Me too! and I book many of my own. With Disney I have total control via MDE but if booked via a TA I must go through them. That is why if booking via a TA you must trust them to do your bidding and on time. I have gotten rid of two TA’s because of this problem. I started booking via MVT when they had WDW specials I could not touch myself. During covid we canceled all vacations and it appears now Disney is not providing any great specials because parks are full. The other day the TA I used for MVT Disney specials notified me of their new Universal specials. It is quite obvious that I personally cannot even come close to the discount they are offering. I booked this discount via the TA I have used in the past because if I want this special it is the only way to get it. Now that said, I still have control as I can cancel up to 5 days before our stay. These specials are Room only. The rest as far as transportation, food and tickets, are up to me to book. MVT has deals here also but nothing special so I do my own. My TA is Darcy, but there are hundreds working for MVT. I do on occasion have Darcy book WDW so she can get a commission because if I book it no one gets a commission. That said she must do the work on notifying me of any future discounts and applying them to my booking. A good TA follows your instructions and keeps you notified on things she or he thinks might be of importance to you. I have total control and if the TA doesn’t act accordingly, their gone. Hope this clarifies things. JCD
We have only stayed at the Hard Rock and Portofino (with kids 6 & 8) but would confidently recommend either.
The priority ranking for us is
1)Portofino if we can get the minions room - love this room type
2)Hard Rock otherwise (favorite slide and we like to lie to ourselves that we get to the park faster walking from there than if we catch the boat but I see it going by us more often than not…)
We did RP with 3 kiddos last year. I was not a fan of the pool (shallow, no slide, tons of debris from trees/plants). It did the trick, and was a nice easy trip, but I just felt like we were missing something, and I was underwhelmed. The rooms were also small, and the quick service option was… just ok. This time we are staying at Portofino. I think we are used to Disney hotels that feel more like a resort than ‘just’ a hotel; we love the Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge when staying at WDW. I think Portofino will give us more of a resort feel, due to all the areas to walk around/explore. I’m not worried about the walk, as we have done Boardwalk to HS many times without any issues. Nice easy morning stroll - and can catch a boat back (weather permitting) if needed.
Completely agree. RP is just okay.
We have done all 3 top tier. Water slides are key for my 9 and 12 yr old so we choose HRH or PB over RP. We love the HR pool and short walk. We love Portofino for large rooms and overall theming. My kids were not fans of the RP pool so I would recommend PB.
Don’t forget, whichever you choose, you are allowed to pool hop to any of the Universal hotel pools except to/from Endless Summer.