Resort question

[emerzmom]

I have been to WDW many times but only once to Univeral and it was over 10 years ago. My daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan so I am going to surprise her with a 2 day add on to our vacation for her birthday.
It seems like staying at a Universal resort is the way to go (front of the line passes). What are these resorts?
Thanks for any help in advance.

Julie

[DVC2004]

There are 3: Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel and the flagship Portofino Bay.

Portofino will be priced the highest and has a Mediterranean theme, followed by Hard Rock in the middle which has a great white sand pool area with underwater music, and lastly Royal Pacific which is a Hawaiian/Pacific Islands theme. We have stayed at RP several times and really like it. All three would be comparable to deluxe level resorts at Disney, but with Portofino being a step above the other 2. All 3 are close enough to walk or take a complimentary water taxi to the theme parks.

It really is the way to go because of the express pass. They charge a great deal for it.
We've lways felt it was beneficial. We went once without it - in June- and didn't stay on property this time, big mistake.

[SoccerMom]

Stayed at RP in July and bought 2 day park hopper tickets. With the express pass (front of the line) we were able to fully see the Harry Potter area and do all the rides (multiple times) and shows and still got back to the hotel to enjoy the pool and anemities. This resort is beautiful with lots to do and yet a very quiet resort.

[NJGIRL]

We are staying at the RP in Oct for a change, but have been to the Hard Rock before. It is a great hotel also. It is closest to the Studio with a very easy 5 min walk. Staying at their resorts are great. No need for transporation to the theme parks and front of the line access at any time (no need for fast passes). As someone else stated these are Loew's hotels and IMO are nicer than Disney's deluxe (at least the ones I have stayed in AK & WL ).