Michael Myers returns..and so do we....19 Fabulous nights of HHN, RP & SF Sept/Oct 2018

[I-4Bound]

They really do Andrea..........when staff tell you they consider you as family, it’s a nice feeling. We’ve known some of them so long, and others we’ve met recently but you know when you click with folks........

We keep in touch too which is lovely. So, yes they make us feel extra special at both hotels.......and I agree, every business should treat folks as well as that.

Glad you’re still reading along Andrea.........oh I’m still trying hard not to watch the Christmas Carol version we haven’t seen yet!! I’m so keen to watch it.........lol......

We’re having to do all our decorations and trees before we leave this year as we don't come back till the 10th Dec, so mayabe Nov 24th they’ll all go up and I can then watch it, as it’s Christmas then!! Think that’ll work??

Definitely! We always decorate over Thanksgiving weekend, which is the 23rd for us this year. Bring on the Scrooge!

 

[schumigirl]

Definitely! We always decorate over Thanksgiving weekend, which is the 23rd for us this year. Bring on the Scrooge!

Love it!!!! Bring on the Scrooge......I just yelled that out to Tom and he thought I was losing the plot!!! And was very insulted as he thought I was calling him miserly…..lol....could never call him that!!!

Well, I don't feel as bad now knowing others will have their decorations up too

 

[angryduck71]

Thought of you twice last night -- first, it was FREEZING and I thought, "what I'd give for some of that 99 degree heat Carole got to experience recently!" Second, Jason made some spicy chili for himself as I had already eaten. I am so bland and tame -- everything is usually to hot for me. He was saying, "Love this so much... so glad you'd already eaten! Boy! It is HOT -- clearing my sinuses!" LOL. I thought, "Carole could probably handle it!"

 

[schumigirl]

So, we were back into this lovely lobby...….it really is spacious...….vey bright and airy.....

We wandered over to buy some water from the Dutch Trading co, here you can have food options all day form breakfast through to late night snacks...….and all lovely.

Here we saw the food and beverage manager Phil, we had met several times before...…..he said the last time he`d remember us and our name next time, and he did!! Straight away had our names......always impressive. We had a good old chat with him and extolled the virtues of Sapphire once again...….we genuinely had never found anything negative about the hotel to say...….either hotel. He very kindly said the water was on him as we aid our goodbyes......nice little touch......it was so nice to see him again. Always love running into folks we`ve met previously.

Now we went over to check in and yep, our room was ready...….check in was swift and easy and the girl said we were in House 2. So far on our stays we had been in House 3, so this was different.

It was quite a walk from the elevator, but we discovered if we turned left out of room it took us to the elevator that goes down into the convention area......it was ideal. And no one else seemed to use this one.

We saw the room had double doors. Now, we had been very lucky to be given the Sapphire Suite on our last stays, definitely a real treat as it is a beautiful room......so we thought we had been blessed to be given it again but in a different House.

And we opened the door and saw the suite.......wowee……..we had been blessed with the Hospitality Suite...…..and the icing on the cake was.......it had a balcony!!!!!

Now, we were thrilled to bits with this, genuinely over the moon.....and our friend knew we would absolutely adore having such a beautiful suite with the luxury of a balcony.....balconies are few and far between at Universal hotels, there are none at RP and a few at Portofino, and Sapphire had six I believe...….so we were absolutely thrilled and incredibly grateful.

​

I may have let out a rather loud scream when I spotted it...…..which wasn't straight away...…..

I was so busy looking around this huge suite....and the first thing I noticed was we had a large fridge freezer and a little breakfast bar area...….

Then Tom said to me as I wandered through to the bedroom...….have you looked out the window......I actually hadn't...….although this was all in a very short space of time...…..I actually squealed oh look...…...it`s a balcony!!!!

​

We wouldn't be leaving this suite today!!!! Water rides were immediately dismissed from our thoughts......and we both wondered could we pass the next four days in here and not leave!!!!

One thing we did do before we unpacked and laid out our stuff which would make the place look untidy, was of course take pictures...……

The suite is large and incredibly spacious......and the settee was incredibly comfortable...….heck the whole suite was incredibly comfy!!!

@keishashadow ……..Janet, guess who found the Dr Who marathon as soon as the tv was switched on!!!!

