Driving myself crazy, need help with planning!

[DISNEYLOVER70]

My name is Renee and I am a Disney addict.... but the rest of my family is NOT I just don't get it... So, our vacation next year has changed. Instead of Disney, they ganged up on me and said they want to do something different, sight see, Universal Studios, see the ocean for the first time..... I don't blame them, it just kills me to go all the way to Florida and not go to Walt Disney World.........But, I said fine, I will work something out. The kids would like to stay at Hard Rock Hotel, The Front of the Line pass is very enticing also...my husband would like to save $$$ so I have a few options I have researched

Here is what I have found so far:

Found out it is cheaper to fly Tues-Tues and my dates are 4/13/09-4/20/09.

If we stay at Hard Rock for all 7 nights the total is 1765.00 (inc $15/day parking, 201.75 weekday 216.75 weekends) No special rate, just seasonal I think she said) I have no idea if they usually offer deals for April or no......I hate being a newbie.......

We will be purchasing the 99.00/7 day passes. My husband thinks that since we will probably do the parks maybe 3 days, we should stay offsite and save some money for some of the nights. If we stay at Hard Rock for only 2 nights the price goes up per night and the total would be $635.26. Found Comfort Suites Universal Studios Area for 5 nights total with breakfast for 449.97.

There is the potential to save approx $680.00 just in lodging and we will still have the two days of FOTL while we are at the Hard Rock. I am not sure how much the kids will want to just hang around the pool so I don't know as if we would utilize that too much.

What is there for us to do besides US/IOA or WDW? Is SeaWorld too kiddie for my 16 and 12 yr olds? What beach is the closest and nicest to where we will be? Should we stay in a different area of Florida where there is more to do or should we stay near Universal so we could use our 7 day passes in the evening if we get done sight seeing and want to do some more favorites or City Walk? If I was going to Disney, I would have ZERO questions and my trip would be booked.......... ARGHHHH........

I have the room reserved at Hard Rock for 7 days so I am covered there...oh, and we will be renting a car....

 

[damo]

I'll try to answer what I can. First of all, you will have a great vacation. Did you ask about AAA rates or if there were any lower rates? You are going at Spring Break time, so rates are higher and there may be no special deals going on. I would constantly watch the website in case something cheaper comes up. If it does, simply call and have them change your rate. Sounds like you are getting a deal for staying 7 days.

Staying onsite is very important during this time because crowds are high. You will waste a ton of time waiting in line if you are staying offsite. You may just want to stay 3 or 4 nights though.

Seaworld is great for kids your kids' ages. They just put in a great new roller coaster to add to their other great coaster. There is also a water ride and the shows are a lot of fun. You can do two days for the price of one there.

One thing I wanted to add, I have never heard anyone come back and say they regretted staying onsite. If you can swing it, do it.

 

[DISNEYLOVER70]

Thanks Damo so much for the quick response!

We can swing staying all 7 nights at the Hard Rock, but with the economy the way it is, and my husband is self-employed (construction). He has stayed busy, thank God, but you just never know. So I am trying to be cost-consicous so I thought doing the Hard Rock for a couple nights/and staying offsite would be a good compromise. I just wish I knew more of what there was to do down there where our off site hotel should be really has be questioning myself. We only do a week long vacation every 2-3 years so it kinda is a big deal for us.

I never did check with them on AAA rates, I am going to do that as soon as I get done typing this.....

I questioned SeaWorld because when I took my kids a few years ago to Marineland in Canada they were bored most of the time. But looking at SeaWorlds website, it is a bigger park with more attractions so maybe I should not be comparing the two...

 

[SNylund]

First off, I think you'll end up enjoying Unviersal just as much as Disney. It really is just as aweinspiring theme wise, with the whole other world/fantasy world feel. We do Universal only on a bunch of trips, no Disney, and you get the exact same feel.

Second, you may want to consider going with the Royal Pacific the full time saves a little, only around $150 a night and its onsite so you get the onsite perks.

Also, you can easily do 4 or 5 days at the parks so the 7 day ticket will come in handy, we use all 7 days. There is a lot to do, a lot more than you will expect.

Or you can do a night (like first night) at a cheap hotel like the Best Western, if you get in late that night, won't miss much anyway, since youll just come in go to bed, wake up and move to onsite hotels. I"ve done this before and you save about 100 bucks or so by staying offsite the first night, if you go with a cheaper hotel.

 

[DISNEYLOVER70]

Unfortunately, I think the kids are hooked on Hard Rock Hotel. I did see that the Royal Pacific was cheaper but the kids were all hyped up about the HRH so really too late for that change. I really hate the thought of moving to a different hotel during our vacation. I know it sounds lazy, but we are only going for 7 days and the thought of packing up, checking out, checking in and checking out really stinks! But for the huge savings, I can and will do it.

Anyone recommend a beach close by?

 

[damo]

It is a 45 minute drive to Daytona. There must be some good beaches there.

AAA rates for April probably aren't out yet.

Our Marineland here in Niagara Falls definitely cannot be compared to Sea World. Sea World is very, very nice.

 

[Purseval]

Do the kids know that they can still use the HRH facilities with their RPR keys? If not, tell them, maybe it will change their minds. Anyway, I would use Priceline and set my trip up like this, assuming you want to spend 3 days at US/IOA.

Day 1: Fly in, pick up your rental car, check into a cheap hotel. Get acclimated, go for a swim, spend the evening at Downtown Disney.

Day 2: Check out of hotel. Get breakfast. Check into HRH (or whatever onsite hotel) They will let you leave your bags and give you FOTL passes for the park. Activate your 7 day passes. Go to the parks. By the time you are tired your room will be ready so if you want to take a breather go back and check in.

