Taryn's Mad Hatter Adventures

Category: Room Review

• Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort–Standard Room

  Posted at 11:30 am by taryngirl, on February 15, 2021

  11/15/2020

  The time had finally come! We were making the move to Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort. This resort is so much fun! It’s inspired by 1950s and 1960s Florida beach resorts, with retro decor and theming all throughout. It features two pools, a lazy river, a bowling alley, and more!

  We woke up leisurely at Boulder Ridge Villas, packed up, and headed to the lobby. The plan was to Mobile Order our breakfast, eat in the lobby, and then Lyft to Cabana Bay. One side note about Mobile Order at Wilderness Lodge…it took FOREVER! We waited and waited and there weren’t even that many people there. Anyway, I took at quick screenshot so I could remember how long it took to get from the Disney area to the Universal area because I hear the question asked a lot! The answer on this particular day…about 23 minutes. I also want to note, Lyft and Uber both service this area. You can compare pricing by pulling up each app. Lyft always seems to be cheaper!

  

  We felt super safe, and the app makes it super easy. You can see everything right on the app, you pay, and can add your tip. Our total with tip was $25.32. I had a $6 credit Lyft gave me though, so we paid $19.32. Way cheaper than paying for shuttle transportation, which is generally $20-35 per person one way. Our driver was super Covid conscious. He wore a mask, and had this plastic divider up between the front and back seats. He also had hand sanitizer available.

  

  We arrived around 10:30 a.m. and went into the lobby to check in and get our park tickets. We knew we were early, but they will hold your luggage so you can go to the park. We were lucky and our room was ready! We were given our keys and directed to another counter to get our park tickets. Universal is a little bit different than Disney as far as tickets go. With Disney, your tickets are either mailed to you if you get ticket only, picked up at will-call (but you can still connect to your account with the confirmation number), or you use a MagicBand that you already have, and the tickets can still be connected to your account. If you have a package, the tickets are already included when you link your resort reservation to your My Disney Experience.

  

  At the ticket desk, we presented our email confirmations. They then printed out hard copy tickets for us to use to get into the parks. I highly suggest lanyards when traveling to Universal! You will need your room key and your park tickets, and they are easily accessible if you have a lanyard.

  

  

  Our room was in Building 6–The Americana. If I’m being honest, it was a hike with our luggage to get to our room! The resort is pretty big. We were booked in a standard level room.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  The room was SUPER CUTE! And very clean. I loved all of the little retro touches…the colors, the toiletries!!, the clock! I thought the theming was great.

  

  Up next, we head to Universal!

  Posted in Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Room Review, Universal Orlando | 0 Comments | Tagged Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Resort, Resort Review, Universal, Universal Orlando

• Disney’s All Star Movies Resort

  Posted at 9:35 pm by taryngirl, on March 2, 2019

  2/26/19-Part 2

  We made our way to the room after lunch, so we could drop off some stuff from our backpacks, and to get good pictures and videos of the room!  Prior to the trip, I had requested a specific room through Touring Plans.  I really wanted a refurbished room and had read that they for sure were finished with the Love Bug section, so I chose one there facing the “garden” area vs. the parking lot.

  This was the Love Bug section:

  

  Our room was in this specific section, but not facing this courtyard area, rather we were facing the parking lot.  It was no big deal at all though…WE GOT A REFURBED ROOM!

  The sleeping area.  The table folds down when you pull the queen sized Murphy bed down.  It’s a regular mattress!

  

  The beverage center.

  

  That door slides closed to section off the bathroom sink area.

  

  Separate toilet and shower area with another sliding door.

  

  Property map

  Some other pictures from around the resort.

  The Fantasia section

  

  The pool

  

  The pool bar

  

  The arcade

  Overall I was very pleased with this resort!  I’ve never stayed at any of the All Stars.  I was expecting it to be completely crowded with people and noisy.  It was the opposite!  I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again in the off season, or for a quick trip!

   

  Posted in All Star Movies, Disney, Room Review, Uncategorized, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged All Star Movies, Disney, Resort, Room Review, Standard, Value, Walt Disney World

• Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

  Posted at 2:11 pm by taryngirl, on January 27, 2019

  August 15, 2018

  We arrived without incident about 4 p.m. using Lyft.  I had gotten the text around 11:30 a.m. that our room was ready!  So we headed immediately up the elevator to our room.  Scan my Magic Band…anddddd, the room was not clean.  The sofa bed was unmade, there were dirty towels on the floor in the bathroom, etc.  So we headed back down to the front desk.  I let them know the situation, and it was almost as if the girl didn’t believe me!  She offered us a FastPass.  Sure, why not!  It had to be for the next day though, which was our Magic Kingdom day.  She asked my daughter what she would like to ride, and Kinsey couldn’t decide between Splash Mountain or Space Mountain, so she gave us both!  We were so tired and hot and I just wanted to lay down.  But we had to sit.  And wait.  And wait.  For them to go clean it.  We sat outside for awhile in the back courtyard area:

  We were so hot, so we went back into the lobby to wait.  My phone rang and it was the front desk.  I told them I was sitting right there and could see them!  She came over again and apologized for the room not being ready and that they were crediting my account $125 for the trouble.  About 15 minutes later, she came back again and said, “It’s ready!”  She personally went up with us to our room.  Guess what…THEY WERE STILL CLEANING.  She was mortified!  I told her it was fine and we were just going to sit in the hall until it was ready.  It was after 5 p.m. now!

