The Complete Report: Donna Does Disney...and Universal, too!
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luvnwdwgal · 08-10-2002, 07:24 PM

So sorry you didn't get to see Fantasmic. DH and I are looking forward to seeing it next month for the first time!! Sounds like you're having a pretty cool time though!! Looking forward to the next installment!! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

TiggGrrrl · 08-11-2002, 12:25 AM

Great, great report! I'm really enjoying it - such wonderful detail! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] Looking forward to more!

tikibird · 08-11-2002, 06:37 PM

Sorry about Fantasmic, but sounds like otherwise, you had a great day at MGM!

Looking forward to more! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Tinkerbell22 · 08-12-2002, 06:36 PM

Thank you for writing your trip report! You are very thorough in your report yet you also don't go on and on and on and on! ; ) I esepcially like how you talk about all the food! YUM!

Great job! Looking forward to [img]graemlins/read.gif[/img] the next installment!

~Amanda

disnyfan · 08-12-2002, 11:54 PM

Sorry to hear about Fantasmic- at least you didn't do the dinner/show combo??
Can't wait to hear about the rest [img]graemlins/wavin.gif[/img]

disneydonna · 08-14-2002, 11:56 AM

Part VII: A splishin' and a splashin'...

I should have requested a wake-up call each morning. It would have been much more pleasant to have Mickey or Stich deliver a good morning message than to listen to DH. (He never sleeps late and has little tolerance for those who do.) The kids and I slept until 8:00 am. We obviously needed a little extra rest. Today we were scheduled to go to Blizzard Beach. DD(16) decided she didn't want to go to a water park so we left her at the hotel to catch some rays at the beach and enjoy the water at Stormalong Bay. We still made it to Blizzard Beach by 9:30. Since we were aready dressed in our swimsuits, we only needed to rent a locker and we were ready to go. It was already hazy, hot and humid. The place was hopping. After a lenghty search, we were able to find a few chairs in the shade and we dropped off our stuff. We headed to Teamboat Springs. It was a nice long ride but it didn't have as many waterfalls and jet sprays a some of the whitewater raft rides we have been on. Next DH took the boys and headed off to Summit Plummet, the park's claim to fame. While I waited for them, I caught some sun. They were gone for almost an hour. The lines were huge. They enjoyed the ride, although they did get bruised and bumped. They commented that it really isn't a smooth ride at all. The lines at the chairlift were also long so the boys headed off on foot back up to the top of the mountain for more rides. This gave me a chance to check out Cross Country Creek. I love lazy river rides and could have stayed there all day. The kids don't share my passion...they think that they are lame. All to soon the kids tired of the flume rides or, more accurately, tired of waiting in line for the flume rides. We headed of to Melt Away Bay. With no big waves to challenge, the Bay didn't hold our interest for long. We decided that Stormalong Bay at our hotel is just as nice and it isn't quite as crowded. We had seen everything that we wanted to at Blizzard Beach and we weren't really impressed. In the last few years, we have visited Water Country USA in Willaimsburg, Virginia and we couldn't help but compare the two parks. It may seem surprising but Disney's Blizzard Beach pales in comparison to this Busch park. Specifically, we didn't like how almost all of the rides stem from the same mountain - The crowds seemed to blend from one ride to the next and this area was very congested. Disappointed, we headed back to our hotel to change and head off for lunch. We had a 1:00 pm PS at Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge. It was a little early but we wanted to have time to walk around the Lodge. We picked up DD and it was a short drive from out hotel. The lobby of the Lodge is breathtaking and the views from the pool area are gorgeous. We had really wanted to stay here this trip but the standard rooms do not accomodate five people. After our little tour, however, we decided that next time it might be worth it to book a suite for a chance to stay here. It definitely is different. We had no trouble locating Whispering Canyon and it was almost deserted. I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant from the brightly colored napkins to the stick horses. When one of the waiters moved a tray table across the floor, banging the legs to simulate horses hooves, I was totally impressed. (It obviously doesn't take much to impress me!) We would have liked to order the family skillet but we had reservations for the Hoop-De-Do for dinner that night and knew that barbecue was on the menu. We all ordered entrees from the regular menu and everyone was pleased with the meal. We would definitely each here again. We headed back to our hotel for some r and r. DS(17) and I decided to take a nap. DH and the other kids headed off to the marina to rent water mice. DS(12) was totally disappointed because he was a tad too short to drive. They all still had a great time and the half hour rental whizzed by. DH pointed out, though, that Crescent Lake is nowhere near as large as Bay Lake, the waterway that surrounds the Polynesian. He liked renting boats at the Polynesian much better. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Stormalong Bay. After having spent the last few days touring like theme park commandos, it was refreshing to just lay in a lounge chair and bask in the sun. DH and I even enjoyed some specialty drinks from the poolside bar. Daiquiris in the sun overlooking an awesome pool...it doesn't get much better than that! All too soon, it was time to get ready for dinner. Having read on the boards how various people almost missed their reservations at Hoop-De-Doo because of transportation problems, we made sure that we left early. The drive to Fort Wilderness was short but, as we had just missed the bus, we had a lengthy wait for a bus to take us from the parking lot to Pioneer Hall. We were glad that we had budgeted some extra time. We finally made it to Pioneer Hall and we had a brief wait before it was showtime. The kids weren't looking forward to the show...they had decided in advance that a western show was obviously going to be "lame". Surprisingly, they thoroughly enjoyed it! Everyone especially got a kick out of Two Bits. The food way good, too, with the exception of the ribs which were tough and stringy. Everyone stuffed themselves and almost didn't have room for the strawberry shortcake. We managed to squeeze it in, though. As we left Fort Wilderness, we decided that the Hoop-De-Doo is something that we should do every time we visit Disney. By the time we returned to the hotel it was after 10:00 pm and we called it an early night.

