WOW, FP+ is worse than I even imagined

[FLchick415]

I always love the people that have obviously never been to a Universal resort, saying how expensive they are.

We've stayed at RPR and HRH. They both are EASILY on par with Disney Deluxe resorts. They are smaller, but that isn't a bad thing. The only negative is no waterslide at RPR, which does blow, but you can pool hop still at Uni, and it's a simple boat ride between the two pools.

Royal Pacific is every bit as good as Poly, and about half the price, PLUS free front of line access. And you can walk to the parks and Citywalk. How long does it take to get from Poly to DTD, including bus wait time?

Yeah, that's sooooo expensive.

Oh, and newsflash, Universal can do what they do with Front-of-Line because they actually build new rides. WDW hasn't increased their actual ride capacity in years. Probably since Everest opened.

-Jason

As someone who only stays Value, yes, Uni's resorts ARE too expensive for me. (Those stays at WL and POFQ in my sig were not on my dime). I could stay at Cabana Bay, but then I don't get the free FOL pass. That's why I keep going back to Disney - because I can use their FP system no matter which hotel I stay at. I'd love to be able to stay on site at Uni, but I just can't afford it.

 

[rastuso]

My upcoming October RPR stay is less than $200 a night. And that is 2 queen beds. Even All Star rooms are $100, and two doubles, and tiny rooms. And those two resorts are even in the same universe. If you are going to Universal a lot, the front of line easily makes up the difference.

If budget is a big deal, low level Disney resorts are a horrible value. For $100 off-site, you can get a suite room with free breakfast. Yeah, there is no giant Dalmation statue, but who cares. You can get a comparable room to the value resorts for about half the price.

A short Universal stay, focusing on Uni stuff, is a fabulous deal. You ride rides constantly, and have a great room nearby. Disney moderates are as much as RPR, and are so big and unwieldy to get to the parks from, they aren't even close to the same value. Which is why we're doing a 2 night stay, with our only WDW trip being MNSSHP.

Jason

 

[FLchick415]

My upcoming October RPR stay is less than $200 a night. And that is 2 queen beds. Even All Star rooms are $100, and two doubles, and tiny rooms. And those two resorts are even in the same universe. If you are going to Universal a lot, the front of line easily makes up the difference.

If budget is a big deal, low level Disney resorts are a horrible value. For $100 off-site, you can get a suite room with free breakfast. Yeah, there is no giant Dalmation statue, but who cares.

Jason

Since I'm semi-local and able to go during slower times of the year, I hardly EVER pay $100 a night for a resort stay. I don't need a suite, I just need a place to shower and sleep because I usually don't spend more than a couple days at the parks. I like that I don't have to drive if I don't want to. And even I do, I still get free parking. Note, I'm not saying anything about Uni's hotels are less than Disney, Disney just fits my wants/needs better.

 

[rastuso]

I have stayed at all US hotels-I like them. But far prefer Disney Deluxe and even Swan-which is often under $200.

I have simply noticed (and figured I would relay as information) a lot of comparable or even cheaper WDW deluxe than US. Which I have found surprising compared to years past. Yes many are much higher-often related to room size/location and how full they are when checking. But I can still choose a WDW deluxe at a comparable price many times of the year.

Nov 4-Yacht Club is less than the HRH and AKL is less than RPR.

You are looking at a Thursday night the first week of November. When Disney has ZERO going on, and Universal has a brand new Harry Potter land that is blowing people away. So, even in the absolute BEST comparison, Disney is still more expensive.

And I"m surprised Mesa let the PP get away so lightly with the tiny rooms comments. Even the RPR rooms are comparable to almost anything at Disney. To call them tiny is a flat out lie.

I'm staying over a Halloween weekend, and paying less than $200 a night for a RPR room, and will enjoy FOL for my whole family, gratis. Plus a short walk/boat ride to the resorts, and HHN.

Or, I could stay at the Polynesian, which is similarly themed, but basically everything is shut down for refurb. And it's still more expensive.

-Jason

 

[Suvadoo]

As someone who only stays Value, yes, Uni's resorts ARE too expensive for me. (Those stays at WL and POFQ in my sig were not on my dime). I could stay at Cabana Bay, but then I don't get the free FOL pass. That's why I keep going back to Disney - because I can use their FP system no matter which hotel I stay at. I'd love to be able to stay on site at Uni, but I just can't afford it.

I can understand you loyalty to WDW, but please don't use the excuse that Disney resorts are more affordable. Cabana Bay is beautiful and I would say it's at least comparable to a moderate and it's about $100/night. You may not get front of the line but you do get early entry to Harry Potter.

 

[jade1]

My upcoming October RPR stay is less than $200 a night. And that is 2 queen beds. Even All Star rooms are $100, and two doubles, and tiny rooms. And those two resorts are even in the same universe. If you are going to Universal a lot, the front of line easily makes up the difference.

