I just planned our first Universal trip, so approach these answers from this one experience - I started looking at the end of this May for travel this August:
I'm eyeing end of August 2020 for our first Universal Trip. When should (or even when can) I start looking at vacation packages? I have NO idea about how many days to do, but for sure we want to do Volcano Bay. We definitely want to stay on site.
It depends on the specials that Universal offers, and when they go live. There are many ways to book, but from what I've read here, you don't save by buying packages through Universal. Most recommend buying tickets through
Undercover Tourist, but I found (and a few others agreed) that booking on CostcoTravel saved me $$$. We will be staying at the Portofino Bay Hotel.
Which hotels can you walk to the parks? Can you walk to all three parks from one of the hotels?
I found these super helpful in understanding this, based on your needs:
Cabana Bay:
https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/cabana-bay-beach-resort-distance-from-the-parks/
Sapphire Falls:
https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/sapphire-falls-resort-distance-from-the-parks/
* Royal Pacific:
https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/loews-royal-pacific-resort-distance-from-the-parks/
* Hard Rock Hotel:
https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/hard-rock-hotel-orlando-distance-from-the-parks/
* Portofino Bay:
https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/loews-portofino-bay-hotel-distance-from-the-parks/
* these hotels, Royal Pacific, HRH and Portofino Bay all include the "unlimited express passes" - this, along with my CostcoTravel savings, made staying at the Portofino very attractive. It would have cost us more to get the express passes separately. Portofino is a longer walk to the parks, but also offers a boat, as do the other Premier (deluxe) resorts.
Which hotels have suite options? We like a complete (wall) separate sleeping area for the kids.
On the pages linked above, near the top, click on "rooms" for each. The options/prices for suites are so varied, you should really read it yourself.
Which hotels offer the unlimited express packages?
The Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel, Portofino Bay.
We are Marriott and Hilton members with points to use. If I want to compare pricing by staying offsite in one of these hotels, how best do I do that in terms of pricing? We would want express passes.
Express pass costs vary by season. They also vary by what you "want" - if you want to ride the Hogwarts Express, you need a 2 park ticket, and you also need either the Universal Express Pass ("skip the line once per ride") currently $64.99 a person, or the "Unlimited" version currently $84.99 a person. I would find that a party of 4, such as yours, would greatly benefit from staying at one of the Premier resorts, based on the cost of those passes along (remembering that you also need to pay for the standard tickets into the parks.)
My biggest concern with Universal is the amount of motion simulator rides - three out of four of us - me and the kids - get motion sick. Do the motion simulators heavily outweigh the other kinds of rides?
From what I have read on this board, yes. But we are big Harry Potter fans, so we are looking forward to that!
As of this summer - my son 8 is 52 inches and my daughter 6 is 48 inches. Maybe they will grow an inch or two by next summer. I'm thinking they can do most, if not all the rides???
I found this super helpful - it has a lot of information, and it will show you height requirements for each ride:
https://www.universalorlando.com/webdata/k2/en/us/files/Documents/universal-orlando-riders-guide.pdf
So much of this depends on what you want for your vacation: do you do parks "commando style" all the time, where you go the park early, go back to the hotel or water park, then back to the other park in the evening, or do you want more down time? If the former, you need those express passes daily. If the latter, not so much, depending on how many days you want. Will you be there just for the parks, or do you think you might want access to a "kids club" (read more here, comparing the hotels
https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/comparing-on-site-hotels/ ) Do you want to go dancing with your significant other? You may want to stay closer to CityWalk. If you want a more relaxed stay that costs less, but still allows you to walk to the parks, do you need that Express Pass every day? You may want to stay at Cabana Bay in a family suite for a few days, (and get Express Passes for Volcano Bay for about $40 a person) and at one of the three top-tier resorts for a night. You can "check in" as early as you want, then have two days to use early access/express passes in the parks. Some on this board use that night as a "throw away" meaning they check in and don't stay, just to get the benefit of the two days of express passes/early entry. You could get the least expensive room you could find that way, not worrying about a suite, because you are staying in a family suite at Cabana Bay. The pool/retro vibe is all very fun as well (once again, I've never stayed, but we will be visiting the Cabana Bay when we travel this August.)
If you stay offsite at a Marriott/Hilton, make sure they offer shuttles to/from the parks when you would use them. It is a pain to wait too long with younger kids. (Also, check to see if they have the "hour early entry" benefit - priceless in my opinion.) Parking costs a chunk daily at the Universal parks/resorts/hotels. If you are driving to Orlando, this does not matter so much as you would pay the hotel parking fee anyway.
It all depends on your specific situation. For example, when our kids were tweens/teens, we stayed club level at the Polynesian at WDW, and found it an EXCELLENT value, as our kids ate a lot, we didn't mind not having a suite as we could go to the lounge and have a quiet breakfast, or later a beer/wine/appetizers and dessert/watch the fireworks. Your kids a a bit young to leave alone in the hotel room now, but you should seriously consider this when they are older. If I had to do it all over and choose between one room club level and a suite at a value resort, club level hands down.
Last, Universal has a new value resort that just opened up - Surfside Inn & Suites. The suites have a very attractive price point, however you cannot walk to the parks, and will need to take their bus shuttle. They will have the "hour early entry" benefits the other Universal hotels have.
