lunes, 9 de agosto de 2010

Day 6 & 7 Shopping and last day at Orlando. Going back to Miami!

Day 6
Finally we got to rest :) Not very late but we didn't woke up so early. We got ready and went to the Club at about 10:20 just 10 minutes before they took everything and let me tell you something: It was FULL!! so full that there was no space to seat, also there was not a lot of food and drinks left. But it wasn't that bad. We also checked to which mall to go as there is two main one in Orlando: The Florida Mall and the Mall at Millenia. Both offer me almost the same store I was looking at but I could see more stores at Millenia wether at the Florida Mall it was more Outlets and that dont work for me .So I decided to go to the Mall at Millenia which is the premium outlet and is about 20 minutes with traffic from my hotel as it was in South Orlando.

This mall is amazing it has Bloomingdales, Macy's Abercrombie, Gap, Hollister, Victoria Secret, etc.. So it was perfect for me. I didn't expect to be the whole day here but I was. I had lunch at the California Pizza Kitchen and the food is good but the price perfect. We finished at about 7:00 p.m. and before going we went to the best place to have a dessert: TUTTI FRUTTI FROZEN YOGURT. I loved this place and if I only had the money I would open one here in Mexico(there is already one) It's incredible that everywhere I go and there is a TF there is always people not one or two but many. Check out this site: www.tfyogurt.com

And as we arrived to the hotel we went to the Club for some minutes as we were "kicked out" They should have it open until 10 not 9. Tomorrow we are going back to Miami but first we are going somewhere first.

Day 7.

This day we tried to get up a bit early so we could find some space at the the Club. Today we only had two options: Go to the Believe it or not- Ripleys museum or stay at the hotel and enjoy the amenities. So we thought because we were going to Miami I thought the best thing is to go to the museum. So we did the check out, excellent service they even gave me two coupons each worth 100 usd for drinks and food at some Hyatt.Before going to the museum I passed quickly to change some stuff at the Mall as both were just 5 minutes away from each other. The museum was worth the visit and it was very interesting and fun to see it. The other option was also good because the amenities of the hotel are just amazing. So the best thing to do is actually to have an extra day.

When we finished at the museum we went to eat just next to the mall at the TGI Fridays which is just the average restaurant. After we started our drive to Miami!!! Let me tell you: It's a long drive but the Highway is very good. Something very bad was the rain. In some parts you couldn't see anything, you just needed to watch out for the lights of the car in front of you. Sometimes the rain stopped, so we stopped for donuts and coffee when it there was no rain and suddenly it started to rain a lot. I even took some paper bags but I still got all my jeans wet and all the front seat wet too....
We arrived at Miami at about 9:30 p.m. but by accident my son put the Double Tree hotel incorrect, can you imagine there are two hotel from the same hotel chain at the same street name just that the one we went was in South beach and the other one was at North Beach just next to the Trump Towers. So we finnaly got there at 10:00 and were welcomed by our friends who own an appartment there. So we just rested after a long drive.

Wait for pics.

sábado, 7 de agosto de 2010

Day 5 Epcot

How fast time passed, we are now in the last day of the parks. Of course there were more parks like: Universal Island of Adventure, Disney Studios and Sea World plus other water parks but we didn't had a lot of time.

We woke up early and had breakfast at the Regency Club. After getting ready we took the 10:00 a.m. bus from the hotel to the parks. Because it takes you to the Ticket and Transportation Center you then need to take the monorail to Epcot which it was almost empty compared to the one of Magic Kingdom. The ride is just 7 minutes, so at about 11:00 a.m. we were at the entrance of the park.

As you enter the park just right under the big ball there is the attraction called the Spaceship Earth, so we lined up because it said it was just 20 minutes (but actually it was about 30). While I was waiting my son went to running to the Soarin attraction for Fastpass and we got them for until 3:00 p.m. This is sure the most popular ride. The Spaceship Earth was great and it takes the ride is about 15 minutes and they even add your photo and you create your future, I liked this one.
After this ride we went and ride the Mission Space, we first rode the one without spin but it's really nothing it was very boring. So we took the Fastpass and came later and ride the one with spin and no doubt why someone died, they put so much pressure that the only difference is that you get the feeling of "going to space" and you get really dizzy.

In between of those rides we went to the Test Track and it's just so great that I wanted to go again. I recommend it a lot. So with just these rides we went and tour the pavilion starting with the one in Canada. I liked a lot this pavilions because they show something from each country. Then we passed though the U.K pavilion and also the France and Morocco pavilion. We then went to Japan to eat as we had a reservation at the Tokyo Dinning which is just great. They gave a table right exactly in front of the japanese monument and the White big ball. Also the service is great and 100% japanese.
But what I most liked was the food, it was just awesome. The sushi rolls were great specially the Volcano one and for the dessert remember if you come here try the GREENT TEA PUDDING. The prices are not too high. There is also a Tepanyaki restaurant next that it was full.

After eating we continued our tour passing though the American (we didn't even stop there) and the Italian which is very nice. We also visited Germany and China which was one of my top 3. Then there is Norway and finally MEXICO!!!! I was really happy to see that Mexico was the most or the second most popular pavilion, obviously because of the high level of mexican and latins tourists. So if you ask me if it was 100% mexican I would say no, there were some stereotype but most of the food was the same as we have here!!
After visiting all the pavilion my Top 3 are: China, Mexico and Japan. Japan and Mexico were almost as full but I would say there was probably more people in Japan and this was my favorite pavilion.

