Universal Studios - please help!
 

Hi everyone,
I've had fantastic luck on this site, so I am turning to you again!
I am taking my 13 year old son to Orlando for Labor Day weekend. I got steals on the flights down there, but I need to find a good deal on a hotel and passes to Island of Adverture, EPCOT, and Universal Studios. I would also love to find a hotel that serves a free breakfast that is decent.

Any help would be appreciated - as always!

For a free breakfast you may want to try the Courtyard, Hampton Inn, or Homewood Suites. They usually give free continential breakfast.

Hi Janelle. My husband and I stayed at the Sheraton Safari about a year ago. It is a Sheraton that was recently renovated. It is very close to Disney and all al the other parks. They had terrific rates back then and they still do now. I just checked their website and they are offering a pool view room for 86 dollars a night. The rooms are not luxurious but very clean and neat. Let me know if I can be of any further help.

For really detailed info on Universal and Disney, go to www.disboards.com
Scroll down to the Universal message board. The on site hotels at Universal will give you all day express access. You can also get free express passes (like Disney's fastpass), or you can buy an express pass which is good for ONE time on each major attraction. Universal's website is offering a five day bonus pass for the price of two days. Check that out.
Really, go check out the DIS boards. They are a wealth of information.

Holiday Inn Maingate East...while not the grandest Hotel in Orlando...does have a very cheap breakfast buffet that kept us going until dinner. We dont have kids but as I remember kids eat free (one free per paying adult)Breakfast was 4.95 all you can eat two years ago. They also have free shuttle to the parks. Rates for the rooms were good too.

As always, you guys were a huge help! Thanks again for helping me book a (hopefully) marvelous vacation!

I second the suggestion to stay on site for Universal/IOA. The ability to go to the front of the lines will be very helpful on the busy Labor Day weekend. If you decide not to stay on site, another way to "beat the lines" is to go as a single rider. Look for the special single rider lines on many rides. You won't get to sit together but you will move thru the lines much more quickly. Have fun!