front of line a biggie mid sept?

[gerry45]

we planned to spend 14 nites at disney and drive to universal a few times on our sept 8-22nd trip.

would it be worth staying 3 or 4 nites at universal instead to get front of line?
we have the free dining plan at disney so would lose 2 days of free dining.
we noticed you can but front of line passes for the day but I think they are only good for 1 admission per attraction.
just unsure if this time is busy enough to worry about front of line.

 

[LuvTony0508]

In all honesty I wouldn't go to Universal or IOA without the hotel room key to get me to the front of the line! On the 8th (our first night there from Disney) we went to Universal. We got in line for the Mummy, got just about 4 steps away from entering the actual ride and it was closed down for technical difficulties. If I had to wait in a 60 minute line I would really have been ticked off! We waited 8 minutes before this happened. Additionally, we went from the mummy to MIB my 10 year old and I were actually next to board the ride when again it was shut down for technical difficulties. At this point I'm steaming mad and ready to have a fit. Hubby calmed me down and we went to get a bite to eat. After that we tried MIB again, once again 1/2 way through the line they stop it for technical difficulties. That park is so lucky that I didn't have to wait in those ridiculously long lines or I would have exploded right on the spot! Then they would have really had to shut down for technical difficulties while they mopped up the mess my exploding head made!!! We chalked it up as a bad day, went back to the Hard Rock, started again early in the morning to try again. The rest of our trip was amazing. That first day we got a later start at the park and I attributed the TD's as wear and tear from a day of running, however I heard rumor through the hotel pool gossip vine that the actual problem was certain individuals exiting their cars on MIB which caused the shut down. Don't know if there was any truth to that but that's what I heard. I guess everyone has a bad day once in a while, and even though I was ticked off I got over it the next day when all went well and I easily rode everything I wanted to at least twice.

I wouldn't spend the money for the express pass you purchase. As you mentioned you only get to ride each attraction that has express pass once, not worth it to me.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

I don't think you'll need it in September. We always go in Sept, sometimes we stay on site; sometimes not. We've never waited in lines long either way.

BTW, we're going in Sept this year and staying off site and we have no worries about long lines. The parks are really light that time of year -- with the exception of that holiday weekend at the beginning of the month!

Hope you have a wonderful time

 

[FeeFeeWhite]

Anymore experiences for September?

 

[taylorl25]

I was there for a couple of days last september without FOTL and we managed fine. We went weekdays which probably contributed to light crowds. Got to IOA at opening and had ridden every ride by lunch time, absolutely everything was a walk on!

It started to get busier around lunch time, spent a few hours at US and most rides had a 10 minute queue, I think we waited 20 minutes for Earthquake and ET.

So if you're willing to get there early I don't think you'll have any problems.

 

[MScott1851]

You won't necessarily need it, especially during the week, but it sure is nice to have.

On weekends, lines for the "big" stuff can get long.

Not to mention the convenience of walking to the parks. It's nice to be able to run back to the room in the middle of a hot day for a break at the pool, or to change clothes, etc.

 

[robvia]

Don't need it.

But the hotel experience will be worth it. There will be less of a crowd at the hotel pool, and the walkways. WHen you stay onsite, you have a short walk to the parks, and the pools are great. Many people don't understand this, and only think about FOTL. But you have to remember the pools and the "action" of staying onsite.

 

[pigby]

We went those exact 2 weeks - it was our first trip in 2000 (when we were a bit 'green') but it was also our quietest trip. We did what you are doing stayed at WDW and drove over to US. Really I can only echo what other posters have said - you won't need FOTL - get there early as on all our trips even at busier times, the parks really only start filling up around lunchtime.

We have however since discovered the joys of staying on-site and splitting our stay with WDW - you really can't beat walking over to the parks from your hotel - FOTL is just an added bonus to us. Why not consider staying 3 or 4 nights (or even just an overnight stay - you could still potentially have 2 days FOTL) at a Universal hotel. Whatever you decide have a great stay - we will have gone home by then (on the 1st September) - but we think it's a great time to go.

 

[gerry45]

we stayed 4 nights once in july 2003 but hten parks closed at 10 pm.

in sept they close at six so that is part reason we are not sure if staying on site is really worth it.