If budget is a big deal, low level Disney resorts are a horrible value. For $100 off-site, you can get a suite room with free breakfast. Yeah, there is no giant Dalmation statue, but who cares. You can get a comparable room to the value resorts for about half the price.

A short Universal stay, focusing on Uni stuff, is a fabulous deal. You ride rides constantly, and have a great room nearby. Disney moderates are as much as RPR, and are so big and unwieldy to get to the parks from, they aren't even close to the same value. Which is why we're doing a 2 night stay, with our only WDW trip being MNSSHP.

Jason

Budget is not a big deal to a lot of folks-that works on the deluxe end as well.

I'm looking at Oct to move DD down there and RPR is $259 and BC is $280, WL is $228, I think C Beach was $145 which we would take before RPR. Planning BC obviously for $21 more, and will do HP some other time.

But in all honesty the UNI resorts could be $49 and we would still grab the BC because thats the place we want to be at.

But like I say, I like the US hotels-although RPR must have changed since we stayed (said never again) it was a Super 8 room at best and not an expansive resort feel you can find at Disney.

 

[jade1]

You are looking at a Thursday night the first week of November. When Disney has ZERO going on, and Universal has a brand new Harry Potter land that is blowing people away. So, even in the absolute BEST comparison, Disney is still more expensive.

And I"m surprised Mesa let the PP get away so lightly with the tiny rooms comments. Even the RPR rooms are comparable to almost anything at Disney. To call them tiny is a flat out lie.

I'm staying over a Halloween weekend, and paying less than $200 a night for a RPR room, and will enjoy FOL for my whole family, gratis. Plus a short walk/boat ride to the resorts, and HHN.

Or, I could stay at the Polynesian, which is similarly themed, but basically everything is shut down for refurb. And it's still more expensive.

-Jason

We have 2 dates in mind to move DD down to the area, and are planning our first Food & Wine visit.

But I'm not sure how the YC at $279 is still more expensive than HRH at $284 or AKL at $225 is more expensive than RPR at $259.

 

[mesaboy2]

You are looking at a Thursday night the first week of November. When Disney has ZERO going on, and Universal has a brand new Harry Potter land that is blowing people away. So, even in the absolute BEST comparison, Disney is still more expensive.

And I"m surprised Mesa let the PP get away so lightly with the tiny rooms comments. Even the RPR rooms are comparable to almost anything at Disney. To call them tiny is a flat out lie.

I'm staying over a Halloween weekend, and paying less than $200 a night for a RPR room, and will enjoy FOL for my whole family, gratis. Plus a short walk/boat ride to the resorts, and HHN.

Or, I could stay at the Polynesian, which is similarly themed, but basically everything is shut down for refurb. And it's still more expensive.

-Jason

I was in a good mood and being charitable.

Budget is not a big deal to a lot of folks-that works on the deluxe end as well.

I'm looking at Oct to move DD down there and RPR is $259 and BC is $280, WL is $228, I think C Beach was $145 which we would take before RPR. Planning BC obviously for $21 more, and will do HP some other time.

1. But in all honesty the UNI resorts could be $49 and we would still grab the BC because thats the place we want to be at.

But like I say,

2. I like the US hotels-although RPR must have changed since we stayed (said never again) it was a Super 8 room at best and not an expansive resort feel you can find at Disney.

1. You don't say. I think that has been clear since this whole "x resort is more expensive" exchange started.

2. Clearly you like them, given your Super-8 and never again feelings. How about an oxymoron or two.

 

[jade1]

2. Clearly you like them, given your Super-8 and never again feelings. How about an oxymoron or two.

Hotel (s) and the "although" for RPR should answer your concern.

 

[Planogirl]

Jade, that looks nice if a bit old school.

I can understand your preference for certain resorts no matter what the cost is. I know that I'd much rather stay in PORS than the GF no matter what the price is. The GF just doesn't appeal.

 

[mesaboy2]

Hotel (s) and the "although" for RPR should answer your concern.

It doesn't. And I have no idea what I'm supposed to be looking for in these pictures.

The first statement you made shows a clear bias towards your position and the second one makes little to no sense. But whatever. You keep on suggesting that WDW Deluxe hotels are every bit as affordable as the UO onsites are.

I (and others) have made our point, again. <moving along>

 

[jade1]

But like I say, I like the US hotels-although RPR must have changed since we stayed (said never again) it was a Super 8 room at best and not an expansive resort feel you can find at Disney.

Hotel (s) and the "although" for RPR should answer your concern.

It doesn't.

Seriously?

I like the US hotels ....."ALTHOUGH".....the RPR must have changed since the rooms looked like a Super 8-not necessarily all bad since they are fine-just not what I call deluxe at least at the time.

That statement shows I very well could like the US Hotels-just that one would not meet a deluxe standard when we stayed IMO.

