FOTL :( = Not to be for my family!

[vellamint]

because of my large family...................I have seen it discussed on the Disney boards...................what to do, where to stay, a Wilderness Cabin (as cheap as $149 a night) ...............2 rooms at an All Stars (as cheap as $54 a night)!!!!!

Where are my options at Universal ................. boo hoo .................. there arent any. We are not rich people .................. but we are far from poor!!!!!! The cheapest I see a room at Universal next year is for $129 and I have to have two ($258 plus tax.................. NOT HAPPENING).

Sorry to rant but I have been wishing to stay onsite for our next visit and I guess it just isn't happening (at least until one of the little darlings go to college..................in about 7 years!)

 

[Disney Talker]

I am sorry to hear that you cannot stay onsite at Universal and use the FOTL. We never stay on site and we do ok without standing in long lines. If you could go in a slower season it will help with the lines. A lot of the rides were walk ons last September and same way in December for the last couple of years. The Express system helps too, but it was seldom needed.

 

[Cindy B]

Don't worry, I haven't stayed on site either for two years, and have done fine.

The express tickets are available and can be used. We stayed at a nearby hotel, and it worked fine.

For us, it was easier/and cheaper, to do 14 days at an off site hotel... then to do onsite, and shorten the vacation.

We refuse to pay the cost of the onsite room. We have gone in late August both times and it was fine, and we hardly ever used Express.

I guess it all depends on when you go.

 

[astonrickenbach]

WDW doesn't even have FOTL access. Stay where you can, use these boards to plan your days in the park and enjoy yourself.

Good Luck.

Phil from PA

 

[robvia]

I've never stayed onsite either.
Been many times driving up from South Florida, staying at the www.hojo.com.
The key is to be at the gate before the park opens, this gives you a lap of walkon rides at IOA.
Most people walk up between 10am and noon, they're crazy and don't know the secret.
I go back to my hotel in the afternoon when it's hot out, then come back at night as the tired are leaving.
Late February is my favorite month to visit.

 

[ksdave]

vellamint;
You can both parks in two days very easily (even staying off site) if you go at the right time of the year. Last year, I went the first weekend in February and did both parks in one day and didn't miss but one or two shows.
This coming year, we're pulling the kids out of school for a couple of days for our UO trip. They won't really miss anything at school, and the things they learn on the trip more than make up for the missed school. My folks used to pull us out of school for up to a week when I was a kid and my brother, sister and I have all made out very well.

 

[BarbOKW]

I have 4 kids so we always have to get two rooms also. I look for the enterntainment rates and stay just 2 nights. Then we go to WDW where we're DVC members. If stay just one night you can use the FOTL access for 2 days then go WDW and the more affortable hotels. We always go the last week in March (our spring break) the lines are always very long, so the FOTL access is wonderful. If you go during a less busy time maybe it's not worth the money.

 

[Jane E.]

I went thru the same thing while planning our vacation to Universal. I really wanted to stay onsite for FOTLA & the convenience. I just knew my teenagers would love the Hard Rock Hotel. However, the cost was just too prohibitive. My budget was soaring.

As a result I ended up arranging, rearranging & finally confirming my Universal vacation. First, we went off season, which other posters have suggested. We went in September. The lines were short. Second, we got there early in the morning on a weekday. We were parked, in line & ready to go before 9am. I've noticed that lines get longer during the day. Third, we purchased season passes. That way we could go from one park to the other on the same day. We have blackout dates, but I don't ever go during peak season anyway. Finally, we decided to rent a house. We have teenagers & this worked out great for us. By the afternoon, they were done with the parks. We'd go home & they'd swim, play pool, or watch their DVDs. Going off season, we had a big selection of homes. We ended up paying $100 per night for a 4bdr, 2bath home with a swimming pool & game room in the garage. That was cheaper that a regular hotel room at the Hard Rock. I also worried less about my sons because they were either in the house or in the pool. At the hotel, I would have worried because they would have been exploring everything; they would have been all over the place. Even though I didn't do the dream vacation I thought I wanted, we had a great time. We didn't have any problems with lines, we rode every attraction we wanted to ride & we had a great time.

 

[Jane E.]

I went thru the same thing while planning our vacation to Universal. I really wanted to stay onsite for FOTLA & the convenience. I just knew my teenagers would love the Hard Rock Hotel. However, the cost was just too prohibitive. My budget was soaring.

As a result I ended up arranging, rearranging & finally confirming my Universal vacation. First, we went off season, which other posters have suggested. We went in September. The lines were short. Second, we got there early in the morning on a weekday. We were parked, in line & ready to go before 9am. I've noticed that lines get longer during the day. Third, we purchased season passes. That way we could go from one park to the other on the same day. We have blackout dates, but I don't ever go during peak season anyway. Finally, we decided to rent a house. We have teenagers & this worked out great for us. By the afternoon, they were done with the parks. We'd go home & they'd swim, play pool, or watch their DVDs. Going off season, we had a big selection of homes. We ended up paying $100 per night for a 4bdr, 2bath home with a swimming pool & game room in the garage. That was cheaper that a regular hotel room at the Hard Rock. I also worried less about my sons because they were either in the house or in the pool. At the hotel, I would have worried because they would have been exploring everything; they would have been all over the place. Even though I didn't do the dream vacation I thought I wanted, we had a great time. We didn't have any problems with lines, we rode every attraction we wanted to ride & we had fun.