Convince me

[mom0299]

I have always been one of those "Disney and only Disney" people. DH and I have always stayed on site. We love that we can leave the outside world behind when we enter the property and don't have to leave it until the vacation is over. I am beginning to plan our next trip for summer 2011 and (dare I say it?) we are considering staying off-site in a rental house or condo. We've seen that we can get one for much less than a Disney hotel. While we're at it I thought a day at Sea World would be fun since we've never done that. The kids, DH, and I are big fans of Harry Potter. So that got me thinking about a day at Universal to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
It all sounds like great fun, but I am still feeling a bit uneasy about getting away from our normal Disney vacation. The kids will be 12 and 14 on the next trip. I need to hear from people who have done similar trips. Are the rental houses and condos that are just minutes from Disney really that great? Will we see a substantial savings in what we spend on the total vacation? Will we enjoy Sea World and Universal as much as if we'd stayed on-site at Disney the whole time? Are there any tips that you can give me? I want to hear the good and the bad. Please help.

 

[Purseval]

You really need convincing to move from a WDW value to a house or condo, living out of a small fridge or a styrofoam cooler to a regular house with separate bedrooms, a full kitchen, etc.? Obviously "magic" means a lot to you. Why not just rent DVC points from someone, stay on Disney property in a 2br villa and visit the other parks in your spare time? That way you can have your metaphorical cake and eat it too.

 

[damo]

My best advice is to read through these two boards. You should be able to get a very good feeling for things by following the links in the faq threads.

 

[torinsmom]

I think your kids will LOVE Universal at their ages! The rides are great there. There is no Fastpass, but we just got there early for the busy rides like Simpsons and used the single rider lines as well. It's nice to have the parks so close together, so you can hop back and forth, and Citywalk is right there too. We had only done Disney before, but now we would never think of going to Orlando without hitting Universal.

We are staying onsite for one night this summer to get FOTL for two days. That will be a new experience for us.

 

[mom0299]

You really need convincing to move from a WDW value to a house or condo, living out of a small fridge or a styrofoam cooler to a regular house with separate bedrooms, a full kitchen, etc.?

Actually, the two times we stayed at Value were 1) a spur of the moment trip and 2) we were with family who stayed at Pop. We have stayed in Moderate and Deluxe resorts as well. I don't think we'd ever stay Value again. If we stay on-site this next trip we will stay at the Deluxe Polynesian Resort.

 

[mom0299]

My best advice is to read through these two boards. You should be able to get a very good feeling for things by following the links in the faq threads.

I think your kids will LOVE Universal at their ages! The rides are great there. There is no Fastpass, but we just got there early for the busy rides like Simpsons and used the single rider lines as well. It's nice to have the parks so close together, so you can hop back and forth, and Citywalk is right there too. We had only done Disney before, but now we would never think of going to Orlando without hitting Universal.

We are staying onsite for one night this summer to get FOTL for two days. That will be a new experience for us.

Thanks. I plan to read through these boards. I've not really looked here before. I think my kids will like it too. Harry Potter is going to be at IOA, right? What else is there that we would really enjoy? BTW, what is FOTL? I'm sure it's something obvious. I'm just not with it this morning.

 

[nexttrip4us]

You can definitely get a lot more space for the $$ when you stay offsite...no question. With our family of 6, we have stayed Value the last few times having to get two rooms. This last time, we went with a group of 11 and rented a 6bdrm house...my cost for that was about the same as ONE room at a value and we had a full kitchen, our own pool and lanai out the back, 3 bedrooms for the 6 of us instead of two... We also did some different things this time besides Disney...a day at Busch Gardens, a day at Sea World...We had a lot of fun and it worked out great. The house we rented had a lot of Disney touches so that added to our experience also.

That said, next time when it is a smaller group of us, we will probably go back on-site and just do a Disney vacation.

There are definitely pros and cons to staying on and off-site and I do see another off-site trip in our future--especially as our kids get older and will really appreciate having more room (our oldest is 11 now and our youngest is 4).

Good luck!

 

[torinsmom]

Thanks. I plan to read through these boards. I've not really looked here before. I think my kids will like it too. Harry Potter is going to be at IOA, right? What else is there that we would really enjoy? BTW, what is FOTL? I'm sure it's something obvious. I'm just not with it this morning.

Are you only going to IOA, or to both parks? IOA has Spiderman, a log flume ride(Dudley Do Right?) Jurassic Park, Hulk Roller Coaster, Dueling Dragons Coaster, Popeyes Bilge Rat Barges(whitewater ride), Doctor Dooms Fearfall, etc.

US has the Simpsons Ride, Men in Black, Terminator 3D, Revenge of the Mummy, ET, Jaws, Shrek 4-D, Jimmy Neutron, and Rip Ride Rocket, TWister and Disaster.

DS and I actually enjoyed Universal Studios more than IOA.

Marsha

 

[christophfam]

Your kids are close in age to mine and if they love coasters they will like Universal better than Disney. Hard to believe? We've always done Disney (15+ trips) and have ventured to Universal a few times over the past couple of years. My daughter has her pick for her upcoming birthday (11th) and she picked Universal. She said she just likes the rides better at Universal!

