Two active boys who love to swim and slide - which Universal hotel?

[disney-super-mom]

We've never been to US/IOA before, but after visiting US Hollywood for the first time this fall and having such a wonderful time, our boys (and their dad and I) immediately decided we just HAVE to visit US/IOA on our next family vacation.

Our boys are little fish and LOVE swimming and water slides, so for them it's all about the pool and slide rather than the theme or decor of the hotel. Which Universal hotel pool would a couple of young boys (7 and 11) like the best? This information would definitely help us make a decision. DH and I aren't that picky about decor, and we've heard all the Universal hotels are lovely, so we'll base our hotel decision on the best pool and slide.

Also, is there any time of year where staying onsite and the FOTL perk isn't really necessary? Maybe the last week of January or the first couple weeks of February? I was just wondering, because it's always nice to save on the hotel expense if possible.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[bas71873]

We stayed at HRH last August and my DD6 LOVED the pool and the slide. We were begging her to leave most nights. I have never been to the other 2 onsite hotels, but HRH gets my vote just for the slide and pool activities alone.

 

[loperella]

We have two boys and they LOVE HRH!!! We've only stayed there & RPR, which also has a very nice pool area (no slide), but they still favor Hard Rock. It has by far the biggest slide AND it's open, zero entry pool that's huge, PLUS the underwater music/speakers is very cool.

Onsite guests can also pool hop to the sister hotels and we def plan on checking out PBH pool our next go round. Our kids are def water lovers so if yours are too, then HRH may be the best choice. But really, I don't think you'd go wrong with any of the hotels. Have fun!

 

[ThemeParkGuy]

HRH

 

[JAL2525]

We have two boys and they loved the pool, slide and atmosphere of the HRH. This year was a little chilly so there was not much happening poolside. In our previous trips it was very active poolside. They always had something going on...contests, raft races etc...

 

[donaldduck352]

I love RPR but as far as pools PBH hands down.HRH can get very crowded,but they have A great pool with slide also.We just found PBH more tranquail and Splendido Pizzeria serves some great pizza.Oh and at PBH we loved the small like caves with the waterfalls.
Do remember you can pool hop.We stay at RPR and spend A whole day at PBH poo,its only A boat ride away.

As far as slow times and staying offsite thats deff A option.But think of it this way,when you stay on-site you don't have to worry about getting up early to get to the parks.You can sleep in go to the parks for A few hours come back to the resort for some pool time and return to the parks without having to get behind the wheel and drive at all.

When you stay on-site you wont want to leave!!!

 

[nmartin]

I have two boys 7 and 9 years that would just love the pool at HRH but I want some down time as well. Will there really be a lot of people in mid September at pool side at HRH? I would rather not pool hop.

 

[bas71873]

I have two boys 7 and 9 years that would just love the pool at HRH but I want some down time as well. Will there really be a lot of people in mid September at pool side at HRH? I would rather not pool hop.

We were at HRH at the end of August last year and we never had a problem finding chairs by the pool and to us, it never seemed hectic. We found HRH and US/IOA WAY more relaxing than anything WDW. We always grabbed chairs near the end of the slide area so we could watch DD come down and I know right behind us there was a quiet area of somekind. Maybe there was a hot tub up there? But I know it said adults only.

I think in mid-Sept you'll be fine. Just my opinion though.

 

[loperella]

I have two boys 7 and 9 years that would just love the pool at HRH but I want some down time as well. Will there really be a lot of people in mid September at pool side at HRH? I would rather not pool hop.

Your boys will love HRH and all of the great poolside activities including dive-in movies. We were there the 1st week of Oct & will be going the same time this year. It was never a problem finding chairs and the jacuzzis, there are two, were never full/crowded. In fact, the pool area never seemed to be crowded and we were there at peak time of day, usually around 1-2:00 after hitting the parks.

Like pp mentioned, we always staked out a sandy spot near the slide bottom. Easy to watch the kids and very close to one of the jacuzzis.

 

[nmartin]

That makes me feel better! I think that I may just pick HRH over RPH.

Thanks for the input.

 

[Poly-Anna]

We love staying at PBH and love the pools there, however we always poolhop over to HRH. We usually rent a cabana at HRH for the day which is great and make a day of it there. We like RPR pool also but there's no water slide; it does have awesome water cannons though. Poolhopping is a great option, one that WDW doesn't allow which is too bad. However we usually just stay at YC/BC and that pool is the best, so no need to stay anywhere else at WDW.

If you don't mind poolhopping, then I would pick your favorite hotel to stay at and just bounce around. Have fun.