Not sure where to stay

SwanVT2

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 19, 2010
Planning a trip for end of February 2021, for me, DH and DD, who will be 8 at the time. All our other winter vacations have been at Disney and renting DVC studios or staying at the Dolphin. My husband and I have 7 day tickets that we purchased years ago and have never used. DD will need a ticket. Our friends tell us they stayed at Hard Rock and the EP was worth it. However, the deluxe resorts are really expensive. The highest a night we would prefer to spend is about 270.00. We like having afternoons in our room for pool time and to rest before dinner, so we are not too keen on staying at the value Universal hotels. I don't see super favorable reviews for Sapphire. How important are EP? I see it costs 70.00 a day to add them to your ticket. I know we can stay at a deluxe hotel and get 2 days EP, but I don't think we want to deal with changing resorts. I like the flexibility EP would give us, especially since my husband is not a morning person. Does RP ever have rates below 300? I see they have a special this April in that range, but we prefer February because flights are cheaper. Should we stay somewhere like Disney's POR and use Uber to get to the park? Maybe splurge on EP for a couple of days? Doubletree Universal looked interesting, but their latest review talks about roaches. Ugh! Thanks for any advice!
 
I don't feel knowledgeable enough on late feb crowds to comment on the need for EP, but I would encourage you to look at Sapphire Falls a little closer. It's a great hotel with (in my opinion) the best pool and great poolside food/drinks. I've heard positive things about the dining there as well. And certainly lots of glowing things about Strongwater Tavern. The property is still very "new" feeling and the water taxi is a great benefit. Within walking distance to the parks/CW if need be. We're planning a trip to RPR and my husband is kind of mad that we're not staying at SF.
 
Don`t discount Sapphire Falls.

It`s a beautiful resort and we stay there as a change from RPR, and we have never been disappointed with the hotel in any way. We have already booked 23 nights in May this year here.

Read some of the stickies for the hotels and see if any take your fancy.
 
Rates for the end of February usually are decent

When you are 11 months out from the vacation, expect to see better, lower hotel rates


I bought the multiple day (7 day p2p) passes in 2006 for my sons to use when they joined me for UO trips

Had 6 sets left and never used

About 4-5 years ago, had to go to guest services to exchange those old never used passes as they would not scan at the gate for the son with me

System had changed when third park was added to the parks

Was issued 1 day p2p NE tickets for the full amount of days each pass was worth

Not sure how policy is now for exchanging older tickets
If there is no listed expiration date on them, GS will exchange them for you
 


We love Sapphire Falls. It's a beautiful and very convenient hotel. That said, keep an eye on AP rates this year to give you an idea of what kind of discounts you may find for next year.

APH rate hotel booking site

I see APH rates for RPR at about $279
 
Last edited:
We always stay at RPR. It is a beautiful resort with excellent service and amenities. We love the boat ride to the parks. You can walk it but we are both seniors so we take the easy way out:) The EP's that are given with the resort stay are fantastic. We would not do it any other way. It was worth it not to have to stand in the regular line for over an hour for Minions or Shrek. That happened one visit on a low crowd day. The lines for some attractions were pretty long. It depends on your goal while visiting Universal? If you only want to do a day or 2 and go commando, then you would probably need an EP. If you have one side targeted or one area targeted as most important, then maybe you wouldn't need the EP's? I just know we will never visit without EP's or staying at RPR.
 
Planning a trip for end of February 2021, for me, DH and DD, who will be 8 at the time. All our other winter vacations have been at Disney and renting DVC studios or staying at the Dolphin. My husband and I have 7 day tickets that we purchased years ago and have never used. DD will need a ticket. Our friends tell us they stayed at Hard Rock and the EP was worth it. However, the deluxe resorts are really expensive. The highest a night we would prefer to spend is about 270.00. We like having afternoons in our room for pool time and to rest before dinner, so we are not too keen on staying at the value Universal hotels. I don't see super favorable reviews for Sapphire. How important are EP? I see it costs 70.00 a day to add them to your ticket. I know we can stay at a deluxe hotel and get 2 days EP, but I don't think we want to deal with changing resorts. I like the flexibility EP would give us, especially since my husband is not a morning person. Does RP ever have rates below 300? I see they have a special this April in that range, but we prefer February because flights are cheaper. Should we stay somewhere like Disney's POR and use Uber to get to the park? Maybe splurge on EP for a couple of days? Doubletree Universal looked interesting, but their latest review talks about roaches. Ugh! Thanks for any advice!

