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Thread: 1 Night Universal Stay

  1. #1
    Florida Chatterbox
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    1 Night Universal Stay

    I have been thinking about booking a 1 night stay at the Hard Rock Hotel or one of the other Universal hotels during our stay in November. This is purely to fit more in to the holiday in the following ways:

    Early park access on both days to be able to go on Harry Potter rides in IoA.
    Front of line passes for both days to both parks so limited queuing.

    My idea would be to arrive early on day 1 and check in (get the room key but not use the room). This would enable us to print out our Front of line passes and also go into IoA early for Harry Potter
    Stay most of the day at IoA using front of line passes then back to the hotel early ish to the pool then to Hard Rock Cafe
    Get up early on day 2 again for early access to Harry Potter
    Stay most of the day at Universal using front of line passes before leaving when we're done to return to the villa.

    There are 10 of us travelling and we can get 2 rooms for around £200 per room/family.

    In my mind i'm thinking this would make it much easier to get round both parks quite comfortably in 2 days without missing anything, without having to queue and without having to stay late in the parks (as we have had to do previously).

    We have seen and done it all but the family we are going with are first timers so it would be good for them to say they have done everything, stress free hopefully?!

    I will be buying the 2 park pass from here as usual and getting Universal totally done in what could be an easy 1.5 days.

    Obviously the only draw back is paying £200 for the privelage when we have left a lovely villa that we are paying for, empty.

    We have done a similar thing in previous years where we have driven to the gulf and stayed in a hotel so we can do the beach and Busch Gardens in one go.

    Any thoughts on my plan, anyone done this before and is it worth the cost to avoid pretty much hanging around for 2 days to do 10 rides ish?? Also, not sure if i would be able to park in the hotel rather than the multi-storey to save on 2 days parking fee.

    Ramble over.....thanks for listening
    Garry Pullan


  2. #2
    Super Moderator
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
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    4,090
    Have done similar ourselves when deciding to see other parts of Florida. We were also looking at doing something similar for Universal ourselves as a way to try and avoid some of the queues. Have stayed on site at Disney many many moons ago and it does have advantages eg being able to have purchases sent back to rooms, priorty seating and especially early entry to parks.

    See that if you stay at the Hard Rock there is a parking charge for overnight guests $18 and day guests $20 (both plus tax). Not sure if you then have to pay to park at the multi storey if you have paid at the hotel alternatively it suggests either walking or Complimentary water taxis or shuttle buses to make getting around the resort fast and easy so you can make the most of your time. Take the convenient water taxis along picturesque waterways or ride the shuttle bus directly to both theme parks and Universal CityWalk®.


  3. #3
    Gold 5 Star Member
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    The Orlando Beer Festival at Universal Citywalk is usually on in early November isn't it? The first or second weekend if memory servers.

    If you happened to be up at Universal and didn't have to drive home that night ...
    Steve



  4. #4
    Florida Chatterbox
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    So no money to be saved on parking.....but having just done some more digging, there are Club Level rooms at all resorts and look like being around $80 more per night per room.

    Included with these rooms is breakfast, drinks and snacks throughout the day and then hot and cold hors d'oerves in the evening including beer, wine, cocktails and desserts.

    Bearing in mind there are 10 of us including 6 children, i would expect a meal at Hard Rock Cafe to be about the $150 mark plus drinks at the hotel so that is looking like a great option! Wouldn't go back to the hotel for drinks as i imagine it would be a bit of a trek and hassle but for breakfast, evening meal (albeit nowhere near as substantial as Hard Rock Cafe) and beers in the evening it may even save money!!

    Will definitely look to find the beer festival dates and may have to 'accidentely' book the hotel for night night!!
    Garry Pullan


  5. #5
    Gold 5 Star Member
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    Oct 2004
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    I don't know much about the particular hotels you're looking at Gary but I'd recommend doing your homework on the Club Level option. I'm very familiar with the concept and I've found they vary considerably. Some are certainly worth the extra but many offer little more than free coffee (frequently from a machine) with a few nibbles and fruit and certainly aren't a substitute for a meal. At times when the hors d'oeurves are served in the evening they tend to be very full and it can be hard to find a seat, especially if a group wants to sit together.

    Finally, a lot of them have age restrictions so small children might not always be welcome.
    Last edited by Katys Grandad; 09-01-2013 at 13:14.


  6. #6
    Florida Chatterbox
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    Yeah i can see that from some other hotels Club options KG but with the Loews hotels they do give quite a good description on what is on offer. I have also seen quite a few photos on other sites showing the breakfast and evening offerings so if i do book a night then i will be double checking all items offered and what restrictions there are.

    There's no getting away from it being very full at popular times other than there are only a certain amounts of Club Level rooms so access will be controlled by the hotel. I've seen that there is a small kids area and separate tv for them certainly at the Royal Pacific but again it will be worth checking before i book.

    I suppose at the end of the day, if it's not all that we had hoped then there are many eateries around to be able to go grab something else and put it down to experience, even though we will still have unlimited express passes and early access which is kind of worth it on it's own....maybe.
    Garry Pullan


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