should I be worried about sold out hotels?

[deebster]

RPR, HRH, and Portofino are all sold out for the dates I want. I've tried different configurations of dates, and there is no availability any time during Dec 12-17. Getting close to Christmas I know, but does that mean the parks will be super busy? It's been a long time since I have been to Universal. Thanks

 

[hhoope01]

It can mean a few different things.

The premier hotels can fill up before the other hotels and sometimes they might fill up due to conferences which might not translate into large crowds at the parks (at least during the mornings and early afternoon.) What I would do would be to check all the onsite hotels to see what availability and pricing they have. If most of them are still available with good prices, then that probably means they aren't full. And you can also check the price for purchasing individual Express Passes. If those are closer to their cheapest rates, that means Universal isn't expecting the parks to be completely full. But if the EP prices are closer to their highest amounts, then Universal is probably thinking the parks will be crowded.

And of course you can check some of the various crowd calendar websites. I'm not sure how accurate most of them are anymore, but at least they might give you a rough estimate.

 

[unfreshdiva1]

I've been trying for 12/20-12/24 at Portofino with no luck. Had been trying daily for last few months and never saw any of the premium hotels pop up. Only 2 hours away from orlando so we will keep trying but may just have to miss christmas at Universal this year.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

I've been trying for 12/20-12/24 at Portofino with no luck. Had been trying daily for last few months and never saw any of the premium hotels pop up. Only 2 hours away from orlando so we will keep trying but may just have to miss christmas at Universal this year.

AP rates came out early August and went REALLY quickly at the premieres. We grabbed Hard Rock in mid October & I haven't seen anything at the premieres since around then. I'd keep checking though because as it gets closer folks may cancel.

 

[mickeynut1]

As others have posted, keep checking. Also check each individual night for availability. A couple months ago I booked a deluxe 2 queen at HRH for 12/15-12/18. Being it's just my DH & me, we don't need the larger deluxe room, but that was the only thing available when I booked so I snagged it. I kept checking for a cheaper room category, but to no avail. Then I started checking individual nights, when I eventually found a pool view that was available for booking each night individually, but not as a 3 night stay. I called and got a very friendly CM who saw what I saw, but the computer wasn't allowing her to make the change. She then put me on a brief hold and came back with my reservation modified to reflect the new room category. I'm good with the pool view we have, but out of curiosity, I periodically check and have noticed over the last month or so that more availability has been popping up as time goes on. It's a pain to constantly check, but you never know if/when something might become available. If you find availability for individual nights but not for your length of stay, call and they should be able to book it for you as a continuous stay. Good luck!

 

[bobafemme]

I am booked, but nervous about crowds now. Jan 15-18 there are no premiere hotels available. It is the week prior Rock the Universe. Any ideas? It is Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, but we often go this time of year without big crowds.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

The Express Pass prices are a little higher on the weekend days but not bad. Currently it’s $119 with it being really slow, Christmas week goes all the way up to $339, and your worst day is $149. So I think you’ll have moderate to low-ish crowds. So few of the people there on a given day stay at the deluxe resorts that I don’t think it always gives you a good crowd picture. Something else can be driving them to be full.

 

[JoyW]

The Express Pass prices are a little higher on the weekend days but not bad. Currently it’s $119 with it being really slow, Christmas week goes all the way up to $339

Thanks for sharing. I've been looking at crowd calendars for our stay and they range from slow to busiest. This info makes me think I will just use the express pass pricing to gauge expected crowds. I think I'll interpret the express pass price range for our dates of $129.99-169.99 as low to moderate.

 

[cfoxga]

RPR, HRH, and Portofino are all sold out for the dates I want. I've tried different configurations of dates, and there is no availability any time during Dec 12-17. Getting close to Christmas I know, but does that mean the parks will be super busy? It's been a long time since I have been to Universal. Thanks

RPR has a standard room open with an APH rate for 12/12-12/15. You'd need another resort for the last two nights though: https://res.windsurfercrs.com/ibe/d...ls=&ada=0&currid=1&vouchercode=&attendeeCode=

HRH has a club queen room for regular price for you entire trip, so it would cost quite a bit more: https://res.windsurfercrs.com/ibe/d...ls=&ada=0&currid=1&vouchercode=&attendeeCode=

 

[Lynne G]

Keep checking, I just booked RPR for $204 a night for 12 to 16. Did have PBH for $239, but for that 4 night difference, we are fine with Royal, even though we’d rather be at the Porto. Price difference was large enough, just canceled it. If it had been around 1/2 that rate difference, would not have switched, and cancelled. Both are AP rates.

If can get 12 to 15, can stay at SF for AP rate of $114 for last 2 nights. The day you checkout and check in, your Royal card will work until close on that switch day. So then you’d only have no included express the first full day at SF and checkout day at SF. Maybe do a resort day, or water park day that full day. Plus, may be low enough crowds, regular lines may not be that long, particularly in the morning hours, and single rider is always an option.

Anyway, my thoughts.

 

[cjlong88]

I am booked, but nervous about crowds now. Jan 15-18 there are no premiere hotels available. It is the week prior Rock the Universe. Any ideas? It is Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, but we often go this time of year without big crowds.

It could be your specific dates have no availability? We are staying at RPR for one night only (Jan 14-15) and all 3 premier hotels are available with multiple room types showing. I just tried modifying the stay yesterday and it still shows availability at all three. My guess is that adjusting the length of stay will show you vastly different results. We went to Universal during MLK weekend last year and thought it was quite crowded, particularly in Hogsmeade (so many humans!) but EP lines were super short during that time as well.

 

[gharter]

Keep checking. There are multiple times where there are group block outs that suddenly disappear and rooms become available.