The Best Part of the Day: Our tour of Wilderness Lodge and watching the Hoop-De-Doo Revue

The Worst Part of the Day: Blizzard Beach

Coming up...The rest of our July 10-19 vacation at Disney and Universal

disneydonna · 08-14-2002, 02:00 PM

Part VIII: The best of times, the worst of times...

Today was our last full day at Disney and we were all a little sad. We couldn't believe how quickly our stay had gone by. We couldn't feel too depressed, though, because it was DS(12)'s birthday. He might not have felt too much older but DH and I did. Now all three of our children are officially teenagers! We could just feel our hair turning grey. Anyway, back to the story. I had no trouble getting up this morning because we were scheduled to go to my favorite place in the World, the Polynesian. On all of our previous trips to Disney, we stayed there. The Beach Club sort of grew on us this trip. We loved our room and enjoyed our stay there but we must admit that it just lacked the magic of the Polynesion. I think that since we are from New England, the Beach Club felt too much like being home. The architecture and New England atmosphere are things we can see just touring our stamping grounds in Connecticut. If you are from New England, this is something you might want to think about before you make reservations at the Beach/Yacht Club. I digress. Our plans called for a 7:30 am breakfast at Kona Cafe. We drive to the Polynesian, park the car, and walk to the main building that serves as the lobby. We are so excited as we walk in the door and then....OHMIGOD! What happened to the lobby? When and Why did they scale down those magnificent plantings that used to tower over both levels? DH and I can't believe the changes and we certainly don't think they were for the better. We walked aroune the lobby, looking at the plantings almost with tears in our eyes. Hesitantly, we tour the rest of the resort. We did note some other changes that we did like as we walked the grounds. The new pool is a big improvement over the previous one. We also liked the relocation of the gift shops. We just couldn't get over the "ruin" of the lobby as we made our way to the restaurant. I didn't need a menu to place my order. I came to the Kona Cafe for one reason, and one reason alone...the Tonga Toast. If you've never tried this banana-stuffed french toast, you don't know what your'e missing. It's to die for and I have been dreaming of this meal for several years. It tasted as good as I had remembered and my family almost had to roll me to the car. Our agenda for the last day calls for a visit to Typhoon Lagoon. In view of yesterday's disappointment, we are looking forward to it with mixed feelings. DD(16) insists that she doesn't want to go to a water park. When asked what she would really like to do, she explains that she would really like to get her hair done. I guess it's a big thing with girls her age to get their hair braided when they take a vacation south of the border. With the magic that is Disney, it took just one quick phone call to make her wish come true. The Periwig Salon right at the Beach Club was able to accomodate her request right then and there. Disney magic doesn't always come cheap, though. For a full head of hair, braiding starts at $100 for the first hour with additional charge for the time after that. The smile that it brought to DD(16)'s face made it worth it. We left her at the hotel to get her hair done while we went to Typhoon Lagoon and everyone was happy. And we were happy at Typhoon Lagoon. IMHO Typhoon Lagoon is definitely the much better of the two parks. The attractions at this park are a little more spread out and that gives it the feel of being less crowded. The surf pool, which serves as the centerpiece for this park, had great waves and we spent over an hour there just soaking up the sun and playing in the water. The boys went on the flume rides. They knew exactly where to find me...floating aimlessly on Castaway Creek. (The only thing I didn't like about this attraction was that so many parents allowed their little ones to swim in the water without a tube. As my tube drifted with the tide, I would inadvertantly run over these young swimmers. I wanted to really