Trip Report From the Glory Oct 10th-17th Lots of Pictures to Come

[TeknikDC2]

Hey everyone. We are finally home and settled back into our daily lives after our wonderful vacation on the Carnival Glory this past week. Now that things have settled down i'm going to start putting our trip report of the vacation and cruise together to share with you all.

 

Before I start though I want you opinions. We flew into Orlando on the 7th and spent a couple days in Orlando and at Universal before departing on our cruise. Since you all will be the ones reading this would you like me to share that part of the vacation with you or would you just like to hear about the Cruise portion. I figured I would throw this out there now and let you decided what you would like before I start writing tomorrow morning.

 

Thanks everyone and I look forward to starting this recap to share with you.

[jamo951]

I say to go ahead and share it. Many of us that cruise out of Port Canaveral usually fly in at least a day in advance and it will give us some ideas on what we can do. When I flew in, the night before my Glory cruise in January, all I had time to do was get my rental car, check into the hotel, and grab a bite to eat at Hooters. When the cruise returned, I stayed with a friend that day and night, and flew back on Sunday afternoon. So I was able to hit Disney for a few hours, Universal Citywalk for dinner, then didn't do much the following day.

[boaterette]

Please review the whole trip. I love reading the reports.

[TeknikDC2]

Alright sounds good. I'll review the whole trip starting at Day 1.

 

The purpose of this trip was a reward to us for buying a house. In March we bought our first home and as part of such we recieved the $8000 tax credit from the government. Because of the stress of buying a home and such and our itching for another cruise (we went on one for our honeymoon) we decided to take $1000 out of the tax credit and save the rest to go on an amazing vacation. When we realized we were sailing out of Port Canaveral we decided that we should spend a couple extra days in Orlando as well and have some fun. We were also able to talk some of our friends into coming.

The cast of this Trip Report are:

Me (Jeff) and my Wife Kiera

And our friends Tyler and Rachael

With that said lets move on to Day one of this twelve day trip report.

Day 1: Travel to Orlando and a Small Amount of Disney Magic

The day we had been waiting for for nearly 6 months had finally come. We were so excited to leave the reality's of life behind and go enjoy ourselves for a nearly 2 week long vacation. However no matter how excited we were 4am came way too early (especially since we went to bed around 1ish). We packed up our vehicle, locked up our house, and we were on our way. We swung by Tyler and Rachaels to pick them up and then we went and picked up Kieras mom (so we wouldn't have to pay for parking at the airport) and we were on our way to Salt Lake International.

We arrived around 5:40am and got our stuff unloaded and made our way to the baggage check. I couldn't belive how busy the airport was at 5:30ish in the morning. We waited in line for probably about 25 minutes before we finally got our bags checked in. I was also releaved to see that we still got the cheaper fees for our baggage check in considering American Airlines raised there prices after we booked.

A word of advice when booking your airline tickets. Take into consideration these baggage fees. I'm sure you may be able to find airlines without the baggage fees priced similarly.

Anyways once checked in we made our way thru security and to the terminal where out 7:10am flight to Chicago would soon start boarding. We found our gate and grabbed some breakfast at Quiznos and as soon as we were finished they started boarding our flight.

It had been a long time since I had flown for the length of time that we would be today. Our flight to Chicago was about 3 hours long and then to Orlando about 2 1/2 hours. I'd never flown on American Airlines before but they don't have complementry peanuts or any snacks anymore. Only beverages are free. Luckly we packed some extra snacks. With how little sleep we got You would thing we'd tried to sleep. But I have never been able to sleep on a airplane. There was no difference here as well. I didn't even try. Kiera tried though but never successfully fell asleep.

To try and pass the time I watched an episode of the Office on my Ipod and then listoned to some music. Before we knew it we were starting our descent into Chicago. I had only been to Chicago on time back in 2002 and it was also for a layover. When I was there that time it was very stormy and I was in such a rush to catch my connecting flight that I didn't have time to take anything in. This time it was a clear morning and we were able to see the city as we came in to land as well as Lake Michigan.

[TeknikDC2]

 

Although we had the same flight to Orlando we still had to get off the plane in Chicago for an hour. During this time we walked around the terminal looking at the city off in the distance and also bought a coffee free strawberry cream frapachino at Starbucks and looked at some books.

