Family's first-time at Universal Orlando

[CharlieGirl]

Hello. I'm new to this board and I'm hoping to learn as much as possible for all of you! That said, this is gonna be a bit long, so sorry in advance. Let's see, I'm planning our family vacation to Universal Orlando. This will be our family's first visit there. My family consists of me, my hubby and our two sons (ages 4 and 7). We won't be traveling until December (4th through 8th to be exact). I'll be booking our trip through BJ's (yup, the wholesale club). We've decided to stay at the Portofino (bay view). This is what I've gathered so far from this site: I should ask for a villa in the West wing since (a) villas are a bigger room type and (b) the west wing will be closer to the pool with the slide and transportation to and from the theme parks. Are the pools heated? I also noted that not all of the rooms will have a balcony. This is important to us to have a room with either a balcony or patio. I understand that I won't get all that I ask for,but I'm hoping that by booking this far in advance, my chances will be better. I really hope you won't mind sharing your experiences (good or bad) with me so that I can ask the appropriate questions about room choices!! Also, if you can share any thoughts on ticket choices/park admission, that would be wonderful as well! Thanks!

 

[damo]

Early December is a great time to go. The parks are very quiet then and you should be able to get the room you want!

 

[macraven]

to the universal forums


gee, a universal and dis virgin...............hope we can help you with all your questions before your trip.

i see this is your very first posting. we are flattered you chose to come here



i can help you with your ticket question.
you will be on site for 4 nights.

buy the on line promo for tickets for your family.
buy one adult 2 day (and get 3 days free) and one free child pass for you
and also for your hubby. with this for $189 + tax you will receive 4 passes that covers 5 days in both parks total. kids ticket ages are 3-9 so this fits your needs.

and the day you check out, you can use the 5th day pass on your card for the parks before you head back home. the FOTL option is valid on your check out day. you will not be allowed to charge anything on your hotel key card but the fotl is still coded on it until park closures that check out day.

if you say you only will be using the tickets for 4 days, it still is a savings.
a one day 2 park pass for adults is $73. you can see the savings right there.

about pbh, i don't know enough to post on that. i only stayed there for 4.25 hours one time. had an overflow at hrh when i booked there and was put up overnight at pbh. i got in there at 2:45 in the morning after hhn closed up and got up at 6:30 and checked into the hrh. so with that in mind, i am quite limited on that hotel.