We weren't at Disney World for very long but on a tight one-week schedule, we had to move. We took a taxi to Universal Studios in the morning, checked our luggage at the bell desk and headed upstairs to the Royal Pacific Resort's club floor for breakfast. Then we headed out the Universal Studios. We didn't buy a Park Hopper and would do one park a day and it only made sense to do the bigger, better Island of Adventure the next day when we had early entry to Harry Potter. If you don't have time, skip this park but DO NOT miss IoA!
This is an indoor roller coaster in the Simpsons area... Since my family are BIG time thrill riders, they didn't want to bother with a medium sized coaster so we never ventured in.
This is taken in the front the canal that separates the two parks from Citywalk, the major restaurant and entertainment area at Universal. There were a bunch of restaurants that turns into nightspots I really wanted to check out: Latin Quarters and Bob Marley specifically. But like at Disney, we got too sleepy from jet lag and tired from the parks to head out. Our hotel was a short boat ride away or a ten minute walk but.... it seems too far. Reina and I wanted to hang out at the hotel while Rio and Hiro did the roller coaster one more time.
We stayed in a Club Level room which enabled us to have two free continental breakfast buffets (first one when we checked in and the one the next day which was great because we didn't have to hunt for breakfast before going to Harry Potter... Hiro complained about the lack of eggs and meat. We also had supper here which was salad and Rope Vejas, Mexican rice and stewed beef, cheese and veggie plates. It included three beers for Hiro and I had a glass of wine. At night, there was a dessert buffet where we got Costco-like sweets and cookies. For an additional $100, it was a cost saver but we felt kind of tied down... so next time, we probably won't do club floor and explore our food options.
What some (most normal and sane people) do on vacation is stay at one hotel and rent a car to go to different places. I wanted to avoid driving, parking fees, long parking lot walks, etc... so we stayed at 4 hotels. It was incredibly manageable, fun and convenient! There are benefits of staying at a Disney resort when at Disney: free shuttle from airport, great Disney internal transportation, close proximity to everything Disney AND grocery delivery service. The benefits of staying at an Universal property are even greater... The biggest benefit and why many people do it is because everyone in your room gets unlimited FastPasses on all the rides (except the two newest attractions). The kids loved being a VIP. The other benefits are early entry to Harry Potter (though Partner hotel guests also have this privilege) and a short boat ride to the parks. To ensure an enjoyable time, we decided to splurge.
Reina braved the cold spell and took a dip in the pool. The water was warm but it was cold getting out...
Another view from the boat launch. You can see the Hollywood Ripping Rockit Coaster in the background.
The seaplane in the background is real... The resort has an Asian/Polynesian feel...
Pool side games. We also played billiard on deck which was fun.
This was a very deluxe hotel and the kids LOVED it. We missed a few things like the poolside movie and the Polynesian dance show because Rio lost his wallet and the big search for it took up time.. (He found it the next day). We may stay here again or try the Hard Rock next time if we decide to do Universal again... I tried to catch the Orlando Magic versus Chicago Bulls game on tv but fell asleep at half-time... Everyone else were goners before 9pm.
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