Help Please! Lots of Questions!

[Jeepgirl]

My hubby and I are taking a trip to Florida from October 11th to October 18th. We are planning on going to both Disney and Universal. My hubby has never been to Universal and this will only be my second trip. I am trying to plan a fairly inexpensive trip for us and have a few questions.

First is this a crazy time to visit? Meaning if we do not stay on site will we have a proplem with waiting in lines half the day.

We are probably going to be spending most of our time in Universal as we were just at Disney in December. As someone that has been to Disney quite a few times I know the benifits of staying on site and I'm wondering if it's worth the extra $100.00 a night to do this at Universal.

Also for those of you that have done both Disney and Universal in one trip do you find it's easier to switch hotels or just stay at one and drive back and forth?

OK one last think for now What type of tickets should we purchase? Seeing as we will only be spending 3 days at each what do you think the best option is.

Thanks in advance for all of your help!!!!!!

 

[BarryHom]

October isn't a bad time to go. HHN is during October, so you may find large crowds during HHN and less during the day.

As for tickets, the Bonus Pass may be the best for you at $90. You get 5 conescutive days of admission. If you think you'll return, try the 3 day pass (unused days never expire) or the Power Pass (an AP with blackout dates).

I've never done Disney to Universal.

 

[Crazy4mandms]

PAY THE EXTRA $$$ TO STAY ON PROPERTY!!!! I just cannot stress this enough!! We went for the first time in May. We were there Memorial Day weekend and it was pretty crowded. We stayed at the Hard Rock (AWESOME!!) and the Front of the Line (FOTL) was sooooo worth it. Example: 90 min wait for Hulk...we rode TWICE in 10 mins. 60 mins for Spiderman....we were on AND off in 15 mins. Same w/MIB, Back to the Future. The longest we waited for anything was 10 mins for Dueling Dragons. Because of this, we felt so relaxed!! We knew we didn't have to wake up early to get to the park to avoid longest lines. No need to worry about fast (express) passes and what time to be back for anything or worry about crowded resort buses. We STROLLED the park at our leisure and the walk from the pool at Hard Rock to UNV main gate was exactly 5 mins (I timed it ). Prior to this we spent 8 nights at the AS Sports, which was wonderful and we loved it..however, after doing the FOTL at UNV/IOA u come away feeling soooo spoiled rotten that I think next time we will spend as many days at UNV/IOA as at WDW

 

[the Dark Marauder]

The crowds wont be heavy during the day in the listed dates. During the HHN nights, they will be. I would recommend going to HHN one night, and doing the "stay and scream" bit, as you'll get a head start on some of the houses.

 

[daywalker]

Just to add to what's already been said. If you are going in October there is no need to stay on site if you only want to do so for the front of line access, absolutely no need as crowds are light during the day. Naturally any public holidays you guys have will be busy but I can't imagine many cropping up in October.

We'll be there for 2 weeks from Oct 3rd Staying on I-drive though.

 

[UniversalAddict]

Originally posted by Jeepgirl
...I know the benifits of staying on site and I'm wondering if it's worth the extra $100.00 a night to do this at Universal....

Is it really an extra $100? You must be comparing it to a cheapo place on I-Drive. You can typically get Royal Pacific for less than $130. Personally, I would stay at Royal Pacific even if they didn't have FOTL passes (although it sure is nice).

If you guys like the night life you will LOVE City Walk. I like to stay at RP just because it's a short walk to City Walk.

 

[daannzzz]

My first trip to Universla Orlando I drove over from my Disney Hotel and it was not a problem at all. i just went over for the day to see IOA.
Last Month I Spent 4 nights at Universal's Portofino Bay and did 3 days at the Universal Parks. I thought it was very well worht it. Taking the boat in the morning over to the parks and then back in the afternoon or evening was easy and fairly fast. It fel similar to staying at the Epcot resorts as far as convenience and the hotel was very nice. Royal Pacific was also vewry nice looking when I went over for a visit and is less expensive.

 

[WDWfanatic288]

we just got back and stayed at RPH for like 110 a night...was it worth it? HECK YEAH!!! FOTL is the best thing on this Earth...we didn't wanna leave and go back to Disney after using it! It was definately worth it!! we were going to move to another hotel anyway(we are DVC members and don't use our points on weekends) so it was just great!
FOTL made the trip go a lot smoother and we weren't NEAR as tired! we stayed in the parks almost all day long!

we have gone back and forth from disney hotels before but that was our september trips and also in 2000 when they had like special deals or something

 

[Jeepgirl]

Thanks everyone for your responses. It has helped me out. I guess I'm kinda confused because when I went to the Universal website to price the hotels the cheepest I found was $178.00 a night, that was Royal Pacific. That's why I was trying to figure out if I wanted to spend that much.

 

[JOC]

Jeepgirl,

For the best discounts try checking for Entertainment or Fan Club rates for your dates. You can check Fan Club rates through online reservations by typing in "FAN" for discount code, but you have to call reservations to check Entertainment rates as they're not offered online.

 

[UniversalAddict]

Originally posted by Jeepgirl
Thanks everyone for your responses. It has helped me out. I guess I'm kinda confused because when I went to the Universal website to price the hotels the cheepest I found was $178.00 a night, that was Royal Pacific. That's why I was trying to figure out if I wanted to spend that much.

Check the "Rates and Dates" Forum over in the Resorts section.

 

[Jeepgirl]

Wow what a difference when you have an entertainment card. I called the hotel and got half off of the room. Thanks for the heads up!!!! We are going to be staying at the Hard Rock!!! I can't wait

 

[UniversalAddict]

Jeepgirl,

What is your rate?

 

[gschmerl]

Originally posted by Jeepgirl
Wow what a difference when you have an entertainment card. I called the hotel and got half off of the room. Thanks for the heads up!!!! We are going to be staying at the Hard Rock!!! I can't wait

You just can't beat those Entertainment rates. You will love the HRH. It's so easy to just walk to the parks in five or ten minutes.
Have a GREAT time.

 

[Jeepgirl]

UniversalAddict -

They priced us $125.00 plus tax for the Garden view & $160.00 plus tax for the Delux.

 

[ksdave]

Jeepgirl;
Congrats on getting the Entertainment rate. We got a great rate ($170/night) for our four nights at PBH in September. We did two nights last February which was awesome, but the whole family can't wait to have four nights at PBH. Make sure you bring your Entertainment card in case they ask for it. Also, call the Lowe's 800 number and sign up for a Loew's card. They are free and will get you free room upgrades when available, plus cookies and milk, or wine and cheese, or other extras with your room.

 

[Jeepgirl]

ksdave -
Thanks for the tip. I'll make sure to call to get that card. Have fun on your Septemeber trip