My thoughts on Cabana Bay!!

[_Laurie_D]

I appreciated so much all the advice I received on this board while trying to decide whether to give Cabana Bay a try on our Universal trip I felt obliged to do the same now that we are back. Myself, my husband and our 6yr old grandson stayed the last week of November for 4 nights. I really didn’t know what to expect after staying at Hard Rock and Portofino on previous stays. We checked in on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. We had booked a regular poolside tower room. Check in went smooth and the girl who checked us in was very friendly. Parking was fine and we had no issues at all finding a spot. The gates didn’t work with our room card so we did have to push the button for assistance when going in and out. We then went to our room and it was very nice but small. The room had the most amazing view of the volcano even though it wasn’t a “volcano view room.” As I was trying to find places for our luggage I was regretting not booking a suite instead. So I went down and asked if we could upgrade. They upgraded us for just $20 extra a night to the poolside tower suite. Wow what a difference! We absolutely loved the suite. So much more room! Plenty of places for luggage. The standard room and suite were both very clean and both very nice but the suite couldn’t be beat for the extra room it provided. Beds were very comfortable, housekeeping was great and we always came back to clean rooms. In my opinion the hotel itself has it all over the deluxe resorts. It is huge and still looked very new. I read so many trip advisor reviews where people said the hotel and rooms were dirty. I have no idea where they were staying because everything here was immaculate and I’m pretty picky about hotel rooms. I also didn’t notice a problem with smokers at every exit like I had read in some reviews. We absolutely loved the atmosphere here. The pools were great and my grandson loved the bowling alley. The food court was really nice. We had breakfast there twice during our stay and the food was nothing to complain about. There was a laundry room very close to our room which I used once during our stay. The bus service to the parks was excellent and we never had to wait. There was always a bus waiting going to and coming from the parks. The security check was fast and it wasn’t a bad walk going into City Walk from where the bus dropped us off. Sometimes I felt it was even faster then the boats at the deluxes. On our first morning we walked from the hotel to islands of adventure and it took us exactly 15 minutes. It is just about 3/4 of a mile so not bad at all. I had read reviews about the walk being horribly long but it didn’t seem bad to me. Maybe because the weather was cooler at this time of year. It was a really nice scenic garden path that took you straight to the park. No crossing any busy streets. The path went over the highway. At the parks we had no need for express. Last week of November/early December is really a great time to visit. I don’t think we waited in any lines over 5-10 minutes. Most rides were walk ons. We spent the last few days of our trip at Disney and I can’t say the same. The lines there had very long waits. We are Universal season passholders and will be visiting again in June. I would absolutely love to stay at Cabana Bay again but probably won’t because I feel express will be needed in June. If not for the express pass benefit that the deluxes provide I would always stay at Cabana Bay. I would even pay the same price as the deluxes to stay here if it came with express. It’s a shame that it doesn’t. We had a great time and I really can’t find a thing to complain about. If you’re on the fence about staying here I don’t think you will be disappointed

 

[macraven]

Thanks for sharing your experiences

You went at low crowd time period and saved money and had limited ride waits
Always good to hear

Yes June brings in more crowds and wise to stay at a hotel that offers free ep

 

[davper]

The size of the room was my complaint as well for just my wife and I. Everything else was fine.

 

[derekjd]

Stayed at Cabana Bay 2 years ago and going back this February....cannot wait and your review is spot on to what we experienced when we were there. Thanks for sharing.

 

[AJA]

Thank you for the detailed review!

I just booked CB for our (extra) trip in May. This will be a "3 trips in one year" stay and saving some $$ was pretty high on my list. We've also only stayed deluxe at Universal (except for one stay at Sapphire Falls -an excellent resort too btw) and hearing positive reviews like this really puts my mind at ease. So far I have a regular room booked for the three of us (parents and 1 child) but now I'm thinking we may upgrade to a regular suit if/when the AP rates come out.

 

[Grumpy92]

Thanks, great report. We find cbbr a better deal than Disneys value resorts.

 

[RalphinSC]

Thanks, great report. We find cbbr a better deal than Disneys value resorts.

In my opinion, CBBR is a better deal than almost all of Disney's moderates as well.

