The Truth About Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort

I love not only gifting people with travel and travel related experiences, but I love surprising them too. When our son turned 13 a few years ago his father and I surprised him in a big way. We took him to visit Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for a few days. After looking at all of the resort options we decided to stay at Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort. 

With so many places to stay now in the Universal Studios, Orlando Florida area, find out why we decided to stay onsite at Cabana Bay Resort and whether or not you should stay here too. 

Can you walk to Universal Studios from Cabana Bay Resort?

The answer is yes, you absolutely can walk to Universal Studios from Cabana Bay Resort, which it’s accessibility to the theme parks is a major factor in why this is such a great place to stay. 

There is a walking path that can easily and safely take you from Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort straight to Citywalk, which is where the entrances to both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure are as well as lots of restaurants, shops, nightlife and more. 

In case you don’t feel like walking, Universal provides free bus transportation that you can catch right outside of the resort.

You could also walk across the street to Sapphire Falls Resort and hop on their free boat transportation. It offers a beautiful plus unique view of Universal Citywalk. 

One of the best perks to staying at a Universal Studios Orlando onsite resort is not only the free transportation, but also early park admission, which includes admission to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter too!

How many rooms does Cabana Bay Beach Resort have?

Cabana Bay Orlando Beach Resort has 2,200 onsite rooms.

That includes 900 family suites, which have plenty of space and can sleep up to 6 people, 20 two-bedroom suites and 1,280 guest rooms. 

We have stayed in the standard rooms here and I can honestly tell you they are more spacious than the guest rooms at the nearby Sapphire Falls Resort, which costs a bit more to stay at. 

The Universal Cabana Bay family suite is the perfect size for spreading out on vacation, or even if you want to bring along extended family members. 

What time is check in at Cabana Bay Resort?

Universal Cabana Bay check in time is at 4 pm, and check-out is at 11 am. 

Since our flight arrived long before the resort’s standard check in time, I wasn’t sure what we would do if they couldn’t accommodate my early check-in request. Check in was informative and simple. 

Even though our room wasn’t ready when we arrived (it was really early), we were greeted with the friendliest staff, who even remembered it was my son’s birthday.  

If you easily sign up for my newsletter (at the bottom of this post), you will be instantly directed to a free travel resource page where you can download a must-have travel / packing checklist to help make any type of trip easier. 

Since we wanted to head right to Universal Studios the staff let us change our clothes inside of the resort’s Jack LaLanne Physical Fitness Studio spa.

The concierge was super helpful in safely storing our carry on luggage.

I loved that the resort sent a text message when our room was ready, so after we finished at the Universal Orlando theme parks, we went back to our room to unpack, explore and relax.

Cabana Bay Beach Resort 

With more onsite hotels popping up at both Disney World (which you should NEVER EVER visit), Universal Studios in Orlando and even nearby places like Holiday Inn Orange Lake Resort, it can feel overwhelming to choose.

Luckily there is a variety of resorts all within different price points to help narrow down your decision. 

Should you stay here at Cabana Bay Beach? If you want to stay at a vibrant, fun, budget friendly, vintage themed, unique amenity filled resort then I say YES!

What to know about this resort:

One of the coolest things you should know about Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort is that there is a 10-lane bowling alley called Galaxy Bowl right inside the resort.

This action packed family fun spot is located on the second floor (lobby building) and comes complete with a table service restaurant plus a full bar.

Cabana Bay Beach Resort has a couple of beautiful, large pools that offer endless fun for everyone. 

You will be treated to an incredible view of the volcano at Universal Orlando’s water park, Volcano Bay, right from the Cabana Pool area.

The Cabana Pool features a dive-tower themed waterslide and the Lazy River Pool features a winding river along with a sand beach. We spent many relaxing hours floating and hanging out along the lazy river.

• My one tip is make sure to BYOFF (Bring Your Own Fun Floats)

Cabana Bay keeps the fun going all day long with poolside activities, the Ace Arcade, Friday evening character appearances and much more.

There are at least 7 different places right at the resort to enjoy meals, snacks, drinks and more. They even have their own Starbucks. 

During our stay we enjoyed the Bayliner Diner for its many food options all throughout the day. 

Each evening we picked up some snacks and drinks here to enjoy by the pool or take back to the room.

Should you stay here?

The truth is, I recommend this resort and my well traveled teen gave it his big seal of approval!

One of the top things about Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort is that it has something for everyone of all ages, so make sure to add this to your travel bucket list. 

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