schumigirl
It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts
- Joined
- May 15, 2007
Well, it`s been a couple of years since I`ve done a trip report....I almost don`t know where to begin.
We`ve been staying at RPR for our whole trip since 2009. We have stayed elsewhere on previous trips but once we stayed here, we knew we didn`t want to stay anywhere else when we come to Orlando. It really is our home from home. We don`t visit Disney at all so it`s proximity to the Universal parks that we love so much is just ideal and suits us down to the ground. The hotel is just beautiful. As soon as you walk in you are made to feel like an old friend returning. It`s nice when people remember you from previous years. The staff here are so wonderful and nothing is too much trouble.
We are most definitely not planners!!! That would be a nightmare for us if we had to seriously plan anything. We don`t want to make restaurant reservations ahead of time.......we decide on the day where we ant to eat and if it`s too long a wait......we`ll try another day. We usually decide on the day or the night before what our plans are for the next day. It suits us. Having 17 days means we are never in a rush to do anything. We do have place we like to eat at every year, but that`s about as much as we plan. We do make arrangements to meet up with friends we have met from on here too.
So there`s me Carole, very happy homemaker, wife and mum to the most wonderful husband and son you could ever hope to have. We are lucky with the business DH is in he has a lot of time off so we do spend a ridiculous amount of time together according to my friends
........and DS is in his second year of a 5 year course at university studying Chemical Engineering, thankfully he has his fathers brains. We`re not sure at the moment if DS will be able to come next year due to work placements, but we`ll worry about that another time. It will be different and strange when he stops coming with us. We do feel lucky he still enjoys coming with us this far.
So when we got back from our trip last year which was in July......only because our DS was having back surgery in August and then starting University in September, would never go again in July unless I REALLY had to, but we were home days before I started to mentally plan this year. We love going September time, it`s so quiet and the weather is perfect usually so we looked at things like when DH was off and when DS uni started up and we decided to fly out 12th September till the 29th. That seemed to suit us and finally I would be celebrating my birthday in Orlando. DH had his birthday twice here when we visited in August, but I had missed mine here previously so I was very happy.
Then there was the waiting for flights to come out. We always fly Virgin Atlantic so as soon as they were released we got them booked. Now people always tell us we should wait, but as long is we are happy with the price I`m not bothered. We have no interest in flying indirect either so we know what we want. It`s a long enough flight to Orlando without having to make stops, but each to their own. So flights booked along with extra legroom seats which are a godsend on long flights. It`s only an extra couple of inches...but it makes a difference if the person in front reclines.
Hotel was booked soon after along with our car hire from USRentacar. We have used them every year and they are always good, have never had any issues with them. The people at the hire desks in Orlando....different story.....
But anyway we booked a 7 seater SUV......it`s usually a Tahoe or similar but we give the guy in the garage an incentive and we always end up with a Suburban which we love to drive. We had and Expedition last year as our usual guy wasn't there....took it back it was horrible to drive. Anyway flights, hotel and car hire sorted now to book our hotel for the night before we fly.
We always stay at the Radisson at Manchester airport. It`s handy as we just have to walk down an internal walkway to the terminals. We stay here a lot even of we are flying off to see a European Grand Prix as it`s just so handy. We usually book a normal room and have a single bed put in for DS, but this year we booked a family room which is 2 rooms and this included our parking for 19 days. Another thing booked.
Next was travel insurance which we always get as soon as everything is booked. Was worried about then charging ridiculous costs for DS after having back surgery but as it was over 6 months it didn`t count. Thankfully he fully recovered with no issues.
So by November last year we had everything booked and just had to sit and wait till September came around. I had a trip to New York in between which meant I didn`t feel it as long a gap as dh and ds. I went in April for a week with my niece and my mum and it was just wonderful. I truly loved NY and can`t wait to go back. Seeing all the sights I had seen on tv and catching up with relatives on Long Island that we hadn`t seen in such a long time. I could live on Long Island!! My niece and I stayed in Manhattan while my mum stayed with her sister and we met up a few times. It was lovely but I did miss my boys a lot. We did all the touristy things including seeing Wicked which I just loved, central Park, Rockefeller, Empire State...morning and evening and so much more. Mum and I are going back next May for 2 weeks, staying with my aunt but having 5 days in the city just the 2 of us this time. Looking forward to that.
