The Hogwart's Express is truly a great experience

The Hogwart's Express is truly a great experience. Your experience is enhanced by the level of Detail that Universal put into Kings Cross Station and Platform 9 3/4.  From the Saxophone player as you enter the station to actually crossing into Platform 9 3/4, you will feel as if you are really on your way to Hogwarts! The hogsmeade station offers a great photo op with the Express in the background but the station itself is just so so. You will need a Park to Park ticket to experience this attraction and you will enjoy riding it back and forth as the to watch both shows to and from London!
Watch the detail with our spoiler free video

Need something Special on your Orlando Vacation?

Challenges arise when traveling when it comes to bringing the stuff you want with you. As all air travelers are aware, there are strict guidelines for carry-on and checked luggage. Passengers may not carry any liquid or gel over 3.4 ounces including shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and Snow Globes, yes Snow Globes! Most of the theme parks have them for sale. Then there are the times when traveling you forget something and walk down to your resort's gift shop to be limited with over priced merchandise that is not your brand! You may even have a special diet that can sometimes be a hassle. This should not be an obstacle and  ruin your vacation. The perfect way to hurdle this obstacle and carry on with your vacations is to use a personal shopper.

What is a Personal Shopper?

Many personal Shoppers specialize in buying grocery items and delivering them to you at your resort. I prefer to use personal shopper that does more than that! That is why I choose Orlando Theme Park Shoppers. They do more than just grocery shopping. They can make Gift Bags for special occasions, grab that special souvenir you forgot to buy at the parks (if it still available) and ship it too you, grab those items you forgot or could not bring on the plane, and also deliver the groceries you want and the brands you want right to your resort.

How does Orlando Theme Park Shoppers work?

At least 7 days prior to your visit, orders can be sent to Orlando Theme Park Shoppers' email or Facebook page.  They will send you a quote (cost of items, sales tax, 18% service fee, $10 delivery fee) back to you. At that time they will send you a way to make payment to them  that is secure and then will purchase your items for delivery to your resort. Upon delivery of your items to your resort, they will notify you through email and Facebook to let you know your items have arrived to bell services/front desk of your hotel. The great thing is that all onsite hotels in the WALT DISNEY WORLD® RESORT and UNIVERSAL ORLANDO® RESORT are equipped to keep any perishables cold for you and have mini fridges in the rooms. Orlando Theme Park Shoppers handle emergency orders as well for an additional $15 fee that can be filled that day!

Suggested items to get from Orlando Theme Park Shoppers?

Have Orlando Theme Park Shoppers grab you a case of water for the warm sunny days, suntan/sunblock, Baby items, Ponchos, souvenir you forgot to buy, breakfast items, fresh fruit, juice, shampoo, sports drinks, the list goes on and on.

Orlando Theme Park Shoppers can make your vacation simpler and reduce your stress so you can enjoy your vacations more!
Make sure you stop by and like their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/OrlandoThemeParkShoppers

Halloween Horror Nights 22 at Universal Studios Orlando

Halloween is upon us and that means there is no better time to share with you our adventure and tips from Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights. Universal Orlando Halloween Horror nights  is by far the best Halloween Party and Haunt in this country. Yes not only can you get scared, startled, shocked, and get a good laugh; it is definitely a party/nightclub atmosphere. This year at  Halloween Horror Nights(HHN), Universal went a couple of different directions and moved away from some of the "safe" tried and proven elements they have had for the last 21 years. One of the biggest changes  was that there was no Iconic Figure or theme for this year's event. Last Year's Icon was Lady Luck.I believe this was a good call by Universal  because it didn't over shadow some of the bigger Icons that came with the Haunted Houses this year.  So let's get down to it and tell you about the good, mediocre, and the fantastic of this event. Make sure you read all way to the end to find out some tips that will help you if you should decide to go to HHN in the future.

