Category Archives: Universal Orlando

14 Reasons why you should stay at a Universal Resort Hotel

This year 2019, Universal Orlando Opens it’s seventh Hotel; Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn and Suites. There are four grades of Hotel – premier, preferred, prime value and value, ensuring a choice for any budget.

For a few years we stayed in hotels on International Drive and though we were happy with the rooms and facilities we found we were spending most of our time at Universal Orlando. We had seen the boats pulling up at City walk and wasn’t too sure if they were only for an elite class of guest. So i did some investigating prior to arranging our next holiday,

We had always hired a car so that involved paying for parking at Universal and arriving at the central hub with everyone else, going through queues at security, taking the moving walkways into city walk then continuing on to either Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure. We were getting exhausted at our age before we’d even hit the parks and then had to spend time queuing for the rides in the Florida heat. We decided to opt for the Royal Pacific as it was in our budget, close enough to the parks to walk there and knew we could get the boat back at any time of day. This convenience meant we could return mid day for a swim or a nap and hit the parks again later. After booking and doing some more research I found the best perk of all was the free unlimited express pass which almost eliminated any queuing ; plus making us feel like royalty every time we used it.

There are parking charges to pay at the Hotels which were $22 a night at the Royal Pacific at our last stay but we would have had to pay to park at the central Universal parking garage any way. Hint – I plucked up courage to ask if there was any discount on parking when we stayed at Cabana Bay last year for eleven days and the kind gentleman on the front desk knocked me fifty percent off. Worth a try.

Premier Hotels

Loews Portofino Bay Hotel
Hard Rock Hotel
Loews Royal Pacific Resort

View of Islands of Adventure from our room at Royal Pacific

Preferred Hotels

Loews Sapphire Falls resort

Prime Value Hotels

Universal’s Aventura Hotel
Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach resort

Value Hotel

Universal’s Endless Summer Resort- Surfside inn and Suites

14 perks to staying at a Universal Orlando Resort Hotel

Close to Universal City Walk, Islands of Adventure and Universal studios. Many rooms have views of the parks.
Within walking distance along landscaped paths except Universals Endless Summer Resort which has a free shuttle bus.
Free regular shuttle buses to and from City walk where you will go through security.
Free boat ride from all hotels except Cabana Bay, Universal’s Endless Summer Resort and Aventura hotel. You will go through security prior to boarding. Each hotel has its own boats which run approximately every 15 to 20 minutes from one hour before early opening time until 2am. Hint- For those staying at Cabana Bay and Aventura Hotel just walk the path to Sapphire Falls and catch the boat from there.
The walking paths connect all hotels except Universal’s Endless Summer Resort. It’s not uncommon to come across joggers keeping fit. The paths are abundant with tropical plants and types of bamboo. We’ve come across wildlife such as snakes , rabbits, squirrels, ducks and tiny lizards. Also fish and turtles in the waterways and lakes.
One hours early entrance to either Hogsmeade in Universal’s Islands of Adventure or Diagon Alley in Universal Studios whichever has early opening that particular day, before the general public.
Staying at one hotel allows you to use the facilities and pools at Universal’s other hotels on production of your room card.
The best perk of all for those staying at a Universal Premier Hotel – free Unlimited Express pass for Universal Islands of adventure and Universal Studios. Most rides have an Express queue including Escape from Gringotts and Harry potter and the forbidden Journey. The pass is now incorporated into your room card. This gives a saving of up to $89 a day each. This is a better alternative to staying in a cheaper hotel and then paying for an Express Pass for each person. Staying for one night gives you 2 days Express Pass.
All rooms, public areas and all parks have free WiFi.
Purchases made in the parks can be charged to your hotel room card.
Free delivery to your room of items bought in the theme parks.
Free entry to select Universal City Walk Clubs by showing your room card.
Priority seating at certain restaurants in the parks and City Walk.
One hour early entry to Volcano Bay. Guests at Cabana Bay also have their own short cut path and entrance. It’s literally next door.

Can you think of any other advantages to staying at a Universal Resort Hotel ? I’d love to read your comments or try to answer any questions you may have .

Doing the wet rides at Universal Orlando

Universal has it’s share of wet rides. I have to admit they are my favourite kind especially on a hot day as most days are.

Almost everywhere you’ll find some element of the watery type of fun whether its a full drenching or just a refreshing spray.

There are three rides where you will get soaked although two of them depend on where you are sitting and the luck of the draw . Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges is a little like a game of Russian roulette- one of you may stay dry but it’s unlikely.

