SAPPHIRE FALLS thread........

[Sue M]

So I see tons of people recommending people take the SF boats if staying at adventura or even off site and directing them to Uber to SF or park there (which I think is odd but anyway). Does all this extra traffic make the boat lines long before early entry or park open? I tho k we will probably walk as we usually did from RPR but I am curious about lines.

Doesn’t make sense to me having off site people Uber to SF for boat. When you could Uber to Hard Rock and walk 5 min down the path. We’ve stayed at Royal Pacific and never had a problem. At park closing all the boat lines seem to be long. Doesn’t matter which resort.

 

[schumigirl]

So I see tons of people recommending people take the SF boats if staying at adventura or even off site and directing them to Uber to SF or park there (which I think is odd but anyway). Does all this extra traffic make the boat lines long before early entry or park open? I tho k we will probably walk as we usually did from RPR but I am curious about lines.

We have stayed many times at Sapphire Falls, and yes, absolutely the lines can be very long for the boats on occasions.

Several times when we were taking the boats the lines were massive and we decided to walk instead. It`s not a long walk, but we like to take the boats for the fun of it at times. And yes, Aventura and even Cabana Bay folks do use the boats and yes, it can make a difference. We have heard folks staying at Sapphire complain about the lines being made worse by that. The thing is though, anyone can use the boats.

 

[MinnieMSue]

We have stayed many times at Sapphire Falls, and yes, absolutely the lines can be very long for the boats on occasions.

Several times when we were taking the boats the lines were massive and we decided to walk instead. It`s not a long walk, but we like to take the boats for the fun of it at times. And yes, Aventura and even Cabana Bay folks do use the boats and yes, it can make a difference. We have heard folks staying at Sapphire complain about the lines being made worse by that. The thing is though, anyone can use the boats.

yeah that makes sense. I have no issue with people doing what they are completely allowed to do. Just wondered what the impact was. I think we will probably walk.

 

[MinnieMSue]

…And depending on your room location at SF, it’s not a bad walk. We were at the end of guest house 2 and averaged a 10 minute walk to the security check point.

thank you this is helpful information!

 

[schumigirl]

yeah that makes sense. I have no issue with people doing what they are completely allowed to do. Just wondered what the impact was. I think we will probably walk.

It really is a nice, easy and pleasant path to and from the parks to the hotels, you`ll enjoy walking I think.

 

[Sue M]

It really is a nice, easy and pleasant path to and from the parks to the hotels, you`ll enjoy walking I think.

Probably not that much longer than the walk from RP?

 

[schumigirl]

Probably not that much longer than the walk from RP?

No, hardly a difference at all Sue, couple of minutes extra at the most.

 

[Fsudisney]

We are staying at SF next weekend. Can we walk to Volcano Bay? I know there is a Cabana Bay entrance but heard they check room keys at the entrance? Should we just take the shuttle? I’d prefer to walk if possible.

 

[christophfam]

We are staying at SF next weekend. Can we walk to Volcano Bay? I know there is a Cabana Bay entrance but heard they check room keys at the entrance? Should we just take the shuttle? I’d prefer to walk if possible.

It‘s a super short walk to where the buses drop off for VB. Just head towards Adventura and use the sidewalk that kind of wraps around the street side of Adventura. You end up where the buses drop off and you use the tunnel that goes under the road to get to VB.

Good pictures here of what I’m talking about -
https://touringplans.com/blog/the-saturday-six-spends-a-day-at-universals-volcano-bay/

 

[Skywalker3]

It really is a nice, easy and pleasant path to and from the parks to the hotels, you`ll enjoy walking I think.

Hi,
We hope to walk from Aventura next week, at least in the AM. Where is the walking path, or do you connect to RP? and how? are there signs? DH and DS tried to walk back last time ,and got all turned around, they ended up at CB due DH misreading the sign.....We looked at google maps, but wasn't sure how to get across street there. THanks, We prefer walking to the parks when possible, at least in the AM, before feet/knees/legs are too tired....

 

[schumigirl]

Hi,
We hope to walk from Aventura next week, at least in the AM. Where is the walking path, or do you connect to RP? and how? are there signs? DH and DS tried to walk back last time ,and got all turned around, they ended up at CB due DH misreading the sign.....We looked at google maps, but wasn't sure how to get across street there. THanks, We prefer walking to the parks when possible, at least in the AM, before feet/knees/legs are too tired....

You don`t need to cross a road to get from Aventura to Sapphire, it`s a very short walk. Then head down to the boats, walk past them and just follow the path round.....you really can`t get lost that way and yes, there are signs along the pathway.

