Portofino Bay , Universal and IOA

benebire

<font color=purple>Can someone make me say somethi
Joined
Apr 29, 2000
We just returned from 2 days at the Portofino and we absolutely LOVED IT! The staff at the hotel did a great job getting us checked in and filling us in on everything. The room was gorgeous (Bayview) the rollaway bed was there as promised and the bathroom spetacular. The room alone was well worth the price we paid ($214.00 with tax) but the capper was the Front of the Line Access. While we normally opt for a cheaper hotel we will stay at this one again. My kids were never this happy at a theme park before. Walking on spiderman and riding 3 times in a row with no waiting is the only way to go! The only downside was the fact that we visited Disney afterwards and by then we were so spoiled it was very hard to wait in the lines. I realize Disney probably has a too big a volume to do this, but boy wouldnt it be great if they would do this too?
Anyway, because of front of the line access we were able to sleep in and still see just about everything in the parks and favorites were done 2-3 times in a row. The boat was practically outside our room and within 5 minutes we were at the Citywalk. Kids also enjoyed the pool at the portofino. Only downside was it closed so early due to off season. If you have kids and or hate to wait in line pay the extra money and stay at the portofino or HRH. It was a great 2 days.

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I've seen different answers to this question. Was it available all day or just a couple hours?

We're going in May and can't wait! :D
 
Disney could never pull it off ... they've just got too many hotel rooms, though they do have more parks to spread it across ... between Portofino and Hard Rock, US has 1500 rooms or so tops I think ... Disney is probably ten times that at least!

From what I understand, the reason they went to offering it all day was because occupancy has been lower than expected at the Portofino ...
 
Mattman,

Yes, front of the line access was ALL DAY for guests staying at the portofino bay. There is also a seperate express pass line for multi day ticket holders to use for the first 2 hours the parks are open. These two things are totally seperate. The express line is a seperate line which is located near the regular que line at the ride. For front of the line access you dont get into line at all, you go directly to the attendant standing in front of the ride and they take you to the ride usually via the back exit.
It is a great perk and we really had a great time with it. Have a great time in May.

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benebire,

Thanks for taking the time and posting about your trip! Don't you love those beds?? They are so wonderful. Sounds like you had a very nice trip. :)

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I can't wait!!! Thanks for sharing your experience with us! I'll be sure to do the same when we get back.
 
Mahalo for your report. I cannot wait. I hope the HRH is as nice. :) I know it will have FOTL access. :D Personally, I am happy that there are only two on-site hotels. The hotels are only deluxe without outrageous charges and their FOTL access makes it feel like an exclusive park. Terrible of me I know, but sometimes I like to feel special. ;)
 


Is the unlimited exspree pass the same as the fotl pass you speak of? 17 days and counting for our first trip to this darkland you all talk about.
 
I enjoy Universal for many of the same reasons. I like the look of Cabana Bay, but will probably never stay there because I like the EP too much.

Disney could never pull it off ... they've just got too many hotel rooms, though they do have more parks to spread it across ... between Portofino and Hard Rock, US has 1500 rooms or so tops I think ... Disney is probably ten times that at least!

From what I understand, the reason they went to offering it all day was because occupancy has been lower than expected at the Portofino ...

I'm sure they could pull it off if they felt they needed it to hit some a magical revenue number at their deluxe resorts. Universal only offers it for their three highest price point hotels - their other hotels don't get this perk. I'm willing to bet Disney's financial gurus have run the numbers to see if they could get enough additional revenue from offering perks like this to justify a big price increase to their most expensive hotels.
 
Yea I saw that and posted after the one that brought the thread back from the dead.

We had same type of questions for years and it is no different than it is now....lol
 

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