We had some issues getting the movie tonight, Tom popped down to the desk as I was in my jammies by now, they said there were some issues with some tv`s tonight, one of the managers we have met a couple of times popped up and had a look, but said he`d send up an engineer who was there within 5 minutes and he sorted the issue immediately.

We watched the movie and enjoyed the strawberries and some of the sushi, we kept the fresh fruit in the fridge for tomorrow.

We were ready for bed about 11pm, our friends had sent a txt about 10.30 to say they had arrived in Citywalk, did we want to join them......heck no, once my jammies are on, I don`t go back out!!!

So, off to bed we went and I again, left the drapes slightly open and climbed into that ever so comfy bed.....Tom was asleep before I even got back into the room, so I snuggled in and don`t remember another thing till the morning.

Tomorrow we had been told was going to be cooler, so we planned not doing very much and we had a Dis meet in the evening with a new-ish friend!!! But, for tonight it was nice to be home.

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[Worfiedoodles]

What a lovely day you were having!
I admit to enjoying hot butterbeer, but acknowledge it is so sweet.
I may try the Vegan version as I understand it is actually less sweet

Mr. Worfiedoodles has said he will try Gringotts on our next trip.
He doesn’t enjoy rollercoasters, but I feel like this is more of a spinny ride with screens, like a souped up Spidey. He may only ride once, but I think he’d like it.

I will do TF once a trip, it I just don’t enjoy it that much.
Yet I love Spider-Man — so I guess it must be that pixel difference.

I like to wander through WW.
It is bright and colorful.
I haven’t bought anything there, but I wouldn’t hesitate if I found something to thrill my Ravenclaw heart

Glad to see you all settled in at RPR.
The treats in your room look wonderful!
And I have to say I’m very encouraged by the Happy Hour offerings.
The proteins look well-prepared and delicious!

It is disappointing when things turn cold.
I hope it doesn’t last long for you

 

[margareton27]

I may try the Vegan version as I understand it is actually less sweet

That’s a good tip!

 

[schumigirl]

What a lovely day you were having!
I admit to enjoying hot butterbeer, but acknowledge it is so sweet.
I may try the Vegan version as I understand it is actually less sweet

Mr. Worfiedoodles has said he will try Gringotts on our next trip.
He doesn’t enjoy rollercoasters, but I feel like this is more of a spinny ride with screens, like a souped up Spidey. He may only ride once, but I think he’d like it.

I will do TF once a trip, it I just don’t enjoy it that much.
Yet I love Spider-Man — so I guess it must be that pixel difference.

I like to wander through WW.
It is bright and colorful.
I haven’t bought anything there, but I wouldn’t hesitate if I found something to thrill my Ravenclaw heart

Glad to see you all settled in at RPR.
The treats in your room look wonderful!
And I have to say I’m very encouraged by the Happy Hour offerings.
The proteins look well-prepared and delicious!

It is disappointing when things turn cold.
I hope it doesn’t last long for you

I hope you like the vegan version Maria, I wish I did like it, but prefer their pumpkin fizz, again, very sweet so we always share that too.

Oh I think Mr W will enjoy Gringotts too, it`s not rollercoaster like but still a lot of fun. And it`s funny a lot of folks have said what you said, they`ll do TF once but always love doing SM more often. Another confession time.....not interested or know anything about TF!!

The chicken dishes and beef bulogi are some of the nicest dishes they have right now, yes, well prepared and we did enjoy them. Yes, we settled in nicely and always appreciate the lovely treats sent to us, they are always lovely.

The cold didn`t last but another reason I think we don`t plan to go back that time of year, rain can happen anytime of the year, but at least in May and September we know it`s going to be hot.......

