The Walkers do Orlando 2018

[Mad Dog]

Don't really need to rent a car if staying onsite at Universal. Heck, sometimes we never move ours from it's original parking spot until the day we leave. But we drive down, so we have to park.

 

[UK-Trigg]

If Scott's is similar that's $62 a day with HR parking.....IHOP breakfast not so cheap. I think you can return rentals at Hard Rock but may depend on the company. Hertz is on property at the Hard Rock.

I usually pick up and drop off at four points Sheraton as cheaper and only a short walk over the I4 bridge.

Don't really need to rent a car if staying onsite at Universal. Heck, sometimes we never move ours from it's original parking spot until the day we leave. But we drive down, so we have to park.

True, but I ain't walking to see @Disneyhead :creep:

 

[Ridgepole]

During an 8 day stay at Hard Rock last December, we rented a car from hertz and drove to Canaveral for a beach day at Coconuts.Pretty fun. Rented and returned right at HR.

 

[Mad Dog]

I usually pick up and drop off at four points Sheraton as cheaper and only a short walk over the I4 bridge.



True, but I ain't walking to see @Disneyhead :creep:

Just pretend you're walking to Central Park......a thousand times.

 

[Ridgepole]

Looks like AVIS is at Porto, HR and RP. $27 a day for cheapest model.

 

[JoeCamel]

Looks like AVIS is at Porto, HR and RP. $27 a day for cheapest model.

Avis is at Aventura too, might be a thing

 

[UK-Trigg]

Avis is at Aventura too, might be a thing

Could well be. Thanks @JoeCamel and @Ridgepole

 

[Scott W.]

How much is the rental car per day?

It cost me £300 for the 15 days. At the exchange rate I got, it was about $25 a day. Hard Rock is now doubling that but I didn’t pay anything at Disney. Will probably work out cheaper than paying at the parks.

I’ll probably be driving quite a bit to the shops, SeaWorld, Top Golf and other things I can’t think of yet.

 

[JoeCamel]

It cost me £300 for the 15 days. At the exchange rate I got, it was about $25 a day. Hard Rock is now doubling that but I didn’t pay anything at Disney. Will probably work out cheaper than paying at the parks.

I’ll probably be driving quite a bit to the shops, SeaWorld, Top Golf and other things I can’t think of yet.

You will get your value out of it then

 

[Scott W.]

Laura’s back in Sephora so time for another update. On Wednesday it was Laura’s birthday and it was off to Epcot for food and wine.

Minus the one day when it hit 100F about 20 years ago and I was at Adventure Island, this was the hottest day in Orlando I can ever remember.

The Disney app was still down which lead to no idea about FP reservation times until we hit a kiosk. I got an email about Test Track being down before we hit the park though. The wait times were under 20mins all day with the exception of Test Track that was constantly above 60mins and peaked at 90mins.

Epcot still is what it is, I don’t need to waste time describing it but these are my two take away a from the rides.

Frozen is a solid ride and as a Scottish 29 year old male, it left a smile on my face. Few rides have a big moment outside of their main thrill but the Let It Go moment as you enter, turn and go backwards is fantastic. The AA are beautifully crafted as well.

I’ve always loved Soarin’ but like my impression of Tower of Terror, it’s now been tainted. Flight of Passage such a giant leap ahead of it that it makes the ride almost laughable. I was sitting relatively close to the middle and the screen was still heavily distorted. Flight of Passage also seemed to have overcome that. I said dead centre and top left for Flight of Passage and if anything, off centre was even greater.

 

[Scott W.]

Im posting this in two parts and I apologise but my reception is sketchy and typing this on a phone, I don’t want to start over.

Food and Wine was just weird. There seemed to be a distinct lack of chicken and the food portions were still ok but the alcohol sizes were tiny for the price. We spent $160 and I couldn’t even get slightly buzzed. In the end we ended up just buying standard drinks.

My favourite meal was the beef dish from Africa. I tend to find spicy American food to be a little tame but this was awesome. I could eat that every day and be perfectly happy.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Disney’s attempt to ban straws while handing out thousands of little disposable plastic cups.

I’ve been meaning to ask any Orlando locals, is his September hotter than normal?

 

[UK-Trigg]

Im posting this in two parts and I apologise but my reception is sketchy and typing this on a phone, I don’t want to start over.

Food and Wine was just weird. There seemed to be a distinct lack of chicken and the food portions were still ok but the alcohol sizes were tiny for the price. We spent $160 and I couldn’t even get slightly buzzed. In the end we ended up just buying standard drinks.

My favourite meal was the beef dish from Africa. I tend to find spicy American food to be a little tame but this was awesome. I could eat that every day and be perfectly happy.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Disney’s attempt to ban straws while handing out thousands of little disposable plastic cups.

I’ve been meaning to ask any Orlando locals, is his September hotter than normal?

Nah, if I've known this hot plenty of times. Sorry not a local but almost.

 

[JoeCamel]

Im posting this in two parts and I apologise but my reception is sketchy and typing this on a phone, I don’t want to start over.

Food and Wine was just weird. There seemed to be a distinct lack of chicken and the food portions were still ok but the alcohol sizes were tiny for the price. We spent $160 and I couldn’t even get slightly buzzed. In the end we ended up just buying standard drinks.

