Am I Understanding This Correctly?

[MMCamp]

We are debating between 3 or 4 days at US in October. DH is set on staying at WBC which I am okay with. It is really important to me to see as much as possible at WWofHP so I am thinking of things like EE and EP. So, in pricing I found the following and want to make sure I am understanding this correctly. Since MC is 10 we have to buy 4 adults and 1 child ticket. We have 3 kids.

Universal w/ 1 day of renting a room at Royal Pacific w/ 4 days of tickets w/ EP and 2 days of EE. We might still spend the night at WBC though. - $1333.50

Universal w/ 4 days of PTP tickets w/o EP - $1064

Universal w/ 4 days of PTP tickets w/ EP - $1940

I feel certain that I must be off in my pricing as it seems crazy that for just under $300 more we can get a room, 2 days EE and 4 days EP. But, that is how is seems everything is pricing out.

 

[macraven]

room rates are cheaper Sunday thru Thursday for the 3 deluxe onsite hotels in October.
weekend rates for fri/sat will be higher.

the hard ticket event of hhn drives those room rates up.....
i know.
i do october each year to hit hhn and stay onsite.

stay one night onsite and receive 2 days of hotel perks.
the day you check in and the day you check out until the parks close.

you would not need to buy the unlimited express passes for 2 of the days for your time in the parks then.

 

[MMCamp]

I would think that 2 days of hotel perks should be enough and then 2 days of regular PTP. The website is asking me to pick a day. Are there definitely 2 days of hotel perks? Also, we are flexible as we will be in Orlando for 11 days. In October are certain days cheaper than others as far as a hotel? With the Halloween information not being out yet I am wondering which days were less busy than other in previous years. We don't want to do US Halloween evenings.

 

[MMCamp]

Also, if we are registered at a hotel can't we park for free and take their water taxi to the park? That would save another $17 x 2 days.

 

[macraven]

I would think that 2 days of hotel perks should be enough and then 2 days of regular PTP. The website is asking me to pick a day. Are there definitely 2 days of hotel perks? Also, we are flexible as we will be in Orlando for 11 days. In October are certain days cheaper than others as far as a hotel? With the Halloween information not being out yet I am wondering which days were less busy than other in previous years. We don't want to do US Halloween evenings.

when you check in to one of the 3 onsite deluxe hotels, you and all on your reservation are issued hotel room keys.
the room key allows you to create a photo express pass.
listed on the hotel ep includes your photo(self made at the lobby hotel kiosk), name of hotel, and dates you are staying there.

your perks of early entry and unlimited usage of the express lines are valid for any date listed on that ep card.

yes, you will be allowed EE and usage of the express lines from the time you check in until the parks close on the day you checkout.

if you have a car, it can stay in the hotel parking lot up unto midnight.
once it is midnight you will be charged for another day of parking.
stay one night, be at the parks two days and pay for only one night of hotel parking.

i have stayed at the onsite hotels since they went up.
have parked my car at the hotels and last went 4 months ago.

hhn is a hard ticket event and the studios close at 5 on party dates.
ioa stays open a couple hours longer on hhn nights.

saturday and sunday will have more crowds due to hhn in october.
peeps do the rides later in the afternoon then, stay in a holding section when the park closes so they don't have to leave the park.
park reopens at 6:30 for all that have the hhn ticket.

 

[macraven]

Also, if we are registered at a hotel can't we park for free and take their water taxi to the park? That would save another $17 x 2 days.

at the 3 deluxe hotels, parking is $20 + tax per night.
Cbay is $10 +tax per night but does not give unlimited ep usage.

you could walk to the parks from any of the 3 onsite hotels if you did not want to use the water taxi.

 

[macraven]

if you only stayed one night and did the two days in the parks, you hotel parking fee would be the $20 + tax.
no two day charge as you will be leaving before midnight..

 

[MMCamp]

Thanks for your quick response! So there won't much savings on parking but it seems like it might be worth it to get a hotel for one night for the perks that are important to me at US. 2 days of EE and EP seem like they could really enhance our visit to US. Since the trip is 7 months away would you recommend booking now or waiting to see if they have some awesome deal for that time frame since the 2+1 will be over?

 

[Planogirl]

If you get a hotel for that one night I'd go ahead and sleep there. The hotels are nice and you can't beat simply walking to your room after a tiring day of touring and then not having to drive back the next morning.

 

[macraven]

Thanks for your quick response! So there won't much savings on parking but it seems like it might be worth it to get a hotel for one night for the perks that are important to me at US. 2 days of EE and EP seem like they could really enhance our visit to US. Since the trip is 7 months away would you recommend booking now or waiting to see if they have some awesome deal for that time frame since the 2+1 will be over?

i think it is worth staying on site for one night for the 2 days of park perks.
it enhances the stay even if only one night.
no early morning rushing, no headaches of leaving the park and you have the opportunity to dine in the evening at city walk.

you had in your budget buying the express pass for 4 days
ep is date and park related.
you can buy the park to park ep but that would cost more.
redo your budget and take off the ep cost for 2 days for the 4 of you.
the money you save could be put towards the room cost.
that's $418 based on your figures

think of it this way, you could check in to the hotel and get your room key cards, make your photo ep card and never stay there.
you could do all your time in the base hotel you will be booking.
just use the perks of early entry and unlimited ep for both parks.

