Going to Universal in August

[kaffinito]

Hi all,

I'm planning on taking my boys to Universal for two days at the beginning of our August WDW trip. I have a couple of questions though.

1. Which Kids suite would be better for three kids? Are there some with doors between the kids room and the adult room?

2. Which resort? I was thinking about Royal Pacific or Portafino, but would consider the Hard Rock resort if they don't play loud rock music all the time.

3. I would like to book with a TA for this trip since I know NOTHING about booking a trip for Universal. Does Dreams Unlimited do a good job?

4. When you stay at one of the three Loews resorts, are there any benefits? I think I read somewhere that you get some kind of pass when you stay there. And last,

5. Which resort is closest to the parks? And how do you get to the parks? Can you walk?

Thanks for any help you can give me, as you can probably tell, I'm kind of lost when it comes to Universal.

Karen

 

[MErnst]

My family and I have booked our Universal vacations thru the Universal site. We've stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel (April 2008) and Royal Pacific (Aug 2009). I have 2 sons, 15 and 6. I am taking my 15 year old back end of July thru Aug 2nd and we are staying at the Royal Pacific again mainly because we prefer their pool plus it is cheaper than the other 2. The Hard Rock's pool is like a wading pool and apparently you can hear music when underwater...we could barely hear it. We've never stayed at the Portofino but I've only heard great things about it. Each of the 3 on-site resorts have water taxis that take you to City walk and from there you can walk to the parks....its a short walk. There is also a walking path at both Hard Rock and RPR. One major benefit of staying on-site is your room key is your Express pass to all the rides that accept it. I say that because Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is not accepting Express pass yet....with the upcoming opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, there will be 3 rides which may or may not accept Express Pass. I hope this helps answer some of your questions. We love Universal Orlando! Have a great time.

Michelle

 

[Sleepy]

.

Hi all,



3. I would like to book with a TA for this trip since I know NOTHING about booking a trip for Universal. Does Dreams Unlimited do a good job? It really is not difficult to book your own room. Just keep calling the hotel reservations number and check for any changes in discounts. You can adjust the rate of your room as prices go down.

4. When you stay at one of the three Loews resorts, are there any benefits? I think I read somewhere that you get some kind of pass when you stay there. With all the onsite hotels, you have an unlimited access to the express line of the rides in the parks. This line is really short. In August, I doubt you will have waits more than 5 minutes at most rides. We usually go mid Aug.

5. Which resort is closest to the parks? And how do you get to the parks? Can you walk? You can walk from all of them, but HRH is the closest walk. There is a bus that goes to all hotels and a boat that travels to HRH and Portofino. There is also availability to rickshaws, but they work on tips. August is really hot, so I suggest tipping well.

 

[kaffinito]

Thanks for the replies, I'm not feeling so lost now.


I did manage to find the website (that I didn't know existed) and am feeling lots better about going. It looks like we'll try HRH since the kids suites look like they will work well for us.

And seriously, rickshaws! Oh I am so doing that! And yes. I'll tip really well for that.

Now I'll do a little bit more research, and then will book a room, and maybe dining, and hopefully tickets too.

 

[mrebuck]

We're taking our first trip to Universal this August too. I can't speak from experience, but I've spent a lot of time comparing kids suites and hotels and ended up choosing HRH because:

1) The suite is larger (800 sq ft v. 670/650 sq ft at RPR and Portofino);
2) The hotel is the closest to the parks;
3) The suite appears to include a separate sitting area (couch and chair); and
4) The theming of the HRH fits better for our family.

I hope it's the right choice!

 

[kaffinito]

We're taking our first trip to Universal this August too. I can't speak from experience, but I've spent a lot of time comparing kids suites and hotels and ended up choosing HRH because:

1) The suite is larger (800 sq ft v. 670/650 sq ft at RPR and Portofino);
2) The hotel is the closest to the parks;
3) The suite appears to include a separate sitting area (couch and chair); and
4) The theming of the HRH fits better for our family.

I hope it's the right choice!

Me too! That's the one I picked, and I hope it suits us too.

I think I'll just call to make our ressie there, that way I can ask if I need to add on tickets or dining.