Another 18 nights RPR, just the two of us & HHN (2015 Trip)

schumigirl

It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
Joined
May 15, 2007
INTRO...........


Well, trips come and go so quickly.....can`t quite believe another year has passed and we were almost coming up to our long awaited trip to Royal Pacific, Universal and Orlando.

For those that may not know us, we are Carole and Tom........very happily married for 23 years......and we adore Royal Pacific, Universal and Florida. We have stayed exclusively in this hotel since 09, and we don`t care to stay anywhere else. Some people ask us why.......well, we feel so at home here and we are very pampered and taken care of while we stay. It`s a beautiful resort and has some amazing staff members who we have come to know so well and look forward to seeing them every year.

We also love Universal Orlando........love the parks, the rides and general atmosphere around the hotels and resort. We have no desire to go to Disney and won`t go to SeaWorld. So you may get bored if you read beyond a few days, as for some it may be a bit repetitive......and it probably is.....but it`s our way of relaxing we honestly never get bored of being there. Some people think they couldn`t spend more than a few days at Universal or even a week is too long.....not for us. As I said it may not be the most exciting trip report you`ll ever read.....but we loved every second.

This trip would be a little bit different this year from previous years...Our 21 year old son Kyle wouldn`t be joining us for the first time. He is doing his final year at University doing his Masters degree in Chemical Engineering, and University started 9 days before we were due home....so too much to miss. We had known last year this was a possibility, but the reality would be very different. So he would be staying home, but assured us he had plenty to keep him occupied preparing for start of his year. We didn`t hold out much hope for him giving the grass a last mow for the year........we had also set up Skype on my ipad and his laptop so we could see each other as well as talk.

So before we left RP last year we had this years dates sorted and booked....nothing like planning ahead from someone who doesn`t plan. When we got home we got flights sorted quickly.......we wanted specific dates so no hanging around waiting for bargain flights......once that was done we booked our overnight stay at The Radisson at Manchester Airport. This includes our parking for our car while we are away, so no worries about doing that separate. We stay here every year, it`s a nice hotel and attached to both terminals, so a very short walk in the early hours for our flight.

Other things we have to take care of is travel insurance and car rental. Travel insurance is a must for Brits coming to the States.......don`t care how much we pay, long as we have peace of mind we`re happy. American health care is scary for us Brits usually........and since I turned 40 prices keep going higher.......lol.......it`s a downward spiral!!!

Car rental.....we use the same company every year and with them we have a choice of companies at the airport. Usually it`s Alamo we like....but this year we decided not have our usual SUV.....so we ended up paying the cheapest we have ever paid for car hire.......last year we paid $1700 for an SUV.......so this year seemed a bargain. Americans seem to get car hire cheaper, I see people talk about a couple of hundred dollars for like a week........I wish!!!

Our 14 day tickets and our HHN RoF tickets we order direct from Universal. We get them delivered to our home as we prefer to the tickets in our little paws ahead of time. Worth the $19 delivery charge. We ordered them one morning and they arrived within 35 hours. Not bad.

One thing we never do is make dining reservations.......we eat when we want wherever we are, or are close to. This year we made one exception and that was for a belated birthday dinner at Ocean Prime in Dr Phillips. We had heard only good things about this place and in researching reviews I found one from someone I trusted implicitly.......so I knew it was going to be good.

We had gotten all our TC`s and small amount of cash months earlier when exchange rate was good. Even when it`s not so good, we still do ok. I remember fondly a few years back getting $2 to the pound.......that was a great exchange rate!! Still ok though.

The weeks leading up to any trip are a mix of excitement and nerves.......what can go wrong, will this happen, have I got that sorted out.........I try to remember as long as we have passports.....we`re good to go.....anything else we can deal with in America.......without Passports....we go nowhere. It goes so slowly, I think this is the slowest wait ever. Tom had four days off before we left this year too, I thought this would make time pass quicker.....it didn`t. Because we were so organised we had nothing left to do.

That is probably the limit to our planning........apart from looking at menu`s from around Orlando....we don`t just stick to the resort as 18 days is a long time, although not quite long enough.......we have no tips as to how to save a buck or where the best deals are or have coupons.......we don`t vacation like that....we do what we want when we want. Each to their own though.......

So hope anyone that reads it, enjoys it.........
 
WED 16TH SEPT........

