First time navigating a trip to Universal...Help!

[pocuita]

I have read so much here that has helped so much!

I have a few questions I was not able to find on Universal website and searching here.

Are the park hours the same in November? The site only shows through June? Was planning to visit the week prior to Thanksgiving.

When you book a package deal Resort/tickets it asks a beginning date for the tickets.
We plan to move hotels and I would like rest days in between the parks. Plan to stay at The Royal Pacific for a two-three nights for the express pass and then move to less expensive Universal property. So...can I still use the express pass if we move resorts? Hope this makes sense?

Can we get shuttles to other parks from Universal properties? Such as Discovery Cove, Sea world, Aquatica etc. What are your suggestions on this?

Thanks so much for all your help. I am terrible at this but I know a lot about booking all-inclusive island vacations lol. That is a vacation to me....but kids really want parks this year. Darn kids! Haha!

 

[bchbetha]

Don't book a package. You will have more flexibility in case you want to modify things. There are always good ticket deals/specials so just sign up for Universal emails and buy when you see a good deal. You can check for hotel deals via a lot of sources- Costco, Universal, Loews (who operates the hotels).
Your Express Passes will be good until the end of the day you checked out.
There is a Seaworld shuttle in normal times and you reserve it at the hotel the day before and pick it up at Citywalk.
Hours are slow to come up so don't expect to see November for a while.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The express pass is tied to your RP stay only. It is good for check in as well as check out day. So if you check out and go to your other hotel, you can still use the EP on that check out day only, but not afterwards. You could of course buy EP separately while staying at the other resort, but it is much more expensive that way.

When in Nov? Hours are longest on busy days, and shorter when smaller crowds are predicted.

 

[pocuita]

The express pass is tied to your RP stay only. It is good for check in as well as check out day. So if you check out and go to your other hotel, you can still use the EP on that check out day only, but not afterwards. You could of course buy EP separately while staying at the other resort, but it is much more expensive that way.

When in Nov? Hours are longest on busy days, and shorter when smaller crowds are predicted.

Thank you, we are thinking 11/18-11/19.

 

[pocuita]

Don't book a package. You will have more flexibility in case you want to modify things. There are always good ticket deals/specials so just sign up for Universal emails and buy when you see a good deal. You can check for hotel deals via a lot of sources- Costco, Universal, Loews (who operates the hotels).
Your Express Passes will be good until the end of the day you checked out.
There is a Seaworld shuttle in normal times and you reserve it at the hotel the day before and pick it up at Citywalk.
Hours are slow to come up so don't expect to see November for a while.

Lots of great info here...thank you

 

[cfoxga]

I have a writeup for how I plan trips at https://www.disboards.com/threads/how-i-plan-a-universal-trip.3794121/. We've been 3 times during Thanksgiving and love it at that time of year. In 2020, we did 4 nights at HRH for the EPs followed by 3 nights at ESS. I will say that it is a big drop off from deluxe to value resorts. ESS was fine and we liked having a room separate from the kids, but you get spoiled being able to walk to the parks/Citywalk and having EPs.

APH rates opened up in late July. The Saturday before Thanksgiving starts out pretty light crowd-wise and it gets more crowded as the week goes on. Even EP lines start to get too long for us in the afternoon, so we usually head back to the resorts for a nap/pool.

 

[wvasweetness]

I have a writeup for how I plan trips at https://www.disboards.com/threads/how-i-plan-a-universal-trip.3794121/. We've been 3 times during Thanksgiving and love it at that time of year.

this thread is so helpful! Thanks!