New to Universal - Can You Suggests Some Tips/Tricks?

[Gumbatman]

Hi All,

The family and I (wife, daughter (15), son(12) ) have done Disney a couple of times in the past 6 years. We were pretty well planned out (not a military operation, but had an agenda) and had a great time.

This is our first trip to Universal and we only have three full days of the parks. We got the single park tickets. The first day we will be at the Cabana, so we can get in early, but no Express Pass. The remaining days we will be at an off-site hotel.

I've skimmed through the "Universal Orlando 2014: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure" and the "Beyond Disney" books. But I haven't made my agenda yet.

Do you have any suggestions/tips/tricks on making the most of the few days we are there? Also, my kids like roller coasters, the wife and I do not.

Thank you.

-G

 

[bumbershoot]

The kids can ride the coasters on their own. If you prefer to stay together or if you want to see the inside of the lines, you can all go through the lines then you and your spouse can exit before the seating area.

That's all I have right now.

 

[Go Vols]

Hi All, The family and I (wife, daughter (15), son(12) ) have done Disney a couple of times in the past 6 years. We were pretty well planned out (not a military operation, but had an agenda) and had a great time. This is our first trip to Universal and we only have three full days of the parks. We got the single park tickets. The first day we will be at the Cabana, so we can get in early, but no Express Pass. The remaining days we will be at an off-site hotel. I've skimmed through the "Universal Orlando 2014: The Ultimate Guide to the Ultimate Theme Park Adventure" and the "Beyond Disney" books. But I haven't made my agenda yet. Do you have any suggestions/tips/tricks on making the most of the few days we are there? Also, my kids like roller coasters, the wife and I do not. Thank you. -G

Arrive at the park as early as possible and hit the E ticket attractions first.

Keep in mind that you get early access on both your check in and check out days. Specifically, you can arrive early on your check-in day and head straight to the parks for EE.

 

[sersee05]

I was just there last week. My suggestion is definitely use early entry for Despicable me if you are going to it. We didn't have early entry but arrived when the parks opened and it was already a 75 minute wait almost everyday we were there. We never got to go on it

Gringotts was also at least 100 minutes when we got there. But we didn't want to ride it so it didn't matter. We got on everything else that we wanted to and it was pretty crowded.

Also..the best thing that I found at Universal? Was I didn't need to plan much of anything. It was awesome. I had the wait time app and when we saw that a rides time went down...we just walked over. When we got too hot we went and ate lunch. It was so easy. Not horrible lines and we always found a place to sit and eat.

I made reservations just in case at Vivo the night before through the universal website . Was so easy. It was great..it wasn't like I had to get to my reservation and wait another hour...to my astonishment, we were seated right away!

We also ate at Mythos which I reserved through open table. Easy. They asked us to arrive 15 minutes early and then told us it was a 15 minute wait. Well that made sense since we arrived early. Fifteen minutes later, we were seated.

People on here talk about the refillable cups. I thought at first..eh. But we ended up buying two and it was the best decision we made. Saved a lot on drinks since we were always thirsty due to the heat!

 

[johde]

Tip 1: Consider springing for the park to park tickets. Yes I know that's an extra $160 + tax but the parks are so close together that park hopping is very easy especially now that the Hogwarts Express connects that back to the 2 parks.

Tip 2: Look at booking the 1 night at a deluxe with the Annual Passholder discount instead of staying the 1 night at Cabana Bay. Staying at a deluxe resort gets you Unlimited express pass access for both Checkin day and Checkout day. By the time you facor the APH discount, and the extra cost for a deluxe it could be pretty cheap. I'd also book offsite first then onsite.

Tip 3: as mentioned before, Refillable mugs and popcorn buckets. Both provide cheap snacks. With the Mugs the question is which type. The ordinary refillable mugs are cheaper to buy (unless you get a character one) and refills are $.99. The Coke freestyle program is $11.99 the first day and extra days are $5.99. If you want the extra variety in soft drinks or you drink a lot, the freestyle may be the better deal.

