Helios Grand details when?

[tony67]

A question to the UOR account on X asked if Universal Express would be offered instead of Express Unlimited. The answer was no.

Even if they know the they will offer it or some variation of it they wont tell you now - so no point in even asking.

That said - it will most likely leak before they announce it.

Just as an example - everyone knew there was going to be a dueling coaster at Epic. You could see it it because they were building it. But it was not announced. Universal employees could not say it was a dueling coaster. I was doing the behind the scenes tour of HHN in the dueling Dragons house and mentioned it and the guide had to act like I was a crazy person.

A few months later - same guide was the captain of our Mardi Gras float. They had announced that day a bunch of Epic related things including the dueling coaster and we talked about how ridiculous it was that he had to act like there was no dueling coaster up until it was announced even though everyone knew it.

So until they start letting you book rooms I would not worry too much.

Someone mentioned the once per ride express pass - and maybe an option to upgrade to full express - that might be a good solution for all the signature hotels. It seems very stupid to have a class of signature hotels that don't all have the same benefits.

 

[CPanther95]

No Express Pass for Helios Grand is a critical error. Even if they intend to have no Express Pass lines at Epic Universe, offering no Express Pass to the other parks prevents those that want to spend their entire vacation at Universal from staying at Helios.

They should do the exact opposite. Offer Express at all 3 parks for Helios and just the 2 parks for PBH, HRH & RP. Express riders from a single hotel won't overwhelm Epic rides during its ultrabusy first year. Especially if some are spending some of their time at other parks.

But even if there's no Express lines at Epic, the current plan puts the Helios a significant step below the 3 EP hotels. That makes no logical sense at all.

 

[Lewisc]

No Express Pass for Helios Grand is a critical error. Even if they intend to have no Express Pass lines at Epic Universe, offering no Express Pass to the other parks prevents those that want to spend their entire vacation at Universal from staying at Helios.

They should do the exact opposite. Offer Express at all 3 parks for Helios and just the 2 parks for PBH, HRH & RP. Express riders from a single hotel won't overwhelm Epic rides during its ultrabusy first year. Especially if some are spending some of their time at other parks.

But even if there's no Express lines at Epic, the current plan puts the Helios a significant step below the 3 EP hotels. That makes no logical sense at all.

I've come to realize existing hotel express passes are contractually grandfatherd, I don't know for how long.. I'm sure Lowes would love to offer Express Passes to guests staying at Sapphire and Helios. No brainer. I'm sure the theme park division has no interest in giving more hotel express passes for free or at a nominal price.

 

[pearljammer]

Looks like they are opening May 22, 2025! Still unable to book at this time though. Keep your eyes open as it’s likely coming soon. Prices will be interesting I’m sure.

 

[reddog21]

Looks like they are opening May 22, 2025! Still unable to book at this time though. Keep your eyes open as it’s likely coming soon. Prices will be interesting I’m sure.

From what I have been reading it's supposed to be more expensive than Hard Rock making the most expensive hotel on universal property.

 

[Minnie1222]

Someone on the Epic thread posted the starting price of Helios as $200-ish. Since Helios doesn't include EP to any park, I can't see them charging more than the other premier hotels.

 

[Minnie1222]

Courtesy of Orlando Informer.

 

[vinotinto]

I'm super surprised by the lack of EP at Helios. I guess I expected it to be the high end resort at Universal Orlando and it would come with EP. Even if EP wasn't offered in Epic Universe, I thought they would throw it in for the main two parks.

 

[Minnie1222]

I'm super surprised by the lack of EP at Helios. I guess I expected it to be the high end resort at Universal Orlando and it would come with EP. Even if EP wasn't offered in Epic Universe, I thought they would throw it in for the main two parks.

Me too! I was 99% sure Helios guests would get at least EP for Epic and the cheapest room would be around $1000. Who knew that they give no EP and the rooms only start in the $200s . Luckily I didn't make a bet with anyone.

 

[Babsy]

View attachment 904358
Courtesy of Orlando Informer.

It is exciting to see a whole new theme park come to Orlando! Beware Disney! Universal is becoming strong competition! That Helios hotel sounds amazing!

 

[wendlle]

They've priced it just like Sapphire Falls, so in the Premier category but no EP. Great news I say! I'm glad Epic won't have EP for a while. Just standby like the good ol days.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

They've priced it just like Sapphire Falls, so in the Premier category but no EP. Great news I say! I'm glad Epic won't have EP for a while. Just standby like the good ol days.

I agree on all points! At that price point, we will definitely consider a stay here since they kept it reasonable.

Also LOVE no EP at Epic - hope it stays that way for a loooong time

 

[pinkxray]

I was wrong about everything. I would have thought the Helios rates would be much higher and there would be something related to Epic universe as a perk to justify a higher price tag.

We aren’t planning a trip until the beginning of Dec. 2025, but just have no idea what to do for booking. We always stay at the 3 premier to get EP, so maybe we will stick with that. Especially if we only get 1 epic universe day. Also thinking about just getting an ap to do a day in July. So much to think about….

 

[Minnie1222]

From Universal:


It looks like EP will be offered as a separate purchase.

 

[reddog21]

They just posted that starting pricing for a 4 night stay is "starting from" 293 per night. I'm not exactly sure when the last time I saw portifino for $393 per night so I'm not exactly sure where the prices are coming from.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

I'm not exactly sure when the last time I saw portifino for $393 per night so I'm not exactly sure where the prices are coming from.

Mid week in late Aug, generally.

 

[reddog21]

Mid week in late Aug, generally.

We travel July/August sometimes January and unless I'm missing it by just days I havn't seen rates sub $500 for a long time during the summer. Right now January which is usually the slower month it's 490 for the cheapest room.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Maybe it's not updated? It's not AP rates either, because those are actually lower for standard rooms certain times of the year (under $300).
I wonder if that's the "resort under construction and on an August weekday" rate?

 

[DurangoJim]

Anyone know what time reservations are able to be booked online on 10/22? Midnight EST?

 

[marmentrout85]

From Universal:

View attachment 904493
It looks like EP will be offered as a separate purchase.

My big question regarding Universal's wording here: Does this imply that a multi-day Epic-Universe-only ticket will be available before the park opens?

As a Universal passholder I was planning to just get a couple single-day Epic Universe tickets when they go on sale for passholders next Thursday 10/24, but if they end up offering multi-day Epic Universe tickets before the park opens I might just hold off. Very interesting how they're rolling everything out right now.

Anyway, I'll likely be on the phone Tuesday morning to try and book 2-3 nights at Helios Grand for late-June, when I'm sure the prices will unfortunately be MUCH higher (gulp) than that "starting at $293" price. Looking at the the big 3 Signature resorts right now the cheapest price I'm seeing for my nights June 25-28 is $776.33 at Royal Pacific. Noted it's the Seasonal Rate (not taking into account any UOAP discounts) but it's at least a starting point to what I'd expect to pay for Helios Grand when we'll be going