1st visit questions

[GhostLady]

Hello all...

I have been lurking here off and on for a few months but this is my first post to the darkside boards

I think I have found answers to most of my questions but I would like to share my plans and ask a couple of questions to see if there's anything I need to change around. Any advice or opinions will be most appreciated....

Our dates are October 13th-26th, 2013. There are 12 of us. My family (Me, DH, DS18, DS11, DS7, DD3) My friend's family(Her, DH, DS14, DS13, DS10, DD6). This is their first ever family vacation and will be our first time at US/IOA. I am planning everything for both families so I want to make sure they have a great first trip.

We are staying on property at WDW Oct. 18th-26th so the 13th-17th are the dates I have to work with for US/IOA.

We will be driving from Indiana, arriving late afternoon on the 13th. We are renting a pool home in Rolling Hills for the 13th-17th so we will not be on property and no EP.

Here's my plan...

Sunday October 13th...check in to pool home and get settled.

Monday October 14th...we could do a park this day but since it is Columbus day, I thought it might be better to make this our beach day since the parks might be less crowded later in the week.

Tuesday October 15th...US day (we are not doing HHN and this is the only day without a party) Will that make this day more or less crowded?

Wednesday October 16th...I have this day as a MK day assuming that we can pick up our WDW tickets early but if not we could do IOA

Thursday October 17th...IOA(if we don't go on the 16th) Will IOA be more crowded since this is a HHN at US?

My plan is to start with 2 day-1 park tickets and we can upgrade to 3 days if we think we need an extra day.

Is there anything I need to change or consider?

Will we be able to do most of each park with only one day at each? (we have a few HP fans, a lot of coaster fans and also a few younger ones so we want to do everything we can) We will be at each park for a full day with no breaks.

Where is the cheapest and safest place to buy 2 day tickets?
It looks like USSSA store has 2 day park to park for cheaper than other sites 2 day-1 park but has anyone used them? Are they reputable? I saw that someone posted that it is a member price? Does that mean I have to be a member to order tickets?

Ticketmomma looks like the 2nd best price? Are they reputable?
Since we need 12 tickets, I want to find the best deal but I had a bad experience trying to buy discount Disney Tickets for my first visit so I am a little nervous buying online again. (I used a company recommended on the DIS by a few people but it didn't work out so well for me)

How bad will wait times be on our dates without EP?

How is the travel time from Rolling Hills? Anyone else stayed there and travelled to US/IOA?

Any other tips or suggestions?

Thank you in advance!!!! Can't wait for our first visit!!!

 

[bumbershoot]

I had a bad experience trying to buy discount Disney Tickets for my first visit so I am a little nervous buying online again. (I used a company recommended on the DIS by a few people but it didn't work out so well for me)

Was it in the getting of the tickets, or upgrading tickets where there was a problem? I'm fairly bad at crowd estimates and that sort of stuff, so that really stuck out to me. I have used maple leaf tickets and undercovertourist.com for Universal tickets, and both have been 100% perfect for me.

 

[GhostLady]

Was it in the getting of the tickets, or upgrading tickets where there was a problem? I'm fairly bad at crowd estimates and that sort of stuff, so that really stuck out to me. I have used maple leaf tickets and undercovertourist.com for Universal tickets, and both have been 100% perfect for me.

I hope I am remembering the details correctly since it's been several years ago....
The company had advertised a certain ticket online at a sale price. It was either for adult or child WDW tickets(not both)..can't remember which but I know we didn't order for everyone(thank goodness). I called them to order over the phone because I wanted to make sure they had some in stock before I ordered. They assured me they had the tickets and I ordered and paid over the phone. I didn't receive the tickets within the quoted time frame so I called back and was told those tickets were out of stock. I asked for a refund via several calls and emails but never received one even though they assured me I would. I finally just gave up and purchased new tickets from UT. We lost around 400.00 but it could have been much worse if I had paid for tickets for our whole family. It was an expensive lesson but now I am very careful where I purchase my tickets.

I don't remember the name of the company but I might be able to find it. I do know for a fact that it was not Undercover Tourist(had a great experience with them) or Maple Leaf.

 

[Batesl49]

I have used Undercover Tourist many times and have always had a great experience. I was at Universal on Columbus Day a few years ago and it was busier. As for the rest of your questions, those that know will respond. Good Luck.
Laurie

December 4-14, 2013

 

[bumbershoot]

I asked for a refund via several calls and emails but never received one even though they assured me I would.

Oh that's terrible! I'm so sorry. Glad it wasn't one of the two I know of, though.

 

[GhostLady]

I have used Undercover Tourist many times and have always had a great experience. I was at Universal on Columbus Day a few years ago and it was busier. As for the rest of your questions, those that know will respond. Good Luck.
Laurie

December 4-14, 2013

I do trust UT completely and I am still considering using them again. I just noticed that a couple others are a bit cheaper and we need 12 tickets so a few dollars can really add up. I'd rather pay more to order from someone I trust though so unless I can get some good reports about the others, looks like I'll be going with UT.

So, it looks like my decision to go to the beach on Columbus day is the best option???

That actually works out well for me so I can get it over with early in the trip...lol
I am not a fan of the beach at all but DH and the kids love it so they will be happy to go and I will be happy to get it out of the way early so I can focus on US/IOA

 

[GhostLady]

Oh that's terrible! I'm so sorry. Glad it wasn't one of the two I know of, though.

It was terrible at the time but we still got to go and had a great time. I forgot all about that 400.00 as soon as I arrived(well almost).

 

[GhostLady]

Anyone have answers for me???

