We’ve stayed at every universal hotel. We found Surfside to be our favorite. We’ve also stayed at hotels next to there and found them to be fine. Best western Gateway is next to Dockside and there’s no charge for parking. The Rosen , the Floridian and Monumental movie land are across from surfside and you can walk over and catch the shuttle to the park
Another great vid! I used to stay offsite yrs ago. But not anymore. Your budget is not just about money, but also TIME. He touched on it in this video. The ability to walk back to your resort or catch a ferry or bus, basically anytime you want is bigger than you think. But the biggest is early park access which is 1 whole hour. That extra hr is really really valuable, especially if you are not buying express. bTW if you do plan to buy express passes, you should book tue premier level 100%. The hassle with a rental car includes waiting in line to park (and those line can be long), worrying about getting into an accident, relying on GPS for everything, etc. And like he said, the resorts are really nice. Plus you can pool hop!
@@buzzinbee9463 not sure what you mean. I was there last summer at Royal Pacific and asked about this and confirmed that I could visit Sapphire or Cabana Bay pool facilities. I just needed to take my room key. Plus I have stayed on property everywhere at all resorts except hard Rock. Never had any issues pool hopping. Whether I was going from portofino to hard Rock to Cabana Bay. In fact one day me and my family visited three pools just for the heck of it. I have also pool hopped from Aventura to Cabana Bay as well. If it has changed since then, I am not aware.
So many benefits to staying onsite. We normally stay at the Hard Rock and for breakfast we either grab a quick bite at the market place downstairs (they have Starbucks coffee, hot pastries/egg sandwiches, cereal, fruit etc) and eat on the way to the park (or hotel room) or using early park admission, we eat at one of the park’s cafes and you don’t waste any time. Something else I remembered- idk if this works for all the Universal hotels, but when I stayed at the hard rock during my birthday and let them know, they gave me a choice of a free donut, ice cream, or drink + a special pin. Just a fun little detail if you're going to celebrate someone's birthday.
This is a two part question: 1) obviously staying at an on-site hotel, you get location & they’re for the parks. But, are they good for seeing other Orlando things as well (not necessarily amusement parks)? 2) Just out of curiosity, are the universal themed stores in the on-site hotels, all or partly the same? Or do they vary in merchandise from hotel to hotel?
Hi Brian, so for question 1 to be honest not really unless you have a car or plan to uber/lyft however you can do that from any hotel. 2) Yes they are typically all the same
@@TheParkProdigy Thank you! should have said in question 1: if you’re visiting universal AS WELL AS OTHER Orlando sites, are they good to stay at? But, your answer is still the same. So I’m good😀
On site benefits outweigh off site. I don’t need rental car, excellent shuttle service or walk, merch delivery to room. Esp since parcel pick up at front of park has been discontinued.
@@TheParkProdigy Oh o.k, it's just that I was watching a review on the new upcoming hotels, over by Epic & I thought they said a minimum of...so was wondering what the policy would be @ the Helios?
Early entry is included by staying at an onsite hotel…it can’t be purchased as an added benefit to the park tickets. It’s a benefit of staying onsite. You do need a park ticket & hotel stay for early entry.
The endless summer resorts are official Orlando hotels though right? They were just mentioned separately from the others after Doubletree, etc. so I wanted to make sure.
If you don't want to be bombarded with sports team brats without there parents that don't know how to be respectful and get catered to by cabana bay I high suggest spending a little more money and staying a premium resort and FYI the early admission is not a big deal anything to write home about
I stayed on site last time I went. I'd never stayed on site before and it was great. Being a short walk to the parks and having all those shuttles coming and going throughout the day made things a lot easier.
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Great video!! I just booked my room at Surfside!! Didn't realize I could've booked thru you.
I appreciate the support and hope you have an amazing time!!
We’ve stayed at every universal hotel.
We found Surfside to be our favorite. We’ve also stayed at hotels next to there and found them to be fine.
Best western Gateway is next to Dockside and there’s no charge for parking.
The Rosen , the Floridian and Monumental movie land are across from surfside and you can walk over and catch the shuttle to the park
Great to know!