 

 

We were soon back on the plane and in the air and on our way to Orlando. At this point I was starting to get excited. It had been 16 years since I had last been to Orlando so my memory of it was very limited. Unfortunatly I my Ipod crapped out on me (bad battery) so I had to make the most of my time by looking at the sky mall magazine and anything else I could find in that pocket. encluding the safty manual which I couldn't help but laugh at this picture.

 

 

We were soon starting our decent into Orlando and the clouds outside were so pretty. My wife was enjoying taking pictures of them all the way until we landed.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

As soon as we walked off the plane we could tell we were in Florida because the humidity hit us like a brick wall. And that was just in the walkway from the airplane. We could only imagine how it would be once we were out of the airport. This is where 1/2 the Train part of the title comes from. After walking thru the terminal in Orlando you have to take a tram to get to the main building. So we boarded the tram and made out way to baggage claim.

 

[TeknikDC2]

After finding our bags (cause they put our planes luggage on the wrong turnstyle) we made out way down to Budget to pick up our rental car. Our car for the pre-cruise portion of our trip would be a Pontiac G6. After setting up the arrangements to drop the car off in Port Canaveral rather then back at MCO we were on our way. I was very suprised by our rental car as well. Mainly because it was still brand new. It only had 150 miles on it when we picked it up. Not bad if I must say. I'm really glad that we decided to get a midsized car too because we stuffed that trunk and still had to have 2 suitcases up front.

 

 

If your going to Florida soon one thing to keep in mind is that Florida has lots of Toll roads. If you wanna save a few bucks grab a couple rolls of quarters and your set. If you don't wanna deal with change most rental cars are equiped with an etoll system. Basically charging you as you drive past which you pay when you return the rental car. this service costs and extra $2.50 a day though or $10 for a week. We just stuck with the quarters.

 

After driving around and getting briefly lost we finally found Universal Orlando and then our hotel the Days Inn Universal Maingate. I booked the hotel we did because it was cheap (like 38 bucks a night) and across the street from Universal. However this hotel was cheap for a reason. It was ghetto. Yeah I read the reviews and we were pretty much taking a 50/50 chance on it. But it was nothing like the photos showed it to be. It was very old and run down. Good thing we were only there to sleep cause we wouldn't want to spend anymore time there then we needed to. To add to the ghettoness of it there was a nasty swamp next to it with signs warning not to swim cause of gators. This freaked the girls out some. We don't know for sure if there was gators but we thought we saw one out there at one point.

 

 

After getting unpacked we were starving. Rachael mentioned that she wanted to try something that we don't have back home. We decided since we had a whole night ahead of us that we should head up to Downtown Disney since they have many restaurants that we don't have back in Utah and it would give us something to do that night. So we loaded into the car again, punched the address into my Blackberrys Google Maps and we were on our way.

 

[TeknikDC2]

We parked and made our way down to the newer part of Downtown Disney where we decided to eat at the House of Blues. This place was really good. They serve southern style food there. The whole place and atmosphere was great. We all loved it. The prices weren't too bad ether.

 

[TeknikDC2]

After dinner we walked around Downtown Disney for awhile and checked out many of the shops. Downtown Disney in Florida is so much better then the one in California. They have so much more stuff going on. We enjoyed looking in many shops like the world of disney and the lego store.

 

[TeknikDC2]

[TeknikDC2]

After finishing up at the World of Disney we figured we should start heading out to do the one thing we had planned for the night. That being watching the Magic Kingdoms fireworks from the Polynessian resorts beach. I can't belive how large the Disney property is in Florida. It probably took us around 30 minutes to find our way from Dowtown Disney to the Polynessian. But we soon found it and made our way back to beach to find a perfect spot to watch the fireworks. The view was great. I can't belive how tall the Magic Kingdoms castle must be if we could see it all the way across the lake. (I can't remember I was 10 the last time I saw it).

 

 

We patiently waited tell 9:00 for the fireworks to start but nothing happend. I double checked my phone and it said they would start at 9. What was going on. However before long the Electric Light Parade on the lake started. This was a pretty cute thing to see. I mean its nothing special by any means but its just one of those little added disney bonus you will find. Unfortunatly at this time my battery started dying on my camera.

