Has anyone stayed for seven days, just at Universal?

[Magpie]

Originally I'd planned to split our vacation between Universal and Disney, but it was too expensive.

Then I thought okay, we'll explore SeaWorld and see the Blue Man Group while we're there. But, that ended up getting trimmed off our budget, too!

So now we're booked for seven nights at the Royal Pacific Resort (Dec 11 - 18), with park-to-park tickets for the week. We'll be arriving late and leaving early, so it's really 6 whole days to spend in the parks. We won't have a rental car (couldn't afford that, either).

Please tell me my family isn't going to get bored!

Is swimming in the hotel pools an option in December? Has anyone stayed for a full week and just kicked back and relaxed? All of our vacations up to this point have been organized on the order of Storming the Beaches of Normandy. I don't think we've ever slept in past 6:30 am on a family vacation.

 

[Maleficent&Goons]

could you afford a carservice for the day to go check out Seaworld or Gatorland?

 

[mobiana]

Magpie,
I'm interested to see what responses you get from this post. We're going to stay at RPR too (Aug. 29-Sept. 5) for 7 nights. I think we're renting a car though, but not sure yet. I was just thinking the whole week will be very relaxing .. but will we get bored? I don't know ... Let's see what others have to say.
Maureen

 

[HM]

I think you can do it and enjoy it.

I did five nights/days at HRH once while my sister was at a conference (she did some park time with me when not in meetings). I really got a chance to do everything, without rushing. I didn't worry if something had a big line, I just made sure to make it a priority another day. It also gave us the chance to try out several places to eat at night in Citywalk and the other resorts. You can go to the movie theater there too. I spent time at the pool several afternoons (I was there in mid-Nov). If you are lucky to get some warm weather..you can too.

 

[bas71873]

Yep. We did and WE LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Best and most relaxing vacation EVER. We stayed for 7 nights in August 2009 at HRH Club Level. We were NEVER bored and always relaxed. Soo nice to just go with the flow, get to the parks when you want, have the FOTL pass because we stayed on site, eating when and where we wanted. For us it was a true vacation.

We flew in to Orlando on a Saturday and took a car service to and from the airport (was $109 round trip and well worth it. For us, no need for a rental because the hotels charge a daily rate for parking and honestly, for us there was no need). We did do a day at Seaworld but we took a cab and it was in the ballpark of $50 roundtrip including tips for the cab to and from there. Worth it though! There is also a shuttle between the hotels which we used to do dinners, etc. And there are lots of places to eat at City Walk too. To get to the parks, we either walked or took the boats. The boats are really nice and relaxing.

We had the 7 day two park/$99 pass last year and it was sooo worth it. It was nice to go to whichever park we wanted, both on the same day if we wanted, etc. DD and I hit the parks everyday but there were times when DH just wanted to relax so we left him by the pool or napping in the room . The pool at HRH is great. Wonderful slide, sand volleyball, ping pong tables (I think?) and games all day for kids & and adults.

We loved it and hoping to go back soon

 

[schumigirl]

We stayed for 14 nights last August and went to US/IOA every day at some point.

We always have a rental car so have the best of both worlds, maybe spend a morning at MGM or shopping at Millenia Mall for example then back to Universal for all the real fun rides.

We don`t spend a lot of time by the pool genenerally but the Royal Pacific is so relaxing we found ourselves taking the time to sit back and take in the atmosphere more.

Citywalk is an amazing place and lots of fun as is the boat ride from the hotel, we never did manage to walk Plenty of good food and fun entertainment.

It was August so it was very hot and we didn`t plan to spend a full day anywhere, but could easily have done this at either Universal or at the hotel as the pool is fantastic.

We didn`t get bored, quite the opposite in fact............we relished every moment.

 

[FloraFauna]

We spent 6 days at the Portofino in February '09. It was great. We did everything we wanted to do at least once and the stuff we really loved, we did more than once. It was a great, relaxing vacation. Citywalk is wonderful. We also enjoyed eating at the other two resorts and exploring their grounds.

