First time at Universal

[amberm0688]

Good Morning,
My 8 y/o is super obsessed with Jurassic Park and Harry Potter. We are usually Disney people so we are going to take our first family trip to Universal in February 2017. I need help! Is it worth the money staying "on-park" or is it do-able to stay at a cheaper hotel. I can plan a Disney trip with my eyes closed but this Universal/IOA has me in panic mode lol. Thanks in advance!

 

[macraven]

Some dates can have crowds or room rates raised in February

Many celebrate Valentine Day on a weekend

Mardi Gras will be present with concerts either sat or sun evenings

President day when kids have off school can have more in the parks than normal

I would stay onsite since this is your first experience there

Do a stay for a deluxe hotel for the perks of unlimited express pass usage

Take your time and return to your hotel for an afternoon break

Explore Cbay and bowl there
Hit city walk for a double round of both mini golf courses in the evening
Beautiful when all the lights are on for those who play then

Blue man group is a fun family entertainment to do

 

[Lynne G]

Agree, stay onsite. While more expensive than many offsite, being able to get an unlimited express pass and easy walk or boat to the parks makes touring so much easier. Check the prices of the hotel on the hotel websites. Usually much cheaper to buy your tickets separately, at a discount from an authorized dealer, like Undercovertourist or Maple Leaf. Unlike WDW, universal does not own any of the hotels, Lowes does, and also the parking at the hotels is contracted, so your parking fee at the hotels is not part of your room fee. They do not have resort fees and do not charge for use of the pool, or boat. Also, no free travel from the airport, so factor in a shuttle, limo service or rental.

Read through the stickies about the resorts and please ask away anything else you need to know. We are a friendly bunch of fans of Universal Orlando, the darkside.

 

[Parker Clan]

We found Universal much much easier than planning a Disney vaca! Like a lot of ppl say on this Universal thread throw your itinerary out the window! It's so easy to go with the flow. I will say a MUST for us is staying on site (we love RPR) & taking advantage of that express pass. 110% worth it!!

 

[Lulubelle17]

We stayed off site in March of last year, there is a Best Western close by that was very clean and definitely a good value. However, we had issues with our tickets (due to errors at the ticket and then at the Guest Services windows they had to be reprinted 4 times!!!) and therefore we were given free Express Passes for 2 days, and we liked the convenience of our head of the line privileges. So for our next stay, if we're going during high season, I'm planning on staying on property to take advantage of the passes. If we're going at an off time, I may still consider staying a a cheap hotel off site. Express Passes don't work for most of the Harry Potter rides, and if the crowds are not too high, you may be fine in the regular lines. I found Universal to be very easy to plan, certainly easier than WDW. Either way, you'll be fine.

 

[im4pacers1]

best advice I can give is to stay onsite and to not stress about not "being able to" plan so much. It really is that simple. Pick your room, your tickets, show up and go. If you have the express passes there is not even a need for a touring plan. It is quite refreshing. As a Disney veteran, I stressed not being able to find as much info on US as I was used to with Disney. We had a great trip. I can't wait to go back!

 

[angryduck71]

You also get early entry with on-site (so good for Harry Potter). Orlandoinformer.com is a great resource as well as here.

 

[imprint]

Like everybody has said, if at all possible, stay at one of the deluxe resorts (Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel, or Portofino Bay). The parks and City Walk are within walking distance or the water taxis make it even easier. You also get early entry (1 hour) to one park (this is a perk of non-delux on-site resorts too). Best of all is the included Express Pass for all guests in the deluxe resorts. The Express Pass is not valid for Forbidden Journey, Escape from Gringott's, and Reign of Kong, but the amount of time you save at every other ride adds up to hours. When checking room rates, enter the annual pass holder code (APH) to see if there is a discount being offered. Often it makes sense for one person to get an annual pass (all three tiers of annual passes get the discount) just for the resort discount. If you decide the cost for deluxe on-site is too much, then still check the rates for the two non-deluxe on-site resorts (Cabana Bay and the band new Sapphire Falls). You still get the on-site convenience and early entry perks.

Finally, don't sweat it too much. You and your family are going to have a great time at US and IoA!

 

[amberm0688]

Agree, stay onsite. While more expensive than many offsite, being able to get an unlimited express pass and easy walk or boat to the parks makes touring so much easier. Check the prices of the hotel on the hotel websites. Usually much cheaper to buy your tickets separately, at a discount from an authorized dealer, like Undercovertourist or Maple Leaf. Unlike WDW, universal does not own any of the hotels, Lowes does, and also the parking at the hotels is contracted, so your parking fee at the hotels is not part of your room fee. They do not have resort fees and do not charge for use of the pool, or boat. Also, no free travel from the airport, so factor in a shuttle, limo service or rental.

Read through the stickies about the resorts and please ask away anything else you need to know. We are a friendly bunch of fans of Universal Orlando, the darkside.

Thank you so much for the input. So I can buy the tickets separately! That is great. Do you know how much the parking fee is at the on-site hotels?

 

[amberm0688]

We found Universal much much easier than planning a Disney vaca! Like a lot of ppl say on this Universal thread throw your itinerary out the window! It's so easy to go with the flow. I will say a MUST for us is staying on site (we love RPR) & taking advantage of that express pass. 110% worth it!!

so the express pass is kind of similar to fast pass but you can use it all the rides that it works with as many times as you want? Thanks!

 

[amberm0688]

You guys have been so helpful. Looks like I have a lot number crunching to do. but once we book it will be go with the flow. Thanks again!

 

[My2Qtz0205]

Just back from 2 nights at Cabana Bay, one day at Universal (2 park pass).

I would NOT stay at Cabana Bay again. We had a room with 2 queens and a sofa bed. Two of our beds had obviously stained sheets. The first pillowcase I put on the sofa bed I tore off because I was grossed out. I grabbed the extra pillowcase and it was also stained, though not as badly. The head of housekeeping was reluctant to send anybody down after we called to ask for sheet change, but eventually a housekeeper did show up and called him to tell him the sheets were indeed stained and she would change them. Gross, gross, gross. Even if the sheets were clean, they should have discontinued using them.
The food court was fine, the front desk was fine, the transportation was great! Little to no wait for buses.

 

[Parker Clan]

so the express pass is kind of similar to fast pass but you can use it all the rides that it works with as many times as you want? Thanks!

Correct -- for the rides you can use it on (exception of Kong and all Harry Potter) you can ride over and over .

 

[schumigirl]

so the express pass is kind of similar to fast pass but you can use it all the rides that it works with as many times as you want? Thanks!

You can't use it on Kong, Gringotts, Forbidden Journey, Hogwarts Express, Kang and Kodos and Pteranadon Flyers.........works for everything else in both parks.

You can use the hotel Express Pass as often as you like. Worth its weight in gold.........even in so called quiet times queues can get very long.

 

[macraven]

Thank you so much for the input. So I can buy the tickets separately! That is great. Do you know how much the parking fee is at the on-site hotels?

Parking at deluxe hotels is $24 plus tax per night

The day you leave will have no parking charge on your bill as parking fees begin at midnight

 

[bchbetha]

We stayed at Cabana Bay last January. I decided it wasn't worth the expense to get express passes as it was expected to be slow (and it was) plus Harry Potter was our main plan and EPs didn't work on it. I'm sure the passes are lovely and likely necessary some times of the year but you can probably save yourself some $ and stay at a cheaper onsite hotel and not buy passes.
Unlike a pp, our Cabana Bay experience was fine. It's a budget hotel so that has to be kept in mind. But, our room was clean and comfortable.