How many days do you stay and what onsite resort?

[maryj11]

I know Disney like the back of my hand. but nothing about Universal. We decided to skip Disney next trip and try staying onsite at Universal. It will be just me and my teen on this trip.
I'm not sure how many days we should stay. How many days does it take to do the parks and CityWalk? We wont be doing the water park. How many days do you stay or recommend?
I have been looking online at the onsight resorts and I'm lost. I know we would not want one that is on the deluxe side(expensive), but a moderate priced one or even value priced. We do want a good location and maybe one that offer unlimited express pass. I kind of like the tropical beach type hotels.
Any help or recommendations will be appreciated.

 

[bobbie68]

Hi so glad that you want to try Universal. We usually go yearly and love it there. We have also done Disney many times. Universal is totally different in that it is much more relaxing.

Personally we go from 5-7 days that is because we like to enjoy the resort and the parks. We also like to take our time and go back and forth and with so many days we can. Now if you just want to hit the parks the time of year makes a difference. If you go in the peak times your stand by lines can be from 60 to 90 minutes. If you have the express pass it is more like 20- 30. Off peak times people say you can get away without express pass over a couple of days. Personally we would not go without the express pass. I just love the freedom it gives us. I would say peak time with express pass at least 2 days if no express pass 3. If you go off peak season you could probably also do 2 days. I think how many rides interest you will factor here. If you like everything then you will need more time. Also if you go at HHN in October you can lose time in the studios. It closes early for haunts.

City walk has a mini golf, a movie theater and lots of shops and restaurants. We usually just need a couple of hours a day if we go to eat and shop. It is not very big. It is so close to the parks you can walk outside the gates and go to city walk. We usually eat lunch at Toothsome then head back to the park. It is maybe a 5 minute walk.

I have stayed at all the hotels for 2 or more days except Royal Pacific Resort. It does get a lot of great reviews and sounds like it would be a good fit for you. It offers the tropical feel and the express pass. It is also usually the cheapest if you don't have an annual pass for a discount. It is close to the parks where you can walk or take the water taxi.

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions please ask

 

[schumigirl]

Have a look at the hotel stickies.......it has pictures of the resorts so may give you a feel of which one you may like........

For a first visit, do 4 or 5 days. That will give you plenty of time to do the parks and Citywalk and also have some Resort time too........

You can pool hop between all the hotels.

We stay a lot of nights over the years........we’ll be just around 60 nights this year between Royal Pacific and Sapphire Falls..........for us they are perfect Resort hotels.......they feel like resorts..........love them!!

The three deluxe hotels all offer EP. Portofino Bay, Hard Rock and Royal Pacific.

With Sapphire, Aventura and Cabana Bay you do get the extra hour in the morning........as Bobbie says, it depends when you are going that may make a difference.

For us we wouldn't do the parks without EP...….but we hate queuing with a passion......some don't mind it.

 

[DaniMoon]

I was just going to post something similar. Looking to book next August. Disney regulars, but haven't been to Universal in years (have been waiting for my youngest to get a bit more adventurous). Most excited for the Harry Potter rides, but looking forward to all of it.

 

[maryj11]

Hi so glad that you want to try Universal. We usually go yearly and love it there. We have also done Disney many times. Universal is totally different in that it is much more relaxing.

Personally we go from 5-7 days that is because we like to enjoy the resort and the parks. We also like to take our time and go back and forth and with so many days we can. Now if you just want to hit the parks the time of year makes a difference. If you go in the peak times your stand by lines can be from 60 to 90 minutes. If you have the express pass it is more like 20- 30. Off peak times people say you can get away without express pass over a couple of days. Personally we would not go without the express pass. I just love the freedom it gives us. I would say peak time with express pass at least 2 days if no express pass 3. If you go off peak season you could probably also do 2 days. I think how many rides interest you will factor here. If you like everything then you will need more time. Also if you go at HHN in October you can lose time in the studios. It closes early for haunts.

City walk has a mini golf, a movie theater and lots of shops and restaurants. We usually just need a couple of hours a day if we go to eat and shop. It is not very big. It is so close to the parks you can walk outside the gates and go to city walk. We usually eat lunch at Toothsome then head back to the park. It is maybe a 5 minute walk.

I have stayed at all the hotels for 2 or more days except Royal Pacific Resort. It does get a lot of great reviews and sounds like it would be a good fit for you. It offers the tropical feel and the express pass. It is also usually the cheapest if you don't have an annual pass for a discount. It is close to the parks where you can walk or take the water taxi.

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions please ask

Yes this is a big help. We will be going in July or early August. So I guess this is peak season. The Royal Pacific is the one I searched for online yesterday. It seems nice.

