Holy (light) crowds Batman!! Used FOTL for first time yesterday - it was awesome!

[mom2mikel]

We had a ressie for one night at RPR basically for FOTL priviledges. We know it's not really busy now, but this was our first year going on a weekend day so we thought we'd give it a try. Would you believe....in the middle of a Sunday on a 90 degree day, wait times for the water rides were only 5-15 minutes? I have never seen such short wait times and we go this time every year. (We usually gon on Monday and Wed or Thur). That being said, we still found the FOTL perk to be very valuable as it allowed us to get through the rides that much faster. I appreciated not having to walk through so much in the regular queue. Especially with it being so hot, it was great to move through everything so quickly.

I can't imagine doing Universal without FOTL again..... If it were just a normal Universal day for me, we would already be on our way, but we are all sleeping in a bit because we don't have to worry about the wait times growing too much -- it won't matter for us!!

Just thought I'd share. I was incredibly impressed with RPR. Next trip, I'll plan it better so we won't have the rental house and RPR the same nights and we'll actually sleep on site too!

 

[macraven]

that's what we have been telling homies for years.....



stay on site.
use the perk of fotl for the express line.....


glad you enjoyed yourselves at the park!

 

[bahama97]

Yay, glad to hear that! We got a room at the Royal Pacific for one night just for this reason. Even if the lines are short, if we don't have to wait in them, it makes it that much better!

 

[JackandSally79]

Is early May always slow?

 

[MWS94Rock]

Once you get FOTL at Universal, you can never go back to regular queues.

 

[Metro West]

Is early May always slow?

 

[Kath2003]

We had a FOTL pass for US/IOA for one day of of our vacation. It was good, because it was the Easter weekend; but to be honest we got the same amount done in the first 2 hours of the park opening. Since we don't mind going for opening, I'd rather save the money and get there to ride at our leisure. The on-site hotels look great but they're astronomically priced.

So yes, I will be going back to regular lines from now on. Our vacation ran from the Tuesday before the Easter weekend until the Friday after it. We never waited more than 20 minutes for ANY attraction, even on the Easter weekend. We did have to wait 15 minutes for the Hulk though - with the FOTL pass!

 

[Bluer101]

We had a FOTL pass for US/IOA for one day of of our vacation. It was good, because it was the Easter weekend; but to be honest we got the same amount done in the first 2 hours of the park opening. Since we don't mind going for opening, I'd rather save the money and get there to ride at our leisure. The on-site hotels look great but they're astronomically priced.

So yes, I will be going back to regular lines from now on. Our vacation ran from the Tuesday before the Easter weekend until the Friday after it. We never waited more than 20 minutes for ANY attraction, even on the Easter weekend. We did have to wait 15 minutes for the Hulk though - with the FOTL pass!

Got to remember its not just about the FOTL perk, but all the other convienence that come with staying onsite.

We used to stay offsite at about $50-$100 per night cheaper on I-Drive until last summer. Now we have over 6 stays onsite and will never stay offsite again. It make the whole trip more relaxing and a real vacation.

 

[macraven]

We had a FOTL pass for US/IOA for one day of of our vacation. It was good, because it was the Easter weekend; but to be honest we got the same amount done in the first 2 hours of the park opening. Since we don't mind going for opening, I'd rather save the money and get there to ride at our leisure. The on-site hotels look great but they're astronomically priced.

So yes, I will be going back to regular lines from now on. Our vacation ran from the Tuesday before the Easter weekend until the Friday after it. We never waited more than 20 minutes for ANY attraction, even on the Easter weekend. We did have to wait 15 minutes for the Hulk though - with the FOTL pass!

looking at what i am paying, i don't think they are astronomically priced.


i stay at the motherland for the begining of my trip.
regular season at a value resort is costing me $117.xx per night.
260 sq ft.

staying at rph in regular season is costing me $147.xx per night.
and that is a king suite of 675 sq ft. free upgrade w/ loews platinum membership..
(standard room is 335 sq ft at rph)

 

[donaldduck352]

looking at what i am paying, i don't think they are astronomically priced.


i stay at the motherland for the begining of my trip.
regular season at a value resort is costing me $117.xx per night.
260 sq ft.

staying at rph in regular season is costing me $147.xx per night.
and that is a king suite of 675 sq ft. free upgrade w/ loews platinum membership..
(standard room is 335 sq ft at rph)

Exactly mac.Plus no hassle of parking your car and the trek from the parking garage to the gates.Once yor on-site its strictly vacation time!!

 

[Jonny_Duck]

Onsite is great. Its kinda annoying I am hooked on it too. Last 2 times I went it was unnecessary for FOTL and crouds were nil. 5 min wait on pretty much every ride and staying onsite for $200 plus parking is semi harsh when FOTL isn't needed. So I may rethink it next time I go during light crowds.

 

[Darcy03231]

I just got back and paid $159/night at the Hard Rock ($180 including all taxes and fees). I don't think that was astronomical at all. I also paid the extra $15 ($16 w/taxes) a night to self-park. I doubt I'll ever stay off-site again.

 

[inkkognito]

Once you get FOTL at Universal, you can never go back to regular queues.

So true, so true, so true. After we got our Premier Passes with FOTL after 4 p.m., our visits to Disney World dropped dramatically. You get way too spoiled to be able to wait somewhere else. Now I pretty much limit my Disney visits to the off-season.

 

[Kath2003]

I guess because we have to visit in peak times (Easter, Christmas, summer), it's just way out of our price league. Convenience doesn't really play that much of a factor - last time we were 15 minutes walk or 5 minutes cab ride away. We don't drive so the parking fees don't bother us. I guess we'd save money on the cab but that would only be $16/day if we took one both ways. No APs or anything like that (we visit maybe once every 18 months maximum). If I could get a good deal at HRH or somewhere I'd stay there but compared to $80 for a reasonable off-site hotel, the prices they're charging over Easter ($250/night for the HRH), it's just not worth it for us.

 

[brooker]

I too was debating about staying on or offsite for our October trip. In the end we decided to stay offsite at the Fairfield Inn on International drive using the free days promotion as we will save $700. We can buy express passes for 3 of us for 1 or 2 days if needed for 60$ per day. Honestly we usually only do a ride once maybe twice if its a great ride like Mummy. While FOTL is great, its not worth the extra $700 IMO. At least not during an off season.