Help with hotel selection

[jeffp18]

Looking to go in August 2026. Haven't been to the parks in about 20 years. Been to City Walk a few times during that time.

Planning on doing 5 days/4 nights before going to Disney. The first 2 nights at either Royal Pacific or Portofino Bay for the unlimited express passes and doing US/IOA the first 3 days and then moving to another, more budget friendly hotel and doing Epic for 2 days.

Currently looking at a garden view at Portofino or a standard room at Royal Pacific. They are basically the same price. Portofino looks nicer but not sure if Royal Pacific being closer to the parks, especially during the heat in the summer, makes that the better choice.

For the last 2 nights, I'm thinking Stella Nova since we will be going to Epic those last 2 days but Aventura and Sapphire Falls (top end of the budget but can probably swing it if it's the best option) are also being considered.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Portofino has bigger rooms and (for me) a more unique theme.

If you are doing a mid day break from Epic, Stella Nova would be easiest. If you instead would want to visit CityWalk in the evenings anyways, then Aventura/Sapphire Falls would be convenient for that. You can wander over to the SF pool from Aventura, so the main reason to spend more for SF would be the theme. Stella Nova would be closest to Uber to I Drive restaurants but not enough so to base a decision on that.

 

[jeffp18]

Portofino has bigger rooms and (for me) a more unique theme.

If you are doing a mid day break from Epic, Stella Nova would be easiest. If you instead would want to visit CityWalk in the evenings anyways, then Aventura/Sapphire Falls would be convenient for that. You can wander over to the SF pool from Aventura, so the main reason to spend more for SF would be the theme. Stella Nova would be closest to Uber to I Drive restaurants but not enough so to base a decision on that.

We've gone to Disney twice with my daughter and both times we've said we are going to take midday breaks but never actually did it. We are typically there at rope drop and leave between 8-10 PM depending on if we stayed for the night time shows. Where the parks are right next to the hotels at Universal, we might actually do it this time.

 

[reddog21]

I'm all for team Portofino. The resort feels nicer, and the rooms are bigger (if that's important). It's a bit disappointing that Starbucks closed, but it's not a deal breaker. I can't speak for the full-service restaurants, but Sals is definitely a better quick-serve option than the Tuk Tuk Market. If you have kiddos the splash pad at Royal Pacific is far superior than the water slide at Portofino.

Universal does a pretty good job running the boats, so you're rarely waiting too long except during park opening or closing. We always walk back at park close—it's about a 10-minute walk from Universal to Portofino, and I don't think it's all that far.

 

[georgina]

Looking to go in August 2026. Haven't been to the parks in about 20 years. Been to City Walk a few times during that time.

Planning on doing 5 days/4 nights before going to Disney. The first 2 nights at either Royal Pacific or Portofino Bay for the unlimited express passes and doing US/IOA the first 3 days and then moving to another, more budget friendly hotel and doing Epic for 2 days.

Currently looking at a garden view at Portofino or a standard room at Royal Pacific. They are basically the same price. Portofino looks nicer but not sure if Royal Pacific being closer to the parks, especially during the heat in the summer, makes that the better choice.

For the last 2 nights, I'm thinking Stella Nova since we will be going to Epic those last 2 days but Aventura and Sapphire Falls (top end of the budget but can probably swing it if it's the best option) are also being considered.

My usual comment - for 5 nights, look into getting at least 1 AP for the lower hotel rates. You can book the AP rate before purchasing one.

 

[jeffp18]

My usual comment - for 5 nights, look into getting at least 1 AP for the lower hotel rates. You can book the AP rate before purchasing one.

Thank you for the advice. My plan was to purchase 1 AP for the discounted hotel and as long as my daughter enjoys it, upgrading the other 2 multi day tickets to APs before the end of the trip because we are hoping to do a similar trip the follow summer but before the AP would expire.

 

[Skippyboo]

It’s hot in August and often have thunderstorms later in the day. Universal also doesn’t move your luggage between hotels like Disney does. I would look into maybe staying the whole time at a cheaper hotel say Cabana Bay and buying Express for at least one of your Epic days. If you stay at the hotels above I4 , you can pool hop.

 

[jeffp18]

It’s hot in August and often have thunderstorms later in the day. Universal also doesn’t move your luggage between hotels like Disney does. I would look into maybe staying the whole time at a cheaper hotel say Cabana Bay and buying Express for at least one of your Epic days. If you stay at the hotels above I4 , you can pool hop.

Oh I know the heat is awful in the summer. Personally, I'd rather take my daughter out of school for a few days around a scheduled days off and half days during a cooler part of the year. Unfortunately, she has ASD and refuses to miss school for any reason, except when she's sick, so my options are to go during school vacation weeks or the summer. One year, she had to miss the Wednesday before Thanksgiving (and it was only a half day) and she would have a screaming fit at least once an hour about how she m missed school until she went back on Monday.

We've been going to Disney every other summer for 10 days or so and it's brutal with the heat but we've made it work. She's a big fan of Super Mario so she wants to try Universal this year so we are adding a few extra days on to the beginning of the trip. Depending on how everything goes, we might end up with APs and going again at the beginning of the following summer.

I figured we would have to Uber with the luggage when we switch hotels. I am going to rent a car on our last Universal day for when we move on to the Disney part of the trip because we are staying off-site. Depending on how much more the car is for the extra 2 days, it might be easier to just pick it up when we switch Universal hotels and just pay for parking at the second one. Then again, I might have to do the math because 2 extra days for the rental car and parking at the hotel might be close to the difference in pricing between staying at the first hotel for the entire Universal portion and splitting the stay.

 

[georgina]

You probably know Disney raised parking rates to $35/day recently. You might consider the price of Ubering vs rental car+parking at Disney. It's what I do but I am usually traveling solo. If you get Disney AP's I think they get you free parking.

 

[jeffp18]

You probably know Disney raised parking rates to $35/day recently. You might consider the price of Ubering vs rental car+parking at Disney. It's what I do but I am usually traveling solo. If you get Disney AP's I think they get you free parking.

Yes I did hear that. We will be staying at either an Airbnb or timeshare hotel for the Disney portion. Still in the planning stages but something with a washer/dryer in the unit so we don't have to bring a ton of clothes with us and we can just throw a load of laundry in when we get back from the parks. We stayed at the Marriott Royal Palms last time and that was perfect. I did see that Marriott has also started charging to park at the hotel so we'll have to factor that in as well when pricing them out.

Similar to Universal, we're going to get 1 AP and with the free parking and other discounts should break even and depending on if we think we can do another long trip before the AP would expire, upgrade the multi day tickets to APs before the end of the trip.