I Drive...some observations

[Wolf1984]

So as promised another update.

Big shout out to the staff at Perkins, lovely lunch and bakery, great service.

Senor Frogs was a little slow last night but food was good and the vibe was jumping. First time in there so quite pleased. I Drive still feeling quieter than usual but the weather is baking hot!

[act1980]

Originally Posted by NewtoOrlando

I remember seeing your insta stories about checking out early Angela, such a shame for you! We are at HRH this year, but only for 2 nights with 2 teens. Why was Universal so bad? Be interesting to know what City Walk restaurants were terrible so I know whether to avoid them or not!

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It was called Rock & Brew. Service was absolutely shocking! We spoke to the manager about the problems we encountered and he had the same attitude as the staff. Just rude and couldn't care less. So we walked out before we had even ordered any food, we didn't even get that far! Unbelievable!

RPR wasn't great either, just one issue was the fact we had rips in our bedsheets and curtains. It didn't feel like a deluxe resort at all. The staff at the Tuk Tuk market were super rude too. I've never known anything like it.

We won't be setting in Universal for a number of years, even the parks look run down in comparison and the staff aren't as friendly there either. I know it's cheaper than Disney and a lot of people seem to be swaying more to Universal at the moment but you get what you pay for and I would rather pay more for a better experience especially when we're flying half way across the world!

I hope you have a lovely time though and because I've made it sound so bad you'll probably have an amazing time there as your expectations are now so low 😂

[NewtoOrlando]

Originally Posted by act1980

It was called Rock & Brew. Service was absolutely shocking! We spoke to the manager about the problems we encountered and he had the same attitude as the staff. Just rude and couldn't care less. So we walked out before we had even ordered any food, we didn't even get that far! Unbelievable!

RPR wasn't great either, just one issue was the fact we had rips in our bedsheets and curtains. It didn't feel like a deluxe resort at all. The staff at the Tuk Tuk market were super rude too. I've never known anything like it.

We won't be setting in Universal for a number of years, even the parks look run down in comparison and the staff aren't as friendly there either. I know it's cheaper than Disney and a lot of people seem to be swaying more to Universal at the moment but you get what you pay for and I would rather pay more for a better experience especially when we're flying half way across the world!

I hope you have a lovely time though and because I've made it sound so bad you'll probably have an amazing time there as your expectations are now so low 😂

See more...

Oh I didn't know there was a Rock & Brew on City Walk now! Is it new? We've not done Universal since 2018, and with teenagers they much prefer it to Disney, we're only staying 2 nights this time, and 3 nights at Disney (that's for me more than anything lol) most of our trip will be offsite which now the kids are older we much prefer.

Sorry you had such a rubbish time though, rudeness isn't acceptable, and for the cost of the rooms at RPR ripped manky bedsheets should never happen! Hope you managed to get your refund!

[cornishfrogboy]

We were in Orlando for 7 days in April as part of a much wider vacation. We have visited around a dozen times since 2005. We did not even go into IDrive N of Seaworld this time, having in earlier years stayed on the drive. We gained a preference for the LBV area many visits ago.

I will be perfectly honest and say that for us personally, Orlando as a whole has had its day.

To fly into and out of MCO from London is now more expensive than our flights to Honolulu in Easter of 2023. It must be the most expensive USA major City to fly in and out of, particularly in School Hols.

Value is down in the parks and ticket prices are now quite frankly too much. When you get in parks, stalls are closed. Service industries across the area are unable to recruit sufficient staff to operate at 100% capacity.
There is a perception of declining service while visitor numbers and crowding are higher than ever. There are numerous DIBB complaints of declining service.

We are done, having gone from full sets of tickets pre 2012 to just D.C. ultimates at Easter and less than half the vacation in Orlando. We are now reducing to zero.

There are numerous great alternatives for us, the West Coast trumps Orlando (but not necessarily Florida as a whole) by a good margin… as does the East Coast, Washington and northwards.

Orlando is by no means the only hat in the ring when it comes to awesome USA vacations. If IDrive (and Orlando) cannot deliver the goods, then maybe look elsewhere.. possibly out of the State or even the USA. Other areas may value your patronage far more😃

[Wolf1984]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

We were in Orlando for 7 days in April as part of a much wider vacation. We have visited around a dozen times since 2005. We did not even go into IDrive N of Seaworld this time, having in earlier years stayed on the drive. We gained a preference for the LBV area many visits ago.

I will be perfectly honest and say that for us personally, Orlando as a whole has had its day.

To fly into and out of MCO from London is now more expensive than our flights to Honolulu in Easter of 2023. It must be the most expensive USA major City to fly in and out of, particularly in School Hols.

Value is down in the parks and ticket prices are now quite frankly too much. When you get in parks, stalls are closed. Service industries across the area are unable to recruit sufficient staff to operate at 100% capacity.
There is a perception of declining service while visitor numbers and crowding are higher than ever. There are numerous DIBB complaints of declining service.

We are done, having gone from full sets of tickets pre 2012 to just D.C. ultimates at Easter and less than half the vacation in Orlando. We are now reducing to zero.

There are numerous great alternatives for us, the West Coast trumps Orlando (but not necessarily Florida as a whole) by a good margin… as does the East Coast, Washington and northwards.