 

[keishashadow]

choked on my coffee reading you went to Twin PeaksHooters a one & done for us years ago, never tried this version of the genre. Will say that location looked rather sedate compared to the one near WDW that always seems, um…rollicking Always get a giggle walking to our car after a meal at our fav Miller’s location next door lol

what a lovely spread you had waiting in your suite! Had me at strawberries. Was lucky enough to find them in our suite there a couple times, luckier the mr doesn’t like strawberries…figured it had to be a mistake

 

[schumigirl]

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 28TH​

We slept like babies last night in our new bed and maybe overslept a little as we planned to be up very early to get into the parks and we knew our housekeeper was going to be here early, we do like to be gone when she arrives, but got up, showered, dressed for the park and headed down to the lounge just as she did in fact turn up. Nice lady who has worked for Loews for many years.

In the lounge everyone was talking about how cold it was going to be today, the pools weren`t opening and we immediately had a rethink on doing the parks. The cold is not fun for us, me particularly and I don`t want to do rides or wander round the parks when it`s cold.

I`ve said it before, my family affectionately (I hope) call me the lizard.....one very kind friend...........................

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made this little meme and framed it for me!!! How very kind of her!!!

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My friends do have a lovely sense of humour thankfully.....but in general I am always cold, so as soon as it`s warm, I`m outside soaking up the warmth, but as soon as it cools down....I`m inside again, very lizard like hence the nickname!!

We chatted to the JP family again and passed some time chatting and one of them mentioned the cold today, so I think I decided there and then, no park time for us, so after breakfast I`d go change out of park clothes and we`d alter our choice for today.

Breakfast was very relaxing, it wasn`t busy as most had already left for the day and it was nice just chatting before we set out to do our own things and breakfast as always was lovely.

I looked out and saw our housekeeper was long finished our room as I said in a previous post, we never leave much to do for them, the room is always left tidy, if we get our bed made and clean towels, we`re good. I leave the work surfaces all clear so they can dust easier than pulling everything out of the way, I`d hate to leave the place untidy.

People ask us all the time about tips and yes, it`s up to each individual, but we bring envelopes with us and put money in each day and clearly write on it that it`s for our housekeeper. We have the same housekeeper at RP usually, but we know she has the weekends off, so a daily envelope means you know the housekeeper is going to get her tip, leaving it till the end doesn`t mean the correct people will get it, that`s what we have always done anyway.

We get back into the room and I change out of park clothes, we`ll do some shopping this morning instead. We have plans this afternoon with a hotel friend and tonight we`re meeting Ruth and her daughter Robin this evening for drinks at Strong Water Bar, so a little shopping would be nice.

We first went down to the lobby to say hello to Milton and Rob from Bell Services, we adore them and hadn`t seen much of Milton this time around, Rob we tend to bump into more and always enjoy chatting to him, two very nice guys indeed. We saw Milton and had a good catch up with him about how him and his family were doing and life in general.

I do like the Grinch and remind myself to pick up some of these items to go in with folks Christmas gifts this year. We have a family member who shall remain nameless of course, but is again affectionately known as The Grinch as he is frugal to say the least, so something Grinch related is usually popped in with his gifts!

The hotel shop is very small compared to the one in Sapphire, but it stocks a decent amount of merchandise both in gifts and everyday items you might be in need of as well as snacks and soft drinks.

I think today is the day we took the least amount of pictures in all of our trips, the morning past quickly with a visit to Publix, ABC Wines and the Florida Mall for a quick visit where we did manage to pick up quite a few items we had been wanting to get, the only thing we didn`t buy was a new suitcase.....we forgot

For lunch today we were heading down Universal Blvd to NYPD pizza and along the way we saw the two new budget hotels that will be opening before the new park is open, and the park looks amazing from what we have seen, but the budget hotels do look a little, well, sparkly.

This one, when we were there, hadn`t been pebbledashed with the glittery and sparkly look yet, but you can see the size of one hotel and there are two of them outside the park.

Not sure, but will wait to see what they look like when they`re done and maybe they`ll look better in the dark. I know we won`t stay in them, we have our eye on the Helios Grand inside the park, it is going to be incredible and very beautiful!!!

