BarryH

I thought it was Mission: Hurl? Actually, financially, you might be better off going to Universal for a few days. I would get the 7 day, $85 tickets. You can stay onsite, but if it's not within your budget, then there are plenty of offsite hotels to choose. If you're looking for something that may appeal to a varied group (i.e., someone can't ride coasters, another one doesn't like things that move, etc.), Disney may be your better bet. Disney vacations can be pricey, but deals can be had.

I've seen Myst all over the place, but I never got a chance to play it.

This looks like Sony's answer to the Blackberry.

"Did you hear that?"

Heck, you got your onsite room keys. Who needs to worry about long lines?

Ask your questions and we'll be here. In the meantime, I'm taking a nap! Oh, BTW, if you're looking for some good unofficial Universal info, check out the Universal section in www.allearsnet.com. And I realized I'll be leaving Orlando when you're arriving! I'll be there from 3/8 to 3/11.

The only Screaming Swing I've been on is at Thorpe Park. Most other places make it an upcharge ride. It's a fun ride, but I don't see a reason to pay extra $ for the ride.

Oh, I just checked www.aaa.com and found the Royal Pacific Resort for check-in on 3/12 and check-out on 3/13 for 2 adults and 2 kids. There was availability and it's $233.10. If you haven't booked, why not? Do it today! You can also book by calling 1-888-273-1311. I think it works in Canada, but if not, use Universal's main phone number 407-363-8000 and ask to be transferred to onsite hotel reservations. The T2 queue is good to hide from a spring rain storm. Storms in Florida are rarely over 30 minutes. So if the sky gers dark and you feel a chill in the air, it's going to rain. Find someplace to hide!

Huh? I thought you already booked RPR? If you're having trouble finding availability online, try www.aaa.com. I found the AAA rates there. Just do a search under Loew's Hotels in Orlando and they'll come up. If you're having trouble ordering the $85 ticket deal online, try dumping your cookies or restarting the computer. I've heard that clears things up. If not, let meknow and I think I can dig up another website to order the tickets. Breakfast buffets at the onsite resorts cost $16. Don't faint, because they are pretty good. If you want to go the cheap and greasier way, many offsite restaurants offer a breakfast buffet for around $5-$7. Drinks are extra. Depending on where you go, the level of grease varies. I prefer the Golden Corral myself, but they open late on Sundays and that inteferes with my theme park plans. The parks hav a special insert for the show times and ride hours of operation, much like Disney. Most guests tend to hit T2 first, so it might fill up early in the morning, but I've never seen more than a 30 minute wait for it.

^^Believe me, I've been on the end of being "made fun of." I know Robb has been on that end too! I used to get upset by it, but I've learned to just laugh it off. It's all good-natured fun. You can't be on TPR and not be picked on at least once!

Usually, ticket discounts for onsite stays come in a package or if you stay for 4 nights or more. My advise: buy the 7 day, $85 tickets. You can't get a better deal than that! You can buy tickets at the onsite hotels, but there are no discounts and you won't get the $85 ticket deal. That deal is only good online at www.universalorlando.com.

Since you're staying at RPR, your onsite room key acts as an unlimited Universal Express pass. Just flash your key to the Team Member at the special Universal Express entrance and you get to use Express access. It allows for unlimited Universal Express access. Thus, you don't need to buy the Universal Express Plus tickets. Honestly, the Universal Express Plus tickets are neat, but I've never had a need to buy them. I just show up at park opening and ride what I want to during the first 3-4 hours of operation. Then I relax and watch a show or two. Then I ride a few hours before park closing when the queues are shorter. Also, depending on your party, staying onsite and using your room key for Express access is actually cheaper than buying the Express tickets. I remember once going to Universal on Christmas week. I was in the line for Guest Services and a party was buying Express tickets for their party of 5 for two days. Their bill was around $600! A room at the RPR was $299. Certainly, resort parking, food, and other sundries at RPR may add to the bill, but if they stayed onsite and used 2 days of Express access for their days, they would have saved lots of money! Since your parental units decided to stay onsite at RPR, you're ahead of the game. I assume they got the AAA rate of $233.10. If you bought Express tickets for your party of 4 (Mom, Dad, sister, you), then you'd be paying $35 for the 1 day/2 park Express tickets. Thus, $35 x 4 = $140. If you bought the tickets over 2 days, you'd be paying $280! So you're saving about $50 by staying onsite alone! I think your parents need to raise your allowance.

