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Going to universal first time on site which resort with kids
We are going to Disney and universal in a few years and for the first time ever on a vacation we won't be on a budget. So we thought about staying on site and enjoying the amities that come with that.
I don't know much about the hotels at universal and want opinions and ideas from you all on what is best and what each advantages are.
It will be me and my wife and our 2 kids. My daughter will be 10.5 and son will be 5.5 we are looking at going October I believe. I have been told it's not to busy as kids are in school and weather is still nice but not hot and not cold. Only time we were in universal before was end of April and it was pretty hot.
I'm excited about living it up a little but hear so many bad reports about waiting forever to get a room and rolls not clean.
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I have stayed at the Portofino Bay and Royal Pacific Resorts. Both were gorgeous, clean, well maintained and with superior customer service. I like both better than Disney deluxe resorts. I have not stayed at the Hard Rock because I am a fan of quiet.
I would look at pricing and see what works for you. My DD loved Portafino Bay. I thought the atmosphere was wonderful and while there were kids there, they did not have the unbridled enthusiasm (also known as lack of respect for others and property) I have seen at Disney.
If I wanted a relaxing, theme park free vacation, I would stay at either of these resorts.
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I've only stayed at Hard Rock. Great location for walking to both parks and a great pool. We toured the others and thought Royal Pacific if we ever stay on site again, as it's a bit less expensive and we liked the theming.
We have stayed at hard rock and loved it! You will have a blast I'm sure at any of the resorts at universal. We are trying the VIP tour this may - no waiting in lines.
Have fun choosing.
VIP tour gets you a personal tour guide that takes you thru the park. No waiting in lines behind the scenes stuff. The guide is yours for 8 hours, lunch is provided etc. You can look it up on their website. Your group can be up to 10 people. We are traveling with 3 families so we will be our own group of 10.
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I don't like the hard rock other then some theming here and there it looks like any hotel. I am really interested in the other 2. I like the new lazy river that's coming to the new resort but the resort will be a value resort and not include the express pass. Wonder if hoping pools will be allowed.
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I think any of the Universal resorts would be good. We stayed at HRH last time, this August booked Portofino. Portofino has the largest rooms.
I believe pool hoping is allowed. The lazy river at Cabana Bay looks fun, but with only 3 days I don't know if we'll have time to hop. Guess it will depend how easy it is to get to.
Problem with overlooking IOA is I could have spent my day sitting in a hair watching, not heading out tot he park. Check, but I think there are quite a few rooms that overlook IOA-we were right across from the Hulk.
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We stayed at the Royal Pacific. It was least expensive of the 3, was absolutely beautiful and an easy walk to the parks. It also had a ferry to the parks. DS loved the pool area there too! Of course staying there gives you the express passes for no waiting in lines, so you can't beat that. If we go next year, we'll probably stay at Royal Pacific again.
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