There are a few nice places to eat down here as well as NYPD, there are Beth`s Burgers which was one of Kyle`s favourite places to eat in May and there is a place called The Diner which is nice, there is also one in Dr Phillips area and another one of them is opening up on Apopka Vineland Rd on the way to LBV. It`s a nice place with a nice menu full of options.

But, NYPD is very nice and it is frequented a lot by emergency service workers which is usually a good sign of decent quality, we did like it here and try and make it a regular place we come to.

It was indeed cool today, but I was glad we weren`t in the parks, didn`t need a jacket right now but I wished I had brought mine earlier.

It didn`t open till midday today and there was a line outside even by the time we got there, incredibly popular place and does a lot of takeouts too which makes the place even busier.

We do have to wait maybe 10 minutes for a table today, but not an issue as folks are leaving quickly, we order a coke and a Dr Pepper, I was sad to see they don`t serve Fanta anymore as that was one place I always got it. We do have it in the UK, but our version is watery and not nice, whereas the one in America is probably filled with all kinds of ingredients we don`t allow in the UK, but while on vacation, I quite enjoy them!!

Tom decided to order the Italian Combo and added jalapenos, he does enjoy a sandwich does my husband. This one has ham, salami and pepperoni as well as pepperoncinis which we both love, it did look nice.

I had my usual, the BBQ chicken with no onions and added pineapple and jalapenos and I have to say the BBQ sauce was incredible on this one today, I do love a saucy pizza and there was a lot of chicken on it today, I did steal a few of Tom`s jalapenos too!!!

Lunch was so good!!! Neither of us finished ours today but we had enough, so once we were done we headed back home and took our purchases upstairs and then remembered we didn`t buy a new suitcase, that would have to wait for another day for now.

We popped everything in a temporary place for now and headed back down to meet someone in Orchids lounge, but it was odd seeing the pools closed for a change.

We had a nice afternoon sitting in Orchids Lounge chatting and catching up and after we said our goodbye`s we headed up to the lounge which finally had a couple of decorations around the desk....Tom laughed as I had been asking for the desk to be decorated for years!! Finally! I still think they needed a little tree as you came in to the side of the desk instead of those mints.

And Jen again as good as her word, had set up a little hot chocolate bar since it was so cold outside, the little marshmallows were so cute and everyone who had some hot chocolate really liked the idea of them.

I always say I don`t like any kind of Rose wines and I still don`t, but the pink sparkly was actually quite nice and I did enjoy a few of them over our trip. Tom tonight tried the festive beer and enjoyed it too, they do try to bring a speciality of the season beer and he said this one was quite nice.

I only had a few sips as I don`t like those kind of beers, but it wasn`t bad, Tom enjoyed it and said he`d drink it again.

The lounge was fairly busy tonight and there were some nice people we were chatting to, one family who said they remembered us from a previous trip came to chat which was nice. I did get into trouble though....well, not really, but I kept saying when people asked how long we were staying I would say, oh this is a short trip for us, which it was but it does sound a little off, so I did say I`d stop saying that.

He did tell me a man had told him he had stayed at RP for about 80 nights over 10 or so years and one of the TM had laughed, mentioned us and said oh those two have more than 4 times that amount of nights, I don`t think he quite believed her, but there are a couple of families who have stayed for an extreme amount of nights too. I was told we were around the 400 nights mark which isn`t bad at all!! I wish I remembered this families name, I know they came from maybe Idaho???? But, they were very nice.

Tonight the offerings were mashed potatoes and Salisbury Meatballs, another very popular dish with folks in the lounge, we only had a taste, I think I had 3 meatballs with some tabasco, but we were having dinner in Strong Water later so didn`t want to ruin our appetite, but we do like a little taster.

The lounge is always a nice place to pass some time and chat to some lovely people, and tonight was one of them, but we were heading over to Strong Water Bar for dinner and to meet Ruth.

