planning 1st Universal vacation

[ang]

We are planning are Universal vaction....I'm so used to Disney...We never been to Universal before. We are getting really excited..

First ??? Resort...
I think Hard Rock then Pacific Royal....

How deep are their pools?
Whats the difference in these hotels?
City Walk...ages for clubs? I will have 2, 19 yrs old with me and a 13 yr. old.
We are planning next December 11 through 17. Is this a good time? Low crowds?

Where can I find Maps?

We are not big on spending money on food on high price restaurants. So, where is the cheapest to eat and great food.

We want to enjoy the parks and the hotels. We like to relax.
Any info will be great!!
Thank You
ang

 

[lorivegas]

first of all, the hotels are VERY expensive! Usually, at least $169 a nt. , but.... when you stay onsite... the front of line access to rides is the best thing ever! ( and I mean AHEAD of EVERYONE else in line, not like Disney)! You show your room key and they direct you through the back entry of ride... you can usually ride 2 or 3 times in as little as 20 minutes! THAT is why I WILL pay for the ONSITE hotels. Now, I LOVE Royal Pacific... very tropical..... however, you have teens that will also like Hard Rock. You can swim in any hotels pools, though getting there is kinda tricky, ( you must FIRST take boat to park and then jump on boat for whatever hotel you want to visit/ swim at) . Pain in the a**, but just thought you should know. The pools depths are only around 4 feet or so, Hard Rock has a slide in their pool. The "clubs" are definitely adults only after 9, so you must be 21... however, there are a few restaurants that you can do, before then. Hard Rock Cafe, Bubba Grumps (shrimp) , Bob Marleys, Latin quarter,Nascar Cafe etc. Restaurants are your typical "vacation, theme park" pricing... kinda high. There are plenty of choices though, so go to universalorlando.com for more info on anything you need to know about! I've stayed in all the onsite hotels , so if you have any quest. just ask, as I go all the time!

 

[francie57]

We have been going to Univeresal since our "kids" were about 18 and they love the HRH. They still go with us every year and they are now 23 and 27 and the HRH is a must. There is a slide on the pool and there is always music playing at the pool, even underwater. The crowds won't really make a difference with the FOTL option for staying on-site. Also, HRH is a 5 min. walk to US and about 10 min. to IOA. For restaurants there are lots of options both in the parks and at City Walk. We love Thunder Falls in IOA for a lunch, Richter Burger in US for lunch. Margaretaville in City Walk is really good with a good amount of food for very reasonable prices. We also really like Finnegan's Pub in US.