Days 3 and 4: Spend the day at the parks, relax at the hotels, got to CityWalk, etc.

Day 5: Check out of the hotel but keep your room keys, giving you 1 extra day of FOTL in the parks. Spend the day at the parks then head to inexpensive hotel #2.

Day 6: Go to the beach of your choice. Most people visiting Orlando choose either Cape Canaveral (Cocoa Beach) or Daytona.

Day 7: Head back to NY

Using Priceline you could get the price of a hotel down to about $40/day for a 3-star in the Universal Studios area. If you insist on a hotel that includes breakfast you can still use Priceline, Hotwire or Travelocity, you just won't save as much.

Anyway, that's how I would do it to get the best bang for your buck.

One more thing to consider: If you get a Chase Disney Rewards Visa and start charging every purchase over $5 on it, including groceries, airline tickets, hotel, rental car, etc., between now and when you leave that if you follow the strategies I outlined above the savings combined with your reward dollars would probably be enough to pay for 1 day at WDW!

 

[DISNEYLOVER70]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! To all of you ! I am going to do some figuring up and see what I can come up with. I think the kids would love Daytona, only because they are familiar with the name,

I didn't realize you could keep your key for your room after you check out. So if I stay two nights I can actually get fotl for 3 days?

 

[SNylund]

We always do Cocoa Beach which is only about 30-40 minute drive from Universal. There is a pretty good Holiday Inn resort right on the beach there. CB is a pretty cool beach town. I like it better than Daytona, where people drive on the beach, to me Cocoa is more laid back and not as crowded, probably cleaner too, but just my opinion.

I actually like to change hotels some, I like to check out different resorts so I don't mind it. We usually do at least 3 or 4 hotels on a trip, but part of that is a stop in between on the way and on the way back too.

 

[damo]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! To all of you ! I am going to do some figuring up and see what I can come up with. I think the kids would love Daytona, only because they are familiar with the name,

I didn't realize you could keep your key for your room after you check out. So if I stay two nights I can actually get fotl for 3 days?

Yes, you get fotl for the full day you check in and check out.

Don't trust me on the beaches at Daytona. I've only driven past it on my way up the coast so I only know it is a close and easy drive. I'd canvas a lot more people before making a beach decision.

 

[Darcy03231]

Another suggestion. Rather than Seaworld why don't you go over to the Tampa/St. Pete area for a couple of the days and hit Busch Gardens and the beach on the gulf side? I have older teens who are roller coaster fanatics and they love Busch Gardens! If given the choice they'd rather go there than Seaworld.

My suggestion would be to fly in and head over to Tampa. Relax a bit at the hotel pool, have dinner and an early night.

Day 2 - Busch Gardens

Day 3 - Beach

Day 4 - Head over to Orlando and check into your onsite resort (by the way we stayed at the Hard Rock in April and my kids loved it! Make sure you keep checking their website for deals. We went the last week of April and with the buy 3 get 2 for free deal I averaged about $175/night).

Day 5 - US/IOA

Day 6 - US/IOA

Day 7 - US/IOA until you have to leave for home.

 

[Coach81]

My 2 pennies:

1. UO & IOA- two maybe three days.. with express pass.
2. Hard Rock Hotel is AWESOME.. you are going to LOVE IT!!!
3. Seaworld is great.. not too kiddie for your kids.. don't miss the Shamu show!
4. If it is warm enough.. go check out Aquatica as well.. a FANTASTIC water park!

Have a great time!!!

 

[RACEFAN9]

Do you have boys are girls?I have 3 girls 11,14,14 and they hated Seaworld.I think we stayed in the park for maybe an hour and they were bored.I would check out the water park Aquatica.We went to Bushe Gardens spring break one year and it was so packed we turned around and left.3 to 4 hour long waits.and it was sooooo hot.We have stayed at the Hard Rock and the best thing about the hotel is the pool.Did not like the hotel itself.The halls going to your room looked very cheap and the paint looked like someone just slapped it on.Room are small and bathroom(if you have girls) are very tiny.Keep checking rates.Last year we got Portifino Bay for $5 dollars more than Royal Pacific.So it pays to check all 3 hotel rates.

 

[Dolby1000]

I highly recommend spending at least one day at the beach. The site below can help you find the right one for you:

http://www.beachhunter.net/

I am not affiliated with it all, but it helped me on my last trip to FL find a good beach, closest to Orlando. We chose Lori Wilson Park in Coca Beach and had a wonderful day.

Dolby1000

 

[macraven]

if you stay on site at universal, you will get a better feel for the entire universal set up.

you don't have to rush during park time.
you can easily go back to the hotel for a break and return to the parks without it being a major event.

if you want to do the beaches, do that first before checking into the onsite universal hotels.

check out the day before you are to leave for home.
go to an offsite hotel if you need to save money.

your hotel keys are still valid on check out day.
sleep in on the day you are to depart and do some shopping before you head to the airport.

i feel that pbh and rph are better for the value.

you have the right to use any of the 3 hotels pools, restaurants and gift shops by staying on site.

each hotel provides the towels and swim toys for guests.

spend part of your vacation on site.
you won't regret it.

 

[Metro West]

We always do Cocoa Beach which is only about 30-40 minute drive from Universal. There is a pretty good Holiday Inn resort right on the beach there. CB is a pretty cool beach town. I like it better than Daytona, where people drive on the beach, to me Cocoa is more laid back and not as crowded, probably cleaner too, but just my opinion.

Cocoa is much nicer and cleaner than Daytona...DB has really gone down hill in the past year or so.