5 nights - too much time?

[schumigirl]

PS - take the time to arrange the character breakfast at Confisco Grille... the best character dining experience EVER (blows Disney away, IMHO)

We plan to do this in July this year, never done it before and we love Confisco Grille

To OP......5 days will be lovely, you`ll be able to have such a relaxing time and take in so much.

Pool time and Citywalk are so much fun and like others have said take time to smell the roses.

RPR is my favourite hotel, it`s so beautiful and I`m sure you`ll all have a wonderful trip

 

[Miche_503]

Most people say 2 days is enough when they're trying to squeeze it into their Disney vacation.

I agree with everyone here- a full week will give you more time to enjoy yourself. Personally, it gives me better memories because I'm so much more comfortable and able to take in what's around me instead of rushing to get to the next ride or show.

 

[pigletto]

We went for two full days last vacation but we were staying at Disney. It would have been so nice to head back to an onsite resort and swim, or take a nap and head to Citywalk in the evening. It's the entire reason we bought AP's and plan to stay onsite this time (2 or 3 nights). It's not the same pace as Disney, but that's what we're looking forward to.
My kids are 8 and 15 and found plenty to do.
I think it's a great amount of time to really enjoy yourself and take it all in. Have a blast!

 

[Bluer101]

We stay anywhere from 1 night to 10 nights onsite. Our ideal time is at least 3-5 days. This June and July we are spending 9-10 days at RPR and can't wait, so relaxing.

 

[Planogirl]

I would love to spend 5 nights onsite. Just visiting the different pools could take two days for me. Plus there is exploring the resorts, shopping, maybe seeing a movie and trying the new mini-golf courses. I can easily spend a minimum of three days in the parks too.

If you want something different, there is plenty to do in and around Orlando too. My problem is always not enough time and that doesn't include the Disney parks.

 

[Badge]

Last summer we went for 7 nights in a King Suite at RPR and LOVED it. It was the first time we had ever gone for more than 3 nights and now I don't want to go unless I can go for at LEAST 5 nights.

Like everybody is staying, Universal is a MUCH more relaxing experience than Disney. With your Express Pass access as a hotel guest, you will be able to have both parks done in two days. So, instead of rushing to hit every ride in the first two days, you can visit the parks in the morning, come back to the hotel for an afternoon swim in the great pool, and then head back to the parks in the evening. Or if your like me and love riding rides, you could ride MIB 20 times in a row to try and get a perfect score...but you would have to be crazy to do that (it was more like 25 times, and I still could not get it...975,540 was the closest I got )

You also will have the new mini-golf courses on Citywalk which look like they are going to be a ton of fun! Since they have two different courses, you might want to do one on the 2nd night and another on the 4th night to break it up a little. Have a nice dinner at Citywalk after the parks close and then go and play a round of golf.

One thing I suggest not doing is eating at the Island Dining Room at the hotel. Some people seem to enjoy it, but I have always found it to be very expensive and not the best. The Breakfast buffet there is $20 a person and the food is just "ok" for the price and you don't have a huge selection to pick from. I enjoy eating the breakfast crossiant (sp?) at the bakery inside IOA at the end of the main entrance into the park. It is really good and a nice hot, filling breakfast sandwhich for around $6.00. However, eating at Jakes at the hotel is highly recommened! I love eating at Jakes. We ate their nearly everyday on our last trip.

 

[macraven]

Last summer we went for 7 nights in a King Suite at RPR and LOVED it. It was the first time we had ever gone for more than 3 nights and now I don't want to go unless I can go for at LEAST 5 nights.

Like everybody is staying, Universal is a MUCH more relaxing experience than Disney. With your Express Pass access as a hotel guest, you will be able to have both parks done in two days. So, instead of rushing to hit every ride in the first two days, you can visit the parks in the morning, come back to the hotel for an afternoon swim in the great pool, and then head back to the parks in the evening. Or if your like me and love riding rides, you could ride MIB 20 times in a row to try and get a perfect score...but you would have to be crazy to do that (it was more like 25 times, and I still could not get it...975,540 was the closest I got )

You also will have the new mini-golf courses on Citywalk which look like they are going to be a ton of fun! Since they have two different courses, you might want to do one on the 2nd night and another on the 4th night to break it up a little. Have a nice dinner at Citywalk after the parks close and then go and play a round of golf.

