So true on both counts! Aside from no express pass, sapphire falls is up there in the premier category for rooms in our books! 🙌 Where does SF rank for you?
Sapphire Falls is an absolute must for us during HHN!! Other trips we will do Cabana Bay, Dockside. We used to stay nothing but SF but they have almost outpriced us for some stays. Great comparison video!!
Thank you so much! Yes! SF is great, but like you said it can get pricey! We'd rather just be at Universal than spend an arm and a leg at a hotel! Are you going to hhn this year??
My go to is Royal Pacific if on a regular vacation. I stayed at Sapphire Falls for the June Orlando meetup. I thought the lobby was kinda plain other than the ballon chandelier, but everything is very clean. The pool area/ boat launch are beautiful. However, we walked over to Cabana Bay everyday to enjoy the lazy river. Sapphire Falls is a lovely hotel, but if Im doing a meetup I will stick with Cabana Bay for the lower price and lazy river to chill during the day. If I'm doing a vacation with no meetup Im sticking with Royal Pacific for the express passes. I am grateful to have stayed there and enjoyed my experience at Sapphire Falls.
That’s a fair sentiment! Now you know what sapphire falls is like! That’s the best part of Universal! There’s a hotel for every taste! Have you stayed at every hotel?
@@fudge_factor not all of them. We have stayed at Cabana Bay, Sapphire Falls, Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, but mostly Royal Pacific. It has been our favorite for many years.
We’re planning our stay here for the winter informer. I booked ahead of time. I noticed SF sells out quickly during that time. I’m willing to lose out on the discount. We’re arriving two days early to take advantage of an actual resort day and drink some rum! Looks amazing and I can’t wait!
@@fudge_factor no I haven’t. Just Cabana Bay. We’ve utilized the water taxi a few times and walked back over the CB. The lobby smells great as SF! That’s definitely a draw.
I’m shocked horrorified and dismayed you’d cross the street with no crosswalk to get from cabana bay to sapphire falls😮 I’d never do that just avoid the stupid bus and the security check and the turnstiles, escalator and crowd just to take a private boat into the park! 😂😇 The best thing about sapphire falls, the least amount of younger kids I’ve seen at any of the universal hotel. Please keep it that way ❤
🥸 we would never jaywalk lol 😆 😂 it is a very adult friendly hotel! Id be curious how many people come over to use the pool! The sapphire falls pool is awesome!
Im not sure this is 100 true, but i heard that it's changing to preimer hotel and this option level is going away with the opening of the two new hotels. Did you hear about this, if its true what do you think?
We’ve heard the rumor and it might work in order to drive demand back to IOA and studios! We are curious to see what happens to the price point of sapphire falls and the premiers once epic opens! What do you think?
Sapphire Falls is the only Universal Orlando Hotel we haven't stayed in yet! I guess we need to stay there to complete the challenge! It seems like a really nice hotel, but also seems a waste to pay more for a nicer hotel and not get the express passes like at the premier hotels. Although Universal probably doesn't need help filling their hotels, maybe they should offer the non-unlimited express passes for guests who stay at Sapphire? I actually ran into Ben in the hotel when he was shooting the amazing footage of the lobby, when we were there for the June OI meetup. We stayed in Aventura and frequently used the water taxi at Sapphire to get back and forth from the parks. 🙊
It was super nice meeting you!! Thank you for stopping to say hi and chat a bit! How was your meetup? You will have to stay there! Gotta complete all the hotels! 😂🤣
@@fudge_factor same here. we had fun at the meetup, did both nights. too much food and it was hot! it made us want to attend another one in the winter when decorated for Christmas.
Sapphire Falls was one of our favorite hotels to stay with on property, but we had a bad experience that really soured our outlook on it, we are full on Aventura fans now (even though I fully admit that their pool leaves a lot to be desired). I love the convenience of the water taxi, and yes you can walk from Aventura to the taxi at Sapphire, but I measured the distance to compare the walking, and walking to the water taxi at Sapphire from Aventura compared to taking the shuttle to city walk and walking to the boat dock, they come up almost the same distance.
Uh oh! We are sorry to hear you didn’t have a great experience! That’s never good! And yes! Distance wise it is almost the same! When is the next time you are going to Universal?
@@fudge_factor Not your fault 😝 Planning a trip in January the week of the MLK holiday, so planning to overnight at Royal Pacific to take advantage of some express passes, then spend 4 nights at Surfside, which we have never done before. Always exciting to check out a new, to us, hotel.
I say yes it's worth it. I just love the feel of the hotel. It feels like a premier hotel and I just love being there. The only drawback to SF is it doesn't have express passes. The only reason I wouldn't upgrade is if I was on a tight budget. But that's just my opinion.