The Stage Shows:

It's time for Bill &Ted's Election Adventure

A  staple of HHN has been The Bill and Ted's Stage show. Each year the theme changes giving  Bill and Ted chances takes jabs at Pop Culture for the past year. This year was no exception and this year controversy arose over the show and caused a change in the show half way through its HHN run. The show, which was in the old west stunt show/Fear Factor Live show arena, started out with a bunch of YouTube clips of people getting themselves Darwin Awards for doing stupid things.  It keep the crowd groaning in sympathetic pains and laughing at the misfortunes of the not so bright.  Showtime started out with a nice, seductive dance montage celebrating the end of the world and the Mayan Calendar. ( I had to explain it to the guy next to me that the dancer were Mayans, he was still too drunk to get it.) After some nice blindingly but fun pyrotechnics, we are then introduced to the stars of the show Bill and Ted. This year's show had Bill and Ted competing against each other and trying to earn peoples votes to become Class  President.  Que the jabs at Pop Culture. This year's show took jabs at everything from Katnis (from the Hunger Games) who kept "Volunteering" throughout the show, to Honey Boo Boo child(the actress did great job spoofing her), Mad Men, Abraham Lincoln Vampire Killer, The Avengers( the high school years), and in my opinion the best jab all  being aimed at the Snow White characters that emerged from this year movies and TV Shows. All of the Snow Whites that we have known and come to love recently were fair game.They jabbed at Kristin Stewart from the Huntsmen noting that all her facial expression and acting were the same for every character she has ever played.  Of course they also took a jab at Disney's Snow White with the Classic line" My name is Snow White, I live with seven men and my safe word is EPCOT."

As I did mention there was controversy with this year's Bill and Ted's show and it came in the form of an Epic Rap Battle between  The President and Mitt & Ann Romney. I really didn't pay much attention to this part of the show because it was the weakest, most uninteresting part of the show.  The controversy goes that some people saw the skit too Pro-Obama and degrading towards Mitt Romney and the Mormon religion. To me it was just poorly paced and not funny.  

The show's final dance number was great and so were the pyrotechnics.  If find yourself at HHN, do not miss this show. Be forewarned this show is not for children and don't count on taking Pictures or Video of the show, they are very strict about allowing photography of any type during the show.

This year's new addition to the stage show line up was 20Penny Circus. Not much info was given out about this show before HHN or even on the park maps that were given out. I truly didn't know what to expect. We caught a glimpse of the show while waiting in line for The Walking Dead House on the big screen. From what we saw, we decided it wasn't worth going to see. It  was basically an extreme side show attraction with comedy that most of the audience wasn't laughing at . We saw someone eating glass, putting a nail up their nose and couple of other not interesting magic tricks taken to the extreme.  

mmm Peanut Butter

The Haunted Houses:

The amount of detail that Universal put into these haunts or haunted houses was amazing.  Most of the houses were either built in former Soundstages or in storage areas.  Some of the house were movie production quality and one just seemed like it was a last minute addition. (It may have been a last minute addition because of the construction happening that will TRANSFORM part of the studios.)  I will list the houses in the order from Mediocre to the Best.(in my opinion)

7) Welcome to Silent Hill

I have never played the game and have never seen the Silent Hill movies , so this house left me confused.  To me it seemed like someone was on a bad acid drip and tried to re-create their trippy nightmare. This house did nothing for me. No Scares and since I didn't play the games or see the movies, their attention to details were lost on me. I have no clue what the pink rabbit or pyramid headed stilt walker were suppose to be.  Never got startled or scared in this house, very few screams from anyone were coming from this house.  I give this one  4 out of 10.

6) Universal's House of Horrors
This house was based on classic horror movies and monsters with characters like the Wolfman, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and Frankenstein to name a few. There was really interesting lighting in this house to make you feel like you were in a Black and White movie.  That is about all that worked for this house. There weren't many scares here. The make-up on some of the Characters was top notch and some of the props were outstanding. There was an awkward section where you had to duck low to get under something(this was the only haunted house to do this) and made no sense.  There was no gore factor in this house at all and had the shortest line.  I would rate this house a 5 out of 10, but still better than any other haunted house I have been in outside of Universal.

