RPR or Sapphire Falls (and buy Express Pass)

Luisfba

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 15, 2016
(first time staying at UO, and first time going in about 15 years - since before kids - .. been going to WDW but my 12 year old wants to try something new)

Planning on going April 17-21. We are a family of 4 (two daughters - 12 and 8). When we do WDW we usually stay at a 1 BR villa. We enjoy the extra space.

I was looking at Royal Pacific (King Suite), but was wondering if staying at a Kids Suite or a Sapphire Suite with an extra bedroom (priced similarly) in Sapphire Falls (and buy the Express Pass bundled with tickets) would make more sense in order to get a bit more space. The pool also seems great as it has a slide and the RPR doesn't.

What do folks think? How would the two compare if the EP is taken out of the mix as a key differentiator?

Thanks
 
Sapphire Falls is the newer hotel, fresher hotel and that is always nice. Commute distance is very similar.
 
You really need to weigh the cost factor to the space and amenities. For us - we are 7 traveling together (we will be in a 2BR at AKV prior to our UO stay) -- we felt that the express pass was worth it to sacrifice our room size (we are just getting 2 studios). It depends on how much time you will be spending in the room and at the resort pool. If you are going to include volcano bay in your park tickets then you will get your fill of pool slides there, thus making RPR with the express pass a win. We are traveling at the same time as you, well the 21st-24th - so it is a fairly busy time with it being spring vacation for many schools.

If you are up in the air then write down all the cost factors with each resort and look at youtube videos of each resort and see which your family wants -- sometimes the financials are the deciding factor.
 
We have never bought EP when we've stayed at a resort without it. I've visited US/IOA several time staying offsite and at Cabana Bay. (We had stayed at HRH and RPR and loved them). We've been in the summer, december and spring break and haven't really missed having EP that much. With three park days you should have plenty of time to get to rides that get lines before they get too long. Our usual day is up for EE and out of the park before noon....pool time....back to park in the late afternoon. It's worked great.

I'd go with whichever resort you like. If you stay at Sapphire, don't buy EP until you get there and see how it goes the first day. It will definitely save you some money.

We are staying at Sapphire next week with 3 1/2 park days and pool time as usual if the weather cooperates. No EP.
 


Last trip (April 2017), we stayed at RPR and noticed that the line for the water taxi from City Walk was pretty long almost consistently for Sapphire Falls. Normally we take that with a grain of salt, but it became so noticeable that it scared us off from staying there next trip. Not sure if that's been others' experiences or if it was a freak thing that we saw, but I'd be looking into that if we ever plan to stay there in the future.

But having said that, does the walking path connect over to Sapphire Falls as well? I know when you get near RPR, there is a bridge that leads over by Cabana Bay. Do you go the same way for Sapphire Falls? We haven't tried it.
 
Last trip (April 2017), we stayed at RPR and noticed that the line for the water taxi from City Walk was pretty long almost consistently for Sapphire Falls. Normally we take that with a grain of salt, but it became so noticeable that it scared us off from staying there next trip. Not sure if that's been others' experiences or if it was a freak thing that we saw, but I'd be looking into that if we ever plan to stay there in the future.

But having said that, does the walking path connect over to Sapphire Falls as well? I know when you get near RPR, there is a bridge that leads over by Cabana Bay. Do you go the same way for Sapphire Falls? We haven't tried it.

I bet people that are staying at Cabana Bay were taking the water taxi to SF and walking across the street to CB.
 
I bet people that are staying at Cabana Bay were taking the water taxi to SF and walking across the street to CB.

Ah, that makes sense. I haven't been over there so I didn't know how the logistics are. I bet that is what's happening!
 


Yes, the walkway that goes to CB goes past SF, too.
 
I would do some price comparisons. For example it might actually be cheaper to get 2 connecting double queens at RPR and unlimited EPs than to book a suite at SF and buy EP's separately. We have girls the same ages and booked connecting queens last week at RPR. Having 2 full bathrooms for everyone to get ready was awesome. We paid roughly $182/night/room. You can't even buy 4 EP's for that price.
 
Not sure what the space is needed for - have you considered the standard RPR room with Club Level. Doesn't add room for sleeping/prepping for the day, but as far as having some space during the day/evening when not in the parks, it is nice. Plus, the cost basically covers your breakfast costs. Not sure if the extra $100 per day affects the budget when compared to room upgrades.

Just a thought...
 
or you could do like we are doing in july with our party of 7.. staying first night at r p h then moving next door to sf still have use of fol on "check out" day but cost much less2nd night! just a thought.
 
One thing to consider too is that mid week in April (with the exception of when Easter weekend falls in April) the parks could be fairly quiet. Looking at last years wait times for the last week of April (since that was a full week after Easter craziness) and the wait times were tiny, so less of a need for Express Pass.

If you decide to go the SF route and potentially want to buy EP separately, you could wait until you actually get to the parks and see if you need them.
 
Last trip (April 2017), we stayed at RPR and noticed that the line for the water taxi from City Walk was pretty long almost consistently for Sapphire Falls. Normally we take that with a grain of salt, but it became so noticeable that it scared us off from staying there next trip. Not sure if that's been others' experiences or if it was a freak thing that we saw, but I'd be looking into that if we ever plan to stay there in the future.

But having said that, does the walking path connect over to Sapphire Falls as well? I know when you get near RPR, there is a bridge that leads over by Cabana Bay. Do you go the same way for Sapphire Falls? We haven't tried it.
I had talked about this in a previous thread at some point, but yes it seems like the Sapphire boat is always pretty busy - a few times I took the boat to RPR and walked over.
It is a short walk to SF from RPR - You head to the right by Emerils after leaving the boat

I did not notice anyone walking over to CB, but I would plan to take the boat to SF or RPR if I was staying at Adventura so I guess people would for CB as well - not sure how easy it is to get across that road though
 
We stayed at sapphire in the sapphire suite for the extra room the summer the hotel opened. It was during the summer, and if you take advantage of early entry you should be ok. We stayed at a king suite at RPR this past summer, it was nice, but I've decided from now on I want to stay where there are 2 bathrooms in the room and a little extra space. If we stay on sight for this summer's trip, I'm heading back to Sapphire for the room size, plus I thought it was a great resort!
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top