How are crowds in early November?

[bamajill]

My family and I will be going to Universal for the first time ever this November (4-11) and I would love to stay onsite to have the FOTL pass, but we can obviously find better (read: cheaper) deals elsewhere.

At that time of year, will it be worth the extra to stay onsite or will the crowds be bearable?

The nick hotel is appealing to us (my kids are 9, 7 and 5) and we can get that for around $150/night. Will the on site hotels offer anything close to that (based on past experience)?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

Jill

 

[stwyatt]

we were at us/ioa in mid-november, the crowds were not bad at all. so while you don't need fotl, i would really consider staying onsite. we only go to the parks once every 5 yrs. and have decided we will never stay anywhere else but onsite

 

[Sylvester McBean]

we checked into a getting a room early november last year at the RPH for a weekend. even with our AP or FL resident codes, the best we got was over $250.00 for one night. no way. I'll wake up early and drive the hour each way. the Nick Hotel isn't bad, fun for kids that age. it's not too far from UO. I'd rather book that rate and keep the money.

and the crowds aren't bad, but I doubt express passes will be offered during that time period. incentive to get to the parks early.

 

[stwyatt]

when we stayed in november, our price each nite for rpr was 168.00. i booked the ressies in august for 224.00. about mid-sept. the price went down to the 168.00. ironically, we wanted to stay at nick hotel for a nite, but could never get a ressie under 200.00. staying onsite(eating onsite) can definitely cost more--but part of that reason is because it is so convenient with the parks, resorts, and citywalk being all right there. our son was 10 and had an absolute blast

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Crowds should be fairly light, slightly busier at weekends.

Nick Hotel is ideal if you have kids, the theming is very good and the pool area great too.

It's in a good location too.

 

[robvia]

The big reason to stay on site at that time of the year, is the short walk to/from the parks. That makes it "feel" like you are part of the action. It means the wife and little kids can do their thing, while the husband takes the oldest on the thrill rides. The 9 year old will probably make the height requirement for all the rides. So you could split up, and meet back at the hotel. If the kids want to sleep in and don't wake up, you can walk over to the parks early in the morning, and do a thrill ride tour.
When you drive over, it usually means staying together. The parks will have light crowds, but close early (around 6pm), so that means you'll be there all day.
If you stay on site, it's only a 5-7 minute walk to the parks. So you can go back and forth.
But yeah, for the money you are saving, it's hard to justify staying onsite when the crowds won't be that bad.
Do the arrive early thing I keep talking about, parking garage opens at 8am, so leave the Nick hotel around 7:30am. It's near Disney, so it will take you 20 minutes to drive up.
Visit a Publix grocery store before checking in and stock a cooler, so you can eat doughnuts and milk in your room.

 

[KRWong]

Hi Jill! We're going the same week...election day here with one additional day off, so we couldn't resist the kids only missing three days of school! I was wondering the same thing about the crowds and am very pleased to see all the responses. I was worried when I found out about the express passes being taken out because we just booked a Spongebob suite at the Nick Hotel(DSs birthday gift!) and will lose the whole amount if we cancel!

I have three also 11, 9 and 3...enjoy your trip! Have fun, we love UO/IOA...my little guy will be bummed he can't ride Jimmy Neutron yet!! We'll just have to go back!!!

Take care!