WWYD? Express Pass or Suite?

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Hi everyone! My husband and I are planning our first trip to the Universal Resort for next summer. We would like to be there for a week (we enjoy having a lot of downtime and hours at the pool). Here is the dilemma I'm facing:

We are a family of four. It will be myself, my husband, and my (then) 12 year old twins. With my budget we can spend the week in a standard room at the Royal Pacific, or maybe even the Hard Rock. HOWEVER, for approximately the same amount of money we could go with a suite at any of the lower tier resorts. I'm really having an issue justifying the difference between the two room types, even with the Express Pass being offered at RP. I would like to think that we won't miss the Express Pass that much being there the whole week, we'll be in no rush... But it is tempting. Also, I love the idea of being able to spread out more with the four of us.

Any advice?

 

[davper]

If you are there for the week and can go many days, I would skip the EP and take the space.

 

[Jack's Nan]

If you do not mind getting up and getting in the parks at opening I think with a bit of planning you could do without the express passes on a week's visit. Just pick which rides to head towards each morning.
I can tell you that the 2 bedroom suite at Cabana Bay is amazing. We stayed there last year. Yes it is more expensive but I am not sure what rates you are looking at for next summer at Royal Pacific. Might not be too much of a difference. Do your twins like water parks or swimming?
If you so you can not beat a stay at Cabana Bay and those 2 bedroom suites are in the new towers overlooking Volcano Bay. Two bedrooms and two bathrooms with a sitting area and mini kitchenette. Lots of room!

 

[crazylady]

I'd go for the Express Pass room. Even though you have alot of time, the last thing I want to do is stand in line and watch all those Express Pass people walk on by. That's valuable time I could be at the pool!

Since you are planning in advance, you might want to think about an annual pass for one of you. You might be able to get a better room rate with it, whatever you decide. And I think Univ usually has some kind of Black Friday deal.

 

[EveDallas]

I would go with the suite and try to work one night at a deluxe into the budget. Even if you don't use the room, you'll get two days worth of Express Pass. Best of both worlds.

 

[DonaldnDaisy5]

I think it depends on when in the summer you are going and how tolerant of lines you are.

We faced the same dilemma this year. We opted for Express passes. We had 5 days but 3 get 2 free deal. We had a lot of down time at the pool. But with the heat there is no way I would've wanted to stand in lines once they got longer.

Early in the morning lines were short but within an hour lines were approaching 60 minutes. When we would head back after our break lines were long 45 to 120 minutes, with express pass we never waited more than 15 minutes and even that was only after waiting for a closure to reopen.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Hmmmmm... So much to think about.

 

[Disneylover99]

We’re here now. We did 3 nights at Cabana in a poolside family suite and now we’re at Hardrock for 3 nights.

I think next time we’ll do 5 or 6 nights in a family suite at Cabana Bay. We really enjoyed it there (love the lazy river) and the price was right. The bus was always quick and we love the food court options and onsite Starbucks. We never went to the parks early, but got lots done just using the single rider line. Express pass is a nice perk and being able to walk so easily to the parks from the Hardrock is awesome, but I’m not sure the price is worth it depending on the price and time of year you go.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

We’re here now. We did 3 nights at Cabana in a poolside family suite and now we’re at Hardrock for 3 nights.

I think next time we’ll do 5 or 6 nights in a family suite at Cabana Bay. We really enjoyed it there (love the lazy river) and the price was right. The bus was always quick and we love the food court options and onsite Starbucks. We never went to the parks early, but got lots done just using the single rider line. Express pass is a nice perk and being able to walk so easily to the parks from the Hardrock is awesome, but I’m not sure the price is worth it depending on the price and time of year you go.

Do you find CB to be very crowded? I have this idea that huge resorts like that, offering family suites are very busy LOL.

 

[Disneylover99]

Do you find CB to be very crowded? I have this idea that huge resorts like that, offering family suites are very busy LOL.

