Universal question for Dadtojbj... About This Page:

[September]

Steve,

DH & I are planning to spend three nights at Universal this December (week after Thanksgiving) as a follow up to 4 nights at BCV. I noticed in earlier posts you stayed at HRH...I tried to get reservations there using the Entertainment Card but could only get Portofino for $150/night. Did you visit or see the Portofino?? Any opinions...or would I be better off to keep trying (or pay the higher rate) for the HRH?

Your stellar review of Universal & their resorts is really making me look forward to this trip. Any other advice you can offer would be appreciated--especially restaurants or any other tips you learned from your trip.

Thanks.

September

[AKLRULZ]

Hey there! We actually did not visit the Portofino, but it looks WONDERFUL! I think you have a great rate going on there, and I'd keep it. I'd love to hit it next! If there are any disadvantages it might be that it's a tad - just a tad - further to walk to the parks, but don't let that stop you! [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

We really did enjoy Universal - just as much as any of our Disney trips. Great rides and attractions and just tons to do! We liked both parks equally - they're both so different, it's hard to rank them! There are tons of places to eat and shop at including Hard Rock Orlando at Citwalk. In the parks, we did eat at Mythos over at IOA and it was GREAT! It was my daughter's 7th birthday and they gave us ALL free dessert when they found out - and the themeing is pretty cool, too!

We did the length of stay pass which just worked out well for us. The best tip I can offer is use the front of line access priviledge for EVERY ride. We were there last July with HEAVY crowds but honestly didn't wait for more than maybe 10 minutes for anything when stand by lines were well over an hour. Just show your room card to the line attendant and - boom - you're in! And the look on those in standby is, well, priceless! Makes you feel almost famous, but seriously it's a great feature that beats FastPass hands down! One thing to note is that this feature is not available for the front seats of the Hulk Coaster or Dueling Dragons coasters - you'll need to go standby if you want front seat action on those rides!

Gosh, enjoy! Typing this makes me want to go back!!!

[September]

Thanks for the info and encouragement. I'm like a junkie when planning trips. I'd better pace myself, because I have over six months to go and I'm really going to start driving my husband nuts in a month or two.

Thank goodness for the PassPorter boards, or I'd be climbing the walls.

[wheatenwalker]

We stayed at Portofino and thought it was great! Very nice rooms, nice service, nice pools, we loved it and 150$ a night sounds like a great price!I'd stay there for that rate.

[September]

Thanks for the positive feedback, wheatenwalker!

Planning this trip has been a little more difficult, because there doesn't seem to be as many resources for Universal.

[Heidi]

September,

When Jean Stultz gets back to the Boards, see if she can send you a Universal Fun Card. It gives you discounts to the shops in Universal and some food discounts too. And it's FREE!! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] I got mine a few weeks ago. Just send her an email with your address. Every little bit help!

www.themeparks.com has some info if you haven't checked it out yet. I also picked up Frommer's WDW and other Orlando attractions and it has a lot of info on Universal - I'm going to in December so and spending three days there so I've been looking for all the info I can too. If I come across some new stuff, I'll email you the links. We are staying at the Royal Pacific.

[September]

Thanks for the tips, Heidi. Any additional info would be greatly appreciated.

Enjoy your trip.

[tracyloveswdw]

One thing that Steve didn't mention is that there is also a boat to the parks (from both HRH and PB). I used www.usfinfo.com when I was planning in Dec. Not a lot of info but more. You can also get a free Loews First card and it will get you a free room upgrade and welcome snack (we opted for fruit). Front of the line is awesome-we were there Dec. 29-31 and it was pretty crowded. HRH was sold out at that time-I tried to get another room/or a suite and couldn't. Even though they'll let you put five in a room-it's pretty crowded. We ate at Mythos and really liked it too. Some of the Length of stay pkgs include a dinner-we had ours at the Hard Rock Cafe-that was good too. Also ate at the Palm? in the HRH-good but expensive-our kids were the only ones there. Service both at the Palm and at the HRH was excellent. The themeparks at USF are not Disney and if you don't expect them to be, you'll have a great time.
Beware-there are a lot of wet rides at IOA.
Tracy

[AKLRULZ]

Whoops! Forgot about the boats! We didn't use them b/c Hard Rock was right smack next to US and well within walking distance to IOA. Portofino is a tad bit father away, so you may want to take advantage of them - they do look relaxing, that's for sure! [img]images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

And I agree that the Universal Parks don't have the Disney magic, but they do have the Universal Magic! [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] Very clean, well run and spectacular rides! We loved every minute of it, and yes, you will get wet, no soaked on quite a few of the attractions at IOA! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[ 05-15-2002, 05:34 PM: Message edited by: Dadtojbj ]

[Shell_of_the_South]

Originally posted by tracyloveswdw:
I used www.usfinfo.com when I was planning in Dec.

<font size="2" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">Tracy, I tried this website but it wasn't working, have you tried it lately?