 

[Skywalker3]

You don`t need to cross a road to get from Aventura to Sapphire, it`s a very short walk. Then head down to the boats, walk past them and just follow the path round.....you really can`t get lost that way and yes, there are signs along the pathway.

Thanks so much! We'll try to find it! Poor DH and DS took a wrong turn the last time, coming back from the parks, and went all out of the way. I still have a picture of the sign he misread (DS told him he thought it was the other way....) It says Garden Path on top. we'll definitely give it a go again. Thanks for the info!

 

[mamapenguin]

You don`t need to cross a road to get from Aventura to Sapphire, it`s a very short walk. Then head down to the boats, walk past them and just follow the path round.....you really can`t get lost that way and yes, there are signs along the pathway.

From Sapphire this is exactly the way we go and we end up going past RPR’s boats too. But, on the way back we have a hard time finding it- I think it’s because we look for signs to Sapphire and end up going the long way around to the lobby…where should we be turning to go back the way we came? TIA

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks so much! We'll try to find it! Poor DH and DS took a wrong turn the last time, coming back from the parks, and went all out of the way. I still have a picture of the sign he misread (DS told him he thought it was the other way....) It says Garden Path on top. we'll definitely give it a go again. Thanks for the info!

lol.....I won`t laugh really as you`d be amazed at where Tom and I have got lost!!!

From Sapphire this is exactly the way we go and we end up going past RPR’s boats too. But, on the way back we have a hard time finding it- I think it’s because we look for signs to Sapphire and end up going the long way around to the lobby…where should we be turning to go back the way we came? TIA

We`ve never walked back to Sapphire from the parks and in all honesty I don`t think we`ve ever looked at the signs when walking.

Sorry, I`m not much help there.....I`m sure someone else will be able to answer though as many do walk back.

 

[Fsudisney]

It‘s a super short walk to where the buses drop off for VB. Just head towards Adventura and use the sidewalk that kind of wraps around the street side of Adventura. You end up where the buses drop off and you use the tunnel that goes under the road to get to VB.

Good pictures here of what I’m talking about -
https://touringplans.com/blog/the-saturday-six-spends-a-day-at-universals-volcano-bay/

Thank you!! This link was super helpful!

 

[IslandAdventure4]

1st off " Schumigirl" Thank you so much for all you do for this thread... Tons of helpful info for planning.... My wife Just Surprised our son with a 16th birthday trip. Book at SF April 1 - 5.... Cant wait.. Kids have never been to Universal and I haven't been in over 20 years... So excited Let the countdown begin......

 

[Lilias]

There are actually two walking paths at SF--one is very short (like 10 minutes) and the other is very long (like 30 minutes) and will take you all the way to Aventura and Cabana Bay!! We made that mistake one night and I pulled my achilles tendon from the hike Oops. Good thing our trip was almost over at that point.

Someone mentioned thin walls a page or two ago, and I can confirm now that the walls are pretty thin. I was in the bathroom one evening and could hear a child in the shower of the room next to me. He really wanted his mom to just get him a washcloth! We also heard kids running up and down the hallways a lot and got woken up around 6:30 AM on our checkout morning from the other room next door getting their suitcases out of their room.

Oh, and I murdered the alarm clock one morning because a previous guest had set the alarm clock for 6 AM and didn't undo it before they checked out! I couldn't figure out how to make it stop so I just unplugged all the wires, bahahaha.

It was a lovely room and resort, though!

We were a little confused about the level of service, too. We usually stay at Portofino Bay, so we were really surprised when the staff at Sapphire Falls insisted on carrying our luggage for us when we checked in and out (you seemingly have to let them do this, even though we were happy to just cart our stuff ourselves). It all seemed very high class, which we weren't expecting from this resort when we never had that kind of treatment at PB, ha!

 

[schumigirl]

1st off " Schumigirl" Thank you so much for all you do for this thread... Tons of helpful info for planning.... My wife Just Surprised our son with a 16th birthday trip. Book at SF April 1 - 5.... Cant wait.. Kids have never been to Universal and I haven't been in over 20 years... So excited Let the countdown begin......

That sounds an amazing trip….and such a lovely surprise.

I can guarantee you’ll see a massive difference in the parks over the last 20 years since you visited! You are in for a treat.

And….Thank you…….

 

[mamapenguin]

Is there creamer or half and half available for purchase in the New Dutch Trading Co.? ( for in room coffee - I’m bringing my Starbucks k-cups) TIA

 

[Mabel67]

Has anyone had a cabana recently? Is there service? What are the included perks? Water, etc. Current price? There's a tv as well, I think. We want a cabana to watch the opening day of the Masters - is there ESPN, CBS and Golf Channel available? Any insight is appreciated!