We had barely slept as usual last few nights, so when a very unnecessary alarm went off, I got up and into shower first while Tom slept some more, How is it you can lay awake all night and then be exhausted beyond belief when it`s time to get up!! Excitement is high but with a little (lot) of trepidation as we were leaving behind our son. Yes, I know he`s an adult as several "well" meaning people told me......but we were used to him being there, and we would just miss him.

But we got through the morning and got final things packed....checking passports and everything else we needed were there......why dow e check 5 times? But we had lunch before we left and this was where I began to feel nauseous. It was getting closer to leaving and they were both fine.......Kyle was joking by now and I think trying to make me feel better......Tom told me later I was grey coloured at one point. But, after we ate it was time to leave.........cases were put in car.......another year they just don`t seem to go in the same way........Kyle came in and as he came towards me for a hug, I just broke.......real tears, real sadness knowing I wouldn`t see him for almost three weeks. He was fine still.......thank goodness. Eventually I prised myself away from him and got as far as the door before I was off again. Now I knew he would be fine, we have good friends and neighbours who he could call on if there was anything......it was just me being a mum. Finally I got in the car and we were off. I told him to eat a slice of chocolate cake as were driving off, I knew if he was eating that he`d be fine.......so he did.......waved while eating a huge slice of cake.

Strange thing was once we were gone I felt a kind of ease, I sobbed a little for a while but soon the excitement of our trip kicked in and I knew we would have a blast. We put in an 80`s music cd.........always makes me smile.

It takes around 3+ hours to drive up to Manchester.......it was a nice day and traffic was flowing smoothly, we chatted non stop about everything ahead of us and exactly two hours later we were pulling in to the Radisson. Parked the car and headed up to reception. Our room was ready and we always ask for a runway view.......they charge for rooms with that view now, but we hadn`t paid so it was a nice surprise to be told we had one with a high floor. Rooms here are pretty....and purple.......we always enjoy our stay here.





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Tom pops down to the car to drop some things off we don`t need till we come back. The car will be moved offsite while we are away, touch wood so far it`s been fine as some folks do have issues with the company that do it.

And we really look after our cars, so we pray it`s never an issue for us.





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We always enjoy mooching in the room and watching the aircraft take off and land. Rooms are a really good size and we suddenly realised.......who was going to take our pictures this year? So first time ever......we took our first and last selfie.......no more......we took out what we needed for the night and I realised I was hungry, it was only 2.45pm, but I hadn`t really been able to eat much at lunch....so we went down the Little M Bar in the hotel, ordered a sandwich between us as we were eating later and a glass of wine for me and a beer for Tom. Service in the bar has never been great, but this year was ok......except when 25 minutes later we still didn`t have the very simple to make ham sandwich........we went and asked and all of a sudden it was there......it filled a hole, it was ok.





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We sat for an hour or so just chatting and people watching, finished our drink and headed upstairs to get our hold luggage as we were doing bag drop again. This is ideal as it saves us lugging around big cases in the morning.......we wandered down to the terminal and there was no-one else there except one lone agent behind the desk.......we must have been quiet as she jumped as we approached....it was fairly quiet down that end. This took a few minutes and we chatted away to the girl about this and that and I noticed she put a sticker on our boarding cards, but I forget and never looked. We paid the cost for each suitcase which was only £5 each.....bargain. We had exit row seats which meant a huge amount of leg room, so we were pleased when she confirmed we still had them. Sometimes operational reasons means you can be moved. We like these seats though.

Got our luggage through and wandered back to the hotel where we chilled out watching the planes, and made a cup of tea and Tom put the tv on. Home from home........lol

Around 7.30 we headed down to restaurant for dinner.....we hadn`t made a reservation as we didn`t know what time we would want to eat, although it was fairly busy we got a table immediately. Service here is lovely......we have a lovely waiter who brings us menus and I ask for the wine list....he brings that and I choose a bottle of wine I know we`ll like.....we sip while we study the ever changing menu.





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Wine is nice!! He comes back to take our order and I ask him if the pizza was still on the menu, as I had seen it on the room service menu, but not here.....he disappears and comes back with a full pizza menu.....it was fairly new as they used to only have one pizza option.......I quickly decide on a Hot American, while Tom decided to have a Spicy Italian......with my newly or fairly newly discovered allergies I checked there was no onion or garlic.....there wasn`t.........so good to go.....when they arrived they were big!! We should have ordered one between us..........





