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Orlando lodging faceoff: Disney, Universal, Legoland

Mike and Bobbi James
USA TODAY
Opened last summer as Universal's entry into the "economy" accommodations market, Cabana Bay offers standard rooms and family suites with a retro theme.

If Mickey Mouse, Lego Batman and Harry Potter got into a fight, who would win?

Well, they're all battling it out. And it's a knock-down, drag-out slugfest, with your wallet as the referee.

Figuratively speaking, we're talking about the Big Three in the Orlando-area theme park scene — Disney World, Universal Studios and Legoland. Each of the amusement park heavyweights has a new or renovated hotel to tempt travelers. Legoland Florida, for instance, just opened a 152-room hotel designed to look like it's made out of Lego bricks.

Disney World's newest lodgings come in one of its oldest and most popular retreats, the Polynesian Village Resort, which is in the midst of its biggest renovation in its 43-year history. And Universal's latest entry is the Cabana Bay Resort, offering a 1960s throwback resort experience amid lazy river pools and Jetson-like cafeteria dining.

By any standard, each has something spectacular to offer, but these hotels don't come cheap. One-night stays at the Polynesian and Legoland, both deluxe resorts, average in the mid-$500 range, and the economy-class Cabana Bay averages about $190. Then, of course, there are park tickets to each of the Big Three theme areas, as much as $105 a day.

So, in the interest of getting the best bang for your amusement park hotel bucks, the James Family, experienced park travelers and occasional theme park reviewers, checked into the latest Orlando lodgings.

Legoland Hotel - Florida

Sometimes, the Legoland Hotel is like hurling yourself into European kitsch, where Lego bricks and upscale bar drinks meld into a plastic interlocking harmony.

From the moment you walk in, you'll be awash in Lego brick. Brick-building tutorials raucously go on around a giant play castle as droves of kids and Lego instructors make rockets, super villains and a giant Indiana Jones. Modular wall units let kids show off their brick creations, and the whoopee cushion built into the floor (with a Lego character in front of it saying "was that you") is an unusual conversation starter.

On the opposite end of the lobby, parents hang at the Skyline Lounge in swivel chairs and sip from fancy cocktail glasses. Then, there's the elevator itself. Each ride to one of the upper five floors starts out playing a Muzak version of The Girl from Ipanema - but as soon as the elevator door closes, a disco strobe light whirs into action and the Village People, ABBA and the BeeGees take over. Not all at once - but you'll hear YMCA and Dancing Queen as many times as you'll hear the whoopee cushion go off downstairs.

The lobby scene can be a bit daunting for the adults. But the beauty of the Legoland Hotel is that you can find an experience that is as wild or as sedate as you want it to be. It's all about keeping your kids busy so Mom and Dad can relax. Like its accompanying Legoland theme park, which is a three-minute walk away, this hotel is grounded in a European sensibility — it is clean, well run, and can be very relaxing.

The park takes advantage of the historical and elegantly beautiful Cypress Gardens that it is built on, and you can have a nice stroll along the scenic Lake Eloise Boardwalk right by the Lego pool. There are lots of lifeguards tending to the pool area and children won't mind you taking a stroll while they splash around with the buoyant giant Lego bricks in the water. The food here is also healthier overall, offering more steamed vegetables and grilled fare than you will generally find at other theme parks. It's not uncommon to see a mom on a chaise lounge by the pool snacking on a platter of veggies and hummus and a nice glass of red wine.

"Placement and line of sight are everything here," says Keith Carr, North America's senior project manager for Merlin Magic Making, the corporate design arm for Lego. Sitting in the Lego master model builder's workshop, where kids can take courses in Lego design, Carr explains there are more than 2 million Lego bricks in the hotel. "We've got lots of areas where Mom and Dad can relax, but a lot of attention is put on making sure they always have a line of sight to the kids."

In the rooms, kids have their own little bunk bed cubby with a high-definition flat-screen TV separated by the bathroom from the adults' king-sized bed area with its own TV. Each room is themed — the Adventure Suite, for instance, has Lego sculptures of scorpions and an Indiana Jones fedora on the wall. The bathroom here evokes more of the feeling of an upscale daycare than the upscale spa vibe at the Disney Polynesian. The complimentary products are by Honest Co., Jessica Alba's natural, organic line marketed to families and babies. A stepstool under the vanity helps little ones reach the sink. Such kid-friendly touches make life easier for parents of young children on vacation. But make no mistake about it, the big attraction here is the Lego brick.

Disney's Polynesian Village Resort

It seems strange to talk about the Polynesian, one of the original two resorts when Disney World opened in 1971, as a new hotel experience. But it is, as Disney has decided to give its old grand dame hotel a facelift, even going so far as to remove its most iconic feature: the giant waterfall in the main lobby. Disney also removed the original Sunset Pointe, a grassy green hill amid palm trees where for decades, droves of guests donned leis and got married with Mickey and Minnie as witnesses.

The Polynesian has the highest rate of returning guests of all Disney resorts. So why change?

"We knew that after 43 years, we had to make a change in order to remain competitive," says Norm Noble, general manager at the Polynesian. "What we want is to keep all those aspects that the guests love, like the lush tropical landscape and the tiki torches ... But at the same time, we want to become a much more modern resort."

