Universal First or Last?

[virginatlantic]

We tend to go to Universal parks right at the begining day 1 and 2.

Our reasons being, we stay on site in a Disney hotel always, and find the fact we wake up at am for the first few days, we might as well kill 40 mins with the drive to Universal.
When we slip in to USA time on day 3-4 its easy going round the corner to a Disney park/water park

 

[AaronSilk]

I love reading your posts folks......

but how until i understand abbreviations!

US and IOA - i got uni studio and island of adventure

but - FOTL will spoil you & 4 nights at HRH ? eh?

also, some of folk posting go to USA every year or TWICE a year!
Its year 2000 since i last been (pre child).
how many holidays off work do u guys get!!

 

[Frances999]

I love reading your posts folks......

but how until i understand abbreviations!

US and IOA - i got uni studio and island of adventure

but - FOTL will spoil you & 4 nights at HRH ? eh?

also, some of folk posting go to USA every year or TWICE a year!
Its year 2000 since i last been (pre child).
how many holidays off work do u guys get!!

FOTL is "front of the line". By staying at a Universal Orlando resort (Royal Pacific - "RPR"/Hard Rock Hotel - "HRH"/Portofino Bay- "PBH") you can use your room key to get unlimited access to the express lines at all the major attractions.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

I love reading your posts folks......

but how until i understand abbreviations!

US and IOA - i got uni studio and island of adventure

but - FOTL will spoil you & 4 nights at HRH ? eh?

also, some of folk posting go to USA every year or TWICE a year!
Its year 2000 since i last been (pre child).
how many holidays off work do u guys get!!

sorry - it does get easier!!

HRH - Hard Rock Hotel
FOTL - Front of the line (there is a seperate fast lane for the rides at universal for those who either stay at one of the 3 onsite hotels or who buy a special day pass)

hope that helps a little!!

A lot of us on here are florida fanatics and whilst I don't go every year either anymore (since children arrived too!!) - holidays are THE most important thing to us so its where all our savings and spare cash go!! The Dis is where I spend my time in between trips (which in my case are more than 2 years apart at the moment!!)

 

[wicket2005]

In answer to your question I would stay at Hard Rock last and enjoy the relaxation of it all.

We are fortunate to be able to stay at Universal for our complete holiday as a base. We then just nip 20 minutes down the road to one of the Disney parks for the day then back to Universal for the night or whatever or vice versa. The whole holiday is spread between Universal, Sea World and Disney and not into sections. We also find that going in peak times and having FOTL means we can go on rides really easily at any time of the day whereas at Disney the best time to go is first thing then later in the day brings longer lines. So we feel we get the best out of all the parks.

My lads are 20 and 18 and they both love Universal the best and Islands. If you do the water rides at Islands you will get soaked no doubt about it. Staying onsite at Universal is a massive perk. I am sure your family will love it.

Hard Rock is a fantastic hotel and our favourite one out of the two we have stayed in. Going in the summer months it has a fantastic party vibe feel about it but is quieter when we visited in the December. It is just 'cool' and your teenagers will love it.

For us we think of Orlando as being a massive theme park with 7 lands and wouldn't like to be just in one type of land for part of the holiday, we enjoy hopping between all of them throughout our time there.

 

[amystevekai&bump]

In answer to your question I would stay at Hard Rock last and enjoy the relaxation of it all.

We are fortunate to be able to stay at Universal for our complete holiday as a base. We then just nip 20 minutes down the road to one of the Disney parks for the day then back to Universal for the night or whatever or vice versa. The whole holiday is spread between Universal, Sea World and Disney and not into sections. We also find that going in peak times and having FOTL means we can go on rides really easily at any time of the day whereas at Disney the best time to go is first thing then later in the day brings longer lines. So we feel we get the best out of all the parks.

My lads are 20 and 18 and they both love Universal the best and Islands. If you do the water rides at Islands you will get soaked no doubt about it. Staying onsite at Universal is a massive perk. I am sure your family will love it.

Hard Rock is a fantastic hotel and our favourite one out of the two we have stayed in. Going in the summer months it has a fantastic party vibe feel about it but is quieter when we visited in the December. It is just 'cool' and your teenagers will love it.


For us we think of Orlando as being a massive theme park with 7 lands and wouldn't like to be just in one type of land for part of the holiday, we enjoy hopping between all of them throughout our time there.

