My son and I recently visited Orlando, Florida as part of a whirlwind 72-hour tour of the area’s family friendly attractions.  Tough life, right?

We stayed on-site at the Loew’s Royal Pacific Resort, and couldn’t have been happier. A lot of people center their Orlando family vacations on Disney World.

While that’s a great way to go, it’s not the only way. Here are five great reasons to base your trip on Universal Studios instead.

1. Choose from three family-friendly hotels

Like pretty much all Orlando hotels, the on-site options at Orlando Studios—Loew’s Royal Pacific Resort, Loew’s Portofino Hotel, and the Hard Rock Hotel—cater to families.  Loew’s Royal Pacific Resort is especially pleasant with zero entry pools, character dining, and a special toy-filled children’s buffet room in their Islands Restaurant.

There are other niceties too.  Subject to availability, all three hotels will loan you nightlights, travel strollers, rain ponchos, and all kinds of toys—just ask.

2. Get around by water taxi

Although it’s just a five-minute walk, all three hotels are connected to the park entrance via a fleet of water taxis.

It’s a peaceful and charming way to get around (especially at the end of the day) and also kind of evocative of Paris if you squint your eyes a little and ignore the shrieks of terror and delight coming from the nearby roller coasters.

3. Cut in line

As an on-site hotel guest, you get priority boarding of all participating rides and attractions at Universal Studios (the movie-themed park) and Islands of Adventure (the book-themed park).  It’s called Universal Express—just show your hotel room key card, and you go right to the front.

If you really want the star treatment, consider booking one of the park’s posh and popular VIP tours which are guaranteed to make you feel special.  You’ll get a tour guide, front of line access, complimentary refreshments, and discounts on food and merchandise.  Perhaps best of all, you’ll never have to look at a map.

4. Eat and play at City Walk

After a long day of scaring yourself silly on the Rip Roaring Rocket Coaster, splashing off on the Jurassic Park Plunge, and marveling at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (opening June 18, 2010), you’ll probably be ready for a change of scenery.

Universal CityWalk is a short stroll from all three hotels, and has plenty of restaurants to choose from including The Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., NBA City, and the Hard Rock Café Orlando.  Afterward you can watch a movie at the AMC Universal Cineplex or catch a performance of the wild and wacky Blue Man Group.

5. Bring your pet

Don’t want to leave your dog (or cat, fish, turtle, hamster, or hermit crab) behind when you travel? No problem. Loews allows pets of all species and sizes. There’s an extra damage deposit of course, but no weight limit. One of the towers is dedicated to people traveling with animal guests so that no one is inconvenienced.

May 7th, 2010 | by Jamie Pearson Comment