2 Questions

[billdog1977]

Going to be at Universal for two days. June 11th-12th. Is the meal deal and express plus worth getting?

 

[sha_lyn]

IMHO no to both, but it really depends on you.
If you can arrive at the parks 30 min prior to posted opening and hit all the more popular or slow loading attractions first there is no need to express plus.

As for the meal deal.... Do you like burgers, pizza etc and will you be taking the time to eat 3 meals in the park? If so then yes. If not then no.

 

[billdog1977]

Yea i just figured we were going to be at each park one day to get to do everything we wanted. Also its the begining of June so hopefully people will start their vacations later.

 

[macraven]

if i am staying more than 4 nights at the hotel on site, i do the meal deal for one day at the park.

you have to like the food and have a plan if you decide to do the meal deal.

i only do it at the studios side and do repeats at Louie's and IFFF.

i really love their food and come out ahead financially on that meal deal.

i would not be doing the meal promo on a day i was planning to do all the rides and attractions.

i save it for a day i am shopping, picture taking and people watching.

i call it my fat day at the park.

 

[Metro West]

i call it my fat day at the park.

 

[macraven]

i have been known to stuff 4 slices of Louie's pizza in me.......at one sitting...

 

[billdog1977]

Well were doing the dining plan at Disney. I just like the idea of having everything paid for before we leave. I guess its piece of mind. Also has anyone purchased Express pass (and is it worth it?) I remember the last time I was there it was free like Fastpass. I can't beleive they got rid of it!

 

[macraven]

the free express pass system was done away with years ago.

not many people remember it.


the express pass plus you can buy does not have to be purchased in advance.
there are 4 places where you can buy them.
each park participates in the epp.

you only are allowed to use the express lane/epp once per ride and attraction.

start your day early in the parks and try to do as much as you can before there are crowds.
you might find the epp is not necessary for you, especially if you go on a weekday.

check on line and see what the epp cost is for the dates you plan to be at UO.
if the cost is $20, don't buy the pass in advance. that would be considered a lower attendance date.

if the epp cost is in the upper range/ $45, count on crowds in the park that day.

you can do one park and hit the highlights and then go to the other park in the afternoon.

if the park is too crowded for your liking there, then consider the purchase of the epp.

i always advise not to buy the epp until you are at the park.

what if you go on a day that it pours down rain?
the park will not be too crowded then.

if you buy the epp and don't use it, you can not get a refund for it.

starting the day at the parks around 8:30 at ioa will give you more time to do many of the attractions before the crowds start around 11ish during the day.

 

[macraven]

Well were doing the dining plan at Disney. I just like the idea of having everything paid for before we leave. I guess its piece of mind. Also has anyone purchased Express pass (and is it worth it?) I remember the last time I was there it was free like Fastpass. I can't beleive they got rid of it!

it is only worth it to you if you do not like to stand in lines and plan to do every ride/attraction one time only.

if you have 5 in your party, you would be better off staying one night on site.
use that money you would have paid out for 5 epps for your family and put it towards a room at UO.

all guests that stay one night receive the FOTL perks with their hotel key cards for 2 days.

the day you check in and the day you check out will qualify you to have the free fotl in both parks.

 

[billdog1977]

Thanks we'll probably wait til we get there to see if we need Express pass. We may still go with Meal Deal since we can pay for it ahead of time and I also like the fact of the cups that you can get free refills with.

 

[sha_lyn]

Thanks we'll probably wait til we get there to see if we need Express pass. We may still go with Meal Deal since we can pay for it ahead of time and I also like the fact of the cups that you can get free refills with.

The meal deal does not include drinks. The refillable drink cup is a separately priced item

 

[macraven]

yea sha lyn is correct.
you would have to buy the sipper cup deal for that.


or you can do what i do for the parks.

i bought my dueling dragon mug back when they opened that ride.
i take it with me on my trips to the darkside each trip.

i can get it refilled at the refill price.....

and i use my AAA (can use the AP also) to get the 10% discount off that refill.


i'm so cheap i kill myself.

let's see, 10% off of 74 cents is.......


any UO mug can be used as a life time refillable mug.
(this is different from the cup deal)

 

[sha_lyn]

1 park meal deal is 20.99
the refillable drink is 8.99


What I really disliked about the meal deal was the limited hrs you could use it. IMHO you end up doing 1 or 2 things...missing attractions trying to get your moneys worth of food, or you don't get your money's worth of food.
It just really isn't worth it if you are only going to be there for 2 days.

 

[billdog1977]

You may be right. I peob will do the drink deal. Florida in June is hot equals refeshments, and if what you say is true with AAA discount, excellant because we are AAA members.

 

[macraven]

1 park meal deal is 20.99
the refillable drink is 8.99


What I really disliked about the meal deal was the limited hrs you could use it. IMHO you end up doing 1 or 2 things...missing attractions trying to get your moneys worth of food, or you don't get your money's worth of food.
It just really isn't worth it if you are only going to be there for 2 days.

i totally agree with you sha _ lyn, it is not worth it to spend that much time in a line and do repeats during the day if you only have 2 days at the park.

that's why i only do it on one day (on a 5 day trip there) and don't plan to do much in the parks but a few shows.
i start at 11 when Louie's opens and feast all day long.

when the parks close early and even if i am not hungry, i'll go 30 minutes before park closing time and get food and take it back to the hotel room with me.

i usually tell them i don't want the entire meal deal things, just the pizza and salad......

 

[sha_lyn]

We did the meal deal one day during our last family trip. We found we missed doing our usual sit down places. It was a short trip so we thought w would save time eating courter service vs eating sitdown but it didn't turn out that way since we felt we needed to eat all meals in the park to get our moneys worth.

What we usually do is bring breakfast bars, juices etc with us on vacation. We'll eat those in the AM in the room or walking to the parks. We eat lunch in the park then catch dinner in CW or the hotel after the parks close.

Since the OP only has 2 days I highly suggest eating only 1 meal in the parks.

 

[billdog1977]

yea we'll do that. I'm probably like i said get the cups, but will eat on the go there and at night eat at CW. Thanks for the tips.