 

[maryj11]

Have a look at the hotel stickies.......it has pictures of the resorts so may give you a feel of which one you may like........

For a first visit, do 4 or 5 days. That will give you plenty of time to do the parks and Citywalk and also have some Resort time too........

You can pool hop between all the hotels.

We stay a lot of nights over the years........we’ll be just around 60 nights this year between Royal Pacific and Sapphire Falls..........for us they are perfect Resort hotels.......they feel like resorts..........love them!!

The three deluxe hotels all offer EP. Portofino Bay, Hard Rock and Royal Pacific.

With Sapphire, Aventura and Cabana Bay you do get the extra hour in the morning........as Bobbie says, it depends when you are going that may make a difference.

For us we wouldn't do the parks without EP...….but we hate queuing with a passion......some don't mind it.

Thank you for the info. If we choose one of the resorts that does not offer the express pass we can buy them right? I did search for tickets but it seems confusing to me lol. Tickets and express pass are separate tickets right? Or can you buy them in a package? Is it worth staying at a resort that offers it or to just buy them and stay at one of the other resorts?

 

[Robo56]

This is were the cost savings kicks in. If you stay at RPR, HRH or PBH your Unlimited Express Pass is included For each person in your room. You and your teen will each receive a room card and that doubles as your Unlimited Express Pass.

If you have to buy Unlimited Express for two people for everyday you are there plus the cost of your hotel stay you are not going to come out ahead.

There two types of EP

1. The EP....which will allow you ONE express ride per ride per day per park.

2. The Unlimited Express.....which is what is included in the above mentioned Resorts......which is good for unlimited rides per ride per day per park.

Your Unlimited EP is good for the day you check in until park closing the day you check out.

I would cost out the price of EP (EP or Unlimited EP) per person per day + cost of room.

I bet your to going come out cheaper by staying at RPR, HRH or PBH with Unlimited Express included..

Look at the stickies on the Resorts as was mentioned above and find the Resort that you like.

RPR is the Island Vibe......water taxi.....close walk to IOA.....good restaurants...nice pool...beautiful....UNLIMITED EXPRESS INCLUDED

Sapphire Falls is Caribbean Vibe.....water taxi......longer walk...beautiful....good restaurant...and Strong Water Rum Bar...biggest pool of the Resorts with slide....NO EP

HRH...Rock and Roll Vibe...very close walk to Universal Studios....water taxi...walk...nice restaurants....nice pool.....UNLIMITED EXPRESS INCLUDED

PBH....Italian deluxe resort....farthest from parks, but walkable......water taxi...biggest rooms of all the Resorts......good restaurants....has three pools....beach pool has slide...UNLIMITED Express INCLUDED

CB....budget resort......bus to parks.....nice pool with lazy river.....right next to Volcano Bay...NO EP


The Adventura opening later this month......pool......roof top bar.....NO EP

 

[maryj11]

This is were the cost savings kicks in. If you stay at RPR, HRH or PBH your Unlimited Express Pass is included For each person in your room. You and your teen will each receive a room card and that doubles as your Unlimited Express Pass.

If you have to buy Unlimited Express for two people for everyday you are there plus the cost of your hotel stay you are not going to come out ahead.

There two types of EP

1. The EP....which will allow you ONE express ride per ride per day per park.

2. The Unlimited Express.....which is what is included in the above mentioned Resorts......which is good for unlimited rides per ride per day per park.

Your Unlimited EP is good for the day you check in until park closing the day you check out.

I would cost out the price of EP (EP or Unlimited EP) per person per day + cost of room.

I bet your to going come out cheaper by staying at RPR, HRH or PBH with Unlimited Express included..

Look at the stickies on the Resorts as was mentioned above and find the Resort that you like.

RPR is the Island Vibe......water taxi.....close walk to IOA.....good restaurants...nice pool...beautiful....UNLIMITED EXPRESS INCLUDED

Sapphire Falls is Caribbean Vibe.....water taxi......longer walk...beautiful....good restaurant...and Strong Water Rum Bar...biggest pool of the Resorts with slide....NO EP

HRH...Rock and Roll Vibe...very close walk to Universal Studios....water taxi...walk...nice restaurants....nice pool.....UNLIMITED EXPRESS INCLUDED

PBH....Italian deluxe resort....farthest from parks, but walkable......water taxi...biggest rooms of all the Resorts......good restaurants....has three pools....beach pool has slide...UNLIMITED Express INCLUDED

CB....budget resort......bus to parks.....nice pool with lazy river.....right next to Volcano Bay...NO EP


The Adventura opening later this month......pool......roof top bar.....NO EP

Thank you Robo! I was just trying to price out the cost with Cabana Bay and buying the unlimited express pass. It was pretty expensive! I was trying to check a 3 day 2 park ticket that lets you hop with unlimited express pass but I was having a hard time figuring out how to do that with so many options on their site. We want to stay 4 days but only go to the parks 3 days to IOA and US. I tried to do the package but it gives us 4 day tickets. I will go back and try again. I do think we will stay at RPR. Maybe I will figure it out lol.

