Cabana Bay or Endless Summer

[Choirmom]

We are taking our 2 adult kids (DS30 and DD 26) to Universal November 29 through December 3. DH and I stayed at Cabana Bay in 2021 and really thought the hotel was great for a Value Hotel. I noticed that both hotels have 2 bedroom suites. Endless Summer is much less expensive than Cabana Bay.

Does anyone have experience with the 2 bedroom suites, and general opinions on these hotels?

Also, we bought the 5 day for 2 day price tickets. Is it worth it to upgrade to an Annual Pass? I noticed no AP hotel discounts for our dates...yet.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Just to clarify, at Cabana Bay are you referring to a Family Suite OR the Volcano Bay View 2 bedroom suite?

 

[georgina]

We are taking our 2 adult kids (DS30 and DD 26) to Universal November 29 through December 3. DH and I stayed at Cabana Bay in 2021 and really thought the hotel was great for a Value Hotel. I noticed that both hotels have 2 bedroom suites. Endless Summer is much less expensive than Cabana Bay.

Does anyone have experience with the 2 bedroom suites, and general opinions on these hotels?

Also, we bought the 5 day for 2 day price tickets. Is it worth it to upgrade to an Annual Pass? I noticed no AP hotel discounts for our dates...yet.

As far as an annual pass upgrade, that depends on the chances you will take another trip or if you see an AP discount come up and it looks worth it to buy 1 for that. If there are Manheim Steamroller concerts Dec 2/3, seasonal passes are usually blocked out of US park those days. I have no experience with 2 BR suites, but you could consider just booking 2 regular rooms also. I have stayed at CB many times, but not ES.

There will be an Orlando Informer after hours meet-up event Dec 1 and 2. With 5 days you may not be interested, but at least check it out. Tickets go on sale June 6 and it is a lot of fun! Maybe the young adults would want to go.

 

[Choirmom]

Thanks for the responses. I am looking at the 2 bedroom suites at each hotel. Leaning towards Cabana Bay Volcano Bay 2 Bed suite.

What is the Orlando Informer Meet-up? Is it an after hours party like the Disney After Hours events?

 

[DoryGirl1963]

The CBBR VB view 2 BR is quite a bit larger than the 2 BR at Endless Summer - almost 800 square ft vs. 440 square ft.

At CBBR there are 2 completely separate bedrooms - one with a queen bed & another with 2 full beds - a living area with another full size pull out sofa, a kitchenette & 2 full baths.

At Endless Summer, there's actually only one separate bedroom with a queen bed & then 2 more queens in the main part of the room that also includes a picnic table & kitchenette & only 1 bathroom. They're probably more comparable to the regular Family Suites at CBBR.

There are only 20 of the 2 bedroom suites at CBBR, so if you decide that's what you want, probably better book quickly !

 

[Choirmom]

Thanks for the info. I had no idea there were only 20 suites available. I'll book today. I wanted to wait to see if they came out with any discounts, but better safe than sorry.

 

[georgina]

Thanks for the responses. I am looking at the 2 bedroom suites at each hotel. Leaning towards Cabana Bay Volcano Bay 2 Bed suite.

What is the Orlando Informer Meet-up? Is it an after hours party like the Disney After Hours events?

Similar to AH, but a LOT more free food, both parks included for the price (it's a bit pricey)

 

[CAPSLOCK]

Random tidbits which might be helpful:
1. Endless Summer does not allow pool hopping, if that is important to your crew. CB does, and has its own better pool regardless.
2. Your ticket will be valued as a 2 day ticket for any upgrade.
3. The longer you stay, the less beneficial the AP hotel rate is (because longer stays are already discounted more than short stays). So if your 5+ day stay is already discounted maybe 25%, it might not be worth the upgrade to bump up to a 30-35% AP discount.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Just be warned that the VB-view rooms are really far from the lobby. It might not be a dealbreaker for you, but after a day of walking, many people say those tower seem really far off.

Have you considered getting two standard rooms and maybe seeing if you can get them connecting? No worries if you really want the suite, but with adult children you all might be just as happy in separate rooms.

 

[Choirmom]

Just be warned that the VB-view rooms are really far from the lobby. It might not be a dealbreaker for you, but after a day of walking, many people say those tower seem really far off.

Have you considered getting two standard rooms and maybe seeing if you can get them connecting? No worries if you really want the suite, but with adult children you all might be just as happy in separate rooms.

Thank you for the info. I noticed that the VB view rooms were a long ways away. DH and I discussed this and he is okay with it. He gets up SUPER early so we figured having a separate space for him to be while everyone else is still sleeping would be best.

If a room discount comes up later, I may cancel and try to get a family suite connected to a regular room...if that's possible.

 

[Sue M]

I would go with Cabana Bay. You’re in close proximity to other Universal hotels for dining options- Aventura and Sapphire Falls are right across the street. Royal Pacific is close too. Plus if you want to walk to the parks along Garden Path it’s doable. Plus the mentioned pool hopping.

 

[mamapenguin]

I am At Dockside right now. It’s my first time at this hotel, I wanted to check it out. I have been pleasantly surprised. They gave me a 2 bedroom suite even though I booked a two queen room. It’s not very big, but the separate sleeping area could be nice if I had someone with me who could use it. I like the picnic table and the fact that there’s a microwave even if I haven’t used it. The in room coffee is gross, but luckily there’s a nice efficient Starbucks. The Pier 8 food area is pretty good. I was surprised to see little bottles of vodka bundled with cans of cranberry juice in the grab and go area. And the buses wow. They have been great, especially when it rained last night. They had them stacked up, one right after another waiting to replace the full bus. I’ve been here since Sunday and I have not waited more than 1-2 minutes. Most of the time they are already there. Any reservations that I had about a bus only hotel are gone. Housekeeping has been good.