I found a place to charge my ever depleting ipad!!! Always a priority...….we did try to Facetime Kyle later to show him the suite , but the connection kept breaking, we planned to upgrade to the paid for wifi later and we could then chat properly...…..

The kitchen was small but perfectly formed...….we had a fridge freezer for keeping our drinks cold with an ice dispenser......a microwave we wouldn't use and plenty of glasses and cutlery...….I could live here!!!!

We were loving this suite already!!!!!

Before we did anything else I sent an email off to say a huge thank you and we were over the moon with this....and now we probably wouldn't ever want to leave...…..our friend was happy we were so happy


More to come...…..

 

[schumigirl]

Thought of you twice last night -- first, it was FREEZING and I thought, "what I'd give for some of that 99 degree heat Carole got to experience recently!" Second, Jason made some spicy chili for himself as I had already eaten. I am so bland and tame -- everything is usually to hot for me. He was saying, "Love this so much... so glad you'd already eaten! Boy! It is HOT -- clearing my sinuses!" LOL. I thought, "Carole could probably handle it!"

lol...….oh gosh yes, the cold.....it was so cold today here!!! I had my fluffy white winter hat on and gloves too...….pretty miserable. I would have loved 99F today.....

Now, funnily enough I hate chilli with a passion!!! But most hot and spicy things I`ll eat.....well except for chilli and tofu...…..but, yes, I bet I`d be able to eat it!!!

We had pizza tonight, because of the stuff on our kitchen tiles he told us not to have a lot of steam going around, so I made pizzas for all of us...….mine and Tom`s was so spicy!!! But delicious......Kyle had plain cheese with bbq sauce base......I know everyone tells us that`s not pizza....but we love it!!! And yes, if I had blocked sinuses they would be clear by now!!!

So, you don't eat anything spicy at all??? Hot curry....jalapenos?? No???

 

[Owlpost23]

Absolutely!!! Lol.......

I struggle to understand why some take such an interest in finding negativity from others.......always reminds me of the woman we met in Sapphire who was keen to tell us she has enjoyed so many more more visits to Orlando than us......lol....as if I actually care!!! Bully for her.......Has no effect on my life whatsoever.......but, people are strangely competitive and for some reason feel the need to announce such things........lol.....

But, lovely to see you’re still reading along Owlpost23.......nice to see you.......

Thank you,Carole! Of course I'm still reading-your reports are most enjoyable!

 

[schumigirl]

Of course the bedroom, bathroom, other bathroom and balcony were still to be explored.....all while unpacking and Tom was "glancing" at Dr Who...….rather long glances actually...….he is such a huge Dr Who fan.....the older ones more than the new series.

The bedroom was cosy and yet, again spacious and comfortable...….I knew this bed was going to be so comfortable!!!!

And into our lovely bathroom......this was large......the shower, was powerful and had loads of room in it......toilet and another sink unit were separate to the main sink unit...…..and was lovely and bright for putting on make up and doing hair...…..

This was the other bathroom that Tom ended up claiming as his because my "stuff" seemed to overtake the other vanity unit...….

I think in Tom`s mind this is what the unit was like...….it really wasn't.....I`d have nightmares in a place like this!!!!!

​

I`m a little bit Monica at home...…..

​

Oh dear. I see a lot of similarities ...…..so, no way would I ever have an untidy bathroom......but I did have a lot of stuff...……

So Tom very quickly moved to the bathroom by the front door...…..

Which was lovely too!!!!

Then there was our balcony...…..

We swapped the chairs over so we had the two black ones together......they were comfortable.....very comfortable...…..

So, we had now definitely decided we were going to firmly ensconce ourselves on this balcony for the next few hours...…..all thoughts on going out were long gone....this was perfect.

The sun wasn't shining on us so it was perfect...….boiling hot, but no direct sun...….

Tom gave his pretend fake dry throat cough to suggest he would like a drink...….

​

We came prepared...…….


We went back in and thankfully we had glasses, plenty of ice and still had some of the bottled lime.....we were set for a cocktail or two and snacks...…….and of course a large bottle of rum......is there such a thing as a small bottle???? And we had ginger beer we had purchased earlier...…….

Rum Mule`s all round!!!

Then, we headed out on to our lovely balcony and just sat back and enjoyed it...….boy, did we enjoy it!!!

