My UO, DC, AQ, & KSC Pre-trip report

[CoachZ]

Flights are booked!! Got a great deal on non-stop flights on Southwest. We land in Orlando at 8:45am on June 4. Hoping to be in the parks by noon.

 

[schumigirl]

Flights are booked!! Got a great deal on non-stop flights on Southwest. We land in Orlando at 8:45am on June 4. Hoping to be in the parks by noon.

Excellent!

 

[bobbie68]

Hi that sounds like a great trip line up. I just complete my trip report and I have our Discovery Cove day in there as well if you want to take a look. I was having the same problems with dates because of snow. Our district tells us we can go till the end of June to make up days. We are scheduled to be out June 7, 2018 with no snow days. I played it safe and made our reservations for June 24th-30th. I wanted to go earlier in June but was afraid too. All your ideas look great. We really enjoyed Thunder Falls for a quick service. We enjoyed Bubba Gump and Toothsome this year. We did use an Uber to Discovery Cove and it was about $7.00 each way. Happy planning !

https://www.disboards.com/threads/summer-trip-report-finally-yay.3642765/ Day 4 is my DC day report!

 

[CoachZ]

Just ordered Universal & Kennedy Space Center tickets via Undercover Tourist. Yay!!! Wanted to get this done before the price increase. Got the 5 day Park to Park tickets including Volcano Bay. Will look in to upgrading my ticket to an AP upon arrival. Purchased Discovery Cove tickets on Seaworld's Blue Friday. It was about $100 cheaper than Undercover Tourist. Emailed Tony Hinds today for a quote on airport pick up. All that's left to do is reserve the hotel by Seaworld and the rental car. Yes this is how I spent my MLK day off! St. Louis is cold so I'm ready for vacation!!

 

[schumigirl]

Just ordered Universal & Kennedy Space Center tickets via Undercover Tourist. Yay!!! Wanted to get this done before the price increase. Got the 5 day Park to Park tickets including Volcano Bay. Will look in to upgrading my ticket to an AP upon arrival. Purchased Discovery Cove tickets on Seaworld's Blue Friday. It was about $100 cheaper than Undercover Tourist. Emailed Tony Hinds today for a quote on airport pick up. All that's left to do is reserve the hotel by Seaworld and the rental car. Yes this is how I spent my MLK day off! St. Louis is cold so I'm ready for vacation!!

Glad you`re getting organized!! Good way to spend a day off..........

 

[Lynne G]

We had SW season passes for several years, when my kids were younger. We stayed at the newest Hampton on Sea Harbor, that is 5 minutes from SW, the Fairfield on I drive right up from Aquadica, also a 5 minute drive, and the Residence Inn on Westwood Blvd, also a 5 minute ride. All were clean, had a free breakfast, the Residence one was the biggest, and free parking. Why we have stayed at all 3 when going to SW, DC, and driving to BGT.

Great trip report so far. I hope you have an awesome time. We too move hotels, to be close to the parks we are interested in. We don't mind the drive to BGT, and there's no real close hotels that we were interested in there.

 

[CoachZ]

Thanks Schumi & Lynne!! I appreciate the hotel information!! I'm leaning toward staying at the new Holiday Inn Express by Seaworld.

 

[Lynne G]

That sounds like a nice hotel too CoachZ. Excellent that all is falling in place. My kids never got out of school until the end of June. We don't start until after Labor Day. Now with college kids, can go in June. So far, we have not though.

 

[macraven]

I reread the first page and you mention eating at Bula Bar

All the food ordered thru the wait staff there is made at Jakes

Runners bring the food to Bula Bar and then brought to you

Beverages are handled at Bula Bar

Bulga Bar is a separate menu from Jakes but I have been able to get a few things from Jakes thru Bula Bar

Eh, has been quite cold in St. Louis the past days

 

[CoachZ]

I reread the first page and you mention eating at Bula Bar

All the food ordered thru the wait staff there is made at Jakes

Runners bring the food to Bula Bar and then brought to you

Beverages are handled at Bula Bar

Bulga Bar is a separate menu from Jakes but I have been able to get a few things from Jakes thru Bula Bar

Eh, has been quite cold in St. Louis the past days

 

[CoachZ]

Not sure what happened with my last post.

Looking forward to eating poolside. Did that quite a few years ago at HRH and it was awesome.

