Is 3 nights at US/IoA enough?

[DLPDreams]

Hello all

I have a bit of a dilemma. We had planned to stay 3 nights at RPR at the beginning of our stay Aug 15. However, as we won't arrive until late on the first night, we essentially lose any benefit of that stay (we don't want to book into somewhere else for the first night, happy to stay at RPR as we don't want too many hotel changes). When I've been pricing up it's about £4 more to stay for an extra (4th) night, rather than 3. But I'm wondering if it's worth doing the 4 nights?

We are currently booked to check into OKW on the 4th day and I know I wouldn't be able to cancel this night now, so we'd end up with two lots of accom!

I've been following all the new Diagon Alley press and it appears there is just so much to see and do there, I'm really worried that 3 early mornings won't be enough to feel we've done WWOHP justice (the main reason we are doing US). I read one journo review that said he spent 2.5 hours in there during a press only event and he still didn't feel he'd done everything he wanted to! As we are going in August with US kids still off school (and a weekend stay ), it concerns me. I know the FOLP will help with the rest of the parks but not WWOHP.

What would you do? I've looked into tickets and it appears the 14 day tickets are the best price anyway, so that doesn't make much difference. The only added cost I can see is at WDW we have the DDP so not paying out for meals, whereas at US, with an extra day/night, we'll have extra food costs.

I had sort of planned out our WDW TS meals and tbh I think we'll struggle to use up the extra TS credits if we were to spend an extra night at US instead. We are booked to stay 18 nights at OKW at the moment.

Thanks for any advice .

 

[Elise79]

I can't advise on US however you can amend you Disney booking (you booked direct right?) for £50 which is going to be cheaper than paying for 2 lots of accommodation.

 

[DLPDreams]

I can't advise on US however you can amend you Disney booking (you booked direct right?) for £50 which is going to be cheaper than paying for 2 lots of accommodation.

Ooh that could be an option then. I just presumed I couldn't cancel, or if I did it would be very expensive. I might give them a call tomorrow to check. How would it work as, atm, I have only paid a £50 deposit pp.

I don't want to regret staying that extra night at US though if there isn't that much to keep the children amused, other than HP that is. My eldest would be in her element there, but we'd also love WDW. I think because DA is so new, no one really knows how long is needed to really give it a good going over.

 

[chmurf]

If you go for a 4th night, you'll need to amend your booking.

You'll need to check in at OKW as planned even if you pay for 2 accomodations for the same night.

so you'll need to go to OKW either way and whatever time you add at USF with your 4th day, you'll lose to go to OKW and back.

1 month after the opening of Diagon Alley, there will probably be a lot of people in the parks but they'll mostly concentrate around the 2 potterlands. So with the express you should have plenty of time to tour the rest of both parks.

3 early entries sound nice. But remember that there is no express for the main rides (FJ, and probably gringott's) only standby.

And also, IIRC, school resumes later this year, and there might be more US kids that 3rd week of August.

If you really feel more comfortable with a 4 night, that could be a good idea.
You'll need to add the £50 WDW amendment fee to whatever price you will pay for the 4th night.
Don't be a no-show for check in at OKW, definitely amend your booking if you stay 4 nights at USF

 

[joolz1910]

If the cash difference is a few pounds, I would book the extra Universal night and play it by ear. You might be ready to check out early and head for OKW. Can't you do online check-in at OKW, so wouldn't that negate the need to check-in in person?

 

[DLPDreams]

If you go for a 4th night, you'll need to amend your booking.

You'll need to check in at OKW as planned even if you pay for 2 accomodations for the same night.

so you'll need to go to OKW either way and whatever time you add at USF with your 4th day, you'll lose to go to OKW and back.

1 month after the opening of Diagon Alley, there will probably be a lot of people in the parks but they'll mostly concentrate around the 2 potterlands. So with the express you should have plenty of time to tour the rest of both parks.

3 early entries sound nice. But remember that there is no express for the main rides (FJ, and probably gringott's) only standby.