But anyway.......after a long and surprisingly beautiful summer in the UK September came around.
Wed 11th September
I had spent the previous night chatting to a friend and saying I couldn`t believe it was finally here, but it was and I suddenly had a panic I had forgotten something important........I hate that feeling. But as time went on I realised it was just worry. DH wasn't arriving home till the morning so I had everything packed and put in the right place so he could sleep for a few hours in the morning before we set off at lunchtime, I wouldn`t be disturbing him then.
DS an I had breakfast and then mooched around trying to be quiet but willing him to get up bless him!! He finally got up around 11.30 and we got the luggage in the car and set off the 3 and a bit hour drive to Manchester for our overnight stay. The weather was foul, I wish I had taken pictures of the weather as it was so bad, roads were not fun to drive on and didn`t make for a nice relaxing journey. We always stop for lunch at a diner and did so again, usually just sandwiches and coffee to keep us going till dinner at night in the hotel. So after we ate we set off again but it took longer between the weather and we hit major roadworks so that slowed us down a bit, but we were in no rush as as far as we were concerned our holiday had begun...we were on our way.
Arrived at the hotel around 4.30 and it was still raining....heavy! DH dropped us off at the door or as close as he could, left us with the luggage and went around to park the car. We went up to check in on the 3rd floor when the girl told us we couldn`t check in there as we had a business room booked, we had to go to the top floor. Well that was odd as I had booked a family room but she assured us it was correct. So we headed up the top floor and saw Executive Check in......I was still convinced she had got it wrong......but no it was correct........she gave us our room keycards and we went down a floor not knowing what to expect. We were very pleased to see we had been been given an upgraded room that had been refurbished. They were beautiful and actually made me wish we were staying more than one night
Apologies for the size of pics......can`t quite work out how to make them smaller
our room
DS room
So we kinda mooched around and looked out the window for a bit as we had a runway view again. Someone said they now charge an extra fifteen pounds a night for this but we were not charged that. The weather was still awful but it is nice looking at it when you are inside all nice and warm
We loved the rooms, and they were purple.....almost as if they knew......for those that don`t know I LOVE anything purple......if it`s purple I`ll buy it....even if I don`t need it......I`ll find a place for it. So we sat and made some tea, then went for a walk down to the terminal.
They have a couple of shops this side so we picked up some magazines and bits and bobs before heading back to hotel. We usually go to the pool but this year we didn`t bother we went into the lounge for a drink as it was too early for dinner. The restaurant area here has all been refurbished and is lovely. Food is always a hit and a miss for us but instead of going somewhere else we decided to give it a try again.
In the bar Tom had a beer and I had a cocktail in a skull....it wasn`t great to be honest but I drank most of it.....it had a real kick though!!
After this we went through to dinner. The restaurant is really nice and staff were lovely but the food wasn`t great. I don`t mind paying a lot of money if it`s good but this was just ok. DS enjoyed his, he had plain chicken and fries, DH had pizza and I ordered the steak......should have waited till the states for that. Had some wine as well which was nice
Decisions Decisions
So after a very ok dinner we headed back upstairs to our room. We planned to watch some tv and watch some planes taking off. Weather was still awful. I did take some pics of the bathroom DS had, but Photobucket has limited how many pics you can store for free, so although we have every single pic on the laptop, they are not all on PB. I won`t pay them for more storage, so don`t have all the 1300 or so pictures we took on it.
By 10.30 we were all ready for bed. We arranged a wake up call for 5.15am, set the alarm on the TV's in both rooms.....and set my own little alarm......maybe a little over the top but it`s our biggest worry is sleeping in and missing the plane. Not much chance of that as we are all usually awake before the alarms go off anyway, excitement takes care of that!!!
The beds were just heavenly to sleep on......and it was so quiet we really did have a wonderful nights sleep in them, which was a good thing as travel day is such a long one.
