Cabana Bay + Universal Orlando | Weekend Getaway

Hi Friends!

Reading the title of this post might be surprising that it’s not Disney related, and if you know me, you would be shocked to find out that I have been converted over to the dark side….UNIVERSAL! Mark has tried to convince me to go to Universal for years and I have always been such a diehard Disney fan that I refused. Perhaps it’s because I grew up never watching Harry Potter or superhero films, and I just never bonded with the theming Universal had to offer. I went for the first time last year but it was a quick trip and this time we decided to branch out a little and do two days and stay at Cabana Bay the resort on property.

Our entire trip to Universal and the resort Cabana Bay actually blew me away. I fell even more in love with Universal and wish I would have started going sooner! We booked Cabana Bay because it was the least inexpensive and expected the quality to be similar to Disney’s Pop Century. I was so pleasantly surprised with such wonderful hospitality and even the extra perks they added in for us! Through out our stay, it didn’t feel like a value resort at all. It was fantastic for us because it didn’t break the bank but still had enough class and wasn’t swamped with millions of screaming kids. (I have sometimes experienced this staying at other theme park value resorts) This was the view from our room and to the left we could even see Universal’s waterpark, Volcano Bay.

The vintage Christmas decorations and characters wandering the resort felt so magical and the massive Starbucks in the lobby was a huge plus! Our room was so cute and colorful that I really was so sad to leave!

I would be crazy if I didn’t share my favorite part of our stay at Cabana Bay, the LAZY RIVER! Yes, it was a whopping 50 degrees outside but we went for it anyway! Cabana Bay has quite a few pools located around the resort that were all super fun!

Convenience wise, the free Universal bus transportation was right outside the lobby and was only a 5 minute ride from the park. One great thing about Universal is that everything is within such close proximity to each other! One thing to add is that I think early November is an off season period because there was hardly anyone everywhere we went which was wonderful!

As for the theme park it’s self, let me just say Christmas at Universal is MAGICAL! If you have the opportunity to go during the Christmas season, do it! Combining Harry Potter with Christmas gives you such a warm and cozy feeling. The nighttime firework spectacular paired nicely with a warm butter beer (I have chills now thinking about it). Aside from Harry Potter, I especially loved seeing Whoville all decked out and the townsman costumes are incredible!

Well’s that’s my short synopsis of our wonderful stay at Universal Orlando Resort! I definitely didn’t capture as many photos as I usually do because I feel like it is so important to sometimes just put away the camera and phone and spend time with others and truly enjoy your vacation!

Have a magical day!

Abi <3