HR or CB in Oct/Nov?

[Slam-Dunk]

Hello!

My family and I (me, wife and 2 kids aged 8 & 11) will be visiting Universal in October / November time, and will stay for 14 nights. We are looking at Cabana Bay, primarily because of the early hours, but also because of the affordable family suites - having stayed in CB in the past, I know these rooms are very spacious and we'd all have lots of room.

But I know that CB does not provide fast passes. Hard Rock is coming in at around $1300 extra, which is obviously a lot of money and would really, really stretch our budget. I know RP is another option, but to be honest, there is very little difference in cost between the HR and RP. (BTW we don't want to hop between hotels, we want to stay in the same place for 14 nights)

So my question is: In Oct/Nov, is the additional $1300 for a HR standard room with fast passes worth it, or would we be better saving the money and going with the family suite in CB?

 

[GoldmanTrust]

For me the best thing about CBBR is it’s proximity to Volcano bay. If you plan on going there a lot, CBBR is a great option.

I would save the money. We have done 14 nights and by showing up early, doing 3-5 rides every time you go to the park, you will be able to enjoy things, not wait that much in line and just have a comfortable vacation.

 

[Robo56]

Yeah.....for you and your family on your extended stay at Universal.

You will be there in October and November so Halloween Horror nights will be going on and some folks that attend this event like me and others will be there for extended stays. Locals will be attending HHN on the weekends. There will also be those in offsite hotels attending.

HHN runs the last 2 weeks of September, the whole month of October and into the first week of November. HHN is Wednesday thru Sunday during this time. Universal Studios will close at 5 on these nights.....HHN is separate ticket event........this will increase crowds and make having the Unlimited Express a attractive option.

I would look at all the Deluxe Resorts and cost out your best option if you want EP. Royal Pacific is a beautiful Resort. Portofino Bay has larger rooms and a nice beach pool for children. The sticky’s on the resorts have lots of information and pictures to help you make the best choice for what you think your budget and your family will like.

If Cabana Bay is the choice you can take advantage of early entry and you are going to be there 14 Days so there’s is no rush to accomplish to much in a short time. One advantage to Cabana would be the extremely easy access to the pools at Sapphire Falls (right across the street from Cabana Bay) as well as the New Adventura Hotel will be done then which is also right across street. Would make pool hoping extremely easy.

The Sapphire Falls is beautiful and has one of the biggest pools at Universal.

No matter what you choose have a great vacation at Universal

 

[macraven]

Ditto to what Robo said

Book before summer since you want a 2 week stay
Prices will be best when you book months out

And if a deal would open up after you book, call and modify your room rate

Many of us stay for a two week time period and we book months out to secure our dates

When less rooms are available, room rates increase
Better deals booking in advance

Glancing at your numbers looks like it’s $90 more per day for the deluxe
which would include free unlimited ep for all


I would go with hrh
It is close to the parks and to city walk
The crowds that will be at the parks during hhn dates, are huge

Quicker to walk to the parks when at hrh
Cbay is a popular hotel but not a short walk to parks or city walk

You can pool hop to Cbay from hrh
if the pool is a main draw for some of your time while on vacation

 

[schumigirl]

I`d also go with HRH out of those 2 options.

Even in so called quieter times queues can get long and having EP is worth it`s weight in gold.

Go for the deluxe hotel.......you won`t regret it.......

 

[Sugart]

I’m going to say stay at CB and save the money. Since you are going for 14 days that will be plenty of time to see everything without express. We just did 4 days with no express and it was fine. Ride early in the morning, pool during the middle of the day and then back to the parks.

 

[hhoope01]

While I love EP access as much as anyone, I would tend to agree that for $1300 I'd probably try to get by without it. As mentioned, make good use of EE access and on different mornings, right after the full parks open, head to rides that tend to have the longest lines. Over a 14 day period you should have no problems riding everything.

But with that, I'd probably still want to hedge my bet a bit. I'd probably still try to snag a deluxe hotel for a few nights within that 14 night stay. Not that I'd move everything into it, but for each night you get, you would have 2 days worth of EPs. Having those on the weekends or when the crowd levels are expected to be high could be a very nice benefit. And while it would cost you some extra out of pocket money, it should be well less than the $1300.

 

[GoldmanTrust]

We have done two consecutive Septembers, where we stay at Cabana Bay for a fortnight. We did every ride in the park numerous times and never waited. Halloween horror nights were already in full effect and it didn’t affect our waiting times.

 

[schumigirl]

We saw some huge lines last September into October........no guarantees of lesser lines anymore. It just gets busier every year since we first went then in 2007.

September we saw lines of regularly 70-100 minutes for Minions and surprisingly Transformers.......we were also surprised to see The Mummy line out the door for the regular line.

Hulk had 90 minutes one day, it might have been a weekend, can’t remember......we did the ride 3 times in around 15 minutes with EP.

It’s really how you feel you and your family are waiting in long lines when they do occur. We hate queueing with a passion, so we don’t. Certainly there will be some rides that don’t have long lines........but EP is really worth it.

 

[maverik85]

Honestly those times don't seem too bad for the anticipated crowd levels. Minions always seems to have long lines. Went there in February a few years ago and it was consistently over an hour then. Transformers and Spider-Man were often in the 45+minute range and Hulk ranged from 30-60 depending on time of day. Given that February, while not dead, is still a slower period, that is not too big of a time boost for one of their busiest times.

For the OP I'd say if money is a big factor I'd go with CB. I think it's a great resort and did a week there last time and loved it. Think it has the best pool area with the slides, beach type area, and lazy river. Plus easy access now to Volcano Bay. With a 14 day stay you should be fine to hit up everything multiple times, especially if you utilize the early access. If crowds do get really bad I'd take hhooper01's suggestion and grab a deluxe room for a night if the rate isn't too bad to allow Express Passes for your family for a couple days to beat crowds then. Even if you don't stay there would likely be cheaper than buying express passes for everyone, especially for two days.

 

[shanew21]

If you're early birds I'd say save the money and just hit the must do attractions early in the day or late at night. With 14 days you'll have plenty of time to see everything Universal has to offer. If you were doing a shorter stay I'd say upgrade and get the Express Passes, but you've got time.

Alternatively you could just stay for a shorter duration at a deluxe to equal what you'd pay at Cabana Bay. I don't know what that would shorten the trip to (due to SMSM discount), but then you'd pay the same amount and save a ton of time with the Express Passes. You may not need all 14 days if you have those.