We`ve been staying at RPR for our whole trip since 2009. We have stayed elsewhere on previous trips but once we stayed here, we knew we didn`t want to stay anywhere else when we come to Orlando. It really is our home from home. We don`t visit Disney at all so it`s proximity to the Universal parks that we love so much is just ideal and suits us down to the ground. The hotel is just beautiful. As soon as you walk in you are made to feel like an old friend returning. It`s nice when people remember you from previous years. The staff here are so wonderful and nothing is too much trouble.
We are most definitely not planners!!! That would be a nightmare for us if we had to seriously plan anything. We don`t want to make restaurant reservations ahead of time.......we decide on the day where we ant to eat and if it`s too long a wait......we`ll try another day. We usually decide on the day or the night before what our plans are for the next day. It suits us. Having 17 days means we are never in a rush to do anything. We do have place we like to eat at every year, but that`s about as much as we plan. We do make arrangements to meet up with friends we have met from on here too.
So there`s me Carole, very happy homemaker, wife and mum to the most wonderful husband and son you could ever hope to have. We are lucky with the business DH is in he has a lot of time off so we do spend a ridiculous amount of time together according to my friends
........and DS is in his second year of a 5 year course at university studying Chemical Engineering, thankfully he has his fathers brains. We`re not sure at the moment if DS will be able to come next year due to work placements, but we`ll worry about that another time. It will be different and strange when he stops coming with us. We do feel lucky he still enjoys coming with us this far.So when we got back from our trip last year which was in July......only because our DS was having back surgery in August and then starting University in September, would never go again in July unless I REALLY had to, but we were home days before I started to mentally plan this year. We love going September time, it`s so quiet and the weather is perfect usually so we looked at things like when DH was off and when DS uni started up and we decided to fly out 12th September till the 29th. That seemed to suit us and finally I would be celebrating my birthday in Orlando. DH had his birthday twice here when we visited in August, but I had missed mine here previously so I was very happy.
Then there was the waiting for flights to come out. We always fly Virgin Atlantic so as soon as they were released we got them booked. Now people always tell us we should wait, but as long is we are happy with the price I`m not bothered. We have no interest in flying indirect either so we know what we want. It`s a long enough flight to Orlando without having to make stops, but each to their own. So flights booked along with extra legroom seats which are a godsend on long flights. It`s only an extra couple of inches...but it makes a difference if the person in front reclines.
Hotel was booked soon after along with our car hire from USRentacar. We have used them every year and they are always good, have never had any issues with them. The people at the hire desks in Orlando....different story.....
But anyway we booked a 7 seater SUV......it`s usually a Tahoe or similar but we give the guy in the garage an incentive and we always end up with a Suburban which we love to drive. We had and Expedition last year as our usual guy wasn't there....took it back it was horrible to drive. Anyway flights, hotel and car hire sorted now to book our hotel for the night before we fly.
We always stay at the Radisson at Manchester airport. It`s handy as we just have to walk down an internal walkway to the terminals. We stay here a lot even of we are flying off to see a European Grand Prix as it`s just so handy. We usually book a normal room and have a single bed put in for DS, but this year we booked a family room which is 2 rooms and this included our parking for 19 days. Another thing booked.
Next was travel insurance which we always get as soon as everything is booked. Was worried about then charging ridiculous costs for DS after having back surgery but as it was over 6 months it didn`t count. Thankfully he fully recovered with no issues.
So by November last year we had everything booked and just had to sit and wait till September came around. I had a trip to New York in between which meant I didn`t feel it as long a gap as dh and ds. I went in April for a week with my niece and my mum and it was just wonderful. I truly loved NY and can`t wait to go back. Seeing all the sights I had seen on tv and catching up with relatives on Long Island that we hadn`t seen in such a long time. I could live on Long Island!! My niece and I stayed in Manhattan while my mum stayed with her sister and we met up a few times. It was lovely but I did miss my boys a lot. We did all the touristy things including seeing Wicked which I just loved, central Park, Rockefeller, Empire State...morning and evening and so much more. Mum and I are going back next May for 2 weeks, staying with my aunt but having 5 days in the city just the 2 of us this time. Looking forward to that.
But anyway.......after a long and surprisingly beautiful summer in the UK September came around.
