OhioStateBuckeye
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2007
- Messages
- 7,614
I just came back from a great Disney/Universal split stay! I figured I would share my experience and reviews in the hopes that they will help others.
It was just my boyfriend and I, we did Disney first and moved to Universal on Thursday. We had a rental car so we drove ourselves. Parking was $20 something a day at Sapphire Falls. We parked in a parking garage which was just steps away from the Sapphire Falls lobby, it was very convenient. They also offered valet parking.
We had slept in that day so we arrived a little later than we wanted, I think around 11:30. Check in was a breeze, the team member was super nice and gave us a room on the 8th floor of building 3. We were in 3801 which is right next to the elevators, but still a very quiet room.
I liked the hotel, it still kind of had that new hotel smell and sheen to everything. I actually could have used a bit more theme, the lobby is kind of plain and the outside of the hotel isn't very impressive looking. The rooms were very nice though. Ours felt pretty large and had two queen beds. There is a little desk area, a dresser with the TV on top and the mini fridge inside the dresser. There is a chair next to the window. The bathroom was in two separate sections, the sink area and then a sliding door in between that and the shower/toilet. The sliding door was the only bad thing about the room. There was quite a large gap between the wall and the door, so whoever was in the bathroom was never really shut off from the rest of the room.
The boat transportation was so convenient. The boat dock was just steps from the elevator that was right by our room. You went through security at the boat dock, that was the only time you had to deal with security and that was so nice. The line was never long and if the boat wasn't there waiting for you (over half the time we walked right onto a boat), there was a nice little seating area so you could relax and wait. The boats were great, they are so much more maneuverable than Disney's boats and only take a minute or less to dock. They seat more people than they look like they do and I don't think we ever waited more than 5 minutes for a boat. Sapphire Falls does provide a shuttle bus to the parks, I think the front desk team member said it came every half hour but we never saw a need to use it.
We found the parks pretty empty. Our first afternoon/night we were able to walk onto Spiderman, wait 10 minutes for Forbidden Journey and walk onto the Hulk. I loved the updated Hulk, it is so smooth and the speakers in the cars are nice.
We ate at the Three Broomsticks and the Leaky Cauldron and they were both great as usual. I really appreciate the healthier options and something different than the typical burgers and fries. I also enjoy all the different drinks, the frozen butterbeer and the pumpkin fizz are my favorites. We tried the Simpsons food court area for the first time and enjoyed the chicken waffle sandwich.
We also ate at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, we went right after park closing at 8:30, they took our cell phone number so they could text us when our table was ready. I love that feature. We wandered around the pretty water front area, we had been quoted a half hour wait for 2 but we were seated within 10 minutes. We had the chocolate almond bread as an appetizer, it is delicious and only a couple bucks. We did the chocolate cherry moscow mule drink, it was strong and had very impressive flavors. My boyfriend had the chicken bourguignon and he loved it. I had a bacon burger and thought it was very good. We didn't do the milkshakes, we were going to stop by later but never made it back.
Our waitress was great and everyone seemed really happy to be working there. I appreciate the steampunk theme and the gift shop has some really unique items. There are two characters who walk around, the woman who owns the restaurant and her robot. The robot stopped to talk with us and we got a picture, he was great and so in character and very sassy.
For ride waits, this was a great time of the year to come. I recommend closing out the parks and opening them. Studios had the early morning hour for resort guests that started at 7 am. It is a brutal park wake up (especially if you shut down HHN at 1 am the night before) but it is so worth it. We arrived at the Studios at 7:20 on today (Saturday) and walked onto Despicable Me, Gringotts, did a ton of spells in Diagon Alley without waiting behind anyone else, walked onto Transformers and the Mummy and were headed out of the park to catch our flight by 8:30 am.
The weather was so hot and grossly humid, but I think that is just how it is most Septembers. At least we didn't have any rain. I would definitely over pack for this time of year though, especially if you take midday breaks which are so easy to take at Universal. No one wants to put on sweaty, dirty clothes after swimming or having a shower and a nap.