And also, IIRC, school resumes later this year, and there might be more US kids that 3rd week of August.

If you really feel more comfortable with a 4 night, that could be a good idea.
You'll need to add the £50 WDW amendment fee to whatever price you will pay for the 4th night.
Don't be a no-show for check in at OKW, definitely amend your booking if you stay 4 nights at USF

Could we keep our booking as is at OKW and just email them to let them know we won't actually be arriving until the next day? It is probably cheaper to just cancel the first night at OKW but who knows?

I really can't decide if we'll be kicking ourselves leaving US on the 4th day rather than staying on the extra night.

I had realised WWHOP wasn't included in the FOLP, and this was why I was wondering if the 4th early entry day really would be the icing on the cake for our plans. It perhaps gives us time to revisit our favourites in that early entry hour before the hoardes (or the rest of the hoardes) descend.

How long have I got for the £50 amend fee? I am wondering if I should wait until more visitors info filters back about Diagon Alley before making a final decision.

At £4 for the extra night, it's not going to break the bank, but once you factor in the £50 WDW amend fee, extra food costs etc. It does become more.

How long does it take to drive from US to WDW? Is it about 30 mins? I have no idea atm. One of us could go to OKW, check in and then not use the first night I guess. Or, do we all have to be there?

I think I need to call them and ask about the sums involved really.

 

[edinburghlass]

You have more than a year to monitor the situation so I would wait and see for sure. Press events are totally different in that they don't have a whole queue of people behind them and can take 2.5 hours to look around! Which indeed is what they are there for so they can post/blog about what they have seen.

 

[DLPDreams]

Thanks all - Joolz - I am going to monitor the RPR price and may end up doing just as you have said, just to be on the safeside.

edinburghlass - you are right and that is why I am having a dilemma. Part of me thinks 3 early entries will be enough, but having seen the preview webcasts of DA, I am really wondering otherwise.

Another point to note, I have priced up one nights less stay at OKW and it looks like it will be a whopping £372 LESS to stay 17 nts as opposed to 18 nts! Even with the £50 admin fee, we will still be £322 better off staying at RPR . I think this is partly down to us dropping into a different pricing bracket going a day later tbh.

I presume I have lots of time to decide. So, will keep a watch on visitor reviews as they come in over the next few months.

Staying 4 nts does flag up one more issue though - we were going to hire a car, but tbh for it to sit 4 nts in a carpark charging around $20 pd, I don't think we'll bother. Will need to sort out taxi from the airport I think!
Joolz - know you are doing similar. Have you heard of that company who take you to a supermarket via your hotel so you can stock up on water/snacks/essentials if need be? Looks good - need to find out more!

 

[scoobydooby]

Tiffany Towncar are excellent and do a grocery stop. Have used them several times to and from the airport and from Disney to universal. Not for the last three years but my previous experiences were 100% satisfied. Will use them to get to Universal next year probably as agree don't want an expensive car sitting on a car park for four days.

 

[DLPDreams]

Tiffany Towncar are excellent and do a grocery stop. Have used them several times to and from the airport and from Disney to universal. Not for the last three years but my previous experiences were 100% satisfied. Will use them to get to Universal next year probably as agree don't want an expensive car sitting on a car park for four days.

Thanks Scooby. *********** are another I've just found. However, it appears they only do a 'free' 30 min grocery stop if you are booking a round trip airport journey, we won't be doing that.

I'll check out Tiffany.

Hmm - not sure why can't post the name!?

 

[novice101]

I hope so were only doing 1 night so 2 days. Last time we didn't get the express pass but managed 2 parks in one day, so hoping having double the time and the express pass we should be good.

 

[Sam1]

Are you just doing Disney and Universal? If you are, I'd save the money and spend the extra night at Universal because 17 nights at Disney is plenty. Yes, you'd more than likely be able to do all the Harry Potter stuff in two early entry days, but an extra day would mean you won't have to worry about cramming everything in just after arriving.

