Are the parks better than the hotels?

[Maistre Gracey]

I really really really want the parks to be great, and they probably are, but....

We visited Portofino Bay a few nights ago to check things out. We expected a resort similar to Disney's Grand Floridian seeing as though it's their flagship resort.
I was underwhelmed to say the least.

My question is- Will I be just as underwhelmed by the parks as compared to Disney?

The one hotel was a total let down from expectations, but I hear the parks are on par...??

MG

 

[RMulieri]

Everyone has their opinions, likes and dislikes. If you give it a chance and not compare the 2 , you will enjoy it. Both Disney and Universal are unique and each have plenty to offer . But if you go expecting it to be another disney, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. .I love Portofino . I am headed there next week for a weeks visit .Others love royal Pacific or Hard rock..All comes down to preference

 

[schumigirl]

We don't know you........these questions are kinda like asking us if you will like cheese.......what one person likes another won't.

Sounds like you've pretty much decided you're not going to enjoy it. Not quite sure why you were so underwhelmed by PB. Have you never seen pictures of it or the other resorts at UO?

The parks for us are everything Disney is not. That for us is a good thing as we got bored with Disney very quickly and haven't got back since 08 and have no desire to go back.......

Have a look at what the parks offer.........www.universalorlando.com

You know what kind of rides you like and what you don't.........the park guides will tell you everything that's on offer and park layout.

Universal for us is a relaxing, fun filled, NON PLANNING vacation.........the rides suit us, RPR for us is the nicest resort around, resort suits us down to the ground and having EP makes it even better.

Restaurants are of excellent quality apart from the odd one or two like Bubba Gumps where we have never had a good meal. But, Citywalk and the hotels have a wide range of choices.

If you go visiting the parks and are constantly comparing it to Disney, I wouldn't bother going........for us, it's a million times better than anything Disney has to offer.........we stay for 18 nights at RPR every year. We don't spend every minute of every day in the resorts as we like to get around a bit, but we adore our time in the parks.........they're fun!!

 

[littlejimmy]

we have stayed club level at most Disney luxury resorts, and club level at Portofino and hard rock and would take the universal hotels over the Disney hotels any day. to each his own I guess. my family thinks the universal hotels completely blow out the Disney hotels. have fun!!

 

[kbelle8995]

I've been to a lot of Disney hotels. I've been to Royal Pacific and Cabana Bay on the Universal side.

I thought Royal Pacific was extremely nice (although not as thoroughly themed as Polynesian) I have to say that I think that Cabana Bay is far superior to the Values at Disney. I returned to Pop Century after I stayed at CB a few months earlier. Pop Century suffered in Comparison. As a value Cabana Bay has nicer facilities and a more relaxing vibe (larger pools, bowling alley). It's much more of a resort.

 

[keishashadow]

I really really really want the parks to be great, and they probably are, but....

We visited Portofino Bay a few nights ago to check things out. We expected a resort similar to Disney's Grand Floridian seeing as though it's their flagship resort.
I was underwhelmed to say the least.

My question is- Will I be just as underwhelmed by the parks as compared to Disney?

The one hotel was a total let down from expectations, but I hear the parks are on par...??

MG

You are the first person I've heard make that comparison, to each their own.

Always thought it a shame as to the phenom of people identifying so strongly with Disney (or Universal) they completely dismiss the idea of expanding their travel horizons.

PBH is our favorite hotel - period - in Orlando. GF has never moved me, it's pretty, but I do not get a Disney vibe there and the Victorian theme just isn't my thing. Always thought it was rather squished on a small spit of ground and the pool a bit of a snooze. Love other offsite properties (WBC & Hyatt Grand). Onsite, a MK-facing room @ CR is downright magical. There are so many lovely DVC offerings (BLT, VWL, AK, BC & BW as each has a very special vibe and theming for a different experience each visit).

Curious, did you actually stay @ PBH or just do a quick walk thru as a non-guest (which would equate to a drive by at best & a totally different vibe)?

