Blazesyth
*yawn*
Member since 5/05 8129 total posts
Name:
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universal orlando
We went in May. We booked an off-site hotel thru Universal - the Best Western Plus Orlando Gateway. They had a deal where you get the hotel and theme park tickets for a low price. I think it was less than 80 dollars a night including the tickets.
It was very close, clean, had a pool, 2 hot tubs, a small deli/bar, etc.
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Mouse Tales Travel
LIFamilies Business
Member since 7/08 417 total posts
Name:
Melissa Salinas
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Re: universal orlando
At Universal , the current three onsite hotels (a new, more value friendly one will be opening), are all on par with the Deluxe level hotels at Disney. They expensive, but they have great luxury accommodations or even the over-the-top awesome minion rooms at Portofino Bay.
My husband and I took a trip to Universal Orlando recently and we chose to stay onsite. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel and we loved it. Amazing lobby, huge, luxurious room, amazing resort-like pool and a short walk to the parks. I would definitely stay there again. Onsite at Universal is much more compact, with Universal Studios, Citywalk, and Islands of Adventure flowing into each other.
There are a lot of great offsites, which you can even get as part of a Universal package, but we chose to stay onsite and I recommend onsite if it fits in your budget for a number of reasons.
1) Location. Walk to boat to parks. No more than 10 minutes from either gate
2) Unlimited Universal Express: This is the huge one for me. If you stay offsite, you can pay up $70 per person for an Express pass that lets you get to the front of the line at many of the most popular attractions ONCE per attraction. If you stay at one of the 3 onsite hotels, you get UNLIMITED use of the Express pass for your length of stay. The hotel room paid for itself. We saved hours waiting on line and were able to a lot in a short trip. This, to me, is the most compelling reason to stay onsite. Even in the off-season, when lines were relatively shorter, we still saved hours.
3) Early Entry to Wizarding World or Harry Potter. This makes it SO much easier to get to experience Ollivanders without waiting forever. By the regular opening when we were there, the line for Ollivanders was already an hour long.
That having been said, there are many offsites that are super close. If you're taking a longer, more leisurely trip in the off season and won't worry too much about lines and saving time, then the offsites are a great option. They vary in terms of the benefits they give you, so it's important to decide what's really important to you!
I'm a Universal Parks and Resorts specialist, so do not hesitate to ask me any questions you may have!
-Jennifer Kern
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