We could see over to RPR and down below was the area where they hold the Caribbean Carnival......as we sat, we could hear them practice as it was on tonight......it was quite nice to sit and listen to them singing......…..

Later on when we did go out, we took a picture of the balcony from the convention areas...…...we had four full windows to choose from to go and sit outside...…..

But, for now we were content to just sit on the balcony and watch the sun go down as we sipped on our cocktail...…..

We honestly were so happy right now we could burst. We felt incredibly blessed that we were sitting in such a beautiful place with an amazing Hospitality Suite and a balcony, and we planned to enjoy every second.

 

[schumigirl]

Thank you,Carole! Of course I'm still reading-your reports are most enjoyable!

Glad to hear it...….

 

[J'aime Paris]

Such an impressive room/balcony!

I'd never want to leave either, lol!

 

[tink1957]

Lol.....well, we loved it!!!

Congrats on your trip for December being sorted out Vicki......really glad to hear that!

Is this the first time you’ve gone for the holidays.......I forget if you’ve been before during that time.

Wow! You really scored with the suite and a balcony too! It's nice when good people get rewarded.

We have been a couple of times during the holidays. Our first trip in 2007 was at Christmas and we did a New year's trip in 2011 but have yet to see the Harry Potter areas decorated for Christmas so that will be fun.

 

[Ladyfish77]

Popping in to say "hi"! I finally got caught up on your report. I love reading about your HHN trips and also all the other places you visit while in Florida! The suite is beautiful and what a wonderful surprise! Of course just reading all your reports, you and Tom are obviously favorite guests. You have wonderful personalities and take the time to get to know the staff, which I'm sure they just love.

Looking forward to the rest of your report and news of your upcoming trip! We'll be in Orlando mid-December, but visiting that "other" park! We visited Universal last fall and really enjoyed it. We're looking forward to seeing all the holiday decorations and we hope the weather is warm!

 

[schumigirl]

Such an impressive room/balcony!

I'd never want to leave either, lol!

It really was!!!

It was one of those rooms you just didn’t want to leave.........And with a Dr Who marathon on tv, Tom was in double heaven

 

[schumigirl]

Wow! You really scored with the suite and a balcony too! It's nice when good people get rewarded.

We have been a couple of times during the holidays. Our first trip in 2007 was at Christmas and we did a New year's trip in 2011 but have yet to see the Harry Potter areas decorated for Christmas so that will be fun.

Thanks Vicki........it was a wonderful surprise and we genuinely were so grateful.

Ah, I wasn’t sure if you had been, but thought you had........

We absolutely loved the holiday stuff last year, we were impressed by it all. It’s not in your face over the top decor, but more subtly done.......and so pretty! So, we knew we wanted to come back this year again........

I’m sorry we’re going to miss you and Danielle, we haven’t seen her for years!! I think it was when she hurt her foot and had the W/chair??

Gosh, that must have been a long time ago............

 

[schumigirl]

Popping in to say "hi"! I finally got caught up on your report. I love reading about your HHN trips and also all the other places you visit while in Florida! The suite is beautiful and what a wonderful surprise! Of course just reading all your reports, you and Tom are obviously favorite guests. You have wonderful personalities and take the time to get to know the staff, which I'm sure they just love.

Looking forward to the rest of your report and news of your upcoming trip! We'll be in Orlando mid-December, but visiting that "other" park! We visited Universal last fall and really enjoyed it. We're looking forward to seeing all the holiday decorations and we hope the weather is warm!

Ladyfish77


A very warm welcome to you! I’m so glad you posted and have enjoyed the trip reports......always gladdens my heart to read that!

Yes, we were surprised and we loved every second of it. And yes, we adore the staff at both hotels.......they are wonderful and just the best!! Everyone is so kind and always a joy to spend time with.

Oh how lovely you have a Christmas trip planned.........even if it is at the “other park”.....lol........I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time......Disney looks spectacular over the holidays! And yes, I hope you get warm weather too!!

We were so lucky last year in December, we had mid 80’s every day........except the last day when it was freezing!! We walked out the hotel doors and usually the blast of heat hits you........nope.....a wall of even colder temps hit us! We all stopped like we’d been hit by a brick!! Very unusual.........so, yes, hope we both get lovely weather.