Well that is about it, anyone have any questions?
It was just my boyfriend and I, we did Disney first and moved to Universal on Thursday. We had a rental car so we drove ourselves. Parking was $20 something a day at Sapphire Falls. We parked in a parking garage which was just steps away from the Sapphire Falls lobby, it was very convenient. They also offered valet parking.
We had slept in that day so we arrived a little later than we wanted, I think around 11:30. Check in was a breeze, the team member was super nice and gave us a room on the 8th floor of building 3. We were in 3801 which is right next to the elevators, but still a very quiet room.
I liked the hotel, it still kind of had that new hotel smell and sheen to everything. I actually could have used a bit more theme, the lobby is kind of plain and the outside of the hotel isn't very impressive looking. The rooms were very nice though. Ours felt pretty large and had two queen beds. There is a little desk area, a dresser with the TV on top and the mini fridge inside the dresser. There is a chair next to the window. The bathroom was in two separate sections, the sink area and then a sliding door in between that and the shower/toilet. The sliding door was the only bad thing about the room. There was quite a large gap between the wall and the door, so whoever was in the bathroom was never really shut off from the rest of the room.
The boat transportation was so convenient. The boat dock was just steps from the elevator that was right by our room. You went through security at the boat dock, that was the only time you had to deal with security and that was so nice. The line was never long and if the boat wasn't there waiting for you (over half the time we walked right onto a boat), there was a nice little seating area so you could relax and wait. The boats were great, they are so much more maneuverable than Disney's boats and only take a minute or less to dock. They seat more people than they look like they do and I don't think we ever waited more than 5 minutes for a boat. Sapphire Falls does provide a shuttle bus to the parks, I think the front desk team member said it came every half hour but we never saw a need to use it.
We found the parks pretty empty. Our first afternoon/night we were able to walk onto Spiderman, wait 10 minutes for Forbidden Journey and walk onto the Hulk. I loved the updated Hulk, it is so smooth and the speakers in the cars are nice.
We ate at the Three Broomsticks and the Leaky Cauldron and they were both great as usual. I really appreciate the healthier options and something different than the typical burgers and fries. I also enjoy all the different drinks, the frozen butterbeer and the pumpkin fizz are my favorites. We tried the Simpsons food court area for the first time and enjoyed the chicken waffle sandwich.
We also ate at Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, we went right after park closing at 8:30, they took our cell phone number so they could text us when our table was ready. I love that feature. We wandered around the pretty water front area, we had been quoted a half hour wait for 2 but we were seated within 10 minutes. We had the chocolate almond bread as an appetizer, it is delicious and only a couple bucks. We did the chocolate cherry moscow mule drink, it was strong and had very impressive flavors. My boyfriend had the chicken bourguignon and he loved it. I had a bacon burger and thought it was very good. We didn't do the milkshakes, we were going to stop by later but never made it back.
Our waitress was great and everyone seemed really happy to be working there. I appreciate the steampunk theme and the gift shop has some really unique items. There are two characters who walk around, the woman who owns the restaurant and her robot. The robot stopped to talk with us and we got a picture, he was great and so in character and very sassy.
For ride waits, this was a great time of the year to come. I recommend closing out the parks and opening them. Studios had the early morning hour for resort guests that started at 7 am. It is a brutal park wake up (especially if you shut down HHN at 1 am the night before) but it is so worth it. We arrived at the Studios at 7:20 on today (Saturday) and walked onto Despicable Me, Gringotts, did a ton of spells in Diagon Alley without waiting behind anyone else, walked onto Transformers and the Mummy and were headed out of the park to catch our flight by 8:30 am.
The weather was so hot and grossly humid, but I think that is just how it is most Septembers. At least we didn't have any rain. I would definitely over pack for this time of year though, especially if you take midday breaks which are so easy to take at Universal. No one wants to put on sweaty, dirty clothes after swimming or having a shower and a nap.
Well that is about it, anyone have any questions?
Glad you had a good time.
, any complaints?
