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Universal Helios Grand video reveal
- Thread starter bwr827
- Start date
Express was never added for Sapphire guests. Express for Volcano was never added.
It depends on the pricing. Anything which sells out fast is underpriced
Centauri Space Station
Well-Known Member
Yikes very bland
Looks nice, and nice to get the information they did provide, but it unfortunately doesn't answer the 3 questions everyone has:
- Opening Date
- Price
- Express Pass (just because they didn't mention it, doesn't mean that it won't have it, but it would have been a good time to mention it, unless they were saving it for later. When people say, nothing for opening, possibly in 12-18 months - why? Surely it wouldn't take many more staff to operate it for Helios guests only, but it would help their guests a lot - there won't be many of them - max of around 2000ish per day? - but it would make the price of the hotel more worth it, even if it was once per attraction.)
Vegas Disney Fan
Well-Known Member
The WDW Magic main page has pictures of the Helios right next to pictures of the Polynesian DVC tower and it’s surprising how much more interesting the Helios looks.
The DVC tower is very bland, it looks like a nice hotel you’d find in any downtown area in America, nothing about it screams theme park hotel to me, the Helios looks like it belongs in a theme park environment, or Las Vegas.
The DVC tower is very bland, it looks like a nice hotel you’d find in any downtown area in America, nothing about it screams theme park hotel to me, the Helios looks like it belongs in a theme park environment, or Las Vegas.
No express passses for Helios guests. Confirmed on Universals website.
I'm sure Loews would love to offer Express to guests staying at Helios. The theme park division may be unwilling to offer Express, at any price OR The cost to offer it may be too high to include in the room rate. Think $200 per person, per day NOT per night.
How much can we do during early park opening?
So, if that is the case, and it doesn't change by opening, then really, the resort should be priced around Sapphire Falls' prices.No express passses for Helios guests. Confirmed on Universals website.
Compare Helios with Portofino.
I'm sure Loews would love to offer Express to guests staying at Helios. The theme park division may be unwilling to offer Express, at any price OR The cost to offer it may be too high to include in the room rate. Think $200 per person, per day NOT per night.
How much can we do during early park opening?
It won't be, but it should be.
Without Express Pass, then you are just paying for location, and you can stay at Stella Nova/Terra Luna for a lot cheaper than Portofino/Hard Rock, if that is the price that they are heading towards with Helios, and they pretty much offer the same amenities as Helios (apart from club rooms and suites (which you would pay extra for anyway), and walking path v entry into park) - are those differences worth $$$?
Apart from having Club Level, which Sapphire doesn't, then they offer the same amenities, and so should be priced accordingly, unless they offer additional exclusive things that you can only get by staying at Helios (2 hours early entry instead of 1 for elsewhere, extra hours after the park closes to non-Helios guests, can go to the park for every day that you have a stay, if they block lands for capacity it doesn't count for Helios guests, if they block lands, Helios guests can hold entry to multiple lands at once, etc.)
Helios fell a bit short for me. It looks better then the hotels disney has been putting out lately externally but it wasnt as much as i was hoping for.
universal hotels also just dont have that magical feeling that disney hotels do inside and nothing here suggests that changes.
the pool looks tiny and no waterslide? Really?
the view from the bar though looks amazing. Easy entry into the park will be great but without express pass im not sure its worth it. Especially if you have to spend 2 out of 3 days at the other universal parks just to go to epic. They are bus rides away. Better just to stay at the old hotels that way you need to spend less time on the buses. Plus you get the express pass.
universal hotels also just dont have that magical feeling that disney hotels do inside and nothing here suggests that changes.
the pool looks tiny and no waterslide? Really?
the view from the bar though looks amazing. Easy entry into the park will be great but without express pass im not sure its worth it. Especially if you have to spend 2 out of 3 days at the other universal parks just to go to epic. They are bus rides away. Better just to stay at the old hotels that way you need to spend less time on the buses. Plus you get the express pass.
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
Completely agree (although I'd argue that most of Disney's newer hotels/refurbs suffer from the same trend of watered-down, cheapened theming).
In addition, the Helios standard rooms are dinky in size (significantly smaller than standard rooms at any other premium/signature, and only 10 SF bigger than the nearby value rooms at Stella Nova and Terra Luna), and appear to be lacking any of the shiny new amenities that are included in many modern hotels - like a table or shelf with USB ports on each side of every bed. A dedicated kitchenette (as in a DVC studio) or double sinks in the bathroom (as even most Disney moderates have) would also have been welcome, and more suggestive of a high-priced signature flagship hotel. Instead, this looks like the bare minimum: pretty decor, but nothing special or upgraded in any way.
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