Thank you for the lovely compliments........I do appreciate it a lot........and glad you joined in........

 

[angryduck71]

So, you don't eat anything spicy at all??? Hot curry....jalapenos?? No???

NO! (and it drives Jason NUTS)

 

[cynditech]

All caught up! I looooove your new room - especially with the balcony! That's probably the #1 thing I miss staying at Universal, compared to Disney, the balconies. I love spending time sitting outside!

 

[schumigirl]

We sat for a good few hours on the balcony...…..it was peaceful and very relaxing.....chatting away we hadn't noticed the lady from turndown come into the bedroom and she very delicately tried to attract our attention as discreetly as she could......bless her......I jumped out of my skin when I saw her at the glass door!!!! Poor woman.....I was just glad I wasn't holding a drink at the time or it would have been over the balcony!!

She wanted to know if we wanted the drapes drawn, we said yes please, but leave the bedroom ones....so she did just that and left us our extra water...….for someone who used to work with explosives, I am very jumpy....lol...….

It was getting dark now so we very slowly made our way in to get showered and changed....and took our time. We were in no rush to go anywhere...…...and of course the tv was on so Tom was enjoying the current episode of Dr Who showing.....he does love that show....well, the older ones when it was a kids show are his favourite………

But, we were ready and only heading downstairs to Strong Water Bar...…...we planned to have a few drinks and some food tonight.......although HHN was on, we had decided not to bother.....we would be going Sunday night as our final one, that would be enough for us.

It was very quiet in here tonight, very unusual for a Friday night......but it was kinda nice......we found ourselves our usual table and sat down...…..we didn't know who had been allocated this area tonight but all the staff are lovely and it didn't really matter. We did have a few favourites of course...…..

It was Josiah who came over, we had never met him before.....but he looked just like Casey, another guy who works there....and everyone thinks so apparently...….it was uncanny.

But, we ordered rum revival for me which had blueberry and basil flavours, and Tom went for the Last Typhoon......which had pineapple, passion fruit and grapefruit....both were lovely...…

The cocktails in here are among the nicest there are...….freshly made juices every day and you could taste the difference in the drinks......occasionally we drank wine in here, but mostly.....

​

In here......it`s all about the rum!!!

Josiah was lovely, and because it was quiet we got a chance to have some real conversations with him.....he had been off when we had been here on our previous visits......he told us the other staff had said look after us well, as we were very special guests and visited regularly......I asked him was that a good thing and he said oh yeah......lol...…

At that one of the other waiters came over to say hello he didn't realise we were back again...yep, like a bad penny!!!

Before we ordered our food Tom was opting to have another rum flight tonight. I think he had enjoyed most of them so it was quite a choice to pick one he hadn't had...….but after chatting to the rum capt he opted for a British flight...…….they discussed what he liked and didn't like, or wasn't as fond of...….and then brought out the selection with a good chat about the story behind them...…..he had tried one of them before but had liked it.....so he was pleased with the selection.

Definitely quieter than usual...….

Then a man walked in and looked around.....I thought I recognised his face but I do that a lot......but then he looked at us and then looked away and sat down...…..so we kept on chatting and then he turned and came towards us......as we were the only ones sat here now I assumed he wanted to ask us something.....

He smiled and said we had met before......now I pride myself on remembering folks.....but I had no clue...but I knew we had met him..…..he smiled and explained he was in Voodoo Donuts the day before it opened when we had been given donuts a day early from the CEO of Universal and the CEO of Citywalk...…..he had given the donuts to the CEO of Citywalk to bring out...….lol...….I remembered him then!!!!

If you don't know the story...…..here is the link to that section.....post 254.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/10-nights-rpr-mardi-gras-cocktails-march-2018-trip.3672909/page-13

It had been a real highlight of our March trip......I genuinely had no clue who he was at the time....I do now of course...…...but it was a lovely moment and we had enjoyed meeting them both.....and the donuts of course.....

He had remembered us as it was quite a unique moment to say the least...….lol......nice man and I cannot remember his name at all!!! I`m so bad at that now...……but it was nice to chat to him and I`d certainly remember him next time.

He headed back to what he was doing and then left...……what a strange coincidence....we then of course reminisced about the day that happened and how I hadn't a clue who we were talking to!!!