  The two housekeepers finally exited.  We FINALLY got into the room around 5:30 p.m.  At least we knew it was really clean!

  We were staying in a Deluxe Studio, Standard View.  Here’s our room tour:

  

   

  You can’t beat the location of this resort!  It’s a quick walk to the entrance of Magic Kingdom.  The security/bag check is on the walkway from here to the Magic Kingdom.  So you can avoid the longer lines at the monorail if you choose to walk.  It’s also faster than taking the monorail!  Contempt Cafe is one of my favorite resort quick service locations.  And the view of the fireworks from this resort is amazing.

  Now…we were laying down resting before the DVC Moonlight Magic Event at Epcot, and the phone rings.  I answer it and someone asked if we would be in the room because Private Dining had a delivery for us.  I told them I didn’t order anything, and they said they knew that.  5 seconds later there was a knock on the door.  He brought a tray in with 6 gigantic Mickey shaped chocolate chip cookies and a 12 inch tall (at least) white chocolate Tinker Bell along with a note.  I completely forgot to get a picture because I was stunned!  They went above and beyond any expectation I had as far as making things right.  I NEVER got nasty or complained and begged for things.  The Disney magic was just offered!

  This is our home DVC resort and I absolutely would book here again!

   

  Posted in Bay Lake Tower, Contemporary Resort, Deluxe Studio, Disney, Room Review, Uncategorized, Vacation, Walt Disney World Resort | 0 Comments | Tagged Bay Lake Tower, Contemporary Resort, Disney, Resort, Room Review, Walt Disney World

• Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando

  Posted at 10:54 am by taryngirl, on January 21, 2019

  

  January 6-8, 2019

  I had the opportunity to attend a training at Universal Orlando with several other agents from my agency and jumped on it!  I consider myself somewhat of a Disney expert, but definitely needed to learn more about Universal Orlando and all they can offer to my clients.

  I met up with some other agents at the Philadelphia Airport.

  

  We had a quick uneventful flight on Southwest and actually arrived about a half hour early.  Once we claimed our baggage, we headed outside and ordered Lyft XL since there were three of us with luggage.  After two failed attempts (I think the person who accepted first twice was actually sleeping or something??  His car never moved…) we got a new driver.  He safely got us to our destination!  As a side note…I would say 95% of people who walked out of the Baggage Claim doors were calling Uber or Lyft.  All ages!  Couples, families, business people, etc.  If you would like a link for $20 in Lyft credit, here is a code for you:  https://www.lyft.com/invite/TARYNSTOTS

  We finally made it to…

  We were lucky enough to score a Club King Suite with a connecting Club 2 Queen and Club King Room!  The maximum occupancy for this is 13 with a rollaway.  It was essentially a 3 Room Suite!  Here are the floor plans of two of the rooms:

  

  This is the Club King Suite with Connecting Club 2 Queen Room.  The Club King Room connected on the other side of the Club King Suite.  We had SO MUCH SPACE!

  All Club Rooms are located on the 7th Floor.

  

  Club 2 Queen Room:  Two queen beds that can accommodate 4 guests, full size bathroom,  view overlooking the pool

  

  

  

  King Suite:  Two flat screen TVs, a sleeper sofa that can accommodate 2 guests, an armchair and a dining table that can seat six guests, a full bathroom featuring a stand up shower.  A generous sized guest room that features a king bed that can accommodate 2 guests and has extra living space.

  

  

  

  

  

  Club King Room:  King bed that can accommodate 2 guests, a full size bathroom.

  

  

  Views from our room!

  

  The view from our room at sunset!

  

  The total square footage for this 3-bedroom suite is 1400.  We had plenty of room for 13 of us with rollaways.

  My impression of the room(s):  I LOVED THEM!  I actually loved the vibe at this entire hotel.  I loved the decor, our view, and it was super clean.  The staff from the bellman to the maid were all very friendly and professional.  I slept in the King Suite part.  There was so much room that we could separate if we needed to.  We loved having 3 full bathrooms for 13 women.  And we loved having the table to sit at and eat snacks and do some work.  I would definitely stay here again with my family.

