How important is it?

[mammomommie]

We will be 5 days in Disney and 2 days at Universal mid-October 2012. We will be staying at Shades of Green. I just hate to pay for the expensive hotel at Universal unless it is necessary. I know how important rope drop is at Disney, I assume it is the same at Universal.

Two kids DS 8 DD 16 who are very excited about the attractions there.

Is it really worth the money?

 

[Bonniec]

It depends. Most people will probably say it's not important, and it really isn't. But it sure is nice!! If money is an issue, you won't NEED to stay there to visit both parks in 2 days (especially in October).

That being said, we live an hour and a half away and have passes and still try to stay when we can afford it. Staying on site gives you the express pass to skip past most lines and that's really a beautiful thing there!

So my answer....if you can afford it, then do it. If money is tight, don't worry about it. (Just try to avoid glaring at the express passers as they breeze by you in the lines )

 

[damo]

I totally agree with Bonnie!

 

[mammomommie]

Thanks. I never really waited in lines very long at Disney because I know what I'm doing there HaHa

Is there a way to get discounts for the hotels?

 

[Bonniec]

I don't think so other than what's on their site. Though if anyone knows, do share! lol AP holders get some discounts but it's still super pricey. I've never seen the hotels on Priceline or anything like that.

You can also buy the express passes too. But they are expensive and unless there are only 2 of you, it's likely cheaper to stay on site.

We usually stay at the middle priced one, Hard Rock. It's pretty cool. But it's still just a hotel room. There are so many condo type hotels with suites in Orlando that I hate staying in a one room hotel anymore. But I'll stay there for the express passes.


P.S. If you choose not to stay there, the only place you really have to worry about is Forbidden Journey in Harry Potter land. That place gets a long line (over an hour). In fact....I'm not even sure if you can use an express pass on that (can anyone verify??). But if you are used to Disney, it's no big deal. You can easily do a park a day either way. It's just the insane jealousy of watching express pass people fly by you to get on rides.

 

[Lynne G]

Know that if you travel from SOG, must pay for parking in those huge garages and then make your way to the parks. (though you pay for parking at the onsite hotel's too, but the lots are much smaller and the ride or walk from the hotel is nice)

But I agree, the 2 big benefits of staying onsite are 1. The express pass. It really is a beautiful thing to get on fast. 2. One hour early entry to Potterland. It definites does cut down on how many people rush that early opening.

In October, especially on the week day before school lets out will be not as crowded. There may be early closing though, because of the halloween scary nights, hard ticket events.

And, the 2 big rides that are not express pass are the Forbidden Journey in Potterland and Rip Red Rocket in Universal.

Either way, it's a nice diversion from Disney. The ride to get there is only around 1/2 hour, and I found the 2 Universal parks much easier to relax and go with the flow in. Not as many strollers and other wheeled vehicles. My kids loved all the rides. Most of the park is geared for older, so I think your kids will love the park too. We did everything non-Disney this year (Universal and the 4 Busch parks) and on the way home, the kids said can we do Disney and Universal next year and give up the other parks, but maybe do DC too again?

 

[damo]

I like to stay onsite because it saves me lots of time, giving more bang for my buck. I like to feel immersed and I think it gives you a much better Universal experience. It isn't just another park then. With an annual pass, you can often get a room for around $139/night. This will give you early entry, unlimited express pass access and let you go back to your hotel in minutes. Annual passes are about half the price of Disney's APs and renewals are even cheaper.

AAA also has cheaper rates and there are also stay more save more rates.

The rides that don't take express are Forbidden Journey, Pteranadon Flyers and the Ollivander's show at IOA. At Universal, Rip Ride Rockit does not accept. However there are single rider lines at FJ and RRR that can make your wait shorter.

 

[Flossbolna]

We were at Universal Studios and IoA on October 18th this year. It was a Tuesday - and it had a severe weather warning that day. Fortunately the severe weather did never happen for us that day.

But the park was seriously empty. We started at WWoHP in the morning and walked onto everything there. We returned in the afternoon and at 5 pm the place was empty again. We again just walked onto Forbidden Journey without any wait. Even the line for the wand shop (which we had no interest in) was only about 15 people long.

The rest of the parks were not crowded either. I think the longest waits were15 minutes for Mummy, 10 minutes for Jaws and 10 minutes for Spiderman (one time, the second ride was only a few minutes).

We might have been really lucky because of the really bad weather forecast, but from the other reports I read, I think October is not a very crowded time.

 

[Metro West]

October is a great time to go because of the light crowds and great weather...most of the time.