universal hotel

[donny]

Was thinking of staying at The Hard Rock Hotel or The Royal Pacific for the same reason as gpullan, can I ask, how do you get from the hotel to the park and do you really get in 1 hour before anyone else? was there a few years ago ( not staying in hotel) and was early at the park, got in at 8;30am when it was meant to open at 9am ?

thanks

[Gerry Reed]

I have never stayed at the hotels but I have seen boats running between the hotels and the parks

Sue

[Mr G]

We have stayed at Universal and there are a few advantages.

1.Yes you can enter the parks earlier so can maybe do Harry Potter a couple of times before the gates open to the public.

2. It is a short walk along the waters edge, or there are free boats to/from the parks,

3.One tip - if staying for one night, get to the Hotel early in the morning, that way you receive your room key/passes straight away. These are just like fast passes and enable you to beat the queues for the first and second day as they work on the day of departure also. This more than pays for one nights stay in the Hard Rock Hotel for a family room.

We obvioulsy prefer to stay in a Villa but by being in a Villa you can choose say one night at Hard Rock or one of the other two Universal Hotels and get the above benefits.

Hope this helps?

[FraserLynn]

We stayed in a Universal Hotel in November last year (we were only in Orlando for 3 days and it was just the 2 of us). It is a simple walk from the hotels to the parks, or as has already been said you can take a water taxi (free of charge) into the middle of city walk. If you are staying in the hotels then you do get a couple of perks; 1 hour early entry - great for things like Harry Potter world and you also get a free unlimited express pass so you can jump the queues at all of the rides, for the whole day. You can get one of these everyday that you are staying at the hotel.

[FraserLynn]

Think we posted at the same time...

[donny]

Can I ask, if we arrive early at the hotel will they have somewhere to store our bags and do you def get issued with your fastpasses and can make use of the hotel facilities ?

thanks

[Mr G]

Can I ask, if we arrive early at the hotel will they have somewhere to store our bags and do you def get issued with your fastpasses and can make use of the hotel facilities ?

thanks

Yes and Yes to your questions. You can leave your bags with the reception and they will deliver them to your room when it is ready. They will also issue you with your room card which you have to use at machines in the foyer which takes your photo and creates your fastpasses. You can also use the hotel facilities, ie pool etc.