5) Dead End

This house had  lot of detail but really no story to go with it. This was a full blown house built in a soundstage.  I am not sure how long this took to build but I think house had everything but working plumbing when it came to the time and detail they put in this. The only drawback to this house was since there was a continuous line of people going through, it didn't allow the actors in the house an opportunity to reset and actually scare people.( Yes, there were people that got freaked out, just not me because I saw it coming.) There really wasn't any gore factor in this house and it seemed like a classic haunted house done very well. I would give this house a 6 out of 10

4) Alice Cooper's Welcome to my Nightmare

This was an interesting house as it was themed to the music and imagery of Alice Cooper's music. It was like walking through a 3D demented music video and it was great how the music changed from room to room. The gore factor was kicked up a notch in here and was a house you could go through more than a few times and have different experiences each time. This house had areas that allowed the actors time to re-hide or blend into the scenery to get the scare factor up and surprise people.  Having seen Alice Cooper themed haunted house before at Six Flags FrieghtFests, this house by far  made Six Flags houses look like child's play.  I give this house a 7 out of 10 for gore, scares, and detail.

3) AMC's The Walking Dead, Dead Inside

This is the Haunted House I was most looking forward to.  If you are a fan of the show this is a haunt you would want to go through over and over again to pick out the details from the Iconic Scenes they chose from Seasons 1&2.  You start out in the hospital and see the boarded door letting you know that there are dead inside. You then begin to snake your way though the hospital encountering Walkers.  Then you transition(poorly) from the hospital to the Department store in Atlanta.  From there you come to the RV and appear to be on the farm and enter the Barn.  There are a lot of walkers in the barn, even the well-walker from Season 2.  After surviving the Walkers in the Barn you exit into Walkers in the Highway Scene from season 2 and see a message for Sophia.(Sadly I don't think Sophia will ever get the message).  The only drawback to this maze was the transitions from scene to scene, which is understandable . This had a decent gore factor to it and the Walkers were great. I Give this maze a 8.5 out of 10. Well done Universal!

2) Penn& Teller's Newkd Las Vegas

This house was a mixture of Illusions, laughter, and gore. It was nearly perfect and in 3D. This house should be rated R at the bare minimum.  Las Vegas has been Nuked and Penn&Teller do a wonderful job of spoofing what Vegas would look like after it has been mutated by radiation. As you enter near the Iconic Welcome to Las Vegas sign you encounter a vomiting animatronic and it only gets more interesting from there.  There is everything from a mutated buffet, three breasted lady, and a great Christmas light type room that words can't describe, especially with people in the room that reach for you that blend in because they are covered with lights.  There are some things that didn't work well in this house and that is because of the constant line of people being pushed through. One such thing was the mutated buffet because you had the opportunity on the back side to press buttons to add special surprise to people at the buffet, but the inability to stop didn't allow it work. One thing that I missed was that on Select nights Penn& Teller were actually part of the House and took the time to meet fans. Nice touch! I give this house a solid 9 out of 10.

1) Gothic

Gothic was by far my favorite house. It had surprise elements, no gore, and stunning scenes.  In this house, Gargoyles came to life and even at times flying down at or over people.  The scenes had a lot of great detail and you were actually made to feel as if you were climbing to the roof a gothic style church.  If you are afraid of heights the final scene would be sure to get you because it was of looking down on a city from high above. It was extremely convincing and detailed, while you were mesmerized by the final scene, occasionally a surprise would catch you off guard and make you scream. I give this house a 9.5 out of 10.

The atmosphere:

Universal this year went away from the safe Scare Zone where Creatures of the night would conjugate and scare the living daylights out of people that dare walk through.  Instead this year they made it clear that ENTIRE studios was going to be the Scare Zone. Some of the fans of HHN didn't like this, I on the other hand loved it and enjoyed the freedom that the creatures had. I witnessed them chase people into the Locker areas, scare people while they were eating dinner, follow people into gift shops, and show up in unexpected places.  For me this really worked well!  To add to the ambience there of course was plenty of Fog, special lighting, Flame throwers(yes Flame throwers),and mood music.  There was also plenty of opportunity for those who wished to get drunk to partake in their beverage of choice, and boy did some people seize that chance.  To add to the experience this year as well, Universal took advantage of using the Cinema Spectacular show in the lagoon to pay tribute to Classic Horror Movies and Monsters. This was really a cool idea and nice added piece of entertainment.
  

The pictures that I and many others have taken really don't do this event justice. Adam TheWoo on other  was able to capture this video that does a pretty good job of capturing the entire experience. Check it out.