It’s a bustling place. No doubt. But our poolside room was super quiet and the quick service diner was very efficient. One of the things we noticed and loved was the amount of seating at the pools, ( lots of umbrella tables) by Starbucks, in the lobby, at the diner, etc...It was always busy everywhere, but you never had to fight for a seat, so it never felt too busy to us.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

It’s a bustling place. No doubt. But our poolside room was super quiet and the quick service diner was very efficient. One of the things we noticed and loved was the amount of seating at the pools, ( lots of umbrella tables) by Starbucks, in the lobby, at the diner, etc...It was always busy everywhere, but you never had to fight for a seat, so it never felt too busy to us.

That's good to hear. That was the ONE complaint we had about Animal Kingdom Lodge. There never seemed to be enough pool chairs BY the chairs or seats in the Mara at meal times.

 

[EveDallas]

Do you find CB to be very crowded? I have this idea that huge resorts like that, offering family suites are very busy LOL.

I've stayed there a few times. It is large, but I've never felt crowded there. The family suites are awesome, the bus service rocks, the food court is great, and you can't beat having a lazy river AND a bowling alley right in your hotel.

 

[Disneylover99]

That's good to hear. That was the ONE complaint we had about Animal Kingdom Lodge. There never seemed to be enough pool chairs BY the chairs or seats in the Mara at meal times.

The one thing I’m torn about is which section to stay in next time. We were in the Starlight building (which I really love) by the pool with the poolslide, but we spent most of our time by the lazy river. It was a bit of a hike to get to the other pool.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

The family suites at CB and new resort opening this week are on the top of my list. I can't wait to see more about the new ones too!

 

[macraven]

When someone asks about the hotels for a summer vacation, right away I think they plan on July

What month are you planning for?

July is hot and parks are crowded
If July is your month go with the hotel with express passes

You can come and go anytime you want to the park and do plenty of pool time

 

[schumigirl]

I would go for the hotel with EP every day and twice on a Sunday!

You don’t spend that much time in the room, and EP could be a godsend depending on when you are going.......heck even on a quieter time we wouldn’t be without EP!!

RPR is beautiful too!!

 

[bumbershoot]

EP, 100%.

 

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

When someone asks about the hotels for a summer vacation, right away I think they plan on July

What month are you planning for?

July is hot and parks are crowded
If July is your month go with the hotel with express passes

You can come and go anytime you want to the park and do plenty of pool time

Either the last week of June or the 2nd week of July.

Thanks for the input!

 

[mjhtvchick]

I don't know - I struggle with this one - with two tween girls, space would be ideal! But the EPs are golden - especially in the summer months.

What about a split stay - 2-3 nights at HRH in a 2-queen deluxe (a bit of extra space) to really maximize your park time and then the rest of the trip at CBBR to relax at the pool, hit up Volcano Bay, etc while visiting the parks in the late afternoon/evening when it is "cooler"/quieter.

Or (if you you don't want to move hotels) you could stay at CBBR for the whole trip and look at the cost of picking up the "regular" EPs for just a couple of days.

 

[eliezra]

I had the same struggle as you on our first trip. However, now that I have been there (during a relatively quiet time), I would pick the EP room all the way! We did this with our family of 4 with 2 tween boys earlier this year and we are doing it again in October. For us, the EP was incredible! We felt so relaxed the entire time we were at the parks because we did not feel like we had to rush to get to the park in the AM or rush to get to the next ride. We were really able to take our time and soak in the atmosphere.

For us, we were hardly in the room. We were either in the parks or at the pool. We used the room to sleep and eat breakfast. At night we had a little downtime before bed, but my boys used that time to be on their electronics, which really didn't require them to spread out.

We stayed at RPR in April (loved it!). And booked Portofino in October. The rooms are larger and it was actually cheaper that Royal Pacific, which I understand can happen sometimes. As others have suggested, I would recommend using the hotel AP website to compare prices. We ended up booking with an AP discount and converted our 3 day tickets to an AP for $0 extra. Saved a ton on our hotel room plus now we get an extra trip!