I was trying to get into Sapphire Falls for the OI event in December, but they were already sold out (sigh). Ended up reserving Aventura, but I might just upgrade as a Christmas present to myself😅 The lobby at Christmas is gorgeous 😍
haha we were in the same boat, but for aventura! They might drop more rooms though so you never know! You could always use the money you saved for a grinch breakfast or christmas vip tour!!
We usually stay at sapphire falls but our November trip we're taking extra people so we're staying at aventura and planning on walking across the parking lot to use the water taxi. Do you have to go through the building to get the the taxi
Yes you do, but no one is checking room keys or anything. You go straight in the front door where the drop off is, straight past the check in on your left and the store on your right and down the stairs on the spiral staircase right to the water taxi. Enjoy it! I know i did when i stayed at aventura last.
The first time we went to Universal, we stayed at Cabana Bay and loved it! The second time we went in March this year, we upgraded to a Cabana Bay Suite so we could get a larger refrigerator and a microwave. It was an excellent choice. We ordered some microwave meals from Walmart to save some cash. We did have the breakfast buffet at Amatista which was a bit $$ but delicious! We also walked over to Sapphire Falls a lot to take the water taxi - 🤫 It seemed faster and less walking than the shuttle bus. Staying at Cabana Bay was great to be able to walk over to Volcano Bay too! Though CB is our favorite, we did like the look of Sapphire Falls and may stay there next time - I hope it is soon!! Since Universal is realigning their hotels, and it appears that Sapphire Falls may be one that will include an Express Pass, That just might be our next choice!! TBD!
The suites at cabana bay are awesome! Hopefully you get to experience sapphire falls soon! It’s a great resort! Tons of nice amenities! When do you get to go back to Uni?
They aren’t terrible. About 12-15 for an app and 20 for an entree. Pretty standard theme park prices. The food and strong water and amatista is really good!
Hello, I'm coming to OI in December, and I don't want to get trapped by the parade in Universal Studios. To all who love parades, please enjoy. They aren't for me. Can you please tell me the December parade route so I can avoid those roads? And if you remember the time it usually starts that would be helpful. Thanks!
Hello! We totally get that! It's not for everyone! First, the route is usually out the gate by cafe la bamba/horror makeup show, down through hollywood, then over to the universal studios store, up past rip ride rockit, through new york, then back past transformers and mels. It is subject to change. When it starts will vary on how late the parks are open, but it usually around 5:30
FYI, I am not a halloween horror nights fan (the only time I tried to go to a haunted forest I got into a physical fight with a ghoul before even entering. It was totally my fault. and he said if i can't handle people getting too close, then don't do horror nights. I took his advice since then😂) But anyway, I wanted you to know i still always watch and like your Halloween horror content to try and support you guys and say thank you. You really are wonderful.
I'm sorry to bug you again. I'm still making my plans to avoid the parade but also get to la Bamba when it opens early. If I get la Bamba, then head up through Simpsons to harry potter, will I get cut off by the start of the parade? I don't know if it starts above or below la Bamba. I don't know if anyone else would care about the content, but if you wanted to show a video of the parade route and where to avoid it, I'd sure watch. 😂
The paper thin walls are the biggest con of endless summer. From what I hear the rooms at sapphire are just as nice as the rooms in the premier tier
So true on both counts! Aside from no express pass, sapphire falls is up there in the premier category for rooms in our books! 🙌 Where does SF rank for you?
I upgraded to SF last week. Was going to stay at Dockside, but the Rum flows like water in Strongwater, and the lobby smells amazing.
Aubree’s dad loved the rum flights when they stayed there! When are you headed back to Uni?
@@fudge_factor I am looking at going late August or early September. Diplomático is a fantastic Venezuelan rum recommended by Sattina.
We’ll see you then if you’re there the first week of September!
@@fudge_factor Just booked the 1st to the 3rd. Staying at Sapphire.
Nice!! You’re gonna love that water taxi on the way home!
My sister and I loved Sapphire Falls when we stayed there in June for the meetup!
What did you enjoy the most?
Sapphire Falls is an absolute must for us during HHN!! Other trips we will do Cabana Bay, Dockside. We used to stay nothing but SF but they have almost outpriced us for some stays. Great comparison video!!
Thank you so much! Yes! SF is great, but like you said it can get pricey! We'd rather just be at Universal than spend an arm and a leg at a hotel! Are you going to hhn this year??
@@fudge_factor yes.. always the last week! We spend every Halloween there!
@JustOutnAbout that’s a great tradition! How do you feel about the announcements thus far?
@@fudge_factor I'm good with them, we favor originals but definitely excited about Insidious!
@JustOutnAbout insidious is going to be such a dark house! Gonna be awesome!