 

[TeknikDC2]

By the time the Water Parade was done it was around 9:15ish. what was going on. Why weren't the fireworks going. Yeah there was a slight breeze but that wouldn't be enough to cancel the fireworks would it? Finally right before we gave up we saw the castle go dark and a light shot into the air. Yay the fireworks started. These fireworks were excellent. Some of the best i've seen. I could only imagine what they would be like to watch inside the Magic Kingdom. Oh well we will make it back there someday. Unfortunatly after these 2 pictures my camera finally gave up and was done and down for the night.

 

 

After the fireworks we were drained after a long day of travel and walking around Downtown Disney. We got back to the car and drove back to our hotel. We really needed to get our sleep because Day 2 would come quickly and we had a full day at Universal Studios Florida and Halloween Horror Nights to look forward to.

[auntdodaa]

Great review!!!!!! Can't wait to read more.

 

By the way I could not help but laugh at the picture of the guy on the slide on the plane. What a funny pic. :D:D:D:D

 

Diana

[cpacheco212121]

awesome review...cant wait for more!!!!

[WAcruisers]

Great review! Love the pictures

[AndrewD65]

Awesome review, I live about 45 minutes from down town disney.. It's always a blast down there, so much to do and see. The House of blues you ate at is awesome as well, I saw sister hazel preform there.. If you are every back down that way you have to check out the firework show at EPCOT, it's worth any trip!!!!

[skythedog]

This is a fantastic review. I look forward to the rest of it. Thanks for taking the time to post the ENTIRE trip as well.

 

Btw...what the heck is downtown Disney? I've never heard of it. Is this outside the theme park?

[MamaParrotHead]

Funny review thus far. Looking forward to the rest of it. 5 weeks from Sunday and it's my turn on Glory! YIPEE! :D

[AndrewD65]

This is a fantastic review. I look forward to the rest of it. Thanks for taking the time to post the ENTIRE trip as well.

 

Btw...what the heck is downtown Disney? I've never heard of it. Is this outside the theme park?

 

 

Downtown disney, is a place where you can shop, have lunch or dinner, or go to some night clubs. It's free to use except the night clubs, and it's a great atmosphere. Disney provides transportation to any of there resorts to and from there. you can check it out here if you would like http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/destinations/downtown-disney/?CMP=KNC-DTDGenGoogle&HBX_PK=downtown+disney&HBX_OU=50&s_kwcid=TC|12588|downtown%20disney||S|b|3008054014

[BaseballMomof4]

If your going to Florida soon one thing to keep in mind is that Florida has lots of Toll roads. If you wanna save a few bucks grab a couple rolls of quarters and your set. If you don't wanna deal with change most rental cars are equiped with an etoll system. Basically charging you as you drive past which you pay when you return the rental car. this service costs and extra $2.50 a day though or $10 for a week. We just stuck with the quarters.

 

The Orlando area is famous (or infamous) for it's many toll roads, if you just click on "avoid toll roads" when mapping out your route, you will get alternative routes and be able to avoid them.

 

After driving around and getting briefly lost we finally found Universal Orlando and then our hotel the Days Inn Universal Maingate. I booked the hotel we did because it was cheap (like 38 bucks a night) and across the street from Universal. However this hotel was cheap for a reason. It was ghetto. Yeah I read the reviews and we were pretty much taking a 50/50 chance on it. But it was nothing like the photos showed it to be. It was very old and run down. Good thing we were only there to sleep cause we wouldn't want to spend anymore time there then we needed to. To add to the ghettoness of it there was a nasty swamp next to it with signs warning not to swim cause of gators. This freaked the girls out some. We don't know for sure if there was gators but we thought we saw one out there at one point.

 

LOL - the swamp was in all probability a drainage canal, and where there is water in Florida, rest assured there is probably also a gator or two! We have a small pond at the end of our street with a resident gator and we also get to see our "Walmart" gator sunning itself in the drainage canal next to our local Walmart on a regular basis. You just learn to mindful of the whereabouts when live here as they are part of the daily life. :p

[AndrewD65]

Go FLORIDA GATORS!!!!!

[TeknikDC2]

Thanks everyone for the great responses so far. Please keep them coming and feel free to ask me any questions that you might have. Anyways I'm finally finished with typing up the Day 2 review so here ya go.