Wicket can I just ask - Why do you prefer the Hard Rock??? We absolutely LOVED it, but that is the only one of the 3 we have stayed at, and we haven't even seen the others, so have nothing to compare.

I was all set to book HRH next year and now I am toying with the idea of swapping to a kids suite at RPH. Not sure why, other than I now have the WDW hotels booked so I am getting bored and looking for something else to change around!!

 

[wicket2005]

The Hard Rock is closer to Universal Studios where we tend to be on an evening and though we are fit people and enjoy walking, it was nice to only have a 5 minute walk back. RPR is a good 10-15 minutes walk away.

The Hard Rock has a better shop where you can buy snacks, ice cream and coffee. The RPR only has a gift shop with a minimum of snacks. I do wish these hotels would open a deli where you could just buy a plain old sandwich on a night.

At the Hard Rock you can take your breakfast bought from the little shop and eat in comfortable chairs on the balcony overlooking the pool area. We discovered this in December and it was fantastic eating outside in this month. Whereas the RPR has the Orchid Lounge where you can pick up breakfast it is indoors though you could go out and sit on loungers if you want. I would add here the RPR has a much better selection of breakfast choices for pick up and go breakfasts.

The Hard Rock has a super cool party atmosphere in the summer with music and entertainment by the pool. When we were there loads of people were just sitting in the pool sipping drinks and listening to the music - the phrase 'this is the life' comes to mind. We thought RPR was quieter.

The RPR does have a good water area for kids though which may be of benefit to you.

Both hotels are fantastic and you would not regret going to the RPR. Its tropical theming is just lovely. Both staff and comfort is the same at both hotels though I think the Hard Rock's rooms may be a touch bigger.

We are back to the RPR is July and are soon to decide which to book for next year. When we booked this year's holiday we had not yet been to Hard Rock so thought we would go back to RPR. We prefer the Hard Rock but may opt for RPR if there is a big difference in price but really you just don't fall wrong with either.

 

[Lizzybear]

A lot of us on here are florida fanatics and whilst I don't go every year either anymore (since children arrived too!!) - holidays are THE most important thing to us so its where all our savings and spare cash go!!

Indeed! I'm sure many DISers can comfortably afford their trips but for us, especially as the hol draws near, it's a case of how many weeks can we go without the food shop and ooh what's not nailed down that I can flog on eBay for spending money! For better or worse, I live for my holidays

 

[amystevekai&bump]

The Hard Rock is closer to Universal Studios where we tend to be on an evening and though we are fit people and enjoy walking, it was nice to only have a 5 minute walk back. RPR is a good 10-15 minutes walk away.

The Hard Rock has a better shop where you can buy snacks, ice cream and coffee. The RPR only has a gift shop with a minimum of snacks. I do wish these hotels would open a deli where you could just buy a plain old sandwich on a night.

At the Hard Rock you can take your breakfast bought from the little shop and eat in comfortable chairs on the balcony overlooking the pool area. We discovered this in December and it was fantastic eating outside in this month. Whereas the RPR has the Orchid Lounge where you can pick up breakfast it is indoors though you could go out and sit on loungers if you want. I would add here the RPR has a much better selection of breakfast choices for pick up and go breakfasts.

The Hard Rock has a super cool party atmosphere in the summer with music and entertainment by the pool. When we were there loads of people were just sitting in the pool sipping drinks and listening to the music - the phrase 'this is the life' comes to mind. We thought RPR was quieter.

The RPR does have a good water area for kids though which may be of benefit to you.

Both hotels are fantastic and you would not regret going to the RPR. Its tropical theming is just lovely. Both staff and comfort is the same at both hotels though I think the Hard Rock's rooms may be a touch bigger.

We are back to the RPR is July and are soon to decide which to book for next year. When we booked this year's holiday we had not yet been to Hard Rock so thought we would go back to RPR. We prefer the Hard Rock but may opt for RPR if there is a big difference in price but really you just don't fall wrong with either.

thanks for posting this!!

We really liked Emack & Bolios too!!! So I think we might stick with what we know next time and then visit the others with a view to trying them the next trip!! HRH was easily our favourite part of the last holiday - so why chance it I guess!!

 

[GemmaPixie]

Would definately say Universal last. It is so much more relaxing at Universal and Front of the line perk means you don't need to be at the park at opening and you can relax more. After all the hustle and bustle of Disney- queues, up for rope drop every morning, walking etc I would say you will need the relaxation! Plus, the hotls are FAB so you can relax there aswell.