First time visit questions

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

My wife and I have made several trips to Disney but have never checked out Universal and Seaworld. We're planning a trip at the end of January and I was hoping I could get some first time questions answered please. We will be staying in the area from Jan 23 thru Jan 31 and I'm assuming it's a slower time for both of these parks as well.

1. We both bring small insulated water bottles with us to the Disney parks and I was wondering if this was allowed at Universal and Seaworld? I noticed that small personal size water bottles were allowed but I wanted to make sure the insulated type would be okay as well. Is it the same at Seaworld?

2. One of us will have an annual pass for Universal this trip so I know that parking is free for pass holders at the parks. Does the free parking apply at their onsite hotels as well or will we be charged to park overnight? Not sure if we're staying in one of their hotels or off site but this might help me make that decision as well. On that note, are the passholder discounts decent for their hotels? I won't have the passes until the beginning of the year so I won't have any way of looking until very last minute.

3. We will have several days available for visiting Universal and Seaworld. I'd expect a minimum of 4 days for Universal alone and 1 to 2 for Seaworld. Considering that, do you think front of the line access is important considering the time of year as well? I don't want to purchase it, or stay onsite simply for that perk, if it is not necessary under our circumstances.

4. Can any of you recommend an offsite hotel that is in the area? It is just my wife and I and our needs are pretty simple so we don't need a 4 or 5 star experience. I'd like to keep the cost down but still stay in a decent place that is close to the parks. We normally stay west of Disney/Celebration when we visit Disney but I'm not very familiar with good options in the Universal area. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

 

[lazer]

(Can answer a few) You can definitely bring water bottles. You'll have to pay to park at hotels, even with a pass. We stayed at (and fell in love with Royal Pacific). Nothing beats walking to the parks, the express pass and having time to relax at the great resort restaurants. It's worth it for all of those things, but I think it's worth it for EP alone. We were able to re-ride so many things...and not worry about lines. But, most people who stay off site recommend waiting until you get there and seeing if you really need EP, based on waits. Have fun!

 

[nighttowll]

1. Sorry, can't help with the water bottle. We never take one.

2. As for the annual pass. Parking is free at the parks, not hotels. However, your first day parking is not free, only every day after that. Fine print gets you ever time.

They are offering heavily discounted room rates for your dates because my trip overlaps yours, and I looked at those date myself just a few weeks ago. You don't need the pass to book them. You just must have the pass by the time you check in. Go to the Universal website and use code APH to see the discounts. They start at about $80/night for the value and go up from there.

3. I don't think you need it for either park. I've been to both when the crowd levels were much higher than what is being forecasted for end of January and we could have managed without. I have no plans to get one for our trip. It just depends on how long you are willing to wait and if you will make rope drop or not. There are only 2 rides forecasted to have waits of 45 minutes during your dates and both of those do not participate in EP anyway. Then there is one ride showing at 25 minutes and everything else is listed at 20 minutes or less.

One exception, you will want to avoid going to Universal at the end of your trip. The HP celebration starts the 30th and goes through the 1st. You can expect high crowds then and much longer lines. You need a special package or ticket to participate in some parts of the celebration if you do decide to go, but you can still enter the parks without that to do normal stuff.

There is even less need for a QQ at Sea World. I've never seen any advantage in having a QQ for there. The only ride that really gets a long line is the Penguins, so just do it first and you are fine. A reserved seating pass is a better use of your money if you buy anything because Sea World is almost all shows, but then again, not really necessary if you don't mind scoping out a seat 30 to 15 minutes early. Which may not even be necessary in Jan.

Also, look at doing Sea World during the week, and you can get a discounted weekday ticket. Then you can add a day for $10 and go back on a Saturday or Sunday. We've done this a few times. It was great and only cost us $60 for two days. I did notice they increased the weekday cost; though, so I think it is like $70 for 2 days if you do this now.

4. There are a number of hotels right beside both Universal and SeaWorld, but honestly, if you have the AP rate, that will end up being the same or less and more convenient than any of those.

What we do when we don't stay onsite is rent a condo in Vista Cay. There are a number of very nice ones on VRBO for rent for under a $1,000 for the week. The last one we rented was $600 for the week. They are all pretty much the same: 3 bedroom, 2 bath, living room, full kitchen, balcony, washer / dryer. Some have views of park fireworks, all have pool and hot tub access, some have access to main resort with gym, clubhouse, and movie theater. There is a Publix across the parking lot. Also, a Walgreens. The location to both parks couldn't be better, less than 10 minute drive on a back street. You can see Sea World from the resort. This is the best deal I've been able to find and allows us room to spread out and to cook our own meals which saves us even more money.

 

[Goofy_Disney_Dad]

Thanks so much for the information and help! You guys are making me feel a lot more informed about our plans.

 

[macraven]

Drury Inn and Suites is a decent off site place.
you can use their free shuttle to the parks or drive to the parks.

it is not walkable.


check them out on their website and trip advisor.
decent discount if you have AAA.

if you have been to one of the Drury Inn's, you will notice they are basically the same throughout the states.

 

[nkereina]

We're two adults and did Universal for the first time the week before Thanksgiving, which is a relatively slow time. We stayed at RPR so we did have Express Pass.