relax and close my eyes but I was afraid I would drown some little kid. I don't think the lifeguards should allow any swimming in the Creek. Okay, I'll climb off my soapbox now.)We were having such a great time at Typhoon Lagoon that we didn't really want to leave but the sun was taking its toll and we didn't want to end up looking like lobsters. We returned to our hotel. Unable to muster enough ambition to do anything at all, we spent the next couple of hours relaxing in our air-conditioned room watching a movie on television. Since we were leaving very early the next morning, we packed what we could. Looking over our plans for the coming day, we noted that we had nothing scheduled for either breakfast or lunch. A quick vote was unanimous. Everyone wanted to eat their last meal at Cape May Cafe in the Beach Club. I used the phone in our room to call Disney Dining and was fortunate to get a PS for the next morning for 8:00 am. That done, we headed out to Cafe Mickeys for dinner and a celebration of
DS(now13)'s birthday. Steve Birnbaum in his official guide to WDW votes Chef Mickeys as the best place to celebrate a child's birthday and his advice was excellent. We parked at the Poly and rode the monorail to the Contemporary because DH felt you couldn't get the right feel of that hotel without riding the monorail in. When we got there, shortly after opening, the restuarant was already packed and,boy, thatplace was jumping. Several days ago, I had called the restuarant to see if I could order a cake to celebrate DS's birthday. They could do a cake for a minimal charge but the hostess that I talked to acutually talked me out of ordering one. She explained that they do offer a complimentary birthday cupcake and she pointed out that there are so many desserts on the salad bar combined with a make-yourown sundae station that most people felt that having a cake was too much. I decided to follow her advice and made sure when I checked in that they knew we were celebrating a birthday. We posed for our family portrait and, before you know it, it was time to be seated. The food on the buffet was hot and tasty. The characters were fun and circulated the room several times. Toward the end of the meal, the waitress made an announcement that we had some birthdays in the room to clebrate. Everyone in the room sang "Happy Bithday" as they brought out lighted cupcakes for my son and another little boy. Mickey came over to congratulate my son and posed for a picture with him as he was blowing out his birthday candle. It was just perfect! I am glad I followed the advice of the hostess at Chef Mickey's because the cupcake was just enough food for my son and it allowed him to take advantage of all the wonderful desserts on the buffet. We all filled up on ice cream sundaes and key lime pie. I even persuaded DH to purchase the family photo, although it made me look awfully fat. (Isn't that something how photos and mirrors play tricks on your eyes like that?!! LOL.) We returned to the Beach Club. DD(16) and I decided to go the pool. DH and the boys took off to play miniature golf. As it was so close to our hotel, they went to Fantasia Gardens. They played the most challenging of the courses because it looked harder and there were few people trying it. These guys have played a lot of miniature golf so when they say that this was a great, challenging course it must be so. They had a great time with all the sand traps and such. DS(13) came in in first place which was probably the best birthday present he could have. Imagine, turning thirteen and whipping your older brother in something all on the same day. (He even saved the score card and has displayed it in his room with his other Disney souvenirs.) Back at the hotel, DD(16) and I are enjoying the solitude of the Quiet Pool. It was great to have a pool that size all to ourselves. After their golf game, the boys joined us. Tonight was a E-Ticket night at MK and we had originally planned on participating. We all agreed that we didn't have enough stamina left to tackle that plus be up and out to Universal Studios by 9:00 am the following morning. Instead, we relaxed by the pool and enjoyed the little bit of time we had left at Disney.