We stopped off to pick up the gift bag we had for Maggie, this would be the first time we would see her since she got back from her trip and we do like to give her a package just for her, she is the best, she has a heart of gold and absolutely lovely as well.

We got our favourite table thanks to the lovely Abdel who is one of the greeters for Strong Water and a very impressive young man, we were right by the Christmas tree in the corner.

It was very quiet tonight and we were over the moon to see Maggie again, lots of hugs later she was thrilled with her package of chocolates and goodies she enjoys, of course Fernando teases her about it, they have such a lovely rapport with each other, they`re so funny and clearly enjoy working together.

We ordered a Carole`s Punch for me and Tom got the Caribbean Sunset which is also very nice.

Chef Carlos came out to say hello, we had only seen him a couple of times this trip too, but he takes the time when he can to come out and chat to guests, his dishes are so impressive and everyone loves what he comes up with, many varied dishes and all completely wonderful.

Tonight we order the goat curry with coconut rice...I love this dish, it`s spicy and full of flavour and everything we do like in a dish. Tom....will not touch it because it`s goat which makes me laugh as we both love lamb which is practically the same, but he will not take a bite to try it.

The coconut rice is perfect with this curry and also with their Jerk Chicken, but it also goes decently with the dish below.....which I cannot seem to get a good picture of for some reason.

Vegan Hotpot, which is usually everything I would avoid in any restaurant. But, this dish is amazing, it has seasonal veg, little dumplings, pureed spinach and comes in a vivid green colour which would normally put me off too and crispy potatoes on top, but my goodness this dish is up there as one of our favourites. Chef Carlos and Fernando think it`s hilarious we love it as we usually won`t touch anything that claims to be vegan, but it is gorgeous and incredibly filling too.

Food was amazing as always, but the other highlight of this bar are most definitely the staff, they are incredible and very genuine people who want everyone to have the best experience and we can truly say we have never had a bad experience here despite visiting many, many times over the years.

The views are beautiful at night, when you can sit outside when it`s warm, it really is hard to beat this view.

We had just finished dinner when we finally got to meet Ruth who I had become good friends with first on the Dis by pm and then over many emails, so we were looking forward to finally meeting up tonight.

And immediately we hit off "in real life" both Ruth and her daughter were so lovely and we chatted away like old friends in no time at all.

Drinks were needed and again of course Ruth was going to try Carole`s Punch and I was glad to say she did enjoy it!!

We all got drinks again, I think Robin had a Tito`s with Sprite, I had another Carole`s Punch and Tom had an Old Fashioned which is their best selling cocktail in here, it`s a strong un!!!

I don`t think we stopped talking all evening, the lovely Maggie appeared with a dessert for us to share and had brought me a dulce de leche ice cream as she knows I don`t care for rum n raisin, we were all quite full though but it was so kind of her and it was a very nice dessert.

Tom thought it would be nice to have an all ladies picture which is why he`s not in one.....and we had to be beside the tree of course.

We again said our goodnights to everyone in SW and we all walked back to RP together, Ruth marvelled at us knowing the place like the back of our hand, but we should do the amount of times we`ve walked it over the years!! It can be confusing though if you don`t know.

We waited by the elevator in RP as Ruth had a gift for us, her daughter and husband have a lovely craft business and had made us two ornaments for the tree and they were absolutely beautiful. The craftsmanship in them was stunning and we absolutely loved them both. I cannot find a picture of the other one but it was equally as lovely as this wooden carving, I must have a picture on the tree somewhere, but we were so grateful to them for thinking of us and we`d make sure they were well wrapped up for the journey home too.

It had been a lovely night and we were so glad to have finally met up, and we`d enjoyed tonight immensely, they were here for another couple of days and we`d see each other in the passing a couple of times before they left.

