Tell me Universal tips

[munmun]

Knowledgeable Dibbers

Please can you give me some Universal Tips. I think next year we may include a couple of days at Universal, it's a grandchild trip which means Disney too. When it's just us we stay away from parks.

My questions please help:

Grandkids will be 8 and 10 is this a good Universal age?
Staying at possibly Hard Rock, is that a good choice?
Is Club level worth it?
Is a suite worth it for 6 of us?
Is the pool any good?
Transportation from HR to parks, how?
Is the Express pass which comes with hotel stay good value?
Food around Universal and HR, ant good eat, not too expensive?

So many questions, any help would be lovely

[PoohBears#1fan]

Grandkids will be 8 and 10 is this a good Universal age?
Yes, there's no bad age imo.
Staying at possibly Hard Rock, is that a good choice?
Defintely, it's a fun hotel, my favourite of the Universal hotels, fun theming.
Is Club level worth it?
Totally.
Is a suite worth it for 6 of us?
I've only stayed in the King suites which wouldn't sleep 6, so can't comment on the larger ones.
Is the pool any good?
I love the HRH pool the only 'issue' with it is that's it's quite shallow
Transportation from HR to parks, how?
Feet, its a 5 minute walk to US, 7-8 to IOA at a relaxed pace. There's a boat if you're feeling really lazy, but depending where your room is, it may be a shorter walk to the US park than the boat dock!
Is the Express pass which comes with hotel stay good value?
Incredibly good value
Food around Universal and HR, ant good eat, not too expensive?
Never had a bad meal and I think we've eaten at most of the restaurants in the parks, hotels and City Walk over the years!

[Dr.JumbaJookiba]

Grandkids will be 8 and 10 is this a good Universal age? - Yes
Staying at possibly Hard Rock, is that a good choice? - My favourite
Is Club level worth it? For shorter stays with kids I think so.
Is a suite worth it for 6 of us? - Most suites at HRH are just guaranteed connecting rooms - we like the King suite with connecting 2 queen for the kids
Is the pool any good? yeah complete with under water music, movies at night etc.
Transportation from HR to parks, how? Walk or boat
Is the Express pass which comes with hotel stay good value? - It's free but when compared to a room which doesn't include it I think it is.
Food around Universal and HR, ant good eat, not too expensive? Unless you uber or drive of the complex it's 'onsite pricing' but there's lots of great options in the Hotels, parks and Citywalk.

[munmun]

Thank you great answers you have confirmed that we will probably do a four night stay.

[Squidgyness]

Just to add depending on tastes there are one or two good value options for food on citywalk. Hotdog hall of fame is good value and had fantastic fries and a 2-foot long hotdog that is easily split between multiple people, or if hot dogs not your thing, there is a food court with panda express, moes and burger king, should any of those take your fancy. We ate at those two locations a lot and fed 3 adults for $30 or less some nights.

Obviously should fancier or more exotic food be on the menu there are a lot of options for that on citywalk as well.

[irnjaw]

What is the biggest benefit of Club Level? We're staying at RPR for 1 night, will it be worth an upgrade? I didn't bother doing it as I thought we'd be away from the hotel most of the time, planning to only sleep there

[ScoopsAhoy]

Originally Posted by irnjaw

What is the biggest benefit of Club Level? We're staying at RPR for 1 night, will it be worth an upgrade? I didn't bother doing it as I thought we'd be away from the hotel most of the time, planning to only sleep there

See more...

I suppose for us it was good to grab drinks and snacks to take with us to and after the parks but we were there 3 nights and didn’t once make it back for happy hour or the evening meals.
The club level was only about £50 more expensive at the time so was a no brainer but wouldn’t pay much more than that as we were hardly there.

[irnjaw]

Ah if that's all it is I won't bother. I noticed on the website it said access to lounges too, but not fussed for that either. Thanks

[Procrastinator]

Do they or do you think they will enjoy coasters?

If so, check ride heights and measure them.

If they are a cm or 2 away, get some trainers with fat heels. Our son worked round the parks age 8 with glittery girls trainers on as happy as can be because the heels were something like 2.5cm and tipped him 0.5cm over the height limit. He was measured a lot, but rode everything.

Considering all the otger cost of the holiday it was worth spending £30 on some trainers to get him on those rides.

[Wobbles]

A couple of bits from me

Grandkids will be 8 and 10 is this a good Universal age? Every age is a good day, they will be old enough for the interactive wands in Diagon Alley and casting spells. even without the coasters you have Men in Black, Despicable Me, Shrek, ET and the Simpsons, Spiderman, King Kong and Transformers and the water rides will be a good for them, in IoA they have lot of fun colours and silly areas. There are also shows in both parks
Staying at possibly Hard Rock, is that a good choice? Yes, a couple of minutes walk, good theming and plenty of places to eat and drink. Don't forget you need to pay parking at the hotel and it's per night
Is Club level worth it? yes there is a good range of food, get there early for breakfast, saves money especially for 6 of you
Is a suite worth it for 6 of us? Yes - lots of space and most have beautiful views
Is the pool any good? Yes and don't forget pool hopping between the big three so you can have a change of view. They also have different nights for dive-in movies so look around
Transportation from HR to parks, how? Walk, it's a couple of minutes to Universal or City Walk and then a couple more minutes to IoA. you also have a rickshaw service to pay for. If you are hotel hopping you can use the boats which leave from opposite the hard rock cafe
Is the Express pass which comes with hotel stay good value? Yes especially for 6 of you, could save you $100s per day. It is not available for out of hours events such as Halloween Horror
Food around Universal and HR, ant good eat, not too expensive? we love it, there is a lots off good stuff. Some of the best value is places like Toothsome. Some of our favourite hidden gems include Backwater Bar, Finnegans, Today Cafe, Hot Dog Hall of Fame, Menchies and the bread box.

Finally have you thought about getting one Annual Pass? the discounts on food and merchandise really starts to add up