The Best Part of the Day: The look on DD's face when she anticipated her trip to Periwig Salon and DS(13)'s triumph at Fantasia Gardens.

The Worst Part of the Day: Visiting the lobby at the Poly and being unable to muster enough ambition to tackle E-ride night

Coming up...our stay a RPH at Universal Resorts

luvnwdwgal · 08-14-2002, 09:11 PM

Really enjoying your trip report!
I made PS's at Kona Cafe next month to try the Tonga Toast! I can't wait! It's not on my diet and I don't care!! We also have decided to go to Typhoon Lagoon instead of Blizzard Beach this trip.

TINKN · 08-15-2002, 02:57 PM

Great report! Can't wait to hear about Universal.

BostonTeaParty · 08-15-2002, 03:28 PM

Quote:

After having spent the last few days touring like theme park commandos, it was refreshing to just lay in a lounge chair and bask in the sun. DH and I even enjoyed some specialty drinks from the poolside bar. Daiquiris in the sun overlooking an awesome pool...it doesn't get much better than that!

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">Oh man Donna, that comment really got to me!! I can't wait to return!! I miss Stormalong Bay!! Thank you for writing this report. I am totally enjoying it. AND, between you and Tikibird I am definitly going to have that Tonga Toast on our next visit. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Looking forward to the rest of your report.

Nancy

tikibird · 08-15-2002, 09:51 PM

A couple more great installments!

Happy birthday to DS!!!

And I would love to see a picture of DD's braids! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

More please...

PS - I LUV WDW · 08-16-2002, 06:58 AM

I agree with Tikibird - do you have a picture of your daughter's braids?

Thanks for the report! You have me wanting to be sitting poolside at Stormalong Bay - NOW! But I guess I'll have to wait for November. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

disneydonna · 08-18-2002, 11:57 AM

Part IX: You can't compare apples to oranges...

