you have a lot of different questions and i am not sure which one to refer to first....
staying on site, read thru the threads on the darkside about the onsite hotels.
basic info there but if you go back more than a year, that info could be outdated.
i came back this month from a 10 day stay onsite.
did that portion of my trip after staying on site at the motherland 8 nights.
yes, i make my vacations long and do both resorts each year back to back.
i have stayed on site at all the darkside hotels.
my favorite is RPH.
PBH has the largest rooms and usually costs the most per night.
it is not my favorite hotel due to the distance from the parks and the onsite restaurants. I get Italian food "out" at times.....
many do adore PBH. we all have different priorities.
go with the hotel that suits you best.
go to the date/rate thread in the main UO forum.
check this years and last years threads on that.
you will get an idea of the room cost others have received.
if you have AAA, you can get 10% discounts off of food and merch at the parks, excluding carts, and city walk.
you can also book w/UO, state you have the AAA and receive a discount off the room.
play around with the numbers on the booking site.
try each hotel for your dates and compare what comes up.
i have received rooms at the rate of $144 a night/+ tax before.
play with the numbers and see if you can come out ahead by staying on site for one night at the darkside.
do a 2 day ticket for you all.
do the motherland trip, and do a one night stay at the darkside.
plan the darkside stay at the end of your motherland stay.
you will likely come out ahead financially.
staying onsite at the darkside gives you hotel perks.
you get early entry, one hour prior to park opening for the parks.
parry hotter section is open for this time period to hotel guests.
FJ (and Ollivanders) does not have express so this is the time you can do that ride w/out long lines.
you get unlimited express line usage during your stay.
if you buy the express pass for a day visit, they are only valid one time per ride or attraction.
go early to the hotel on the day you check in.
i always check in prior to park openings, sometimes i checkin before 7:00 am
you can use the early entry on check in day and check out day.
your belongings can be stored with valet until you are done with the park on check out day.
i know you said you wanted PBH.
just wanted to give you options if you need to cut costs to make this happen.
you can visit any of the other hotels onsite, enjoy their entertainment, pool hop, dine at any of the hotels if you are staying at one of the darkside hotels.
staying on site, read thru the threads on the darkside about the onsite hotels.
basic info there but if you go back more than a year, that info could be outdated.
i came back this month from a 10 day stay onsite.
did that portion of my trip after staying on site at the motherland 8 nights.
yes, i make my vacations long and do both resorts each year back to back.
i have stayed on site at all the darkside hotels.
my favorite is RPH.
PBH has the largest rooms and usually costs the most per night.
it is not my favorite hotel due to the distance from the parks and the onsite restaurants. I get Italian food "out" at times.....
many do adore PBH. we all have different priorities.
go with the hotel that suits you best.
go to the date/rate thread in the main UO forum.
check this years and last years threads on that.
you will get an idea of the room cost others have received.
if you have AAA, you can get 10% discounts off of food and merch at the parks, excluding carts, and city walk.
you can also book w/UO, state you have the AAA and receive a discount off the room.
play around with the numbers on the booking site.
try each hotel for your dates and compare what comes up.
i have received rooms at the rate of $144 a night/+ tax before.
play with the numbers and see if you can come out ahead by staying on site for one night at the darkside.
do a 2 day ticket for you all.
do the motherland trip, and do a one night stay at the darkside.
plan the darkside stay at the end of your motherland stay.
you will likely come out ahead financially.
staying onsite at the darkside gives you hotel perks.
you get early entry, one hour prior to park opening for the parks.
parry hotter section is open for this time period to hotel guests.
FJ (and Ollivanders) does not have express so this is the time you can do that ride w/out long lines.
you get unlimited express line usage during your stay.
if you buy the express pass for a day visit, they are only valid one time per ride or attraction.
go early to the hotel on the day you check in.
i always check in prior to park openings, sometimes i checkin before 7:00 am
you can use the early entry on check in day and check out day.
your belongings can be stored with valet until you are done with the park on check out day.
i know you said you wanted PBH.
just wanted to give you options if you need to cut costs to make this happen.
you can visit any of the other hotels onsite, enjoy their entertainment, pool hop, dine at any of the hotels if you are staying at one of the darkside hotels.
So, lets start with Day #1 
I am used to commando touring but this made us relax. We strolled into HP later in the day and experienced it like normal people probably do. I had nary a touring plan in my hand!
Again, I found the rooms at HRH a bit lame except for that happy coffee but the outside makes up for it. And there is rock music everywhere. So cool. Like being at a beach resort, then you go ride some rides!
Wow! Thank you for answering so many of my questions! You had a nice long vacation! I can hardly believe that you have gotten a rate as low as $144 a night before. That is fantastic! I didnt know you could go to the pools of different resorts! That is a definite plus! Thanks for all of the tips! 
Ive never seen the Transformers movies, but Coy has. Im pretty sure True didnt see them. So, I smell a movie night coming on! I already checked Netflix and they have the Transformers movie that came out in 2011 but not the ones that came out in 2007 and 2009. Im going to check the cable listings to see if they might happen to come on sometime soon, but are they worth buying? I remembered that Coy loved which ever Transformer movie(s) he saw. The trilogy is $25.59 on 
it!
Anyway, I just plain do not like it. Sorry, Donkey!