Sapphire is an amazing place!!!

We finally stayed there in 2019 and really enjoyed our short stay.

EP is a huge benefit and considering the price you mentioned per night you may have a couple of nice options at RP or HR

You mentioned a 7 day ticket so I’d assume possibly 7 nights you intend to stay which you should be able to get a nice SMSM rate.

Crowds in the end of February are typically not to bad from my experience.

FYI HR is a place we really love although RP is right there also, multiple stays and sometimes hard to choose where to stay.....
 


Hi I agree that you can get better rates booking early. I think it really comes down to if you want EP or not. Personally we would never go there without it but some people are okay with it. Have you thought about getting an AP for your daughter. If you do you can look at the APH rate and usually they have better rates. I have seen them under 300. You could also exchange one of your tickets for an AP if you would want it in your name.

My family personnaly like doing split stays. We usually do Cabana Bay for half then Portofino Bay for the other. Another option what I have done was stay at Cabana Bay (you could stay at Sapphire) and book a one night throw away at one of the deluxe resorts. This way you can get two days of EP and not have to move your room. You are allowed to do this. We did it two years ago. It was cool we ended up using the room for a bit to rest in between parks. I wouldn't stay at Disney and Uber over. It is a lot of traffic and it really wouldn't fun to do for 7 days.

Good luck
 
Hi I agree that you can get better rates booking early. I think it really comes down to if you want EP or not. Personally we would never go there without it but some people are okay with it. Have you thought about getting an AP for your daughter. If you do you can look at the APH rate and usually they have better rates. I have seen them under 300. You could also exchange one of your tickets for an AP if you would want it in your name.

My family personnaly like doing split stays. We usually do Cabana Bay for half then Portofino Bay for the other. Another option what I have done was stay at Cabana Bay (you could stay at Sapphire) and book a one night throw away at one of the deluxe resorts. This way you can get two days of EP and not have to move your room. You are allowed to do this. We did it two years ago. It was cool we ended up using the room for a bit to rest in between parks. I wouldn't stay at Disney and Uber over. It is a lot of traffic and it really wouldn't fun to do for 7 days.

Good luck
Thanks. We live in VT so don't think we can really justify an AP ticket.
 
Depends on how many park days if the AP would be cheaper than buying tickets

All AP’s are valid for hotel room discounts if you book with the ap
(It’s not an automatic room discount)

My stays are long enough for me to renew my ap

When you renew an AP, it’s at a discount

If you do not go yearly or only do a couple of days for the parks, it’s not to your advantage to buy the AP
 
Depends on how many park days if the AP would be cheaper than buying tickets

All AP’s are valid for hotel room discounts if you book with the ap
(It’s not an automatic room discount)

My stays are long enough for me to renew my ap

When you renew an AP, it’s at a discount

If you do not go yearly or only do a couple of days for the parks, it’s not to your advantage to buy the AP
Wow so looking at the prices of an AP this may be the way to go. Which AP should I be looking at getting if we are traveling the last week of February into March 2021? I think the 2 tickets we have are just general park tickets so we could give our daughter one of those tickets and put the AP ticket under my name. Then it would be worth it to book a deluxe resort!
 
Wow so looking at the prices of an AP this may be the way to go. Which AP should I be looking at getting if we are traveling the last week of February into March 2021? I think the 2 tickets we have are just general park tickets so we could give our daughter one of those tickets and put the AP ticket under my name. Then it would be worth it to book a deluxe resort!
I am using an iPhone and not able to get the link to post to you

Go to www.universalorlando.com
Click on annual pass benefits

There are 4 levels of the ap and you can see the perks and benefits of each one

I have the preferred and have been renewing it yearly since 2002
There were only two levels when I became an ap holder
I always come out ahead even if I do not get the ap room discount

Some families only buy one AP for the discounts
They buy tickets from other sources or buy tickets when special ticket deals are released thru the ap link
 
I am using an iPhone and not able to get the link to post to you

Go to www.universalorlando.com
Click on annual pass benefits

There are 4 levels of the ap and you can see the perks and benefits of each one

I have the preferred and have been renewing it yearly since 2002
There were only two levels when I became an ap holder
I always come out ahead even if I do not get the ap room discount

Some families only buy one AP for the discounts
They buy tickets from other sources or buy tickets when special ticket deals are released thru the ap link
Ok. If I got our daughter the AP tickets are Universal tickets under the holder's specific name? Because she is only 8 and if I want to book a hotel.under her name would that work ? Thanks.
 

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