Cabana Bay Beach Resort: Distance from the Parks

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Planning a trip to Cabana Bay Beach Resort at Universal Orlando Resort? This page has all the information you’ll need to get to and from your hotel, including the transportation options between Cabana Bay Beach Resort, Universal CityWalk Orlando, and the Universal Orlando theme parks (Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure). This page also includes information on how Cabana Bay guests can access Volcano Bay, Universal’s water theme park, as well as the complimentary shuttle bus service to SeaWorld and Aquatica, SeaWorld’s water park.

How do I get from Cabana Bay Beach Resort to CityWalk, Universal Studios Florida, and Islands of Adventure?

Cabana Bay Beach Resort sits directly south of Islands of Adventure, and Hollywood Way – a four-lane street – separates the hotel from CityWalk and its connecting theme parks. Unlike the premier and preferred hotels, it’s not connected to CityWalk and the other Universal resorts via the waterway that many guests have become familiar with. Instead, given Cabana Bay’s location, visitors have the option to take a bus or walk.

Theme Park shuttle buses

Universal has established a network of resort buses that run continuously between the hotels and the general guest drop-off area near the Universal parking garages. The buses are ADA compatible and operate from one hour before Early Park Admission begins until 2:00 am every single day. There is one pick-up point at Cabana Bay, near the lobby and next to Bayliner Diner, and the trip itself is only about 5-8 minutes. In general, the system works well, with a new bus arriving about every 15 minutes. However, you’ll want to be aware that when leaving Universal to go back to Cabana Bay, the line can get long at peak times (typically when both theme parks are closing).

Garden walkway

This slightly shorter-than-a-mile walkway takes you from Cabana Bay, past Sapphire Falls and Royal Pacific Resorts, to the side entrance of CityWalk, near Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville. The Garden Bridge and Walkway connect these points and offer an enjoyable alternative to the buses. For a better idea of where the path leads, be sure to view our photo tour below.

Timing this walk is a bit tricky because it will depend on exactly where your hotel room is on Cabana Bay property. Nevertheless, once you exit the hotel from its northeast corner, the walk will take about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how eager you are. You’ll then enter CityWalk close to Islands of Adventure, so you’ll only need to add another two minutes to get to that park’s turnstiles. If you’re going to Universal Studios Florida, add another seven minutes to your total walking time.

While the walkway is very enjoyable, we still recommend using the buses most times of the day because of the shorter time the trip takes and the frequency of pick-ups. However, the bus drops off guests at the parking rotunda, requiring you to go through the central security checkpoint (often busy) and enter through the front of CityWalk. The Garden Walkway, on the other hand, brings you through the hotel security checkpoint next to Margaritaville (which virtually never has a line) and allows you to enter CityWalk, which is very close to Islands of Adventure. Also, as we mentioned above, during peak periods, like at park closing time, the 20-minute walk could conceivably be shorter than waiting in the built-up line for the buses.

The Cabana Bay Garden Walkway does, indeed, connect to the Royal Pacific Garden Walkway right at the edge of Royal Pacific’s property, which makes it a great option for those interested in visiting Royal Pacific Resort. However, walking from Cabana Bay to the Royal Pacific water taxi dock and then waiting for the water taxi will almost always take more time than simply continuing to walk the path onto CityWalk. Plus, during Peak Season, the benefit might be restricted to those guests of Loews Portofino Bay Hotel, Hard Rock Hotel, Loews Royal Pacific Resort, and Loews Sapphire Falls Resort to ensure that they are able to take advantage of it.

How do I get to Volcano Bay?

Unlike the other resort hotels, guests staying at Cabana Bay Beach Resort or Aventura won’t have to take a shuttle to get to Volcano Bay – they have a private entrance all their own, located past the two towers in the South Courtyard alongside the water theme park. Think of it as a way to counter-balance the bus ride that Cabana Bay guests have to take to get to CityWalk and the theme parks – an even faster and more convenient version of the other resorts’ water taxis. Please note that each guest must have a room key in order to access this exclusive Volcano Bay entrance.

How can I get to SeaWorld and Aquatica?

Universal’s hotels provide complimentary scheduled transportation, called the Connector Shuttle, to SeaWorld and Aquatica (SeaWorld’s water park). We emphasize scheduled because it is very important to understand that the bus does not run continuously; rather, in general, it picks up and drops off once in the morning and once in the evening – check with any Vacation Planning Center desk to reserve pick-up and drop-off times for your visit.

Cabana Bay Beach Resort garden walkway – photo gallery

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