This is an event that I am going to try to make a tradition to come to and have learned a lot from my experience here. I have many tips but will limit them here to 10 very important ones.

1) Plan now for HHN 23 in 2013, save your pennies to get here!

2) This event is not kid friendly. I saw many parents( and drunk parents) that had brought their young children (maybe around 5 years of age) and the kids were traumatized.  Also there is a big Night Club Atmosphere here.  In the end, it is up to you if you think your kids can handle this and if they can't if you can afford the years of therapy they will need after this.

3) If you want to drink, stay on site, don't overindulge, and bring plenty of money cause the drinks are expensive. Again know when to stay when, Stay on Site so you don't drive drunk or at least bring a Designated Driver. BE RESPONSIBLE

4) Buy the Express Pass and buy it in advance! This year really had no "slow" nights and line were quickly over 90 Minutes long. While in past years the express pass got you front of the line access, this year it was only guaranteed to cut your wait in half. If you want to see all the Haunted Houses in one night, you will need the express pass.

5) Be patient, you are going to have to wait in line.

6) Show up to the stage shows at least A half hour before show time, even if you have an express pass.  If you can, sit the back row, these are the only seats that have a "back rest".

7) Take your time on the streets of Universal Studios and look for all the detail that has been put into the event.

8) Contact a Travel agent like myself to plan your trip, the ticket options and packages can be confusing. A Travel Agent like myself will help you find the best deal for you and make your trip nearly stress free.

9) Bring your wallet, HHN can be expensive but is worth every penny.

10) I can't emphasize these two enough, This is not an event for children and if you drink be responsible!

Enjoy some of our other pictures and thanks for reading .Click on the pictures for larger Images!  Tell us about your adventures at HHN!

Adam The Woo doing his thing!

Holding area before we were unleashed into the night!

WALKERS!

These Walkers look hungry!

Poor Sophia

This was only part of the line, it was 120 minutes at this point

Monster on the water!

Cinema Spectacluar Halloween Horror Nights edition

This fellow was happy to pose for a picture

Thanks for reading and be sure to stop by our webpage and click here to like us on Facebook.

The Weather and your Central Florida Vacation

Disclaimer: The suggestions in this blog posting are just that suggestions.You should always follow the Directions and Warnings given by Weather Professionals and Medical Professionals . 


Like it or not, weather can have profound impacts on your vacation. It can leave you with a blistering sunburn, soaking wet, cold, injured, or even killed. Knowing this, it is always important to watch the weather when you are on vacation. In just about every state there is the cliche saying, "If you don't like the weather in(insert location name here), wait 15 minutes and it will change." Knowing the location you are traveling to can give you a good idea on what to expect, but  Mother Nature loves to throw you a curve ball and it always seems to happen when you are on vacation.

The weather even has effects on Pooh's friends.

 
Here are some things to take into consideration when traveling to the theme parks in Central Florida.

Obey the signs, they are there for a reason.

• Florida is the Lightning Strike Capitol of the United States. While the number fluctuate every year, the numbers are the usually the highest in Florida for people struck by lighting. On our 2011 trip in August, we were across the street at SeaWorld when 8 people were injured at Discovery Cove by a Lightning strike. These people were "lucky" they weren't killed, but less than a month later at Adventure Island in Tampa, an employee evacuating a slide was killed by a lightning strike. Lightning is not something to mess with, so take cover when lightning is in the area.

• Hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June 1st and ends November 30th. While these dates are significant, hurricanes can strike Florida before and after these dates, but if you are planning to travel to Central Florida during these times, make sure you check your Trip Insurance policy and your destination’s policy about their procedures dealing with Hurricanes. Here is Disney's Policy. If you happen to be in the area when a Hurricane strikes, don't be that guy thinking they can get the vacation videos or photos of a lifetime, leave that to the weather professionals and news stations. Follow instructions given to you by officials and most importantly stay safe.

Even though it's pouring, not the best time to hop in the pool.

• Tropical Storms and Tropical Depressions can be just as bad as a Hurricane. Tropical Storms are well-organized storms with tight rotation and low centralized pressure with measured wind speeds of at least 39 mph. Once it has reached this point, it is assigned a name. They can dump a lot of rain in a short span of time, trigger tornadoes and fierce lighting.

