First time at Universal

[mommymanda]

I know I'm posting lots of various questions. I've missed travel, and apparently the four other members of my family would rather try Universal than return to Disney .

So I know the basics, and I've read alot about purchasing separate for Universal. Any tips to get the best budget for my trip?

If separate is the better plan I'm thinking to book my room while collecting PC points. Waiting for flights with hopes of flying out of the U.S. What about park tickets?

I've got plenty of time, I just enjoy researching and planning.

 

[TammyLynn33]

I know I'm posting lots of various questions. I've missed travel, and apparently the four other members of my family would rather try Universal than return to Disney .

So I know the basics, and I've read alot about purchasing separate for Universal. Any tips to get the best budget for my trip?

If separate is the better plan I'm thinking to book my room while collecting PC points. Waiting for flights with hopes of flying out of the U.S. What about park tickets?

I've got plenty of time, I just enjoy researching and planning.

We are doing both this Christmas. I’m ordering tickets from AM so I can’t help you there. We have the Jurassic suite booked ta RPR. So we will have the express passes.
I know I’m stressed out the lack of planning universal seems to require opposed to Disney . I’ve watched a lot of blogs and read a lot but I can’t envision it ha ha so I’m stressed out.
Following along with you for tips

 

[mommymanda]

We are doing both this Christmas. I’m ordering tickets from AM so I can’t help you there. We have the Jurassic suite booked ta RPR. So we will have the express passes.
I know I’m stressed out the lack of planning universal seems to require opposed to Disney . I’ve watched a lot of blogs and read a lot but I can’t envision it ha ha so I’m stressed out.
Following along with you for tips

I kinda want the 2bedroom suite at Cabana Bay. My kids will be 19, 13 and 11 by travel. The 2nd bathroom seems so worth the splurge. I've read there are only 20 of those suites though, hence why I'm thinking of booking extra early.

 

[TommyJK]

Based on the age of your kids, once you go to Universal they will never want to go back to Disney.

When are you planning on going? Based on the dates/Timeframe I would make different reccomendations for you in terms of where and when to get tickets and it would make a big difference in terms of wanting to pay the extra to stay in a Deluxe on-site resort or not (or even just getting a Deluxe throw-away room for a night).

 

[mommymanda]

Based on the age of your kids, once you go to Universal they will never want to go back to Disney.

When are you planning on going? Based on the dates/Timeframe I would make different reccomendations for you in terms of where and when to get tickets and it would make a big difference in terms of wanting to pay the extra to stay in a Deluxe on-site resort or not (or even just getting a Deluxe throw-away room for a night).

We have always travelled to Disney late August, and think we'd do the same for Universal. So my thoughts are most likely weeks of August 13 or 20, 2022. I'm also thinking it will be a six day stay, but will depend on if we fly and the arrival /departure times of those flights. Either way probably four park days, including Volcano Bay.

 

[TommyJK]

We have always travelled to Disney late August, and think we'd do the same for Universal. So my thoughts are most likely weeks of August 13 or 20, 2022. I'm also thinking it will be a six day stay, but will depend on if we fly and the arrival /departure times of those flights. Either way probably four park days, including Volcano Bay.

So based on the above, firstly if I had my choice I would pick week of Aug 20th over week of Aug 13th. As you may know by the 20th I believe all of Florida kids are back in school by then. Although when I check the Orange County public school calendar it says they start back Aug 10th in 2022 so you might be fine either way.

With the somewhat lower crowds you'll probably be fine without Express Pass and staying at Cabana Bay would be great. It's our absolute favourite Universal Onsite resort (IMO it has the best pools of all of them) and we would stay there every time if they offered the Express Pass perk. That all being said, if you have the budget for it I would consider on top of your booking see how much it would cost for a 1 night stay at Royal Pacific Resort mid stay (like Aug 22nd or 23rd). You don't need to stay in the room, just get your room keys first thing in the morning and you would have free express pass for 2 days (check-in day and check-out day). I just did a lookup and for 5 (3 adults and 2 kids) for a one night stay at Royal Pacific Resort would cost $405 USD and that would give all 5 of you express pass for 2 days. So that works out to about $40 per person/day for Express pass (whereas it would be over $100 per person per day if you paid separate for it). Just something you might be interested in.

As for tickets, I would suggest having a look on Black Friday/Cyber Monday on visitorlando.com. They sell slightly discounted tickets like other sites (like Under Cover Tourist and some others) but they've always had in the past a 10% off on Black Friday/Cyber Monday deal that we've done several times and it's saved us between $100-$200 each time.

Good Luck. You'll love Universal and if you have any other questions please ask. I've done Universal a ton and it's our go-to park.

 

[mommymanda]

Good Luck. You'll love Universal and if you have any other questions please ask. I've done Universal a ton and it's our go-to park.

