1 night Universal stay

[Cochise]

We are looking at what we can do for our 16th wedding anniversary whilst we are in Orlando this August. One idea that has come to mind is booking a night in one of the Universal Hotels. Its not something I have been lucky enough to research before.


From what I have initially seen but haven't confirmed:


We would get Express Plus unlimited for our check in day and check out day
1 hr early Harry Potter for check in day and check out day
Park at the hotel to save 2 days parking
We can check in without room allocation from 8am to proceed to the park.

I have got a couple of prices for 29/08/14 with £178 the best for Royal Pacific of the top three, it seems alot but if the above benefits are correct the value starts to show. Is this a good price?

Thanks in advance everyone

 

[NikkiMouse]

Parking not free even for hotel guests at Universal Hotels

Parking
Overnight Guests
Self Parking: $18 plus tax per night
Valet: $25 plus tax per night

We stayed at Hard Rock in 2011. Room location was awesome. 5 min walk to park. Lovely boat ride back. Hotel staff enthusiastic. Front of line access PRICELESS!

 

[Cochise]

I just assumed on the parking...oops

 

[lgp1]

We can check in without room allocation from 8am to proceed to the park.

I was talking to them on the phone yesterday and they said we could check in without room allocation at 7am if we wanted to so we could go to the park at 8am for the 1 hr early Harry Potter

Lyndon.

 

[chmurf]

We would get Express Plus unlimited for our check in day and check out day
1 hr early Harry Potter for check in day and check out day
Park at the hotel to save 2 days parking
We can check in without room allocation from 8am to proceed to the park.

It's all correct except for parking. But you're charged on a nightly basis. So you get 2 days of parking (check in and check out day) for $18 instead of 2 times $16 for regular parking at the parks
(note that Cabana Bay hotel does not grant you the unlimited express)

Check in basically works like at Disney for early check in. You can check in as soon as the front desk is "open" (for day operation), that's roughly 6 or 7am.
You'll be able to leave your luggage at bell services, and you can be notified by text message once your room is ready.
You'll get your room key as soon as you check in. This key will allow you to print your FOTL pass at the automated kiosks in the hotel lobby.
If you have purchased tickets online, you will need to swipe the credit card used for purchase and enter the confirmation number you receive in the confirmation email. (if it's a separate ticket, and not included in the package, if it's in a package, the automated kiosk will deliver them when you insert your room key)

I have got a couple of prices for 29/08/14 with £178 the best for Royal Pacific of the top three, it seems alot but if the above benefits are correct the value starts to show. Is this a good price?

prices vary a lot from one day to the other. Sometines as much as double the price.

for 08/29/14 a standard 2 queen at RPR is $291 (£180) if you're flexible with your dates, toy around with dates, for example checking in on the 27th will be $268 (£170) not a huge saving though.

what will hit you more is the park ticket. They are not included in your £178 price.
a package with 2 days of park (park to park = hopper) + 1 night on the 29th august at RPR for 2 adultes will be $667 (£430)
if you buy a package, check the "activities" tab, as for one night they add a 1 day ticket, you need to remove it and add a 2 day ticket instead.

 

[Cochise]

Thank you lots for the replies . I think I saw RPR for £168 on the 28th and the HRH for a tenner or so more. We have 2 week tickets for both parks already bought so that's not an issue. For me this is a definite, just need to persuade the purse strings...

I recall when we got the early entry with Virgin Hols and how a small thing like that stays with you as a stand out memory.