Cost

[BigDad]

Was wanting some input from previous guests. Planning on going to Universal on June 18 with kids 9 & 6. Only on site room I can find is over $200/night. Is it worth the extra money to stay on site to utilize the front of the line privalge?

Thanks

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Have you tried for an Entertainment discount? We were able to get an Ent discount 2 months before our upcoming April (spring break) visit. The FOTL access is wonderful in busy times and the parks will be getting busy by mid-late June.

 

[mark & sandra]

Like Tigger&Belle said if you have an Entertainment book, the card that comes in it is used to get the Entertainment rate, if offered during your stay, at the on-site hotels. We got the Hard Rock for 125.00 and the Royal Pacific for 99.00. Call and ask if the rate is available for you nights, be flexible on dates or ask if that rate is available for some of your nights. Book the room now and then order the entertainment book afterwards to lock in the lower rate. Oh, and welcome to the Dis boards.

 

[shpedly]

I would try for ent. rate also. I got HRH for 125/night for my April trip ent. rate. I originally made reservations for 229/night because they didn't have ent.rate for my dates. This was in mid jan. I called every 3-4 days checking if there were ent rates and 2 weeks later, they suddenly had rooms avail. I could have gotten 135 pool view or 160 deluxe but chose 125 garden view.

You could also try www.hotelkingdom.com (they have a stay 3 nights get 4th night free deal right now). Their rates are 179 and 189. You could also try www.quikbook.com, too.

You might think about making reservations at the going rate, and try for discounted rates. You can always cancel them if you can get something cheaper.

 

[robvia]

You only going 1 day? You mentioned June 18th. That's a Wednesday, just after the kids are out of school, which isn't too bad. The big crowds arrive in July and 1st two weeks of August.
If you can't stay on site, all is not lost. If you arrive to the gate early as the park is opening at 9am, you'll get a lap of walkon rides which takes about 3 hours. By that time, the sun is up, it's hot, and you go eat lunch back at your hotel. Then come back later as the sun is going down.
Is someone going with you?
Not sure how tall your 6 year old is, but they may not make the height requirement of 54 inches for the thrill coasters at IOA. If a spouse is going along, it may be a good idea to split up so you and the 9 year old can go on the coasters. The 6 year old will enjoy the playground areas of both parks.

 

[Aruba]

I am going in June and called Lowes directly and they have a spring thing going on and I got a pool view at 169.00, but you need to ask for it... they may ask if you are a lowes member- so go to the site and fill out the free membership and then call for the room. The Entertainment rate was not available when I called either for the standard room - the club rooms were available for 230 something... I liked the 169.o0 rate. good luck... you would love the HRH!

 

[UniversalAddict]

Front of the line is certainly worth a lot if you are not an annual pass holder. You can easily ride every ride at least once and do the best ones (spiderman) a few times. That's what we did when my brother was down over Christmas. You get so spoiled have express pass' that you will never be able tolerate waiting in line again.

You have to judge on what your threshold is to be guaranteed to ride everything and not have to wait in lines. Mine is about $100. Do try royal pacific (RP) first because they are usually cheaper than hard rock and portofino. By the way, I have stayed at RP a number of times and love it. I would only try the other hotels if they were cheaper or about the same price.

 

[Aisling]

BigDad,
Try for the discounts at the onsite hotels, and if you can afford it, stay onsite. The FOTL is SO worth it. I wouldn't even go to Universal if I didn't have FOTL, that's how valuable it is to me. We went at one of the crowdiest (is that a word LOL) time of the year and we STILL never had to wait for any ride, attraction, restaurant, whatever.
I've even noticed that CMs treating the onsite people a little better, for example, when I show my keycard, thay always ask "are you enjoying your stay" or "have a good time" as we went on the rides.