HO-HO-HO..We`ll put the RUM in Pa-Rum-Pum-Pum-Pum! 16 holiday nights at SF & RPR. A Nov/Dec 2023 Trip Report

[disneyseniors]

Well, Duh, I guess I never paid attention to those before!!!
Thanks for pointing this out without laughing and snickering, LOL........

 

[schumigirl]

Well, Duh, I guess I never paid attention to those before!!!
Thanks for pointing this out without laughing and snickering, LOL........

lol......Ruth, no laughing from me!! sometimes I don`t see things right in front of me despite it being obvious to others!

Here`s an example.......years ago one of my dads friends had a daughter a year younger than me, we were about 13 or 14 and at the same school, he brought her down to our house a couple of times when he was visiting my dad and a couple of times we went up to my room to play "albums"....remember them.....lol......anyway, she would often hold the albums and we were chatted about them.

Several years later my mum commented how well Kathleen was doing as a chef and how it was quite amazing considering.......I did wonder what she meant when she said considering, mum looked at me and said, well she only has one arm You could have knocked me down with a feather!!!

I never once noticed!!! She had one full arm and her right arm was a stump from above where the elbow should be.......now that is someone who was not observant.......lol......

 

[disneyseniors]

lol......Ruth, no laughing from me!! sometimes I don`t see things right in front of me despite it being obvious to others!

Here`s an example.......years ago one of my dads friends had a daughter a year younger than me, we were about 13 or 14 and at the same school, he brought her down to our house a couple of times when he was visiting my dad and a couple of times we went up to my room to play "albums"....remember them.....lol......anyway, she would often hold the albums and we were chatted about them.

Several years later my mum commented how well Kathleen was doing as a chef and how it was quite amazing considering.......I did wonder what she meant when she said considering, mum looked at me and said, well she only has one arm You could have knocked me down with a feather!!!

I never once noticed!!! She had one full arm and her right arm was a stump from above where the elbow should be.......now that is someone who was not observant.......lol......

Thanks,, that's very kind of you!
You also were nice to Not say: ahem, look at the bottom of every one of my posts, and you will see the TR's, LOL.
. I probably would have made a comment, but I'm not as nice, LOL.

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks,, that's very kind of you!
You also were nice to Not say: ahem, look at the bottom of every one of my posts, and you will see the TR's, LOL.
. I probably would have made a comment, but I'm not as nice, LOL.

Well I think you`re very nice and would have laughed if you`d made a comment!!

Hope you find them helpful if you ramble through them!!

 

[schumigirl]

RPR CLUB LOUNGE​

Each of the three premier hotels have a Club Lounge and RPR has the best one in our opinion of course......

Over the years we`ve spent many hours in here enjoying the lounge itself and getting to know so many lovely people over the time we`ve been visiting, both staff and other guests too, the staff have always been wonderful, with some outshining everyone of course.

PBH has a lovely lounge too, but it`s a little too large for us and too spread out and HRH is tiny, it feels cramped and they have extended it, but it needs to be at least double the size. So for us, RP is perfect.

Pictures of the other two lounges are in the hotel stickies for comparison.

It is a lovely size and as with all the lounges it opens early, 7am for breakfast and is open till 9.30pm.

It`s worth mentioning if you have club access, as soon as you check in you then have access to the lounge through your room key, they will be programmed to operate the elevator straight away.

As well as breakfast they have snack time between midday and 3pm, there are chips and various snack items including fruit, evening relaxation is from 5pm till 7pm where there is always one hot item, salad, crudite, crackers, cheese and the choice of having beers, wine or they usually have a cider option. Food works in a weekly rotation and they have improved it due to Jen who is the Concierge manager now, she has improved many things in the lounge since she`s been there and is a very nice lady too!!

Alcohol is only served between 5pm till 7pm. Then later they have dessert hour between 8-9pm, all mini desserts like apple pie, mini cheesecakes and they always have a selection of cookies.

