Question about staying On site

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Hi,
I am wondering if anyone can give me info. about staying on site. We are a family of four going to Universal and Sea World on August 3 for four nights. We were origianally going to stay at the Embassy Suites 129.00 a night with a suite - we like to stay up after we put the kids to bed. Now I am starting to be worried about the lines and am thinking if staying at the Royal Pacific resort would be worth it. I found a rate at Expedia for 149.25 a night - is this a good deal? Are there better deals to be had? When you stay on site, do you save a lot of time not waiting in line? Also, are these rooms crowded for a family of four. This is really a last minute trip and I want to book things ASAP - any advice - thanks!!!

 

[UKDEB]

You are going during a busy period and, yes, you will save loads of time being onsite. Your room keys allow you to enter the Express Line, so not actually front of the line, but well worth it nonetheless.

Being onsite at USF is an amazing experience - I can't imagine doing it any other way now. You will probably need to take advantage of the water taxis from RPR, but that's not to say you can't walk it. HRH is so close that it's simply not worth waiting for a water taxi IMHO, but we did use it when we stayed at PBH.

$149 seems like a good rate to me for the time you'll be there. How old are your kids? Clearly it's going to be trickier the older they are, but for four nights I think I would put up with it to be onsite. I don't think you'll regret it.

 

[JessicaR]

Try www.hotelkingdom.com

They have your dates available for 134.25 a night.

Standard Room $134.25 $134.25 $134.25 $134.25 25% off!*
Waterview Room $171.01 $171.01 $171.01 $171.01 25% off!*

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Thanks for the responses - has anyone used hotelkingdom.com before? That is a good rate. Can anyone elaborate on the positives of staying on site besides the express line? I am having a hard time talking myself into spending more money for a much smaller room. We really enjoy just putting the kids to bed and relaxing for a couple of hours - do the rooms have balconies? Then again, I would never stay off site at Disney - I love to stay on site and the feeling of being in the middle of it all!

 

[gschmerl]

Call 1-800- BeAStar and ask if the entertainment rate is available for your dates. If so you could get the RPR for $110 or the HRH for $129. If the rate is available, go to www.entertainment.com and order the book. You will have to show the card at check in. Also ask if the Fan Club rate is available. Tinkerbarb on this board has been kind enough to send people Fan Club Cards. They also have AAA discounts.
Besides the FOTL, staying on site is soooooo convenient. It's a five minute walk from the HRH and just a little further from the RPR. The hotels are wonderful and have great pools. The beds at the HRH are so wonderfully comfy. The rooms at the HRH are a bit bigger than the RPR. The PBH has the biggest rooms, but also costs the most.

 

[MOMTOMOOTOO]

I just got the RPH for $105.00 per nite around the same dates you are looking for. This is with an annual passholder discount. It may be cost effective for you to get at least one a/p just for the discount. Otherwise the entertainemnt rate or fan club will probably be your best bet,

Laura

 

[leslieh]

I just got off the phone trying to get one night at the US hotels for all day at the parks, the best rate they could find, with all my discounts, was 160.00 with APH rate at Port. Bay. We are staying one night and then moving to vistana for the week, but wanted to get the express option, and staying close.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by leslieh
I just got off the phone trying to get one night at the US hotels for all day at the parks, the best rate they could find, with all my discounts, was 160.00 with APH rate at Port. Bay. We are staying one night and then moving to vistana for the week, but wanted to get the express option, and staying close.

$160 for Portofino is really good!

 

[Tigger Woods]

I just got back from PBH yesterday. The FOTL perk is worth its weight in gold. The posted wait times for some of the rides were ridiculous. HULK - 100 MIN. SPIDERMAN 90 MIN. SHREK - 110 MIN. The longest I had to wait in any line was for Shrek, that was maybe 10-12 minutes. They really are moving the Express people through very quickly. By all means, stay on-site and spend the day on the rides, not waiting in line.

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Thanks everyone! I decided with young children I really had to stay one site. We are staying at the HRH in two weeks, can't wait!!!

 

[kbeverina]

We're big fans of Embassy Suites--it's almost always our first choice when we go somewhere because we do like the extra space, two tvs, king bed, etc. But I would choose having the FOTL over the extra space and room any time.

 

[kbeverina]

P.S.--we timed the walk to Hard Rock and it's no more than 5 minutes along a beautiful, shaded path. You're going to love the convenience of having the hotel so close. At Portofino Bay, we usually caught the water taxi over to the parks and walked back. We've never been ones at Disney to go back to the room mid-day to nap or swim, but at Universal we did that a lot.

 

[TigerLilly's Mom]

Super! We never go back at Disney either - what a pain! The buses are great at Disney, but by the time you do all that and go back, half your day will be gone.

I can't wait to walk over to the parks! I haven't really told my DH or kids about how close we actually are - I wan't to see them be surprised! Are both the parks within walking distance or should you take the boat to one?

 

[beattyfamily]

IMHO, HRH has the shortest and best walk to the parks. It is in walking distance to BOTH parks because both parks are right next to each other! When you walk from HRH, you will hit Universal Studios first and then IOA is right next to it.

If you stay at RP, then you are on the IOA side. I still felt it was a longer, more winding walk from RP than the HRH walk.

Have fun!

 

[kbeverina]

Do you remember how long the walk was to/from RP? I intended to walk over there and time the walk for laurenk, who's going in November, but it started raining hard every time we went to do that.

TigerLilly's Mom, you'll be amazed at how close everything is. There's only one boat dock, almost right in the middle of US and IOA. You get off the boat and US is to your right, IOA to your left, and CityWalk right behind you. Especially if you're coming out of US, it's easier to walk--you come out of the front gate and go down the shaded path to the left.

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by kbeverina
Do you remember how long the walk was to/from RP? I intended to walk over there and time the walk for laurenk, who's going in November, but it started raining hard every time we went to do that.

I believe I timed it at 15 minutes BUT I was alone pushing a double wide stroller so you need to take that into consideration!!

I ended up taking the boat back as I was just too tired to walk back.

When going to the park, it's definitely quicker to walk than wait for a boat (IMHO) because the boat seemed to take a while to come in the mornings but going back to the resort, the wait wasn't as bad and your usually tired so you don't mind waiting for the boat!

 

[kbeverina]

Thanks! I'll let her know. PBH was about 15 minutes also, though my kids were slowing things up a little because they had to take a picture of every lizard that ran across the sidewalk. I think their disposable cameras are comprised almost solely of pictures of Florida wildlife--squirrels, lizards, birds, ducks, etc.

 

[TINK61]

We just returned from the RPR. FOTL is the only way to go. I do not want to wait in the summer heat to see an attraction. But, if I did not have a choice, then I would wait in line. There is always Express Pass, but I'm not sure if it works like the Disney Fast Pass.

We used the water taxi most of the time. Little to no waiting for us. I don't know if it was just lucky timing or they move fast.

The path is not a bad walk in the morning. It may be a little tiring in the evening after a day in the parks.

Enjoy!

 

[TINK61]

Also - you can't beat it for priority seating at most restaurants. We just showed our room keys to the hostess at Hard Rock Cafe and were seated immediately, when there was an extremely long line waiting to be seated. Just another FOTL perk.

 

[kjcolv]

Just came back from PBH. Just remember it is Florida and it rains (almost every day). The Water taxis shut down (as do the pools and big rides) if there is any lightning within 5 miles, even if there is no rain. They do run buses but being in walking distance is a good thing. Other than that we never had much of a wait for a water taxi. To second everyone else the FOTL is worth the price.