My advice would be to do your Disney part of the trip first either onsite or offsite. Youll have to figure that one out. Then move over to a Universal resort for the last two nights. If you stay onsite, you will get FOTL which is like Disney's fastpasses. The FOTL that you get for staying onsite is unlimited. You just show your room key and you are put in the express line. You can do your favorite rides over and over again in that short line just by showing your room key all day long. You can checkin at 8AM and get those keys and they are good until closing of the day you checkout.

You'll find your Universal part of your vacation totally relaxing. The resorts are all deluxe and quite beautiful. My kids love the pools. You can walk to the parks from HRH and RPR if you wish. They are that close. You can walk from park to park, again because they are so close. There are tons of fun places to eat. Places that my teens love like Margaritaville and Hard Rock. Can you tell I've become a convert? Never thought it was possible!

Give Universal a try. It is different in the magic aspect, but you'll find it relaxing and enjoy the great rides. If your kids are like mine, now that they are older they will love it!

 

[Planogirl]

Maybe you could split your stay?

I was one of those Disney at all costs people too. DS talked me into trying Universal one year and now there's no looking back. I will never go to Florida without visiting Universal! It's all better now because we explore new places and we get to enjoy two great themepark resorts. I can't see it getting better than that.

 

[Metro West]

Harry Potter is going to be at IOA, right? What else is there that we would really enjoy? BTW, what is FOTL? I'm sure it's something obvious. I'm just not with it this morning.

FOTL is what DISers call the unlimited Express access for onsite hotel guests. There is really no such thing as FOTL but people on here seem to understand it better when it's called that.

WWoHP will be at IOA.

 

[Blanche_Neige]

FOTL is what DISers call the unlimited Express access for onsite hotel guests. There is really no such thing as FOTL but people on here seem to understand it better when it's called that.

WWoHP will be at IOA.

New to US too, from what I understand FOTL=front of the line=fast pass in Disney lingo right?

FOTL is only available to US onsite hotel guess.

 

[Metro West]

New to US too, from what I understand FOTL=front of the line=fast pass in Disney lingo right?

FOTL is only available to US onsite hotel guess.

Yes...but it's not really front of the line. It's just like FastPass so your wait times are reduced but you don't really get true "front of the line" access.

You can also purchase the VIP Express tickets that include your park admission and unlimited Express access just like the onsite guests.

 

[mdurette]

We have logged 10+ trips to Disney in the past 5 years. All stays for a week at either deluxe or DVC units. No rental car. We would head off site for one day to do SeaWorld.

We did our first off-site trip early december 2009 and I was dreading it. We had a week in a 3BR Marriott timeshare - then we added 2 days on-site. I always thought the buses were great, no car to deal with, no long walks from parking lots. Boy was I wrong......

I now prefer to stay off-site! The drive to the Disney entrance was less than 2 miles. It was easy to get around. I got my hands on a AAA parking pass and we had preferred parking - no trams needed. No fees because my DH has an annual pass.

The main reason.....I loved having our own car! I loved not waiting for buses!

My suggestion.....just try it once.

 

[torinsmom]

Yes...but it's not really front of the line. It's just like FastPass so your wait times are reduced but you don't really get true "front of the line" access.

You can also purchase the VIP Express tickets that include your park admission and unlimited Express access just like the onsite guests.

I thought those Express tickets only gave you FOTL one time from each ride and onsite guests' FOTL was unlimited. Or is this a different Express that costs more?

 

[Metro West]

I thought those Express tickets only gave you FOTL one time from each ride and onsite guests' FOTL was unlimited. Or is this a different Express that costs more?

The VIP Express tickets give you unlimited access...just like staying onsite.

 

[torinsmom]

The VIP Express tickets give you unlimited access...just like staying onsite.

So I guess that is a good option to avoid doing the one night onsite and then switching hotels, which is what I was planning to get 2 days FOTL. Looks like these passes are $259.99 for the 7 day one though, ugh

 

[damo]

So I guess that is a good option to avoid doing the one night onsite and then switching hotels, which is what I was planning to get 2 days FOTL. Looks like these passes are $259.99 for the 7 day one though, ugh

Actually, I think that is a great deal. Disney's 7 day pass (which doesn't include unlimited fastpasses of course) is much more than that!

 

[francie57]

We used to be the same - just went to Disney. We tried Universal on one trip and loved it. We now do a split trip every time we go. If you can do it, stay at least one night in a Universal hotel. The "FOTL" perk is so worth it. You will actually be spoiled with that option. We love it, we usually go in Aug. and have never had to wait more than 10 min. to get on something. If you are an AAA member, you can get a discount on the room and the tix. They have a 2 park 7 day ticket for $95. We already have our reservations for the Hard Rock for Aug. for our Universal portion of the trip. Your kids are at the age that they will love both parks. There are definitely more thrill rides between the two Universal parks than at Disney. As they say during the Monster Make-up show, this isn't Disney. You will love it - just keep an open mind to the fact that it is not Disney and enjoy the theming of these two parks.

 

[torinsmom]

Actually, I think that is a great deal. Disney's 7 day pass (which doesn't include unlimited fastpasses of course) is much more than that!

Well, with Disney, you have 4 parks to choose from, and I haven't ever had a problem for getting most of the fastpasses I want.

Last year we went to US/IOA in July and did without Express. We could probably do it again. I don't know if it's worth $320 for the two of us to not have to stand in long lines.