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They really were delicious, and we got through a fair bit of them......we left the crusts!! We had no room for dessert or coffees so we paid and decided to walk down to the terminal to buy some water a croissant for when I woke up as I sometimes feel queasy if I go to long in the morning without food.......





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I love this walkway at night.........it`s fairly quiet and just so pretty all lit up. We go to the terminal and buy a few things we forgot........then get back into room and watch tv and aircraft for a while hoping we will fall asleep fairly quickly. It was strange not having Kyle in the next room, but we had called him and he was fine.

Eventually we put light off around 11 after setting every alarm we had and arranging an alarm call for 5.30am. It would be a long day tomorrow, but we were so looking forward to it.
 
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Subbing. Sounds like you had a great start. Enjoying RPR right now. Meeting up with Mac and pcstang and his very cute DS.
 


I'm here! It sounds wonderful so far. I think the selfie pic was great, and I love your dress!
 
Woohoo...I made the first page...can't wait to hear about your adventures, my friend.
 


Subbing. Sounds like you had a great start. Enjoying RPR right now. Meeting up with Mac and pcstang and his very cute DS.

Thanks.........

I am ready for the Trip!



More please!

Will be doing this as quickly as I can.....took me ages last year.....think it's quicker importing pictures from laptop, even though they're huge than using PB! PB is not good for blood pressure!

Glad you're here.......

I'm here! It sounds wonderful so far. I think the selfie pic was great, and I love your dress!

Why thank you Kivara........I won't say oh this old thing........but it is......lol.......I was quite proud of my first selfie......kind of........:)

Nice to have you reading along..........
 
Subscribing! :-) I love your trip reports.

Glad to hear it snoop......nice to see ya.......hope you enjoy it........:D

Woohoo...I made the first page...can't wait to hear about your adventures, my friend.

Yay.......first day....first page.........looking forward to writing it this year again........takes me right back to everything.........:)


Wouldn't be the same without you blue........:-)

Your trip will keep me entertained for the next 9 days until we leave!

I felt your pain at leaving Kyle behind :(

Oh thank you.......hope it doesn't disappoint........9 days wow...........will be here before you know it. Thanks, it was hard to leave him.......Skype helped.......a lot!!!
 
Yey Shumi trip report. Loving it so far.

Getting your car stowed away for your holiday as part of airport hotel is a really good deal.

I also remember the days of $2 to the £1. Sigh... fond memories!

Excited for the next update, let's get on that plane!
 
Yey Shumi trip report. Loving it so far.

Getting your car stowed away for your holiday as part of airport hotel is a really good deal.

I also remember the days of $2 to the £1. Sigh... fond memories!

Excited for the next update, let's get on that plane!

Thanks Rachel........Radisson is a good deal as it`s attached to airport so it`s convenient and saves using the shuttles, and car is always waiting when we get back. People are always saying we could stay somewhere for a fraction of the cost, but for us convenience is worth more. And we like it there.......
Travel day coming up..........
 
THURSDAY 17TH SEPT.........TRAVEL DAY........

Who needs alarms!!! Well, we did actually this year.......despite falling asleep comparatively quickly we were both awake at 2am......I got up for a drink and bathroom and that woke Tom up. So there we were at 2am, bright as buttons and just sat up chatting for what seemed like ages. You can tell yourself to go back to sleep till the cows come home, but excitement has other ideas. We watched the bustling airport still full of life even at this time.........eventually we got back into bed and at some point must have dropped off as before we knew it my ipad alarm was going off, tv alarm went off and then alarm call came through..........we jumped up as though we had slept in........saw it was still dark and knew we hadn`t slept in.

I got up and jumped in the shower while Tom snoozed as usual.........Radisson had nice products as usual and plenty of them. I couldn`t find the hair dryer as it was usually kept in the drawer........a quick search unearthed it hidden away in plain sight!!! Good hairdryer but one of thos annoying ones you have to keep one finger on the power which takes a little longer than usual. Didn`t bring straighteners as I have American ones in case, so I was ready fairly quickly......by time Tom came out of the shower I had eaten half the croissant and had made quick cup of tea. After we ate that we headed down to checkout and hand over the car keys. This took a few minutes and then headed down to the terminal. Just after 6.30am and it`s so busy already.......but in a few moments we were there.

