Give it to Me Straight...

[Colleen27]

How bad an idea would it be to visit US/IoA over New Year's week? We would be staying at the Hard Rock and spending 4 days in the parks.

The kids are dying to get to US but with a high schooler who plays football we're running out of times to travel. Summers are out; practice starts right after the 4th of July and the season runs through at least the end of October, potentially until Thanksgiving weekend depending on their playoff performance. And he can't miss school for a trip. So we're left with Christmas break, Presidents' Day weekend (though that would be a shorter trip than I'd like), or maybe Easter week if by some miracle all the kids have the same week off in 2015. All crowded times, I know.

What I don't know, since I've never done US myself, is how much staying on site might help with the crowds. I'm used to Disney, where busy times mean stampedes at rope drop and fast passes gone in the first hour of the day for premier attractions, and I'd never brave WDW during peak season. But express pass has me thinking that maybe US/IoA would be more manageable despite the crowds? Or am I wrong in that? Is there a better school break time to visit?

 

[macraven]

staying onsite helps with the crowds for the line waits.
onsite hotel guests at the 3 deluxe hotels have perks.

early entry and unlimited usage of the express lines for rides and shows.


new years can be a busy time.

i waited until the 9th of this month to stay there and did see large crowds on the weekends.


it didn't effect me as i used the express lines.

are you planning to go prior to new years or the days right after the holiday?

 

[Colleen27]

are you planning to go prior to new years or the days right after the holiday?

The US part of the trip would likely be 12/30 through 1/4 or thereabouts. The plan would be to leave home on 12/26, rent a car to spend a few days on the Gulf coast to kayak at Weekie Watchee and go orange picking somewhere since my kids are always asking about it, then return the car and spend the rest of the trip at US/IoA. I think US would be the better place to ring in the New Year too. The hotel we stay at on the Gulf Coast is a sleepy small town bed & breakfast, not an all-night-fun sort of place.

 

[macraven]

crowds are big 12/30 and 31st.
this year jan 1-5 were crowded.
probably due to the way school breaks were scheduled and many were still on school break.

i did disney the first week, right after nyday and i will never do those crowds again........
i moved over to the darkside then and did run into crowds (but nothing like nye crowds) that weekend.


universal also had their share of crowds this year.


city walk will be very crowded on nye.
it's celebrated big there.

if you stay onsite at one of the 3 main hotels, it will alleviate long line waits for the rides in the park.

Despicable Me had regular line waits of 65 minutes when i was there this month.
the express line was 15 minutes on some of the times i did the ride and also had 5 minute waits some days for me.

if you plan on staying at UO 12/30, book it in advance.
the hotels can book up or only have the higher end room rates available.

don't wait until a month out to book your room.

 

[Colleen27]

We'll likely be booking in the spring. That's the start of my husband's busy season at work so I really start the saving and planning then. And we'll definitely be at Hard Rock. My teenage son has been wanting to stay there for years, but we were waiting until my youngest was big enough to appreciate a little more of Universal. Then the HP expansion was announced and of course we had to wait until that was done. But between that and all the changes over at WDW in the last year, we've decided now's the perfect time to venture over to the dark side.

 

[macraven]

you and the family will have fun at the darkside.

you will save a lot of time with using the express lines, especially during the time period you will be there.


there usually is a paid party ticket for sale for city walk new years eve event.

i have not gone to it but have read about it on the forums.
it sounds like city walk is packed but a lot of fun.

book early and if any rate promotions come out, you can always call and modify your room rate.

 

[RMulieri]

Staying onsite at a deluxe resort ( Royal Pacific, HArd Rock or Portofino) will help with the ride lines.Remember there is still waits for food, bathroom etc..I would still do Universal over Disney that week.The express and early entry are that valuable. Keep in mind that the way new years falls in 2015, Schools are out till Jan 5th ( Mon).Expect crowds until then.