We went round to the front desk and asked to see Tory who had worked in Concierge but was now behind the scenes too after being promoted, another we keep in touch with and absolutely adore and not just because she is the image of my favourite niece, she is just lovely and another favourite of our "American kids" She came out immediately and brought a surprise in someone we knew from a few years ago out with her, lovely Alaina!!!! It was so good to see them both and catching up with what Alaina had been doing too was so lovely. We had heard from others back and forward how she was doing, but seeing her in person was so nice. We chatted for a while and had a good catch up, but had to let them get back to work, it`s ok for us who have all the time in the world!!! We`d try and see Tory again before we left if we could.

Up to bed now, we popped the weather channel on to see if tomorrow was going to be better as forecast, and it did look good, a high of 80F which wasn`t bad at all considering how cool it had been today.

This had been such a lazy day in many ways, chilling out, catching up with many friends old and new and a little shopping in there too of course, but we were ready for bed now and again, we were both out for the count before we knew it.

Park time tomorrow!!!

 

[schumigirl]

choked on my coffee reading you went to Twin PeaksHooters a one & done for us years ago, never tried this version of the genre. Will say that location looked rather sedate compared to the one near WDW that always seems, um…rollicking Always get a giggle walking to our car after a meal at our fav Miller’s location next door lol

what a lovely spread you had waiting in your suite! Had me at strawberries. Was lucky enough to find them in our suite there a couple times, luckier the mr doesn’t like strawberries…figured it had to be a mistake

lol.....we always enjoy Hooters, their food has always been nice and don`t laugh.....they do a blackberry lemonade which is one of the only places we`ve been to that did it apart from Smokey Bones near the 192, but we haven`t been there in years.

I think it would be wilder at night for sure, but we don`t think we`ll go back there.

Those strawberries they do there are always amazing, I do like you didn`t have to share them.....lol....Tom loves strawberries as much as I do.

 

[keishashadow]

A Ruth (and lovely DD) sighting, hooray! Nice to see you Sorry we just missed you. Those are really cute ornaments.

Love to hear about other’s adventures, especially their spin on things in relation to the Orlando parks. One size decidedly does not fit all.

that sort of face2face exchange is all in the delivery It sure sounds like that gent in question thot his track record should elevate his status in the lounge.

Counting on my fingers & toes, that boasted number translates to staying an average of eight nights a year. Not exactly groundbreaking by any means, especially when many people trump them by a mile

Makes me laugh just thinking about the conversations the staff must have, no wonder the turn over is so high in that line of work

 

[schumigirl]

A Ruth (and lovely DD) sighting, hooray! Nice to see you Sorry we just missed you. Those are really cute ornaments.

Love to hear about other’s adventures, especially their spin on things in relation to the Orlando parks. One size decidedly does not fit all.

that sort of face2face exchange is all in the delivery It sure sounds like that gent in question thot his track record should elevate his status in the lounge.

Counting on my fingers & toes, that boasted number translates to staying an average of eight nights a year. Not exactly groundbreaking by any means, especially when many people trump them by a mile

Makes me laugh just thinking about the conversations the staff must have, no wonder the turn over is so high in that line of work

We were thrilled with those gifts, they really are beautiful and both Ruth and her daughter are genuinely lovely, we did have a lovely evening.

I agree, when folks ask me the right way to do the parks, I always say, do what suits you not everyone else

I`m often amazed at what folks get competitive over and genuinely downright shocked at times, and comparing how many nights you`ve stayed is unusual. Yes, what hotel staff all over the world see at times must be hilarious, and what complaints they have to listen to is a whole other story too......

People can be odd........

​

 

[schumigirl]

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 29TH​

We do love waking up in this room, it`s so quiet with having the door between us and the corridor, so we tend not to hear any disturbances at all like people walking past the door making a noise, someone mentioned in the lounge this morning there was a loud family leaving very early and it woke them up. Well it happens, kids are excited as they should be. I think I`d be more annoyed at loud adults very late at night being loud just for the sake of it!! But, we hear nothing in here so no complaints from us.

