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    First trip and overwhelmed

    At least 2 years ago Universal transport is fast and plentiful. The only issue we had was getting from Portofino to Volcano Bay. We just preferred the boat as it's such a pretty ride and you don't go through the security with the masses, it's its own thing.
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    First trip and overwhelmed

    If you stay at Portofino get to the parks by boat! Such a relaxing ride and it drops you off right at the point where the parks meet citywalk. Park to park is VERY easy, it took me with one bad knee and one middling knee less than 10 minutes to walk from one to the other. I've since had one...
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    Hagrid’s for Drop Chickens!

    I agree with this and I'm also a ride wimp. When we went in June of 21, we spent 1 day at Hollywood Studios, I'm a massive Star Wars fan and really really wanted to ride Rise of the Resistance. I knew there was a drop but I wanted to see the rest of the ride so I sucked it up and went. Hands...
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    Previously Purchased Freestyle Mugs

    yes, as long as the machine can read the chip, you should not have any issues. We bought ours off of ebay before our first trip in 2019, used them then packed them away. Brought them back this past summer and they worked just fine.
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    Best place to stay - first time traveler

    Busses are plentiful and are NOTHING like Disney busses. That said, The boat from Royal pacific was wonderful and you completely miss the zoo that is citywalk's main entry (all the boats dock in the same spot at CW). the walking path from RP looked very flat and easy to manage, we're just not...
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    Disney "Money Grab" and the future of Universal

    Branson, which is very near SDC, is a beautiful area. Look into a rental when you go down and stay by the lake. Lots of options from log cabins to your standard hotel room. Cheap when compared to universal too!
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    Switch to Universal?

    Have you looked at Aventura? What about Surfside/Dockside (admittedly they are the furthest away from the park but it felt like alllllll the busses were for those 2 hotels when we were there in June)
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    Nervous about Cabana Bay...

    I'm with you. We stayed at CB in 2019 and again this past June. I really loved the hotel in 2019 and was excited to go back this year. You can tell they're suffering from staffing. I'm hopeful they can get more staff on board and bring it back up to standard, it really is a neat hotel and the...
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    Switch to Universal?

    Yes, that was partially our experience in June. (and was NOT true in 2019). I think they've really taken a hit with the pandemic shut down and loss of staff. It's sad as we loved the hotel, and I recommended it right up until we went back this year. We did see some of the issues people have...
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    Switch to Universal?

    So our first trip was in 2019, Aventura was built but not open at the time. We stayed in Cabana Bay then and really loved the amenities. We had a 13 and 10 year old then. They loved the pools, bowling alley and quick access to volcano bay. Flash forward to 2021 and DH's request was 2 rooms, so...
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    Switch to Universal?

    We are a family of 4, but we're big room people. We stayed in 2 family suites at Cabana Bay and found the room to be enough. That said, CB does not offer the EP. If that's a deal breaker than I'd look at room cost between the three EP hotels and see if you can swing 2 connecting rooms. we...
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    Considering first trip to Universal. Starting to research...

    If you have an AP that gives you a parking discount check out the AP rates for the hotel. Save you a bit there too. Might be worth the cost of one AP just to get those discounts and you get EP with the throwaway room.
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    No EP--tell me the positive stories

    I completely agree with this. We love CB, but did a split stay earlier this year (2 nights at RP and the rest at CB) and it worked perfectly. Having express those first 2 days was really nice, especially since I'm a nonrider and could just hold everyones stuff so they could jump right on the...
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    No EP--tell me the positive stories

    we're not a rope drop family either, but I pushed hard to get us there at least one if not 2 days. it's a huge difference. I make the argument that we rope drop 2 days (one day for each park) then sleep in the rest of the time. Also single rider line can help.
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    Possible to avoid incidental hold??

    I don't charge to the room and have sent things back before. The two aren't connected. OP, been there, done that spent a lot of time having to be very, very careful especially on vacation. What we do is pre-pay the hotel before we get there. Then at check in ask for room charges to be turned...
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    Bad experience at Cabana Bay

    that's not acceptable, and we love Cabana Bay. When we checked in in June our room had not been cleaned - like dirty dishes on the counter and beds unmade not cleaned. My DH called the front desk and we were immediately moved. I know the hotel was "sold out" as I kept checking the rates and...
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    Toothsome Question - Need Milkshakes!

    There were places to sit and eat in the takeout area when we were there in June. We got our shakes to go and walked back through citywalk to the hotel with them. The result was a melted mess of not very good ice cream, so I'd highly recommend eating AT the restaurant or nearby.
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    closest hotel walk to Volcano Bay

    Cabana Bay - it's got it's own entrance. Once you're in the walk can be significant to get to the chairs however, no matter how you get there. We have yet to figure out how to drop off people at Citywalk to take the bus over. I tried with DH and DS and it was way too confusing. They tried to...
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    Random notes from recent trip

    I agree, we love Vivo, but it is expensive. it was one of the only eateries we returned to this year from our 2019 trip.
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    What is your DO or Die odd packing items??

    earplugs for DD, I swear that child got her hearing from Batman. Problem is it's selective. In a hotel she can hear every noise. At home, I can be yelling at the bottom of the stairs and I'll get a faint what? from her room. Also, ziplock bags and a sharpie. Multiple uses over the years for...
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