Wed 11th September
I had spent the previous night chatting to a friend and saying I couldn`t believe it was finally here, but it was and I suddenly had a panic I had forgotten something important........I hate that feeling. But as time went on I realised it was just worry. DH wasn't arriving home till the morning so I had everything packed and put in the right place so he could sleep for a few hours in the morning before we set off at lunchtime, I wouldn`t be disturbing him then.
DS an I had breakfast and then mooched around trying to be quiet but willing him to get up bless him!! He finally got up around 11.30 and we got the luggage in the car and set off the 3 and a bit hour drive to Manchester for our overnight stay. The weather was foul, I wish I had taken pictures of the weather as it was so bad, roads were not fun to drive on and didn`t make for a nice relaxing journey. We always stop for lunch at a diner and did so again, usually just sandwiches and coffee to keep us going till dinner at night in the hotel. So after we ate we set off again but it took longer between the weather and we hit major roadworks so that slowed us down a bit, but we were in no rush as as far as we were concerned our holiday had begun...we were on our way.
Arrived at the hotel around 4.30 and it was still raining....heavy! DH dropped us off at the door or as close as he could, left us with the luggage and went around to park the car. We went up to check in on the 3rd floor when the girl told us we couldn`t check in there as we had a business room booked, we had to go to the top floor. Well that was odd as I had booked a family room but she assured us it was correct. So we headed up the top floor and saw Executive Check in......I was still convinced she had got it wrong......but no it was correct........she gave us our room keycards and we went down a floor not knowing what to expect. We were very pleased to see we had been been given an upgraded room that had been refurbished. They were beautiful and actually made me wish we were staying more than one night
Apologies for the size of pics......can`t quite work out how to make them smaller
our room
DS room
So we kinda mooched around and looked out the window for a bit as we had a runway view again. Someone said they now charge an extra fifteen pounds a night for this but we were not charged that. The weather was still awful but it is nice looking at it when you are inside all nice and warm
We loved the rooms, and they were purple.....almost as if they knew......for those that don`t know I LOVE anything purple......if it`s purple I`ll buy it....even if I don`t need it......I`ll find a place for it. So we sat and made some tea, then went for a walk down to the terminal.
They have a couple of shops this side so we picked up some magazines and bits and bobs before heading back to hotel. We usually go to the pool but this year we didn`t bother we went into the lounge for a drink as it was too early for dinner. The restaurant area here has all been refurbished and is lovely. Food is always a hit and a miss for us but instead of going somewhere else we decided to give it a try again.
In the bar Tom had a beer and I had a cocktail in a skull....it wasn`t great to be honest but I drank most of it.....it had a real kick though!!
After this we went through to dinner. The restaurant is really nice and staff were lovely but the food wasn`t great. I don`t mind paying a lot of money if it`s good but this was just ok. DS enjoyed his, he had plain chicken and fries, DH had pizza and I ordered the steak......should have waited till the states for that. Had some wine as well which was nice
Decisions Decisions
So after a very ok dinner we headed back upstairs to our room. We planned to watch some tv and watch some planes taking off. Weather was still awful. I did take some pics of the bathroom DS had, but Photobucket has limited how many pics you can store for free, so although we have every single pic on the laptop, they are not all on PB. I won`t pay them for more storage, so don`t have all the 1300 or so pictures we took on it.
By 10.30 we were all ready for bed. We arranged a wake up call for 5.15am, set the alarm on the TV's in both rooms.....and set my own little alarm......maybe a little over the top but it`s our biggest worry is sleeping in and missing the plane. Not much chance of that as we are all usually awake before the alarms go off anyway, excitement takes care of that!!!
The beds were just heavenly to sleep on......and it was so quiet we really did have a wonderful nights sleep in them, which was a good thing as travel day is such a long one.
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Thanks for starting your trippie today...can't wait to read more
! Great to finally be able to associate 'a face' with the name, you have a lovely family
but it appears as though you settled in well @ RPH...welcome back to your second home
.......nice to have you along 
So I start to make little coughing noises to encourage them to wake up......eventually I have to revert to just shaking DH who is consciously ignoring me....but smiling at the same time 