It's definitely more modern. You can even plug your iPad into the USB ports on the tiki lamps in the lobby. The waterfall is replaced by an open floor plan that feels more like a vista to an open Hawaiian landscape, with a nice view of the newly renovated lava pool for kids. Of course, there's no volcano on the horizon, but you can see the skyline of the Magic Kingdom.

There's a lot going on here in terms of renovations. For one thing, rooms have been upgraded, and many are appointed with wood floors in the entrance, slate and ceramic tile in the bathrooms, Mary Blair art prints on the walls, and the split bathroom layout pioneered on Disney Cruise Line ships.

Room layouts lend themselves nicely to family travelers. With one room housing a shower and vanity and the other a tub, toilet and vanity, multiple family members can use the facilities at once. The décor and complimentary products create the atmosphere of an upscale spa. Disney provides its own line of H2O Spa products, and a 12" rainfall showerhead mounted directly overhead can be interchanged with a smaller handheld nozzle with the flip of a lever. Another plus for early risers is that both vanities are placed behind closed doors, so they can be used without waking the rest of the family.

While the Polynesian does not have an onsite fitness center, all guests have access to the nearby Senses Spa and Health Club on the grounds of the upscale Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. Or, go for a jog around the 1.8-mile round-trip path along Seven Seas Lagoon.

The big new features for kids are mostly at the upgraded Lava Pool. Mom and Dad can lounge with Mango Margaritas from the Barefoot Pool Bar while the kids plummet through a poolside volcano water slide. The new Pineapple Lanai soft-serve counter offers the Polynesian's signature Dole Whip, and if the kids get tired of the slide, they can try out the Kiki Tikis Splash Play area with two slides, water jets, and giant water dump buckets.

Finally, for the ultimate grownup night of fun, just drop the kids off at the re-designed children's onsite activity center, Lilo's Playhouse, where potty-trained kids between the ages of 3 and 12 can engage in supervised activities in a setting inspired by Disney Little Golden Book stories.

Last but not least: if you've got the wallet for it, you can always stay in the new over-the-water Bora Bora Bungalows. There are only 20 of them, but they are spectacular. They sleep eight guests and have multiple high-def flat-screen TVs, kitchens, and even complimentary surf boards and plunge pools in the back. But you will pay for the privilege: They start at about $2,100 a night. It's diamond-studded Disney.

Universal Studios' Cabana Bay Resort

Something about this place makes you feel like you're in an early Hawaii Five-0 episode. There's even Zest soap, VO5 Shampoo and Crème Rinse in the bathrooms.

Opened last summer as Universal's entry into the "economy" accommodations market (Universal also has three other "deluxe" resorts), Cabana Bay offers standard rooms and family suites with a retro theme. Mid-century touches are apparent from the period fonts used for the names on top of the buildings and the pastel-colored panels dotting their sides to the mod artwork and lighting fixtures in the guest rooms.

Retro abounds. The fitness facility is named after the pioneer of commercial health clubs, Jack LaLanne. But like all of the guest areas at Cabana Bay, the Jack LaLanne Physical Fitness Studio combines mid-century styling with 21st-century technology. While working out on all state-of-the-art LifeFitness cardio and resistance machines, guests can watch old episodes of The Jack LaLanne Show on a wall-mounted flat-screen TV surrounded by photos and memorabilia of Jack's career. There's also an old-school free weights area and a life-sized statue of the man himself.

The Cabana Bay pools offer another opportunity for adults to relax. The Hideaway Bar & Grill offers a full bar and basic grill menu poolside at the Lazy River Pool, complete with wall-mounted flat-screen TVs airing sports behind the bar. You can buy your kids an inflatable tube for as little as $9, and off they'll float in the lazy river for hours while you enjoy one of the Hideaway's signature drinks (the Funky Monkey is a good one) in a tall souvenir glass. If you've opted for the Dive Tower Pool, the one with the water slide, there's Atomic Tonic with a full bar and prepackaged snacks. After sunset, you can enjoy a movie with the family by the Lazy River Pool.

While there are no supervised kids' activities at Cabana Bay, there are some cool features that are fun for the whole family or for kids who are old enough to move about the resort unsupervised. Behind the fitness studio, kids can get their game on in the Game-O-Rama arcade. Like in the rest of the property, you'll find vintage mixed with current, as classic games mingle with the latest high-tech offerings. The Galaxy Bowl bowling alley and restaurant with full bar and table service is a great spot, and the lanes have psychedelic lighting and large projection TVs above the lanes where you can enjoy snacks and drinks while waiting for a table.

It's a bit of a haul to Universal Studios, as you'll need to take a bus or your car. It's definitely fun here, with pretty affordable room rates. The BayLiner Diner, the primary cafeteria-style eatery at the hotel, is an experience in itself: The place is so massive you could play football in there. It's a '50s or '60s feel, but with modern TVs and high-tech drink dispensers (the cups have digital chips on the bottom that are read by the dispensers to make sure you can't cheat on refills.) Welcome to the new retro age.

APPROXIMATE PRICES

One night lodging

Polynesian Deluxe Villa $554.63
Legoland Adventure Premium Themed Room $399.00
Cabana Bay $190.13

All parks ticket, family of three

Walt Disney World $495.24 (Park Hopper); adult one-day admission $105 (Magic Kingdom only)
Legoland Florida Resort $305 at the gate  (Legoland + Waterpark); $89 (Legoland only)
Universal Orlando Resort $441.00 (Park to Park ticket); $102 (Universal Studios only)

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