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

[Laurabearz]

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.

We were at both WDW and US/IOA during Christmas break and there was never really any lines for anything at US/IOA until almost noon, and we were there on the weekEND during Chirstmas break....(and we joked about not needing the FOTL access we had, since we stay at HRH, since early in the mornings we rode all we wanted to for the most part) Mid week WDW every park was packed before 9 am.

But getting back to the OP issue... it seems it is more of an issue of US/IOA 3 hotels not being as 'big family' freindly as WDW, which is true to some extent. They do not offer as many standard/cheap connection rooms as WDW and they dont offer Value resorts at all. All three of US/IOA hotels are on the deluxe level... I suppose if they aquire more land, like WDW has, then they could offer more choices in hotels like WDW, but I dont see that happening anytime soon.

But, again, deals can be found, via AAA or AP discounts and I am happy that the OP now knows more options for booking onsite at US/IOA.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

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.

Unfortunately, you didn't do your homework. Do you realize how cheap those 5 day tickets to Universal were in comparison to Disney tickets. If you had bought 5 day tickets to Disney World, according to their website, it would have cost you $866.00 for 2 adults and 2 kids. You could have bought Express Plus passes for all 5 days and not equaled to that much.
If you had just bought one day park hoppers to Disney it would have still cost you $390.00 for 2 adults and 2 kids.
I'm sorry, but I just can't see how you can be calling Universal an "expensive lesson" considering how cheap it is to get in there in comparison to Disney.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

At DW we have never stood in line more than 15 minutes using FP. Without FP - 25 minutes has been our longest wait.

Obviously, you have never tried to stand in line for Space Mountain or Buzz Lightyear.

 

[flatline]

Obviously, you have never tried to stand in line for Space Mountain or Buzz Lightyear.

I saw 90 for Splash Mountain a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Sleepy]

Anyone remember how long the lines were when there was just a Magic Kingdom and then again when they added Epcot? They did not have Fastpass back then. Those lines were terrible. Even standby today at Universal/IOA is nothing compared to back then at MK/Epcot.

 

[jchop]

Obviously, you have never tried to stand in line for Space Mountain or Buzz Lightyear.

Actually, we did stand in line for Space Mountain - it was our first ride of the day on our first of 3 visits to MK this trip. We stood in line for 14 minutes before being directed to the staging area to board (row 3!).

We had FP's for Buzz and were on the loader in less than 10 minutes. Did this twice - once mid-morning and once early evening.

 

[jchop]

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.

Nice observation.

I chose thread as my first post because it pertained specifically to what I was looking up - information about US and other experiences. Clearly there are people that enjoy US. The park wouldn't exist without customers.

 

[jchop]

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!!!

Thanks for your constructive and polite suggestion - it sounds right on.

In retrospect - we should not have even attempted to pack so much into 8 days. So many factors contribute to experiences - fatigue, heat, crowds, lack of preparation, etc.. All these came into play on our Universal day.

Our condo is lovely and we will return!

THanks again.

 

[jchop]

Unfortunately, you didn't do your homework. Do you realize how cheap those 5 day tickets to Universal were in comparison to Disney tickets. If you had bought 5 day tickets to Disney World, according to their website, it would have cost you $866.00 for 2 adults and 2 kids. You could have bought Express Plus passes for all 5 days and not equaled to that much.
If you had just bought one day park hoppers to Disney it would have still cost you $390.00 for 2 adults and 2 kids.
I'm sorry, but I just can't see how you can be calling Universal an "expensive lesson" considering how cheap it is to get in there in comparison to Disney.

Hmmmm............looking for receipts.........

My husband purchased our tickets on the day we arrived from Maple Leaf Travel. He paid roughly $1300 for 10 day Park Hopper and More Passes for 2 adults and 2 kids.

Let me clarify - when I said I didn't do my homework I was referring to the line management at US.

 

[jchop]

Referring to the response from momo'3dh comparing the cost of WDW v US........

Yes, $200 for 4 people for 5 days would have been a great deal if we intended on visiting for 5 day. We alloted 2 days to check-out the US/IOA parks..........and went only once. An expensive lesson. No biggie - live and learn.

