On site vs Off Site that is the question.

[RLHornbeck]

As pissed off Disney goers we have decided to go to Universal this year instead of Disney. We are going to Florida for a trade show the week of February 6th and thought we would bring our daughter to Universal while we are there. As we have never been too universal trying to figure out the best strategy for this trip is a bit of a challenge. The convention should only take 2 days from the week so the rest will be spent at the parks with our daughter.

Season passes for universal will be purchased so that needs to be considered in the decision processes.

Accommodations: We are used to staying in DVC 1-bedroom’s and need something similar for Universal. My wife and I both have demanding jobs that will require us to work once our daughter is in bed so privacy is a must. Looking at the onsite accommodations the only thing that is available during this time frame is the Hard Rock “Future Rock Star” suite @ $632 a night + tax which is over $3,500 for 5 nights. We can easily find great 2-3 bedroom houses / condo’s within 5 miles of universal for under $1,500 for the week. Even after factoring in the Uber charges to get us to and from the parks this would save us around 2k. Is it worth the extra $$$ to stay on site?

Express Pass: It would be included with an onsite stay but is it needed during this time of year? With the main focus will be on Harry Potter, could we buy it for a few days and safe the extra $$$ or is it truly needed for the entire stay?

Early Entry to the parks: We are not early people but if it made since we would get there early.

Restaurants: We like to eat, meaning high quality food and excellent service. Dinner is the important meal to us, but with a 9-year-old we do have a maximum allowable time for dinner of 1.5 - 2 hours. Walking or using an Uber to get to and from dinner is fine, meaning if we are in the park all day then end up walking to a restaurant in City Walk or taking a Uber back to our accommodations then to dinner is good too. Where can we get great food and service?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

Some of your questions depend on what types of rides you like and how much you like Harry Potter.

i think there are suites at some of the non-deluxe places that are less expensive. That might be a good compromise since they still have early entry. Early entry is great for having a less crowded HP experience and will be the lower wait times for Hagrid’s. If your daughter is going to want to do spells (are you getting her a wand?), early entry is definitely nice to have. She can do spells without people in front of her spoiling it or people behind her hurrying her along (they’re harder to get right then you’d think). You can also go before park closing for a less crowded experience but it’s nice to have both.

EP is lovely and my family is completely spoiled. But if you’re not planning to do the bigger rides (Hulk, Rip Ride Rocket, etc) then you can probably go without. It’s so nice though - think FP on almost every ride without having to pick a time. But again, we’re very spoiled.

 

[macraven]

Read the hotel sticky for additional info

Cabana Bay might be a good choice since you need more space to work in once your child goes to bed at night

Their suites are reasonable in price.
We do have pictures of the suites in the stickies so it gives you a better idea of what to expect

 

[RLHornbeck]

After glancing at Cabana bay, the rooms only have a seating area within the same room so that wont work. We truly do need separate rooms, which brings up another question are there any resorts that have decent connecting rooms? Also can you guaranty that you will get connecting rooms?

As far as rides, our daughter is only 50" tall so Hulk, Rip Ride Rocket, Fearfall and VelociCoaster are out. Everything we will probably do.

Harry Potter, yes a wand will be purchased and all the accompanying items will be done.

We will have at least 3 full days at the parks and possibly 2 more nights but that depends on what time the parks will close. Most likely the days will be Thursday - Saturday.

How important is early entry for what we are wanting to do? Enough so for staying on site? If early entry and Express Pass are that important we will just go with the Hard Rock suite.

Thanks for the help so far.

 

[cfoxga]

We always stay onsite, as it is so nice to park the car and not use it during our trip. While the space of an offsite condo is nice, having to deal with traffic and parking really takes away from the UO bubble.

ESS/ESD have a 2 bedroom suite should give you the privacy you want. With the APH rate, they are usually < $120 per night, so you could consider booking a throw-away room at a deluxe resort if you need APs. Each night gives 2 days of EPs (arrival and departure).

You should also keep checking in case a deluxe resort suite opens up an APH rate for your stay, as it is typically 40+% off the regular price...

 

[TommyJK]

There's the "kids suite" at Sapphire Falls that has the following layout that might work for you. It's $320.80 per night for 5 nights, Feb 7th to 11th



No Express pass included at Sapphire Falls but it still has the early entry perk, is a gorgeous resort, and close to the parks (walkable or via the Water Taxi).