 

[RalphinSC]

For what it's worth Laurie, we stayed at CBBR this past June for eight days and we never felt the need for Express the entire trip. Used single rider lines and rope drop a few times. If you like Volcano Bay, CBBR cannot be beat for ease of access to that park. It's less than a five minute walk from your hotel room door to the park gate if you are staying on the tower side. Might be worth reconsidering for June if you are looking to hit the waterpark and are creative about dealing with the higher crowds.

 

[lorimay]

I appreciated so much all the advice I received on this board while trying to decide whether to give Cabana Bay a try on our Universal trip I felt obliged to do the same now that we are back. Myself, my husband and our 6yr old grandson stayed the last week of November for 4 nights. I really didn’t know what to expect after staying at Hard Rock and Portofino on previous stays. We checked in on the Wednesday after Thanksgiving. We had booked a regular poolside tower room. Check in went smooth and the girl who checked us in was very friendly. Parking was fine and we had no issues at all finding a spot. The gates didn’t work with our room card so we did have to push the button for assistance when going in and out. We then went to our room and it was very nice but small. The room had the most amazing view of the volcano even though it wasn’t a “volcano view room.” As I was trying to find places for our luggage I was regretting not booking a suite instead. So I went down and asked if we could upgrade. They upgraded us for just $20 extra a night to the poolside tower suite. Wow what a difference! We absolutely loved the suite. So much more room! Plenty of places for luggage. The standard room and suite were both very clean and both very nice but the suite couldn’t be beat for the extra room it provided. Beds were very comfortable, housekeeping was great and we always came back to clean rooms. In my opinion the hotel itself has it all over the deluxe resorts. It is huge and still looked very new. I read so many trip advisor reviews where people said the hotel and rooms were dirty. I have no idea where they were staying because everything here was immaculate and I’m pretty picky about hotel rooms. I also didn’t notice a problem with smokers at every exit like I had read in some reviews. We absolutely loved the atmosphere here. The pools were great and my grandson loved the bowling alley. The food court was really nice. We had breakfast there twice during our stay and the food was nothing to complain about. There was a laundry room very close to our room which I used once during our stay. The bus service to the parks was excellent and we never had to wait. There was always a bus waiting going to and coming from the parks. The security check was fast and it wasn’t a bad walk going into City Walk from where the bus dropped us off. Sometimes I felt it was even faster then the boats at the deluxes. On our first morning we walked from the hotel to islands of adventure and it took us exactly 15 minutes. It is just about 3/4 of a mile so not bad at all. I had read reviews about the walk being horribly long but it didn’t seem bad to me. Maybe because the weather was cooler at this time of year. It was a really nice scenic garden path that took you straight to the park. No crossing any busy streets. The path went over the highway. At the parks we had no need for express. Last week of November/early December is really a great time to visit. I don’t think we waited in any lines over 5-10 minutes. Most rides were walk ons. We spent the last few days of our trip at Disney and I can’t say the same. The lines there had very long waits. We are Universal season passholders and will be visiting again in June. I would absolutely love to stay at Cabana Bay again but probably won’t because I feel express will be needed in June. If not for the express pass benefit that the deluxes provide I would always stay at Cabana Bay. I would even pay the same price as the deluxes to stay here if it came with express. It’s a shame that it doesn’t. We had a great time and I really can’t find a thing to complain about. If you’re on the fence about staying here I don’t think you will be disappointed

Hi!
Just booked Cabana Bay for next month for myself, my husband and our 2 grandkids. Did you happen to check out the bowling alley? Is it family friendly, do they offer kids lanes that block the gutters for the kids?

Thanks!

 

[PollyannaMom]

Hi!
Just booked Cabana Bay for next month for myself, my husband and our 2 grandkids. Did you happen to check out the bowling alley? Is it family friendly, do they offer kids lanes that block the gutters for the kids?

Thanks!

I've read somewhere here on the DIS that they do.

(I'm also book for next month, and counting the days!)

 

[Connecticute]

Hi!
Just booked Cabana Bay for next month for myself, my husband and our 2 grandkids. Did you happen to check out the bowling alley? Is it family friendly, do they offer kids lanes that block the gutters for the kids?

Thanks!

We bowled last year with our 5 year old. They offered bumpers in all the lanes; you just have to specify which bowlers need the bumpers and they'll pop up automatically when it's that bowler's turn. They also have the ball rolling ramps, so kids can load the ball on the ramp and line it up. I'm currently angling for another few days there this year. We had a great time!