 

[damo]

Thanks for your constructive and polite suggestion - it sounds right on.

In retrospect - we should not have even attempted to pack so much into 8 days. So many factors contribute to experiences - fatigue, heat, crowds, lack of preparation, etc.. All these came into play on our Universal day.

Our condo is lovely and we will return!

THanks again.

Universal is a wonderful place. It sounds like you just hit it at on a bad day. We did AK in mid March and had a very similar experience to your Universal experience and we left in 3 hours saying we would never return. I know we will change our minds and that AK really isn't as bad as we experienced and that we just hit it at a really bad time.

We get so many people come on this board just to post how much they hate Universal and how much better Disney is. Sorry if you felt jumped on but we are starting to get defensive on this board because we get so many trolls just trying to annoy us. I don't think that was your intent but unfortunately you just got lumped in with those rabble rousers.

Please hang around and learn the tricks and try the parks again. You may be very pleasantly surprised. I think you still have a day left on your tickets, hang on to them!!!

 

[macraven]

Nice observation.

I chose thread as my first post because it pertained specifically to what I was looking up - information about US and other experiences. Clearly there are people that enjoy US. The park wouldn't exist without customers.

just to fill you in.
back in the winter from late january to early march, we had quite a few come to the universal boards to rag on it. some threads became vicious.
it ended up with banning forever for some of the posters.

they would try to come back with a different screen name, make a statement and get removed again. one poster had all of his posts removed from the boards.

when i see someone come to the universal forums, i remember how bad it was in the winter time here. especially if it is one of their first posts.

we love universal and we love disney. its just that we don't feel we have to compete and try to convince the disneyites that universal is better on these threads.

these forums are very unlike the community board threads. no one here does name calling, harassing or private pm's to others that are negative and profane.

many of us do have different opinions but it is done without any issues or incidents.

that is the reasoning behind what i posted in reply to your first comment.

you are more than welcome to join us and if we can help you, we would be thrilled and honored to do so.

next trip you take, post a question in the forums and ask for advice on planning the trip to avoid crowds. or whatever you would like to know from the ones here that are repeat customers of universal.

 

[jchop]

just to fill you in.
back in the winter from late january to early march, we had quite a few come to the universal boards to rag on it. some threads became vicious.
it ended up with banning forever for some of the posters.

they would try to come back with a different screen name, make a statement and get removed again. one poster had all of his posts removed from the boards.

when i see someone come to the universal forums, i remember how bad it was in the winter time here. especially if it is one of their first posts.

we love universal and we love disney. its just that we don't feel we have to compete and try to convince the disneyites that universal is better on these threads.

these forums are very unlike the community board threads. no one here does name calling, harassing or private pm's to others that are negative and profane.

many of us do have different opinions but it is done without any issues or incidents.

that is the reasoning behind what i posted in reply to your first comment.

you are more than welcome to join us and if we can help you, we would be thrilled and honored to do so.

next trip you take, post a question in the forums and ask for advice on planning the trip to avoid crowds. or whatever you would like to know from the ones here that are repeat customers of universal.

I appreciate your suggestions. I will seek the advice of the experts here the next time we plan a trip in the Orlando area.

I truly did not mean to offend anyone - I am not a troll.

I should have waited until I cooled off (literally) before posting something that might be considered offensive by others. Yes, I'm a fan of Disney. I'm a fan of theme parks, rides, sensory experiences (just not the blistering-hot kind) - that's exactly why I thought my family might enjoy checking-out US. The problem was that I did not do the appropriate research before I bought the tickets. My bad. I know that people can have a great time at US if they plan correctly - we just didn't do that. We obviously had an off day.

Now it's back to real life.

 

[goNDmay9]

I have been on these boards a long time and truly enjoyed our trips to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure.

I am very unhappy with their taking away Express Passes and do not intend to pay another $40 per person (x6) in order to get onto a ride without a terrible wait.

I guess if I go I will be encountering terrible waits

Universal does not offer a family of my size an affordable room. At Disney I have a choice of connecting rooms or a cabin.