the other option is do spend the night in the onsite hotel you book.
you will be so close to the parks and not have to deal with getting up early and driving to the garage if you stay offsite.

to answer one of your questions, i would need to know what is the date you want to stay onsite?
later in the year, about august or so, the hotels put in place you need to book two nights in a row if you want a weekend night.
you only want a friday night but you have to also book the saturday.
or want saturday only, need to book the friday also.
it is all due to the hard ticket event that fills the hotels up.

tuesday or wednesday would be easy to book an onsite hotel with room options.
occupancy level in the hotels for those days are not in great demand.

i needed a lengthy stay with a specific room type (suite) so booked early.
(nov 1 last year)

if you book early, the cheaper standard regular views are plentiful.

once peeps make arrangements for the hhn dates, the hotel standard rooms go quickly.
nothing has been released on dates for hhn yet and probably won't until this summer.
i have been going yearly for hhn since 1999 so i basically know the pattern when to book so i can get the room type and hotel at a better price.
and i watch for promo /ap rates so i can call and modify my rate when they come out.

 

[MMCamp]

i think it is worth staying on site for one night for the 2 days of park perks.
it enhances the stay even if only one night.
no early morning rushing, no headaches of leaving the park and you have the opportunity to dine in the evening at city walk.

you had in your budget buying the express pass for 4 days
ep is date and park related.
you can buy the park to park ep but that would cost more.
redo your budget and take off the ep cost for 2 days for the 4 of you.
the money you save could be put towards the room cost.
that's $418 based on your figures

think of it this way, you could check in to the hotel and get your room key cards, make your photo ep card and never stay there.
you could do all your time in the base hotel you will be booking.
just use the perks of early entry and unlimited ep for both parks.

the other option is do spend the night in the onsite hotel you book.
you will be so close to the parks and not have to deal with getting up early and driving to the garage if you stay offsite.

to answer one of your questions, i would need to know what is the date you want to stay onsite?
later in the year, about august or so, the hotels put in place you need to book two nights in a row if you want a weekend night.
you only want a friday night but you have to also book the saturday.
or want saturday only, need to book the friday also.
it is all due to the hard ticket event that fills the hotels up.

tuesday or wednesday would be easy to book an onsite hotel with room options.
occupancy level in the hotels for those days are not in great demand.

i needed a lengthy stay with a specific room type (suite) so booked early.
(nov 1 last year)

if you book early, the cheaper standard regular views are plentiful.

once peeps make arrangements for the hhn dates, the hotel standard rooms go quickly.
nothing has been released on dates for hhn yet and probably won't until this summer.
i have been going yearly for hhn since 1999 so i basically know the pattern when to book so i can get the room type and hotel at a better price.
and i watch for promo /ap rates so i can call and modify my rate when they come out.

We are totally fine staying on a Monday or Tuesday, October 12 or 13th. We actually have more flexibility than that if needed and we will keep our WBC even for the night we get a RPR room. We will be in Orlando from 10/6-10/16. I just want to avoid high crowds and high costs as much as we can during that time.

 

[macraven]

that monday is columbus day.
last year it had crowds in the potter section of the parks later in the day.

you can arrive at the hotel to checkin anytime.
come earlly before the parks are open to do so.

you might have less crowds if you do the night onsite for tuesday.
(parks on tue/wed)


your dates cross over with mine.
see you at the darkside.

 

[MMCamp]

See you there! One last question...I think. If we buy a 4 day pass could we use the other two days without EE and EP before checking into the hotel and then hit things hard as far as EP riding and EE on Tue/Wed?

 

[macraven]

yes.
you can use your 4 day park to park ticket for the two days you are not staying onsite.
use the tickets for park entrance.

when you stay onsite, the ep photo pass is only valid for those dates.
your dates of stay will be printed on the photo express pass.

your park tickets are separate from the ep's.
off site peeps can buy eps but it is free for the onsite hotel guests.

FJ and Gringotts do not have express lines
do those rides during early entry so it lessens your wait.

last year on the tue and wed after columbus day, crowds were light.
wednesday was the lightest day of my stay there.

i've been going semi yearly to hhn since 1999.
have been there during the columbus day weekend each year since 2004.
each year it seems like crowds rise for that 3 day weekend.

 

[sharona]

We are tentatively planning on that weekend also since our APs are good through 11/7 we may try to get one last run out of them! DD has a 3 day weekend from school and I've booked a flight on SW...

OP - if your 4 days include Columbus Day and that is expected to be busiest, you may want to make sure you have EP for that day. However...going from EP to non EP touring will be much more difficult than vice versa!

 

[macraven]

We are tentatively planning on that weekend also since our APs are good through 11/7 we may try to get one last run out of them! DD has a 3 day weekend from school and I've booked a flight on SW...

OP - if your 4 days include Columbus Day and that is expected to be busiest, you may want to make sure you have EP for that day. However...going from EP to non EP touring will be much more difficult than vice versa!

adding you to my list.....
another fellow diser going when i am....

new homies to meet at the darkside