EP worth $500?

[Alison_in_Wonderland]

We are going to be at Universal Jan 19-22. Staying at Royal Pacific will cost $2200 and staying in a Family Suite at Cabana Bay in a Family Suite would cost $1700. These prices include tickets (buy 2 days get 2 days free from UT - so aren't going to be rushed.) I tried doing a split stay, but it would only save about $50.

I am thinking that a Thurs/Fri/Sat in January (the weekend after MLK and the weekend before HP celebration) won't be nuts and lines won't be that long. UT is giving the parks a 4 on the days we are going to be there (but my experience with Disney is that a 4 is still a 40-50m wait. Does this hold true for Universal too?)

Thoughts? I am an experienced Disney planner, but this is the first Universal trip!

 

[Mom3girls]

What type of room did you price out and how many people (kids and adults)? Do you know what the hotel portion was in that $2200? I will look to see if APH rate is any better.

 

[Mom3girls]

It looks like the price difference from standard SMSM rate and AP is only $50 per night. So that's only $150 difference

 

[Alison_in_Wonderland]

Yea, I priced out the APW rate too.

Royal Pacific is $1250 for a standard 2 bed room.
Family Suite is $844 at CBBR

Other option is a condo offsite for $570 and then doing a 'stay' at RP for $300. This would give us 2 of our 3 days with EP. It would cost about the same as CBBR (plus about $50 more since we are paying more for parking.)

 

[Mom3girls]

How are you coming up with $1250 for the 3 nights? Do you mean a standard 2 queen room?

 

[Mom3girls]

This is what I found for regular rates...

 

[Mom3girls]

This is what I found for APH...

 

[littlejimmy]

totally worth it

 

[snoopboop]

My opinion: YES. Yes, 1000 times YES. EP for your family for the entirety of your stay for only $500 more is absolutely worth it. No question.

 

[Alison_in_Wonderland]

How are you coming up with $1250 for the 3 nights? Do you mean a standard 2 queen room?

Sorry. 5 nights. 3 park days.

 

[keishashadow]

Sorry. 5 nights. 3 park days.

I'd do the split stay option (RPH & the condo or try Hotwire to see what pops up). to save the $$$.

Don't forget you get FOTL the day you check out too.

 

[kohlby]

I'm a often a split stay person myself. That way, I get the best of both worlds. You could make do staying at a hotel without express pass and probably do just fine. But since this is your first trip there, I'd do EP for some ofnthe trip if possible. That way, you aren't risking longer lines or having to figure out what to do when. You'll feel more relaxed.