First Universal Trip--All this is overwhelming

[ElleTR]

I've taken charge of planning the always-talked-about-never-planned trip for my family down to Orlando/Universal/HP World. We've never been to Universal and the last time we went to Disney...I was 13 and my sister was 9.

This time around, I'll be 30 and my sister will 26 and I'll be bringing a husband along with my parents. We'll be flying in from 2 different cities. We're planning to go down in October--10/11-10/14. My mom works in the school system, so we have to work within her breaks, but I wanted to avoid Thanksgiving.

There is SO MUCH info on here and other sites...it is overwhelming.

So far I've figured out that we need to stay at a Universal Property for the Express Pass/early HP access. It looks like the RPH will be our most affordable option for 2 rooms with 2 queen beds each (I think the new resort does not have ExpressPass options). I'm assuming we should book these rooms soon given the Halloween events, correct? I am hoping to book them with my Dad when I go home to visit over July 4th, but let me know if we should lock them down earlier. Any specific sites to use to book for good deals?

Tickets--Undercover Tourist seems like a good deal? I saw the HP package, but we aren't staying 4 nights (as of now...I guess that could change).

Dining--how much do we actually have to plan our dining? I want to try Butterbeer and treats in HP world, but other than that...we can pretty much roll with whatever.

Any tips are appreciated....I'm sure I'll have more questions soon.

 

[FargoBear]

I'd recommend getting a AAA card, which provides discount on hotels as well as savings on merchandise and dining inside the parks themselves.

I was there last year from about Oct. 22-23, somewhere in that range. And I have to say the unlimited express pass is amazing. We were near there shortly after park opening and never waited in a line for more than 8-10 minutes all day.

 

[Metro West]

So far I've figured out that we need to stay at a Universal Property for the Express Pass/early HP access. It looks like the RPH will be our most affordable option for 2 rooms with 2 queen beds each (I think the new resort does not have ExpressPass options). I'm assuming we should book these rooms soon given the Halloween events, correct? I am hoping to book them with my Dad when I go home to visit over July 4th, but let me know if we should lock them down earlier. Any specific sites to use to book for good deals?

Tickets--Undercover Tourist seems like a good deal? I saw the HP package, but we aren't staying 4 nights (as of now...I guess that could change).

Dining--how much do we actually have to plan our dining? I want to try Butterbeer and treats in HP world, but other than that...we can pretty much roll with whatever.

Any tips are appreciated....I'm sure I'll have more questions soon.

You should probably take care of the hotel reservations as soon as you can. Keep in mind though...you'll be going during Halloween Horror Nights and the onsite resorts usually have a minimum stay during the event.

UT is a very well liked and heavily used site. You won't have anything to worry about it you purchase theme park tickets through them.

You won't have to plan any meals in October. Even though Diagon Alley will be open and crowds should be heavier than in previous years, I don't think you'll have to worry. Check out the food sticky for menus, reviews and general information on dining throughout the Universal resort.

Also...your first two dates (10/11 & 10/12) are HHN event nights. The Studios will close an hour early both nights at 5pm for HHN set up. IOA however will be open until 7pm those nights. I don't expect Diagon Alley or the Hogwarts Express to run after 5pm because of the hard ticket event in the Studios.

Please feel free to ask as many questions as you need to and make sure you read the trip reports.

 

[macraven]

it's also the Columbus day weekend so monday will possibly have more crowds than the rest of the weekdays.

like Metro stated, that weekend of sat/sun will have afternoon crowds at the studios due to HHN.
people come in prior to the hard ticket event to catch the rides before they close down at 5:00 pm.

 

[agavegirl1]

Welcome to the DIS ElleTR! You have actually done most of your planning already without realizing it. You have selected your dates, your resort and your length of stay. The rest is just "tweaking".

1. Finalize your length of stay and make your hotel reservation.
2. Purchase your tickets.
3. Check the stickies for restaurant menus and prices. Discuss options with your party and have a general idea of places you'd like to eat.
4. Post questions you have about your trip as you discuss with your family here and receive really good information.
5. A week or two before your trip, go to opentable.com and reserve any restaurants that may need them (only a few may)
6. Execute the plan.