 

[macraven]

the studios will close at 5:00 on the 13th and 17th.
ioa closed at 7:00 pm.


when the studios close, those with park to park tickets will probably go to ioa.

don't know if that will create any crowds as the ones that are doing hhn and at ioa will drift over to the studios before 5:00.

 

[GhostLady]

the studios will close at 5:00 on the 13th and 17th.
ioa closed at 7:00 pm.


when the studios close, those with park to park tickets will probably go to ioa.

don't know if that will create any crowds as the ones that are doing hhn and at ioa will drift over to the studios before 5:00.

Kinda sounds like it might all just even out then

I guess it could go either way so I'll just have to deal with whatever comes since I don't have many days to work with and we won't have EP this time. I am hoping our next trip will be a Darkside only trip and we can stay onsite so I am looking at this visit as a practice run for next time..lol

Do you(or anyone else) happen to have any info about those ticket companies(USSSA or Ticketmomma)? Those look like the best prices so far but I want to make sure they are trustworthy.

Thank you for your help

 

[JaneSparrow]

Kinda sounds like it might all just even out then

I guess it could go either way so I'll just have to deal with whatever comes since I don't have many days to work with and we won't have EP this time. I am hoping our next trip will be a Darkside only trip and we can stay onsite so I am looking at this visit as a practice run for next time..lol

Do you(or anyone else) happen to have any info about those ticket companies(USSSA or Ticketmomma)? Those look like the best prices so far but I want to make sure they are trustworthy.

Thank you for your help

I bought them last Friday and got them last night - 1 day PTP for DH and DS. They look ligit. I still have 2 days out of my 3 day PTP from Costco back in 2010 and will not expire until 2014.

I will post some pics once I figure out how to do it.

 

[coastgirl]

No specific answers for you, just a comment re UT: do you have the mousesavers newsletter link that gives you the extra discount? It might save you those few extra bucks, and I agree, I trust UT wholeheartedly.

I would say one day at IoA won't be enough for the die-hard Potter fan, if you have any of those. YMMV, but we really like just soaking it up, and multiple visits make it easier to catch things you missed the first time. I think your plan gives you the flexibility to add a day if you want to, though.

Also, if your large party wants to stick together, things will go more slowly and you'll get less done. Might be an idea to establish who's going where (roughly) before you go so no "sub group" ends up wasting time waiting around to go somewhere they don't really love. If you are sharing a house you'll have time to regroup and share experiences at the end of the day.

Have fun!

 

[GhostLady]

I bought them last Friday and got them last night - 1 day PTP for DH and DS. They look ligit. I still have 2 days out of my 3 day PTP from Costco back in 2010 and will not expire until 2014.

I will post some pics once I figure out how to do it.

Thank you. It's good to see someone has ordered from them.

I saw that someone posted something about it being a member site. Did you have to become a member of anything to purchase the tickets?

It looks like a sports site. Do you have to be attending a sporting event to be able to purchase or use their tickets or are they just extras that anyone can purchase/use?

 

[GhostLady]

No specific answers for you, just a comment re UT: do you have the mousesavers newsletter link that gives you the extra discount? It might save you those few extra bucks, and I agree, I trust UT wholeheartedly.

I would say one day at IoA won't be enough for the die-hard Potter fan, if you have any of those. YMMV, but we really like just soaking it up, and multiple visits make it easier to catch things you missed the first time. I think your plan gives you the flexibility to add a day if you want to, though.

Also, if your large party wants to stick together, things will go more slowly and you'll get less done. Might be an idea to establish who's going where (roughly) before you go so no "sub group" ends up wasting time waiting around to go somewhere they don't really love. If you are sharing a house you'll have time to regroup and share experiences at the end of the day.

Have fun!

Thank you for your reply...

Yes, I do have the Mousesavers link. The other 2 places are still a bit cheaper though so I wanted to check them out before I made a decision.

I don't know if we have any "die hard" HP fans. My DS11 has read the books and the rest of us have seen most of the movies. This part of the trip is a surprise for my kids so I can't really ask them. They know we are going to WDW but I haven't told them about Universal yet.

For my family, I had planned to wait a few years to do Universal because we have a height issue (or should I say a lack of height ) I am only 5'2" and DH isn't much taller so you can imagine our children. DS7 is a little over 48" so it looks like he can do most of the rides but DD3 is only 34". She is the daredevil too so she will want to ride all of the rides that she isn't tall enough to ride. I thought one day at each park might be enough this trip with the plan to come back and do more days on the next trip when everyone is taller.

The only reason we are going this trip is because my friend (who has older/taller children) requested to go there. She does have a couple of HP fans so they may need that extra day at IOA but if so they can add a day. We will be staying at POP from the 18th-26th and I have scheduled a couple of free days that week so they have the option to go back to IOA on one of those days too.

I'm sure we will be splitting up a lot since we have such a varied group of ages/heights. I do need to learn more about each ride and study park maps to come up with a plan though.

I noticed on your signature says you've stayed at Sunset Lakes. That looks to be in the same area as Rolling Hills. How was the drive to and from US/IOA?

 

[JaneSparrow]

Thank you. It's good to see someone has ordered from them.

I saw that someone posted something about it being a member site. Did you have to become a member of anything to purchase the tickets?

It looks like a sports site. Do you have to be attending a sporting event to be able to purchase or use their tickets or are they just extras that anyone can purchase/use?

I did not have to be a member but I dud have to register.

I did not attend any sports event and there was no indication on the ticket that I should have. However, I do know that they also don't ask for any other proof at the gate. Just show the ticket and they let you in.

 

[JaneSparrow]

 

[klj0302]

has anyone used the tickets from usssa to get into the parks and also does it matter that the ticket says youth when an adult is going to use it