 

[wdwrule]

Just to chime in with previous posters, we stayed one night in a 2bedroom suite at Dockside in August for only $129 per night. It was plenty of room for our family of four (kids are 17 & 20). One of the 2 bedrooms had a closed off door. This room had one queen bed. The other part had 2 queens and an eating area and bathroom. Great pool, eating areas and overall nice. Some complain of noise issues… we didn’t encounter any but were on high floor if that made a difference. In fact we had more noise issues at RP than Dockside but I think it’s all luck of the draw.

Sapphire Falls would be wonderful too. Pricier but ability to walk or boat to the parks. Dockside was bus only although bus system is waaaayyyy better at UO than Disney. (At park closing we literally walked right onto a waiting bus). The quiet, less crowded security check point at Sapphire Falls is convenient though. Dining at Sapphire Falls is really nice. If you can swing it, I’d lean towards SF but Dockside/Surfside are very nice as well.

 

[BrotherCraig]

We just stayed at Royal Pacific and Cabana Bay last week. Cabana Bay as the family suites with a separate room. Sliding door to separate. Very roomy for 6 people. We liked it a lot.

 

[BrotherCraig]

After glancing at Cabana bay, the rooms only have a seating area within the same room so that wont work.

Not accurate. The family suites have two separate rooms. Living room and kitchen area with TV and sofa. Then a bedroom with bathroom (two beds). The door slide closes between the two rooms. We were just in last Wednesday-Friday.

 

[tink2424]

I went to USO last year and it was the first year I didn't stay at the deluxe resorts and it is very do-able to go without the express passes or for you to buy them when you get there. My advice is to stay off site in a large place and with the savings you can pay for the express pass and the Uber's. Staying on site is very nice and having express passes are also very nice but sometimes you have other priorities that are more important.

 

[RLHornbeck]

Wow, thank you all for the info so far.

With the updated info you all have given we are now thinking travel will be from Feb 6th-11th with park days being all day on the 6th (arrive around 10am), 7th, and 10th. We would purchase the Express Pass on the 7th and 10th. This would give us time on the 6th to buy a wand and start the experience with start rides starting on the 7th. Sapphire falls might work well for us as the kids suite is available and looks to be the perfect room size and amenities for us (let alone much cheaper than the rock star suite at the hard rock).

I have started to look into other resorts as well but as we are used to Disney therefor a little wary of the bus travel. How good or bad is the bus system at Universal?

If bus travel is not bad are there other resort suggestions that are nice resorts, or resorts to stay away from?

 

[TommyJK]

Wow, thank you all for the info so far.

With the updated info you all have given we are now thinking travel will be from Feb 6th-11th with park days being all day on the 6th (arrive around 10am), 7th, and 10th. We would purchase the Express Pass on the 7th and 10th. This would give us time on the 6th to buy a wand and start the experience with start rides starting on the 7th. Sapphire falls might work well for us as the kids suite is available and looks to be the perfect room size and amenities for us (let alone much cheaper than the rock star suite at the hard rock).

I have started to look into other resorts as well but as we are used to Disney therefor a little wary of the bus travel. How good or bad is the bus system at Universal?

If bus travel is not bad are there other resort suggestions that are nice resorts, or resorts to stay away from?

Bus travel in my experience at Universal is beyond stellar. When I've stayed at a resort with Bus transportation (namely Cabana Bay, I haven't stayed at either of the newer Surfside/Dockside, or Aventura) I've never waited more than 5-10 minutes for a bus during morning transport to the parks, or evening transport after leaving the parks.

That being said, the buses drop you off and pick you up from the transportation hub on the back end of Citywalk, and you go through security at that hub sport with all of the guests who have drove and are parking in the parking garages at Universal. It's not a big deal if you are going for early entry because you will beat the regular crowds, but it can get pretty slow and congested as the morning goes along. This is where using either the water Taxi from Sapphire Falls or walking path from there is a big plus, becasue you do your security check either at the boat dock at Sapphire Falls, or at the very quiet walking path on the front side of Cityqalk (close to the park entrances). And the boat drops you off much closer to the park entrances as well as compared to where the bus drop-off is.

As for the resorts themselves, as I noted I've never stayed at Surfside or Dockside but I have heard they are really great for the price you pay which is very cheap compared to all of the other onsite resorts. But with that, I feel they are a bit far from the parks (in comparison to the other resorts) and I'd worry it doesn't "feel" the same as staying in the others since you aren't right in the "bubble" of the other resorts that are all also easily walkable on a quiet garden path to the parks

But honestly I don't think you can go wrong with any on-site resort at Universal and each resort level IMO gives you great value vs the cost of each resort. IMO much better "value to cost" vs any Disney resort I've stayed in.