One thing I suggest not doing is eating at the Island Dining Room at the hotel. Some people seem to enjoy it, but I have always found it to be very expensive and not the best. The Breakfast buffet there is $20 a person and the food is just "ok" for the price and you don't have a huge selection to pick from. I enjoy eating the breakfast crossiant (sp?) at the bakery inside IOA at the end of the main entrance into the park. It is really good and a nice hot, filling breakfast sandwhich for around $6.00. However, eating at Jakes at the hotel is highly recommened! I love eating at Jakes. We ate their nearly everyday on our last trip.

i hear you Badge.
i have 10 days at the park this fall and wondering how in the world will i get to do everything i want to...............

and that follows the 7 nights at the motherland resort.

i always get the king suite at rph.
it is my absolute favorite!

i have a different opinion on the rph restaurants.
i loved the Island Dining Room.
that is until they changed the menu to an Asian flair.
they did that change the day i checked out.
they still are carrying 2 of the dishes i like, the rest of the menu is meh to me.

i thought the breakfast buffet was great.
i was able to get a little of everything including a blt sandwich.......

eggs made to order, omlets made to order, scrambled eggs, potatoes, pancakes, bacon, sausage, biscuits, danish of different types, all types of bread for toast, muffins, bagels, cream cheese, oatmeal, cold cereal, different kinds of juices, all kinds of fresh fruit, yogurts, tomatos, etc.

if you order off the menu, you can save some money.
you can get an order of eggs and toast. things like that.
if you order a pot of coffee with that, it is only about $5 more to do the buffet.

the Orchard Court Lounge is in the lobby of rph.
it opens at 6 am every morning.
great place to get items ala carte if you go for the early entry to see Mr Pothead.
it has extended hours on the weekends.

Jakes is reasonable and has a decent selection.
i get the pizza there.

i break my mornings up starting with different places if i eat breakfast.

if i skip breakfast, i do an early lunch at the parks or at city walk.

 

[AJA]

We stayed 7 night last Sept and are going back for 6 nights in May.

One day is a Sea World, and another day is pool/pool hopping.

 

[anorman]

Just booked our first universal vacation, 6 days/5 nights. Really just 5 days as we fly in and out early mornings.

Is this too much time? We are staying at RPR. Kids are DD11 and DS9. Both love thrill rides although DS is a little one so nothing over 48 inches for him! I did get the 2 park tickets with wet and wild option. So i plan to do that for one day.

Everything I'm reading seems to say 2 days at the parks is plenty. Now I'm nervous there isn't enough to do. I don't have the budget to add disney tickets too.

I'm planning to spend afternoons at the resort so the kids can enjoy the pool and maybe hit the HRH pool an afternoon too.

Did i make a mistake? Is there really not enough at the parks to go back?

There's no such thing as too much time. Lots to do! We stayed 4 nights last year and could have happily stayed another one or two. Relax and have fun....with 5 nights, you can do both!

 

[drinkme]

We went in 2010 and stayed 5 nights/6 days. Our kids were 9 & 11 also...lol. And we stayed at RPH!!

We LOVED it. We had plenty to do. The kids had me on the Harry Potter ride over & over. My dd11 went into Ollivanders like 7 times before she got picked. We went in the summer with the brutal heat, so we went back to swim everyday. The walk to the parks from RPH was very quick. Less than 10 minutes. We had such an amazing time.

We had 7 day tix. I was looking on Universal's website and it only shows the max is 4 day tix (which are almost the same price as the annual passes). That kinda stinks that they raised the prices of tix so much, but if you can swing it, get a ticket for every day of your visit.