Universal - Worth upgrading hotel or not?

[BallroomMom]

So Im starting some price planning for holiday in May 2021

We are planning the first 4/5 nights in US as we did last year and will be there maybe for Memorial weekend

for 5 nights I'm getting the following quotes (direct from US website)

Hard Rock $2191
Sapphire Falls $1298
Cabana $1083

So my question is - is paying an extra for Hard Rock really worth it for the sake of express passes.

We went last year the same weekend and yes sometimes queues were mad but we still managed to do all we wanted.

Think its fear of missing out if we dont get them?

We stayed in Sapphire last year and loved the hotel

What do you experts recommend

[Guest]

I don't like to spend my time in queues, it is nothing to do with FOMO, I just don't like queuing, it is boring. So I would pay it, I wouldn't go to Universal at all were it not for express pass, however it sounds like you are more patient and have a greater tolerance for queuing than I do.

[Millie1980]

What about 1/2 nights in Hard Rock and then the cheaper ones for the rest of the visit

[Rac20]

Originally Posted by Millie1980

What about 1/2 nights in Hard Rock and then the cheaper ones for the rest of the visit

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We are doing this. We only have 3 nights there before moving on to our villa but we’ve got 2 nights at Cabana bay booked followed by a night at Hard Rock. If there are any crazy lines, we can save them until we have express passes (as long as the ride has an express line of course).

[orlandoamber]

If you’re going to do 4/5 days in the parks you should be able to do everything you want to more than once without express. I’d personally favour the extra $1,000 and stay at one of the lower two. We’ve stayed at Cabana Bay twice and really like it, especially staying in the Americana block with a pool side view - the ease of access to VB is great. I would love to stay in one of the three express pass hotels one day, but probably only for 1/2 nights as I find it difficult to justify the cost for a longer stay.