As we had dropped our cases last night we only had hand luggage, so straight to security........I stood in the regular lane with passport and boarding card in hand, when suddenly this woman approached us and opened the priority lane and said we should be in that lane. I said no we weren`t........she turned my boarding card around and then I noticed that was what the woman had done last night, she had given us priority entrance. How nice as you usually have to pay for it. So we ambled through a bit quicker and took off shoes, watches and all the usual stuff......both of us got zapped and got an extra search with hand held metal detector, no reason as usual for it. So we repacked ipad and headed through airside.

First thing that hits you is the blast of perfumes from over enthusiastic sales ladies......oh it`s far too early for that kind of enthusiasm, so we head through and opt to go for breakfast and sit down for a while. We went into Giraffe where we got a table next to the window just in time to see the huge Emirates plane pass by. It is massive!! I`m not overly hungry so order toast and marmalade while Tom orders bacon, eggs, toast and extra bacon........he knows I`ll pinch a bit..........and we wait, which is fine as we are in no rush. Breakfast is ok and eventually we pay and head back down to shops area where we buy water, some snacks and I eventually succumb and buy Jimmy Choo Blossom perfume.........well, why not. Then we head back to watch for gate number for our flight.

We had a 10.15am flight so at 9am the gate number came up and we headed down the long walk to gate. We always seem to fly from the furthest gate possible........wish I hadn`t rushed. When we got there it was freezing......really freezing!!! I went over and sat down next to a family I had seen eating earlier.......we looked at each other and thought.......you look colder than I am. Tom went to buy a coffee to heat me up, machine was being "maintained". By now I was shivering, could not believe how cold it was. It wasn`t a nice day outside, but even so. It came to time when we should have started boarding, and we could sense a delay.

Staff started calling for people by name for some reason and eventually made the announcement we were all waiting for, plane was delayed and no more information. No idea of when we would leave or even if we would leave. We soon found out our plane had developed a technical fault on way in this morning.......so we were waiting on new aircraft. Again no idea of time scale, but just when we were thinking the worst they began boarding!!! Yay. But as with previous years.......my boarding card made an angry sound when I went through......an extra security check again!!!! So they took me to the side and body searched me and my bag......I don`t know why but it`s always me. Worst part was they made me stand barefoot on the coldest floor on earth!!! They were friendly as usual but I feel guilty and I don`t know why.....lol

So because we had exit row seats we were as usual almost last on. Not a problem, and we got our seats we had booked even with the aircraft change. The pilot then announced because of the aircraft change it had a different configuration for galley set up, so food and drinks had to be transferred to different containers to fit this one.....should take 30-40 minutes to arrive. This passed fairly quickly and it was nice they kept us up to date with what was the cause of our delay. Eventually we took off at midday exactly. Excellent take off which is when I`m the most nervous........but we were up in no time and so began 9 hours 40 minutes of flight.

It passed really quickly, we upgraded the IFE and watched a couple of movies, had lovely sausage and mash with two little bottles of wine......which helped me to actually sleep for an hour or so. We had incredible leg room as we had no chute in the door in front.....I only had nearly 10 hours to take a picture and I never got around to it!! But it was excellent. By the time we see land again we have around 3.5 hours to go.......again it passes fairly quickly and the last hour they bring around a snack which we don't eat.....egg mayo sandwich I think.....we have our own snacks that we had steadily got through on the flight which helped pass some time. As we got closer to Orlando the plane begins to descend and I love nothing more than to look out the window at all the familiar landmarks we remember year after year.......one of the CC takes her seat opposite and asks if we had a good flight.....we chitter chatter a bit and then we are landing....wow it was the smoothest landing we ever had........the inexplicably I burst into tears as I`m looking out the window at the airport....I think it hit me hard Kyle wasn't with us. CC thought it was relief but Tom said first visit without adult son........lol......by time we stopped at gate I was fine.

Because we were late leaving I was convinced immigration was going to mobbed with the other Manchester, Gatwick and Heathrow flights that all leave later.....but no it was quiet. We had got off the plane almost first so barely a queue. It was moving solidly too, so we got to our immigration officer in about 5 minutes. We always bring British chocolate and candy for friends and we declare that and it`s never an issue.....he never mentioned about it so off we went to wait for our luggage, which is always last off. Always. But.....by some miracle as we walked through there was our cases first...yes first off!!! Because of the aircraft switch our previous first on luggage was now first off. So we grabbed them and headed to next bit where they checked the customs declaration......we were sent for a rescan! That`s never happened before.....anyway guy looked at them and asked why we had been rescanned....told him it was chocolate.....he shook his head and said you`re fine......no reason to rescan for that. They did scan though but think original guy may have been a bit overzealous.