 
 

Storm Heading in over Contemporary from Poly's Dock.

• Pay close attention when watches and warnings are issued; The National Weather Service issue these watches and warnings when conditions are favorable for the development of storms that can produce Tornadoes, hail, damaging winds, and frequent lightning strikes. There are several apps for phones and tablets now available that allow you delayed radar information, this is one of the few reasons I agree with having one of these devices with you on your trip. Also remember just because you are familiar with how storms travel in your neck of the woods doesn't mean you can predict the direction of a storm or how quickly it is moving when you are at a theme park.

•  Just because it's cloudy and cool that doesn't mean you won't get sun-burnt. Always lather up with sun screen. I have been on trips where I have gotten a blistering sun tan, VERY painful. Bring along a hat and sunglasses as well. Hand held fans can be helpful and so can the little mist sprayers, but remember when you add water to your skin; it can magnify the sun rays causing severe burns or even wash away your sun screen, so make sure you continue to lather on the sun screen throughout the day.

 

Afternoon shower building and heading towards EPCOT

Storm about to unleash heavy rain and lightning at Riverside.

• In the spring, summer, and fall months plan for at least a thunderstorm every day. Sometimes they happen in late afternoon and are brief, but they can pack a wallop and bring torrential downpours when they strike. On our last trip, one evening we got 4 inches of rain within a half hour. The paths that formed the lines for the Tower of terror were literally small rivers. The storm formed nearly on top of the Disney property and came with little warning. The line for Tower of Terror was 20 minutes, when we got in line the skies were clear, by the time the doors opened on the drop shaft for our ride, the sky was so thick with rain you could not see more than 5 feet out of the tower. Even though we had planned for rain every day by having all our valuables in zip lock bags in our water proof back pack, I ended up losing my phone to the rain because it was in my pocket.  These storms do wonders for clearing out Theme Parks though. Remember Outdoor attractions will close in certain weather conditions. Some attractions will stay open if there is just light rain with no lightning, but remember riding a roller coaster in light rain may feel like you are getting a chemical peel from those rain drops.

See it does snow at Disney World

• It is going to be Hot and Humid. Plan on the heat because it can be very hot no matter what time of the year you travel. While the late fall and winter months can be very frigid and darn cold (it can snow and freeze iguanas out of the trees), it can be very warm also. With the warm comes high humidity. When these two combine it can aggravate health conditions (asthma, common colds, elderly, infants, and other ailments) so take a break in the heat the day. Make sure you are staying hydrated, find air conditioned retreats, and do more activities when it tends to be cooler like early morning or at night.

After the storms, some nice photo ops can happen

• The weather will cause travel problems. Just because it is sunny in Florida doesn't mean it won't affect your flights. Weather may delay or cancel flights into Central Florida. While a storm in New York, Chicago, Denver, or any major hub will cause hic-ups across the country. Foggy conditions in portions of Florida cause roads to be closed by  brush fires or thick fog.  Torrential downpours from storms can leave I-4 at a standstill. There is even what is called Florida Ice on the road that can happen in long dry periods. Roads can become very slippery as if you were driving on ice.

Remember you are on vacation and weather will be part of your vacation. There is plenty of indoor activities and rides that you can partake in during bad weather. Make sure you make the proper preparations for all types of weather, even for the sunny days.  Have fun, don't become a statistic. 

My Top 5 Central Florida Non-Roller Coaster Rides

My Top 5 Central Florida Non-Roller Coaster Rides

Disney and Universal really know how to immerse guest in ride experiences. They really excel in the dark ride genre.Their immersion for their rides comes in story lines, preshows(the detail put into the lines and waiting areas), and also in the technology that make their rides thrilling and appealing to all ages. These are the rides I feel are at the top of the game in all of central Florida and possibly across the United States.

5) Star Tours 2- The first trip was great, humorous and memorable. Now with multiple story lines and 3D, this ride has gone to a whole new level. Disney and George Lucas have done wonders with this re-imagined ride. The story lines are randomly chosen so it make re-riding this ride a must. The preshows areas are amazing and humorous with homages paid the original Star Tours. This is must for any Star Wars fan! Who am I kidding, you don't need to be a Star Wars fan to enjoy this journey.