 

[Gumbatman]

Tip 2: Look at booking the 1 night at a deluxe with the Annual Passholder discount instead of staying the 1 night at Cabana Bay. Staying at a deluxe resort gets you Unlimited express pass access for both Checkin day and Checkout day. By the time you facor the APH discount, and the extra cost for a deluxe it could be pretty cheap. I'd also book offsite first then onsite.

l.

What is the Annual Passholder discount? Is that worth getting if it is very unlikely we are going back next year?

Plus, the only other in-the-park resorts available were starting at $700 a night.

Thanks.

 

[KorbensMomma]

Maybe I missed it, sorry, when are you planning to go?

 

[johde]

What is the Annual Passholder discount? Is that worth getting if it is very unlikely we are going back next year?

Plus, the only other in-the-park resorts available were starting at $700 a night.

Thanks.

At Universal.com use discount code aph to check the annual passholder rates. It could be very worth it to get 1 power pass for the discount. You just need to do the math.


For Example, September 14th 1 night

Royal Pacific $229 APH Rate $159
Cabana Bay $119 APH Rate $69

 

[Gumbatman]

Maybe I missed it, sorry, when are you planning to go?

We are going to be there the week of the 18th.

 

[Blue32]

At Universal.com use discount code aph to check the annual passholder rates. It could be very worth it to get 1 power pass for the discount. You just need to do the math.


For Example, September 14th 1 night

Royal Pacific $229 APH Rate $159
Cabana Bay $119 APH Rate $69

Only one person in your party needs to get the AP to get the hotel discount, is that correct?

 

[johde]

Only one person in your party needs to get the AP to get the hotel discount, is that correct?

Yes, only one AP is needed to get the discount, and as of recently, it can ven be a power pass.

 

[disneybound31]

At Universal.com use discount code aph to check the annual passholder rates. It could be very worth it to get 1 power pass for the discount. You just need to do the math.


For Example, September 14th 1 night

Royal Pacific $229 APH Rate $159
Cabana Bay $119 APH Rate $69

We are going in March 2015...when I try the APH rate code it does not change the price at all. Am I trying too far out? Will the code work the closer we get to Spring? Thx

 

[RMulieri]

We are going in March 2015...when I try the APH rate code it does not change the price at all. Am I trying too far out? Will the code work the closer we get to Spring? Thx

Too far out

APH rates aren't out for This fall yet

 

[johde]

Too far out

APH rates aren't out for This fall yet

I know, I've been waiting for January to come out. I know I've seen September dates. I don't know if I've seen any October dates.

 

[mousecrazy]

We are going to be there the week of the 18th.

Looks like you're planning on staying onsite the first nite...which has the least availability. Could you change your onsite date to the end of your stay (Portofino is $289 with AP discount on 8/20 - $331 without AP discount)...this way you can check in early (around 6:30am) and then you can take advantage of early entry on two days (check in and check out days), as well as two full days of Express Pass. Express Pass is totally worth it! You will feel like a rock star VIP!

 

[RMulieri]

I know, I've been waiting for January to come out. I know I've seen September dates. I don't know if I've seen any October dates.

I am also waiting for Jan

 

[momsquad]

Was I didn't need to plan much of anything. It was awesome. I had the wait time app and when we saw that a rides time went down...we just walked over. !

What line app did you use?

Thanks,
k

 

[Rags]

I am also waiting for Jan

Me too!!!!

 

[Djscarlette]

What line app did you use?

Thanks,
k

You can use universal orlando app for free, it will give you line wait time while your in the park using GPS... But you have to be in the park for it to work.

You can also use touring plans app, but you may have to pay for that one. It comes with the touring plans subscription... I think you can download it without the subscription too. But you don't have to be in the park to look at the wait times. That's what I've used the past two times we've been to UO and WDW. For the most part, it's pretty accurate in my experience.

 

[phillymummer]

Tip 3: as mentioned before, Refillable mugs and popcorn buckets. Both provide cheap snacks. With the Mugs the question is which type. The ordinary refillable mugs are cheaper to buy (unless you get a character one) and refills are $.99. The Coke freestyle program is $11.99 the first day and extra days are $5.99. If you want the extra variety in soft drinks or you drink a lot, the freestyle may be the better deal.

Where can I read more about these refillable mugs? On the Universal Website?