 

[bobbie68]

Thank you Robo! I was just trying to price out the cost with Cabana Bay and buying the unlimited express pass. It was pretty expensive! I was trying to check a 3 day 2 park ticket that lets you hop with unlimited express pass but I was having a hard time figuring out how to do that with so many options on their site. We want to stay 4 days but only go to the parks 3 days to IOA and US. I tried to do the package but it gives us 4 day tickets. I will go back and try again. I do think we will stay at RPR. Maybe I will figure it out lol.

Hi don't try and do a package. Price it out separately. When you go to ticket options and decide what you want for tickets see the pricing. Then put in the hotel stay as a room only and get an idea of rates for this year. This way you have more freedom to play with things and get less charges if you have to change a reservation. Also what you can do is go on to the tickets page and drop down to express passes. You can go in and put in a day. You will have to get an estimate for next year based on this year. I can tell you from the past that it will probably run you about 100.00 per person per day for the unlimited express pass.

What we did last year was we stayed at Cabana Bay for 6 days. We were doing Volcano Bay, Discovery Cove, resort day and only doing two days in IOA and US. What I did was book a throw away room for one night. It gave me the express pass for check in and check out day. I paid $385.00 for the one night at Royal Pacific and got two days of unlimited express pass. Had I bought them for two days it would have been few hundred more. We went over to the resort in the morning checked in got our express pass and went to the parks. We stopped in the afternoon to check out the room and resort. We relaxed a bit then went back to the park. At night we went back to Cabana Bay to sleep. You could pack a bag and stay for the night or not. This way you could at least get two days of express pass. Then the other day or two you can wing it without express pass. We love Cabana Bay and have a great time there.

Any other questions just ask!

 

[mjhtvchick]

Another thing to remember about the EP is that you don't have to buy it ahead of time - they can be purchased at multiple locations throughout the park on the day you are there.

On our most recent trip, my brother stayed at Cabana Bay for 4 nights but only purchased the "regular" EP on two days. The other days he found quite manageable without EP. Saved him a good bit of money!

 

[maryj11]

Hi don't try and do a package. Price it out separately. When you go to ticket options and decide what you want for tickets see the pricing. Then put in the hotel stay as a room only and get an idea of rates for this year. This way you have more freedom to play with things and get less charges if you have to change a reservation. Also what you can do is go on to the tickets page and drop down to express passes. You can go in and put in a day. You will have to get an estimate for next year based on this year. I can tell you from the past that it will probably run you about 100.00 per person per day for the unlimited express pass.

What we did last year was we stayed at Cabana Bay for 6 days. We were doing Volcano Bay, Discovery Cove, resort day and only doing two days in IOA and US. What I did was book a throw away room for one night. It gave me the express pass for check in and check out day. I paid $385.00 for the one night at Royal Pacific and got two days of unlimited express pass. Had I bought them for two days it would have been few hundred more. We went over to the resort in the morning checked in got our express pass and went to the parks. We stopped in the afternoon to check out the room and resort. We relaxed a bit then went back to the park. At night we went back to Cabana Bay to sleep. You could pack a bag and stay for the night or not. This way you could at least get two days of express pass. Then the other day or two you can wing it without express pass. We love Cabana Bay and have a great time there.

Any other questions just ask!

Thank you for all the great advice. I'm not even sure of what a throw away room is?

 

[maryj11]

Another thing to remember about the EP is that you don't have to buy it ahead of time - they can be purchased at multiple locations throughout the park on the day you are there.

On our most recent trip, my brother stayed at Cabana Bay for 4 nights but only purchased the "regular" EP on two days. The other days he found quite manageable without EP. Saved him a good bit of money!

Oh that is a good thing. We will wait until we are there before buying express pass if we stay in a resort that doesn't offer it. We are probably only planning 2 days in the parks.

 

[bobbie68]

Thank you for all the great advice. I'm not even sure of what a throw away room is?

Hi a throwaway room is a room that you book but don't necessarily stay in it. You pay for it and get the benefit of the express pass (in Universal's case). You can go by the resort and use it if you want. It is acceptable to do a lot of people do it for one night to have the two day express pass. It is cheaper and you get two days. All you do is book the room. You can go early in the morning do all your check in to get your express pass.

