FOTL Access....just great......

[AlexandNessa]

Just wanted to add that, certainly when checking rates for October, the AAA discount is much better than that offered to PAP holders.

It is now, but do another check as your dates get closer (August time frame, give or take a week or two). You might find AP specials released at a later date. Back in January, the AAA rates for our May stay were cheaper than the AP rate, but I think some time in February or March (sorry can't remember), we saved about $150 over 5 days by switching to AP. We would have saved more had we not stayed club level.

 

[love the sun]

FOTL - first timers

We will be first time visitors to USO and IOA in three weeks. I specifically stayed on the property for FOTL access, but the hotel room rates we got (through AAA) were very reasonable compared to area hotels. We are doing 3 nights at the HRH ($229 each night) and 3 nights at the RPH ($130 each night).

 

[vellamint]

Originally Posted by AlexandNessa
and we live in a house below our means in order to be able to stay onsite.






Wow. Interesting priorities to you? Funny to you?

Sorry, to each their own...us included. I suppose I don't see what is so ROTL funny or interesting about not being house poor and having a mortgage that is much less than our annual salaries and will be paid off by the time we are 42. "Below our means" does not equal "poor house that is ready to be condemned." Could we easily afford a bigger or more expensive home? Sure, but we choose not to as we have other priorities, one of which is taking a lot of vacations.


Glad you find our living situation so amusing....

You are right...I was rude...please accept my apology as it is not my right to decide on how anyone but me spends their life or their money....

 

[kimberh]

We have 3 children and then had to raise a nephew through the age of 13-18 so I had 3 teenages at one time. There was no way that I was going to put them in a separate room that I didn't have access to. We ended up buying a reasonable timeshare in Tennessee and I have traded it all over the world. That was in 1990 and we have really got our money out of that. But it's like the op said, we had money for the rooms but there are other things to consider. We are leaving Sunday for Universal and I bought an AP to get the discount of $129.00 for RPH so that I will have fotl passes. I just can't stand in all those lines anymore. I checked into buying the passes and staying in a timeshare but I did not feel it was worth the difference, once I received the AP discount on the RPH. In Apr, we were originally coming and I had a beautiful timeshare resort booked but the fotl passes were at peak prices and it made for a expensive day and the pass doesn't work the same as the hotel guest pass does. It was for one fotl per attraction so there would not be any over and over. Maybe change the time of the year that you are coming so that the crowd is not so heavy, the passes are cheaper at offpeak times.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

those are interesting priorities.

It depends on how you see things. Vacations are a high priority for our family. We too have both our vehicles paid for, & have no plans to buy a new one. We have a good size home. I suppose we could go bigger, but have no interest in doing so. It drives me crazy, when people comment on how often we travel. They have 2 or 3 new vehicles that they're paying for & insuring. A larger home that they can't realistically afford. Plus, they eat out & go to movies, etc. all the time. Then they want to know how we travel so often, & want me to feel sorry for them because they can't. Sometimes, I'd like to tell them why they have no extra money for vacation, but they still wouldn't get it. If people choose to have that many bills, that's their business. Thankfully, I'm not paying them. I do wish they would quit with the woe is me gripe.

 

[EBONYPRINCESS]

Well, I can't see myself paying 200 or 300 a night to stay anywhere unless I am going to see some real celebs, and I don't mean Shrek, Mickie Mouse, or Scooby Doo. I better see Usher or Mariah Carey!
I teach school and after nine months of working with children which I enjoy by the way, I want and need me some personal space. Everyone here must decide where they can cut back or bump up to get their vacation on...
I am just not willing to drive an old car, stop eating out, and not dress fabulous to do it...

No judgement on those who are willing to make this sacrifice.

I personally think that US is punishing people who don't deserve to be punished because they can't afford to or choose not to stay at their costly hotels. For their kind of money, I expect a condo rental not a suite.

 

[damo]

Well, I can't see myself paying 200 or 300 a night to stay anywhere unless I am going to see some real celebs, and I don't mean Shrek, Mickie Mouse, or Scooby Doo. I better see Usher or Mariah Carey!
I teach school and after nine months of working with children which I enjoy by the way, I want and need me some personal space. Everyone here must decide where they can cut back or bump up to get their vacation on...
I am just not willing to drive an old car, stop eating out, and not dress fabulous to do it...

No judgement on those who are willing to make this sacrifice.

I personally think that US is punishing people who don't deserve to be punished because they can't afford to or choose not to stay at their costly hotels. For their kind of money, I expect a condo rental not a suite.

The moderate and deluxe hotels (not suites) at Disney are just as and more expensive than the Universal hotels and you really get nothing for your money other than early entry on select days. Staying off-site at some of the neighbouring Universal hotels is not much different than staying on-site at the budget Disney hotels. There are many close off-site hotels available to fit the need. If Universal was to offer $79/night hotels, there is no way that they would offer unlimited Express Passes with them. So really, what is the point?

 

[Jimemo]

At Universal, people complain that they should be like Disney and only give free ones, at Disney, people complain that they should be like Universal and only sell them. What's that saying? You can't make 100% of the people happy 50% of the time...? I've never been good at witty phrases... aaaanyway.

