Where to start?

[mericletwins]

Ok...we were planinng a Disney trip for January and decided to add on three nights to go to Universal. While I have the Disney thing down, I seem to be at a complete loss for Universal. We want to stay on-site and are looking at club level at Portifino and Royal Pacific. Does anyone have any info on the two? Preferences? Pros and cons? We are planning on going in January. Getting there around the third or fourth and staying three nights. We will need two rooms. It is myself and DH, our DD 8, DS 8, DS 7, my mom and my bro.

I am not even sure what I should be asking all you experts , so any advice, thoughst, tips, suggestions etc would be welcome.

 

[GOOFYDONALDMICKEY]

We are frequent visitors to WDW (Poly) and USF (PBH). We always purchase an annual pass in order to save on the room (we saved about $550 on our last trip of 5 nights). We always stay at the PBH on club level. We really enjoy the convenience of having internet access, pool table, dvd and music library. The breakfast and dinner are very good with wine and beer being served from 5-7 PM. A variety of drinks are also served throughout the day. Also the milk and cookies as well as a variety of Italian desserts are served each night. Universal Express is an unbelievable perk and will spoil you. You usually also get next available table by showing your room key at most restaurants. The beach pool is among the best that I have seen. The dive-in movies at PBH are really cool - you can swim while you watch a movie. If you are into spas, the Mandara Spa is also a must.

Restaurant favorites:

Mythos
Emeril's Tchoup Tchoup (Royal Pacific)
Emeril's (Citywalk)
Confisco's Grill (IOA)
Finnegan's (US)

Do you have any specific questions?

Have a great time and enjoy.

 

[mericletwins]

We are frequent visitors to WDW (Poly) and USF (PBH). We always purchase an annual pass in order to save on the room (we saved about $550 on our last trip of 5 nights). We always stay at the PBH on club level. We really enjoy the convenience of having internet access, pool table, dvd and music library. The breakfast and dinner are very good with wine and beer being served from 5-7 PM. A variety of drinks are also served throughout the day. Also the milk and cookies as well as a variety of Italian desserts are served each night. Universal Express is an unbelievable perk and will spoil you. You usually also get next available table by showing your room key at most restaurants. The beach pool is among the best that I have seen. The dive-in movies at PBH are really cool - you can swim while you watch a movie. If you are into spas, the Mandara Spa is also a must.

Restaurant favorites:

Mythos
Emeril's Tchoup Tchoup (Royal Pacific)
Emeril's (Citywalk)
Confisco's Grill (IOA)
Finnegan's (US)

Do you have any specific questions?

Have a great time and enjoy.

Thanks so much. I don't know what specific questions I have, because I don't know, what I don't know.

Do you have kids with you when you go? I am guessing that it is as kid friendly as WDW? We are leaning towards PBH because we are doing a split stay at WDW between the BC and Poly concierge. Restaurant recommendations are good.

My mother doesn't like to ahve a big dinner every night. Would tehh club level food offerings be enough for a dinner for her? What kinds of things do they put out for breakfast time and dinner time food offerings. I realize it isn't a complete meal, but are there some hot items?

 

[GOOFYDONALDMICKEY]

Also, I would view the official usf.com and the restaurant menus are posted on allearsnet.com.

 

[GOOFYDONALDMICKEY]

Thanks so much. I don't know what specific questions I have, because I don't know, what I don't know.

Do you have kids with you when you go? I am guessing that it is as kid friendly as WDW? We are leaning towards PBH because we are doing a split stay at WDW between the BC and Poly concierge. Restaurant recommendations are good.

My mother doesn't like to ahve a big dinner every night. Would tehh club level food offerings be enough for a dinner for her? What kinds of things do they put out for breakfast time and dinner time food offerings. I realize it isn't a complete meal, but are there some hot items?

We do not have kids but travel with family members who have children. The resort and parks seem to be very kid friendly. The breakfast offerings include a variety of pastries, bagels, fruits, cheeses, cereals, cereal bars, as well as coffee, milk, juices, teas, and coke products. The evening offering usually includes cheeses, cold pastas, as well as 2 or 3 hot dishes such as meatballs w/marinara, stuffed mushrooms, italian sausage, and hot pasta dishes. There are also a few side dishes at dinner. The offerings at dinner are more than sufficient to replace a meal.

 

[mericletwins]

Also, I would view the official usf.com and the restaurant menus are posted on allearsnet.com.

I looked on allears.net for the menus, but couldn't find them. I will try looking again. For FOTL, do you need to buy a package (hotel and tickets) or can you do hotel and tickets separately? Could there be a AAA discount on club level rooms? I have looked at PBH and it says that no rooms are available January 4-6th. Is it truely booked up, or are rooms/rates not released yet and that is why it isn'y showing availability?

 

[GOOFYDONALDMICKEY]

I looked on allears.net for the menus, but couldn't find them. I will try looking again. For FOTL, do you need to buy a package (hotel and tickets) or can you do hotel and tickets separately? Could there be a AAA discount on club level rooms? I have looked at PBH and it says that no rooms are available January 4-6th. Is it truely booked up, or are rooms/rates not released yet and that is why it isn'y showing availability?

You receive FOTL access when you book a package or room-only. As for availability, they probably just haven't released the rates yet because I tried a few 2008 dates with no availability. They usually release a AAA discount although they seem to be limited. We have had better luck with the APH rate. For example, we are staying @ PBH next week and the rate drops from $409/night to $309/night with APH. To check the rates, search your dates by hotel, then at the top of the page click new search. At the bottom of the page there is a box where you can type in a promotional code. For AAA just type "AAA" for annual pass rate just type "APH" and click "Search".


On allearsnet.com, in the bottom left-hand corner of the home page click "UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT", then under Dining (left-hand menu) click "Menus".

Hope this helps.

 

[bubba's mom]

If you stay at any of the hotels onsite, your room key is your Express Pass for FOTL....whether you book a room only, or a package. You have to call for AAA rates...I believe some have already called and booked...if AAA rates aren't out yet, you can have it switched once they are.

Have you read the FAQ's sticky at the top of the parks page yet?