You're welcome.

 

[nkereina]

If you're planning on 3-4 park days or more, consider purchasing annual passes. They are about the same price as a 3 day park to park ticket and they offer some dining discounts. In addition, they also allow you to book Annual Pass Holder (APH) rates at the 3 deluxe hotels, which make them much more affordable. And as mentioned, the 3 deluxe resorts include unlimited EP which is a huge value and advantage. The only downside is that APH rates often aren't available until about 3-4 months before travel and likely would not be available if you're traveling during a peak week.

Of the 3 deluxe resorts, Hard Rock is our favorite due to its proximity for walking to and from City Walk. However, Royal Pacific is the most affordable of the 3 and we like it there as well. Sapphire Falls is a great resort too, but not one of the deluxe so it does not include express pass. I'll also caution that we saw a lot of Cabana Bay guests utilizing the Sapphire Falls water taxi for a shorter walk, which made their water taxi line quite long when coming back from the parks.

 

[maryj11]

Hi a throwaway room is a room that you book but don't necessarily stay in it. You pay for it and get the benefit of the express pass (in Universal's case). You can go by the resort and use it if you want. It is acceptable to do a lot of people do it for one night to have the two day express pass. It is cheaper and you get two days. All you do is book the room. You can go early in the morning do all your check in to get your express pass.

You're welcome.

Oh ok I understand. Thanks!

 

[maryj11]

If you're planning on 3-4 park days or more, consider purchasing annual passes. They are about the same price as a 3 day park to park ticket and they offer some dining discounts. In addition, they also allow you to book Annual Pass Holder (APH) rates at the 3 deluxe hotels, which make them much more affordable. And as mentioned, the 3 deluxe resorts include unlimited EP which is a huge value and advantage. The only downside is that APH rates often aren't available until about 3-4 months before travel and likely would not be available if you're traveling during a peak week.

Of the 3 deluxe resorts, Hard Rock is our favorite due to its proximity for walking to and from City Walk. However, Royal Pacific is the most affordable of the 3 and we like it there as well. Sapphire Falls is a great resort too, but not one of the deluxe so it does not include express pass. I'll also caution that we saw a lot of Cabana Bay guests utilizing the Sapphire Falls water taxi for a shorter walk, which made their water taxi line quite long when coming back from the parks.

Thank you! I never even would of thought of annual passes. That might be a good deal. About how much is the AP discounted rate for hotels ?

 

[nkereina]

Thank you! I never even would of thought of annual passes. That might be a good deal. About how much is the AP discounted rate for hotels ?

I'm pretty sure that the AP discounts vary on hotel rooms - we have booked at the AP rate before and then checked again closer to our trip, and the AP rate went down and we were able to get a credit. So I think it fluctuates depending on occupancy just like regular hotel rates.

But to give you an idea, I checked a random night in September at Hard Rock Hotel and the standard "seasonal" rate that is available to anyone is $304 for the night. But when I enter the "APH" code, it brings up a rate of $214 for the night. So it can be a significant savings that makes the deluxe resorts more affordable.

 

[maryj11]

I'm pretty sure that the AP discounts vary on hotel rooms - we have booked at the AP rate before and then checked again closer to our trip, and the AP rate went down and we were able to get a credit. So I think it fluctuates depending on occupancy just like regular hotel rates.

But to give you an idea, I checked a random night in September at Hard Rock Hotel and the standard "seasonal" rate that is available to anyone is $304 for the night. But when I enter the "APH" code, it brings up a rate of $214 for the night. So it can be a significant savings that makes the deluxe resorts more affordable.

The problem is we can only go June, July, and early August. Do they usually not have discounts during those months?

 

[Catvondita]

My husband and some friends recently did this! We are also mainly Disney people who occasionally do a day or two at Universal but recently we did Universal only. I know a lot of people love Uni and can do a full week but for me that seems like too much. We did find that we finished everything we really wanted to do in 2 days. I was okay repeating stuff but after a while I was ready to leave. For me the perfect stay would be 4 days. 3 at the parks and 1 day to hang out at the hotel/pool and city walk. We loved Sapphire Falls and took advantage of the bar and pool every night.

 

[nkereina]

The problem is we can only go June, July, and early August. Do they usually not have discounts during those months?

They do! We got AP rates during the last week of August through Labor Day weekend last summer. I was surprised they included Labor Day weekend, but they did. I would say with the exception of possibly Memorial Day and 4th of July, you should have luck getting AP rates. But as mentioned up-thread, they don't come available until maybe 3 months before you travel so I would have a back-up plan booked just in case.