Loews hotels # of offerings are few and exclusive, enabling them to provide an unusually high level of attention to their guests, The service @ PBH is beyond compare, from check-in to out. It's luxurious and pampering. Loews rolls out the red carpet for loyal, repeat guests enrolled in their youfirst program.

The mouse owns me, always happy to visit (which I am tomorrowfor a quickie). However, if upon booking my reservation, they'd offer me a suite with two rooms & 2 baths for the price of a standard room via a platinum upgrade-you first program - I'd

If you expect Universal to be 'like' Disney, you are setting yourself for for major disappointment. Same as it'd be for a Universal regular to flip over to Disney. I'm talking both in the parks and the resorts. Both parks are amazing in their own right, but it's a different 'ride' at each, you have to be able to enjoy it for what it is and be open to new experiences.

 

[tony67]

I find the Disney resorts way overrated - I will never stay at a Disney Deluxe again - they are pretty basic rooms to say the least - and they charge as if it is truly first class. (I know location location location)
I've stayed at all of them - and concierge at several of them. The only concierge that was even remotely worthwhile was the Polynesian and AK.
The Yacht club was so bad we left after one night and changed to the Dolphin Club level.
The CR was just dirty - I mean they did not even get the lipstick off of the wine glasses - they were not happy with my moving all the dirty wine glasses to the dirty glass tray - well then clean them the first time - This was the same every night of the five nights we were there. Get a clue.

Now when I go to Disney I just stay at the mods - I see no reason to overpay for what is a very basic room.
When I stayed at the GF - they made a mistake and checked me out of my room early - I came back to my room to find house keeping (or whoever) packing my bags and putting them in the hallway - the manager would not even speak to me - he was hiding - and no they did not do a single thing to make up for it and I never got a response to my letter.

I've stayed at hotels all over the world (no not Disney World the real world) and never had as many bad experiences as I do at Disney Hotels.

As for Universal I've stayed at both RPR multiple times and PB once and find them superior to Disney in every way - and most importantly they treat you like a valued guest. I would pick RPR over POLY every time.
They recognize that you are a repeat customer and treat you accordingly since they are Lowes and are more concerned about their brand than just storing people for Universal - same with the Swan and Dolphin in Disney since they are Starwood properties.
These places are run as hotels first - not just places to heard the guests until you can get them into the parks to spend money.

The Club level at RPR is far superior to any concierge at Disney IMO - it seems Disney through out a few crumbs at most of the locations and people are happy.
At RPR they cannot do enough for you - even walking around before they put away the wine to be sure you can get a final glass or take a glass with you.
At Disney I always felt like the drinks are coming out of their pocket - they would put out one or two of each beer and you would have to ask for more.

Anyway - there are the hardcore Disney folks that will always say Disney is better no matter what - that's fine with me - everyone is entitled to their opinion even if it is skewed by their love of Disney. Many would have a different opinion of PB is it was outside of Epcot I'm sure - and it would cost twice as much per night.

 

[Brownie54]

I really really really want the parks to be great, and they probably are, but....

We visited Portofino Bay a few nights ago to check things out. We expected a resort similar to Disney's Grand Floridian seeing as though it's their flagship resort.
I was underwhelmed to say the least.

My question is- Will I be just as underwhelmed by the parks as compared to Disney?

The one hotel was a total let down from expectations, but I hear the parks are on par...??

MG

I think it is a pretty safe bet to say yes, you will be underwhelmed. Your view on Portofino indicates to me you are under the influence of pixie dust. Do yourself a favor and don't venture beyond the walls of Disney. Best way to keep your disappointments to a minimum.

 

[macraven]

What did you check out at pbh ?

Lobby, pool, eateries, grounds?


