Best Way to Handle Offsite Stay?

[Planogirl]

I'm SO spoiled by staying onsite but this time we have the use of a friend's timeshare so it'll be totally offsite for us. We will be in Orlando for a week and will have a minimum of 4 days to spend at Universal.

Any ideas on how to best deal with the lines? The only thing we will definitely do is line up for NWA/TNA Impact but so far I have nothing else planned.

 

[Metro West]

The best advice is to get there early and do the major rides first before the lines start backing up.

 

[Planogirl]

Didn't they used to sell a FastPass ticket or something like that? Maybe we should extend our stay and stay at one of the hotels...

 

[Metro West]

Didn't they used to sell a FastPass ticket or something like that?

Universal has Express Pass Plus available for each park. The cost is roughly $35/per person per park. It entitles you to use the Express line ONCE for each Express Pass attraction. It's definately cheaper than staying onsite. But, depending on when you're coming, you may not need to purchase the EP at all. I was over at both parks today and the crowds were pretty light.

 

[Planogirl]

We'll be there in mid-June so I'm kind of leery of not having some type of Express Pass. But it was quiet on a Sunday at both parks? Wow, the last time we went both parks were madhouses particularly the new attractions in Universal.

 

[Slacking]

If you have 4 days to spend at the parks, I wouldn't worry too much about not doing everything. My advice is to get their early and hit all the rides in the first 3-4 hours of the day and then hit the shows during the busy periods. I wouldn't spend money on the Express Plus Passes.

 

[Planogirl]

Thanks Slacking. We might actually have even more days to spend then 4 so we should be OK then. I will miss the resorts though!

 

[Foladar]

Thanks Slacking. We might actually have even more days to spend then 4 so we should be OK then. I will miss the resorts though!

You can easily finish them all in the four days, we went through all shows and the majority of Universal Studios itself (no IOA) in one day, and still had time to relax.