My go to is Royal Pacific if on a regular vacation. I stayed at Sapphire Falls for the June Orlando meetup. I thought the lobby was kinda plain other than the ballon chandelier, but everything is very clean. The pool area/ boat launch are beautiful. However, we walked over to Cabana Bay everyday to enjoy the lazy river. Sapphire Falls is a lovely hotel, but if Im doing a meetup I will stick with Cabana Bay for the lower price and lazy river to chill during the day. If I'm doing a vacation with no meetup Im sticking with Royal Pacific for the express passes. I am grateful to have stayed there and enjoyed my experience at Sapphire Falls.
That’s a fair sentiment! Now you know what sapphire falls is like! That’s the best part of Universal! There’s a hotel for every taste! Have you stayed at every hotel?
@@fudge_factor not all of them. We have stayed at Cabana Bay, Sapphire Falls, Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, but mostly Royal Pacific. It has been our favorite for many years.
Royal pacific is a solid favorite! Great grounds, great food, great ambiance!
We’re planning our stay here for the winter informer. I booked ahead of time. I noticed SF sells out quickly during that time. I’m willing to lose out on the discount. We’re arriving two days early to take advantage of an actual resort day and drink some rum! Looks amazing and I can’t wait!
Omg it’s going to be so good! We highly recommend the tres leches cake w/ the rum 😋 have you stayed at SF before?
@@fudge_factor no I haven’t. Just Cabana Bay. We’ve utilized the water taxi a few times and walked back over the CB. The lobby smells great as SF! That’s definitely a draw.
That lobby smell is top notch! The lobby decor and smell and the huge windows are super nice!
I’m shocked horrorified and dismayed you’d cross the street with no crosswalk to get from cabana bay to sapphire falls😮 I’d never do that just avoid the stupid bus and the security check and the turnstiles, escalator and crowd just to take a private boat into the park! 😂😇
The best thing about sapphire falls, the least amount of younger kids I’ve seen at any of the universal hotel. Please keep it that way ❤
🥸 we would never jaywalk lol 😆 😂 it is a very adult friendly hotel! Id be curious how many people come over to use the pool! The sapphire falls pool is awesome!
Im not sure this is 100 true, but i heard that it's changing to preimer hotel and this option level is going away with the opening of the two new hotels. Did you hear about this, if its true what do you think?
We’ve heard the rumor and it might work in order to drive demand back to IOA and studios! We are curious to see what happens to the price point of sapphire falls and the premiers once epic opens! What do you think?
Sapphire Falls is the only Universal Orlando Hotel we haven't stayed in yet! I guess we need to stay there to complete the challenge! It seems like a really nice hotel, but also seems a waste to pay more for a nicer hotel and not get the express passes like at the premier hotels. Although Universal probably doesn't need help filling their hotels, maybe they should offer the non-unlimited express passes for guests who stay at Sapphire? I actually ran into Ben in the hotel when he was shooting the amazing footage of the lobby, when we were there for the June OI meetup. We stayed in Aventura and frequently used the water taxi at Sapphire to get back and forth from the parks. 🙊
It was super nice meeting you!! Thank you for stopping to say hi and chat a bit! How was your meetup?
You will have to stay there! Gotta complete all the hotels! 😂🤣
@@fudge_factor same here. we had fun at the meetup, did both nights. too much food and it was hot! it made us want to attend another one in the winter when decorated for Christmas.
Absolutely! Enjoying the parks during Christmas time is amazing! You could spend all day in Seuss landing
Fyi going in 10 days with AP rate $194 Lagoon view. $184 standard view. We love Sapphire Falls and in summer esp we always take a mid day pool break.
That’s a steal!!! Definitely upgrade then! That pool is probably one of our favorites! Are you excited?
Awesomeness just keeps coming... ❤
❤️❤️❤️
Sapphire Falls was one of our favorite hotels to stay with on property, but we had a bad experience that really soured our outlook on it, we are full on Aventura fans now (even though I fully admit that their pool leaves a lot to be desired). I love the convenience of the water taxi, and yes you can walk from Aventura to the taxi at Sapphire, but I measured the distance to compare the walking, and walking to the water taxi at Sapphire from Aventura compared to taking the shuttle to city walk and walking to the boat dock, they come up almost the same distance.
Uh oh! We are sorry to hear you didn’t have a great experience! That’s never good!
And yes! Distance wise it is almost the same!
When is the next time you are going to Universal?
@@fudge_factor Not your fault 😝 Planning a trip in January the week of the MLK holiday, so planning to overnight at Royal Pacific to take advantage of some express passes, then spend 4 nights at Surfside, which we have never done before. Always exciting to check out a new, to us, hotel.
100% we love popping into all of them! They are all so unique and we like them all for different reasons!