 

Day 2: Universal Studios Florida & Halloween Horror Nights

 

After a good nights sleep we were up bright and early to get ready for our first day at the Universal Orlando Resort. When we first booked our cruise we decided to fly into Orlando a couple days early to spend some time at Universal. Figured we were there so why not make the best of it. After getting ready we finally left the hotel to make the 20 minute walk to the parks. Our hotel was right across the street from the parking structures. However theres no direct route to the park. You have to walk completly around the parking structures to get to the park. We also decided to check out Universal's Halloween Horror Nights since we are big fans of Halloween.

 

 

After the long walk was just a preview of what was to come. The days before our cruise Florida was experiancing Record heat so with 90 degree weather mixed with high humidity made for some miserable times. But we would still try to make the best of it.

 

We had finally made it to Citywalk and entered the Universal Orlando Resort. It was around 9:30am and we were hungry since our hotels "complementry" breakfast cost $4.99 a person. We decided to stop into the Cinnabon and get some Cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

 

 

After breakfast we made our way towards the enterance to Universal Studios Florida where we would be spending the day. We bought our tickets online so we were able to walk right up to the automatic kiosks and get our tickets right away. We bought the 7 day unlimited park tickets for $99 bucks. We figured that would be the best deal for our trip at the resort.

 

[TeknikDC2]

 

Once inside the park we decided we would make our way around the park counter clockwise hitting whatever attraction we would come to. So the first one we came across was Jimmy Neutrons Nicktoon Blast. The last time I had been to Universal Studios Florida was in 1993 and I was 10 years old. Back then Jimmy Neutron was still the old Hanna-Barbera ride. I remembered it being a simulater type ride but all I could remember was how much I loved this ride. So would Jimmy Neutron hold up to my memorys of Hanna-Barbera. No it didn't. I don't know if it was the fact that i'm was more familiar with Yogi Bear, the Jetsons, and Flintstones then I am with Jimmy Neutron or maybe that i'm not a kid anymore. I thought the ride was good for what it is though and is a good basic motion simulator for kids to build up with to the much better Simpsons ride.

 

 

The next ride (or show) was right across the street from Jimmy Neutron and would be Shrek 4D. Kiera and I went on this last year as its the exact same show thats at Universal Studios Hollywood. Basically its a 3d show where they add additional effects to play on your sences like smells, water spraying at you, and your seat moving in addition to the screen being in 3d. This is a cute show and worth checking out. When we saw it in Hollywood i questioned how the rewatchability of it would be. And I must say that it was just as good as the first time we watched it. I also loved the posters and such that are up in the que poking fun at other movies.

 

 

After finishing with Shrek we noticed that Universals Newest ride was finally open and running. The new Rollar Coaster called Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit. I am a coasterholic so I was really looking forward to this. The verticle lift hill was driving fear into me just by looking at it. This coaster is also unique in the fact that you get to choose the music you want to liston to on it. Theres a touch screen on your lap bar with a list of songs. There are also hidden songs you can choose too. Theres some really good songs but I placed my phone in the locker so I couldn't access the hidden songs. So I jammed out to Evenesence insted. The wait was a modest 30 minutes for the coaster. And in my opinion it was well worth the wait. It has been a long time since a coaster has scared me like this did. And thats saying alot considering you never go upside down on this thing. The lap bars just go over your mid section. There are no over the sholder restraints. So that mixed with the verticle lift scared the crap out of me. Everything on the coaster is great. I really wished we could have rode it again but unfortunatly time wouldn't allow it.

 

[TeknikDC2]

After finishing up with Rip, Ride, Rockit we made out our way toward the New York section of the park and came across Twister. Twister is a special effects show that makes it feel like your in the middle of tornado. I heard alot of bad things about this show but I was very suprised. I actually enjoyed it. I also thought it was better then Backdraft at Universal Studios Hollywood. It also scared Kiera pretty good when the ground below us dropped some. I thought they did a great job on this attraction.

 

 

We next made our way to the Revenge of the Mummy ride. When I was at this park back in 93' this building contained the ride Kongfrontation. I don't remember the ride much though other then Kong attacking our tram and the photo op at the end. We also went on the Mummy ride at Universal Studios Hollywood. I thought that ride was pretty decent but way to short and I had heard that the Florida version was much better. So did the it hold up? Yes it did. This ride was excellent. Very well done and about 10x better then the one in Hollywood. This too is one that I wish we could have rerode.

 

[TeknikDC2]

Across from the Mummy there is a side street that had many of the cars from the movie "Fast and Furious" on display. I love cars. Other then my family and work they are pretty much my life. So I had to check them out.