We had three full days at US/IOA and frankly were a little bored by Day 3. Everyone is different, but 1 full day at each park was more than enough for us. IOA only took us about a half a day, at which time we went back to US and repeated our favorite rides. We also had three nights at City Walk which was more than enough as well.

That time of year, whether or not you'll need Express Pass is iffy. If you think you would buy it based on how lines are while you're there, it would behoove you to price out the onsite resorts versus the cost of your offsite hotel and express pass combined. We found RPR to be reasonable in price, and it also included express pass and early entry. We had a quick walk to the parks so never had a need for a car and it was a nice change of pace from Disney where we are slaves to the buses.

 

[Seeker615]

My husband and I stayed at Royal Pacific and loved it. It is so close to both parks and Citywalk. We usually walked each day and sometimes took the boat back if we were tired.

Staying at Royal Pacific you have the express pass which is just awesome. We used it even if we really did not need it. It was nice to get into the shows first and have great seats and also by-passing some of the longer queues. I will note that if you never have been to Universal I would do some of the queues like The Mummy and Men in Black just because they are so well done.

We did 5 nights at Universal and i could have easily done a week. We walked between parks during the day and sometimes stepped out of the parks and did Citywalk for lunch or went back to the resort to freshen up. It's just so easy to get around.

Citywalk has great shops and restaurants plus a movie theater and mini golf.

Theming in both parks is just great and some of the shops are fantastic. So many different types of items in the various shops.

My daughter and I did a 4 night trip 2 years ago but did not stay on site. We booked at the Holiday Inn Maingate. Very nice hotel with shuttle service but if you wanted to stay longer a taxi is only $5. We did walk one day to the parks and it was a hike but doable. The rooms at the Holiday Inn were nice. We were upgraded to a suite upon arrival. There is a small shop and a TGIF restaurant on the premises as well.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

My wife and I have made several trips to Disney but have never checked out Universal and Seaworld. We're planning a trip at the end of January and I was hoping I could get some first time questions answered please. We will be staying in the area from Jan 23 thru Jan 31 and I'm assuming it's a slower time for both of these parks as well.

1. We both bring small insulated water bottles with us to the Disney parks and I was wondering if this was allowed at Universal and Seaworld? I noticed that small personal size water bottles were allowed but I wanted to make sure the insulated type would be okay as well. Is it the same at Seaworld?

Yes you can bring a Small water bottle with you. My wife does on each of our trips and has never had a problem. You can even refill them for free with water and ice at any of the Coke Freestyle machines.

2. One of us will have an annual pass for Universal this trip so I know that parking is free for pass holders at the parks. Does the free parking apply at their onsite hotels as well or will we be charged to park overnight? Not sure if we're staying in one of their hotels or off site but this might help me make that decision as well. On that note, are the passholder discounts decent for their hotels? I won't have the passes until the beginning of the year so I won't have any way of looking until very last minute.

Remember that its only the Preferred and Premium Annual passes only get Free Parking. The Power Pass does not. Unfortunatly the Free parking does not apply at the hotels as parking is included in the hotel Resort Fees. A one night stay does get you 2 day of parking though (check in and check out days). The annual pass discounts for onsite hotels can be pretty good. Up to 30% off at times. You can price check onsite rooms without having the pass on you. When you search rooms use promo code "APH" to see the annual pass rates. You can even book using this rate. They won't verify your annual pass until you check in.

3. We will have several days available for visiting Universal and Seaworld. I'd expect a minimum of 4 days for Universal alone and 1 to 2 for Seaworld. Considering that, do you think front of the line access is important considering the time of year as well? I don't want to purchase it, or stay onsite simply for that perk, if it is not necessary under our circumstances.

The Universal parks should be farely mellow during your stay so I wouldn't think Express Pass would be a must have. Plus Express pass doesn't work on the main Harry Potter rides anyways. The parks will get busier on the 30th as the Harry Potter Celebration starts. Although if you do end up staying at a Deluxe onsite hotel that free Express is worth it.

4. Can any of you recommend an offsite hotel that is in the area? It is just my wife and I and our needs are pretty simple so we don't need a 4 or 5 star experience. I'd like to keep the cost down but still stay in a decent place that is close to the parks. We normally stay west of Disney/Celebration when we visit Disney but I'm not very familiar with good options in the Universal area. Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.

Hotels can very depending on your personal taists. My family likes to stay offsite at the Best Western Orlando Maingate located across the Street from Wet and Wild. Just across the freeway from Universal. I will usually score this 3* hotel thru Hotwire for under $45 a night. I have also stayed at the Double Tree at the Universal Entrance which was also very nice but I think runs around $80 a night. That is also within walking distance to the park.

Anything else you want to know I will try to answer

 

[johde]

One exception, you will want to avoid going to Universal at the end of your trip. The HP celebration starts the 30th and goes through the 1st. You can expect high crowds then and much longer lines. You need a special package or ticket to participate in some parts of the celebration if you do decide to go, but you can still enter the parks without that to do normal stuff.

Based on reports of last years Celebration of HP, the rest of the parks weren't busy only Hogsmead (the only HP area open at the time). There are large parts of the day were package holders are doing things in other areas of the resorts. It might be worthwhile to bridge the celebration. There were several reports of people without packages seeing stars wandering around the parks. Looking at Express Pass prices, they are the same price that weekend they are for most of January. So, they are not expecting widespread large crowds in the parks.