Hotel Question

PlanningDisney

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
84
We planned a trip to Disney (our first) in August. We had a GREAT time. However, before the trip, I purchased the 7 day tickets from Universal, thinking we would go a day or two....well, we never made it to Universal and now want to plan a quick trip to use the tickets. We are planning on going in Mid-March (Spring Break). My question is this, since we just finished a Disney trip, and have to pay airfare to get there. How important is the FOTL pass? The onsite hotels (while very nice) are really expensive. Most posts I have read are people that stay onsite. Does anyone stay offsite? We will be there 4 nights. I was also wondering if staying onsite 1 night, would be worth it to use the FOTL 2 of the days....what do you guys advise???? The cheapest rate I could find was around $270 a night. That is a lot just for a fotl pass....I'm not against staying onsite, and probably will for sure at least one night, but is is worth it the whole trip? Does anyone else split stay? If so, do you have a hotel you recommend? Sorry for all the questions!!!! Thanks in advance!
 
If you are going in Spring Break, staying onsite makes your trip just so much more enjoyable. The crowds are really big and getting FOTL just gives you so much more time to enjoy other things besides standing in line.
 
But if I stay onsite one night don't I get FOTL 2 days? We are only there 4 days, maybe that will be enough? I was thinking ride the rides on fotl days and catch some shows or just walk around the other days, and see what we may have missed????

Also, when you all say it is "crowded", how long are the lines typically. 20-30 minutes are ok, but when it gets to an hour or two...then I can't do that!

I have also heard if you get there upon opening, you can ride a lot of stuff early, maybe we can do that on the days we don't have fotl????

Thanks for the help!
 
Yes you do get FOTL for 2 full days. You want to take advantage of those FULL days. If you are only going to stay onsite for one night, you will want to be checking in before the parks open and then check out but still manage to have a full second day at the parks without have to spend several hours transferring to a different hotel. Store your luggage with bell services and check into your other hotel after the parks close.

Normal lines will be much longer than 20-30 minutes during Spring Break. However, with your FOTL passes they will likely be under 15 minutes. FOTL passes also get you advanced seating at restaurants. Make sure you take advantage of that.

Getting there before opening makes a huge difference.

There are lots of close cheaper hotels. Book early since Spring Break means higher rates.
 

We are going next month, and we are going to stay our first night onsite, that way we can have the day we check in, and then the next day with Express Passes.

For two days x 2 people - it was about the same price to stay onsite than to stay somewhere else & buy express passes. Plus, they are good for a ride mulitple times - the ones you buy at the park is one time per ride.
 
Does this sound crazy?

What if I book a cheaper hotel for the 4 nights and just shuttle over to a Universal Hotel for one night (without checking out of the other). This is what it would look like:

Arrive Saturday, around noon, check in (offsite hotel) shuttle to the parks and spend the day checking them out....shuttle back to hotel and stay the night. Then get up early Sunday, put everyone a change of clothes, and toiletries in a big backpack, shuttle to Universal....check in hotel, leave big backpack at desk...get fotl passes (aka room key), and spend the whole day at the parks. Then stay the night onsite. Get up, check out of onsite hotel, and have them store our bag. Spend the whole day at the parks with fotl passes. Then as park closes, grab backpack form hotel, and head to offsite (where we already have a room). On Monday we will not have fotl passes., but can look at some other things or even do SeaWorld. Tuesday check out and fly home.

I know it is crazy to pay for 2 hotels the night we stay onsite, but it is cheaper (and easier!) then checking out and checking back in. I don't want to stay onsite the day we arrive or the day we leave as those might be 1/2 days.

Is this crazy????

Any good recommendations on hotels that are close, but fairly nice?
 
If you get a really good price, then sure!!! You are best to get two full days of FOTL, like you are planning.

How much are you wanting to spend per night and what caliber of hotel are you looking at?

You might want to investigate the Hyatt Place Universal. http://orlandouniversal.place.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/place/index.jsp

There are many other hotels in that same area. You can check them out on expedia.
 
Does this sound crazy?

What if I book a cheaper hotel for the 4 nights and just shuttle over to a Universal Hotel for one night (without checking out of the other). This is what it would look like:

Arrive Saturday, around noon, check in (offsite hotel) shuttle to the parks and spend the day checking them out....shuttle back to hotel and stay the night. Then get up early Sunday, put everyone a change of clothes, and toiletries in a big backpack, shuttle to Universal....check in hotel, leave big backpack at desk...get fotl passes (aka room key), and spend the whole day at the parks. Then stay the night onsite. Get up, check out of onsite hotel, and have them store our bag. Spend the whole day at the parks with fotl passes. Then as park closes, grab backpack form hotel, and head to offsite (where we already have a room). On Monday we will not have fotl passes., but can look at some other things or even do SeaWorld. Tuesday check out and fly home.

I know it is crazy to pay for 2 hotels the night we stay onsite, but it is cheaper (and easier!) then checking out and checking back in. I don't want to stay onsite the day we arrive or the day we leave as those might be 1/2 days.

Is this crazy????

Any good recommendations on hotels that are close, but fairly nice?

Holiday Inn Express Closest to Universal (thats the name) has really good reviews. They have a full breakfast & they're pretty close to the parks. We got our room for $81/night.
 
Does this sound crazy?

What if I book a cheaper hotel for the 4 nights and just shuttle over to a Universal Hotel for one night (without checking out of the other).

I know it is crazy to pay for 2 hotels the night we stay onsite, but it is cheaper (and easier!) then checking out and checking back in. I don't want to stay onsite the day we arrive or the day we leave as those might be 1/2 days.

Is this crazy????

It is not crazy. DW and I have done this before. Sometimes you get a great deal at an offsite hotel (or a Disney one) based on the number of nights and lose it if you go for less nights. It is a BIG PAIN to check out and back in 2 or three times just for the FOTL. Once you actually use the FOTL though, you will think they are worth every penny. With the time you save on lines, you may actually even use the hotel pool to relax.
 







New Posts









Receive up to $1,000 in Onboard Credit and a Gift Basket!
That’s right — when you book your Disney Cruise with Dreams Unlimited Travel, you’ll receive incredible shipboard credits to spend during your vacation!
CLICK HERE













DIS Facebook DIS youtube DIS Instagram DIS Pinterest DIS Tiktok DIS Twitter DIS Bluesky

Back
Top