Doubletree vs. HRH?

[dreamscometrue]

Hi there:
I'm a DVC member and this will be out first trip to Universal. We had wanted to stay onsight to take advantage of FOTL but the rates are crazy and have not been dropping over the last 2 months. I was considering staying at the Doubletree at the entrance to Universal but am wondering if I will kick myself for not having FOTL. We are going May 5-8 and then heading to Disney. We will have 2 days in the parks will we need FOTL at that time of year?? It is a Friday and Saturday... what do the experts say?????????

Thanks in advance for your advice!!

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

The experts say that FOTL and the quality of the hotels is worth the stay. However, if you go to Universal first and have FOTL you'll be hating to wait in those lines over at the "rat trap"!

 

[ksdave]

I say HRH. Have you tried for the Entertainment rate or the Preferred Annual Passholder rate? They usually cut the cost down alot. I would say you would even be better off staying at RPR than staying outside.

 

[Sandyincanada]

I hear you, dreamscometrue. We already have a condo booked but I checked the Entertainment book prices for when we go (Feb) and the hotels are still close to 300.00 a night! We are going to stick with our 2 bdrm condo but may look at buying express passes if the crowds are bad. They seem to range from 15.00-30.00 a day so even at the higher price, its still alot cheaper for us and we still get our 2 bdrms. They also have fast passes there as well. We've never had FOTL and we've never had long waits so I just can't justify spending 300.00 a night for it when we would prefer the condo anyways.

 

[gschmerl]

At that time of the year the crowds shouldn't be too bad. You might run into school groups taking class trips. Just go early and use the express pass machines as much as possible.

 

[robvia]

School is still in session.
Orlando gets out May 23rd, Broward is June 2nd.
True, there may be field trips, they usually happen on a Friday. But, they usually arrive to the park at 11am, and the kids have no way to get express passes. So if you walked over to the parks early, you could beat the crowds.

 

[ksdave]

I cannot understand why you are all getting quotes of $300 + per night at HRH. We have always stayed at PBH (the most expensive resort) and never paid more than $200/night, even for a deluxe. Last trip I used the PAP rate, becuase it was less than the ENT rate. We had a Bayview for $179/night for six nights.

 

[dreamscometrue]

I wonder if the rate is higher because it is only for 3 nights??? Some of the packages were for 4 days or more, but I'll be spending the bulk of my time with "Mickey". There doesn't appear to be any ENT rates up to this point. I had been pricing a gadren view which is supposed to be the least expensive. Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[Sandyincanada]

I got my rates from the Entertainmentbook site. 292.00 during the week and 337.00 on the weekend for HRH. All 3 hotels are similarly priced. I looked at a few other sites as well and was quoted roughly the same. I tried rates for 2 and 4 nights.

 

[ksdave]

Call Universal directly and ask what the Preferred Annual Passholders (PAP) rate is. If it is significantly lower (which it should be), have one person in your party buy a PAP. They are $179 right now and are good for one year from the date you activate it. You get 20% off all merchandise in the parks, 15% off at all restaurants in the parks, free parking at the garages, 10% off one, two or three-day tickets for up to six more guests, plus additional things, and there are no blackout dates. Our savings off the rack rate at the hotels last trip paid for all four of our pass renewals plus. The savings on the merchandise, food, etc., was just icing on the cake. PLUS, we got two trips out of our passes two years ago when we first bought them.