Staying at Hard Rock!

Universal Orlando Resort
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We were scheduled to stay at RPR again this summer but are switching to Hard Rock for only $160 more (thanks, AP rate!)

I’m really excited to try this hotel out for our last trip to UOR with AP’s. Studios is our favorite park, and we will be hitting up Volcano Bay a couple times.

Any tips or tricks on the resort? I just learned from the Pugh Two that the front desk will cut out a guitar pick from your keycard when you check out!

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I wanted to do that on our last trip, but we still need the passes for EP after we checked out :confused::laughing:

Each rotunda at the end of the room corridors are acoustic chambers. Stand in the middle and sing and you’ll hear your voice bouncing off the walls.

Beach club pool bar in the only place onsite to get funnel cake products (fries). They are good.

You can listen to the music underwater in the pool (at the area next to the bar) or the movie audio if there’s one playing.

Have fun!!

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The Kitchen is my favorite breakfast buffet at Universal! Plus, at dinner the have real magicians going tableside doing tricks on the weekend.

BTW - I have followed The Pughs since before the pandemic. I think they are super sweet people. However, I listed them as my least reliable vloggers in my Best /Worst of Universal. Habitually incorrect info and rarely critcal of anything as to keep getting invited to events.

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A couple things I wish I had known before checking in:

  1. Walk, don’t take the boat. You will save very little walking and no time by taking the ferry.
  2. During pool hours (ie, at night but not usually rope drop), you can save a little time by cutting through the pool into and out of the hotel from the parks.
  3. There is a door into a stairwell outside the pool gate from the walking path (see red X in the map below), but it goes to a stairwell so it’s not a good option if you have a stroller or ECV.
  4. if you’ve never stayed at a UOR hotel before, it’s good to know that you can go to the ticket desk in the lobby for will call, linking express pass, or any other activations, purchases, etc. that you need for your tickets.
  5. If you use the online check in from the email they send you, you can wait in a shorter line when you arrive at registration. Get your keys first thing for Express Pass use, even if you arrive super early in the morning.

That’s all I can think of for now!

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No real tips but for us, HRH is way better than RP. I just didn’t love RP at all. It was OK but our first room assigned had a terrible mildew smell and it triggered asthma etc etc so we got moved to another one, which didn’t smell but felt run-down and small. The pool area seemed boring. We were missing HRH the whole time.

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Oooo, TY for these tips! Solo trip in November for combo trip, first time at UO!

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I’m so excited for your first trip!

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Take a look at Magical Vacations Travel.com (MVT). I know they have some heavily discounted rate at Hard Rock this summer. See if any will work for you. (room only) I have used this TA several times at both WDW and Universal. Right now they have Universal discounts

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They only have August deals for this summer at Universal Orlando. We have to go early June based on our AP expiration. Thanks, though!

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