An Unconventional Solution for FOTL Access

[Procrastinate]

This was probably nuts,but here is what we did on our recent visit to Universal.

We are a family of five, mom, dad, two teens, and grandma. We considered staying in two rooms at RPR because we really wanted the unlimited express pass. One teen has some pretty serious ADHD, and will not wait in lines without making our lives miserable. However, the $360 it was going to cost for two rooms seemed high, although still cheaper than any express pass you could buy for five people for two days. We also didn't look forward to switching hotels for our non-Universal days since we certainly weren't going to pay RPR rates for our whole week.

Our unconventional solution was to rent a house for the week, and get the cheapest room at RPR for five that we had no intention of staying in! We checked in around ten with a couple of small overnight bags in case we changed our minds and decided to stay. We went to the parks all day and returned to RPR in the evening to get our keys activated. We went up to the room to relax for a while and change out of our wet clothes. The decision to return to our 4 bedroom house instead of staying at the RPR was unanimous.

The house was less than $100 per night, plus the unused room at the RPR at $199 (FL resident discount) was less than two rooms at the RPR. It was way less than buying Express Passes. We also saved on parking since one night at RPR was less than two days parking at the parks and we had an inexpensive breakfast at the house instead of eating breakfast in the hotel restaurant.

 

[donaldduck352]

Believe it or not but this is pretty common.The resorts still make there money,you get the FOTL pass for 2 days and stay in a larger condo or house!!

 

[donaldduck352]

Believe it or not but this is pretty common.The resorts still make there money,you get the FOTL pass for 2 days and stay in a larger condo or house!!Everyone wins.

 

[macraven]

lots of guests do that.
rent the room for one night in order to get the hotel keys for fotl. in fact, you get 2 days of FOTL.....

 

[Darcy03231]

We did that in August 2007 when there were 9 of us. Only 5 wanted to ride the bigger rides (me, my two teens and my sister's two teens) so we got the passes. By getting to the parks first thing in the morning everyone was able to ride everything they wanted to at least once and the teens could ride over and over again. We also liked having the room for a mid-day break for my mom and my youngest niece (3 at the time).

 

[La2kw]

Glad that worked for you. We love staying at the RPR too much to let that room go unused. You miss alot by not staying at one of the Universal resorts, IMO.

 

[diskids2]

That's very interesting. I have a followup question...if you don't mind me hijacking....

Do many people stay at one of the Universal resorts for only a part of the stay and then transfer to a non universal hotel? And if you do that, what non universal hotel do you like to stay at?

 

[Cyrano]

That's very interesting. I have a followup question...if you don't mind me hijacking....

Do many people stay at one of the Universal resorts for only a part of the stay and then transfer to a non universal hotel? And if you do that, what non universal hotel do you like to stay at?

We were first time visitors to Universal/Orlando in the summer. We stayed the bulk of the holiday at a condo but booked 2 nights at HRH. This allowed us 3 days FOTL access. It spoiled us when we came back at the end of the week and did not do half as much because we had to queue

 

[ClanHarrison]

*Giggle*

That's not nuts at ALL. In fact....i think it's BRILLIANT.

Our first & only visit (in Aug. 2005), we did the split stay thing. We began our trip with a Limo ride from MCO to Royal Pacific and stayed 1 nt. for 2 dys. of FOTL (thanks to the wonderful ideas & advice of the folks at this board). The second day, we continued our touring then checked out and had the bellstaff lock up our bags until we were ready to leave. We closed the park then drove to our villa we rented for the next 7 dys.

This added so much luxury to our vacation and blew.everyone.AWAY.

We're returning next June 2010, but this time we're checking into our villa, stock up for our stay & spend the night, then go to the parks early the next morning, check in to RP for 2 dys. FOTL. We might stay the night in the room...and we might not. I love options .

 

[Rosie]

Do you know what? Over on the UK planning boards this is a widely shared tip and almost everyone from the UK will do this if they can't afford an actual stay onsite at Universal.
Its a great way for Universal to show reluctant guests what the resorts have to offer and I think it works well all round .
We are doing it during our next trip (Easter 2010) and I hope everyone who does it can one day afford a longer stay.