Do people just book a room to get Unlimited fastpass?

[pktbMouse]

I just read short thread about something to do with people are actually booking a room but not staying in it so they can get the unlimited fastpass? How does this work and is it worth the money? How much does one night cost you at Universal? Im confused ...what day would you get the fastpass? The day you check in or the day you leave? I know you cannot check in until 4pm so I was just wondering how this would work. It would certainly be useful for us having the baby to go back to a hotel near Universal for a mid day nap. But then again..we cant check in till 4pm and have to be out the next day by 11am?
Has anyone done this before? Thanks in advance.

 

[JessicaR]

I just read short thread about something to do with people are actually booking a room but not staying in it so they can get the unlimited fastpass? How does this work and is it worth the money? How much does one night cost you at Universal? Im confused ...what day would you get the fastpass? The day you check in or the day you leave? I know you cannot check in until 4pm so I was just wondering how this would work. It would certainly be useful for us having the baby to go back to a hotel near Universal for a mid day nap. But then again..we cant check in till 4pm and have to be out the next day by 11am?
Has anyone done this before? Thanks in advance.

Sometimes buying express for a whole family is more expensive than just booking a room for one night. The hotel express is also unlimited unlike the one you buy at the park.

If you were to book a room for one night you can check in early AM, even if the room isn't ready yet, you get a room key. They will store your luggage. You can also use that room key the day you check out till park closing. So in essence you get two days of express.

How much the room will cost depends on the season and if you have an annul pass or AAA or any other discounted option available to you.

I have never done this because we spend all our days at Universal on-site but its been done for years by some.

You have to check on express prices for the parks the day you desire and multiply that by the amount of people. The hotel allows 5 to a room. Many times it is cheaper to book a room and the perks are greater.

 

[everylastbreath]

of COURSE!!!!!

Once you stay on site with FOTL, you will never go any other way!!! When we do WDW, sometimes we just book 1 night - right smack in the middle of the week at Disney, get FOTL for 2 days, dinner at Citywalk, sleep in HRH, back to WDW hotel late in the evening! We pack a small overnight bag to take - leave the rest of our luggage at WDW hotel!! It's so worth it!! Go FOTL, you'll never go back!!

 

[pktbMouse]

Om sorry but Im not familiar woth some of the terms on here...what does FOTL mean?

 

[everylastbreath]

Om sorry but Im not familiar woth some of the terms on here...what does FOTL mean?

Front
Of
The
Line

a/k/a Unlimited Fast Pass (your words) - I'm sorry didn't know you were not familar with it. Actually it blows Fast passes away... No tickets to get, no return times, just flash your card and you get on the ride- It's the BEST!!

 

[FINFAN]

You betcha! Well, to be fair, we do actually sleep in the room..lol...if we are at WDW, we usually book a value there, for the entire trip, and then for one night we head to RPR and visit US for 2 days, then back to our value, having never checked out of the value. I know it is not budget effective, but we balance that out by staying value at WDW. 1 night hotel cost = 2 days FOTL. Pack a lunch for the parks, totally worth it ot be on-site.

 

[everylastbreath]

You betcha! Well, to be fair, we do actually sleep in the room..lol...if we are at WDW, we usually book a value there, for the entire trip, and then for one night we head to RPR and visit US for 2 days, then back to our value, having never checked out of the value. I know it is not budget effective, but we balance that out by staying value at WDW. 1 night hotel cost = 2 days FOTL. Pack a lunch for the parks, totally worth it ot be on-site.

HAHA, we thought we were the only ones who did this!! I know not budget effective but easier than checking-out/checking in! Plus you get a night at City walk with no driving to worry about!! Works for us!

 

[LoveToDisney]

We have stayed on property and enjoyed the unlimited pass for just the two of us. This time we have two adults and two teens (who have never visited US/IOA before). I reserved the cheapest room at HRH for the 4 of us to have 2 days of unlimited express pass. We have a Universal Annual Pass so it's cost effective for us versus buying their Express Pass which gives only 1 ride. Once you enjoy that FOTL access, it's hard to turn back. It definitely spoils you. We will enjoy the HRH pool and the room while we're there but we'll head back to our 2 BR villa at Disney for a good nights sleep so everyone has their privacy. We hate to move our things in the middle of vacation so it's just easier not to spend the night. We will take our swim suits and a change of clothing to have while at the HRH. We're not into partying at City Walk and LOVE the fireworks at Disney so we enjoy "ending" up at a Disney park each night. Plus, with the extended hours you enjoy at Disney while staying on-site, you get the best of both worlds.

 

[DBC]

We are staying at the Sheraton Vistana for a week but also have booked 1 night during the week at the Hard Rock. We'll pack an overnight bag and do the day before and after in the parks with FOTL. Plus we don't have to drive back and forth each day.

Absolutely worth it for the 4 of us.

 

[PinkTink63]

The biggest reason we stay on site is for FOTL access! After the first time going to US/IOA in mid August and waited 2 1/2 hours to get on the first ride, we decided it was worth the extra money to stay on site! I do wish they didn't charge for self parking at their resorts though!

 

[IDoBelieveinFairies!]

I am glad I read this blog, and I intend to do just this. We will book rooms at Universal then come back to Disney, this is exciting.

