I Need help with royal pacific resort!

[anna042]

Hi everyone, I am new to the board. I will be traveling with three children ages 12, 15 and 17. We are planning to visit in July 2008. I had initially made reserv with Wyndam resort on I-drive. however the reviews scare me. I liked the fact that they had 3 pools! My children would have loved that. So now I am looking into the Royal Pacific Resort. I knew that the Wyndham was in close proximity to several restaurants- TGI, bahama breeze and many others, however I am having a hard time finding what restaurants, stores, walgreens may be near to the hotel. I am traveling alone with the children and I know the oldest - the boys 15and 17 would like to venture out on their own. Is the area safe, well lit and do you have to take a boat back and forth from the parks?

Is the hotel within walking distance of Wet N' Wild. We will be mostly doing the Universal parks.


Sorry so long, I have been going crazy trying to find the right hotel.

Thanks!!

 

[TheresaNY]

RPR is a pretty resort. Boat runs to US/IOA/Citywalk or you could walk but it is not an especially quick walk in the July heat. As for your question about walking to Wet n Wild - no way. I drive is insane and RPR is on the other side of I95. It is right on I 95 but I would never let my kids walk to anything on I drive - it is insane on that road especially in the summer. It is a short drive to a number of stores all around RPR.

 

[calgarygary]

Welcome to the boards Anna! This question is best answered on the Universal section of the boards and hopefully a mod will move it for you but I will give a shot at answering your questions. The RPR (Royal Pacific) is a great resort located onsite at universal. You mentioned that you liked the idea of the 3 pools at Wyndham well at Universal, they encourage pool hopping so you will have access to the pools at HRH (Hard Rock Hotel) and PBH (Portofino Bay Hotel). The area is safe and within short walking distance of the entrance to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure (US/IOA). Also, the resorts have bus and boat transportation between them but in the case of a boat, you have to take your resort's boat to US/IOA and then switch boats. There is a very short walk between PBH and HRH and I would not suggest walking between those two resorts and RPR. As far as restaurants, onsite at RPR is Emeril's Tchoup Chop which is a great restaurant and Islands. However, at Citywalk, there is a large selection of restaurants including Margaritaville, Emeril's, Bubba Gump's, Nascar Cafe, NBA city, just to name a few. Although Wet N Wild is not really within walking distance (can be done, just not recommended) your sons will love staying at RPR because the onsite Universal hotels provide unlimited front of the line (FOTL) with your room key. I know this has been a long answer but you asked a lot! Visit here to learn more.

 

[zaxmom]

If they want to pool hop at the Universal Hotels they can also use the busses that they offer. Usually there are not many people on there so they may take you right over the the other hotel. They MAY offer transporatation to Wet N Wild also. You might want to check at the front desk. You will love it there. It is an excellent choice and your kids will love going over to the Hard Rock pool as well. RPR has a nice pool also, but no slide. There were always kids playing Volleyball on the beach also.

I would have no problem at all letting your boys venture out on their own around the entire resort. Especially if they are together. You will have plenty to pick from for restaurants at CityWalk. There is also a movie theatre. I love Universal. The only way to go is to stay at their resorts for FOTL. We drive down there and park our car and never even see it again. But, there are many restaurants down I-Drive if you want to venture out.

 

[WeluvE.Y.]

Hi Anna. Four years ago, I worked at Universal. I moved from there, and have only been back once, but somethings never change. On I-Drive, right across from Wet n Wild is a Walgreens. There is another Walgreens on Kirkman, right across from Portofino Bay Hotel. They are a short drive, prob wouldnt walk though because of the traffic on both roads. Also, on Kirkman, there are several restaurants. I know at the Holiday Inn, there is a TGI Fridays. At the end of Kirkman and I-Drive there are several restaurants. One of my favorites is there, Sweet Tomatos. It is a buffett of salads and pasta's. OOOOHHHH, it is so good.

Out of the three properites on Universal (I have stayed at all 3) Royal Pacific was my favorite. I just loved the decor the best. The pool area is great also. You cant go wrong with staying here. Just keep in mind though that just like Disney, once you are also on Universal property you would have a long walk to get to non Universal places, so I would suggest driving. If you are going to CityWalk, Universal, or Islands of Adventure then you can take the water taxi, or you can walk. There is a really nice walking path that will lead you from RPR to the CityWalk/Universal/Islands of Adventure area.

Hope this helps. Happy planning. If I could be of any help, just let me know. It has been a while since I have been there, but I will try to help as best as I can.

 

[anna042]

Thanks everyone for all of the information!! My questions have definitely been answered and I have decided to book with RPR. We are going in July 2008, they say they have no AAA rates available, however we will keep checking.

I have learned so much from this board. It is a great planning tool! All of the information that you all provided was the info that I needed. I am constantly reading the posts and searching the forums. I even check the forums at work now!

Thanks again everyone.

 

[t-and-a]

Definitely keep checking for AAA rates, and if it comes up call and get your discount. You can use this link https://universalhotels.ibe.netbook...o;jsessionid=E482883639AF749075874DDDDD9F05D2 and it will check all three hotels. Just enter AAA in the Promotion Code (if any) box. I have a Preferred Annual Pass and use APH as the Promotion Code and I will do what I suggested for my APH rate. BTW, there is a special that ends tonight on the Preferred Annual pass. It is Buy a year, get a 2nd year FREE! Here's a link:
http://www.universalorlando.com/annualpass/index.php.html
They had this promotion and it was supposed to expire August 31, but they kept it for another month. Who knows, they may continue it again. The Preferred Annual Pass will get you discounts throughout the parks and CityWalk, as well as really good discounts on the onsite hotels.

 

[swilphil]

We stayed at RPR in December. We have been to Orlando several times, and RPR is our very favorite resort.

We did lots of walking-- to the parks and City Walk. I did walk to the TGIF/Holiday Inn for our rental car, and did not find it a bad walk at all--I cut through City Walk. If it's too hot to walk that far, you could take the boat to Portofino and then walk across to TGIF. Frankly, there are so many good restaurants in Citywalk, we did not find it necessary to go outside the Universal complex to eat. We really liked Margaritaville, and the food at Tchoup Tchoup is right up there with one of the best meals I've ever eaten.

 

[Cindy B]

Remember you can pool hop from one Uni resort to another (provided you have a room key)

That solves the pool issue.

I love RPR!

 

[amery]

My DW & I stayed there in 05 and can honestly say that it was by far and away one of the best resorts that we have ever stayed at that wasn't an AI. The ameneties were second to none while the food choices were out of this world. if you happen to be a fan of Emeril's, you can dine at his new place on the premises.

The pool is sizable and you are minutes from either US park and CW via walkway or boat.

 

[Joan S.]

Thanks everyone for all of the information!! My questions have definitely been answered and I have decided to book with RPR. We are going in July 2008, they say they have no AAA rates available, however we will keep checking.

I have learned so much from this board. It is a great planning tool! All of the information that you all provided was the info that I needed. I am constantly reading the posts and searching the forums. I even check the forums at work now!

Thanks again everyone.

Hi, We stayed at the RPH last summer it is a GREAT choice and your children will LOVE the pool! Also check the Universal Orlando site for specials like stay 4 nites and get 2 free tickets! They have run this one the past 2 summers. And sign up for a LOEWS FIRSTcard on their site,you will get credit for your stay and can look forward to upgrades on future visits. We have had 3 total visits to Universal and have been upgraded twice with our LOEWS gold card. And keep checking for the AAA discount they may not be out yet for next summer. Joan