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

[schumigirl]

Love your reports and so excited to follow along!

emsstacey...........lovely to have you along for this one.........

I’m so happy to hear you’ve enjoyed previous ones.........and I sincerely hope you enjoy this one too.......will take a little longer to complete than usual, but I’ll get there...........but glad to have you along........

 

[Angeliamc]

Yay!! I LOVE your trip reports! Thank you for sharing all of your experiences with us and for being here to help everyone along to plan for their own. Such a fun read!

 

[Monykalyn]

Oh goodness love your scare pictures! Looking forward to our first HHN! My middle loves the thrills and scares so this should be interesting. I showed her some of the merchandise and she has her shirt picked out she wants to get (good thing she has her own money saved up LOL).

Almost here for you!

 

[schumigirl]

Yay!! I LOVE your trip reports! Thank you for sharing all of your experiences with us and for being here to help everyone along to plan for their own. Such a fun read!

Thank You so much and a big along for this one too...……

I am so glad you have enjoyed them...…..hope this one doesn't disappoint...…….

 

[schumigirl]

Oh goodness love your scare pictures! Looking forward to our first HHN! My middle loves the thrills and scares so this should be interesting. I showed her some of the merchandise and she has her shirt picked out she wants to get (good thing she has her own money saved up LOL).

Almost here for you!

yay...….. to you too Monyk……….

I love some of those pictures!!! They bring back so many memories...….

Oh you will love HHN!!!! And I`ll bet your daughter will love it so much it`ll have to be a yearly trip for you...……. Some of the merchandise is so good...….we are such easy targets for buying it...…..although everyone loves our shot glasses back home!!!!

Yep, just around the corner now...…….

 

[schumigirl]

So continuing with our "we don't plan" plan...……

Food is a big part of our trips!! As our ever expanding waistlines reveal...……

We love good food and good quality drinks.....but we also like just about anything that's tasty...…..cheap and cheerful places like Red lobster and Longhorn delight us......we don't have them in the UK so we like to make the most of places like that when we are there.

We do enjoy eating around the hotels too....we have some places that are must do every trip...…..and one of them is Orchids Sushi Lounge...….

It has never disappointed...….quality and service are top notch...….sushi is so good!!! They have a varied and excellent menu, with plenty of choice for everyone including non sushi options.

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Of course I couldn't leave out Jake`s American Bar...…….we have been eating here for 10 years and never once had a bad meal or poor service...….it`s sometimes our first night meal as we usually haven't the energy to go very far after a day travelling...….again there are plenty of fabulous options to suit everyone and prices are extremely decent...……

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At PBH the only food option we actually enjoy over there is Sal`s pizza place...…..oh my goodness these have to be the best pizza`s available onsite...…

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They do lovely pizza`s...…..this was the small size between the two of us...….and it is delicious......they also do sandwiches which we have enjoyed once, but prefer the pizzas...…...the other options at PBH don't thrill us at all.


The HRH has The Palm...….and they do amazing steaks...…..amazing appetizers and all round amazing place...…..I`m not overly keen on the hotel itself, but we do come to The Palm regularly...…..

But, we do enjoy out of the way places that tourists aren't quite as prevalent...….4Rivers, Teak Neighborhood Grill and Yellow Dog Eats are just a few of them.......……

Then of course you have Margaritaville for certain foods. This has been a hit and a miss for us last few years...….we do prefer to eat the bar and to give some items a miss now...….but the cocktails in M`ville are fabulous!!!

And of course there`s always room for snacks...…...and we do enjoy a voodoo donut or two...…….

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And that is just a few of the food places we have the choice of while we are there...……

We do spend an inordinate amount of time reading menu`s and deciding where we might eat...…..very few places are decided until the last minute...….except The Palm and Ocean Prime which are probably our favourite steak houses, quality and service can`t be beaten...…..we have already made reservations for both these places this visit...….

Other choices we do consider are Cowfish, NBC, Bula Bar, and may consider going back to HRC...…..also Amatista at Sapphire is very good.

Off site there are millions of choices of course...….we have enjoyed many meals around the immediate area including Yard House down by the Orlando Eye and Oceannaire at Point Orlando...…..

Orlando Ale House is a place we went to for the first time recently and really enjoyed it...…...but one thing you won`t do is starve!!!!

Of course I couldn't finish our food options without mentioning our possible favourite bar anywhere...….StrongWater Bar in Sapphire Falls...……

This has been a real find since the hotel opened...….service is exemplary, food is sublime and changes frequently and cocktails and rums are second to none......we spend a lot of time in here......and when we were here in May, with the rain we had almost every night...….we did indeed spend more time here than planned...…….

The food is tapas style and originates from various places in the Caribbean...…..

And that is a small selection of our options while in Orlando...…..and people wonder why I say 19 nights isn't enough!!!

 

[tink1957]

You're making me hungry again Carole...can't wait to try the sushi at Orchid Court and apps and drinks at Strongwater.

