Trip Dates:
October 16-18 at Universal Orlando
October 18-21 at Disney


Cast: Me and a longtime friend, A

We flew in late on the night of Thursday, October 16 and out early the morning of the 21st. We spent 2 nights at Cabana Bay and 3 nights at Coronado Springs. This was our first stay at both of these hotels.

Cabana Bay:
Was awesome! We booked a Standard Tower room for $150/night directly through Universal. We were "upgraded" to a Family Suite in the Castaway building in the courtyard. Our room faced the parking lot, which was convenient, as we had a rental car. Everything at this resort looked great! We did not use many of the amenities, but our room was great as was the food court and the gift shop/lobby. Overall, I found this hotel MUCH more enjoyable than either Disney's Value or Moderate resorts, as a whole. Bus service to the parks was good, but actually did take longer than I thought it would, and the drop off area is far from the park entrances. One of our buses had NO A/C. That was uncomfortable, to say the least. Overall, I find it very hard to compare this resort "family suites" to AofA suites. I have stayed in a Cars Suite. The suites at AofA are actual suites, and the room separation, extra bathroom, extra t.v., and table and chairs justifies the much higher price tag. Our Cabana Bay room was only about the size of one of Disney's deluxe rooms. The kitchenette was very small and the sitting room would not be a very comfortable place to sleep, and it would severly limit the overall room space if that couch had to be pulled out as a bed. The room was comfortable, but not really large enough for 6 people. We were only 2 and it felt like JUST enough space for us. The split bathroom area was awkward, with a sink in the bathtub room where it would have been better to be in with the commode, IMO. Some light switches were in awkward, counter intuitive places too. Housekeeping was great and our A/C worked just fine (I had read complaints about both of these things online). Overall, HIGHLY recommend this resort. For the price, it is a stellar place to stay, even without express pass.