 

[rpbert1]

we always spend 3 weeks at universal ,usually RPR, did a split last year with 2 weeks RPR and 1 week PBH.
We have a car , but spend a lot of time at the pool ,as you do not need to be at the park at opening. There is always so much happening around resorts Universal and Citywalk, we dont get time to be bored. We usually do Seaworld a few days as well.
Resorts have a shuttle bus which goes to Seaword in the mornings and back in the late afternoon, you could take the bus there and a taxi back , as i am sure it would not be very expensive, and a lot cheaper than renting for the day

 

[FINFAN]

We stayed 7 nights at RPR just a week after it opened. I was a little nervous as I figured there would be some "not so ready" issues with the resort...but it was GREAT! We hit both parks for 6 days and I still did not see everything that I wanted to as far as shows went. We explored all 3 Loews reaorts, swam at the HRH and of course RPR (We liked their pool best) hung out at Citywalk, and you can catch a movie there if you want. We move at a slower pace at USO than WDW, and that's the beauty of it. I think especially with WWOHP you will make use of 6 days, and give sleeping past 6:30 a try! Also, maybe there wil be hiliday festivities going on, you may be able to afford a cab to/from DTD, get a little shopping done, enjoy the atmosphere there?Or over to the outlet mall area. I think you will be fine.

 

[Moon Child]

We did 6 days at the HRH in 08 and had a ball!
We did take one day to go the Magic Kingdom, but the rest of all vacation was all Universa/IOA
We saw all the shows we always wanted to see but never had the time, The Horror Make Up show was THE BEST!
We had tons of pool time, we just relaxed without all the rushing

 

[Magpie]

Thanks, everyone!

I'm feeling very reassured now. As a family, we love shows and concerts and browsing around looking at things. We're the sorts who consider Animal Kingdom to be a two day park. So it sounds like we'll be quite happy!

Are the pools heated, by any chance?

I love the idea of sleeping in, and not following a touring plan!

 

[xApril]

I've been going once or twice a week for the past month or so and I haven't gotten bored. It's not quite the same as staying onsite, but it's sort of similar. I think you'll have a blast!

Are the pools heated, by any chance?

I'm pretty sure they are.

 

[damo]

We did it a few years back. We slept in and then did the parks for about 3-4 hours every day. We hung out at the pool, did some shopping. We still say it was the best vacation ever.

We did the Pirates and Princess party one night.

 

[JessicaR]

We did a 10 night once. HRH and PBH. I would do that again in a heartbeat.

 

[KOBUK]

My family has done a six nighter and in 12 days we are coming back for 9 nights. We got the flex ticket so we are driving over to busch gardens for a day. we opened up a charge card with disney and recieved 200 dollars in disney bucks we are going to use for tickets at typhoon lagoon for a day. You are going to love the trip and you will go home refreshed. ENJOY

 

[Tizzy_Meliss]

My family has done 10 days onsite and we were never bored, but we did do a day at Disney.

We would wake up when we felt like it and not rush out to be first at the park, with FOTL you don't need too. We're late sleepers. LOL! When my children were younger we spent a lot of time in the water play areas besides doing the rides. We spent afternoons at the pool when it was warm enough and some evenings watching Dive-In movies. We also brought our Xbox for nights in the room before bedtime.

The pool is heated I am almost positive. The water won't be the problem, the temp outside might be. Before I moved to the central Florida area we used to come to US/IOA in November. Some days we could swim, some days my kids wore mittens to the parks it was that chilly. This year we had, from what I've been told, an unseasonably cold winter. My children have not been in the pool since October. But again, this is not the norm. We have had a few Novembers where swimming was no problem.

If you can't afford a rental car for the entire time you are here, you may want to check out Hertz for just a one day rental, or even a weekend rental. Sometimes they run good deals and if you rented a car for a day you could hit one of the beaches. Book in advance for the best deal. If you have AAA you get an even better deal.

 

[Sleepy]

We did six nights Aug 09. Will stay longer next visit. Just so darn relaxing.

 

[Metro West]

We did six nights Aug 09. Will stay longer next visit. Just so darn relaxing.

 

[iwork2play]

We always stay at least 6 days onsite at US.There is always plenty to do & we have never been bored,weve been tired but never bored. You do realize that since youll be on vacation that time passes by faster,right? Have a great time.
We will be back at the end of June & the first week of July staying at the HRH this time.I was disgruntled about the ticket prices,but the house rules & I really wanted to go too.

 

[Coach81]

We did UF.. from a Sunday until a Friday.. so that would be 5 days.. we had a blast.. we could have easily done another two..