First Universal Trip - ?'s

[decker96]

While we have been to Disney many times, we've never been to Universal. My son (and I if I'm honest, lol) are Harry Potter fanatics, so we have decided to combine a short trip to Universal in March to our yearly trip to visit family in Fort Myers.

We'll be driving up to Orlando on Monday the 14th, going to Universal on Tuesday and flying out on Wednesday (like I said, short trip). I have heard from several people that HP world gets very crowded, so we were planning on staying on-site to take advantage of the early entry, as well as the express pass.

If we just stay at an on-site hotel on Mon. night, will we still get the express pass on Tues? I was thinking to keep things cheaper we might just move to an airport hotel on Tues. night. Also, does it make a difference if you book the room and tickets separately or should I just use the vacation package tool on Universal's website?

I have no idea if there are deals for cheaper tickets or hotel rates, so any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[macraven]

While we have been to Disney many times, we've never been to Universal. My son (and I if I'm honest, lol) are Harry Potter fanatics, so we have decided to combine a short trip to Universal in March to our yearly trip to visit family in Fort Myers.

We'll be driving up to Orlando on Monday the 14th, going to Universal on Tuesday and flying out on Wednesday (like I said, short trip). I have heard from several people that HP world gets very crowded, so we were planning on staying on-site to take advantage of the early entry, as well as the express pass.

If we just stay at an on-site hotel on Mon. night, will we still get the express pass on Tues? I was thinking to keep things cheaper we might just move to an airport hotel on Tues. night. Also, does it make a difference if you book the room and tickets separately or should I just use the vacation package tool on Universal's website?

I have no idea if there are deals for cheaper tickets or hotel rates, so any recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks!

book a one night stay and receive two days of hotel perks.
stay off site the second night.

when you are a guest onsite, you receive free unlimited usage of the express lines for the day you check in and the day you check out.
keep your hotel card to use for the parks on the second day.

it is cheaper to book everything separately.
packages are when you book the room and tickets together.
most regular goers book everything individually.

discounts are hard to come by when you go during spring break.
you can call and ask the TM if any discounts are available for the room you want to book.

do you have AAA?
that does allow for room discounts and 10% discounts off of food and merch in the parks.

 

[decker96]

Thanks so much for the info! No we do not have AAA, so that discount is out.

I'll go ahead and book everything separate then.

 

[Metro West]

Thanks so much for the info! No we do not have AAA, so that discount is out.

I'll go ahead and book everything separate then.