We slept so well again, but weirdly, woke up quite tired this morning, Tom said I had been babbling in my sleep which isn`t unusual for me, I`m someone who has very descriptive dreams and frequently remember them, much to Tom`s disappointment!!! I do like to share them....

This morning we are up and showered quickly and head to the lounge for breakfast not really knowing what we were doing today, we were thinking parks, but not sure which one or we still hadn`t decided whether we should go to St Augustine, something we really wanted to do, so we`d decide after breakfast, I dressed for the parks, but could change in a few minutes if I needed to.

Breakfast was nice as always, had some toast with turkey and cream cheese with that lovely grape jelly on top, something I think is perfectly normal but others disagree apparently. I get it, for example I hate Peanut Butter ....do not get the appeal of it and even worse is the way folks put it with jelly, not for me.....but, millions of folks can`t be wrong!!

We sat down beside a family who mentioned they wanted to go to Scotland and the man asked how long the flight was and the little girl who was about 7 or so couldn`t believe how long we were on a plane, her eyes were like saucers......lol.....it`s nothing to us flying for that length of time, now coming from Australia....that`s a flight and a half!!! But, we got used to it pretty quickly and don`t mind the flight at all.

We finished breakfast and decided to go to the Studios. It was cool in the shade, but in the sunshine it was glorious and it was really going to warm up later so we took hoodies with us hoping we`d be carrying them soon.

The boat had a few folks waiting in line and we didn`t wait too long at all and with no real lines at the gates, it was straight into the park and ignoring the new Minion Catastrophe, jmho of course, but we headed straight to the original Minion ride, not the best ride, but one we do on most visits.

Some days the EP line can be long, if it is we don`t bother, on the days before Thanksgiving the EP line was really long, so we`ll always pass it by then and wait for a day like today where EP was a walk on. The regular line was around 50 minutes, far too long for this one, but we`ve done it many times and I can understand first timers wanting to ride it.

It`s not the same since they took away the 3D element, some like it, some don`t, it`s a very personal experience. I find since they took away the 3D, I can only go on it once, where I used to be able to do it 3 or 4 times if I wanted to, but once is enough to be honest, but we do like it and Gru is very funny!!!

Talking of noticing new things every trip.....I know probably everyone else on the planet has noticed this, but I never have and pointed it out to Tom who also said he`d never seen it before....and funnily enough the couple behind us looked to see what we had noticed that was worth taking a picture of!

The cutest little Minion door!!! I loved it, how sweet. I`m either very unobservant or there`s always been people standing in front of it...I`ll go for the latter!

It is a nice little ride and you normally come out to Minions or Gru for a picture opportunity, but today we headed outside and the light was incredible, this was one gorgeous day and it was already time for hoodies off, well mine anyway, Tom said it was easier wearing his than carrying it.

I`ll try anything to get even the slightest tan!!!! Spoiler.....I don`t manage it!!

Tom wanted to go on RRR but I`m kinda done with that ride, even the front row that used to be slightly gentler than the rest of the carriages is now just like being in a dryer getting rumbled about, so I pass but Tom goes on and the EP line is non existant, so he is on and off in no time at all. He got the front and said, yep, it`s rough. And also needing a new coat of paint, it used to be vivid red, now it`s a pasty pink up close!

I do appreciate what they have done with this Minion area, but I wish it had been something...different. Don`t ask me what, I don`t know, but it looks amazing, however the bakery is disappointing in what they have for sale compared to what they could have done, and to be fair we didn`t give the food a try which we will in our next trip for sure but we have heard mixed reviews, some saying the food is lovely, others saying basically don`t bother, so we`ll try and see for ourselves.

Jimmy Fallon.

We`ll pass. Although to be fair it`s now only the third worst ride in the park after F&F and now the new Minion thingy, I`m sure JF would be thrilled to know he`s not the second worst thing in the park any longer!

However the building is incredible to see and well worth walking through as it is very detailed and the ride itself should be experienced as it`s not completely awful.

