Trip in July

[francism]

My family is taking a trip the first week of July to celebrate my mother's retirement from teaching. We're spending most of our time at Disney but my nephew's favorite thing in the world right now is the Transformers so we're planning to spend a day at Universal, hoping that the new ride will be open by then.

My sister, nephew, and I were at Universal a few years ago in March (I think it was actually on the day that the press was getting their first look at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter) and the parks were pretty much empty at the time. But now we're looking at being there at one of the busiest times of year.

The thing that is knocking me for a loop right now is the prices of tickets. When we were at Universal last time, we were stuck on a ride for a very long time and Universal gave me a code for free park admission the next time we were down. I have no idea if this code will still work and calling Universal hasn't helped me out much as they say they are only able to look this information up if I am there in person. Even if the tickets are available, I couldn't get an answer on if I'd be able to upgrade them or not.

Since it is such a busy time of year and since the Transformers ride is likely to be the main reason we're visiting, it seems likely that we'll have to buy a Park to Park ticket with Unlimited Express. But most days, those tickets cost $219.99 each and only on one day of our trip, would cost $199.99 each. Even then, I'm not convinced that Transformers would even qualify for this as it will be so new and I know that Harry Potter is not included. That's even if Transfomers is actually open by then. As the number of tickets per day are limited, it seems like we would have to commit to buying the tickets before we are even sure if it will be open or not.

What would be my best option here? We have 4 adults, my nephew (6), and my niece (1) who is thankfully young enough that we wouldn't need a ticket for her. Up to ~$1000 on tickets for one day at Universal, plus transportation to and from Disney, along with food and possibly souvenirs is just too rich for my blood. Any thoughts or opinions would be greatly appreciated.

[gschmerl]

I would book a room at one of the on site hotels at Universal. If you book just one night you will get two full days of express access and early entry. It's cheaper than buyiing the unlimited express tickets for the whole family.

[macraven]

they would have to book two rooms as they have 6 in their party.

yes, the youngest one counts as a person in the room.


op, figure out if you would come out ahead by booking 2 rooms rather than buying the vip ticket for express.
not as many discounts during july though, but if you do see one, might be worth it to stay onsite.

if you have the AAA card, it does allow room discounts if available.
also allows 10% discount off of food and merch in the parks.

staying onsite will give you early entry of one hour prior to opening time and unlimited usage of the express lines.


new rides usually do not have express lines when it first opens.
it can come along later though.

[Metro West]

Originally Posted by francism

Since it is such a busy time of year and since the Transformers ride is likely to be the main reason we're visiting, it seems likely that we'll have to buy a Park to Park ticket with Unlimited Express. But most days, those tickets cost $219.99 each and only on one day of our trip, would cost $199.99 each. Even then, I'm not convinced that Transformers would even qualify for this as it will be so new and I know that Harry Potter is not included. That's even if Transfomers is actually open by then. As the number of tickets per day are limited, it seems like we would have to commit to buying the tickets before we are even sure if it will be open or not.

I think you could make it w/o the unlimited Express tickets...I really do. If you get there before opening, you should have at least an hour before the really big crowds start to arrive. Since Transformers isn't guaranteed to be open by then (I think it will be) I wouldn't spend the money on those tickets. The real problem is you're going for a single day and theme parks don't offer discounts for single day admissions...but there is no away around it since you only have one day. You can look into booking two rooms at one of the onsite hotels but that may be out of line too. Having the unlimited Express access is nice but it's not going to make or break the day. Just stay away from July 4th and you should be able to manage it.

[francism]

Thanks for the advice everyone.