Now on to the food choices...…..we had tried all the dishes in here, except the vegetarian ones.....not a great fan of vegetarian food....….so we were spoiled for choice as to what to choose tonight...…

Josiah came back over asking if we had decided yet...…..but first told us about the special for tonight...….it was a thick-Cut Applewood-Smoked Bacon slice with various flavours surrounding it...…..so Tom said yep he`d try that...…….he enjoyed a similar dish in the Palm as an appetiser so assumed he`d like it...….

We also ordered the Florida ceviche and the Pinchos de Carne Asada...….all favourites…..

While we waited Josiah chatted about the rum flight and we got on to food...…..we spoke about how much we enjoyed the food here and enjoyed it was quite unique and different...…..we said we had never met Chef Carlos, but had heard a lot about him, all good...…..

So, then the food arrived and all of a sudden I was starving...……...this food looked good!!! Although I had taken better pictures of the ceviche!!!

It was lovely...….we really enjoyed sharing the food and I think Tom had more of the maple bacon slice and I had more of the beef as it was beautiful...….still don't like the green cilantro sauce, and we forgot again to ask for it to be omitted. I don't really like asking for too many changes to a dish if you don't like it......order something else......different for allergies, but nothing worse than folks altering a whole dish to suit them.

I ordered a fountain of youth as my drink was gone and Tom was still working on his flight...…...this was made with St Augustine rum.......and very nice it was too.

After our food, we told Josiah we would be having dessert, but wanted to wait a while......so Tom went out to take some pictures from the balcony...….it is a beautiful view. We genuinely adored it here and the view was an added extra......the water wheel feature was stunning at night and photographs well...…..

The fire pit is very popular, but the down side for us is you can smoke out there, which isn't pleasant to be sitting there with folks doing that...….we hate cigarette/vape/cigar odour…..so not somewhere we would sit if not with other non smokers.

It is lovely though......

As Tom came back in Josiah said he had someone for us to meet...….and he appeared with the lovely and very gentlemanly Chef Carlos.…..how lovely...…..he was a pleasure to meet and we told him of how much we enjoyed his food......he explained a lot of where his inspiration comes from and how his dishes have developed...….he was lovely to talk to and a genuinely nice man...…..as we were talking Fernando came over......he is the manager and another really nice man. He knows us well now and after a few hugs, we explained we had told Josiah we had never met Chef yet, so it was lovely to finally do so...….he said he had no idea we hadn't met him..….we were in often enough!!! lol...….

We were about to order the tres leches cake between us...….and the lovely Fernando said it was on him and our next drink too...…..what a lovely gesture and incredibly kind of him...…. I knew I was going to have another Rum Revival which is one of my top 3 in there......and Tom went for a Mai Tai...….

We thanked him profusely again for his generosity and after a lovely chat he asked when we`d be back, told him December and our grown up son was coming with us for his once a year visit......we had already spoken to each other about our children on a previous visit, I think both our sons were the same age roughly, and we were of course all incredibly proud of them.….

So with another hug we sat down and thanked Josiah for asking Chef to take the time and come out to meet us......he did joke we were quite famous as we visited so often and for so long......well, not a bad thing to be famous for...………

And at that dessert and our drinks were delivered...…….

This dessert is just beautiful...…….and one between two is perfect...….it`s sweet but not heavy, it`s very light and so tasty!!!!

And of course the cocktails were perfect...…..absolutely perfect.

We had enjoyed the best night...…...we asked for the check and thanked Josiah for being so lovely tonight.....he really had been lovely. It is always nice to chat and get to know the people around you.....and some people have some seriously fascinating stories to tell...…...we do like to chat!!!

We gave Fernando a wave as we headed out and went up to our suite...…..we were looking forward to this.....

The balcony was just beautiful to be sitting out in...….we just wallowed in our own delight at just being there.....the view with the lights was pretty and we joked we could see the Club Lounge from here......and the moon!!! It doesn't show up very well, but it was so clear and very bright...….

We could also see planes landing at MCO......although we don't like to think about that too much!!!!

We poured ourselves a glass of Snapple as we had enjoyed enough alcohol tonight......and we sat there for what seemed like hours..…..again marvelling at how much we were enjoying this trip......although we had one or two little glitches, we had truly enjoyed every second of it...….and we still had 3 full days...….although we didn't plan to do that much to be honest...….