They gave the lounge a major overhaul in 2018, the Club Lounge was relocated to the large room within Islands Restaurant for that period and it worked really well down there.

The refurb made a massive difference, it became brighter and lighter and gave the lounge a lot more space as they used smaller tables and chairs and all the fittings were changed too so they gained a huge amount of room for more guests to be accommodated.

The addition of the high tops was a good one too as you can fit a whole lot of people around them and ideal for larger families who want to sit together for meals or drinks.

The kids have their own little area, they have games, books and some arty things to keep kids amused as well as their own tv which always shows kids channels.

That little area is where the computers are if you need them.

The wines and beers can vary seasonally, red, white and rose usually stay the same, maybe a different supplier, but the local beers are always varying and it`s nice to see the changes.

I did try the Caribe pineapple cider, it was so lovely and something I`d never tried before.

You can get a drink each and take it back to your room, and it`s the same with any food served if you don`t want to stay in the lounge to eat.

It was over 10 years ago we started visiting the Club Lounge and it was very different back then.

Much darker decor and it certainly felt a little busier due to the size of the chairs in the room, it also had carpet down which was something that definitely needed replacing!!!

The uniform the ladies had to wear was dreadful...it was a mustard yellow but dark and something you`d expect to see adorning a huge window somewhere like a Palace in Siam!! Not flattering and if they splashed them even with water it looked like a stain, so they weren`t the nicest of uniforms. Ladies on the check in desks had them too and everyone was glad to be rid of them when they did the refurb, their new outfits looks and fitted much better.

Food was served very differently back then, there was a hatch where they would pass the hot trays through to sit on a burner and the cold dishes were placed around them. Food was excellent back then and they had the best mac n cheese with chicken we had ever tasted and a pork lo mein dish that would rival any decent Chinese restaurant.

It was however, very cosy at night, the lighting was lovely and hid the need to change the carpet, but we liked it all the same.

They`ve always had the three tv`s, but way back when they had a large selection of family DVD`s to choose from and watch if you wanted. Usually if the weather was inclement someone would choose whatever they wanted to watch and that was all rather nice, we watched Ghostbusters, Shrek and many more over the years. That all changed in either 2017 or 16, something to do with licences, so we lost the dvd`s.

Club Level is lovely, they really take care of each and every single person who walks through their doors. They can all help with dinner reservations and the other things Concierge can help you with, they will always do their best where they can.

We do spend a lot of time around the club lounge and that is mostly down to the lovely people they have working there, and if you were considering Club Level here at RP, you wouldn`t regret it.

 

[schumigirl]

 

[MadHatterBrooke]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on club level at RPR. I'm excited to experience it on our trip for the first time. Hopefully they still have the pineapple cider then. It sounds delicious!

 

[schumigirl]

​

We`re already thinking we don`t have enough nights this trip as we seem to have plans in place for both park time and meets with folks we want to catch up with which is one of our favourite thing to do on our visits. But one thing we would like to add in if we can find a spare night is to head to St Augustine for their Nights of Lights festival.

Every day at dusk from November 17th till Jan 31st 2024, St Augustine is adorned and draped with lights which I can only imagine is incredibly impressive to see as it`s a large area they decorate and not just one street so I think it will be absolutely beautiful.

We`ve been many times during the day and it is a gorgeous place packed full of amazing history and some stunningly beautiful places to visit as well as some lovely places to eat too. You really are spoiled for choice.

I should say all of the pictures are all from the internet.

But, we recognise every single area they`ve decorated here, so we really do want to go and visit, if we can find a spare night.

Parking is always our worry for events like this when you know they`re going to be busy, there is a park and ride system which might work, or we get there early enough in the day that we have a place to park, we could probably have an early dinner and then enjoy the lights through the evening before driving home. And we`d make sure we went on a weekday and not the weekend which might help a little with the crowds.

