1st timers

[allisophie]

We are not going to Disney this trip The daughters have been asking to go to Universal and Islands of Adventure... (they forget that Simpons ride is not yet open nor Harry Potter ) Which means this is a trial run...They are 17 and 8... DH wanted to know what the "catch was" Since He is the one that insists we stay on property at Disney... That being said he "browsed" the web for prices at the resorts for Universal and bout fell over um dear this is not fort wilderness campground.... sigh.. where was I.. oh off property... which leads us to staying at a time share ... Grand Beach... for a week.. March 8 to 15th.. sans camper/ via SW and rental car.. SO the questions I have... are...
Do we need the 7 day ticket to take our time and relax... or is it feesable to do both parks in 2 days? Do we need to purchase front of the line tickets?
Do we buy a meal ticket, dd17 insists on a cup that you keep.. are there certain characters or just a generic refillables for purchase?
Is the Mardi Gras Parade Everynite or only on Sat night?
St.louis has a big parade for Mardi Gras this will be a thrill for the kids since we are usually frozen screaming for beads and huddled for warmth..

Thanks again for the heads up and help...

Trish

 

[ggddaaee]

Generally you could get through both parks with 2 days. But, you are going during Spring Break time, so the crowds could be pretty heavy. Especially on the weekends. Plus Mardi Gras on Saturdays. With a FOTL pass, my guess would be yes on the 2 days. But I'd probably recommend the 7-day just based on the time of year you are going. FOTL wouldn't be absolutely necessary then, but helpful.

 

[damo]

You might want to rethink this a bit. Staying on site during March break is worth every cent. You get unlimited express passes which make your waiting in line minimal. You can also walk to the parks, take you time, etc. etc. Remember, the Universal hotels are all deluxe hotels. It is worth it during Spring Break. Take a look at the Disney deluxe prices during the same time and you will see that the prices are not off at all.

 

[allisophie]

he did compare prices.. we stay in our camper at fort wilderness..and he did factor in gas going and coming.. we had some miles on SW to use so that helped with some of the cost.
I went ahead and bought the online special tickets, hoping to find a deal for Busch Gardens, we have an Entertainment book and AAA which may be the only deal we will get for that.

any thoughts on the meal plan in the parks or should we just make ressies for dinner at City walk? Hubby is a huge Emeril fan, (dined at his new orleans resturants a few yrs ago)
i will search the resturant forum here for more ideas..

thanks again

t

 

[Planogirl]

Keep in mind that these hotels are Loew's hotels and they are quite deluxe. And yes, they are pricey. You can also pool hop which I talk up quite a bit because it's so fun.

As for the meal deal, I keep hearing negatives about it being too limited but I'm sure that those who use it will chime in. Note that there are two Emeril's restaurants and they are quite different in style.

I would get the 7 day pass simply because it's such a great deal. I would also get Kelly Monaghan's book about Universal and let it guide you. Finally, remember not to expect Disney but something entirely different.

 

[goofy!]

We will be there the same time as you.

We are anticipating larger than average crowds due to the fact that rates have not dropped as they would have during an off time. We are actually paying more for our room than we did during Thanksgiving!

That said, keep an eye out on rates. Universal has been known to drop rates substantially just a few weeks before the rate drop. If the rates drop (keep checking AAA and APH), then due to it being Mardi Gras and Spring Break, I would highly recommend staying at least one night on property.

You were asking about the possibility of buying Express Plus Passes. IF you buy the express passes for your family, this will only give you 1 time per ride for one day in the express line. You are far better off spending that money towards one night at Royal Pacific where you will be able to use your hotel key for unlimited access to every ride (except PT Flyers) anytime you want, as many times as you want from the moment you check in to the close of the parks on the day you check out. So, two full days of express pass access.

For instance, if you buy a preferred annual pass ($189.00 - you can buy it on flex pay of $17.00 per month), then the rate for the Royal Pacific drops to $256.00 for the night of the 8th. So, you would have unlimited Express access for your whole family for both the 8th and until the park closes on the 9th, along with 10% off anything you buy in the stores and 10 - 15% off all your dining in the parks and places in City Walk. We find it worth much more than the dining plan.

Staying offsite and buying Express Passes is actually more expensive than staying onsite. For instance, if you are planning to go to Universal on the 8th, the express plus tickets are $41.00 each. Four of those would cost you $164.00. If you get the Express passes for the 9th also, this would be another $31.00 each for $124.00. So, for 2 days of Express access, you would be paying $288.00 + the price of your offsite room vs. $256.00 for the room and unlimited express onsite for both days.

You might want to rethink how expensive that offsite room really is

 

[Darcy03231]

We were there this summer and bought the Orlando 5 Park Flex Pass. It gave us unlimited admission to US/IOA/BG/SW/WNW for the duration of our trip (2 weeks). I found that since we were there in the summer (very busy) and stayed off-site the best way to tour was to go early in the morning when the park opened and stay until about 1-2 pm and then go back at night. We ended up spending about 6 days between the 2 parks, but did see and ride everything at least once and other things more than once. I could easily spend a week in US/IOA. We had plenty of time to do other things (ie relax by the pool) and I didn't feel as if I needed a vacation from my vacation when we got home. As long as you get there early you should be ok with staying off-site.

We did buy the unlimited drink cups as it was really hot while we were there. I didn't do the meal deal. We ate a big breakfast, snacked in the park and then went back to our rental home for a late lunch/early dinner.

 

[allisophie]

We are staying at the Timeshare w friends,(splitting costs) and we have been going back and forth on getting a room for a nite or 2 for the 4 of us the other family is not doing US/ IOA golfing and shopping are their goals most of thier budget is for the safari tour at Busch Gardens....which we are not going.. thus the Universal/IOA jaunts...

Im going to call in the am and see what kind of rates I can get for Sat/sun I also thought about the annual passes since we already have ressies for October at Disney... this way if we miss certain rides we have the chance to go again in Oct..

thanks again

t

We will be there the same time as you.

We are anticipating larger than average crowds due to the fact that rates have not dropped as they would have during an off time. We are actually paying more for our room than we did during Thanksgiving!

That said, keep an eye out on rates. Universal has been known to drop rates substantially just a few weeks before the rate drop. If the rates drop (keep checking AAA and APH), then due to it being Mardi Gras and Spring Break, I would highly recommend staying at least one night on property.

You were asking about the possibility of buying Express Plus Passes. IF you buy the express passes for your family, this will only give you 1 time per ride for one day in the express line. You are far better off spending that money towards one night at Royal Pacific where you will be able to use your hotel key for unlimited access to every ride (except PT Flyers) anytime you want, as many times as you want from the moment you check in to the close of the parks on the day you check out. So, two full days of express pass access.

For instance, if you buy a preferred annual pass ($189.00 - you can buy it on flex pay of $17.00 per month), then the rate for the Royal Pacific drops to $256.00 for the night of the 8th. So, you would have unlimited Express access for your whole family for both the 8th and until the park closes on the 9th, along with 10% off anything you buy in the stores and 10 - 15% off all your dining in the parks and places in City Walk. We find it worth much more than the dining plan.

Staying offsite and buying Express Passes is actually more expensive than staying onsite. For instance, if you are planning to go to Universal on the 8th, the express plus tickets are $41.00 each. Four of those would cost you $164.00. If you get the Express passes for the 9th also, this would be another $31.00 each for $124.00. So, for 2 days of Express access, you would be paying $288.00 + the price of your offsite room vs. $256.00 for the room and unlimited express onsite for both days.

You might want to rethink how expensive that offsite room really is