So you recommend buying each step separately? We've always book Disney as park and hotel through our travel agent or Disney directly.
Since we are pretty sure we'll fly this round I had been thinking of booking directly with an agency. A package with hotel + air + tickets. That said I'm fine breaking down each step and planning separate if that's the best way to save some money.

I've looked into express pass a bit, but will do some more researching. My heart is set on Cabana Bay, but we'd also be fine getting a five day ticket to be sure we get enough time. From what I have learned, it's a lot more easy going to see things at Universal.

 

[hdrolfe]

From what I understand of Universal, there is no benefit to getting a package of hotel and tickets. Tickets are usually less expensive to buy through other sources. I guess if you don't care to save that money then you can do a package.

I also love the look of Cabana Bay and it would be my choice, if it wasn't for wanting express pass. I haven't been, yet. Someday.

 

[kuhltiffany]

No need to buy a package/use an agent for Universal (of Disney either, but that's another topic). So easy to do yourself. We either cash in Air Miles for tickets or order through Undercover Tourist.

 

[Aug2020distrip]

We love universal! In the past we used air miles for our tickets. We have never stayed on site though so no advice on that. Just wanted to say you will have a great time!

 

[Silvermist999]

We did our first trip to Universal in March (break) 2019. Booked everything myself, our tickets were ordered using Air Miles.
We stayed at Royal Pacific for the Express Pass and it was so worth it, we walked on every single ride, despite the parks being quite crowded, I think it was spring break for locals also. I don’t think many locals buy express passes.
As much as we would have loved the idea of staying at Cabana Bay for the pool area, it was our first visit so we knew we would want to spend most of our time at the parks. We felt the Express Pass made our first trip much more enjoyable and we got to do everything we wanted and more, plus enjoyed the luxury of being able to walk/boat to the parks. The Royal Pacific pool area isn’t too shabby either

 

[TommyJK]

So you recommend buying each step separately? We've always book Disney as park and hotel through our travel agent or Disney directly.
Since we are pretty sure we'll fly this round I had been thinking of booking directly with an agency. A package with hotel + air + tickets. That said I'm fine breaking down each step and planning separate if that's the best way to save some money.

I've looked into express pass a bit, but will do some more researching. My heart is set on Cabana Bay, but we'd also be fine getting a five day ticket to be sure we get enough time. From what I have learned, it's a lot more easy going to see things at Universal.

As others have mentioned, there is no cost savings really in booking a package. But the other advantage is that if for some reason you need to cancel or change your reservation, with packages you usually end up paying a cancellation fee of some kind wherease if you book the hotel separate you can cancel your booking without any fee/penalty up to 5 days before your trip.

As I mentioned, the time of year you are going will probably be fine wihtout Express Pass and 4 days of park tickets should be fine since end of August is slower. I just threw in the throw-away room as an option/suggestion as many do it and it is a cost effective way to get Express Pass for part of your trip. But you'll likely be fine without it.

 

[mommymanda]

We did our first trip to Universal in March (break) 2019. Booked everything myself, our tickets were ordered using Air Miles.
We stayed at Royal Pacific for the Express Pass and it was so worth it, we walked on every single ride, despite the parks being quite crowded, I think it was spring break for locals also. I don’t think many locals buy express passes.
As much as we would have loved the idea of staying at Cabana Bay for the pool area, it was our first visit so we knew we would want to spend most of our time at the parks. We felt the Express Pass made our first trip much more enjoyable and we got to do everything we wanted and more, plus enjoyed the luxury of being able to walk/boat to the parks. The Royal Pacific pool area isn’t too shabby either

My concern is space. We know we've outgrown the standard five person rooms at Disney and Royal Pacific seems pretty tight quarters. We really only use the room to sleep, but the last few trips were still ordeals for changing and comfort.
We also usually spend a few hours after park time poolside, so lazy river sounds great.

I'm hoping since we are planning late August and less crowds express pass won't be necessary...but I'm still trying to figure it out for sure.

 

[TommyJK]

One key advantage with Cabana Bay is that since you plan to spend some time at Volcano Bay, being right next to it is a great bonus to just walk right to it in a few minutes.

My advice with Cabana Bay and maximizing your park time is that I would recommend doing an early entry for Volcano Bay but only spend a 1/2 day there. Things will get really busy by noon and by that time you can leave for lunch and a break and then spend the afternoon/evening in one of the dry parks.

 

[Sue M]

I’d pick the later date. The closer you get to the end of Aug, the lighter the crowds. Since you won’t have express pass at CB. The top 3 deluxe resorts do include Express Pass with room. But with your family I agree a suite would be better. The deluxe do have suites but of course more expensive than CB.
And CB has a great food court! We go there for the roast chicken (better than the parks lol) even though we aren’t staying there!

with the # of days I’d look at buying APs. unlike Disney you can pick the tier that works for you according to black out dates. Often same price as a 5 day park to park pass. And at least one of you get the Preferred pass that gives you food discounts.
Read Orlando Informer web site. They have extensive info on Universal.

