Helping picking a hotel?

[minnie1012]

Hi I'm very new to Universal and I don't know where to stay. We are headed to Florida to visit friends in July and stopping at Universal for a day or 2. I haven't been there in about 16 years. We are mainly going for Harry Potter. Should we just stay at Cabana because it's cheaper and it's a short stay? Should we stay somewhere nicer for express pass, closeness to parks? I'm not sure we will need express pass. My kids (DD 14, DD9) don't like roller coasters & have motion sickness issues so we won't be doing the simulator rides either. I think there are a few rides they can go on but I imagine we will just be walking around and looking at Harry Potter and other things.

So which hotel do you think they will enjoy and will we need express pass if we are just doing the "family" type rides?

Also do I need to make a restaurant reservation ahead of time like Disney? If so if anyone has any recommendations? My kids have food allergies so I have to research them ahead of time anyway.

If anyone has any other tips that will be great!

Thank you!

 

[HM]

Cabana Bay is a very nice resort and a great value.
It doesn't sound like you'll need express passes. My last couple trips we've stayed at CB and didn't get them and did just fine. Going to the park early and taking a break at the resort pool midday and then back to the parks works well for us. Crowds are high from 11-4 and better before and after.
You don't have to make reservations for dinner well ahead of time like at WDW. You should be able to make them easily a few days ahead at most places. Most TS restaurants are in Citywalk and the hotels.

 

[ForMyBoys]

In your shoes I'd try Sapphire Falls. It has access to the boats to the parks which I think I'd like more than the buses, plus it just seems more upscale. But if cabana bay is your vibe go there. But I agree you likely won't need EPs in your situation.

For food we really liked Mythos, I've heard you should book a reservation there but its not required 6 months in advance like Disney. I hope you have fun!

 

[bobbie68]

Hi

I just stayed at Cabana Bay in July/August and really like it there. We go in a busy time of the year and do all the rides so we really need EP. However, if I had your situation I would stay in Cabana Bay. We stayed in their family suite this time and really like the extra room. It was DH, and two teens and myself. We found the buses fast and good. You don't need reservations for restaurants like in Disney Parks except for Mythos. There are some restaurants in City Walk that may take them. Universal's parks don't have as many typical sit down restaurants like Disney parks. There are a few and I would suggest looking at all the options in the sticky on this board. There are really good details. Personally we like to eat inside the HP restaurants other than that we go to City Walk ones right outside the park. We like Bubba Gump, Toothsome, and Margaritaville. I am sure these larger scale restaurants will have a lot of information on food allergies.

If you were to do one of the hotels with EP I would recommend Royal Pacific it is the cheaper of the three and a very nice place.

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do

 

[minnie1012]

Thank you so much everyone!

 

[cfoxga]

We (myself, DW, DD9, DD11) stayed at Cabana Bay back in April. Prior to the trip, our girls would not ride any roller coasters. I was worried that the motion simulator rides were going to scare them, but they really enjoyed them. I got them to ride Dragon Challenge (I think it has been closed down) and they've been hooked ever since.

We were at the park for 6 days without EPs. But we did as bobbie68 suggested and got there for EE every day and took a break in the afternoon. We did pretty much everything at least once, and the HP rides every day with EE.

Sounds like you wouldn't get much advantage out of the EPs, so either CB or SF will work out fine. We stayed at Cabana Bay and liked the pool with lazy river, but weren't thrilled with the hotel or busses. Don't get me wrong, they are fine for a value hotel, but we loved the ferry at SF. SF also looked much nicer for the little bit we saw walking to the ferry; too bad it was such a long walk.

Our second trip we were going to stay at SF, but later switched to RPR when it because available with APH rates...