I don’t recommend the huge people dryers which are conveniently situated near the wet rides. I kept feeding them with dollars but I think it would take all day to get dry and the sunshine is free. However they are good for a photo opportunity. I would advise doing these rides all on one day and dress in clothes which will soon dry in the sun or rent a locker for the day so you can get changed afterwards. Lockers are situated at the main entrances of Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. Take a spare plastic bag to put your handbag or purse in whilst you ride or a Ziploc bag to protect your phone. On the Bilge-Rat Barges there is a covered central compartment to put your belongings. I use this but still use a plastic bag. Don’t try to stash your shoes in here as they won’t set off until everyone has their shoes on. This year a fellow rider tried three times but got spotted and gave up in the end. I assume it’s a health and safety issue.

My favourite wet rides

Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges. A white water rapid type of ride. You have to wear safety belts, very bouncy, you will get very wet. Water comes from all directions and from water guns that the observers can use. Quite a long ride. My all time favourite. If you’ve a sense of humour you’ll be laughing all the way.
Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls . Another ride in the Toon Lagoon area of Islands of Adventure. Roller coaster and flume with a huge drop at the end. A bit of a tight squeeze for someone my size but worth the effort. There’s a dummy seat that you can test before you ride to see if you fit. You will get soaked.
Jurassic Park River Adventure. I call this a bit of everything ride. Combining a boat ride adventure with a flume ride. Complete with a huge Tyrannosaurus Rex. You will probably get wet and possibly soak your bottom half. Nice and relaxing till you get to the end. My other half and I just happened to be right at the top of the drop when it broke down. Luckily we survived and didn’t get eaten.

Camp Jurassic. Not really a ride as such but a great place to cool off and have loads of fun often at the expense of other park guests. Apologies if we ever soaked you. We only discovered this by accident on our third holiday and it appears it’s not very well known about so we usually have it all to ourselves. It’s situated near the Pterandon Flyers and is an adventure type playground with hidden caves, walkways and is great for kids ( and grownups ) to explore. If you follow one of the paths it leads to a dinosaur containment area complete with high Jurassic Park style security doors. Behind some rocks there are dinosaur heads which are actually water cannons shooting upwards. This area is well themed and landscaped with heavy tropical foliage so anyone wandering through this area won’t realise that above you on a higher level is another area with water guns aiming down. This is where we set up camp and soak the unfortunate unsuspecting passersby below. They then spot the dinosaur head water cannons and retaliate and everyone gets soaked. A great way to pass the time and cool off.
The Mystic Fountain. Again not a ride but one of my favourite places to have a rest and be entertained. This is an interactive fountain which responds to passersby by engaging in conversation and rewarding them with a squirt or fountain of water from various jets. I assume there’s a staff member hidden close by listening with a hidden camera operating the water features and answering the questions. I’ve had a good look round and there’s nothing obvious. Children and adults enjoy the banter which is most entertaining. There are no seats but there’s a wall at sitting height with some shade if you want to cool off but not get wet.

Cooling off at Universal Islands of Adventure

All the above rides are in Islands of Adventure however Universal has managed to slip some watery element into most of it’s rides and areas.

Subtle splashes at The amazing adventures of Spider-man
Skull Island -Reign of Kong
Water play area for kids at If I ran the zoo at Seuss Landing
One Fish, Two fish, Red fish, Blue fish ride at Seuss landing.
Several water features at Toon Lagoon making great photo points
Misting fans and splash pads in the Marvel areas.
Splash Zone at the end of Jurassic Park River Adventure

Splash Zone at Jurassic Park Adventure Ride

Cooling off at Universal studios

You will get splashed at Shrek 4-D
The Simpsons Ride
Despicable Me Minions Mayhem
Transformers-the ride
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
A few areas in Diagon alley especially if you have an interactive wand.
Fievel’s Playground has a raft slide where you may get wet and a playground where your kids can splash about.
Curious George goes to Town is a huge water play area where you can get seriously wet. Every so often a huge bucket tips over when it gets full drenching anyone underneath.
Universal Orlando’s Horror Make Up Show. Another favourite of mine where you may get wet. I’ll give details in a more relevant post as it deserves more than a few lines. Take the time to see a show and cool off in the air conditioning; sit down and give your feet a rest.
One place not to cool off is in the waterways and lakes in the Universal Resort. Don’t think there’s no natural wildlife in these waters. This sign is by the beach at Loews Royal Pacific.

Have you any thoughts on keeping cool at Universal Orlando ? I’d love to read your comments.

Making the most of your first visit to Universal Orlando

My other half and I have made Universal Orlando our go to holiday destination for the last 12 years. I can still remember the first visit. Those were the days when most people still had 35mm cameras which only took 36 photographs at the most on one film and then you had to wait to get them developed, usually after you got home. Now I read all the latest blogs, get the Universal app on my iPhone, check the hurricane tracker and consider myself fully prepared.

If like myself you live on the UK side of the pond there’s also the fact that just being in the USA is a little different. So many lanes of cars, traffic lights and street names hung over the roads, chips that are fries, crisps that are chips, petrol is gas, car boot is the trunk, toilets are restrooms (which I think is nicer) – I could go on.