IMO, Disney has made the right decision so far by only giving out free fastpasses. Universal Express system is unorganized and crazy. With no set times, there are random times in the day when the Express line will shoot up to crazy times. much worse than anything at Disney. (ie: at MiB, 90 minutes standby, 45 minute Express) They say there are a limited number of express passes sold a day, but 90%, the people in charge will give the thumbs up to sell more.

I don't remember where I was going with is, lol.

I think it had something to do with that IMO, Fastpass and Express should be deleted. forever. It seems more of a pain than actually helping people most of the time.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I am just not willing to drive an old car, stop eating out, and not dress fabulous to do it...

No judgement on those who are willing to make this sacrifice.

I personally think that US is punishing people who don't deserve to be punished because they can't afford to or choose not to stay at their costly hotels. For their kind of money, I expect a condo rental not a suite.

See, that just doesn't add up. Some people are willing to make sacrifices for what is important to them & some people are supposed to have it all? If you're not willing to sacrifice in other areas, you shouldn't expect the same experience as those who choose to spend more of their money on vacations. I too will not judge those who make different choices than I, but I do think it's a little too much to say they should be able to spend their money on a daily basis & still get a similar experience as I've saved for. If a person chooses to save their money to stay at one of UO's resorts, they deserve an experience that is equal to what they're paying. Everyone makes choices in their life. They should be willing to accept whatever consequences those choices bring.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

IMO, Disney has made the right decision so far by only giving out free fastpasses.

I depends on how you look at it, but IMO WDW doesn't really give out free fastpasses. Have you priced a 5 day park hopper at WDW vs. the same at UO? The fastpasses definitely aren't free. WDW also has a perk that is only available to their hotel guests & noone seems to have a problem with that. You can't even buy the extra hours, if you wanted to. Personally, I think they're both making sound business decisions to fill their resorts.

 

[limabeanmom2003]

Here's my 2 cents: We are going to Universal this year instead of Disney because of the great ticket prices. We got the 5 day pass for adults for $100 each and the kids are free. The same 5 day passes at Disney would cost $199 for an adult and $162 for a child (base ticket prices, and yes I realize that there are more parks at disney, but I am just looking at the number of days you get). Now, Disney has fast pass. Since i am not staying on site at Universal and refuse to pay to get one, I do not get to use FOTL and therefore have to wait in line longer than I would if I was at Disney and could use fastpass. So, we'll get there early and relax back at the hotel in the afternoon and then return to the parks in the evening. Plus, normally we would only do 2 days at universal (one day at each park). This way, I have 5 days to see the parks, so I don't have to try and see everything at each park in one day. In other words, since i have to wait in line longer without the FOTL, it will take me longer to see all the attractions. I think we can get to everything in 5 days. So, at the end of the vacation, I have more $ in my pocket than if I did Disney, and I got to see everything at universal over 5 days. Not bad for me!

 

[blackjackdelta]

Never been to WDW, the kids will never fly. We are also a family of 6. Two in college and two in high school. Trying to find a reasonable room(s) is sometimes impossible and because we have ethics, we will not lie and say there are less.
We go to USH and we do buy the FOTL. We ride the rides to our enjoyment and who really gives a rats who is in the other line. We save every nickle we can for a once a year vacation. I work out of the country most of every year, so when we go it is the best time we can afford. We drive 2600 miles to take that vacation. 40 bucks x 6 to me is not eating out x 6...I understand!!!!

Have fun with the family,

Jack

 

[macraven]

what a nice thread here even if people differ on their opinions.

some of the debate type of threads in the community board would have had this thread closed if it had opened over there.


the nice thing about the universal threads, we all get along when we post.
and if there is an oops , and some toes stepped on, the posters rectify it.

 

[jchop]

I wish I would have found this thread a month ago!

I'm new here and on our last full day of our 10 day vacation (2 travel, 8 park days).

I'm not here to bash Universal but I can honestly say that after our horrible experience yesterday - we won't be returning.

Unfortunately, I did not do my homework. The last I read, US had something similar to WDW Fastpass. We decided that with 8 days we should check out US. Spent roughly $200 on 4 tickets (2 adults 2 kids free) and now have to consider that an expensive lesson to learn. We were at the park at opening and there were still horrendous lines. We have been utterly spoiled with WDW Fastpass. At DW we have never stood in line more than 15 minutes using FP. Without FP - 25 minutes has been our longest wait.
When we realized that US did not have the Express Pass (the free one) anymore - we considered upgrading to the Universal Express - then we read the fine print that said we can only use it once per ride. That's simply ridiculous.
We spent 5 hours in the heat at Universal and we were not impressed with the rides we were able to get on. To add insult, the few employees we did come in contact with were very rude.
We left Universal with a very bad feeling - our kids asking when we were going to get to ride this and that - with the lines all over an hours wait. Never again. I'm so sorry we spent any money there.
The best experience I had at Universal was when I gave my double-stroller to a young family as we were exiting the park - the look on her face was priceless.