 

[lorimay]

Thanks!!!

They are there right now with their parents for the weekend, so they will be excited to go back next month.

 

[_Laurie_D]

Hi!
Just booked Cabana Bay for next month for myself, my husband and our 2 grandkids. Did you happen to check out the bowling alley? Is it family friendly, do they offer kids lanes that block the gutters for the kids?

Thanks!

Yes we did! Lol that was probably my grandsons favorite thing we did on the entire vacation! It was very family friendly. They did have the gutter bumpers and what was nice is you can set them for just the players that want them. So when the adults turn comes around the bumpers go back down and when the child’s turn comes up again the bumpers go back up! The food was also really good! We had the sampler appetizer and it was delicious! Try and go when they first open because the lanes do fill up quickly and are on a first come basis. Hope you have a wonderful time on your vacation

 

[Blue32]

"For what it's worth Laurie, we stayed at CBBR this past June for eight days and we never felt the need for Express the entire trip. Used single rider lines and rope drop a few times. If you like Volcano Bay, CBBR cannot be beat for ease of access to that park. It's less than a five minute walk from your hotel room door to the park gate if you are staying on the tower side. Might be worth reconsidering for June if you are looking to hit the waterpark and are creative about dealing with the higher crowds." sorry.....forgot to quote this first!




Can you expand on this a bit more with the feeling of not needing Express Pass in June? I know so many others on the board here really love EP and tout the "need" or "desire" for it during busy times. It seems summer would fall into that category. Just wondering what that looked like for you as far as wait times for attractions throughout the day? Thanks for any other thoughts you might have!

 

[macraven]

My opinion only based on what I saw while at uo in past June’s

Last week of June I feel ep is a great think
Schools are out for the summer and some years June is not as hot at July or August

Early to mid June not bad using regular ride lines

Staying onsite at any of UO hotels, give those guests early entry

You can cover those rides that are open in this early hour extra period

I have no idea of crowd patterns for this late spring and summer

So changeable for me to even guess

I stay at rpr and have used the regular ride lines a few times each time I am there

Otherwise, I use the ep lines

I like the things you see in the regular line which you don’t see in the ep line

Mummy is one of them where I use the regular line

 

[kace08]

We bowled last year with our 5 year old. They offered bumpers in all the lanes; you just have to specify which bowlers need the bumpers and they'll pop up automatically when it's that bowler's turn. They also have the ball rolling ramps, so kids can load the ball on the ramp and line it up. I'm currently angling for another few days there this year. We had a great time!

I'm looking for recent pricing on the bowling at Cabana Bay. I've heard that it is less expensive during certain times of the day. Is that still true? If there is another place I should look for this info, please let me know
Thanks,

 

[macraven]

I'm looking for recent pricing on the bowling at Cabana Bay. I've heard that it is less expensive during certain times of the day. Is that still true? If there is another place I should look for this info, please let me know
Thanks,

I don’t know the answer but if no one posts here, you can call the hotel and ask for info about the bowling

 

[pattyw]

Sounds great about CBBR! We usually stay at HRH and like the EP's, but would love to give Cabana Bay a try as well! Sounds fun! I like the proximity to Volcano Bay so a Cabana Bay/Volcano Bay visit sounds great!

 

[Connecticute]

We didn't actually bowl this year. We thought we might have, but it was pouring rain and thunderstorms, so we had the same idea as everyone else in the place. By the time I went up to reserve a lane, the fellow working there said it was a 4-5 hour wait. So we didn't bowl!

I don't remember what the pricing structure was from last year when we did bowl. There are 2 different waiting lists though - there's a lineup outside the restaurant/bowling alley. That line is for a table in the restaurant. If you only want to bowl, go all the way inside and make your bowling reservation at the shoe rental counter.

 

[kace08]

I'm looking for recent pricing on the bowling at Cabana Bay. I've heard that it is less expensive during certain times of the day. Is that still true? If there is another place I should look for this info, please let me know
Thanks,

According to the Unofficial Guide to Universal bowling is $14 for adults and $10 for kids. However Mon to Fri from noon to 4 the cost is $9 for everyone.