Going to Universal Orlando is not like going to WDW. Less planning required. Since you plan to stay onsite, the only "touring plan" you need is to use the early entry for the Wizarding World and keep in mind the early closing hours of the parks due to the HHN events.

 

[ElleTR]

Thanks for all the advice (and reassurance). We'll probably try to lock down the reservation in the next couple of weeks then.

For HHN, I know my sister, husband and I will be up for it. My parents may bow out...should we buy tickets in advance? If so, how far?

 

[helenb]

I recommend checking Orbitz for the hotel reservations. They always have 15% off codes going, so by the time you get that in there can be quite a discount! And they are completely refundable, so you can cancel if you see your Dad next month and decide on something different.

 

[cah1pgh]

My boyfriend and I reserved our room on Orbitz for week of Sept 21st at Cabana Bay and with the discount it was $78/night for a standard room and we'll get early entry too. No Express passes but with that discount we will still save by buying those seperate.

 

[agavegirl1]

Thanks for all the advice (and reassurance). We'll probably try to lock down the reservation in the next couple of weeks then.

For HHN, I know my sister, husband and I will be up for it. My parents may bow out...should we buy tickets in advance? If so, how far?

Not very far out at all. Also, there are some options for you such as the discounted Stay and Scream ticket. There is good discussion going on about this on the last page of the sticky for HHN 2014 on this forum. Check it out.

 

[ElleTR]

Pricing out our options:

Option 1: Arrive Saturday, 10/11 and leave Tuesday, 10/14. Stay at RPH and purchase tickets through UT.

Hotel cost (orbitz): $1709.93 ($1453.44 if we can get the 15% discount)
Tickets (5 3 day park-to-park): $945.35

Option 1 Total: $$2655.28 ($2398.79 if we get the discount).

Option 2: Add a night (Friday) & purchase HP vacation pacakge.
Total (staying at RPH): $2,502.61.

We're leaning towards Friday due to travel. My family will be leaving from Atlanta, so they will have tons of flight options. My husband and I are leaving from Memphis and the airport leaves much to be desired...we would need to leave on a 6 AM flight Saturday to get to Orlando in the early afternoon (with a layover in ATL, of course). We could lave Friday and get in late and then have all day Saturday-Monday at the parks and leave Tuesday.

Questions about the HP package (also posted in the HP thread, but may get lost) Just to confirm, the breakfast includes the actual cost (meal vouchers) and not just a reservation?

Also a question about the 3 day park passes. If we do this, we'll be flying in Friday night from 2 different cities. Would the park passes start Friday, when our stay starts, or Saturday when we start visiting the parks?

Thanks for the help. We're hoping to book at least the hotel (if we don't don't do the package) in the next week or so.

 

[macraven]

the website is down so i can't check the rates for you elletr.


don't know if you can get that saturday in october without booking the friday.

i have a 12 day stay onsite that i booked last year for this coming october.


in March, i changed my flight and wanted to start on saturday october 4th on site at the darkside hotel, instead of sunday the 5th.


i couldn't get the saturday to be added on.

maybe that has been lifted now and you can do the start on a saturday.

with HHN going on, they sometimes require a two night stay on the weekends.
Fr/Sa stay.

since i changed my entire plans on arrival dates, i no longer need that saturday night stay.
haven't explored it since so maybe it is possible to book a trip starting on saturday during the HHN period.


your park passes will begin from the first date you use them.

you might want to explore not doing the package due to their penalties.
you can book a room and buy your tickets separately.

 

[Metro West]

For HHN, I know my sister, husband and I will be up for it. My parents may bow out...should we buy tickets in advance? If so, how far?

You can purchase HHN tickets in advance if you'd like but I would wait until you have your theme park tickets so you can take advantage of the Stay & Scream discount...which is pretty good. You don't have to use that ticket the night you're going to be in the Studios but you can buy it when they become available. HHN tickets are usually released to the public in the late June to mid July timeframe.

 

[macraven]

darkside hotel website is up and it looks like you can book a saturday without any issues.