 

[jade1]

And I have no idea what I'm supposed to be looking for in these pictures.

Your looking at a Deluxe hotel room I guess, sorry for the confusion. They don't get much better than that. My bad.

 

[jade1]

You keep on suggesting that WDW Deluxe hotels are every bit as affordable as the UO onsites are.

I (and others) have made our point, again. <moving along>

I think I did a bit more than "suggesting".

And perhaps you also missed this as well:

No reason to be surprised. They're having occupancy issues with their Deluxe accommodations - serious enough to begin converting a percentage of those rooms into DVC units. BC and WL seem to be the biggest concern, as of now.

This discussion has been ongoing in the thread below, started by rteetz:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3304881

 

[L&Lfan]

I love the Disney deluxes but it's my personal experience that the Portofino Bay Hotel puts any WDW/DL deluxe to shame. And I'm talking about standard room level at Portofino Bay. I haven't experienced their club level or top of the line suites. Disney has stopped much of what used to be their "par for the course" amenities for any deluxe stay.

 

[jade1]

Jade, that looks nice if a bit old school.

I can understand your preference for certain resorts no matter what the cost is. I know that I'd much rather stay in PORS than the GF no matter what the price is. The GF just doesn't appeal.

Yea that's exactly why I said unless its been updated-thank you.

We will always pay more for HRH or PFB at US.

 

[rastuso]

Budget is not a big deal to a lot of folks-that works on the deluxe end as well.

I'm looking at Oct to move DD down there and RPR is $259 and BC is $280, WL is $228, I think C Beach was $145 which we would take before RPR. Planning BC obviously for $21 more, and will do HP some other time.

But in all honesty the UNI resorts could be $49 and we would still grab the BC because thats the place we want to be at.

But like I say, I like the US hotels-although RPR must have changed since we stayed (said never again) it was a Super 8 room at best and not an expansive resort feel you can find at Disney.

Isn't the bolded all you had to say.

And then to compare Royal Pacific to a Super 8????? Did they raze that one and rebuild, or has Super 8 REALLY upped their game?

Or are you simply being ridiculous.

-Jason

 

[wisblue]

You are right - Universal IS so much better. They don't offer any kind of help escaping their horrid lines on ANY ride at all -unless you stay in one of their VERY expensive hotels. Well I guess that is not totally true. You can stay in their affordable Cabana Bay Beach Resort and pay like 50.00 per person per day for the front of the line pass.

I generally like Universal when we do visit, but I wonder how people on these boards would react if Disney did these things:

1. Built a new Star Wars land, but put part of it DHS and part at the MK by retheming Space Mountain and Astro Orbiter and putting some buildings and shops around them. Then they built a new monorail to get you from MK to DHS and back, and put scenes relating to Star Wars on the windows during the ride. Of course, to ride that monorail, and to see all of Star Wars land in one day, you would have to buy a multi park ticket which would cost about $135.

2. Required guests to check their bags (even very small ones) in lockers before going on any but the tamest rides. On a recent visit to Universal it took us almost a half hour to retrieve our stuff from a locker after riding the Forbidden Journey, first because the locker area was so jammed that we had to shoehorn in just to get to where our stuff was. Then, some guy who didn't speak English very well stood at the keypad forever entering numbers and scanning his finger without being able to unlock a locker. Finally an employee came over and opened about 10 different lockers while this guy looked in them and decided they weren't his, in some cases after taking half of the stuff out. It was pretty apparent that this guy was at the wrong station, but instead of pulling this guy aside, the employee kept quizzing him about where his locker was and what was in it. When the station finally cleared, there were a number of other people crowded around with differing opinions about who had been waiting longer. Talk about a messed up system.

There are a lot of reasons why some people might prefer Universal over Disney. But to say that they treat guests right while Disney abuses theirs is not one of them.

 

[MermaidMommy]

I think I did a bit more than "suggesting".

Nope. Across the board, Universal hotels are cheaper than Disney deluxes. Period. Can you sometimes get a deal through third-party reservation sites that might make a particular Disney hotel cheaper than a Universal hotel on a certain date? Sure. But that just means that the Disney hotel has low occupancy on that date, so it's offered at a discount on places like Expedia. (The pp that you quoted states the same thing -- Disney sometimes has occupancy issues.) But, Disney hasn't lowered their prices any, and if you compare actual room rates at Universal vs Disney, Universal is always cheaper.

 

[jade1]

Isn't the bolded all you had to say.

And then to compare Royal Pacific to a Super 8????? Did they raze that one and rebuild, or has Super 8 REALLY upped their game?

Or are you simply being ridiculous.

-Jason

Talking about our next trip to Food & Wine (and doing HP some other time)-you missed that part.

And weve already revised our opinions of that room as deluxe as you can get. Just hoping our YC room is as nice.