Universal has me spoiled.

[5kidsmommy]

We just book our first universal trip for the end of the month. It’s a spur of the moment trip. It’s only for four days for two adults. $3000 for the hotel and tickets made me happy. We are doing club level because we desperately need a break. I’m actually thrilled with the price and the amenities at the Hard Rock look good. We shall see if this makes us converts. Our last stay in Disney at the Poly wasnt the best and we figure now is a good time to try something new.

 

[Grumpy92]

I agree 1000%. I’m right now at Portofino - this is our first Universal trip. The beds here are simply amazing. When I see that I’m basically paying through a special rate here the same price I just paid a pop century it’s insane. Seriously has anyone stayed here and commuted to Disney parks during their Disney trips? If it wasn’t for the fact of the skyline - something we love and it’s really convenient at pop. I am honestly considering only staying at a Universal Resort while in Orlando.

We do it all the time. We converted to UO hotels years ago and just take the 10-15 minute drive to WDW when we want too. Love the amenities, AP and feel we really get more bang for our buck at UO.

 

[mvansear]

We just book our first universal trip for the end of the month. It’s a spur of the moment trip. It’s only for four days for two adults. $3000 for the hotel and tickets made me happy. We are doing club level because we desperately need a break. I’m actually thrilled with the price and the amenities at the Hard Rock look good. We shall see if this makes us converts. Our last stay in Disney at the Poly wasnt the best and we figure now is a good time to try something new.

Hi there congrats on your visit to the dark side. Take a peek if there are any Annual pass holders rates at HRH for your dates https://res.windsurfercrs.com/ibe/d...hildren=0&promo=aph&iata=&group=&hotels=&ada= . You can usually upgrade regular tickets to AP while in the parks before your last day (upgrade for us was less than 20.00 per ticket). To get the Annual pass discount on the hotel you just have to show the AP before checkout. We LOVE LOVE the club here are some food pics from our trip in May https://www.disboards.com/posts/63065527/

 

[patster734]

I agree 1000%. I’m right now at Portofino - this is our first Universal trip. The beds here are simply amazing. When I see that I’m basically paying through a special rate here the same price I just paid a pop century it’s insane. Seriously has anyone stayed here and commuted to Disney parks during their Disney trips? If it wasn’t for the fact of the skyline - something we love and it’s really convenient at pop. I am honestly considering only staying at a Universal Resort while in Orlando.

We are staying at PBH for a week, beginning tomorrow. We’re doing Epcot on Wednesday, and will Uber/Lift between PBH and Epcot that day. That is the only Disney park we are visiting.

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

We are staying at PBH for a week, beginning tomorrow. We’re doing Epcot on Wednesday, and will Uber/Lift between PBH and Epcot that day. That is the only Disney park we are visiting.

That's similar to my itinerary in December, we're flying down on Thursday and will do Epcot that day. We'll be staying at Universal for the entire long weekend though and will hit both parks Friday and Saturday before either having a beach day to rest or heading up to St. Augustine for a day trip.

 

[FlipHipster]

We are staying at PBH for a week, beginning tomorrow. We’re doing Epcot on Wednesday, and will Uber/Lift between PBH and Epcot that day. That is the only Disney park we are visiting.

Same. We checked in Friday checking out Friday RPR and SF. We are going to DHS tomorrow only because of star wars. I offered the rest of the family the option to hit Disney 2 or 3 days ( we haven't been since '14 or '15) and they were like, meh. Awesome, that probably saved us $1k-$1500 easy. Would like to see Pandora but didn't feel like it was worth sacrificing a day.

FWIW, we used to be big WDW fans. Always onsite never left the bubble, deluxe hotel or DVC close to parks etc. Then FP+ happened and we stepped out of the bubble, discovered UO and haven't been back to WDW. I miss it, but not as much as I thought I would.

 

[kbelle8995]

We have come to enjoy Universal very much. At least I have minimal planning and the hotels are very nice. We went to Cabana during the Christmas holidays and found it beautifully decorated with some wonderful entertainment offered.

Also it's nice to go on a trip and feel like there is some money left in my wallet

 

[5kidsmommy]

So we are finishing up our first day. There were some hiccups last night, delayed flight, delayed luggage arrival, waiting forever for the super shuttle and our room not being ready when we got in at nearly midnight. The manager at the Velvet bar saved the night by quickly getting us food and beverages because I was admittedly hangry.

last night I wasn’t happy. Today though has been a game changer. Hard Rock is lovely and such a short walk to universal. The express pass is awesome. We are just so impressed by our first trip here. The parks are so clean and the theming is better than I imagined. We will definitely make this an annual trip.

 

[5kidsmommy]

Another update from me. This trip without a doubt spoiled us. Today we head home. Last night we upgraded to annual passes because my husband had such a good time. Hard Rock club level is fantastic. I can imagine if you are in the parks open to close it wouldn’t be as worthwhile but we took a lot of breaks and having food and drinks available without having to order them or have them stocked in the room was great.
Lastly I didn’t know what to expect from the universal employees but everyone we dealt with was just awesome. This place is great. Most relaxing theme park vacation we have ever had.