Good morning everyone. It's been some time since I first posted in this thread and I've absolutely done my research. Here's where I'm at now:
1) 24 to 31 Aug 2018
2) Family of 5- 2 adults, 3 kids.
3) 4 day- 3 park to park ticket.
4) Dining plan with unlimited drinks for all 5.
5) Trip insurance on my own- not cancel for any reason because of its limitations.
I really thought that we wanted to stay at Cabana Bay until I was at the hotel last week when I was in town for business. It was busy, really busy, and struck me almost like a value resort on the Disney side in terms of appointment and layout. Please realize that I'm not being snobby, but instead just saying that for a little bit less money ($4,513.96 for family suite @ Cabana) I'm able to look at a Deluxe 2 queen bedroom room @ Hard Rock ($4,354.24) or Portofino ($4,328.65) where the vibe struck me (at least in January) as a little more laid back. I've been told that at Hard Rock and Portofino when you book Deluxe you don't need a rollaway, as the couch folds out to a twin bed. Is that accurate? I keep seeing conflicting information but would prefer that my daughter have something other than a rollaway to sleep on for 7 nights.
What are we looking for in terms of hotel
1) Nice pool for our off days (I've been told that Hard Rock has the best slide on property but not sure how accurate that is). Any feedback?
2) Pool activities- what is going on around the pool that the kids can take part in? Ages are 13, 10 and 6.
3) Resort activities? Movies after dark, bike rental, fitness clubs, restaurants and food courts?
I know that certain perks that come with Cabana Bay aren't realized at the other 2, with things like a lazy river, bowling alley, huge food court, microwave and sink in kitchenette area, but am looking to see whether things offered by either of the other hotels make up for it. Any feedback you might have is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
If you do opt for an AP, check which AP version you are purchasing as not all of them have the same food discounts. Also, you might want to purchase the APs to begin with (rather than upgrading standard park tickets) as you might be able to get the AP hotel rate.Finally since you are there 5 days it might make sense to upgrade your tickets to an annual pass, just ask at guest services once you enter the first day. It’s usually ridiculously cheap to convert from 3 day to AP and then you get food discounts and you can pop over to the parks for a couple of hours on your off days.
Looking at your price points, Hard Rock looks like a pretty good deal, especially for the kids. The pool area there is great fun and it is the closest hotel to Studios, a very easy walk to get to the park or to Citiwalk. We are staying there in a few weeks and have toured the resort and pool area before and really like it. The deluxe resort are fairly minimal on the food court side but have great poolside menus and sit down restaurants. And when we were checking out the Hard Rock, they had live music poolside and active games and activities. Portofino Bay is a more "romantic" kind of getaway. They have more overall pool space and pools than Hard Rock, but their pool areas are geared to be pretty relaxing and laid back.
If I could book at Hard Rock for less than Cabana bay, I'd deal with the minor inconvenience of being five crowded into one room. One thing I'm curious about, did the Cabana price point include adding in express passes to the tickets? If not, it's even a better deal to stay at PBH or HRH as the unlimited express comes included with the room there for each member of your family.
At those prices for me Portofino would win hands down. We feel it’s casually elegant- laid back but has all the bells and whistles of a high end hotel. There’s opera performed on the balcony by the bay every evening. People open there balcony doors or sit in the piazza and just listen. The pool is great and has a slide for your kids. You can also pool hop to any other pool onsite if you want to take a down day and enjoy Cabanas or HRH. We liked the restaurants there and the rooms are larger.
Pool activities vary throughout the day and during different seasons. For your younger ones they have ping pong tournaments, silly competitions, movies, sand castle building (there’s a little zero entry beach areas).
All the resorts have restaurants at different price points and Cabana Bay has the bowling alley and food court. Along with pool hopping you can resort hop by taking the complimentary water taxi from your hotel to city walk and then from city walk to the other hotel (cabana bay will be a bus and not a water taxi). We use one of our off days to explore a different resort restaurant.
The big difference for us between UO and WDW is the size and proximity of everything. Getting from hotel to city walk to gates and from park to park is really quick and easy. It isn’t the big ordeal of switching transportation and buses and monorails. Some people touched on this but during park days you can bounce between parks in under 5 minutes so they really operate more like Disney lands than seperate parks (except VB). Between that and express pass it’s such a different, more relaxing, experience.
You didn’t ask but another difference ADRs. Forget about them! You dont need to make any dining reservations, but if you did want to make a few sit down reservations you can do it the day before. That one always blows WDW planners minds. I personally haven’t found value in the meal plans when I’ve compared them, BUT you can buy them day of at any dining venue and not everyone in your party needs one. If it were me I’d hold off until in the parks and then maybe only buy 2-3.
Oh and trip insurance. Most of us on the boards book hotel and tickets separately. It is usually cheaper than the packages. Booking the hotel directly with Loews you can cancel it without any penalty up to 3 days before for any reason. You’ll only need to put down a one night deposit too, balance due at check out. No fees to change reservations this way, but with a package you would have fees and cancellation penalties. You can book tickets through undercover tourists who usually has deals throughout the year. Most people on the board have used them and it’s all on the up and up. Just remember you do NOT need to seperately book EPs if you are at one of the big three hotels. (Some people get confused and think they have to book them).
Finally since you are there 5 days it might make sense to upgrade your tickets to an annual pass, just ask at guest services once you enter the first day. It’s usually ridiculously cheap to convert from 3 day to AP and then you get food discounts and you can pop over to the parks for a couple of hours on your off days.
I know this may not be everyone's idea but Portofino doesn't come across as a place for kids as much if you can understand. I know some people have said their kids liked it but all the others are more kid friendly to us at least. It's more high end, and honestly when we went there to visit (never stayed) a little dull, more like a grand hotel but not with an upbeat theme like the others, and far from everything, the parks, etc. which is a drag when it's hot and you want to just get back to your hotel. And we like to be able to relax too but even my husband's first words were when we went to visit is this place is kind of boring compared to the others.