Doing the parks offsite

[drag n' fly]

I see loads of threads about the advantages of staying onsite. We have chose to stay offsite. Is their any threads that discuss how to optimize your time if staying offsite?

 

[ky07]

I see loads of threads about the advantages of staying onsite. We have chose to stay offsite. Is their any threads that discuss how to optimize your time if staying offsite?

I am sure there is but can't think of any but someone will post and tell you but I have also stayed offsite and done the parks before and may have to this year.

 

[drag n' fly]

Thanks very much. Their is a large group of us going so staying even the one night just to get FOL privledges is not an option as we would require 2 rooms. We are going in November before Thanksgiving/after Jersey week so we are hoping the HP thing would of died down a bit by then and we may not even need the express passes. I hope lol

 

[Purseval]

Except for WDW guests who are using Extra Magic Hours the strategy of touring a park is exactly the same no matter where you are staying. The only difference for an offsite visitor is to avoid, if possible, the park that is having early morning EMH since that means you will have a line in front of you the minute you enter the park. Other than that you want to be there when the park opens and move quickly and efficiently from ride to ride according to the tastes of the people doing the tour (obviously a couple with 2 small children is going to have different priorities than one with teenagers).

How far away you are from the parks will also determine if it is worth it for you to take a midday break. Most hotels are located near enough to take some time off if necessary and the speed an efficiency of a car is actually a pretty good match for those who have to wait on WDW transportation to get them back and forth.

In a Universal park you don't really compete with the onsite guests because they use a different line and tend to wander in later since it's so easy to get on the rides. This actually gives the early risers a big advantage.

Bottom line: where you stay has no bearing on how much you can see at the parks.

 

[torinsmom]

I stayed offsite last summer and my strategy was to get there before opening and ride the more popular rides right away. For us, that was Simpsons, MIB and Mummy at US and Spiderman, Bilge Rat Barges, and Jurassic Park at IoA. Then we did all the other rides we wanted to do until things got busy(more than 30 minute waits) Then we went back to our room and rested, had lunch, etc. We also used the single rider lines a lot for MIB, Mummy and Spiderman.

If you are there for several days, just pick certain rides to hit first each day.

We are going in July and will stay offsite again. We get great rates through Priceline($30 nt for Hyatt Place last year) For a savings of $170/nt I can stand in a few lines.

Marsha

 

[crazelion]

I am planning on staying offsite this year. It is be Hyatt Place or Springhill Suites. Both I can get free gift cards for.

 

[cieslack]

I have stayed offsite twice and I completely agree that the key to any of the parks is early arrival and prioritizing your ride selection. Strategy is the key to Expressless touring.

 

[mbsquirrel1198]

I am so glad to hear all this. We are a family of six and there is no way we can afford two rooms to stay on-site. We plan to get there early some days and go late other evenings. Thanks for all the positive notes.

 

[glassslipper2004]

We have stayed offsite several times and loved it. It has real advantages, especially if you get a condo. This is remarkably easy to do, and gives you lots of bedrooms, your own kitchen, dining room, living room with tv, and often your own pool, all for the price of one room (or even less). You can eat breakfast cheaply in your own kitchen, and if you have little kids, it is even better as you can put them to sleep and then hang out in your own living room. I highly recommend it!

 

[oliver200137724]

we have stayed offsite the 5 years that we have went to Universal. I do wish eventually one visit to stay onsite but not this year. like the others said getting there early is the key. We are staying at the lexingto Suites and we got a great deal. It is about 2 miles from US and it has free continetal breakfast free shuttle to US. The rooms are suites with a living room w/a kitchenette, and then a separate bedroom with 2 double beds. The suite can sleep 6. excited about being that close to US. The price for us to stay here for 7 nights is 548.00.

Also, if you are looking for tickets i know that all the prices have went up. But, Look at Krogers in their gift card section and they still might have the 7 day 2 park passes. I went to a krogers in knoxville, tn and they still had them.

 

[Darcy03231]

We stayed off-site when we went with extended family (we were a party of 9) and went during peak time (summer). I found that we got a lot done by getting to the parks for opening. That mean being in the parking garage and parked by 8:15-8:30 a.m.. Lines didn't really start to form until about 11 am. By noon lines for the popular rides were about 30-45 min, by 1 they were 60-90 minutes and by 2 they were over 90 minutes. Since we had mostly adults and teens (and one toddler) we took advantage of the single riders lines where we could. We spent 7 days between US and IOA and I don't think we missed anything. I did rent a room on-site for one night to get 5 express passes. Neither my sister or her husband or my mother and niece (3.5 at the time) were interested in riding Hulk, Dr. Doom, Dueling Dragons, Mummy, etc. so there were only 5 of us using them. It was also nice to have the room so my niece and mom could go back and rest.

Have a great time!

 

[Planogirl]

I'll just echo what everyone else is saying about getting to the parks early. Around 10:30 to 11 you'll literally see a sea of people pouring into the parks while before that most things were walk on.

It'll be interesting to see how HP affects the early morning crowds.

 

[macraven]

years ago i stayed offsite and rented a car.

if you drive, be at the parking garage line by 7:30 as the garage opens at 8:00. (for when park opens at 9:00)
you'll be and parked quickly and on your way to the entrance gate of the parks.