I apologize in advance if I am all over the place. I am back to work and doing this here when I can. I tried to make mental notes all through out my stay and I will try to break them down in different categories.
The cast:
me- 24 yr. old mother of 14 month old. ( Which we left with my mom)
husband- 33 yr. old stock broker needing a vacation BAD!
Celebrating our 2 yr wedding anniversary.
HRH ( the good)
This hotel is beautiful! As soon as you walk in the atmosphere grabs you. Even if you are not a big rock music fan ( like me) you will get into the spirit. The memorabilia is fantastic.
Everyone was extremely friendly and always very helpful.
We bought our tickets ( 2 park super pass for FL residents until 9/30) through the concierge. Glad we did because the ticket lines at the parks were terrible.
At check in there were no upgrades available so we stayed with our garden view room. They did add our Loews number and we recieved our milk and cookies the night of our check in. We checked in at noon and our room was ready.
The room was very nice. The motif was very contemporary. We had 2 double beds, a sitting chair and ottoman ( very comfy for reading). The beds are very firm which wasn't a problem for us.
HRH ( the bad)
We made our reservations through HRN so it everything had been pre-paid. The girl at the front desk asked if we wanted to leave a credit card number for incidentals. We said no and went on our merry way. EVERYDAY we had a message from the font desk "please stop by and update your account." Every time we went there was a charge for re-stocking the mini bar. Even though it was locked the whole time and they never even gave us the key! The removed the charges without question, but it was still a hassle to have to go and talk to them everyday. We also decided to valet the first day and then self park the next 2 nights ( $10 for valet & $5 for self parking a night.) We went ahead and paid in cash for this at check in. When we got our final bill they had charged us $30 dollars for valet parking. Luckily my dh had kept the receipt and they removed those charges as well. KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR BILL! I couldn't believe how bad they were with charges stuff to our account.
"The Velvet Lounge" at the HRH is pretty expensive. They don't give you a menu with a price list. A rum & coke cost $6. I guess you can expect this on vacation.
The Parks:
THEY WERE PACKED! Both US & IOA were unbelieveable. Even with our magic keycard we waited atleast 10 mins for every ride.
At one point on MIB ( which I Scored 284,900) the express line was longer than the regular queue. We waited 45 mins. They decided how they would manage this was stop the regular queue for a little bit and just let express go and then vice versa. This only made matter worse.
When I asked a cm about who I can talk to about it she answered, " I don't know and I don't care." When I told her i would be visiting guest services and wanted her name she refused to give it to me ( she covered her name badge with her hair.) All of a sudden no one around her knew her name ( convenient.) Anyway to make a long story short I went to guest services and made a written complaint. I explained that it wasn't so much the long line but the response I recieved when I tried to voice my concerns.
BEST TIP OF THE CENTURY! They will refill your own water bottle with cold water from their soda dispensers. My husband and I bought a 24 oz water bottle and refilled it all day with any vendor! The best part , they do not look down at you at all. Every cm we asked was sweet and nice and did it with a smile. SAVED US A TON OF MONEY ON WATER!
Dining:
Margaritaville- Okay the atmosphere is great, the live band at night awesome. The food just mediocre. My husband had the pulled pork and I had the jerk chicken. He said it was okay. I have heard people on this site rave about it so I guess it is a matter of opinion.
The drinks we GREAT! We both had pina coladas. I had the mango and loved it!
HRH Cafe- We just had appetizers here. The nachos and the potato skins were great. Definately enought for 2 to share. Their drinks were a little less expensive here. (4.25 for a rum & coke)
( Left HRH and went for Sushi one night)
Turkey Legs- okay this is a big deal for me because I love them and make a lunch out of it. The ones at IOA' Jurassic park are wonderful. Not over cooked and very well seasoned. The ones at US Back to the future area were terrible. They were dry and had little to not flavor.
Mama something ( pizza place at US)- Very good! A slice of pepperoni pizza is 3.69. One slice will not fill my husband up ( they were a good size) He wanted 2 and I wanted one. 3 slices for almost 12 dollars. However a whole pie for $17 dollars. This would is the best buy if you are going with a family of say 4 people.
That's all I can think of now. If anyone has any questions, just let me know.