Your first visit will be magical, enthralling, exhausting and you’ll probably miss half of the good stuff. One of the things I love most about Universal is the attention to detail in every area of their parks. Even on this years holiday I still found new photo opportunities and secret places. It’s so easy to head straight for the nearest ride that you miss the journey which is pretty awesome.

Our first visit was for our Silver Wedding and we tried to fit in too much visiting not only Universal but Seaworld, Busch Gardens, Kennedy Space Centre and most of the attractions on International Drive. Now we stay at one of the hotels in the Universal Resort and can spend 7 out of 12 days just at Universal taking everything in. Then I never want to come home.

27 Tips for first timers at Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando Resort has three parks – Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios and Universal’s Volcano Bay. Between the parking lots and the parks is City Walk where you’ll find eateries, clubs, bars, golf, shopping and a cinema. The boats from the hotels pull up here.
Go outside of school holiday dates
Check the latest hurricane forecasts especially in September and October. Be prepared, though its not often the Parks close.
Stay onsite if you can afford it as there are perks depending on the choice of hotel. Such as one hour early entry and free unlimited Express passes (theme park tickets required).
Buy a lanyard for each member of your family to keep your room key card and park tickets dry and within easy reach.
If you’re from the UK booking a package holiday is usually cheaper than organising a flight , room and car hire.
A compact hire car will usually fit more luggage than they imply.
Often your choice of pre-booked hire car is unavailable at the airport and you’ll be offered an upgrade free ( we usually tip if this happens).
Pack plastic ponchos – buy them cheap from pound / dollar stores. It rains – hard and they’re handy for the wet rides. Universal sells them throughout the parks but are very expensive.
Pack comfortable well used shoes, you’ll walk miles.
Carry a Plastic bag to put your handbag /purse in whilst riding Jurassic Park River Adventure ride and Popeye’s Bilge Barges. You will get wet.
Download the Universal app on your phone. This gives you wait times, show times, height restrictions, maps and much more.
All Universal Parks and hotels have free WiFi so if you live outside the USA switch off your mobile data and roaming before you fly to save money.
Universal Studios closes at 5pm during Halloween Horror nights. This is a separate event not included in the general park ticket. Closing times vary according to the time of year – more information is available on the Universal Orlando app or website.
The Wizarding world of Harry Potter is split between the two parks – Hogsmeade is in Universals Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley is in Universal Studios. These are linked by the Hogwarts Express train but you must have tickets for both parks to board.
Take a photograph with your mobile phone of the area where you’ve parked- it’s easy to get lost when everything looks the same.
If you’re staying at Cabana Bay there’s a very regular bus to the parks but you can also use the lovely landscaped walking path to cross the road to Sapphire Falls and catch the free boat transport or just continue along the path which brings you to city walk near to the entrance of Islands of Adventure.
One night at Universals Hard Rock Hotel, Portofino Bay or Royal Pacific gives you 2 days free Express Pass unlimited. ( your room card now serves as the pass ). These are the hotels that give you the Unlimited Express Pass as well as one hours early entry.
Staying at one of Universals Hotels entitles you to use the facilities and pools at all the others.
There’s a shortage of places to sit down in the parks so take a break seeing a show or browse the gift shops for some air conditioning.
Buy a Universal refillable souvenir mug. Offers and types of mug vary but with the classic refillable you can receive discounted refills at any participating locations (those with fountain drinks) for ever around $1.50 saving heaps as its thirsty work doing all that walking.
Flag up any marks or dings and try out your hire car’s air conditioning before you leave the airport. Florida is Hot, Hot, Hot.
Have some small dollars ready for the tolls from the airports. MCO is the nearest and busiest and about 20 minutes away. Sanford is quieter and about an hours drive.
Ask before you leave the airport if you’ve to take your hire car back empty or full of gas.
Plan your itinerary to include a water park on alternate days to give your feet a rest. If you stay at a Universal Resort Hotel you’ll be close enough to return for a mid day rest or swim and then hit the parks again.
Security is very strict at all parks. Arriving at the main hub after parking or getting dropped off be prepared for bag search which is now by x ray or inspection then visitors must pass through metal detection similar to airport security. You will also go though security prior to boarding the boats from your Universal Hotels or at the end of the walking paths. Finger prints are taken at your first visit when you present your ticket for scanning at each park gate and at subsequent visits when you present your finger this is checked with the original scan.
Restrooms are plentiful throughout the park and the ones I’ve used all had disabled access and cubicles and baby changing facilities. They are all themed according to the area of the park for example in Diagon Alley at Universal Studios the restrooms resemble old fashioned British lavatories and in Hogsmeade at Universal Studios you can hear Moaning Myrtle.

Tales from the Dot Side

Discover with Dot – To Universal and Beyond