Advice for parks in July if staying offsite

[Lucky'sMom]

Hello fellow US/IOA lovers! I am hoping to talk DH into a July US/IOA only trip. We are going to WDW for Thanksgiving, and if we were to get to US that trip, we would only have a day or two to spare and it would be off-site as well, as I've already reserved a villa. I am so excited to ride Rip, Ride, Rocket and am just itching to get back. We were there last June, after our Disney trip, and did stay at RPR for 2 nights. The problem is, we have 5 kids now (adopted the oldest 2 from Russia over a year ago) so we have to book 2 rooms. The two night stay in 2 rooms last June at RPR cost me about the same as 10 nights at Bonnet Creek. If I am to talk DH into this, it would have to be a budget trip. I work for Marriott so I am able to get fantastic rates at the Orlando Vacation Club properties. Anyway, is US/IOA even worth doing in July with no FOTL? We love FOTL and have stayed on-site 3 times. Do you think we'd be "okay" if we arrived at rope-drop and had 4 days to get everything in? Even one night at RPR would cost me nearly $600, so that's just not in the budget for a summer trip. Any other advice for managing the crowds in July without FOTL? Thanks so much!

 

[Jonny_Duck]

Hello fellow US/IOA lovers! I am hoping to talk DH into a July US/IOA only trip. We are going to WDW for Thanksgiving, and if we were to get to US that trip, we would only have a day or two to spare and it would be off-site as well, as I've already reserved a villa. I am so excited to ride Rip, Ride, Rocket and am just itching to get back. We were there last June, after our Disney trip, and did stay at RPR for 2 nights. The problem is, we have 5 kids now (adopted the oldest 2 from Russia over a year ago) so we have to book 2 rooms. The two night stay in 2 rooms last June at RPR cost me about the same as 10 nights at Bonnet Creek. If I am to talk DH into this, it would have to be a budget trip. I work for Marriott so I am able to get fantastic rates at the Orlando Vacation Club properties. Anyway, is US/IOA even worth doing in July with no FOTL? We love FOTL and have stayed on-site 3 times. Do you think we'd be "okay" if we arrived at rope-drop and had 4 days to get everything in? Even one night at RPR would cost me nearly $600, so that's just not in the budget for a summer trip. Any other advice for managing the crowds in July without FOTL? Thanks so much!

I think you should be able to get everything done that you would want to in 4 days. It will probably be crowded but certainly possible gettin there at rope drop.

 

[macraven]

I suggest you be in the parking garage line by 7:30 in the morning.
Granted, the lot does not open up until 8:00, but if you arrive early, you should be about the 4th or 5th car in line.

Once open, you can be parked and at the park entrance by 8:13.

Many times the parks open (unofficially) early if there is a long line at the turnstiles.

IOA will have more open at that early time.

If you start your park days early, you should be able to get a lot done in the 4 days.

Eat at off times. When everyone is eating lunch between 11:45 to 1:00, less line waits.

Congratulations on your adoptions!

 

[Darcy03231]

We did US/IOA in August 2007 (peak time) and stayed off-site. We made sure to arrive prior to park opening. Lines really didn't start to form until about 11 am and weren't too bad until about 1 pm. At that point we went back to our rental house, had something to eat, swam, relaxed, etc. and went back at night (around 5 pm). This was we avoided the worst heat of the day. While there were lines in the evening they didn't seem as bad as during the middle of the day (ie Spiderman was 45 min instead of 90 min) and it wasn't quite as hot.

Lines are non-existent at park opening. One morning we went directly to The Mummy and the kids rode it about half a dozen times in a row with no wait.

We also saved a lot of money by eating in. Had a big breakfast every morning at the house and just snacked in the parks.

 

[Darcy03231]

I forgot to mention. I did book one room at RPR for one night during our trip, although no one ended up spending the night there. There were 9 in our group. Me, my two children (14 & 16), my mom, my sister, BIL and their three children (12, 9 & 3). I got 5 key cards w/FOTL for me, my 2 kids and my sisters 2 oldest. My mom, sister, BIL and the 3 y.o. weren't interested in/couldn't do a lot of the bigger rides (Hulk, Dr. Doom, Dueling Dragons, Dudley Do Right, Flying Unicorn, Mummy, Men in Black, etc). It also allowed my sister to take the 3 y.o. back to the room for a nap without us having to leave the park. If you have two young children who can't ride a lot of the rides you might want to consider doing this to get FOTL for 2 days for the older ones.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

Thank you all for the tips and advice! It sounds manageable as long as we get there early. Now...wish me luck in convincing DH that we should be in Orlando twice this year!

 

[Metro West]

Thank you all for the tips and advice! It sounds manageable as long as we get there early. Now...wish me luck in convincing DH that we should be in Orlando twice this year!