MIB the ride at Universal Studios Orlando

4) Men In Black- This is a great interactive shooter ride. Universal Studios take the humor from the movies, adds a nice story line for theme park visitors, and sends riders shooting and spinning through town under siege. Everyone emerges as a hero with fun and surprise awaiting you around every corner.   Men in Black will beckon you to re-ride and best your last score or see what you missed and make your opponent's car spin. There as scenes and characters from the movie in the preshow line, including the worms. While some may argue that Toy Story Mania is better, Men in Black has more depth and discovery than Toy Story Mania. Suit up and see if you have what it takes to Save the city.



3) Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. It's a classic dark ride combined with drop ride. It may not have the towering heights that some drop towers have, but it sure to give you plenty of air time and different drop sequences, something those other towers can't do. Themeing of this ride is by far one of Disney's best in all of the parks. There are great visual effects and I just love when the star field opens and the dropping and lifting begins. Be sure to try the penny trick.(Drop me a line and I will let you in it.)

What's up with that guy in the center...oh wait that's me.

Have fun storming the castle!

2) Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey- It's Harry Potter goodness and an over all great experience. To take it all in you need to ride it several times. I recommend sitting on the far right hand side, that is if you like dragon breath. The one flaw I see in this ride is that  you do have the same story over and over and over again. This is something Disney has been able to out do Universal with when Star Tours 2 opened. That doesn't make this a horrible ride, it is by far one of the most interesting and fun rides out there. Make sure you look closely at the mist from the Dementor, you will see your own face. Oh if your afraid of spiders, you might want to skip this ride. The line is very entertaining as well. Since the line moves at different rates, you may not get to see all of the stories or spells that are cast. For example, once in the room where you meet Harry and gang, it started snowing and other times we got to see some interesting happenings from the paintings that are hung through out the line.

1)The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man- This ride just got a digital upgrade(which I won't be able to experience until the fall) and is getting rave reviews! This ride was getting rave reviews even before the digital upgrades. Harry Potter may be the new kid in town, but this ride in my opinion offers a more multi-sensory trip. This ride can leave you disoriented,feeling toasty from real flames, and allow you to battle side by side with Spider-Man against some of Marvels most fearsome Villains like Doc Oct and Venom. Universal has a winner on their hand here!




The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man has a big brother and technology upgrade out there that just opened up out in California. Transformers:The Ride. Ride reviews have been phenomenal about this new version of the Spiderman ride as Transformers. Maybe someday it will show up at Universal Orlando?


What are you favorite Dark Rides? Who do you think has the better rides?

Dueling Dragons or Dragon Challenge

This is how the entrance to the Dueling Dragons at Universal Islands of Adventure use to look. 

I challenge you to a duel

Along came a Wizard and here is what his wand did.

Not only did we lose our heads, we don't duel now.

Which do you prefer?

Universal Orlando Partner Hotel: Holiday Inn &Suites Maingate

Holiday Inn & Suites Main Gate

Value, location, and quality are some of  the things I look for when  looking at a room for a vacation. Disney does a great job of offering their  guest a wide range of rooms to meet their guest needs. Disney resorts,even the value resorts, are by far some of the best quality rooms across the country. Adding in the location and the perks Disney resorts offer, you really can't go wrong staying on site. Universal Orlando on the other hand, has 3 elegantly themed hotels, great location, great perks, but the price can really stretch your budget. This is where Universal Partner Hotels  bridge the gap  offering a wider variety of room options and pricing. The Universal Partner hotels give Guest  a great value,quality room, along with some perks, and some offer really good locations next to Universal Orlando.

We wanted to make the most of our August 2011 trip to Florida. We wanted to make it a mega Central Florida trip allowing us enough time to do everything thing we wanted to do along with visiting places we hadn't been before. To do that, we opted to split the trip into two parts, Disney and then Everything else. In the decision to do this, we looked into staying at the Universal On-site hotels and decided that if we wanted to do as much as we could around the Central Florida area, we would have to opted for a Universal Partner Hotel. After much consideration, the choice was made to stay the Holiday Inn & Suites Main Gate Kirkman Road for our everything else part of the trip. Our Disney Portion would be spent at Disney's Port Orleans- Riverside, our family favorite.

