Help planning a mother/son trip...

[Blanche_Neige]

I have been to WDW 5 times in the last 4 years, never been to US. I am trying to see if I can plan a little surprise get away for my 10 year old son

I'm trying to find the most economical trip... I don't know where to stay or even how many days are needed to visit US not sure where to start, I find the US website very difficult to navigate and they don't send out planning DVD or info like WDW does So I decided to start here since I always got the best answers here

I already have one 7 day (2 park) ticket from Airmiles, so I would need to purchase 1 ticket only.

I plan on going the first week in January and stay 3-4 days (is that enough?)

We will not be renting a car, I don't drive on the highway

At WDW we usually stay at Value resorts? (All Star Music).

What would you recommend for us?

-What hotel (onsite or off)
-How many days to stay
-Anything else I might need to know

 

[damo]

Stay onsite at the Royal Pacific for 3 full days. You won't regret it. I would call to get the best prices. Make sure you let them know if you have CAA. There are usually discounts. Don't wait too long to book since things have been filling up very quickly lately.

By staying onsite, you don't have to worry about transportation...you can walk everywhere or take the boat. You will get early entry every day and you will get unlimited express passes for all rides except 3; Forbidden Journey, Pteranadon flyers and Rip Ride Rockit (which is down for repairs right now and may not even be back up by early Jan.)

 

[Blanche_Neige]

Stay onsite at the Royal Pacific for 3 full days. You won't regret it. I would call to get the best prices. Make sure you let them know if you have CAA. There are usually discounts. Don't wait too long to book since things have been filling up very quickly lately.

By staying onsite, you don't have to worry about transportation...you can walk everywhere or take the boat. You will get early entry every day and you will get unlimited express passes for all rides except 3; Forbidden Journey, Pteranadon flyers and Rip Ride Rockit (which is down for repairs right now and may not even be back up by early Jan.)

I would love to stay onsite but after seeing the rates (over 200$/night) I cannot afford that

 

[Bobo912]

I'm a single mom with a 10-year-old son. I'm planning a surprise trip to Universal in Dec for my DS too. I prefer WDW (11 trips in the last 7 years) but DS wants to see Harry Potter, so this trip will be a Christmas present for him. This is our third Universal trip. First trip we stayed 2 days and the second trip 3 days. Personally I think 3 days is more than enough. I would recommend staying onsite. It's so convenient and you get front of the line access to rides and attractions and early entry to the parks. If you want some place a little less expensive, the Doubletree at the Entrance to Universal is a nice hotel and is within easy walking distance of Universal. We stayed at HRH on our last trip, but this Dec I've booked RPR. I found with the "stay more save more" offer I could stays 3 nights at RPR for the same price as 2 nights at HRH so I decided to come a day early and have a little extra time to enjoy the resort. Unlike WDW, you don't really need to do a lot of planning for Universal, since everything is in one place rather than scattered all over. I think you'll find it easy to navigate. Have fun!

 

[Blanche_Neige]

I'm a single mom with a 10-year-old son. I'm planning a surprise trip to Universal in Dec for my DS too. I prefer WDW (11 trips in the last 7 years) but DS wants to see Harry Potter, so this trip will be a Christmas present for him. This is our third Universal trip. First trip we stayed 2 days and the second trip 3 days. Personally I think 3 days is more than enough. I would recommend staying onsite. It's so convenient and you get front of the line access to rides and attractions and early entry to the parks. If you want some place a little less expensive, the Doubletree at the Entrance to Universal is a nice hotel and is within easy walking distance of Universal. We stayed at HRH on our last trip, but this Dec I've booked RPR. I found with the "stay more save more" offer I could stays 3 nights at RPR for the same price as 2 nights at HRH so I decided to come a day early and have a little extra time to enjoy the resort. Unlike WDW, you don't really need to do a lot of planning for Universal, since everything is in one place rather than scattered all over. I think you'll find it easy to navigate. Have fun!

Thank you for your advise. After looking into the flights cost I decided to wait a year before going on this trip It just doesn't make sense financially to do it, especially since we are planning another Disney cruise for next year

 

[Bobo912]

I would love to stay onsite but after seeing the rates (over 200$/night) I cannot afford that

I was typing my previous response when you posted. If you have AAA the rate for January at the Doubletree is $98.99. We've stayed there and it's a very good alternative to onsite.

 

[cpl100]

Stay onsite at the Royal Pacific for 3 full days. You won't regret it. I would call to get the best prices. Make sure you let them know if you have CAA. There are usually discounts. Don't wait too long to book since things have been filling up very quickly lately.

By staying onsite, you don't have to worry about transportation...you can walk everywhere or take the boat. You will get early entry every day and you will get unlimited express passes for all rides except 3; Forbidden Journey, Pteranadon flyers and Rip Ride Rockit (which is down for repairs right now and may not even be back up by early Jan.)

I am visiting that same week and just called to inquire about AAA rates. I was told the isn't an AAA rate in the system 'now'. (Not sure if that means there was, it was sold out and I missed it OR if that means it hasn't been entered yet.)

I also was told RRR will not be operational that week. FYI