The Mummy up next for us, bag and camera went into the lockers, but we did go on it twice, this is easily one of the best rides Universal Orlando offers. It has it all from theming to just a fabulous coaster and it is a good one. Bit slow and steady to start, then you just go whoosh and it is fast with some decent airtime!!!

EP was a complete walk on again today, we asked for the front row first time and second time he just put us there without asking, definitely the best row for us.

Louie`s Pizza is somewhere that we usually have some lunch in, we just never got round to it this visit, but their pizza is very nice and the slices are huge, you can easily share one slice especially if you have some salad with it too.

It`s not the best Italian Pizza you`ll ever eat for sure, it is theme park food, but in comparison to some places, it is very good.

This is just one of our favourite things to do, wander in the sunshine and enjoy the views/sights/sounds and even aromas, especially as you pass Louie`s when the pizza`s are cooking!!!

Taking 10 minutes to sit and just let the time pass doing nothing is something we enjoy doing and sat at the tables by Chez Alcatraz today to enjoy the now warm sunshine and people watch which is always fun.

I think I am in a little world of my own as a woman and her husband start chatting to me (Tom had gone to the bathroom) I smile and say of course they can sit down when she asks if they can join me, and then she was like a machine gun directly hitting me with a boatload of information about them, their time in the parks and what they thought of the HRH and everything inbetween!! I was a little shell shocked to be honest being bombarded like this, ever meet anyone who doesn`t stop talking then asks you a question while answering it at the same time!!

She did eventually ask me a question.....so, how`s your day going so far?

​

I think I was a little like a rabbit caught in headlights as I couldn`t think of one thing to say.....not like me at all......lol.....at that point Tom appeared behind them and I gave him the pre arranged "get me out of here" sign and he said the first thing that came into his mind......Carole, Janet`s waiting for us we need to go now......lol.....

I did climb out of that table fast!!! I know that sounds horrible, I am a talker, love to talk to people, but wow.....

The Hogwarts Express was something we wanted to do today, we like to do it at least once a trip if we are swapping out parks and going from the Studios to IOA is our favourite way of going as you get to disappear by walking through the wall.

It is just not busy today, which was nice, we have only seen it mobbed once or twice and much prefer it being quiet like this, kinda like the old days before Potter!

The famous poster from the movie which everyone wants a picture of, last few times we didn`t manage to catch it as there were always loads of people in front of it.

The Disappearing Wall almost at the end of the line is fun and everyone wants a picture of their family member vanishing into the wall and most people will wait while you get your picture as most want to do the same too, today we didn`t need to worry about anyone behind us as there was barely a soul near us it seemed.

Where is everyone?

I guess we had just missed a train as there wasn`t a soul in front of us.

However, as soon as we wandered down to get put into our carriages, the world and his brother appeared behind us in a swarm, so we guessed we wouldn`t be getting a carriage on our own now!

The train reversing in is always something folks like to see and everyone has their phones up to capture the moment, I will say you do see it better on the IOA side as it pulls in to the station, but it`s still impressive this way.

More to come...

 

[saskdw]

Put me down for about 50 nights!!

 

[saskdw]

When someone bombards me with that much information I don't care about I usually completely zone out. By the time they stop talking I've already forgot everything they said.

Years back I used to work with a guy who talked to hear himself talk and loved to let you know exactly how important he was. He eventually caught on to my ability block him out while making it look like I was listening. He would get to the end of one of his 5 minute rants and then he would say "you didn't listen to any of that did you?"

"Nope!"

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

All caught up!


As a fellow lizard i guess you can say-the cold really does affect me something bad (especially post autoimmune disease diagnosis when any weather just oof)


Also i must say when the 20th anniversary of ET came about when I was a kid my parents and a bunch of my friends p rents took us to see it and we didn't get he hype....cut to ten years later during the 30th anniversary i'm weeping like a babu i love that damn alien lol


Beautiful photos as always

 

[keishashadow]

even the front row that used to be slightly gentler than the rest of the carriages is now just like being in a dryer getting rumbled about

That’s as apt of a description I’ve ever heard. May have to borrow it when I beg off in the future

Carole, Janet`s waiting for us we need to go now......lol.....