So right now, we`re a little unsure if we will manage to do this, but it would mean we get back to St Augustine as we didn`t go on our last visits, it`s a beautiful place and well worth a visit.

If anyone has visited for this I`d love to hear your opinion as to whether it`s worth it, so if we do have a spare night we could possibly make the drive to see it.

​

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on club level at RPR. I'm excited to experience it on our trip for the first time. Hopefully they still have the pineapple cider then. It sounds delicious!

I think you`ll enjoy it for sure.

Yes, that cider was very popular, I do hope they still have it.

I liked it as it was very light despite being higher in alcohol, I`d definitely drink a couple again. We have flavoured ciders in the UK, but they tend to be quite heavy for me, so I never drink them, I stick to wine or cocktails usually

 

[JaxDad]

Did somebody say Saint Augustine?

Hey Carole! I hope you all are doing well! I’ve been super busy, but I’ll do my best to follow this PTR.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned several times that you should see the Nights of Lights, so I hope you get the opportunity. I would love to see you guys again!

 

[disneyseniors]

St. Augustine is one our favorite towns. It means "old Florida"s to us because it was the first city in Florida we saw on our trip in the 70's. So quaint and beautiful. The lights look fantastic and I hope you get to spend some time there.

 

[keishashadow]

Nice cuppa coffee & catch up here.

Manchester airport is very modern looking. Almost vegas club like with the lighting

Radisson was gobbled up by choice hotels here. Not exactly happy about that.

We would often do the country inn & suites for a stop on road trips vs whatever generic Hilton was off the interchange.

Cookies, nom nom

They would always seem welcoming & upgrade us to a suite; stocked with water & snack gift bags. It’s those little touches that make the difference.

But as soon as we stepped into Royal Pacific we knew that`s the hotel we would always stay in when we visited Orlando.

Nice to find a home away from home!

haven`t seen CB`s fitness centre, but I was impressed with Sapphire`s. I have been in the indoor hot tub at RP, but for like 38 seconds as I detest hot tubs with a passion......as Sheldon calls them, people soup......

I’ll be darned, no idea. Is it near their gym? Ah, yes, people soup lol

Love a hot tub, they just no longer agree with me on a new med. I still cheat & dip my feet

Who says you can`t smell an image!!!

Only gripe I have is the multitude of smokers lounging at that lovely reflective pool. Not sure if that is indeed their designated area of refuge.

It didn`t always look like that though and pre 2020 it had a rather different look, it was much warmer looking and more in keeping with the aura of the hotel in general, however those chairs weren`t always as comfy as they looked and they absolutely needed changing!!

I do miss all the old carved wood, both in the rooms and public areas. Change is inevitable though

The decor will be changing soon,

Interesting. Wonder if they will mirror the lobby style? Have given up on emerils. Would be lovely to have another dining venue there again.

 

[schumigirl]

Did somebody say Saint Augustine?

Hey Carole! I hope you all are doing well! I’ve been super busy, but I’ll do my best to follow this PTR.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned several times that you should see the Nights of Lights, so I hope you get the opportunity. I would love to see you guys again!

lol…… back my friend……

Glad to see you here, I know how busy you can be, so I’m especially glad you popped in!

We’re all good thanks, hope you and the kids are doing great too, seems like a long time ago we were all sitting in that restaurant together.

You have told us how lovely it is, we are going to try our best and get there this year, you know what it’s like though, trying to fit everything in is not always possible! But, if we do we’ll certainly try to meet if it suits you of course!

Look forward to seeing you here when you can…….

 

[schumigirl]

St. Augustine is one our favorite towns. It means "old Florida"s to us because it was the first city in Florida we saw on our trip in the 70's. So quaint and beautiful. The lights look fantastic and I hope you get to spend some time there.

Isn’t it just a gorgeous place!

I do remember us talking about your time visiting there way back, yes, it is a stunning place to visit and still keeps that charm that makes it such a lovely place to visit.