My favourite meal was the beef dish from Africa. I tend to find spicy American food to be a little tame but this was awesome. I could eat that every day and be perfectly happy.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Disney’s attempt to ban straws while handing out thousands of little disposable plastic cups.

I’ve been meaning to ask any Orlando locals, is his September hotter than normal?

Im posting this in two parts and I apologise but my reception is sketchy and typing this on a phone, I don’t want to start over.

Food and Wine was just weird. There seemed to be a distinct lack of chicken and the food portions were still ok but the alcohol sizes were tiny for the price. We spent $160 and I couldn’t even get slightly buzzed. In the end we ended up just buying standard drinks.

My favourite meal was the beef dish from Africa. I tend to find spicy American food to be a little tame but this was awesome. I could eat that every day and be perfectly happy.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Disney’s attempt to ban straws while handing out thousands of little disposable plastic cups.

I’ve been meaning to ask any Orlando locals, is his September hotter than normal?

Yes, due to the lack of our usual

Im posting this in two parts and I apologise but my reception is sketchy and typing this on a phone, I don’t want to start over.

Food and Wine was just weird. There seemed to be a distinct lack of chicken and the food portions were still ok but the alcohol sizes were tiny for the price. We spent $160 and I couldn’t even get slightly buzzed. In the end we ended up just buying standard drinks.

My favourite meal was the beef dish from Africa. I tend to find spicy American food to be a little tame but this was awesome. I could eat that every day and be perfectly happy.

I couldn’t help but laugh at Disney’s attempt to ban straws while handing out thousands of little disposable plastic cups.

I’ve been meaning to ask any Orlando locals, is his September hotter than normal?

Yes, due to a lack of afternoon showers it has been close to record breaking and the feels like temp was 105f today

 

[Frank Drackman]

Don't really need to rent a car if staying onsite at Universal. Heck, sometimes we never move ours from it's original parking spot until the day we leave. But we drive down, so we have to park.

Checked in at Hard Rock and waiting on our room. Currently at ihop for a cheap breakfast and watching the construction at Endless Summer.

I’m getting a Vegas feel from the skyline now.

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I’m assuming parking has gone as it’s now $24 a night which is ridiculous that now it costs more than to park at the parks.

We drive up. Having an AP, I could park at the park, but still need a place for the car between like 3 am and 8 am O:

But I like to just park if I am staying on site. Another rub is that parking at the more value hotels is something like $10 cheaper a night.

Seems like an incentive to stay off site sometimes.

 

[JoeCamel]

We drive up. Having an AP, I could park at the park, but still need a place for the car between like 3 am and 8 am O:

But I like to just park if I am staying on site. Another rub is that parking at the more value hotels is something like $10 cheaper a night.

Seems like an incentive to stay off site sometimes.

$14 per at Aventura

 

[SkiBum]

I've been thinking for days now: how does one poop into a urinal?

Not from personal experience but watch the movie "Kingpin" when Randy Quaid does this. That is the only way I could envision it. In all honesty, what is wrong with people?

 

[Scott W.]

We drive up. Having an AP, I could park at the park, but still need a place for the car between like 3 am and 8 am O:

But I like to just park if I am staying on site. Another rub is that parking at the more value hotels is something like $10 cheaper a night.

Seems like an incentive to stay off site sometimes.

It’s a giant slap in the face. I think I’m already starting to regret staying here. For the price difference, I could have just paid for Express Pass and I think the parks will probably be quiet enough to not really need them any way.

Parking at Hard Rock is also kind of terrible.

 

[Ridgepole]

No fan of Hard Rock here. Some great staff. Harley at the pool bar ie. Shitcan the rental car

 

[Mad Dog]

Only Universal resort I haven't stayed at. We've walked over there a few times when we've walked to the parks from Portofino. Looks nice, close to the park, excellent landscaping, nice pool & lobby, but no way could I listen to hard rock music all day. But the resort sure attracts the best looking women on Universal property......A few ideas. If the heat is bad, and we too had all those 90 plus degree days up here while Mark was visiting, try spending some of your afternoons at the pool. That's generally what we do at Universal since the Orlando afternoons are so uncomfortable. You can also use any of the resort pools. Portofino is only about a 10 minute walk from Hard Rock. Two really good pools, plus a smallish third pool. We like the formal pool best since it's generally mostly adults and rarely any young children. And an evening on the Portofino piazza is really romantic for the ladies....And with the Express pass you can sleep in if you want. There's really no reason to get up real early for early entry.....We're always worn out from our WDW stays too, so much stress with all the planning and hectic stuff. Seems to me that all you need is a good night's sleep and to slow down just a wee bit. You'll be fine. :thumbsup:

 

[Frank Drackman]

It’s a giant slap in the face. I think I’m already starting to regret staying here. For the price difference, I could have just paid for Express Pass and I think the parks will probably be quiet enough to not really need them any way.

Parking at Hard Rock is also kind of terrible.

We’ve loved our stays there! For HHN, it is the most convenient hotel. We love the pool area, the Kitchen has never disappointed us.

But, with a car, the Lowe’s branded (plus hard rock) charge more per night parking than the two non Loews branded Loews run UoR properties.