While we enjoy staying on-site at WDW, it was prohibitive for us to do so this time considering the alternate choices. For this trip we booked a LOVELY new condo very close to Animal Kingdom - 7 minutes from parking lot to parking lot (I timed it twice). With 1400 sq. ft, full W/D, full kitchen, flat-screen tv and high-speed internet - all for $99/night. This condo is decorated completely Disney. We have truly enjoyed all the space - with kids it has been heaven.

Thanks to all for all the info on this board!

 

[macraven]

you joined the dis june 4.
today is june 5



of all the threads and forums, you chose to make your first post here.

i see that a lot where the first post someone makes is to compare disney to universal.

 

[damo]

I wish I would have found this thread a month ago!

I'm new here and on our last full day of our 10 day vacation (2 travel, 8 park days).

I'm not here to bash Universal but I can honestly say that after our horrible experience yesterday - we won't be returning.

Unfortunately, I did not do my homework. The last I read, US had something similar to WDW Fastpass. We decided that with 8 days we should check out US. Spent roughly $200 on 4 tickets (2 adults 2 kids free) and now have to consider that an expensive lesson to learn. We were at the park at opening and there were still horrendous lines. We have been utterly spoiled with WDW Fastpass. At DW we have never stood in line more than 15 minutes using FP. Without FP - 25 minutes has been our longest wait.
When we realized that US did not have the Express Pass (the free one) anymore - we considered upgrading to the Universal Express - then we read the fine print that said we can only use it once per ride. That's simply ridiculous.
We spent 5 hours in the heat at Universal and we were not impressed with the rides we were able to get on. To add insult, the few employees we did come in contact with were very rude.
We left Universal with a very bad feeling - our kids asking when we were going to get to ride this and that - with the lines all over an hours wait. Never again. I'm so sorry we spent any money there.
The best experience I had at Universal was when I gave my double-stroller to a young family as we were exiting the park - the look on her face was priceless.

While we enjoy staying on-site at WDW, it was prohibitive for us to do so this time considering the alternate choices. For this trip we booked a LOVELY new condo very close to Animal Kingdom - 7 minutes from parking lot to parking lot (I timed it twice). With 1400 sq. ft, full W/D, full kitchen, flat-screen tv and high-speed internet - all for $99/night. This condo is decorated completely Disney. We have truly enjoyed all the space - with kids it has been heaven.

Thanks to all for all the info on this board!

My suggestion would be with the five days of use that your tickets gave you, you should have tried Universal on a day other than the weekend. Another option would be to just do early mornings for several days. That's the great part about getting 5 days of park entrance for 4 people for $200, you aren't limited to just the weekend when lines are bound to be long and you also don't need to do the park commando style since you can return several times. Also, do the most popular rides immediately upon entrance and then leave the shows and less popular rides until later.

Your condo sounds lovely!!!

 

[blackjackdelta]

It would be nice if they did something like that out here on the west coast. The kids are working hard to save the $$$ for the VIP tour. The lines are long and the days very hot in August. Since you get FOTL passes, back stage tours of a number of shows along with pics with the players, and the treats and drinks in the VIP lounge, they made that their priority for this next trip to Cali.

Have a great day,

Jack

 

[flatline]

We were at the park at opening and there were still horrendous lines.
We spent 5 hours in the heat at Universal and we were not impressed with the rides we were able to get on. To add insult, the few employees we did come in contact with were very rude.
We left Universal with a very bad feeling - our kids asking when we were going to get to ride this and that - with the lines all over an hours wait.

we were at IOA at about 9:15 yesterday. 5 minutes for Doom and Spidey, the hulk was 20. we backtracked through Seuss Landing to DD which was 5 minutes, as was JPRA. Ripsaw was 30. we circled the park one more time at had lunch, then went to US at about 1:00. walked into T2 and Twister. ROTM was 30, as was Jaws. MIB was 75, but even the EP line was a 30 minue wait. BTTF was 20, and when we left for dinner at Marg'ville about 5:30, Jimmy and Shrek were both 20 minutes.

we never came into contact with any rude TM's. same day, same parks, two vastly different experiences.

 

[G&J's Mom]

we never came into contact with any rude TM's. same day, same parks, two vastly different experiences.

I agree, different experience here as well. We were in IOA yesterday, the last day of our 6 day trip. Not once did we run into rude TM's our whole trip. Once again, our trip was awesome! However, we did run into teen tour groups, not sure who they were, but they had matching tee shirts that were a little rough. While standing in a line, DD 6 was literally run over and knocked down by a group cutting in front of us in a food line. When I pushed them and yelled at them trying to get her up, before she was stomped on, they just glared at me and laughed. Any clue who these groups were??? We had a couple of unpleasant run ins with them, but only yesterday.

Denise

 

[momof3disneyholics]

Family of 5 here - 2 teens over the 3-9 range and one 9 year old.

We have NEVER paid $300.00 for a room. And we usually go during relatively peak times.

The only time I have ever paid $300.00 a night for a room was when I stayed onsite at Disney.