Nwahahaha love it

I was quite disappointed as to the bakery offerings too. TBH don’t think the heat & humidity there lend themselves to stellar baked goods.

who hasn’t made that rookie mistake of caving into a kid and buying cotton candy there, blink and discover it’s morphed in a seeping mass of ooze.

 

[schumigirl]

Put me down for about 50 nights!!

lol.....Nice!!!!

When someone bombards me with that much information I don't care about I usually completely zone out. By the time they stop talking I've already forgot everything they said.

Years back I used to work with a guy who talked to hear himself talk and loved to let you know exactly how important he was. He eventually caught on to my ability block him out while making it look like I was listening. He would get to the end of one of his 5 minute rants and then he would say "you didn't listen to any of that did you?"

"Nope!"

I do that too!!!! Zone out and then they ask me something and I just look blank and think yep, you bored the toenails off me now

Glad you let him know he was boring you though.....yep, it`s the way to do it. Life is too short to put up with folks like that!!

 

[schumigirl]

All caught up!


As a fellow lizard i guess you can say-the cold really does affect me something bad (especially post autoimmune disease diagnosis when any weather just oof)


Also i must say when the 20th anniversary of ET came about when I was a kid my parents and a bunch of my friends p rents took us to see it and we didn't get he hype....cut to ten years later during the 30th anniversary i'm weeping like a babu i love that damn alien lol


Beautiful photos as always

Lizards unite!!!

ET is that kind of a movie for sure, it just hits that emotional pull in the right way. I can`t watch it now to be honest, far too emotional.

Thank you, I`m glad you like them.

 

[schumigirl]

That’s as apt of a description I’ve ever heard. May have to borrow it when I beg off in the future

Nwahahaha love it

I was quite disappointed as to the bakery offerings too. TBH don’t think the heat & humidity there lend themselves to stellar baked goods.

who hasn’t made that rookie mistake of caving into a kid and buying cotton candy there, blink and discover it’s morphed in a seeping mass of ooze.

lol....borrow away!!! It has become like that though, time for an overhaul on it or do something, I know many folks who don`t ride it anymore due to the roughness of it.

Yep, your ears should have been burning lifting your name like that. I did say to him, what do we do if they follow us

That`s true, I think I was just expecting more though than what they had, maybe I`ll have another look next trip.

I adore candy floss as we call it and yes, in that heat, not the best idea!!!

 

[MadHatterBrooke]

I get it, for example I hate Peanut Butter ....do not get the appeal of it and even worse is the way folks put it with jelly, not for me.....but, millions of folks can`t be wrong!!

Too funny! I'm the direct opposite. I hate jelly. Therefore, I don't eat PB&J. Lol.

Louie`s Pizza is somewhere that we usually have some lunch in, we just never got round to it this visit, but their pizza is very nice and the slices are huge, you can easily share one slice especially if you have some salad with it too.

We love Louie's! It's a must-do for us every time. Usually DH and get meatball subs and the kids get pizza. It's always very good!

All caught up! Wonderful trip report so far.

 

[schumigirl]

Too funny! I'm the direct opposite. I hate jelly. Therefore, I don't eat PB&J. Lol.

We love Louie's! It's a must-do for us every time. Usually DH and get meatball subs and the kids get pizza. It's always very good!

All caught up! Wonderful trip report so far.

lol.....we all have our liked and dislikes don`t we.

Louie`s is so good!! Tom always fancies getting the sub, but can`t resist the pizza. I`m thinking he did get the sub once now I think on it a few years ago, I need to check on that one.

Thank you, I`m so glad you`re enjoying it