Another great vid! I used to stay offsite yrs ago. But not anymore. Your budget is not just about money, but also TIME. He touched on it in this video. The ability to walk back to your resort or catch a ferry or bus, basically anytime you want is bigger than you think. But the biggest is early park access which is 1 whole hour. That extra hr is really really valuable, especially if you are not buying express. bTW if you do plan to buy express passes, you should book tue premier level 100%.
The hassle with a rental car includes waiting in line to park (and those line can be long), worrying about getting into an accident, relying on GPS for everything, etc. And like he said, the resorts are really nice. Plus you can pool hop!
Thank you so much!
Pool hopping is restricted to rules unless sneaking in.
@@buzzinbee9463 not sure what you mean. I was there last summer at Royal Pacific and asked about this and confirmed that I could visit Sapphire or Cabana Bay pool facilities. I just needed to take my room key.
Plus I have stayed on property everywhere at all resorts except hard Rock. Never had any issues pool hopping. Whether I was going from portofino to hard Rock to Cabana Bay. In fact one day me and my family visited three pools just for the heck of it.
I have also pool hopped from Aventura to Cabana Bay as well.
If it has changed since then, I am not aware.
Early park admission really makes it worth it for any of the hotels as well as the reliable transportation to the parks
We agree!
So many benefits to staying onsite. We normally stay at the Hard Rock and for breakfast we either grab a quick bite at the market place downstairs (they have Starbucks coffee, hot pastries/egg sandwiches, cereal, fruit etc) and eat on the way to the park (or hotel room) or using early park admission, we eat at one of the park’s cafes and you don’t waste any time.
Something else I remembered- idk if this works for all the Universal hotels, but when I stayed at the hard rock during my birthday and let them know, they gave me a choice of a free donut, ice cream, or drink + a special pin. Just a fun little detail if you're going to celebrate someone's birthday.
Great points!!
This is a two part question: 1) obviously staying at an on-site hotel, you get location & they’re for the parks. But, are they good for seeing other Orlando things as well (not necessarily amusement parks)? 2) Just out of curiosity, are the universal themed stores in the on-site hotels, all or partly the same? Or do they vary in merchandise from hotel to hotel?
Hi Brian, so for question 1 to be honest not really unless you have a car or plan to uber/lyft however you can do that from any hotel. 2) Yes they are typically all the same
@@TheParkProdigy Thank you! should have said in question 1: if you’re visiting universal AS WELL AS OTHER Orlando sites, are they good to stay at? But, your answer is still the same. So I’m good😀
On site benefits outweigh off site. I don’t need rental car, excellent shuttle service or walk, merch delivery to room. Esp since parcel pick up at front of park has been discontinued.
Totally agree!
Hi! You know how you mentioned a split stay? From your experience, would you say the premier onsite hotels have a minimum stay policy?
They do not have a minimum stay policy. You can stay 1 night if you would like
@@TheParkProdigy Oh o.k, it's just that I was watching a review on the new upcoming hotels, over by Epic & I thought they said a minimum of...so was wondering what the policy would be @ the Helios?
When purchasing tickets from the park prodigy, early park entry is included with the tickets? Or is it only when staying onsite?
Early entry is included by staying at an onsite hotel…it can’t be purchased as an added benefit to the park tickets. It’s a benefit of staying onsite. You do need a park ticket & hotel stay for early entry.
Yes, it is included with multi-day Universal tickets when purchased through The Park Prodigy!
The endless summer resorts are official Orlando hotels though right? They were just mentioned separately from the others after Doubletree, etc. so I wanted to make sure.
Endless Summer are official Universal Orlando hotels, yes!
They are ran by Loews also.
When epic opens it will give more incentive to stay at the off site universal hotels since you’ll be in the middle of the resort
Good point!
If you don't want to be bombarded with sports team brats without there parents that don't know how to be respectful and get catered to by cabana bay I high suggest spending a little more money and staying a premium resort and FYI the early admission is not a big deal anything to write home about
Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Stay on site
I stayed on site last time I went. I'd never stayed on site before and it was great. Being a short walk to the parks and having all those shuttles coming and going throughout the day made things a lot easier.
Stayed on site at DW. Will be staying on site at UO. It’s so much easier to stay on site.
We love it!