 

[schumigirl]

You're making me hungry again Carole...can't wait to try the sushi at Orchid Court and apps and drinks at Strongwater.

Both are fabulous!!!! Think if I had to choose StrongWater would win out the park...…...

Yes I`ve eaten and looking at pictures of food makes me want to nibble too......lol......

 

[angryduck71]

This one is probably my favourite picture ever at HHN...…...I thought the thing was just a display...…...genuinely...…..and wondered why Tom was taking so long with the picture...….but he had seen the talons start to move ever so slowly and deliberately towards me...….the SA had realized I thought he was a prop...…..don't they just love folks like me!!!!

But, even Tom got a little spook one time...…..he very rarely gets caught out...…….

OMG I LOVE THESE SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! I was laughing out loud at work... not that I'd read this at work....

 

[schumigirl]

OMG I LOVE THESE SOOOOOOOOOO MUCH! I was laughing out loud at work... not that I'd read this at work....

lol.....of course you wouldn't......who does things like that at work!!!!!

I love those pictures......and have so many of them, but I`d be posting for a month to put them all on...….we do take a lot of pictures!!!

Hope your day is going good

 

[tammy]

Yay!! Another trip. I'm not sure I'd survive HHN LOL!! I used to watch horror movies all the time but age caught up to me and now I'm now a baby.

 

[schumigirl]

Yay!! Another trip. I'm not sure I'd survive HHN LOL!! I used to watch horror movies all the time but age caught up to me and now I'm now a baby.

back tammy...……

Lovely to see you on this one too...…..

I`m still a bit of baby, but force myself to watch some of them...…..I do get scared but love them!!!!

But, HHN is so funny...….honestly, we love it, but I can see why some won`t enjoy it as much...…….

Hope you enjoy this one too!!! Glad you`re here...…..

 

[schumigirl]

So, apart from the parks, resort time and Citywalk we do love to wander around Orlando...….

There is so much to see and do...…….of course there are things to do local to the parks, such as The Orlando Eye...…..

The whole complex is lovely...….there is a SeaWorld place if that's your thing and Madame Tussauds waxworks. They do have some lovely restaurants there now, including Yard House and a few other places. Of course now it has the Starflyer………..

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Not that I`d ever go on that!!!! But it looks fun...…...

 

[schumigirl]

Further afield we love Mount Dora...……

It`s not too far away and is such a beautiful little place.....very quaint and peaceful. And has some lovely little unique stores and restaurants...….and a beautiful lake.

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This is a little place we make sure we visit every trip...….if only for the Olive Oil Store......this was quite a new find for us, but we had to go now to stock up on oils and balsamic vinegars. I was sure Mount Dora would be in the plans for this trip...…...

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[schumigirl]

St Augustine we fell in love with also...…..

A friend had told us all about it, and had suggested a place for pizza first time we went...…..it was fabulous!!! But, the city itself is gorgeous, absolutely stunning and we do want to go back again.

I think next year we may even consider staying for a few nights as they do ghost tours and that is something we would love...…..as we may have a longer stay next September it might be an idea...……

There is so much to see and one day you can see quite a lot, but a few days would be perfect...….

We went for a day in July, but we had a massive downpour and huge storm, so we ended up having lunch and leaving......but we did enjoy it all the same.....

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There is so many more things to see here. There is the rum distillery that has some of their products in StrongWater Bar. That may be worth a visit one day...and we would love to do a boat tour here.....the water looks lovely...….

It is around two hours drive to get there, and some of that journey is rather boring.....no real scenery, but it does get very pretty as you head in to St Augustine...….and well worth the drive. The history here is fascinating. And so much I had no clue about.

 

[schumigirl]

One more sleep..........

 

[buzzrelly]

Following!

I have really enjoyed your past trip reports and this one sounds like it'll be fun!

I went to my first HHN last year with my DH and decided it wasn't for me…I'd rather look at you being scared in your photos than be the one actually being scared there! I barely made it through 4 houses and then DH was on his own!

You're almost there…have a safe trip! Looking forward to reading more

 

[jocelyn6]

I think that I am too much of a chicken to brave HHN....maybe one day I will get the nerve to go! I am excited for some new pictures and new reviews of everything Royal Pacific....it's been two years since our last visit and I am missing it! We walked through on our way to CityWalk in May but it just wasn't the same...I am glad that we tried Sapphire Falls...we really enjoyed our weekend there. Safe travels Carole and Tom!

 

[Robo56]

Late to the party, but so glad to see you started your trip report.........as always well written with lots of great pictures and ideas for Universal and beyond.

I’am with Vicki the food pictures are making me hungry this morning.

I saw in one of your HHN pictures the cocktail IV blood bag. I was sad to see they were no longer selling those last year. I thought they were fun.

One more sleep before you leave.

 

[ckmiles]

You posted a pic of Creme Brulee!!!! YAY! I love it so much - even pictures of it!

One more sleep is so exciting!!