How awful it is to stay off-site?

[tamaraten]

Just wondering after reading so much about the fabulous FOTL perk. I was planning to stay off-site but after reading about this perk, I'm feeling a little worried. The problem is that my family consists of 6 people (DH and 4 kids, ages 12, 10, 8 & 6)) and to stay on-site at Universal would require 2 rooms which is quite expensive, many times the price of a great place off-site.

I guess I would like to hear from off-siters who can assure me that it won't be a nightmare!! Our trip is planned for Sunday December 5th to Thursday Dec. 9th, 4 park days, with 2 or 3 (probably 3) being Universal. Or should I just splurge and go for on-site?

Thanks!

 

[Planogirl]

I have stayed onsite and it's amazing. However we usually stay offsite and it's fine! Just get there when they open and you should be fine. Or at least we always are.

 

[DOOM1001]

If you were going closer to Christmas,say from 12/16-12/24 with the huge crowds I would probably suggest you stay on-site,however still near the start of the month the lines shouldn't be too bad and the difference in price is pretty dramatic as you can find very good hotels around Universal and International Drive in the $50-$75 range and I'm sure the Universal hotels are probably going for 3-4 times that.

 

[tamaraten]

I have stayed onsite and it's amazing. However we usually stay offsite and it's fine! Just get there when they open and you should be fine. Or at least we always are.

Thanks for responding! Have you been there recently and stayed off-site? I'm wondering how the crowds and waits have been recently and how that has affected off-site people.

Also, how early would you suggest to get there if off-site? I might have a problem there as my kids stay up super late and it's hard to get them up so early!

 

[donaldduck352]

On tho's dates you should be fine staying off-site..

May I reccomend a nice hotel.LaQuinta Inn on Jamaicen Ct.Great prices and rooms for the price.It only takes 5min to get to USO.We have stayed there multiple times and love it!!

 

[Darcy03231]

We went during peak season once and stayed off-site (there were 9 of us). The trick is to get there for park opening. You should be in line for the parking garage between 7:45-8:00 a.m. This way you'll be in line to get in the parks for opening at 9:00 am. Have a ride plan before you get there and head to the first ride. We found that the lines didn't really start to form until about 11 am and they didn't get really bad until about 12-1 pm. We'd go back to our villa for a swim/rest/food and then go back at night. While there were lines they didn't seem to be as long as they were mid-day (i.e., the line for Spiderman was 45 min vs. 90 min).

This advice is for US/IOA not including Harry Potter. I haven't been since it opened so I can't help you there.

 

[tamaraten]

On tho's dates you should be fine staying off-site..

May I reccomend a nice hotel.LaQuinta Inn on Jamaicen Ct.Great prices and rooms for the price.It only takes 5min to get to USO.We have stayed there multiple times and love it!!

Thank you donaldduck351! Just checked out LaQuinta (someone else had recommended it somewhere on the forum) and was surprised to see the reviews on TripAdvisor talking about cockroaches and other gross things!!! YUCK!!! That sort of scared me!

 

[tamaraten]

We went during peak season once and stayed off-site (there were 9 of us). The trick is to get there for park opening. You should be in line for the parking garage between 7:45-8:00 a.m. This way you'll be in line to get in the parks for opening at 9:00 am. Have a ride plan before you get there and head to the first ride. We found that the lines didn't really start to form until about 11 am and they didn't get really bad until about 12-1 pm. We'd go back to our villa for a swim/rest/food and then go back at night. While there were lines they didn't seem to be as long as they were mid-day (i.e., the line for Spiderman was 45 min vs. 90 min).

This advice is for US/IOA not including Harry Potter. I haven't been since it opened so I can't help you there.

Thanks Darcy 03231. Wondering though, how the Harry Potter craze affects the advice. Anybody stay off-site recently, after HP opened?

 

[Gr8t Fan]

Thanks Darcy 03231. Wondering though, how the Harry Potter craze affects the advice. Anybody stay off-site recently, after HP opened?

If I remember correctly, Darcy 03231 was just there.

We were there in August, stayed off site and did just fine. The longest line we waited in was 90 minutes for FJ and it was worth every minute.

 

[ky07]

Even staying onsite this year in july we were waiting in line for over an hour for FJ but have stayed offsite in june and july in the past and we still managed to do what we wanted and we stayed at The Doubletree at the entrance to Universal on Major Blvd and its within walking distance and they have a shuttle service to Universal and its a nice clean hotel

 

[Coach81]

We've done both.. on and off site.. my 8 year old just loves to "cut" the line.. so if we can afford it.. we do onsite.

 

[Planogirl]

Thanks for responding! Have you been there recently and stayed off-site? I'm wondering how the crowds and waits have been recently and how that has affected off-site people.

Also, how early would you suggest to get there if off-site? I might have a problem there as my kids stay up super late and it's hard to get them up so early!

We were offsite just this past August and the parks were pretty crowded. I wouldn't expect you to have the big crowds we did during your week.

I can understand the issue with getting kids up. I have a teen and he's hard to get up sometimes. I just tell him that we'll ride Spiderman and that helps.

