who has stayed at Hard Rock Florida - how did you book it?

[buss]

Looking at the prices to stay at Hard rock in Summer 2014 through Virgin
Is there a cheaper way? I can't find it on the disney site but it's a disney hotel isn't it?

It's not in disney it's in Universal- maybe see if they have any park tickets & accommodation combo deals?

Otherwise hard rock hotel direct

No it isn't a Disney hotel, it's in the universal complex.

We stayed there a few years ago, only for a night though so that we got the fast passes that came with it. We stayed in a villa the rest of the time.

We booked it directly on to universal hotels website I think.

Not stayed there but looked before.

No, it's not a Disney hotel. It is based at the Universal parks, but not owned by them either (afaik).

This is their own website: www.hardrockhotelorlando.com/

Ah that's why I couldn't find it!
So the best way to book it would be to book through the hotel and flights separately?

is it the kind of place where you just spend a couple of nights then?
this disney business is very confusing.

It's quite an expensive hotel but you do get universal park passes included sometimes depending on which package you go for.

How long are you going to Florida for? What are your must sees? What is your budget like? Will you be hiring a car?

If you answer these then it should narrow down your options!

we haven't booked it yet - looking for next August and madly saving up - probably stay about 2 weeks.
Looking at hard rock it seems it's ££££ though.
my ds's are teens so I thought orlando would be better than disneyland!

Staying on site at any of the park hotels is expensive. The cheaper park resorts are Pop at Disney and the sports themed one at Disney.

Staying on site depending on what package you buy will sometimes get you park passes/half board included. It is an expensive outlay at first but when you look at how much park tickets etc are it can be very worthwhile.

The most touristy part of Florida which is handy for all parks is International Drive. It can be a bit manic and is not much to look at but it is very central. There are hundreds of hotels catering for all price ranges in this area.

Another option is to book a villa a bit further out in one of the gated communities. This can be great as you can cater for yourself as you please and often have your own pool. However car hire would be essential.

It is also worth considering staying onsite at Disney with teens- the transport system between hotels and parks is terrific and if you're happy for them to do so it is great to give them a bit of freedom and relax around Epcot while they go mad on rollercoaster at Hollywood studios.

can you get around from disney to orlando easily?

the disney deals (with flights included) actually look quite reasonable and a lot less than I had expected to pay after looking at the virgin holidays web site which is £££.

We'd wanted to stay on site to get the extra magic hours. When we stayed at DL Paris we really appreciated them.

I think it's quite a trek from the Disney parks or universal parks. Nonenof it is really next to each other although all is officially Orlando i think.

Our kids much preferred the universal parks to the Disney ones and I think that can often apply with older kids.

A cheaper compromise is a villa then staying a night or two in a park hotel. With Hard Rock Cafe the kids were amazed with it and it's easy walking from the parks and the universal night area (forgotten what it's called!).

Universal night area is the boardwalk.

Depending on what external hotel you choose some of them do provide transport.

The Disney extra magic hours are great. There's something special about being in the park when it's quiet.
We went for Dsis 21st birthday and they all loved it. We stayed at the Polynesian and used disney transport for everything- it was great. We also meal planned which saved us a lot of money in the long run. We hired a car to go to the shopping malls and universal for the day. Universal is very small and easily done in a day- two at the most.

okay so we can do hard rock for a night or 2 and stay stay at disney maybe?
so do people usually book through disney...is that a better deal than booking everything seperately?

It all depends on what you really want from a holiday.

Staying at Disney is super convenient, it means you have the majority of parks/water parks etc within easy reach. The meal plan again- it's very convenient. The deluxe meal plan means you can eat anywhere in Disney including House of Blues or other premium restaurants.

Some people feel too hemmed in by the parks and prefer to stay outside in a villa in a quiet area and travel in to do parks/retail etc

It's really down to personal preference.

For what it's worth, I've done both and found staying on site much less stressful. I actually had a holiday rather than worrying about organising and coordinating.

Staying at another hotel for a couple of nights might be a good idea, especially if staying there got you perks like advance entry to universal or discounted tickets etc.

You'll usually gets better deal for a package than separate when it comes to park booking. Virgin do offers and then Disney do offers as well. Just shop around and see what would suit your family best

When pricing up the Disney hotels bear in mind that they generally do NOT include park tickets anymore.

We usually stay offsite in a private villa with pool -- stayed in Emerald Island resort - minutes from the Disney parks last time - was fab!!

And then we book one night in a Universal hotel to get their express passes for fast track entry throughout the check in day (check in from 6am and they will text you when room is ready) and check out day (as well as only paying for one day's parking at the hotel, instead of 2 at the parks).

oh there's so much brilliant advice on this thread - thank you so much to everybody who's contributed.