  Rock Royalty:

  Because we were on Club Level, we had access to the Rock Royalty Lounge for complimentary continental breakfast and evening hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine, and desserts.  We arrived and got settled right around 5:00 p.m. ish.  So we headed directly to the lounge for “dinner!”  To enter, you had to swipe your key.

  

  

  

  This water/soda cooler was accessible from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. daily.

  

  As was this coffee/tea/hot chocolate station.

  

  Alcoholic beverages were available with the 5-7 p.m. evening hors d’oeuvres.  For this you had to show your room key which had a sticker on the back, and it was served by attendants…not a free for all.  You could get one drink at a time, but there was not limit to how many times you could go back up.

   

  

  All of this was actually very good!  And the chicken wings…were amazing!  This filled us up so we didn’t have to go anywhere else for dinner.

  The attendant saw me taking pictures and asked if I wanted to see the menu for the week!  Of course I did!  

  After dinner, I went down to the lobby to take some pictures.

  

  The check in desks.

  

  Fun little themed details!

  

  So here’s something cool for music lovers!  They have a Sound of Your Stay program.  You can put down $1000 security deposit and order one of these guitars with headphones to play in your room!  There is a waiver to complete.

  

  There were a bunch of artifacts around the entire lobby area.

  

  

  

  I also stepped outside and caught some amazing views at night!

  

  

  Here were the breakfast offerings in the Rock Royalty Lounge on January 7th.  It was a really good variety!

  

   

  A few other random shots from around the grounds during the day:

  

  Random Thoughts:

  • This is one of Univeral’s Premier hotels…which means guests staying here get FREE Universal Express Unlimited Pass to skip the regular lines at most attractions.  Super important, especially dependent on the time of year you plan on going.  If you are not staying at a Premier hotel, you can purchase the Unlimited Express Pass starting at $90 per day per person.  This price does fluctuate by park and date.  Consider this cost when choosing your hotel stay!
  • Hard Rock Hotel is about a 5 minute walk to the front gates of Universal Orlando.  Very convenient!  You don’t have to worry about bus or boat transportation.
  • The pool here is AMAZING!  I didn’t get to partake in it, but I did walk through and it was huge!  Tons of seating.

  Here’s a direct link to the Universal Orlando website to check out the Hard Rock Hotel!

  Posted in Club Level, Hard Rock Hotel Orlando, Room Review, Uncategorized, Universal Orlando | 0 Comments | Tagged Club Level, Hard Rock Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel Orlando, Rock Royalty, Universal, Universal Orlando

• Disney’s Polynesian Villa Deluxe Studio Lake View

  Posted at 3:46 pm by taryngirl, on August 29, 2018

  After a quick lunch at Captain Cook’s we headed directly to our room.  We didn’t have to stop at the front desk in the lobby because they had both emailed and texted our room number to us.  We were using our Disney Vacation Club points, and reserved a Deluxe Studio–Lake View.  Here’s a quick video tour:

  The Deluxe Studios here at the Polynesian have two bathrooms.  One with a regular shower/tub, toilet and sink:

  

  

  The second bathroom has a really awesome shower and a sink:

  

  

  The kitchenette is a nice feature.  It includes a microwave, toaster, coffee pot, and mini-fridge.  Also provided are some paper products including a roll of paper towels, paper plates and paper bowls.

  

  The bedroom and living area include a Queen size bed, a pull out sofa, and a murphy style bed that pulls down under the television.

  

  

  

  We had an amazing view from our patio:

  

  Pros of staying at this resort:

  • Location!  You are two monorail stops away from Magic Kingdom.  You can walk to the Transportation and Ticket Center to get on the monorail for Epcot.  You can take  a boat to Magic Kingdom also if you prefer.
  • Atmosphere.  This resort really makes you feel like you are on an island somewhere.  If you love tropical, Hawaii type feel, then this is the resort for you.
  • Restaurants.  I love every single restaurant here.  Kona Cafe has great breakfast, lunch and dinner.  They also serve really good sushi (so I’ve been told…I don’t eat it!).  Ohana is my favorite restaurant anywhere on Disney property.  The food is SO GOOD!  It’s served family style.  They also have the Pineapple Lanai that served Dole Whip!
  • Cast Members.  The people that work at this resort are super friendly.  Every single one that we crossed paths with said “Aloha” to us!
  • Pool!  The pool here has undergone some renovations and now includes a splash area.  There’s also a water slide.  If you prefer something more relaxed there is a quiet pool as well.

  Cons of staying at this resort:

  • Price.  This is an expensive resort.  The average price per night on the smallest room type is $525.  That’s the average!

  If we get the opportunity, we will definitely stay at this resort again!

  Posted in Deluxe Studio, Disney, Polynesian Villa, Polynesian Village Resort, Room Review, Uncategorized | 2 Comments | Tagged Deluxe Studio, Disney, Lake View, Polynesian, Polynesian Villa, Polynesian Village Resort

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