You don't necessarily have to be there at rope drop each day but I would suggest getting there as early as you can because the parks do get more crowded later in the morning. You literally see crowds pouring in through the gates late in the morning. Harry Potter gets worse so we made it a point to get to IOA before rope drop to get in line for FJ. You might also see backups at the other rides so hit the headliners early if you can.

As for La Quinta, the one close to Universal is awful. It's the one called La Quinta Universal Studios. We stayed there a few years ago and it even smelled bad. The others in the area are much nicer but they are nothing fancy of course. There is nothing wrong with the La Quinta Orlando Convention Center and it's a very easy drive from it to Universal. We have stayed at the Jamaica Court location too but it's off of International Drive and I prefer to avoid that traffic whenever possible.

 

[oliver200137724]

Well me and my family have never gotten to stay onsite but have never really had a major issue with lines. We learned early that go early(like be at gate when they open) and have gotten most of the rides in by noon and then have a slow afternoon of shows and so on.

I would like to recommend a motel near universal if you haven't gotten on already. This motel is a suite and sleeps 6 and with the size of your kids u should be fine with the room. the motel is Lexington suites and it looks like that the room right now is 69.00 a nite. it also has full hot breakfast in the mornings. and what i liked it had a private shuttle to the park. So, you are saving the 14.00 a day to park.
Hope this helps.

Here's some info on the hotel.

http://www.lexingtonhotels.com/index.cfm

7400 Canada Avenue
Orlando FL 32819
Telephone 407-363-0332

 

[oliver200137724]

Well me and my family have never gotten to stay onsite but have never really had a major issue with lines. We learned early that go early(like be at gate when they open) and have gotten most of the rides in by noon and then have a slow afternoon of shows and so on.

I would like to recommend a motel near universal if you haven't gotten on already. This motel is a suite and sleeps 6 and with the size of your kids u should be fine with the room. the motel is Lexington suites and it looks like that the room right now is 69.00 a nite. it also has full hot breakfast in the mornings. and what i liked it had a private shuttle to the park. So, you are saving the 14.00 a day to park.
Hope this helps.

Here's some info on the hotel.

http://www.lexingtonhotels.com/index.cfm

7400 Canada Avenue
Orlando FL 32819
Telephone 407-363-0332

Also i need to add that if you register with them for their (Lexington Experience Guest Loyalty Card ) it looks like you could get the room for 58.65 a night. it is easy to register and you get the card within a couple of weeks.

 

[damo]

Here is an option that I'm not sure you have considered. The annual pass rate for Royal Pacific for your nights is $129/night. An annual pass is $229 with a yearly renewal rate of $149. You should be able to book two rooms for your family with one pass. You will then get a discount on food and merchandise as well as multiday tickets for the rest of the family.

 

[Darcy03231]

If I remember correctly, Darcy 03231 was just there.

We were there in August, stayed off site and did just fine. The longest line we waited in was 90 minutes for FJ and it was worth every minute.

My last couple of trips have been on-site since it was just me and two of my kids. I have to say that staying on-site beats staying off-site by a large margin, but when you have more than 5 people you really have to weigh the cost.

OP, another thing you can look into is staying off-site and getting express passes for one day if the parks are crowded. They will allow you to use the express line for one time for each ride (excluding Harry Potter). While it is an extra expense, its not as expensive as staying on-site with a party of 6.

 

[SignMeUp]

Here is an option that I'm not sure you have considered. The annual pass rate for Royal Pacific for your nights is $129/night. An annual pass is $229 with a yearly renewal rate of $149. You should be able to book two rooms for your family with one pass. You will then get a discount on food and merchandise as well as multiday tickets for the rest of the family.

damo, where do you find the annual pass rates for the onsite hotels? I'm wondering if it might be worth us considering for our stay Feb 26 - Mar 2 (haven't updated our dates in my siggy yet). Can you only research these rates if you are an AP holder? TIA!

 

[nancyjane]

You're going during a slow time, so I don't think the extra perks are worth it. You'll be able to see everything without it.
I think it's more important to find the right room for your family. If you can get a larger room, especially a suite with a kitchen, it's so much nicer for a family. It feels safer to me too if the kids are young.

 

[damo]

damo, where do you find the annual pass rates for the onsite hotels? I'm wondering if it might be worth us considering for our stay Feb 26 - Mar 2 (haven't updated our dates in my siggy yet). Can you only research these rates if you are an AP holder? TIA!

Go to www.loewshotels.com

Enter your hotel and dates.

Click on Promotion in the drop down box.

Enter APH in the code box.

If annual pass rates are available, they will come up.

 

[Kellydelly]

We are a family of six and I haven't seen any affordable options for staying onsite at Universal . The only way I will probably ever experience it is without kids! We haven't been there in 3 yrs, but we always rent a private home and stay offsite. We went the week before Christmas last time, and the crowds weren't too bad. We never managed to get to the park before 10 am, and the lines weren't long at all (park did start getting fuller by the end of the week). Of course this was before Harry Potter, so I am curious how that will affect our next visit (week after Thanksgiving).