Entry point for on-site guests

[StefWalsh]

Hey guys, just wondering if anyone can tell me if there are different entry points into Universal for onsite guests? We are staying at Cabana Bay and it is our first time staying at an onsite Universal hotel, and I'm wondering if by using the walking trail or taking the bus if we would end up at an entry point to the city walk different from the main one.

 

[damo]

Each park has one set of gates for early entry. However, the walking paths get you to a different inspection point than the parking garages. The path from Royal Pacific/Cabana Bay gets you to an inspection point near Margaritaville and Hard Rock/Portofino gets you to an inspection point over by Universal Studios. Taking the bus from Cabana Bay puts you at the inspection point that is the same as the one used by the parking garage people.

 

[freewill]

Each park has one set of gates for early entry. However, the walking paths get you to a different inspection point than the parking garages. The path from Royal Pacific/Cabana Bay gets you to an inspection point near Margaritaville and Hard Rock/Portofino gets you to an inspection point over by Universal Studios. Taking the bus from Cabana Bay puts you at the inspection point that is the same as the one used by the parking garage people.

Is one inspection point more/less crowded than the other? Guessing the walking path point near Margaritaville would be better/less crowded for those staying Cabana Bay or RPPR?

 

[TommyJK]

Is one inspection point more/less crowded than the other? Guessing the walking path point near Margaritaville would be better/less crowded for those staying Cabana Bay or RPPR?

Not sure as when we went recently we always took the bus from CB, but that being said our experience going through the inspection point from parking garage section was a breeze. Getting there early enough to make use of the early entry and there was zero crowd to deal with. Tool all of a minute or two to walk through the metal detectors. Basically as quickly as you could empty your pocket contents into a little plastic container. There was no line-up as they had a dozen or so staff and metal detectors.

 

[damo]

Is one inspection point more/less crowded than the other? Guessing the walking path point near Margaritaville would be better/less crowded for those staying Cabana Bay or RPPR?

Yes, that inspection point is way less crowded during busy times than the main one from the parking lots.

 

[wookiebeck]

Not sure as when we went recently we always took the bus from CB, but that being said our experience going through the inspection point from parking garage section was a breeze.

That's right. When you take the bus from CBR for EE, there are very few people coming down the ramp out of the parking garage to merge with you at the inspection station. But wait another hour and ... forget it, I don't even want to think about it.

 

[StefWalsh]

Thanks for the replies guys! Definitely a big help! We are the type to take advantage of the early entry, especially since we are both huge Harry Potter fans, so its good to know that taking the bus for that won't end up with us in a crowd of people. We'll probably use the walking trail a fair bit though, so its nice to know we'll end up at a different entry point that way if we show up a bit later on any of our days.

 

[damo]

Thanks for the replies guys! Definitely a big help! We are the type to take advantage of the early entry, especially since we are both huge Harry Potter fans, so its good to know that taking the bus for that won't end up with us in a crowd of people. We'll probably use the walking trail a fair bit though, so its nice to know we'll end up at a different entry point that way if we show up a bit later on any of our days.

If you are doing early admission, then don't worry about crowds but if you are going in prime time, choose wisely.