Cast: Me, Mom, 42
DH, Dad, 45
DD 14
DD 11
First, a little background on how the trip came about. DH and I are celebrating our 25th anniversary in October, and after much discussion, decided to spend it at Disney World (alone). Since we felt guilty about going to WDW without the kids, we offered to take them in August, but they decided theyd rather go to Universal. I started reading the Universal discussion boards here, and called the HRH in April to ask about an Entertainment card rate. I reserved a deluxe room for $149.50 a night, and then I found decent airfare from Cleveland on Continental for the same dates (with non-stop flights). The trip was on!
Monday, August 13
We left Cleveland at 7:30am, and got into MCO at around 9:45am. Tiffany Towncar was there waiting for us as requested (we used Tiffany once before and were very happy with them). When we got to HRH, our room wasnt ready (I expected that), so we bought our park tickets (three day, two park passes) and headed over towards the Studios. They gave us temporary room keys to use in the parks. Since we were all starved, we stopped first at the Hard Rock Café for lunch. I should say up front that even thought I knew it was hot in Florida in August, I was not prepared for the oven-like temperatures we had all week. DH is a letter carrier and is used to walking all day in the heat, but I did not hold up well, as you will see later in the week.
We entered the Studios, and went over to the Hanna Barbera ride to have our first try at using our room keys for the Express lines. Wow! These were great! We waited about 5 minutes and were on the ride. This was a cute simulator ride and a nice one to start with. We went to the makeup show next (Express not necessary here), and saw the show. It was better than I expected, humorous with some interesting effects thrown in. We went to T2-3D next. I really enjoyed this, being a big fan of the Terminator movies. Next it was on to ET, where were able to go the front of a huge line and got on the ride in about 10 minutes. After a short break for some cold drinks, we went back to MIB, and again went past a huge line and got on the ride in about 10 minutes. This was my favorite Studios ride, a lot of fun.
Were were all pretty hot and worn out from our early start by this time, so we went back to the hotel to get our room assignment. When I got to the desk, they told me they did not have any deluxe rooms available, so they were putting us in a Club room instead. That turned out to be a great development, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed at first, since I knew the deluxe rooms were a little bigger, but we managed. The room was very nice, looked just like the pictures on their website. We also got two robes to use for the week, and had turndown service all week (that was really nice). They even left little toys for the kids each day. The lounge had soft drinks and coffee available during the day, and continental breakfast available in the morning from 7:30 to 9:30. From 5:00 to 7:00 they had hors devours (cheese and crackers and vegetables and dips), as well as beer and wine, and other drinks available (rum, scotch, vodka, whiskey, etc.). DH said they were good brands, too (he used to be a bartender, so he knows those things).
After we got unpacked, we took the girls down to the pool, and sat in the Beach Club bar while they went swimming. We each had a specialty drink while we waited, and they were very good. We had planned on going to City Walk to have dinner, but a thunderstorm came through at around 6:30pm, so we went to the Sunset Grill instead. The food was pretty good here, DH and I each had the filet, which was good except for the sauce they put on it which had a rather sweet taste to it. The girls had a sandwich. After dinner, we went over to the game room for a little while, then went back to the room. The girls wanted to watch Shrek on the in-room movie, so we went ahead and got it, but I was the only one who stayed awake long enough to see the whole thing (I loved it).
DH, Dad, 45
DD 14
DD 11
First, a little background on how the trip came about. DH and I are celebrating our 25th anniversary in October, and after much discussion, decided to spend it at Disney World (alone). Since we felt guilty about going to WDW without the kids, we offered to take them in August, but they decided theyd rather go to Universal. I started reading the Universal discussion boards here, and called the HRH in April to ask about an Entertainment card rate. I reserved a deluxe room for $149.50 a night, and then I found decent airfare from Cleveland on Continental for the same dates (with non-stop flights). The trip was on!
Monday, August 13
We left Cleveland at 7:30am, and got into MCO at around 9:45am. Tiffany Towncar was there waiting for us as requested (we used Tiffany once before and were very happy with them). When we got to HRH, our room wasnt ready (I expected that), so we bought our park tickets (three day, two park passes) and headed over towards the Studios. They gave us temporary room keys to use in the parks. Since we were all starved, we stopped first at the Hard Rock Café for lunch. I should say up front that even thought I knew it was hot in Florida in August, I was not prepared for the oven-like temperatures we had all week. DH is a letter carrier and is used to walking all day in the heat, but I did not hold up well, as you will see later in the week.
We entered the Studios, and went over to the Hanna Barbera ride to have our first try at using our room keys for the Express lines. Wow! These were great! We waited about 5 minutes and were on the ride. This was a cute simulator ride and a nice one to start with. We went to the makeup show next (Express not necessary here), and saw the show. It was better than I expected, humorous with some interesting effects thrown in. We went to T2-3D next. I really enjoyed this, being a big fan of the Terminator movies. Next it was on to ET, where were able to go the front of a huge line and got on the ride in about 10 minutes. After a short break for some cold drinks, we went back to MIB, and again went past a huge line and got on the ride in about 10 minutes. This was my favorite Studios ride, a lot of fun.
Were were all pretty hot and worn out from our early start by this time, so we went back to the hotel to get our room assignment. When I got to the desk, they told me they did not have any deluxe rooms available, so they were putting us in a Club room instead. That turned out to be a great development, but I have to admit I was a little disappointed at first, since I knew the deluxe rooms were a little bigger, but we managed. The room was very nice, looked just like the pictures on their website. We also got two robes to use for the week, and had turndown service all week (that was really nice). They even left little toys for the kids each day. The lounge had soft drinks and coffee available during the day, and continental breakfast available in the morning from 7:30 to 9:30. From 5:00 to 7:00 they had hors devours (cheese and crackers and vegetables and dips), as well as beer and wine, and other drinks available (rum, scotch, vodka, whiskey, etc.). DH said they were good brands, too (he used to be a bartender, so he knows those things).
After we got unpacked, we took the girls down to the pool, and sat in the Beach Club bar while they went swimming. We each had a specialty drink while we waited, and they were very good. We had planned on going to City Walk to have dinner, but a thunderstorm came through at around 6:30pm, so we went to the Sunset Grill instead. The food was pretty good here, DH and I each had the filet, which was good except for the sauce they put on it which had a rather sweet taste to it. The girls had a sandwich. After dinner, we went over to the game room for a little while, then went back to the room. The girls wanted to watch Shrek on the in-room movie, so we went ahead and got it, but I was the only one who stayed awake long enough to see the whole thing (I loved it).