I have looked and looked for discounts but NOTHING comes close for us...and no we are not poor.

Now to add insult to injury this is what I find posted elsewhere...

"the best part of staying at a Universal resort is the FOTL access. I remember late one night we did MiB about four times back-to-back-to-back-to-back (you get the idea) and each time we passed the same group of people waiting in the regular peon line. To quote a Mastercard ad, the looks on their faces were priceless. And bypassing a 90-minute wait to get into Shrek by just walking up - it's worth it..."

And

"I agree with everyone else. It's worth it for the FOTL pass as well. The look on peoples face is "priceless" when you pass them again."

I hope that most people would not have this attitude and hate that I have read this here.

I guess I am just venting because if this is what we encounter when we go this summer it will be our last trip there and that is a shame.

Thanks for listening.

Hey vellamint - we share your pain! My family is also a family of six. The florida law limiting the number of people in a room to 5 always hurts us too. Not to mention - multiplying anything by six results in a big expense! I am the daughter and i have three brothers. We have been going to disney for years! I think the first was when i was two. . We just started going to universal consistently when IOA opened in 99 (i think that is when it was).

If you are looking to stay onsite - i have found that some times it is cheaper to get two rooms then it is to get a suite. For instance, we are going in June and for the times that we are staying, it was cheaper to get two adjoining rooms. We also get the Annual pass and try and make sure to come back a week or so earlier the next year so we get two years out of it. On top of that, our renewals cost a little more than a 2 day 2 park pass! This saves a little on the admission (spread out over two years) and some on the hotel.

Also - because the rooms are expensive, you could always stay in an offsite hotel for the last night and only pay for one night onsite. Remember that you can use your FOTL on the day that you check out as well! That accounts for two days of FOTL for one night of hotel costs.

For my family, we love FOTL. That is precisely why we keep coming back to Universal. For the cost, we personally feel it is worth it b/c we can ride what we want -and use the remaining time for relaxing at the resort - which we are paying for anyway. Since most of us are adults now - baby brother turning 19 this june - we are no longer the get up early and race to the parks crowd! By the time we hit disney, the fastpasses are almost if not already gone. By the time we hit universal, their express passes were gone as well. So the benefit to us may be greater than it is to other families.

Remember that we are all getting spoiled! We forget that there were MANY years where we spent hours upon hours in line. Money is what keeps the parks in business and if they find people who will pay for FOTL - they are going to take it. I would not take those comments about the "priceless looks" personal. I think that there were times when my family was shocked at the number of times you could "wrap" the people in the main line. I think that was just their way of justifying the cost and was in no way meant to slam or "nanny nanny boo boo" the people that either could not afford or did not find the cost benefit worthwhile.

Good luck! I am here for you too! Oh - and get a lowes card. After a certain number of stays I think you can updgrade to a suite for 35 dollars. Of course they say that if you stay with a Annual Pass Rate you do not get the benefits - but sometimes they give it to you anyway!

 

[vellamint]

Hey vellamint - we share your pain! My family is also a family of six. The florida law limiting the number of people in a room to 5 always hurts us too. Not to mention - multiplying anything by six results in a big expense! I am the daughter and i have three brothers. We have been going to disney for years! I think the first was when i was two. . We just started going to universal consistently when IOA opened in 99 (i think that is when it was).

If you are looking to stay onsite - i have found that some times it is cheaper to get two rooms then it is to get a suite. For instance, we are going in June and for the times that we are staying, it was cheaper to get two adjoining rooms. We also get the Annual pass and try and make sure to come back a week or so earlier the next year so we get two years out of it. On top of that, our renewals cost a little more than a 2 day 2 park pass! This saves a little on the admission (spread out over two years) and some on the hotel.

Also - because the rooms are expensive, you could always stay in an offsite hotel for the last night and only pay for one night onsite. Remember that you can use your FOTL on the day that you check out as well! That accounts for two days of FOTL for one night of hotel costs.