Yes Mac Monday & Tuesday were bitterly cold!! School was cancelled here Tuesday do to the -15+ degrees with the wind chill. I dislike the cold!

 

[CoachZ]

That sounds like a nice hotel too CoachZ. Excellent that all is falling in place. My kids never got out of school until the end of June. We don't start until after Labor Day. Now with college kids, can go in June. So far, we have not though.

Yes Lynne going back to school after Labor Day is nice. However I always say I'm allergic to working in June and July. Lol. We start school in mid August. So depending on snow days we could be out as early as mid May. In my 24 years of teaching we have only gone one school year without a snow day. Snow days can be a nice mental health break!

 

[CoachZ]

100 days to go!!!! Seaworld hotel is booked. Went with the new Holiday Inn Express @ Seaworld. Rental car is also booked. Went with Budget on Kirkman. They had the best price & will pick us up at RPR. Also emailed Tony Hinds to reserve an airport pick up. I think I have everything set. Come on June!!

 

[macraven]

WOOT !!

All that is left for you to do is the waiting to leave

 

[schumigirl]

100 days to go!!!! Seaworld hotel is booked. Went with the new Holiday Inn Express @ Seaworld. Rental car is also booked. Went with Budget on Kirkman. They had the best price & will pick us up at RPR. Also emailed Tony Hinds to reserve an airport pick up. I think I have everything set. Come on June!!

Excellent! Getting in to less than 100 days is always fun!

Nice your plans are falling into place.

 

[cadawson]

100 days to go!!!! Seaworld hotel is booked. Went with the new Holiday Inn Express @ Seaworld.

Looks like the Holiday Inn Express is brand new. We stayed at the Springhill Suites next door in 2016, and we really enjoyed the area. You mentioned earlier about feeding the boys on your SW area days. Take a look at Google maps to see there are good places for dinner within walking distance - Mellow Mushroom, Firehouse Subs, Panera, Buffalo Wild Wings, and TGI Fridays are all in the area, plus more restaurants and fast food a little further away. You picked a great location! I liked the Springhill Suites because I was able to do laundry - we were staying there after a Universal trip (RPR) before flying out on a trip to see family in Ireland. I hope you and your nephews enjoy the trip!

 

[CoachZ]

Looks like the Holiday Inn Express is brand new. We stayed at the Springhill Suites next door in 2016, and we really enjoyed the area. You mentioned earlier about feeding the boys on your SW area days. Take a look at Google maps to see there are good places for dinner within walking distance - Mellow Mushroom, Firehouse Subs, Panera, Buffalo Wild Wings, and TGI Fridays are all in the area, plus more restaurants and fast food a little further away. You picked a great location! I liked the Springhill Suites because I was able to do laundry - we were staying there after a Universal trip (RPR) before flying out on a trip to see family in Ireland. I hope you and your nephews enjoy the trip!

Thank you cadawson!! I appreciate the dining information. I’ve already looked at Google Maps to explore the area. Most of the restaurants that are in front of the hotel we have at home. I like to try new places while on vacation. We are planning to try Millers Ale House while in the Seaworld area. Other than that we’ll just figure out what we are hungry for at the time. Considering ordering some Chicago deep dish pizza one night.

 

[CoachZ]

Three months to go! We are getting so excited!! I bought a portable action camera the other day, it’s similar to a GoPro without the huge price tag. My nephews are anxiously awaiting the camera’s arrival.
Called Discovery Cove yesterday. After logging in to my account I didn’t see our reservations. Good thing I did because whomever I talked to in January didn’t have everything set up correctly. I believe the lady I spoke to was Gretchen and she was super helpful. Now everything is set for DC and I also found out we have the package that includes Busch Gardens and free parking. Bonus!!! I don’t know if we will make it to BG, but the free parking will definitely help.
All I have left to do is wait on June. I’m thinking of taking an airboat ride while in Orlando. I’ve looked into Spirit of the Swamp and it looks awesome. I will wait to book that until we get to Orlando.
I’m also still hoping for an AP rate for RPR. I check regularly.

 

[macraven]

It’s always great to have most of the trip set up in advance

Good thing you called and found the oops of DC and got it fixed

All you have to wait for is the month of June now

 

[schumigirl]

Your plans are coming together nicely.........

Waiting is the hardest part........