We're staying two nights at Universal, but we'll be doing two early entry mornings on other days throughout the holiday as well. I don't know how long it'll take to fully see Diagon Alley, but you don't need any more than one early morning to see Hogsmeade. If you're not planning on going back during your Disney stay, I'd add the extra to Universal, save the money and do it at a more relaxed pace.

 

[DLPDreams]

I hope so were only doing 1 night so 2 days. Last time we didn't get the express pass but managed 2 parks in one day, so hoping having double the time and the express pass we should be good.

I think it depends on many factors tbh - what time of year you are going (we are going early August so US children still off school), what days of the week (we are there over a weekend, so always busier), and also how much time you actually want to devote to an attraction. As our costs ratchet up, I really can't see us getting back to WDW in the next few years after this trip, so we want to ensure we feel happy with what we have managed to achieve. HP is a huge part of this holiday for all 6 of us (probably as much as WDW for some of us), so we want to ensure we see as much as we possibly can in the time we have.

 

[DLPDreams]

Are you just doing Disney and Universal? If you are, I'd save the money and spend the extra night at Universal because 17 nights at Disney is plenty. Yes, you'd more than likely be able to do all the Harry Potter stuff in two early entry days, but an extra day would mean you won't have to worry about cramming everything in just after arriving.

We're staying two nights at Universal, but we'll be doing two early entry mornings on other days throughout the holiday as well. I don't know how long it'll take to fully see Diagon Alley, but you don't need any more than one early morning to see Hogsmeade. If you're not planning on going back during your Disney stay, I'd add the extra to Universal, save the money and do it at a more relaxed pace.

We will be primarily doing US and WDW, with a few shopping days and also DC in there too. I think we'll end up with about 3-4 days out of our WDW portion taken up with other things. You are right, spending the time at US at a more relaxed pace would be great as the children will be getting used to the heat/time difference etc as well.

Can I ask - how are you managing early entry days if you aren't staying onsite at US? "but we'll be doing two early entry mornings on other days throughout the holiday as well". I thought early entry was only for hotel guests?

I may have found a spanner in the works anyway, as I am concerned my quidco cashback (over £250) will be forfeited if I amend my WDW booking now. With the £50 admin fee and the £250 possible loss of our cashback, it wouldn't be then worth it to stay another night at US unfortunately.

If by some miracle my cashback pays out before we go (see my other thread on Quidco - appears they have changed their t&cs re payment of cashback for WDW holidays), then I may then cancel/swap everything around. But I have a feeling we won't see the cb paid out until after our holiday .

I am sure we will more than manage with 3 nights. It just would have been nice to spend the 4th night there for the princely sum of £2 extra!! Story of my life though - always see the bargains after I've bought/booked!!

 

[Sam1]

Can I ask - how are you managing early entry days if you aren't staying onsite at US? "but we'll be doing two early entry mornings on other days throughout the holiday as well". I thought early entry was only for hotel guests?

We've booked the flights, two nights Universal accommodation and fourteen day Universal tickets with Virgin Holidays. If you buy your tickets as a package with them, you get two days early entry. It used to be just one and free parking, but this year it changed to two days. I'm assuming because of Diagon Alley opening they've added the extra day.

Our Universal stay isn't until after our Disney stay, so that's more for the FOLP.

 

[DLPDreams]

We've booked the flights, two nights Universal accommodation and fourteen day Universal tickets with Virgin Holidays. If you buy your tickets as a package with them, you get two days early entry. It used to be just one and free parking, but this year it changed to two days. I'm assuming because of Diagon Alley opening they've added the extra day.

Our Universal stay isn't until after our Disney stay, so that's more for the FOLP.

Ah, I see. That seems a good deal then .

I will just have to hang fire and see how the cashback thing pans out. When I go to book our US accom, if 4 nights isn't much more (like the £4 showing atm) then I will probably book it and sort it all out nearer the time!