The walkway takes you from RPR and drops you off right beside Margritaville in Citywalk. If you take the boat, it drops you off in the middle of Citywalk. The bus drops you off by USF. The guidebook by Kelly Monaghan is one of the best for Universal. Dueling Dragons doesn't have a single riders line, but if the wait isn't too long, you can use the re-ride doors. They're usually open unless the wait time is too long. With your onsite room keys, you can just take the uber-secret Universal Express entrance to the right of the main castle entrance and be close to the loading area in a short distance.

Good choice to book at RPR! Which guidebook did your mom purchase? Obviously, you could have saved yourself some $ since we are the "free guidebook." Oh-no! I've stayed at RPR several times and I've never had a problem. The staff there is so friendly! The breakfast buffet is the best out of all the onsite hotels. They even serve rice and it's sticky! Real rice sticks! I should know since I was raised on rice. The water taxi is the most "elegant" way to travel, but it's also usually the most crowded, particularly near park opening and closing. If the shuttle buses are still running, use the bus. It's rarely crowded and you get free air conditioning! You don't need exact change either! You can also walk. It's about a 10-15 minute walk to the park. The rides that have sad and pathetic, oops, single rider lines are: Spider-Man, Hulk, MIB, Mummy, and JPRA. MIB and Mummy's single rider lines are nearly always open unless the regular wait is almost a walk-on. Spider-Man's single rider line usually opens if the regular wait is over 30 minutes. Hulk's single rider line opens depending on what phase of the moon is in. No really, Hulk's single rider line opens at weird intervals. When the wait is 45 minutes or more, it may or may not open. Side note: If you are staying onsite, you can use your room keys for Universal Express access, so there is not really a need to do single riders. You may have an advantage if you use MIB's single rider line. You will skip the hydrolator pre-show (which doesn't get any more thrilling the more you see it) and may be able to get on the ride faster. I haven't done the Dining Pass thing. I'll have to look that up. I know there is a Meal Deal for around $20 for one park and $25 for two parks. It's all you can eat at a few counter service restaurants around the parks. It might be a good deal if you eat like an ACEr, but the restaurants on the Meal Deal usually has the grossest food in the parks.

The phras "discounted WDW tickets" doesn't exist. Seriously, it's very difficult to find a good discount on WDW tickets. This has been true ever since WDW opened its gates. WDW has, in the past few years, done FL resident discounts, but you won't be able to take advantage of that. Various online ticket brokers offer discounted WDW tickets for a few dollars off. A few dollars may not be much, but a few dollars off is better than no dollars off. In the past, I've ordered tickets from Ticketmania (www.ticketmania.com) without a problem. I've never done the hotel delivery option, but I've never had any headaches with Ticketmania at all. If you want to wait to buy them when you arrive, you can visit their office on Universal Blvd. to purchase them.

As for good food, how could I forget the Enchanted Oak! You can get good chicken, ribs, burgers, and turkey legs.

^Only Jeff Johnston can count the t-shirt as a credit.

One more thing...on I-4, just west of the I-75 intersection, you may see an exit for BGA that will take you on US 301. Don't take 301 to BGA. It's not a shortcut, but a longcut! Believe me, I took it once and it took me 45 minutes to get to BGE! Stick with the I-75 exit or, if you must, I-275.

Great photos! I drank Diet Rite once. It gave me a headache while drinking it!

KidTums!

^Also, if you stick with the group on the buses, the most fun can be had on the way to the parks. I know from the UK trips, we had a lot of fun on the buses. We chatted, watched DVDs, made fun of people, saw interesting sites, and other things. If you did travel on your own and took the same route, you'll probably end up spending the same amount of $ as the packaged trip costs.

Kids don't let parents drink excessively.

^I did this when I bought my SFOG season pass. I couldn't buy it online because I was like over 300 miles away. However, I could buy them at the ticket booth. I arrived an hour before opening and got my pass processed in 5 minutes. Once you have a Six Flags season pass, you can renew it online and get the renewed pass sent to you, regardless of where you reside.

I've never eaten at Pat O'Brien's, but a friend of mine bought me two Hurricanes and I got a serious buzz! It's a good thing I was staying onsite and didn't need to drive home. So watch out if the parental units want to drink a Hurricane. Remember these words of wisdom: one Hurricane good, two Hurricanes bad!

^I still say watch it and decide for yourself. If you want a good burger at Universal, also try these places: Ritcher's at USF IOA: Confscio's, Burger Digs Citywalk: Margritaville Hard Rock Cafe has good burgers, but it's pricey for what you get. Margritaville has tastier burgers for a few dollar less. Plus, you can see the volcano explode every 30 minutes or so.