I loved this balcony!!!! Well, so did Tom...….this really was a special treat for us!!!

When we finally came in the rooms were cool and welcoming as it was still unbelievably hot outside.....thankfully though!!! It was lovely sitting out and finding midnight still as hot as you would ever want it to be...…..this was bliss.

We washed our Snapple glasses and tidied up anything that had been left sitting around......then Tom "locked up" checked everything the way he does at home......old habits die hard!!!

We got into bed and I thought I`m never going to sleep tonight...…..but...….that bed!!!!

Unbelievably comfortable…….and it`s a tiny bit smaller than the bed we have at home, but still incredibly spacious...….

I swear, I went from....I`m not that tired to just about to drop off when I heard something...……

​

Yep, Tom had beat me to sleep tonight!!!!

Do I snore???

​

Thankfully I was so tired I did drop off as I don't remember anything after thinking oh no...….

And I already couldn't wait to wake up in this lovely suite...……

 

[schumigirl]

NO! (and it drives Jason NUTS)

Oh my goodness Alice!!!!!

I`d hate to not be able to eat hot and spicy!!!! It would annoy me if Tom didn't like it either......but I suppose, if you don't like something you don't like it...….

I`m sitting here with a bowl of spicy bbq peanuts mixed with some crunchy wasabi peas from Sapphire Falls.........….lush!!! Wondering why I don't have a glass of wine yet

Well..…..it`s 3.30pm on a miserable and almost dark Friday afternoon......we have nowhere to go and having a picnic dinner tonight as kitchen is out of bounds due to work being done on the tiles....big job!!!! So no cooking...….

​

Went out this morning and bought all sorts of party food that doesn't require cooking....although I can use my aga…..but only some duck spring rolls and some crab cakes that need heated.....everything else is cooked or cold...….nice!!!

Will set you a plate......just avoid the olives and stuffed jalapenos!!! They are spicy with a capital HOT!!!!

Jason would love them

 

[schumigirl]

All caught up! I looooove your new room - especially with the balcony! That's probably the #1 thing I miss staying at Universal, compared to Disney, the balconies. I love spending time sitting outside!

Thanks Cyndi...….we loved it!!!!

Yes, I know exactly what you mean......with Disney it`s standard in so many of the hotels......so I can see why you`d miss it...….we too love a balcony as we love sitting out at night after a full day and relaxing with a glass of wine, but we had gotten used to it not being an option at RP...…

So, yes, although a lot of folks do have balconies where they stay......we were having a blast with this one!!!!

Glad you are still reading along...….always nice to see you......

 

[angryduck71]

Oh my goodness Alice!!!!!

I`d hate to not be able to eat hot and spicy!!!! It would annoy me if Tom didn't like it either......but I suppose, if you don't like something you don't like it...….

I`m sitting here with a bowl of spicy bbq peanuts mixed with some crunchy wasabi peas from Sapphire Falls.........….lush!!! Wondering why I don't have a glass of wine yet

Well..…..it`s 3.30pm on a miserable and almost dark Friday afternoon......we have nowhere to go and having a picnic dinner tonight as kitchen is out of bounds due to work being done on the tiles....big job!!!! So no cooking...….

​

Went out this morning and bought all sorts of party food that doesn't require cooking....although I can use my aga…..but only some duck spring rolls and some crab cakes that need heated.....everything else is cooked or cold...….nice!!!

Will set you a plate......just avoid the olives and stuffed jalapenos!!! They are spicy with a capital HOT!!!!

Jason would love them

LOL -- you're so sweet! I'm allergic to crab (which developed later in life and bums me out as it's a favorite -- luckily can still eat other shellfish) and I hate duck... LOL. Once, we were in Germany with my ex and his family for dinner. As you know, this angryduck loves her Donald Duck.... well, the waitress didn't speak much English, and I was trying to tell her I wanted something else other than duck. She thought I didn't know what the dish was, so she said, "it's duck, like Donald." The family roared knowing, "well, if she didn't want to eat it before... she certainly doesn't now!" Anyway, don't hate me. I'm sure one of these days we will share a meal and I'll eat SOMETHING. Hahaha.