Maybe a hurricane-related delay? Seems like they feasibly lost 3 days.
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No clue!
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Still no Grinchmas release?
Itās all about the Epic Universe opening date todayā¦
Next week will be the dates Epic Tickets go on sale, but maybe theyāll get Grinchmas info out there too!
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Checking into Royal Pacific tomorrow with my two adultish daughters till Monday. HHN Sunday with express pass. Canāt friggin wait. First trip since a pre-pandemic Disney blast. Any last minute recommendations?.
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Wow! Where to begin??!!??
For HHN try to stay out as late as possible. The event ends at 2am each night and after 11pm the crowds do die down a good bitā¦ After midnight itāll be even better.
Halloween Nightmare Fuel is an amazing. Be aware that itās a āR / NC-17ā Rated show. Itās a heavy metal burlesque show with tons of pyro and acrobatics.
When inside the houses youāll be put in a āconga lineā style. They really want you to race through the houses. However, take ābaby stepsā to give time for the actors to reset their scares. If a TM tries to rush you just say, āI canāt see! Itās so dark!! Iām being careful!!ā It works every time!
Try a Crepe at the stand near the lagoon and / or āOttoās Pet Rockā from Minions CafĆ© (and To-Go window)
There is often a ādipā in the wait from Hagridās right at 11am - 11:30am. It may say 75+ minutes, but many here have tested it and the wait is more often closer to 45 minutes.
I could go on! Please ask about anything specific & Iām sure weāll all have opinions!!
Safe travels!
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recommendations for what?
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Need some advice on Universal hotels for NovāDec 2025.
This is my tentative 2025 plan:
Fri Nov 28āfly in, check in to UOR hotel, no park ticket
Sat Nov 29āIoA & USF (park hop)
Sun Nov 30āEpic Universe
Mon Dec 1āIoA & USF (park hop)
Tue Dec 2ācheck out of UOR hotel early, go directly to WDW for 6 days / 5 nights
Sun Dec 7ācheck out of WDW hotel, fly home
Although Iāll be splitting the UOR hotel room, I donāt think I want to fork out for even half the cost of an Express-Pass-eligible room, so that lets out Hard Rock, Portofino and Royal Pacific. (Maybe Iāll buy EP for one day at IoA/USF when it becomes available with the bundles. Maybe.)
Iād like to keep it under $300 a night, but Iām more interested in bang-for-buck than absolute dollar figures.
I do want Early Entry and free shuttles, so I want to stay on-site.
Quick, convenient transportation to the parks is a primary consideration, keeping in mind that Iāll be two days at IoA/USF and one day at Epic .
Iād rather not switch rooms unless thereās a good reason for it, as I hate repacking/moving/unpacking over a short stay.
I have no experience with any of the UOR hotelsāexcept Royal Pacific, which I stayed at on my one previous UOR trip, when it was considerably less pricey!
So what would you suggest? Tagging @darkmite2 because he always has a lot of valuable insight here!
Thanks in advance for your help!
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If you want a āniceā hotel without the Premier hotel price then stay at my favorite - Aventura.
If you really want to save $$$ and donāt mind a ānoisyā hotel then the Endless Summer resorts can be a real bargain.
I am hoping to try out Stella Nova in February, so Iāll have input then. Iām hoping they stay in the same price range as Endless Summer. If so, and they arenāt all laminate floors throughout the building, Iāll be willing try those value hotels more often to save $$$.
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What do you think is the best bet, of all the non-Premier (Express Pass) hotels, for convenient transport to the parks? Is it better to stay closer to IoA/USF since Iāll be there two days, vs. one day for Epic? I donāt have a good grasp of the geography of the parks in relation to the hotelsāI only know that the ones that are walkable to IoA/USF are super expensive!
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Sapphire Falls or Aventura. The Water Taxi is by far my favorite for transport, for a few reasons. SF costs more. Aventura is less, but youāll just have to walk over to SF and back (5 minutes) to use the Water Taxi.
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If you arenāt staying at HRH or RPR then it doesnāt really matter. Those are the hotels where you can most easily walk to the parks. Every other hotel has a shuttle that arrives about every 5 - 7 minutes.
At Aventura you can take the bus or walk across the parking lot to Sapphire Falls to go via boat. Thereās no difference in travel time, but the security screening at SF can be much faster / easier. The walk to the boat is minimal. I think the ease entry of getting through security at the hotel boat dock to be work the walk. I can often still zip through the screening at the main CityWalk bus depot as a solo traveler. However, there are peak times when the crowds are immense!
Iāve never stayed at SF because itās almost the cost of a premier, but you donāt get the UXP. Plus, I really do love the smaller size of Aventura and that you can go right to your room direct from the lobby elevator
This isnāt the best āmapā. Itās more of a sketch, but will give you a basic idea of the hotel locations in regards to the parks
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Cosigning Aventura. I stayed at Sapphire Falls over the winter and wished I was at Aventura again. Itās so clean and quiet and a better deal. Though, if you catch a particularly good deal for Sapphire Falls, it was also nice.
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To get āfreeā Express Pass, would it be worth it to rearrange my days like so:
Fri Nov 28āfly in, check in to Aventura, no park ticket
Sat Nov 29āEpic Universe, stay at Aventura
Sun Nov 30ācheck out of Aventura, check into Hard Rock, IoA & USF (park hop, Express Pass)
Mon Dec 1āIoA & USF (park hop, Express Pass), check out of HRH, check in late-ish to WDW hotel for 6 nights / 6 days
Sun Dec 7ācheck out of WDW hotel, fly home
One downside, besides the hotel shuffle, is this puts me in Epic on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, which I think will be busier than the Sunday or Monday.
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On my 2017 UOR visit, I think SF had just opened. We went to see it and I thought it was quite beautiful. Iāve never been at Aventura.
IMHO - If itās just you at the hotel then you arenāt really getting āvalueā for the pass. You could just stay where you are and buy it separately for around the same cost - maybe less
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Iād be sharing the UOR rooms with one other personāsplitting costs.
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I like this plan a lot! I do think itās worth it for the two days of express pass ā Iāve done this before and the hotel swap isnāt too bad. You can do so many more rides and the Hard Rock is a great hotel.
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Itās really nice! Super sleek & modern look / vibe
Lobby
Rooms
Then itās really a debate! Itās going to be busy that weekend. UXP will be a big help.
Iām scheduled to go that same weekend next monthā¦ If I go youāll have a better idea of the crowds at UOR on that same weekendā¦ Iām trying to be optimistic!
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Nice! I like sleek and modern.
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