Op from the way you started this thread, I read it as you have already made up your mind you will be disappointed with a stay there

No one can can say anything that would change it

But, Sometimes first impressions can fool us

The first time I was at pbh, I was not wowed

I moved on to hrh then later made rpr my home away from home

I found the perfect hotel at that point

To venture out to a new place and surroundings takes time

First impressions don't mean that is how you will always feel about a place

Some enjoy the parks or city walk more then the place they will lay their head at night

Read thru the hotel stickies and see if you find one that has more of a draw for you

I always was a Disney person and started doing universal as day trips before the hotels went up

As years went by and hotels were built, it became a total vacation for me in many ways

I still do the motherland prior to my stays at rpr

I do enjoy them both for what I like to do

But, hands down, I look forward to rhe darkside portion which ends my vacation

6 nights at wdw and it is tiring when it comes to bus transportation and long lines and the set up for fp and adr's
Just saying that is how it is for me

Then I transfer to UO resort for 16 days of a relaxing vacation
No rushing, or advance planning and stress free

I relax totally during this stay and return home ready to deal with everyday stresses

 

[Maistre Gracey]

We don't know you........these questions are kinda like asking us if you will like cheese.......what one person likes another won't.

Sounds like you've pretty much decided you're not going to enjoy it. Not quite sure why you were so underwhelmed by PB. Have you never seen pictures of it or the other resorts at UO?

The parks for us are everything Disney is not. That for us is a good thing as we got bored with Disney very quickly and haven't got back since 08 and have no desire to go back.......

Have a look at what the parks offer.........www.universalorlando.com

You know what kind of rides you like and what you don't.........the park guides will tell you everything that's on offer and park layout.

Universal for us is a relaxing, fun filled, NON PLANNING vacation.........the rides suit us, RPR for us is the nicest resort around, resort suits us down to the ground and having EP makes it even better.

Restaurants are of excellent quality apart from the odd one or two like Bubba Gumps where we have never had a good meal. But, Citywalk and the hotels have a wide range of choices.

If you go visiting the parks and are constantly comparing it to Disney, I wouldn't bother going........for us, it's a million times better than anything Disney has to offer.........we stay for 18 nights at RPR every year. We don't spend every minute of every day in the resorts as we like to get around a bit, but we adore our time in the parks.........they're fun!!

Oh my.... We loved Bubba Gumps!!!

MG

 

[bumbershoot]

You have to tell us what parts of PBH you saw.

If you walked in the lobby and turned around and left, ok. I get that.

I've visited GF. It's big and impressive looking. It has a giant lobby to absorb all the park-goers. There are weird shops where you're ignored. Basin is very smelly upstairs. We had one nice experience with the band playing and my little cousin was loving the music (her parents and grandparents and her great grandmother (my grandmother) are and were musicians) and they invited her to stand with them. Used to love tea there but they made the offerings boring and jacked the cost up aatronically so we won't go there now.

But ultimately it's just a giant lobby to a visitor.

PBH is a smaller lobby.

But did you see all the pools? Did you know they have free water and sunscreen as well? Were you in the piazza at sunset? It's lovely. Did you eat anything?

Since you didn't stay there you don't know how nice it is. Club is terrific there, too.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

You are the first person I've heard make that comparison, to each their own.

Always thought it a shame as to the phenom of people identifying so strongly with Disney (or Universal) they completely dismiss the idea of expanding their travel horizons.

PBH is our favorite hotel - period - in Orlando. GF has never moved me, it's pretty, but I do not get a Disney vibe there and the Victorian theme just isn't my thing. Always thought it was rather squished on a small spit of ground and the pool a bit of a snooze. Love other offsite properties (WBC & Hyatt Grand). Onsite, a MK-facing room @ CR is downright magical. There are so many lovely DVC offerings (BLT, VWL, AK, BC & BW as each has a very special vibe and theming for a different experience each visit).

Curious, did you actually stay @ PBH or just do a quick walk thru as a non-guest (which would equate to a drive by at best & a totally different vibe)?

Loews hotels # of offerings are few and exclusive, enabling them to provide an unusually high level of attention to their guests, The service @ PBH is beyond compare, from check-in to out. It's luxurious and pampering. Loews rolls out the red carpet for loyal, repeat guests enrolled in their youfirst program.