We do want to see it at night, so fingers crossed……

 

[schumigirl]

Nice cuppa coffee & catch up here.

Manchester airport is very modern looking. Almost vegas club like with the lighting

Radisson was gobbled up by choice hotels here. Not exactly happy about that.

We would often do the country inn & suites for a stop on road trips vs whatever generic Hilton was off the interchange.

Cookies, nom nom

They would always seem welcoming & upgrade us to a suite; stocked with water & snack gift bags. It’s those little touches that make the difference.

Nice to find a home away from home!

I’ll be darned, no idea. Is it near their gym? Ah, yes, people soup lol

Love a hot tub, they just no longer agree with me on a new med. I still cheat & dip my feet

Only gripe I have is the multitude of smokers lounging at that lovely reflective pool. Not sure if that is indeed their designated area of refuge.

I do miss all the old carved wood, both in the rooms and public areas. Change is inevitable though

Interesting. Wonder if they will mirror the lobby style? Have given up on emerils. Would be lovely to have another dining venue there again.

It is a really nice airport, and they have revamped the terminal we mainly fly from and it does look good. It would be just as easy for us to fly from Heathrow, but we like Manchester. I didn`t realise Radisson was slowly being engulfed by others over there, they`re still a popular brand over here and I hope they don`t disappear from our choices, we do like them.

Yes, it is the little touches that make a difference in a hotel, maybe not much for them to do, but one does like to feel valued and most hotels certainly do that. We never look for anything so it`s always nice when they make a kind gesture along the way.

Yes, that hot tub is in the Fitness Centre, dipping your tootsies must be nice as you can`t go in them anymore.

I cannot remember the last time we sat out in that open area at RP and yes, it`s all down to smokers. It can stink at times from cigarette smoke when you go out there, so we usually grab a picture when it`s empty. It would be lovely to have a half hour sitting around the elephants, but more often than none, a smoker appears. It is a designated smoking area apparently. Shame really.

Yes, those carvings were amazing and I do miss that original look at times, last I heard there were no more plans to have anything open where Tchoup Chop was. Another sad choice as I`d love them to put a nicer upscale restaurant in that space. It`s still being used for events right now and you can have a wedding reception if you wanted. But, yes, another restaurant in there would be lovely. I`d vote for a decent upscale seafood place!!

 

[GracieKam]

Excited to follow along!! I’ve learned so much from your posts

 

[schumigirl]

Excited to follow along!! I’ve learned so much from your posts

back GracieKam, it`s been a long time since we`ve seen you here!

Good to see you and thank you for the lovely comment, I`m always happy to hear that, and hope you enjoy following and posting on this one too!

Hope you and yours are doing well......

 

[keishashadow]

It would be lovely to have a half hour sitting around the elephants, but more often than none, a smoker appears. It is a designated smoking area apparently. Shame really.

Hate to grumble bumble about it, however, it’s such a lovely (original) feature of the property have found it disappointing to have to “sneak out” when people aren’t puffing away.

other than the fact it’s all hard surfaces/less likely to burn, don’t see why the needs of the few are served there.

 

[schumigirl]

Hate to grumble bumble about it, however, it’s such a lovely (original) feature of the property have found it disappointing to have to “sneak out” when people aren’t puffing away.

other than the fact it’s all hard surfaces/less likely to burn, don’t see why the needs of the few are served there.

Completely agree, for me I’d ban smoking everywhere, but never going to happen so we’ll have to keep avoiding the stink sticks to get a nice picture or 5 minutes sitting out there in the sunshine.

Grumble bumble……lol….very descriptive!

 

[GracieKam]

back GracieKam, it`s been a long time since we`ve seen you here!

Good to see you and thank you for the lovely comment, I`m always happy to hear that, and hope you enjoy foolowing and posting on this one too!

Hope you and yours are doing well......

You are so sweet!