After our early night, we awoke bright and early, refreshed and ready to go. With tears in our eyes, we packed up all our belongings. It was a tight fit as we had acquired alot of extra baggage since we had arrived at Disney. We headed off to our PS at Cape May Cafe with extra time to spare. The restaurant was almost deserted and they were able to seat us right away. The meal was as tasty as on our previous visit. I filled up on cheese omelet and chocolate croissants. All to soon it was time to leave. We stopped by Beaches and Cream to fill our refillable mugs for the last time and picked up our luggage from the room. We were supposed to have express check-out but there was no bill hanging from our doorknob. We stopped at the front desk to check out in person. Come to find out, this was the morning after the disaster at Epcot and the computer system at the Beach Club was down. They were unable to print us a copy of our room charges and assured us that they would mail one to our home in a few days. (We have yet to receive anything and I had been hoping to have that information to include in my trip report. Oh, well.) As we loaded our bags in the car, another family was just arriving. I actually felt jealous. Can you believe it? We pulled out of the Beach Club and headed away from Disney. At least we had Universal to look forward to. It took us less than twenty minutes to get to Universal Resorts and we had no difficulty locating the Royal Pacific. While DH and the boys unloaded the luggage, DD and I went in to register. The front of the hotel is very like the Polysnesian with lush tropical plantings and a waterway. To get to the front door, you cross a bridge made of bamboo. When we walked into the lobby, we were impressed. Just impressed, not bowled over like you are when you walk into the Great Ceremonial House at the Polynesian. The lobby of the RPH is decorated with awesome wood carvings. They look great from afar but when you look at them close up you are totally amazed. The centerpiece of the lobby is the Orchid Room, an enclosed garden area featuring those rare tropical blooms. It sounds nicer than in actually is, though. It was nice but not extraordinary. DD and I got in line to register. There were several people ahead of us so it took a few minutes. Our room was not ready but we were able to get our room keys. Just a little thing but I found it quite annoying... they would only give us two room keys even though we had five people. They assured us that all of us would have front of the line access even though we only had two keys, though. We were given a parking pass for the car after they explained that it would be $6.00 per day to park the car. DH took the parking pass and went to park while we checked the luggage in with bell services. While we waited we walked around and admired the lobby. We noted the location of the coffee shop and the gift shop. We waited and waited and waited. Finally, DH arrived. He was extremely grumpy because he had been unable to find a parking space. It seems that parking is at a premium at RPH and, just because you pay a parking fee, doesn't guarantee that you will find a space. Anyway, our plans were to go to Islands of Adventure for the day. We asked directions to the boat launch and were on our way. The lobby of the RPH is actually on the third floor. To get to the boat launch, you need to go down to ground level and walk around the swimming pool area. We found the path with a little difficulty and arrived just as a boat was leaving. As I have already explained, DH hates to wait for transportation so we decided to walk. The pathway to Citywalk is actually very pretty, following the waterway and nicely landscaped. It was a nice stroll. We followed the crowds to the entrance of IOA. Since we already had our tickets, we passed the mobs at the turnstiles and entered the park. IOA is like the Magic Kingdom in that it is divided into separate lands. At the MK you enter on Main St. USA; at IOA you enter through the Port of Entry, a colorful Middle Eatern Marketplace. Our first stop was Marvel Super Hero Island. This area looks just like what you would picture the city of Metropolis to look like with its busy city streets. DH and the kids decided to first go on the Incredible Hulk Coater. They used their room keys for the first time to gain front of the line access and IT WAS ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] No waiting in line whatsoever. Judging by the smiling expressions on their faces in the attraction photo, they all loved this ride. Next, they headed to Dr. Doom's Fearfall. DH decided to sit this one out with me. That was a wise decision because the kids found this ride twice as frightening as the Tower of Terror was. It seems that Dr. Doom is trying to take over the world with his frightening machine that shoots riders 180 feet into the air in seconds, only to let them dangle for a few moments before they plunge back to ground level. In their opinion, it was awesome. Our