Coming from Disney Question

[Kimg88]

We will be at Universal March 19-21.
We will be coming from Disney (Shades of Green) on the morning of March 19th. We plan on going to IOA that day and then Universal the next day (we have park to park tickets, but this is our loose plan). We are staying at Loews Royal Pacific, so we will have the express passes as well.
My worry is checking out of Shades, taking a Lyft to Universal, checking in (more likely holding our bags), exchanging our military ticket vouchers for real tickets, getting the express passes...this all will take time.
My original plan was to do all this starting around 9am and head to park when we were done...10am-ish. However, now I am concerned the park may be full by then, and we can't even go that day, which would be devastating considering we are staying on site and have time only to be at Universal for March 19 and 20. We fly back the morning of the 21.

Do I need to get everyone up super early to leave Shades so we arrive at Universal to check in (and do our other ticket items) so we can get in line to enter prior to 9am (or 8am if it's early entry for hotel guests)?
I have spoken to Universal and they can't really help me decide what I might need to do. What I don't want is to be denied entrance the first day due to us arriving later than 9am and having hotel and ticket items to take care of.
Please let me know what I should do. If we have to be there ridiculously early we can be, but I will need to plan on that, book ride share, etc. Also, will the ticket office/express pass places be open prior to park opening so we can be ready to enter?

Thank you!

 

[cfoxga]

The only safe way to ensure that you get in the park is to be there for EE. However, if it does hit capacity, my understanding is that resort guests have priority getting in to the park as people leave. I am not aware of anything that would make that a super busy weekend, but I would still plan to get to RPR by 7 am for check in. Worst case is that you spend a couple extra hours in the parks with smaller crowds.

I would try using the ticket desk at RPR, instead of the ones at the park. I've seen some long, slow moving lines there...

 

[nkereina]

You can check-in as early as 6am, so I would say the earlier the better. Though, I agree with PP that there's nothing particularly special about those days that would make it certain to be a sell out crowd. And on-site guests do get priority entry. Maybe watch the weekends leading up to that time and see how things are going to better decide.

Is it at all possible to stay the night of 3/18 at RPR too? You could check out of SOG on 3/18 and head over to RPR really at any time, even late in the evening. When you arrive, you can take care of the ticket stuff. Your room key is your express pass, so you'd receive that at check in as well. That way you can take advantage of EE the next morning and have all the "business" behind you.

 

[Kimg88]

You can check-in as early as 6am, so I would say the earlier the better. Though, I agree with PP that there's nothing particularly special about those days that would make it certain to be a sell out crowd. And on-site guests do get priority entry. Maybe watch the weekends leading up to that time and see how things are going to better decide.

Is it at all possible to stay the night of 3/18 at RPR too? You could check out of SOG on 3/18 and head over to RPR really at any time, even late in the evening. When you arrive, you can take care of the ticket stuff. Your room key is your express pass, so you'd receive that at check in as well. That way you can take advantage of EE the next morning and have all the "business" behind you.

That's a thought. Shades is $180 a night and I think I'm paying $370 a night at RPR at military rate...
So I'll have to think if it's worth it.
Another thought I had was on our second DHS day, which I am really only scheduling to do Savi Workshop, and in case we don't get into the ROTR the first day, I was thinking when we are done with the park that day, we Lyft over to Universal, get the passes taken care of and walk around a bit in Potter land, eat dinner, etc.
Then head back.
That would be cheaper than staying another night at RPR, but I'm not sure how handy it is....

 

[nkereina]

That's a thought. Shades is $180 a night and I think I'm paying $370 a night at RPR at military rate...
So I'll have to think if it's worth it.
Another thought I had was on our second DHS day, which I am really only scheduling to do Savi Workshop, and in case we don't get into the ROTR the first day, I was thinking when we are done with the park that day, we Lyft over to Universal, get the passes taken care of and walk around a bit in Potter land, eat dinner, etc.
Then head back.
That would be cheaper than staying another night at RPR, but I'm not sure how handy it is....

Are the Universal passes you're getting not limited to a certain number of park days? I don't know anything about military pricing and perks. If that's the case, that would be a good idea. Its about a 20 minute ride from Disney. We stayed at Disney in October but took an Uber to Universal one night just for dinner and shopping at City Walk. We didn't find it to be inconvenient at all.

The cost for the extra night at RPR is definitely a factor, and the value of that will differ for every family. For me, getting settled in without rushing and not having to get everyone up and out the door at the crack of dawn would be worth it to me to stay stress free and not be exhausted by dinner time on day 1 at Universal. I think it would also depend on what you're doing on your last full day at WDW.

 

[Kimg88]

We are doing our Epcot day that last day at WDW. Getting there before opening, rides, lunch at Rose and Crown, maybe a rest break, then back for walking around World Showcase and dinner at TeppanEdo.
So, if we were to head to Universal that night, we would have no rest break because we would be checked out of Shades and not checked into Universal yet.
We have 5 day Universal passes (miltary offer) so that's not a factor, and they do not have to be used consecutively. However, they may close at 5pm that night I am speaking of, so eating dinner and walking around Harry Potter might not happen. I guess we can check out Citiwalk instead that evening if the park does indeed close that early.

 

[nkereina]

We are doing our Epcot day that last day at WDW. Getting there before opening, rides, lunch at Rose and Crown, maybe a rest break, then back for walking around World Showcase and dinner at TeppanEdo.
So, if we were to head to Universal that night, we would have no rest break because we would be checked out of Shades and not checked into Universal yet.
We have 5 day Universal passes (miltary offer) so that's not a factor, and they do not have to be used consecutively. However, they may close at 5pm that night I am speaking of, so eating dinner and walking around Harry Potter might not happen. I guess we can check out Citiwalk instead that evening if the park does indeed close that early.

City Walk is a good option for an evening of dinner and walking around if you do that. That would also be one less thing for you to have to check out during your RPR stay.

What are Epcot's hours when you're there? When we were there in late October, the hours were 11-9. We didn't find that allowed much time for a mid-day break, and we were even staying at a resort on the Skyliner so the commute time was minimal. The World Showcase also didn't take us long since there was still a lot closed. Point being, a mid-day break may not be feasible anyhow.

 

[Kimg88]

Right now, Epcot is only showing to be open until 7pm (11-7), so yes, no break with those hours. Don't know if they might get extended though with Spring Break crowds, or not. Really no way to tell.
I will definitely think on the value of moving over to Universal sooner. Universal prices seem to be high during this time period, making me think they expect some crowds. And park hours aren't up yet that far in advance for Universal.

 

[Kimg88]

Will I lose my ability to make ADR for Epcot for that day, if I am not staying at Shades through the 18th?

 

[keishashadow]

getting the express passes...

Your room key is express pass

Will I lose my ability to make ADR for Epcot for that day, if I am not staying at Shades through the 18th?

You Also get the day of your checkout at WDW to make park reservations

anyone can make ADRs at WDW