Portofino Bay 6/1 - 6/5

[Cinders1]

What a great time we had! First trip to Universal will not be our last! We used Yourride from airport to Portafino making quick grocery store stop. The gal at checkin was great. Requested West wing thanks to my "insider" info from this board. Told her we wanted to be by the boat dock and beach pool. She asked if we had ever been there before. When I said no she asked how we knew about the west wing? Told her and she gave us a free upgrade to a bay view room with small balcony! Showed the Loews card and requested cookies and milk. Got flex passes and headed to Sea World. Unfortunately, Sea World rejected the tickets. Guest services gave us sea world tickets and we were off. Kids loved the coaster. Let concerige know about the problem. Next day we were off to IOA. Guess what? Tickets were rejected AGAIN. Back to guest services to fix the problem. Hubby calls conceirge (not too happy). Next day US and hooray no ticket rejection!!! FOTL was WONDERFUL. We rode everything we wanted several times little to NO wait. Great perk. Ate at Mythos (really good) and Confisco Grill (also good). Got 20% off all food and merchandise in the park which saved us a ton. Next day Wet and Wild which I was not too impressed with. Loved the hotel. The spa robes were wonderful and hotel is beautiful.

 

[JessicaR]

Welcome back and thanks for the report! We were there just after you departed (stayed at RPR) and also used yourride. So nice they gave you an upgrade! Those balconies are hard to come by. Did you eat at the hotel or try out the character meal?
Portofino is such a beautiful property glad you enjoyed it.

 

[Cinders1]

We ate at Sal's Market Deli. Food was good and portions were huge. We also ate at Citywalk a few times. Ate at Margaritaville (sp), Nascar (did not like. BAD service - food only so, so), Hardrock and Motown (really enjoyed).

 

[elmo23]

Glad to hear you enjoyed PBH. We (dh, and 2 ds ages 4 an 6) are leaving in a week. Can't wait! I am a bit worried about having 2 young boys at such an upscale place, but everyone tells me it is still family friendly. Thanks for the first PBH report in quite a while!

 

[Minniespal]

Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[Cinders1]

Elmo

Don't worry about your children. The Portifino is a an upscale place alright but it is not stuffy at all. It is a large place but I found it very easy to get where we wanted to go and it never seemed the least bit crowded. That makes it a little better if the kids do get cranky. They will absolutely LOVE the beach pool. Hope you have a great time!

 

[cpl100]

I enjoyed reading your report. I will be there in July for one night prior to going to a condo. Can't wait to enjoy that FOTL for two days!

What did you use for the 20% discount? Was it your AAA card or something else?

 

[Cinders1]

We used our AAA card for 10% off and then I read on here about an internet coupon on the AAA site for another 10% off. You could use both and receive 20% off all food and merchandise in the parks. This really helped out at Mythos and Confisco Grill.

 

[cpl100]

Please give more detail about the internet coupon. I have a horrid search record---I can never find anything! Do you know ifi it's still good/applicable? Thanks!

 

[Cinders1]

Cpl100

Check out post in Universal Studios Discussion forum titled "Don't forget your AAA". I have to warn you it is a little tough to find. If I remember right it is under hot deals. I am not sure if it is still good or not. Maybe someone else knows?

 

[cpl100]

Okay, I will try to search for it. Thanks.

I found it (both the post and the online coupon). It expires June 30th unfortunately. I would post a direct link here but for some reason they never work for me on this board.