I say yes it's worth it. I just love the feel of the hotel. It feels like a premier hotel and I just love being there. The only drawback to SF is it doesn't have express passes. The only reason I wouldn't upgrade is if I was on a tight budget. But that's just my opinion.
That’s our thoughts also! If it’s a slow season and you don’t feel the need for an express pass it makes a ton of sense!
I was trying to get into Sapphire Falls for the OI event in December, but they were already sold out (sigh). Ended up reserving Aventura, but I might just upgrade as a Christmas present to myself😅 The lobby at Christmas is gorgeous 😍
haha we were in the same boat, but for aventura! They might drop more rooms though so you never know! You could always use the money you saved for a grinch breakfast or christmas vip tour!!
@@fudge_factor Ooh, that's a great idea! The Grinch breakfast looks like a lot of fun 😁 What hotel did you end up going with?
We haven’t yet! Probably going to be cabana bay is Aventura doesn’t have more spots. Or we will use the military rates instead of the OI group rate
We usually stay at sapphire falls but our November trip we're taking extra people so we're staying at aventura and planning on walking across the parking lot to use the water taxi. Do you have to go through the building to get the the taxi
Yes you do, but no one is checking room keys or anything. You go straight in the front door where the drop off is, straight past the check in on your left and the store on your right and down the stairs on the spiral staircase right to the water taxi. Enjoy it! I know i did when i stayed at aventura last.
This is helpful! We're staying at Sapphire Falls in Sept!
That’s awesome!! Are you stoked?
@@fudge_factor Absolutely! We love the water taxi's, especially since we do so much walking. Looking forward to the rooms and food options.
Absolutely! The food options are great! Hard to go wrong with either!
The first time we went to Universal, we stayed at Cabana Bay and loved it! The second time we went in March this year, we upgraded to a Cabana Bay Suite so we could get a larger refrigerator and a microwave. It was an excellent choice. We ordered some microwave meals from Walmart to save some cash. We did have the breakfast buffet at Amatista which was a bit $$ but delicious! We also walked over to Sapphire Falls a lot to take the water taxi - 🤫 It seemed faster and less walking than the shuttle bus. Staying at Cabana Bay was great to be able to walk over to Volcano Bay too! Though CB is our favorite, we did like the look of Sapphire Falls and may stay there next time - I hope it is soon!! Since Universal is realigning their hotels, and it appears that Sapphire Falls may be one that will include an Express Pass, That just might be our next choice!! TBD!
The suites at cabana bay are awesome! Hopefully you get to experience sapphire falls soon! It’s a great resort! Tons of nice amenities! When do you get to go back to Uni?
We don’t quite know yet, but tomorrow can’t be soon enough!! 😂
Exactly! Gotta get back there!
There's no need to convince me! It's one of my top favs!
Right?! Are you planning to stay at SF for any of your upcoming trips?!?
@@fudge_factor Yep! I’m staying there for HHN and I just booked for December!
Woot woot!! Double whammy!
@@fudge_factor I’m still watching the AP rates for the premier hotels 😅
Haha always! Gotta keep and eye on them for express passes
House the Food prices at the Hotel? Cabana Bay had awesome food prices, went to HardRock Cafe great Hotel but Food prices were insane!
They aren’t terrible. About 12-15 for an app and 20 for an entree. Pretty standard theme park prices. The food and strong water and amatista is really good!
Hello, I'm coming to OI in December, and I don't want to get trapped by the parade in Universal Studios. To all who love parades, please enjoy. They aren't for me. Can you please tell me the December parade route so I can avoid those roads? And if you remember the time it usually starts that would be helpful. Thanks!
Hello! We totally get that! It's not for everyone!
First, the route is usually out the gate by cafe la bamba/horror makeup show, down through hollywood, then over to the universal studios store, up past rip ride rockit, through new york, then back past transformers and mels. It is subject to change.
When it starts will vary on how late the parks are open, but it usually around 5:30
You guys are the BEST! Thank you. That parade infests the entire park! Grr
FYI, I am not a halloween horror nights fan (the only time I tried to go to a haunted forest I got into a physical fight with a ghoul before even entering. It was totally my fault. and he said if i can't handle people getting too close, then don't do horror nights. I took his advice since then😂)
But anyway, I wanted you to know i still always watch and like your Halloween horror content to try and support you guys and say thank you. You really are wonderful.
We totally understand that HHN isn’t for everyone!
We truly appreciate the support! It means a lot to us and we appreciate that you watch our content!
I'm sorry to bug you again. I'm still making my plans to avoid the parade but also get to la Bamba when it opens early. If I get la Bamba, then head up through Simpsons to harry potter, will I get cut off by the start of the parade? I don't know if it starts above or below la Bamba.
I don't know if anyone else would care about the content, but if you wanted to show a video of the parade route and where to avoid it, I'd sure watch. 😂