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My family and I enjoyed a stay at Cabana Bay Beach Resort at Universal Orlando in July 2021 to kick off our celebration of my son’s 13th birthday! It was our first visit to this resort and I chose it based on the proximity to Volcano Bay (which was the first park we were heading to,) the fun, retro-style theming and the pool areas! Let me share my thoughts! We arrived on a Sunday at around 11:30 am. As we drove up to the resort, I was already impressed with how the theming of the resort was in place from the minute you lay eyes on the resort! The vintage cars parked out front were a definite eye catcher and grabbed my son’s attention right away! Stepping into the lobby was a different story though. We were immediately greeted with a super long line that didn’t seem to be moving very fast. While I waited patiently in line, my husband and two boys wandered around the resort for a bit and hung out on the loungers in the lobby. It took me approximately 45 minutes from start to finish and I was thankful that we had gotten there when we did because the line only grew longer and longer as I stood there. So, right out of the gate, we learned a valuable lesson about the best arrival time….get there early (or probably really late in the day would work too) in order to possibly avoid the long check in line! Once we were all checked in, we dropped our luggage with luggage services and headed out to the pool area. There are 2 pool areas at Cabana Bay and one includes a lazy river! The lazy river was a big hit with all four of us! It was so relaxing especially since you could take your drink with you as you floated! A pro tip that we learned was that you can bring your own floats to use! Buy a $1 float from the Dollar Tree and pack it in your suitcase. You can have it inflated for free and then you can either discard it or better yet, gift it to someone else before leaving! Otherwise, you can buy floats there for around $7 a piece! Another tip is to bring a sharpie pen with you because with so many floats there at the pool and many of them look alike since they’re being purchased there,  yours could easily be picked up by someone else. Ours actually did but when I went over to the float stand and explained what had happened they gave me two new floats without a question. While we were enjoying the pool, we got a few drinks from The Hideaway Bar & Grill which was tucked over to the side of  The Lazy River Courtyard and Pool area. It had a lot of shaded area which was a nice break from the sun as we waited for our drinks. My husband enjoyed a beer and I choose the Hideaway Colada, which was a little bit too sweet for me (and I like sweet!) With a rain cloud moving in, we went inside for a quick bite at Bayliner Diner, which is a food court with various food stations.  We each enjoyed our selections and wouldn’t hesitate to eat there again. The lines moved relatively quickly and it was pretty much your standard food court fare. It was now time to retrieve our luggage and head up to our family suite! Once we entered, I was so glad that I had chosen this style room. It was perfect for our family (which includes two teenage boys) because it had ample room for everyone to spread out. As soon as you walked in to the suite, you entered a kitchenette area with all of the modern amenities and a counter with two bar stools. The living area had a pull-out sofa, a flat screen tv and two chairs. There was a sliding partition that separated the living area from the rest of the space which included two queen size beds, a full-size closet (which I was totally impressed with,) another flat screen TV, and the bathroom space.  The bathroom space was very functional and made getting ready in the mornings for our family of four a lot easier with a separate shower area as well as a toilet with doors and a vanity. I was amazed with the retro theming that was even carried out into the bathroom with Alberto V05 shampoo and Zest soap. What a pleasant blast from the past! The retro decor of the suite made the space bright and vibrant and although we didn’t get the instagrammable view of Volcano Bay that some of the rooms offer, it did not bother us for the amount of time we were actually in the room! That night we took the bus over to CityWalk to have dinner and explore! The bus stop was conveniently located right out front and we had really great luck with it always being there when we needed it! I know that’s probably bot always the case but we sure did have impeccable timing! With only one other resort sharing the bus, our trip over to CityWalk only took us about 10 minutes! The next morning, we were off to Volcano Bay and since it’s only a short walk from the resort, it was one of the top reasons why I chose to stay here. There are signs on the walking path that lead you to the water park. If you go out of the front lobby doors and head right and continue on the sidewalk you will start seeing the signage. It only took us about 5-10 minutes to get over there and by staying at a Universal Resort we were able to enter Volcano Bay one hour prior to it’s opening which was nice! After enjoying a fun day at Volcano Bay, it was so nice to just have an easy walk back to our room. There’s something to be said for Location, Location, Location!! Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our two night stay at Cabana Bay! With it being one of Universal’s prime value resorts, it is definitely an affordable option for families.  There is lots of entertainment to enjoy on the property with the two massive pools, a 10 lane bowling alley (which we didn’t get to enjoy this trip,) a well equipped gym, a Starbucks, a fire pit for roasting marshmallows and different eateries and lounges. It’s a great resort to have a free day at so you can enjoy all of it has to offer. With it’s convenient location close to all of the Universal theme parks and CityWalk and the classic Florida beach resort vibe from the 1950’s and 1960’s, I think Cabana Bay Beach Resort is definitely worth the value! Check out our room tour on the VacationtoHappiness YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THhB5CRbOFc&t=44s I’d love to help you plan a fun trip to Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort- send me a quote request here: http://vacationtohappiness.com/request-a-quote/