Just before going out of the park we bought some photos at the entrance and then we took the Monorail( a bit too early) and waited about 30 minutes at the TTC for the Hyatt bus to come and they almost left us!!!. We were at the benches just in front of the buses and as soon as we saw the bus arriving we start walking towards it (it was like 50 meters away) but then it left and my son start running like for 15 seconds to stop the bus until it stopped.

We then arrived at the hotel at 10:00 p.m. and sleep well....

viernes, 6 de agosto de 2010

Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress

I just came back from my visit to Orlando and it was 6 nights and I just loved the hotel. Bellow you will find out why and why I didn't like soo much the prices.

Check in-Check out

Before coming to this hotel I heard that when you do the check in they give you a champagne but it never happened and the day I was doing the check out I saw people with champagne. But I don't know if it was because of the late check in but I didn't get it, still there were some problems. Of course the check in lady was new and first she gave me a normal room and then I remind her I booked a Regency Club and she just changed the cards.... I hoped a higher level. But the check out was totally different plus I got late check out. The young men was super professional and offered me a great service and even gave me two 100 usd coupons for my next stay. Nice touch!

I would give a 4 out of 5 but because of the great service of the check out I will give a 4.5 out of 5.

Rooms

Well of course they had been renovated. They are awesome, with a great design and incredible beds makes the rooms great. My room was in the sixth floor and it had views of the parks although not great but you could still see Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The bathroom was a mid-size one with a nice shower. What I most like about the room was the bed and the flat tv. I think this room was one of the best hotel room I have ever stayed, I really liked it, I just think they should have a mini bar that actually cools things and had food :(

I give a 4.8 out of 5

Location

The location is just great but not perfect. It's about 10 to 15 minutes to the parks, remember that the shuttle that takes you to the Ticket and Trasnportation Center of Disney takes 25 minute....

To see the next part go to my profile in Tripadvisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/members/charal95

Day 4 Universal

Well... this day started at about 10 a.m. and until like 11:00 a.m. we finally went to the restaurant because the Regency Club was already closed. I don't really remember the name of restaurant but it was the one were there was a small Waterfall. The food was good and the price ok. We finally get out of the hotel around 12:00 p.m. in our car. The park is not too close it's about 20 minutes but the parking is much better than the Disney one. They even have this option of like VIP parking which we took because of yesterday's marathon, and this option is just 4 usd more.

As we arrived quickly to the park we passed through the City Walk and made reservation for the Hard Rock, we decided to spend a little bit more of money because of yesterday's horrible option. Then we headed to Universal Studios Florida. As soon as we arrived we went and bought tree "Things" t-shirt, something very Universal.
The first game we went was Shreck 4d movie but as we saw the line: 45 minutes and the time we decided to buy the Universal Express card which is much better than the Disney Fastpass. With this, you can get into the fastpass line any time you want. I think this was the best option someone can make when coming here. After this great movie we went to Jimmy's Neutron Simulator which was also fun. Something better we went to Tornado which is a must do.
We then ended in one of the coolest rides in the park: The Mummy one, I really enjoyed it and I just thought it was awesome the electronic locker outside, they should have those at Disney. We then continued to Jaws and after we saw a great Rock and Roll Show with monsters which was great. And believe it we were not tired, well not too much, then we went to the Simpson's Ride, I just loved that one is so much fun and just before we go to eat we try the Men in Black which I liked.
Then we had dinner/lunch at the Hard Rock which I truly recommend The food was great and so the prices!!. As we finish eating we went inside the park again, remember that most of the good restaurants are just outside the parks, less than 5 minutes walk. So there was only 35 minutes before the park closed so we ran to the Terminator show which was my favorite one, It's just great. So it was just 3 minutes before the park closed and we saw that E.T. was almost closing so we ran to the game and they let us go, WE WERE THE LAST ONES, and it was also a nice ride.

SO that was my amazing day at Universal and I just thought it was great because most of the time we were inside a game than walking in the heat, so it was just awesome. So what did we learn today? BUY THE EXPRESS PASS (or whatever is called :) it will save you more than 5 hours!!!

Soo wait for pics

miércoles, 4 de agosto de 2010

Day 3 Magic Kingdom

Before I start this sure was the most exhausting day of all my stay. Probably because the temperature was about 95 F or higher and all the people that were in the park, but we still had a nice day at the park. Im going to try my best to remember all the things I did. This day we decided to go by car to save some time although you still need to take a shuttle from the parking lot to the entrance and then the monorail to Magic Kingdom....

First, after taking a lot of photos we went and lined up at the Buzz Lightyear and while we were there my son went for the fastpass of Space Mountain. I enjoyed a lot this ride but the line was a bit too long. We also rode the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before going to the Space Mountain which was more than great. And to fresh a little bit we headed to the Splash Mountain, which was just ok. Then late in the evening we went to not the best place to eat so MAKE RESERVATION is the best thing you can do, so you can eat in a nice restaurant. We ate at the Columbia Harbor House which of course we didn't like, but of course it was very cheap.

After the not so nice restaurant we headed to It's a small world because its never too late to go to this place and the lines weren't too bad although they looked terrible. And to finish this magical day we went and rode the Jungle Cruise. And when we finish all these attractions we decided to stop and rest at one of the nearby entrance restaurant and eat a carrot cake :) and wait till the 9:00 p.m. show parade which was amazing. As if all these wasn't sufficient we still waited for the Summer night show: NIGHTASTIC, which I really, really enjoyed make sure to get a good place.

Well and that was all my day, the only bad thing was the return which we decided to use the ferry boat instead of the monorail, do not do that. It's over crowded and there is no fresh air so please use the monorail.
So then we arrived to our nice hotel around 12:00 p.m. believe it or not! Wow it was a magical day but it was sure a day where we walked a couple of miles :)

Pictures:

Long but not so long line for It's a small world