Take escalator to monorail.....everyone`s favourite bit going this way....few seconds later we are in main airport......

Next is the stuff of nightmares. Picking up rental car.
 
So we always book our car through USRentacar and usually it`s Alamo. This year as we had decided not to have an SUV we went with Dollar, same as last year.......never again. They started off with the hard sell of an upgrade, no we didn`t need one.....we laughed so hard when he asked if we wanted to save money on fuel.....told him Americas gas prices are minute compared to what we pay....did we want a satnav.....no we know our way around....Sunpass??? No we`ll pay our own tolls thank you........just when we though he had given up he said ok that`s just $65 to be added to your card.....Tom immediately said no way....we`ve paid upfront for everything....he sighed and said well have you got your contract....he produced it in seconds much to the guys annoyance where he saw we had indeed paid upfront for gas and second driver......he still tried to argue, so we asked for a manager who eventually refunded the charge. They try everything to get more money out of you.

Made it over to garage where we had paltry selection.....four out of five were dirty so we picked the cleanest one and headed off. Smallest car we ever had in the States but it was fine, a Chrysler.

Big sigh and we set off on the drive from the airport......this has got to be one of our favourite parts......so familiar and we love that drive to the hotel. We turn off at Universal Blvd and head up towards our home for next 18 nights. There`s something quite special about seeing all the familiar landmarks.....Dr Doom is the first thing we see followed by RRR......then RPR finally.......then we glance to the side and see the construction for SF!!! Wow that's a lot of cranes!!

We pull into car park and feel very content as we head up and walk for the first time across the beautiful bridge to the entrance......we love walking in here....again the familiarity is welcoming. we head to check in and we have indeed got our usual room that has a wonderful view. So we get upstairs and drop the cases and just look out the window. It`s quite late now, around 7pm so we decide we are hungry and knowing sleep will be what we want in a few hours we head back down to Orchids lounge for sushi. We never go far the first night. It was also too late to Skype Kyle as it was midnight for him, we would wait till morning.

Walked into Orchids and ordered a cocktail and a beer while deciding on sushi.......we were suddenly so hungry!!
 
Damn........posted too early..........

My cocktail was a ginger one with bourbon......wow it was strong.....





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It`s such a beautiful lounge and it`s a place you are always made to feel welcome even if you just want to sit and chill out for an hour or so....no-one bothers you.....





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So we look at the menu and choose California roll and Dynamite roll to share......they were gorgeous.....and a small salad that had lovely ginger dressing.





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It was beautiful, and after ordering another cocktail we ordered some more sushi... this time we went for Mexican which was super hot and spicy salmon......they were even nicer if that was possible.....





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My second cocktail was a Waikiki berry one, minus mint which I hate.........but it was lovely.





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Once we had finished the sushi.....we sat back and just relaxed in the lounge. Laura who was taking care of us was so lovely and she became a favourite over our trip. Staff were just so lovely overall. They had a guy singing in the lounge this year some nights, he`s usually in Jake`s on the weekend, he`s good but one of the things we love about the lounge is the quiet ambiance.....it just feels a bit odd when there`s about 6 people in the lounge altogether. But he wasn`t too loud and he was easy to listen to. And of course the sunset was just beautiful.





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We must have sat for nearly two hours by now and could feel the tiredness creep up on us....as well as 2 large cocktails of course.....so we reluctantly headed off up to bed and hoped we would sleep. You know sometimes you can be just too tired to sleep? Well we needn't have worried as by 10pm we were sound asleep and didn't hear a thing till morning.
 
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Glad your flight went smoothly! It's a shame some people (rental car guy) can get so pushy...good thing you guys had everything sorted! Looks like it was a lovely first night, can't wait to read more!
 
Glad your flight went smoothly! It's a shame some people (rental car guy) can get so pushy...good thing you guys had everything sorted! Looks like it was a lovely first night, can't wait to read more!

Oh it's so annoying especially after such a long flight........I think they actually rely on the fact that us Brits have had a long journey and are a bit easier to target........Tom keeps everything so we knew we were right. But glad you are enjoying reading........:)

Oh wow you've stared your trip report, i've been so lazy I need to get started on mine :)

Hey Matt..........:wave2: eh......yes.....been kinda looking out for yours.......just sayin...:rolleyes1

Glad to have you along.....hope you enjoy it.........:D
 

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