Just back from first Universal stay and it's better...

[Redmic]

than Disney in a number of ways. Don't get me wrong, I love the Mouse and will continue to make the annual pilgrimage, but I found Universal better in several areas:

1. Price. We got the Entertainment card ($10.00) and the Loews First card (free) and obtained a bay view villa at PBR 4 doors down from the presidential suite for $170.00 a night. We also bought the 5-day pass for $96.00, which works out to an unbelievable $19.20 per day.

2. Proximity to restaurants. At the AKL we had no restaurants within walking distance, but at PBR we could easily walk to Citywalk and have a variety or restaurants to choose from.

3. Pool hopping. I realize Disney cannot offer this, but we enjoyed at evening at HRH where we at at the Beach Club and swam in the pool.

4. Ye old AAA card. This is accepted everwhere and saved us at least $10.00 a day on food. A could of times I forgot to mention it and the cashier asked me if I had one.

5. Ride technology. Nothing at Disney compares to Spiderman, or even the older Back to the Future ride. Body Wars looks downright anitiquated next to these.

6. Front of the line access. We didn't always need it, but it was great to have. I have never liked Fastpass, because it involves too much backtracking (I wish they would give them to you at the front of the park), and because the sheer number of fastpasses given out can bring the standby line to a virtual halt. I often saw more than 100 people in the fastpass line at Disney, but I never saw more than 2 families at a time using the express line.

I went to Universal expecting a product competitive with Disney, and it exceeded my expectations. The Portofino was very quiet and uncrowded (like a ghost town at times), and deluxe in every way. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a first-class and relaxing experience.

Oh, and unlike the AKL, no one pooped in the pool there!

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Sounds like a wonderful trip! I agree with everything in your post and feel the same way. Universal won my family over. We visit Disney every 2-3 years but always visit Universal at least once a year. This year we are splitting the 2 evenly and the Disney segment is much more expensive.

Glad you enjoyed Portofino, we love this hotel also! What room type did you book? Were all the restaurants open?

Thanks so much for sharing

 

[E.Jane]

Thanks for posting Redmic! I'm a loyal "mouse" fan, and have been feeling a little apprehensive and even guilty about planning a mouse-less trip next spring! Your report has helped put me at ease - I know now that I won't be disappointed!

We are staying onsite (PBH), and as I've only ever stayed at moderates at WDW, I'm really looking forward to the deluxe accommodations. Add in the express passes, and I think I'll be in heaven!

I'm curious to know how you would compare AKL to the PBH in terms of the room itself, and general amenities (other than lack of restaurants to walk to).

 

[Redmic]

Fan2CSkr, I booked a regular bayview room and was upgraded to a villa bayview room which has the split bathroom, fax machine, etc. I did not ask for the upgrade, they just gave it to me. All the restaurants and shops were open, but they did have limited hours. The gift shops did not open until 11:00 a.m. and closed at 7:00 p.m. The poolside restaurant was open from 12 to 5. I did not make it to Mama Della,s but I believe they were closed on Mondays.

EJane, the room at Portofino was much larger than at AKL. It had 2 huge queen beds with 5 pillows each. The bathroom had a large glass shower with a separate tub, 2 sinks, a television speaker and shutters so you could sit in the tub and watch t.v. It also had a scale and 2 thick robes were provided. Oh yes, and there was a phone right next to the toilet (I don't even want to think about that!).

The AKL room was darker in terms of lighting and decor. We asked for, and got, bunk beds for the kids. The bathroom was small, but the double sink area is outside of the bathroom and is fairly large. We did not think the room was too small for the 4 of us. We did enjoy the fact that the AKL had a balcony.

The pool situation was better at Portofino. There is a large zero-entry main pool with a good sized slide and water falls. There was also a beautifully landscaped villa pool with a cool plunge pool and hot tub nearby. A third hillside quiet pool was rarely occupied (we did see one man reading a book in it!)

The AKL pool is also a huge zero entry type, but the slide is smaller and there are no quiet pools.

The AKl is better for just poking around in. We enjoyed finding the various overlooks and reading about the various art pieces displayed around the resort. We enjoyed splitting our time between the two resorts.

 

[3reds]

Dear Redmic,
I agree with the points you made. We recently had a split stay and although we loved WDW, we actually preferred our stay at Universal.
I don't think Universal should feel like it's in "second place" in Orlando at all! It may not have Mickey & Minnie or Cinderella's castle, but it is every bit of Disney's equal when it comes to the rides/attractions, accomodations, cleanliness, and value.
I would advise anyone going to Orlando not to miss Universal, especially if you have older kids or teenagers.

 

[julfre]

I'm splitting my next stay between HRH and AKL so I think I'll like both(first time at both places). To clear up one point however, AKL does have 2 restaurants. Boma which is a buffet which I hear is great and hope to try soon. And Jiko which is a sit down/ nice restaurant. There is also Mara which is just fast food/snacks. I do agree however that the choice is much better at Citywalk, but AKL does have restaurants.