Orlando is by no means the only hat in the ring when it comes to awesome USA vacations. If IDrive (and Orlando) cannot deliver the goods, then maybe look elsewhere.. possibly out of the State or even the USA. Other areas may value your patronage far more😃

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Have to agree with this. We first came here in 2013 and ok the novelty factor was high but it felt different back then.

Service and attitude on the I Drive is very poor now in my opinion. We visited a Cracker Barrell on the 192 a few days back and the service there was excellent.

We'll return at some point when kids are much older but honestly the cost of everything versus the value is way past the tipping point for us. It's ridiculous to pay $27 general parking at Universal and then almost $12 for a single beer.

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by Wolf1984

Have to agree with this. We first came here in 2013 and ok the novelty factor was high but it felt different back then.

Service and attitude on the I Drive is very poor now in my opinion. We visited a Cracker Barrell on the 192 a few days back and the service there was excellent.

We'll return at some point when kids are much older but honestly the cost of everything versus the value is way past the tipping point for us. It's ridiculous to pay $27 general parking at Universal and then almost $12 for a single beer.

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$30 for a locker in Aquatica left me rather unimpressed also.

[Redsnapper]

Visited I-Drive (and stayed there for 2 nights) back in June.

Whilst I agree with the OP's comments about lack of staff/reduced service - that is not just an I-Drive issue - its everywhere currently.

Dont agree with it being dead at all - we ate in Vitos Chop House one night - that is a restaurant that we have never ever seen full in many years of visits but I would say it was the busiest we have ever sen.

Looking out the window at TU TU Tango next door - it was rammed with a constant stream of customers arriving.

Had lunch on out last day at Coopers Hawk Winery - its was barely 12.00 pm but ther was a 15 minute wait and again it was packed.

AS someone above said - Icon Park is very popular also, even at lunch time.

I still think the stretch around the Convention centre up to Sandlake is a nice place to stay with plenty of options to eat and drink and also entertainment.

On the other hand - I would never set foot past Sandlake.

Generally I would echo the comments made by Cornish frog boy that for us Orlando is probably not a destination we will return to much, if at all, in future. Spent a shedload of money over the 2 weeks on 2 hotels and a villa. Prices were through the roof and all the top end "resort" hotels now charge $ 25-$30 a day for self parking ! on top of a $40 resort fee - just complete gouging.

Whilst I am sure prices have risen every where it seemed like the value for money spirit that used to exist, is long gone and now Orlando is in danger of pricing itself out for many.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by act1980

It was called Rock & Brew. Service was absolutely shocking! We spoke to the manager about the problems we encountered and he had the same attitude as the staff. Just rude and couldn't care less. So we walked out before we had even ordered any food, we didn't even get that far! Unbelievable!

RPR wasn't great either, just one issue was the fact we had rips in our bedsheets and curtains. It didn't feel like a deluxe resort at all. The staff at the Tuk Tuk market were super rude too. I've never known anything like it.

We won't be setting in Universal for a number of years, even the parks look run down in comparison and the staff aren't as friendly there either. I know it's cheaper than Disney and a lot of people seem to be swaying more to Universal at the moment but you get what you pay for and I would rather pay more for a better experience especially when we're flying half way across the world!

I hope you have a lovely time though and because I've made it sound so bad you'll probably have an amazing time there as your expectations are now so low 😂

See more...

I’m sorry you had a rubbish time, anecdotally it seems many resteraunts and resorts are struggling for staff. This will result in them employing less than ideal staff and probably leading to a lowering of standards.

We have stayed at Royal Pacific probably more than ten times and often for two weeks at a time. We have never had anything but friendly, high quality service.

We are ‘old friends’ of the manageress in Tuk Tuk, and always get a hug and a warm welcome off the staff.

We certainly don’t enjoy Universal more because it’s cheaper than Disney , and Universal certainly are generally much quicker at opening new rides than Disney. ( we like Disney too, just not as much as Universal).
I think saying ‘ you get what you pay for’ is a bit disingenuous, Disney deluxe hotel prices are ridiculous because they are in no way deluxe standard hotels. I know because I’ve stayed in them, and I’m staying in one soon.

Royal Pacific might be ‘ cheap’ to some it certainly isn’t for me, and at their prices I would expect any issues to be quickly rectified.

As I said, I’m sorry you didn’t have the stay you expected at Universal.
If we feel that standards have dropped when we return in September I will report back on here to let you know if I agree with you!

[Guest]

Originally Posted by NewtoOrlando

Oh I didn't know there was a Rock & Brew on City Walk now! Is it new? We've not done Universal since 2018, and with teenagers they much prefer it to Disney, we're only staying 2 nights this time, and 3 nights at Disney (that's for me more than anything lol) most of our trip will be offsite which now the kids are older we much prefer.

Sorry you had such a rubbish time though, rudeness isn't acceptable, and for the cost of the rooms at RPR ripped manky bedsheets should never happen! Hope you managed to get your refund!

See more...

I’m not sure there is a Rock and Brew on Citywalk, could be wrong though!

Agree, ripped sheets unacceptable at those prices it’s not exactly cheap!

[Disneydad001]

hasn't I-drive been falling away for years, Disney and Universal are snapping up the staff and when they have so many beds, they are snapping up the guests aswell

We have seen I-drive decline more and more over the years