Hi all! I am seriously considering taking DS to UOR for a trip in November-looking at the 13th-18th. On our trips prior, we’ve always stayed at RPR -love it there and love the included express passes. Things would be different this trip, though, and we would need to stay value. We could stay at Surfside or Dockside five nights for the price of one night at RPR. Does anyone have a preference of one over the other? Pros and cons of each? What is the shuttle transportation like to the parks? How badly will we miss the express pass during the week I’m thinking of going? Thanks!
2 Likes
I’ve stayed at Surfside so if it were me I’d want to try the other to compare. BUT, Surfside is a smaller resort which probably means a less crowded pool and bus stop. The bus was super quick and efficient. But will be worse than staying RPR is that you have to walk down all those long bridges to/from Citywalk which is more crowded entry point as you’ll join parking guests at security than the walkways at RPR boat or the walking path into Citywalk from RPR. You’ll miss that. But the bus ride itself is much more efficient than Disney’s system. The hotel was new and shiny while were there and was perfectly sufficient for our needs. But I could hear people thru the bedroom walls at night and the towels are awful in the bathroom. But that’s a minor quibble and nothing those soft ear plugs couldn’t solve for sleeping.
With regards to Express Pass. I’ve found even on days with 10’s on the crowd calendar that until 11am the lines aren’t bad so RD and ride rides first thing, then do shows in the afternoon. And with that many days I think you’ll be fine at getting all the rides done in the mornings.
5 Likes
That’s the week before Thanksgiving week, so I think you might enjoy a little dip in crowds, with people not taking vacations the week before the week they get time off. Crowd calendar agrees, and I don’t think you’ll miss Express at all, unless you’re really unable to handle even 10-15 minute lines. The things that will have the longest lines are Hagrid and Velocicoaster and they don’t use Express anyway.
We’ll be there the 18-20th for the Orlando Informer event, but since you’re leaving on the 18th that won’t impact your trip.
6 Likes
We stayed at Surfside in 2020 and found it to be nicer than Pop at Disney. (We had a family suite…which was cheaper than a single room at Pop as well!)
As mentioned above, the buses were very efficient. We had no complaints.
We haven’t done Dockside, but are booked there this coming May to compare. We have never done any other hotels at UOR and have never had Express Pass.
2 Likes
Yup me too. More hotels should steal that design. It’s pretty perfect setup. My teens each had their own bed and didn’t have to disturb us to use the restroom at night. I liked the picnic table setup too. It was a steal of a price for that much space. Huge room really. My only complaints were I could hear the people in the room behind our bedroom late at night and early in the morning (like dark out early). I think they had a baby. And the towels were small and scratchy for the bathroom. If they could just get some decent towels and I had brought ear plugs or used a phone app for white noise I would probably have been fine. Otherwise, it was perfect for us. The starbucks is great.
2 Likes
This is exactly why I was considering that week. All of DS’s school work and classes are set up in Google classroom; he’s a A student, and I could see us coming back for a couple of hours in the afternoon to do homework and then going back to the parks before close (I think they close at 7pm that week?) Does anyone have info on the Wi-Fi at Surfside?
In another discussion it’s been said that the WiFi in the rooms at Endless Summer resorts is kinda poopy. Would he need to be on camera? If not and he’s not easily distracted (or he’s good at putting on some headphones and blocking out the noise) then there might be better connections in public areas.
2 Likes
He shouldn’t need to be on camera, and he almost does his homework with headphone on! 
1 Like
This is all good to know! I always sleep with white noise anyway, so that shouldn’t be an issue. I’ll be driving, so maybe we’ll throw in a few towels from home. 
2 Likes
@darkmite2 has stayed in maybe both Surfside and Dockside and might have some input. Or, I might be misremembering lol.
4 Likes
The wifi at both Endless Resorts suck. You can go outside the building, like to the pool or pool bar and it’s better.
There are a few quiet places around CityWalk you could work from as well.
I’ll often be at the bus stop in the morning uploading stuff from typing in bed the night before. It’s so frustrating for such a “modern” hotel
1 Like
How is cell data service in the resort? I can hotspot off my phone if need be. I can also sign up for one month unlimited in our car for the drive there and back, too.
I upgraded to the best unlimited data plan for my last trip. It didn’t help. There’s too many people in that spot.
I’ve had a better experience when I was typing at 2am… you can see a difference in what that tower can handle at various times too
1 Like