 

[Redmic]

Julfre, I didn't mean to imply that AKL had no restaurants, just that there are no restaurants outside of the hotel within walking distance. We LOVE Boma, but it is a fixed price buffet and not really feasible for every night of our stay. Mara is fine for break- fast, but not really a dinner spot. The nice thing about Citywalk is you can have a variety of sitdown options with a la carte meals. At AKL you are pretty much stuck with either the full buffet or the cafeteria unless you go to Jiko. You need to make your Jiko reservations prior to your trip unless you want to eat at 9:30 p.m. We have stayed at AKL on 2 trips and were unable to get into Jiko on a walk-in basis either time during the regular dinner hour.

 

[*Flower*]

Did you use any discount program or anything to get your room rate?
Maybe AAA or Entertainment or AP?

We have APs, and the rate definitely piqued my interest!
We're doing HRH in December, and I'm thinking about another weekend to take advantage of the tix before they run out.

TIA!!

 

[figment27]

Thanks for the postive, informative review of US/IOA.
We are taking a trip to Orlando, our first in 10 years. Initially, I considered only visiting WDW, but have since reconsidered.
We plan to do 5-6 days at WDW and 2 or 3 days at US/IOA. We have never been to US/IOA. It will be my husband, myself and 19 y.o. son.
I thought since we had not visited WDW in 10 years that we would feel rushed to do both WDW and US in the same trip, 8d/7n. But, we will be travelling in early January and although the parks close earlier the attendance is low. I think that will make it easier to tour all parks.
I will be reading this board frequently as I feel I know a lot about WDW and nothing about US/IOA.

 

[Redmic]

I called the Universal Escape number in June and asked what they had available at the Entertainment rate. They had the Royal Pacific and Portofino Bay available for my dates (the HRH had availability at the AAA rate, but not at the Entertainment rate).

I then went on line and found that I could get a 2002 Entertainment card for only $10.00 ( it expired November 1st). When I checked into the Portofino Bay, they did ask to see the card.

I also got the free Loews First card, also on line. They took down the number when I made my reservation. For that we got an upgrade from Bay view to Bay view villa, milk and cookies in the room, and free use of the health club. (Confession: I never made it to the health club! )

I am a AAA member, so I used that card for 10% off on most meals, and in the gift shops.

I also ordered my ticket from the Universal Escape website and got the 5 day adult ticket for $96.00, which included postage. The ticket does expire (we only used 3 days), but considering a single day ticket costs $52.00 it was still a good deal.

All told, I found it much easier to play the discount game at Universal than at Disney. While Disney discounts are somewhat "secret" to the general public, at Universal they obviously expect you to take advantage of what is out there. I was asked on a couple of occasions if I had the AAA card, and I had a reminder on my phone when I checked in to make sure I ordered my Loews First gift.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[kellymonaghan]

Originally posted by Redmic
The Portofino was very quiet and uncrowded (like a ghost town at times), and deluxe in every way.

I've had this experience, too. Sometimes the hotel is booked almost completely by business groups holding meetings.

The reason the place looks like a ghost town is that most of the guests are in the meeting rooms, which are tucked away in such a way that a "regular" guest isn't even aware they're there!

 

[goofy4mickey48]

Thanks so much for your post! Iv'e booked the Portofino Bay hotel for June at the entertainment rate but keep flipflopping about if I want to stay there or hard rock or royal pacific! There will be hubby and I and 2 teens, I love the themeing of royal pacific ,but have heard portofino is the best? Do you have any advice? Thanks so much!!!!!...........goof

 

[*Flower*]

I used to have it, and I can't remember all of it.

I know the end of it used to be 2-escape, but there's so many toll-free prefixes now that I'm not sure which one it is.

Redmic-


HELP!!!

 

[BarryHom]

The phone number is 1-888-U-ESCAPE.

 

[*Flower*]

Thanks so much Barry-

As you can see, I need all the help I can get!!

 

[tiggerguy2000]

tiggerguy


If you are doing both Disney and universal here is what i exp. I have stayed twice at the hard rock while going to deluxe resorts with DVC on the same trip. We went to universal first both times and relized that we are doing it wrong. You need to do Disney first because you get spoiled with front line access and everything is in walking distance. I went both times during the week of the 4th of july and the kids lost something when they thought about standing on long lines. We now know disney first then universal. Hey! that's just my opinion who cares


tiggerguy2000

 

[Mr. Carni]

Just in reply to what Redmic posted : I can assure you that Universal doesn't feel second to WDW. We do appreciate the kind words, though! Keep coming to see us and we'll prove it everytime!

 

[webray]

I have to agree...we are just back from a long weekend at the Portofino. We have made several trips to disney resorts...since our last trip to the Portofino.

While we too, love disney and will continue to go...there seems to be much better quality of everything over at Universal. They have more respect for their guests, everything is clean and convenient.

Keep of the good work Universal Resort!!!!