For my family, we love FOTL. That is precisely why we keep coming back to Universal. For the cost, we personally feel it is worth it b/c we can ride what we want -and use the remaining time for relaxing at the resort - which we are paying for anyway. Since most of us are adults now - baby brother turning 19 this june - we are no longer the get up early and race to the parks crowd! By the time we hit disney, the fastpasses are almost if not already gone. By the time we hit universal, their express passes were gone as well. So the benefit to us may be greater than it is to other families.

Remember that we are all getting spoiled! We forget that there were MANY years where we spent hours upon hours in line. Money is what keeps the parks in business and if they find people who will pay for FOTL - they are going to take it. I would not take those comments about the "priceless looks" personal. I think that there were times when my family was shocked at the number of times you could "wrap" the people in the main line. I think that was just their way of justifying the cost and was in no way meant to slam or "nanny nanny boo boo" the people that either could not afford or did not find the cost benefit worthwhile.

Good luck! I am here for you too! Oh - and get a lowes card. After a certain number of stays I think you can updgrade to a suite for 35 dollars. Of course they say that if you stay with a Annual Pass Rate you do not get the benefits - but sometimes they give it to you anyway!

What a nice answer for me......thank you for your input

Any chance you would be able to give me a "guestimate" on how much a room would be with an AP? Does an AP give the best discount out there? Maybe that would be the way to go?.......

 

[goNDmay9]

What a nice answer for me......thank you for your input

Any chance you would be able to give me a "guestimate" on how much a room would be with an AP? Does an AP give the best discount out there? Maybe that would be the way to go?.......

It is a toss up. I think it differs on availability. Always try both AAA and annual pass. If it is the same - pick the AAA so you can be guaranteed of your benefits.

Ok - i checked for you for the times that we are going to be there. I check the most affordable onsite hotel - royal pacific. 229 is the normal room, 206 is the annual pass and drum roll please.....183.20 for AAA. I know that is still a lot but it gets it a little closer. well 45 dollars a night difference.


http://www.loews-first.com/Loewsfirst.asp - sign up for loews if you have not.

you can always check the website to see the differences in price. Put APH for annual pass in the promotional code box and AAA for the AAA discount.

I will log on from home. gotta run to beat traffic. we will get you in FOTL if i have anything to do with it. !!

 

[macraven]

i just received a pm from a fellow diser.

you know how many are not pleased with express costing now.

i read the pm that stated disney will be making changes on their free fast pass system.



won't that be some thread ...............


don't know what truth is in that but it was interesting to me. if disney changes their policies to fast pass for resort guests only, i bet there will more of a discussion on that then the fotl threads.

 

[goNDmay9]

i just received a pm from a fellow diser.

you know how many are not pleased with express costing now.

i read the pm that stated disney will be making changes on their free fast pass system.



won't that be some thread ...............


don't know what truth is in that but it was interesting to me. if disney changes their policies to fast pass for resort guests only, i bet there will more of a discussion on that then the fotl threads.

That would be interesting!!!! YIKES.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

i just received a pm from a fellow diser.

you know how many are not pleased with express costing now.

i read the pm that stated disney will be making changes on their free fast pass system.



won't that be some thread ...............


don't know what truth is in that but it was interesting to me. if disney changes their policies to fast pass for resort guests only, i bet there will more of a discussion on that then the fotl threads.

Wow, that would get some serious backlash. If this comes to fruition, I wonder if they'll sell a FP booklet like UO does. It would be a little harder to justify paying for FP, when you've already had to pay so much for the tickets.

 

[Suzan]

On the surface maybe... but I suppose we also live in a house below our means, we dress below our means (HUGE Super target fan here), and there fore have more spendable income for other things. We choose Vacationis. Some of our friends have The house, the clothes, the cars, all above there means, are they are the one's that are always complaining about never having money....




Laura,
We are the same way. My husband and I both drive 1996 model vehicles, live in an average home and I never buy any clothes at "rack" price, always on sale. We have been on many costly vacations every year since our son turned 4, he is now 13. We pay for all of them before we go or in the 6 month period that our Disney Visa gives us. We would not trade a fancy home, new car or "namebrand" clothes for any of the wonderful memories and times we have shared. After all, cars and clothes wear out, a home is what you make it no matter how fancy but our memories will last forever.
That is our "priority".