Naomi
The cast:
me- 24 yr. old mother of 14 month old. ( Which we left with my mom)
husband- 33 yr. old stock broker needing a vacation BAD!
Celebrating our 2 yr wedding anniversary.
HRH ( the good)
This hotel is beautiful! As soon as you walk in the atmosphere grabs you. Even if you are not a big rock music fan ( like me) you will get into the spirit. The memorabilia is fantastic.
Everyone was extremely friendly and always very helpful.
We bought our tickets ( 2 park super pass for FL residents until 9/30) through the concierge. Glad we did because the ticket lines at the parks were terrible.
At check in there were no upgrades available so we stayed with our garden view room. They did add our Loews number and we recieved our milk and cookies the night of our check in. We checked in at noon and our room was ready.
The room was very nice. The motif was very contemporary. We had 2 double beds, a sitting chair and ottoman ( very comfy for reading). The beds are very firm which wasn't a problem for us.
HRH ( the bad)
We made our reservations through HRN so it everything had been pre-paid. The girl at the front desk asked if we wanted to leave a credit card number for incidentals. We said no and went on our merry way. EVERYDAY we had a message from the font desk "please stop by and update your account." Every time we went there was a charge for re-stocking the mini bar. Even though it was locked the whole time and they never even gave us the key! The removed the charges without question, but it was still a hassle to have to go and talk to them everyday. We also decided to valet the first day and then self park the next 2 nights ( $10 for valet & $5 for self parking a night.) We went ahead and paid in cash for this at check in. When we got our final bill they had charged us $30 dollars for valet parking. Luckily my dh had kept the receipt and they removed those charges as well. KEEP AN EYE ON YOUR BILL! I couldn't believe how bad they were with charges stuff to our account.
"The Velvet Lounge" at the HRH is pretty expensive. They don't give you a menu with a price list. A rum & coke cost $6. I guess you can expect this on vacation.
The Parks:
THEY WERE PACKED! Both US & IOA were unbelieveable. Even with our magic keycard we waited atleast 10 mins for every ride.
At one point on MIB ( which I Scored 284,900) the express line was longer than the regular queue. We waited 45 mins. They decided how they would manage this was stop the regular queue for a little bit and just let express go and then vice versa. This only made matter worse.
When I asked a cm about who I can talk to about it she answered, " I don't know and I don't care." When I told her i would be visiting guest services and wanted her name she refused to give it to me ( she covered her name badge with her hair.) All of a sudden no one around her knew her name ( convenient.) Anyway to make a long story short I went to guest services and made a written complaint. I explained that it wasn't so much the long line but the response I recieved when I tried to voice my concerns.
BEST TIP OF THE CENTURY! They will refill your own water bottle with cold water from their soda dispensers. My husband and I bought a 24 oz water bottle and refilled it all day with any vendor! The best part , they do not look down at you at all. Every cm we asked was sweet and nice and did it with a smile. SAVED US A TON OF MONEY ON WATER!
Dining:
Margaritaville- Okay the atmosphere is great, the live band at night awesome. The food just mediocre. My husband had the pulled pork and I had the jerk chicken. He said it was okay. I have heard people on this site rave about it so I guess it is a matter of opinion.
The drinks we GREAT! We both had pina coladas. I had the mango and loved it!
HRH Cafe- We just had appetizers here. The nachos and the potato skins were great. Definately enought for 2 to share. Their drinks were a little less expensive here. (4.25 for a rum & coke)
( Left HRH and went for Sushi one night)
Turkey Legs- okay this is a big deal for me because I love them and make a lunch out of it. The ones at IOA' Jurassic park are wonderful. Not over cooked and very well seasoned. The ones at US Back to the future area were terrible. They were dry and had little to not flavor.
Mama something ( pizza place at US)- Very good! A slice of pepperoni pizza is 3.69. One slice will not fill my husband up ( they were a good size) He wanted 2 and I wanted one. 3 slices for almost 12 dollars. However a whole pie for $17 dollars. This would is the best buy if you are going with a family of say 4 people.
That's all I can think of now. If anyone has any questions, just let me know.
Naomi
). Drink prices: be thankfull you weren't at Portofino, they're usually around $7-$7.50!
that is expensive! Thanks npall, we'll just have to cut down on eating so that I can afford the essentials! 