The mouse owns me, always happy to visit (which I am tomorrowfor a quickie). However, if upon booking my reservation, they'd offer me a suite with two rooms & 2 baths for the price of a standard room via a platinum upgrade-you first program - I'd

If you expect Universal to be 'like' Disney, you are setting yourself for for major disappointment. Same as it'd be for a Universal regular to flip over to Disney. I'm talking both in the parks and the resorts. Both parks are amazing in their own right, but it's a different 'ride' at each, you have to be able to enjoy it for what it is and be open to new experiences.

I compared PBH to the GF simply because they are their respective flagship resorts. Personally I like Wilderness Lodge and Animal Kingdom Lodge better than the Grand Floridian.

No, I did not stay the night. We live virtually next door so we went for drinks and pizza. Honestly, the pizza at the Thirsty Fish was incredibly delicious.. That said, pizza and drinks for two people (yes we were there almost six hours) were $375 after tip.

Yowza!!!

MG

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I find the Disney resorts way overrated - I will never stay at a Disney Deluxe again - they are pretty basic rooms to say the least - and they charge as if it is truly first class. (I know location location location)
I've stayed at all of them - and concierge at several of them. The only concierge that was even remotely worthwhile was the Polynesian and AK.
The Yacht club was so bad we left after one night and changed to the Dolphin Club level.
The CR was just dirty - I mean they did not even get the lipstick off of the wine glasses - they were not happy with my moving all the dirty wine glasses to the dirty glass tray - well then clean them the first time - This was the same every night of the five nights we were there. Get a clue.

Now when I go to Disney I just stay at the mods - I see no reason to overpay for what is a very basic room.
When I stayed at the GF - they made a mistake and checked me out of my room early - I came back to my room to find house keeping (or whoever) packing my bags and putting them in the hallway - the manager would not even speak to me - he was hiding - and no they did not do a single thing to make up for it and I never got a response to my letter.

I've stayed at hotels all over the world (no not Disney World the real world) and never had as many bad experiences as I do at Disney Hotels.

As for Universal I've stayed at both RPR multiple times and PB once and find them superior to Disney in every way - and most importantly they treat you like a valued guest. I would pick RPR over POLY every time.
They recognize that you are a repeat customer and treat you accordingly since they are Lowes and are more concerned about their brand than just storing people for Universal - same with the Swan and Dolphin in Disney since they are Starwood properties.
These places are run as hotels first - not just places to heard the guests until you can get them into the parks to spend money.

The Club level at RPR is far superior to any concierge at Disney IMO - it seems Disney through out a few crumbs at most of the locations and people are happy.
At RPR they cannot do enough for you - even walking around before they put away the wine to be sure you can get a final glass or take a glass with you.
At Disney I always felt like the drinks are coming out of their pocket - they would put out one or two of each beer and you would have to ask for more.

Anyway - there are the hardcore Disney folks that will always say Disney is better no matter what - that's fine with me - everyone is entitled to their opinion even if it is skewed by their love of Disney. Many would have a different opinion of PB is it was outside of Epcot I'm sure - and it would cost twice as much per night.

Hmm... Well, services may very well be better at Loews hotels, and I certainly agree the Disney hotels are not cleaned like they should be. Many times the rooms are downright filthy.

I'm talking the grandeur of walking into an incredible lobby like the Disney deluxes. When we walked into PBH the little trickling fountain screamed moderate level hotel. I admit, that set the tone.

MG

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I think it is a pretty safe bet to say yes, you will be underwhelmed. Your view on Portofino indicates to me you are under the influence of pixie dust. Do yourself a favor and don't venture beyond the walls of Disney. Best way to keep your disappointments to a minimum.

lol!!! No pixie dust here. Several years ago yes, I was a Disney apologist. They could do nothing wrong without me running to their defense.
Now I've seen the light, and although still enjoy many things Disney, I'm one of their most vocal critics.

MG

 

[saskdw]

I really really really want the parks to be great, and they probably are, but....

We visited Portofino Bay a few nights ago to check things out. We expected a resort similar to Disney's Grand Floridian seeing as though it's their flagship resort.
I was underwhelmed to say the least.

My question is- Will I be just as underwhelmed by the parks as compared to Disney?