 

[torinsmom]

I am doing this this summer, although we will sleep in the room. We are getting a cheap hotel the evening we arrive, then moving to Universal for one night and two days of FOTL, then on to a week in a 2 bedroom condo. Sucks that the one night at Universal will be $250 and the week at the condo will only be $400, but I'm sure we will appreciate not standing in line for so long.

 

[asmit4]

Yup! They sure do! That's why a 1 night stay is much more expensive than a 5 night stay (price per night). People used to do something similar at DW...they'd book a campsite (which are cheap) to get the free DDP and just not stay at the camp. I think DW caught on and stopped that though. I haven't seen much discussion about it recently. Normally it's one of those get out the posts b/c people say it's 'cheating' if you aren't truly going to camp.
It's interesting that no one seems to get upset over the issue of booking a Universal onsite room to get the benefits even if you don't even sleep there. On the DW this would be a huge

 

[torinsmom]

Well, if someone wants to pay $249+ and NOT stay in a room, that is their business. I am staying in mine, because otherwise I have to pay for a cheap hotel or my condo for another night. I AM thinking of leaving the car at the cheap hotel for that night though if you don't need a ticket for their shuttle.

Marsha

 

[n2mm]

We do this too. We arrive in Orlando, go to USF and stay one night at one of the 3 resorts and use FOTL access for 2 days. Then we move to our DVC resort. However, we are AP holders at both USF and WDW, so we get great APH rates at the USF resorts which makes our savings great. We always have a rental car, so that is a factor that folks need to consider.

 

[La2kw]

The Universal resorts are great resorts and they are run much better than the way Disney runs their resorts, IMO. We stay for the resort and the FOTL. We use our DVC points at Disney, but definitely stay at the Universal resort when we are paying for it.

 

[mjohnson96]

We stayed last year at RPH and loved it so much we are going back again this year for WWOHP in June. I remember last year trying to figure out the difference and since we were going in July the cost of the Express Passes for a party of 3 meant we would have had to find a nice hotel room for less than $40 a night, we had a great AP rate, and there was no way we could have gotten half the ammenities and atmosphere at an offsite hotel for $40 that we get when staying onsite.

Plus, the staff was great and my DH and I are looking forward to leaving kids with Grandma to have some Sushi and drinks one night..plus it is great to not have to worry about finding a taxi or anything either after a night on citywalk!

 

[brenda1966]

So, do most of you drive over for your "one night" at US? Or do you taxi over and back to WDW.

I had thought of doing WDW at the beginning of the week, and then US at the end of the week, but I'd need to do 2 nights at US, even though we'd only do 2 days in the park. I figured the last day we could swim before taxi to the airport. Maybe this is not the best option??

I also hate moving hotels. Maybe booking the whole week at a budget Disney and then just one night at US in the middle would be a better plan? Are the pools at US superior to the ones at a Disney Budget? Are they heated like Disney ones are?

So much to consider while trying to fit US into the mix.

 

[macraven]

Yup! They sure do! That's why a 1 night stay is much more expensive than a 5 night stay (price per night). People used to do something similar at DW...they'd book a campsite (which are cheap) to get the free DDP and just not stay at the camp. I think DW caught on and stopped that though. I haven't seen much discussion about it recently. Normally it's one of those get out the posts b/c people say it's 'cheating' if you aren't truly going to camp.
It's interesting that no one seems to get upset over the issue of booking a Universal onsite room to get the benefits even if you don't even sleep there. On the DW this would be a huge

nah, no one gets upset about this subject.
many of the regular homies here usually bring it up to newbies.

many peeps book a room and don't even go check out the room....
you can have 5 peeps to a room which would make it cheaper to book the room than to buy epp for 2 days.

So, do most of you drive over for your "one night" at US? Or do you taxi over and back to WDW.

i stay a week at the motherland on site then use car service to transfer to the darkside onsite hotels for another week.

some drive, some take taxis back to the motherland after the one night stay at the darkside.

I had thought of doing WDW at the beginning of the week, and then US at the end of the week, but I'd need to do 2 nights at US, even though we'd only do 2 days in the park. I figured the last day we could swim before taxi to the airport. Maybe this is not the best option??

if you stay on the weekend, the rates will be higher.
weekdays are less $$.
just like at disney.

you can ask for a later check out and spend the morning in the pool.


I also hate moving hotels. Maybe booking the whole week at a budget Disney and then just one night at US in the middle would be a better plan? Are the pools at US superior to the ones at a Disney Budget? Are they heated like Disney ones are?

So much to consider while trying to fit US into the mix.

pools are heated.
you can pool hop to any of the 3 hotels at UO if you are a guest at one of the hotels.

you can get towels, swim toys at each hotel pool.
just show your hotel key card and it is free.

 

[brenda1966]

Thanks! There's so much to learn. I'm not even sure how much time we'd need at US. Is 2 days enough to do 2 parks? Do they have events late into the evening? It will be near Halloween -- with their scary party interfere with our time in the park?

I think I need to find a good book about US. Recommendations? I loved the "unofficial" guide for DL and WDW. I think it has a section on US. Is that the best book to consult? And I wonder how Harry P will change things.

I guess I need to see what kind of rates I can get for the Disney room as to wether I want to pay for a night we don't even use.