next stop was the highlight of the park, The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman. This ride combines 3-D effects with simulated motion and actual ride movement. I thought I could handle it so I joined the kids at the FOL entrance. I guess that half-way through the ride the movie track didn't jive with the movements of the ride. I didn't know because by then I, coward that I am, had my eyes squeezed tightly shut. A CM was right there at the end where you get off handing out express passes so that everyone who rode the ride when it wasn't working properly could go on it again without having to wait in line again. I thought that this was nice and I was impressed with how quickly it was handled. Next up was Toon Lagoon. This is supposed to be where the comic strip characters live when they are not in the Sunday funnies. The main attractions in this land were the water rides and, since by now it felt like it was a hundred degrees, we were anxious to get wet. First we went on Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-rat Barges. This was a white-water raft ride like Kali River Rapids. Comparing the two, the Disney ride loses by a mile. The most amazing thing about the Barges is that just when you think that the ride is over and you are ready to get off, it climbs another hill and off you go again. The IOA ride is much longer than the Disney one and, because of shooting water from kids on water canons on Pluto's ship the Olive, everyone seems to get wet. We've been on many of these white-water raft rides and we definitely vote this one the best. As if we weren't wet enough already, we headed to Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. This is a log flume ride like Splash Mountain. Again, just when we thought the ride was over it climbed a hill for another drop. This drop was huge, too. (The drop at Splash Mountain is 52 feet; the drop at Ripsaw Falls is well over 75 feet.) As if we weren't wet enough, we next visited Jurassic Park. The centerpiece of this land is the River Adventure, a boat ride that takes you through the land of animated dinosaurs and hurls you down an 85 foot drop at the end. It's a cross between Epcot's Universe of Energy and MK's Splash Mountain. The kids didn't go on because, by now, they were tired of getting wet. DH and I enjoyed it immensely...and, yes, I closed my eyes on that final plunge. After that, we moved to the Lost Continent. IMHO this is the most breath-taking of all of the lands; a eerie and mysterious place where myth and legend seem to come alive. Landscaped with rock, the mountains and caves of this land really make you feel that you are stepping into Mt. Olympus. First, the kids rode the Flying Unicorn. They voted this kiddie-type coaster "lame". Next, DH and the kids went on Dueling Dragons, awesome double suspension-style coasters where the coasters almost seem as if they are going to crash into each other. They rode both Fire and Ice. They couldn't decide which of the two they liked the best; they loved them both. (FYI: Right across from the coasters was the themed restaurant called Mythos. We didn't eat there because we had other plans but, when I had called Uinversal Dining to make my PS arrangements, the operator could only rave about this restaurant. She mentioned its delicious food and its great atmsophere. We did check it out as we walked by and it seemed pretty cool from the outside.) Our timing was perfect to walk right in to The Eigth Voyage of Sinbad and we all liked this outdoor stunt show. Next, we went to a different type of show: Poseidon's Fury. This show depicts a battle bewteen the brothers Zeus and Poseidon as they use fire and water as their weapons. Since it was so very different from all of the rides and attractions we had already seen at Disney and Universal, I loved it. You really have to see it to know what I am talking about. Around now, DD(16) started to complain of not feeling well. She had refused to wear a hat and, since her hair was braided and her scalp exposed in places, she was getting sunburn on her head and had a major headache. We had only been at IOA for about four hours but, with FOL access we had already seen just about everything that we had wanted to. We left through Seuss Landing, the last of IOA's themed lands. Much like Mickey's Toontown Fair in MK, Seuss Landing is geared toward tiny tots. The vibrant colors and smooth lines are like eye candy. Try as hard as I might, I couldn't convince anyone to go on The Cat in The Hat with me. It's a ride like Disney's Winnie the Pooh but they felt it was just too lame. Same story for the carosel, or in this case, the Caro-Seuss-el. (Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait unti I have grandchildren.) By the time we left the park, DD was really feeling unwell. Rather than make her walk back to the hotel, we decided to catch a boat. The wait was over ten minutes but soon we arrived at the dock near the pool area of our hotel. Thankfully, our room was ready.