 

[AJA]

If you usually stay in a 1 bedroom DVC and need that amount of room and the extras (bigger fridge, table seating to work from etc) I would stay off site.

You can get something much more suited to evening work at a condo or apartment style rental.

As much as my family loves Universal the hotel rooms or moderate priced family suites cannot compete with the DVC layout (we use to own at Beach Club and I do miss the room and amenities

 

[SuperJ]

there's a lot of great timeshares offsite that offer plenty of space for your needs and can be rented as hotel rooms (so you can just ignore the sales pitch) and also suite-style hotels. in our experience, most are more spacious than disney's timeshare options. another thing to consider, if you need to work, is the internet quality (suggest looking at anything you're considering booking on review sites to see if anything mentions the internet speeds/quality). may be better at individual home/apartment/airbnb than at any of the hotels on or off site.

 

[Skywalker3]

We are DVC 1 bedroomers too! We do Universal every couple/few years, when we're taking a break from Disney. Just back from Oct trip. We stayed in a regular room though, at Portofino, but I was sure dreading the lack of space/privacy, wishing we could have our usual DVC room....but Portofino was fabulous! We've not stayed in a Univeral suite, but have read good things about them on these boards. We also did do 1 night at Aventura before moving to PB, and noticed from the window, buses were constant. I kept seeing bus after bus making the circle, so they seemed to come a lot more frequently than Disney. BUT what we utilized the boats. Sapphire Falls has a water taxi , and we walked over to use it. Probably because Aventura folks are doing that, it makes the lines a bit longer (Portofino never had to wait for a second boat,) but ride was quick, but there's also the option to walk. We own/stay at BWV a LOT (our home DVC,) and walk all the time to HS or Epcot, so we don't mind the walking paths at Universal, but boats became our primary mode of transport.

Staying offsite though would give y'all a full kitchen, lots more space, and all of that. I think it'll just a choice of do you want to be in the bubble. We LOVE Universal and love being onsite, to be able to come/go during the day, easily. Rope drop, lunch, back at room for afternoon break, back in the evenings, or similar. Bought APs this year, and hope to add a couple days next year to our June and Oct DVC trips. We are spoiled as we always stay at a hotel that gives Express, but if you're skipping a lot of the coasters/big thrills, may not need express much. Y'all can always try it that one day in your schedule , then you may not need it the second day. Rides at Universal also tend to have low wait times last hour of the day, can get several done then.

Good luck with the planning and hope y'all have a great Universal trip!

 

[cfoxga]

If you book one night at a deluxe resort on Feb 6, you get EPs for both the 6th and 7th. RPR has an APH rate on $204 for that night (https://res.windsurfercrs.com/ibe/i...&nights=1&rooms=1&adults=2&child1=1&promo=aph). That should be way cheaper than buying 3 EPs for one day, and give you an extra EP day. I would book it now before it goes away; you can always cancel later...

SF looks like a great resort. I've always wanted to stay there, but we got too spoiled by EPs which are needed due to crowd size when we travel (major holidays). We love being able to walk or boat, so this would be a great way to save money and still get most of the benefits you would get from a deluxe resort.

 

[RLHornbeck]

cfoxga, the idea of booking the room just for the Express Pass sounds great. Can you have two rooms booked for the same night with the same people on the reservation? As we would most likely book Sapphire falls suite for the whole trip and then RPR for only the night of the 6th in order to get the Express Passes for the 6th and 7th. How would this work?

 

[DoryGirl1963]

cfoxga, the idea of booking the room just for the Express Pass sounds great. Can you have two rooms booked for the same night with the same people on the reservation? As we would most likely book Sapphire falls suite for the whole trip and then RPR for only the night of the 6th in order to get the Express Passes for the 6th and 7th. How would this work?

Yes you can have reservations for the same people at two different resorts for the same night. We just did this in May - stayed all week at Cabana Bay and also had one night at Portofino for 2 days of Express Passes.

Worked like a charm !

 

[cfoxga]

While I have not used a throwaway room myself, my understanding is that you just need to check-in to RPR to pickup you room keys, as they are your EPs for the two days. Only one one you would need to go. You should be able to checkout the next day via a text message.

Also wanted to mention that there is an "indoor" path that connects SF and RPR. So perhaps you can check-in together at SF, walk over to RPR to check-in there and get your EPs, and then hop on the boat to the parks from the RPR dock...

 

[bchbetha]

I think your Sapphire Falls with a throw away room at RPR is a good plan. I do think you could do it without EPs too though. Hard to know.