Part of the Front Room of our Suite.  Nice sofa that folds out into a bed.

When it comes to the Holiday Inn & Suites Maingate, you really can't beat the location and the ease of access by car or by walking to the Universal Orlando Resort for an off-site hotel. Just remember parking is not free at Universal and the walk from this hotel  is a small trek. In order to get to either the Island of Adventure or Universal Studios you are going to have a journey through City walk,you can find out more about that here. 

The value of this hotel is marvelous. The beds are comfy. Check in and check out were a breeze and the hotel staff was friendly.We were even pleasantly surprised to get a free upgrade from a regular room to a Suite. The hotel has easy access to I-4, I Drive, and literally is right across the street from the Universal Orlando Parking Garages.The ease of getting to all the attractions in the Orlando attractions areas from this hotel is great. There is a TGIF Fridays attached to the hotel, a small gift shop, and a small pool. It is an older hotel, but was under renovation during our stay. We stayed in the portion of the hotel that had not been renovated, and while the hallways showed some age, the room was in very decent shape minus a few scoff marks on the wall.

A Glimpse at the Bedroom of our suite.

The room we had offered 2 queen size beds in one room, a couch that folded out into a bed in another room, 2 flat screen TVs, a full sized refrigerator, and a small kitchenette area with a sink and coffee maker. The view from our room was a sweeping view of parking lot that in a previous visit, 10 years earlier, used to contain a bungee swing.Now no signs of that exist.(Honestly, we were not here for the view)
 If you looking for an amazingly themed pool, spectacular views, or overly themed rooms; this hotel is not for you.You can pay for that across the street and  that is something I would do if I am going to have a short stay(one or two nights) and are just going to do special events that Universal Orlando has to offer(examples:Halloween Horror Nights, Summer Concert Series, Mardi Gras music series, etc.)or just feel the need to splurge. This hotel is a great value for families, extend or short stays, and the value increases substantially when you book a Universal Orlando package.Make sure you contact a a Universal Parks & Resort Specialist, like myself, to see what kind of package you can get for your stay here or at any Universal Partner Hotel or Universal On-Site hotel.

Based on what we wanted to do, the package we booked included the Orlando Flexticket Plus and Early Entry to the Island of Adventure for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The Orlando Flexticket Plus ticket option gives you unlimited admission and park hopping abilities for Universal Studios, Island of Adventure, Seaworld, Aquatica, Wet N Wild,Citywalk, and Busch Gardens Tampa for 14 days from the first use. An added bonus is that once you pay for parking for the day, if you save your reciept you don't have to pay for parking for the rest of the day, just show your flexticket and parking reciept to get readdmission to wherever you are headed after that first park of the day.(This was the terms of the ticket in August of 2011, parks included and parking terms can be changed at anytime.)


I would just offer 3 warnings about this hotel.
 #1Be aware there is a hard sell time share here. You will be informed that you have a welcome package with coupons and a map of area attractions awaiting for you in the front lobby. When you pick it up, the person tries to get you to commit to going to a time share presentation for a resort that is "close" to the Disney properties. Once again this happened in August of 2011, this may or may not still be there, this had not been there in previous visits.
#2 If your planing on using the shuttle to Universal, don't, it really is not convient and the times for pick up and drop off , from lack of a better word, SUCK. If you have a package that allows you early entry to the parks, you are either going to have to walk, drive, our get a cab.This not unique to this hotel, it a problem for all off site hotels since the transportation is not provided by Universal and is from an outside company.
#3 Be prepared to look for a parking spot. You are in competetion for spots with a rental truck company,  TGIF Fridays, and other hotel guest. It was frustrating at nights to come back and have to wait for a TGIF guest to leave so we could have a spot since the rental trucks took up a chunk of the parking lot.There was talks at the time we were there, that the rental Truck company was going to be told at the end of their contract, they would need find someplace else for their trucks because that portion of the lot is prime expansion property for the hotel.

Room Tip: Ask for a room that is not facing kirkman Road

First stay June 2000. Last stay August 2011