disneydonna · 08-18-2002, 01:32 PM

Part IX: You can't compare apples to oranges (continued)...

Once the front desk sttendant confirmed that our room was ready, she called a bell hop to bring us our luggage and escort us to our room. Since the hotel was brand new, I had booked our room quite some time before construction was actually completed and I had little information to go on as far as requesting a particular room loacation or amenity. The only thing that the reservationist could tell me for sure when I booked the room was that it would be a standard room capable of accomodating five people. We followed the bell hop to room 2716 ( The second tower, seventh floor, room 16). The hallways we walked down were beautiful and had that brand-new look. Once we approached our room, the bell hop took the room key and opened the door for us. I stepped one foot into the room and realized that we had a big problem. The room was extremely tiny and, with the five of us, we were going to be like sardines in a can. The room was lovely, decorated in shades of burgundy with rich wood carvings and decor. IT WAS JUST WAY TO SMALL! The room was equipped with two double beds and a small table with two chairs. There seemed to be just enough space to walk around all of the furniture. It had a big picture window but, unlike most Disney hotels, lacked any sort of balcony. This also contributed to the too-small feel of the room. I used the phone in the room to call the front desk to explain our predicament. The front desk was very uncaring, almost to the point of being rude. According to their computer, this room and all the hundreds of ones like it at their hotel was capable of accomodating five people. The bell hop confirmed that all of the standard rooms were this size. Since "this size" was totally unacceptable, I requested a room upgrade but was told that there were no suites available. They also claimed that, even if they had available rooms, we wern't eligible for an upgrade because we had booked our room at part of a package directly from Universal Resorts and not through the hotel itself. ??????? Go figure. Anyway, the only thing that they would offer was a roll-away bed to be placed in the room that we were already assigned. I didn't think another bed would fit in that room but I reluctantly agreed. Believe it or not, they squeezed a bed in the narrow space between the double bed and the window. Of course, you could no longer walk near rhat side of the room or use the table and chair set. We decided that we could live with it for two nights. The uncaring front desk employees annoyed me but I think I was spoiled by the Disney attitude; at Disney, everyone goes out of their way to make you experience as enjoyable as it can possibly be. Anyway, resigned to the fact that we would have to make do in cramped quarters, we unpacked our luggage. I think DD(16) was suffering from sunstroke as by now she felt nautious as well as her other symptoms. DS(13) and DS(17) were also suffering from the heat and all of them decided to take a nap before dinner. DH and I grabbed a room key and set out to explore our hotel. We made our way to the pool to check it out. Touted as the biggest pool in Orlando, it was pretty cool. I thought it was smaller than Stormalong Bay and not as elaborately themed. It lacked a slide but did sport a kiddie area with water canons and sprays. Near the pool we found the hotel's restaurant, the Islands Dining Room, and the hotel bar. We had dining reservations elsewhere for that evening but, on the chance that DD would be too sick to leave the hotel, we checked out the dinner menus. The restaurant menu had items to unusual for our tastes, but we found that we would be able to get some "good ol' American grub" at the bar if we needed too. Before returning to our room to change for dinner, DH and I had to make a trip out to the car. I had left my Passporter there and the tickets for our dinner were inside it. We walked through the baggage unloading area at the front of the hotel and followed the grand entranceway to...NOWHERE! No lie, the front staircase just stops. Major design flaw here. To get to the parking lot, to get anywhere for that matter of fact, you have to cross a grass area, climb through the bushes, and jump over a stone wall. Once we completed this obstacle course to get to the parking area, I saw firsthand why DH had been so grumpy parking the car this morning. People were parked everywhere...up on the curve, at the end of each row, behind other cars. I'm surprised that the city of Orlando let them build this huge hotel with so little parking. I was glad that we didn't have to move our car for our entire stay here...I doubt we would have found another spot to park in. We grabbed our Passporter and walked the long way back to our room. By the time we returned, all of the kids were up and feeling better. DD(16) had gotten rid of her headache and was now complaining of hunger. We left the room and headed off to Citywalk where we had reservations at the Nascar Cafe for dinner. The restuarant was easy to find; the race car out front was a good clue. The entranceway to the restaurant was a little harder; we had to ask to find out that you climbed the staircase in the bar to the restaurant above. The theme of the restaurant was carried out in great detail. There were even two huge race cars suspended from the ceiling. We later found out that the engines of these cars actually run and the wheels spin in a imaginery race held once every hour or so. The menu offered a full array of choices. DD(17) had the All-American Bacon Cheeseburger, DS(13) had the Daytona Chili Burger, DH had the Pit Pull Sandwich, DD had the Club Sandwich and I elected chicken tenders. Everyone enjoyed the meal. While DD polished off the Chocolate Fudge Tire, a choco dessert that she especially enjoyed, DH and I lingered over coffee. The bill came but we didn't mind; we paid for this meal with coupons that were included in the Universal Resorts package that we purchased. Once we left the restaurant, we decided to explore Citywalk. After going in all the shops and looking in all of the restaurants, we unanimously decided that Citywalk is much more pleasant than Downtown Disney. We especially like the upbeat music that they play throughout the whole area. The kids found a game room and, wonder of wonders, it had their favorite game, Air-Hockey. We spent more money in the game room than we did at the shops. Around 9:00 pm we walked back to our room. Our cookies and milk were waiting for us back in the room. (We got this amenity from our Loew's First card that we were told about here on the boards.) As we ate the tasty Oatmeal cookies, we found out that our room had a terrific view of the fireworks from both theme parks. We watched the show from our beds and went to sleep in anticipation of the next days events.

The Best Part of the Day: Front of the line access and having the ride start again just when you thought it was over

The Worst Part of the Day: The size of our room and uncaring attitude of the Universal front desk clerks