The one hotel was a total let down from expectations, but I hear the parks are on par...??

MG

In my 6 years of reading this forum you are the first person I've seen that was underwhelmed by Portofino Bay.

I'm not a fanboy for WDW or UO we enjoy both places for what they are. However with a 7 night stay using the SMSM deal at UO I can stay at any of the 3 UO Deluxe resorts for similar price to a WDW Moderate. With that deal Portofino is 1/2 the price of GF so it wouldn't need to stack up anyway.

It would be hard for anyone to say that Carribean Beach resort stacks up to Royal Pacific for the same price.

 

[Squirlz]

We stay at BWI at Disney and RPR at Universal. For $161 pernight in December, RPR blows away any Disney Deluxe. I don't much care what the lobbies look like.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

What did you check out at pbh ?

Lobby, pool, eateries, grounds?


Op from the way you started this thread, I read it as you have already made up your mind you will be disappointed with a stay there

No one can can say anything that would change it

But, Sometimes first impressions can fool us

The first time I was at pbh, I was not wowed

I moved on to hrh then later made rpr my home away from home

I found the perfect hotel at that point

To venture out to a new place and surroundings takes time

First impressions don't mean that is how you will always feel about a place

Some enjoy the parks or city walk more then the place they will lay their head at night

Read thru the hotel stickies and see if you find one that has more of a draw for you

I always was a Disney person and started doing universal as day trips before the hotels went up

As years went by and hotels were built, it became a total vacation for me in many ways

I still do the motherland prior to my stays at rpr

I do enjoy them both for what I like to do

But, hands down, I look forward to rhe darkside portion which ends my vacation

6 nights at wdw and it is tiring when it comes to bus transportation and long lines and the set up for fp and adr's
Just saying that is how it is for me

Then I transfer to UO resort for 16 days of a relaxing vacation
No rushing, or advance planning and stress free

I relax totally during this stay and return home ready to deal with everyday stresses

We did drinks at two bars along with pizza at the second bar, the Thirsty Fish. On a side note the pizza was fantastic...

We will visit hrh and the others soon. I have visited the hrh in Vegas and enjoyed it.

The reason for the post is I'm trying to figure out if we should spend the bucks for a trial visit. Checking out the flagship hotel was kind of a first step to visiting UO to see if we liked it. That's why I was hoping to hear the parks were more impressive than the hotel resorts.

MG

 

[bumbershoot]

Figured it was the lobby.

I don't see the need to feel it's a "flagship". So the comparison is off to me. GF is Disney. The hotels at Uni are Loews. They are hotels, not showpieces for the resorts.

 

[schumigirl]

Oh my.... We loved Bubba Gumps!!!

MG

And that's exactly why no one can really answer the question "will I like" or "will I be underwhelmed"

We are all so different, our priorities and expectations are unique to us.

Bubba Gump for us was truly awful and we will never go back. Twice is twice too often. Nasty. Oceannaire and Big Fin Seafood are more our kind of seafood places.......but, each to their own. Many enjoy it.

Have you decided yet what you'll do? Since you live local I'm not really seeing the dilemma.......it's on your doorstep........

Also remember Universal and Loews are entirely different entities.

 

[bumbershoot]

That's why I was hoping to hear the parks were more impressive than the hotel resorts.

It feels impossible to answer, though.

A themepark is a themepark. A hotel is a hotel.

The hotels and services at Uni make it possible for a themepark visit to feel like a vacation rather than a Basic Training march. The themeparks make you ready to enjoy the pools (and you can pool hop).

To me, it's all fabulous. And all impressive.


But all I can say about GF is that the lobby sure is big. It really intimidates my cousin's family. Should a Disney hotel do that??? Doesn't make me want to stay there.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

We stay at BWI at Disney and RPR at Universal. For $161 pernight in December, RPR blows away any Disney Deluxe. I don't much care what the lobbies look like.

But now you're adding specific criteria.

If I was only concerned about price and don't care about looks of the resort (i.e. The lobby), than the Super 8 down the road would be the answer.

MG