Stay at Disney or combine a day or two at Universal?

[macraven]

Yes the procedures changed again last year (2017)

You can register (check in) once the computers are loaded
Some have reported checking in at 6:30 am

They store their luggage at Bell services when they arrive that early

When you check in, all in your party gets a room key
The room key has your name on it and dates of stay

This hotel card is used for the express lines and for early entry
The ep is included free for hrh- rph - PBH

If you bought the ep if booked at Sfalls
or Cbay, assume you use the kiosk or attractions desk
Someone can correct me if I’m wrong on that pick up

The ep photo ID no longer exists

If you booked a package, the tm
will have your park tickets

Your hotel card will have your room number added to it
If you go to the park when it opens, you can return directly to your room and not have to stop at check in desk

You will get a text when your room is assigned and available (text includes your room number)

You can request for bell services to take your luggage to your room once you get your text

No need to stop at the lobby but go directly to your room

The room key is not slid into the door slot
You wave or tap your card on your room door to unlock it

Are you doing kiosk pick up for your tickets?

The attraction and ticket desk opening time, I’m not sure
When I went last October they opened at 8:00

 

[Luckybee]

It’s for Amex Platinum cardholders. We’ve never ended up using the program, since they artificially inflate the prices for their FHR hotels in a way that really just voids any benefits that are included. It’s always cheaper to go with the SMSM or APH rates, or even just book directly with the hotel, so you’re definitely not missing out!

I take issue with the "always cheaper". For a two night stay our FHR rate is the same as a book direct rate and since we're not annual passholders we love the fhr rate here. In other instances our fhr rates have actually been better than hotel direct rates and we've been using fhr for over 20 years so I guess ymmv.

We also get the breakfast and the credit, and most importantly for us the 4 pm checkout . Imho it depends on your priorities. We love the 4pm checkout and have used it often and it often saves us another room night expense.

A further benefit that cant be compared $ wise is the upgrade potential. More times than I can count we've ended up with a full suite after booking just a room. So for us I'd be willing to pay more for FHR but rarely have we had to.

 

[have2getaway]

I take issue with the "always cheaper". For a two night stay our FHR rate is the same as a book direct rate and since we're not annual passholders we love the fhr rate here. In other instances our fhr rates have actually been better than hotel direct rates and we've been using fhr for over 20 years so I guess ymmv.

We also get the breakfast and the credit, and most importantly for us the 4 pm checkout . Imho it depends on your priorities. We love the 4pm checkout and have used it often and it often saves us another room night expense.

A further benefit that cant be compared $ wise is the upgrade potential. More times than I can count we've ended up with a full suite after booking just a room. So for us I'd be willing to pay more for FHR but rarely have we had to.

What is FHR rate?

 

[ChristineOH]

Yes the procedures changed again last year (2017)

You can register (check in) once the computers are loaded
Some have reported checking in at 6:30 am

They store their luggage at Bell services when they arrive that early

When you check in, all in your party gets a room key
The room key has your name on it and dates of stay

This hotel card is used for the express lines and for early entry
The ep is included free for hrh- rph - PBH

If you bought the ep if booked at Sfalls
or Cbay, assume you use the kiosk or attractions desk
Someone can correct me if I’m wrong on that pick up

The ep photo ID no longer exists

If you booked a package, the tm
will have your park tickets

Your hotel card will have your room number added to it
If you go to the park when it opens, you can return directly to your room and not have to stop at check in desk

You will get a text when your room is assigned and available (text includes your room number)

You can request for bell services to take your luggage to your room once you get your text

No need to stop at the lobby but go directly to your room

The room key is not slid into the door slot
You wave or tap your card on your room door to unlock it

Are you doing kiosk pick up for your tickets?

The attraction and ticket desk opening time, I’m not sure
When I went last October they opened at 8:00

This is fantastic!!! Much more streamlined. WDW had Universal beat in that department. Magic Band for everything at WDW and then we got to Universal and had to buy a lanyard to hold our multiple cards. Glad to see they are streamlining.

I hadn't researched that at all yet, so thank you so much for taking the time to share that info!

 

[Luckybee]

What is FHR rate?

The FHR rate is the rate booked through Amex and it varies with dates just as regular hotel rates do.