Universal Studios...Room for All Sizes of Families
I will admit I am a room snob, so when we visit Universal Studios, you are usually going to find me at one of Universal Studios premier resorts (Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, or Royal Pacific). Not only do these three hotels have outstanding restaurants and amenities, they are also the only 3 hotels on property that include Universal’s complimentary Universal Express Pass.
However, this year, instead of staying at these premier hotels, our team decided wanted to investigate the guest experience that would be provided to our team by staying at a lower-tier property. Because we planned on spending an afternoon at Universal’s Volcano Bay waterpark, we chose to stay 3 nights at Universal’s Cabana Bay Resort which is located very close to the waterpark. In fact, Cabana Bay features Volcano Bay view rooms and has its own private entrance to the waterpark, exclusively for hotel guests.
In addition to touring the 3 premier hotels, we also asked to see Universal’s newest property, Dockside Inn and Suites. This resort was built on the former location of the Wet and Wild waterpark and will be the closest hotel to Universal’s latest theme park expansion, Universal’s Epic park, due to open in 2022.
After 3 days of touring hotels, utilizing Universal’s complimentary park-to-park transportation, and visiting all three theme parks we can emphatically say that every family will be able to find the perfect Universal accommodation without venturing to an off-property hotel, regardless of budget.
Premier Perfection
If budget allows, you should look no further than Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, or Royal Pacific resorts. After touring these resorts, these are still the best options for clients who can budget for these properties. All three are closest in proximity to either Islands of Adventure or Universal Studios Florida parks. You can either walk from the resorts or take the complimentary water taxis. Not only do these resorts include Universal’s Express Pass, where you can ride the majority of Universal’s attractions with little or no wait, but you will be able to bypass the main security areas too! For those wanting to splurge, even more, there are themed suites in each of the hotels too. Your kids can feel like they are a rock star, a minion, or in Jurassic World!
Value for All
Much of our focus this trip was scouting out the experiences and amenities at Universal’s lower-tier properties (currently open), specifically Cabana Bay and Endless Summer Resort. We loved both of them!
Staying at Cabana Bay was absolutely amazing. We were absolutely blown away by both the décor, size, and on-property amenities. Because there were only 4 of us staying here, we skipped booking a family suite and were lucky enough to be given 2 connecting standard rooms. With the door open, we effectively felt like we had our own suite but with more beds! It was so much fun, sharing snacks and chatting late into the night with our fellow teammates without the expense of the family suites. We also loved the proximity to Volcano Bay Waterpark. Because this was a must-do experience for our team this trip, Universal put us in the building closest in proximity to Cabana Bay’s PRIVATE entrance!
Lastly, we toured Universal’s newest property, Endless Summer Resort. This resort is actually two separate resorts with very similar themeing, Dockside Inn and Suites, and Surfside Inn.
Surfside hadn’t yet opened so we toured the family suites on the Dockside Property and were so impressed. The suites were expansive and tastefully decorated with lots of living space. These suites sleep up to 6 people comfortably for a fraction of the cost of other resort-themed suites AND the amenities were surprising! Not only was there an expansive pool with complimentary towels (rare to find at value resorts) but they also had a Starbucks in the lobby!
Not in the mood for a family suite, no problem? The basic room at both Cabana Bay and Endless Summer resorts price out cheaper than many of the surrounding off-property hotels!
Taking one for the Team - Express Pass and Transportation
Since we stayed at Cabana Bay, we did not have access to two of Universals top Premier hotel perks: Express Pass and Quick Transportation. When quoting a client, these are two perks they usually tell us that they can’t live without. So if it doesn’t fit the budget or is unavailable, it can cause the client to scuttle their plans to visit Universal.
So … in the name of research…we sacrificed those two perks to give our clients a true example of what it would be like to go without. We will admit that in the middle of the day when lines were longer, we did miss having access to the Express Pass. However, by taking advantage of Early Park Admission and just being organized, we still were able to ride all the attractions we wanted to over a 3-day period!
Transportation was spot on! Although we didn’t have water taxis or a quick walk to the park, the buses were incredibly efficient. Even when the park was emptying, we never had to wait for a bus! In fact, we were shocked to see multiple buses lined up to take us back to our resort at the end of the evening.
All in all, we were so glad for the opportunity to visit Universal and have the opportunity to see such a wide range of resort choices. Our entire genie team walked away from this trip knowing that unless the Universal resorts are completely sold out, there is always a great choice for someone to find the perfect property that fits both someone’s budget and travel style!