 

[disneyseniors]

OP, we love Universal! I had to laugh at a PP who was stressed out because there is no planning needed. I agree it feels kind of strange not to have to make FP's or adrs or do strategic planning on how and when to conquer the parks at Disney!
It is such a great feeling to just do what You want to do and when you want to do it. We love MIB and rode it back to back without much wait. You can do that easily if you want. We went in March a couple of years ago. It was not a busy time, but we had EP"s with our stay at RP, and we used it alot. RP was a beautiful resort to stay at too.
I'm not sure, but I think you can use any pool you want at any resort?? Not sure but I think I heard that somewhere. We don't swim, so not sure. Sorry.
Whatever you decide, I know you will have a great time.

 

[Donald - my hero]

not much to add but I do have 2 things worth mentioning:

I won't use any type of travel agency again after all the hassles we had with our January 2020 trip! Until the moment you check in they still technically own that reservation, no changes can happen on your own, they are in control of everything. That's great in the case of a cruise perhaps or a trip to an all inclusive resort but for something like this that I can book myself the stress isn't worth it!

book directly with whatever I'm dealing with - flights with airlines, hotels directly, tickets must be either refundable or come with the understanding that I won't lose the value (check the terms for universal, they're different than Disney!) I read too many horror stories of the hassles people had over canceled trips due to COVID-19 if they were thru some type of 3rd party- airmiles, Expedia... in the case of our botched January trip that involved paying for new flights when the agency refused to honour the terms we ended up with a $500 credit that I had them buy a Disney ticket with. I can't get a refund because I technically didn't buy it myself so it will sit in my account.

you'll have a blast BTW, the attention to detail is amazing in what my daughter called HarryLand!

 

[ellbell]

not much to add but I do have 2 things worth mentioning:

I won't use any type of travel agency again after all the hassles we had with our January 2020 trip! Until the moment you check in they still technically own that reservation, no changes can happen on your own, they are in control of everything. That's great in the case of a cruise perhaps or a trip to an all inclusive resort but for something like this that I can book myself the stress isn't worth it!

book directly with whatever I'm dealing with - flights with airlines, hotels directly, tickets must be either refundable or come with the understanding that I won't lose the value (check the terms for universal, they're different than Disney!) I read too many horror stories of the hassles people had over canceled trips due to COVID-19 if they were thru some type of 3rd party- airmiles, Expedia... in the case of our botched January trip that involved paying for new flights when the agency refused to honour the terms we ended up with a $500 credit that I had them buy a Disney ticket with. I can't get a refund because I technically didn't buy it myself so it will sit in my account.

you'll have a blast BTW, the attention to detail is amazing in what my daughter called HarryLand!

Agree with this. I normally book on my own and attempted a trip with a travel agent once and will never do it again. I tried to make time sensitive changes with my travel agent and didn't hear from them or anyone with the agency for 3 days and once I did it was to tell me my travel agent was on a cruise and they told me he'd contact me when he got back. I cancelled with them right then and there.

ETA: I used a reputable very popular Disney travel agency

 

[Sue M]

not much to add but I do have 2 things worth mentioning:

I won't use any type of travel agency again after all the hassles we had with our January 2020 trip! Until the moment you check in they still technically own that reservation, no changes can happen on your own, they are in control of everything. That's great in the case of a cruise perhaps or a trip to an all inclusive resort but for something like this that I can book myself the stress isn't worth it!

book directly with whatever I'm dealing with - flights with airlines, hotels directly, tickets must be either refundable or come with the understanding that I won't lose the value (check the terms for universal, they're different than Disney!) I read too many horror stories of the hassles people had over canceled trips due to COVID-19 if they were thru some type of 3rd party- airmiles, Expedia... in the case of our botched January trip that involved paying for new flights when the agency refused to honour the terms we ended up with a $500 credit that I had them buy a Disney ticket with. I can't get a refund because I technically didn't buy it myself so it will sit in my account.

you'll have a blast BTW, the attention to detail is amazing in what my daughter called HarryLand!

just to add a different view, I use a TA agency that specializes in Disney & Universal to book rooms (onsite) and have never had a problem. Been using them for years.
I’d never use a 3rd party like Expedia etc though.

 

[mommymanda]

just to add a different view, I use a TA agency that specializes in Disney & Universal to book rooms (onsite) and have never had a problem. Been using them for years.
I’d never use a 3rd party like Expedia etc though.

We've used Disney specific agencies as well as on our own, both experiences were fine. I had been thinking of booking our room through PC travel, just to earn the bonus points, but ya am concerned how that works if I need to change anything. I also have a good friend as my travel agent. She's always helpful, and thankfully our 2020 trip refunds went smooth with her help.