Is it worth staying onsite for express pass / early entry?

[lvdis]

We are considering staying one night on-site at the beginning of our trip to gain the Express ride pass and early entry into Harry Potter. If we did that we would be staying Saturday, January 7, 2012 and going to IOA on Sunday, Jan 8, then moving to Disney Sunday night. Would the on-site benefits be worth it for this time frame (2nd weekend in January)? This is a week before MLK day. If we don't stay on-site, we will probably just pick a day midweek to go and get there before opening.

Thanks for your help!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

I'm not really a Universal expert, but we stayed at the HRH last year for 5 days before heading over to Disney and are doing exactly the same thing this year. Just being able to get to WWoHP early was worth every penny of staying on site. The lines last summer were the worst lines I have ever seen in my life anywhere! I think at one point in the day I saw a 3 hour wait.
So YES I do think staying on site is worth it for FOTL access.

 

[nytimez]

Should be low crowds and not entirely necessary... but personally, I always find that it's worth it anyway. Even if there's only a 10 or 20 minute wait for a ride, that's 10 or 20 minutes I don't have to wait.

 

[Bluer101]

Should be low crowds and not entirely necessary... but personally, I always find that it's worth it anyway. Even if there's only a 10 or 20 minute wait for a ride, that's 10 or 20 minutes I don't have to wait.

It should be slow that weekend after the new year. But we always stay onsite no matter what time of year it is.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFan]

We are thinking about the same thing. Staying a night December 15 or 16 before we head to WDW. Really don't want to deal with crowds in an unfamiliar park. But we really want to "do" Harry Potter!

Is it worth a quick stay?

 

[Melanie230]

We are thinking about the same thing. Staying a night December 15 or 16 before we head to WDW. Really don't want to deal with crowds in an unfamiliar park. But we really want to "do" Harry Potter!

Is it worth a quick stay?

Yes it is worth the quick stay. The resort is beautiful, and the hotels make evenings by the pool so much fun!

 

[wdwmom0f3]

Another newbie here. I am in the beginning stages of planning another trip to Orlando. We are wanting to go to IoA & US and I am planning on staying onsite for the pass, early entrance & convince. My question is if we check in that morning, use the pass and check out the next day, will the pass still be good for that full check out date or do I need to plan to stay two nights? I am trying to keep this part of our trip cheap.

 

[Mom3girls]

Yes, it's good for the second full day!

 

[travisx4]

Hotel within walking distance (or boating distance), FOTL access for both check in and check out day and early admission, my vote is stay onsite, well worth it. We have stayed at RPR and PFB, we preferred PFB

 

[danalee]

I was coming here to ask the same question!

So with the early entry and and a one night stay, is this offered at there "good neighbor" hotels as well?

 

[n2mm]

I was coming here to ask the same question!

So with the early entry and and a one night stay, is this offered at there "good neighbor" hotels as well?

NO. The express perk is only available when staying at one of their 3 onsite hotels.

We do this sometimes, but not always. We find the crowd levels in January to not exist, though we only choose week days to visit.

However, during a summer visit, we always stay onsite for one night for the 2 day express perk. We are AP holders, so we generally can book a room for a great price. I have a room at PBR for almost half price (paying $199 for a Saturday night stay for a Bay View that rents for $384).

During our early May and late October visits, we don't generally stay onsite then and do well. For our October visits we generally choose a morning to go when there's a party the night before, which tends to work well for us. We always say that the party goers are sleeping in.

 

[keishashadow]

Yesbetter yet, make it 2 nights to allow yourself some time to actually enjoy the amentities at the resorts!

 

[danalee]

thanks n2mm.

I was on earlier looking at close hotels that offer packages and didn't think it was~
We are starting our Disney trip this way as well and I don't think I want to pay that kinda cash for one night, they all look like beautiful places but if you can't enjoy it at all...Its kinda like staying at the Wilderness Lodge one night to get into Magic Kingdom an hour early, guess we will take our chances.

We are going in September so maybe the crowds wont be too crazy

 

[Mom3girls]

thanks n2mm.

I was on earlier looking at close hotels that offer packages and didn't think it was~
We are starting our Disney trip this way as well and I don't think I want to pay that kinda cash for one night, they all look like beautiful places but if you can't enjoy it at all...Its kinda like staying at the Wilderness Lodge one night to get into Magic Kingdom an hour early, guess we will take our chances.

We are going in September so maybe the crowds wont be too crazy

I too thought it was very expensive. We are starting our Disney trip this way also. Decided to do two nights at Royal Pacific Resort. After reading these boards I wised up and figured if I purchased an AP for myself for approx $90 more than the 3 day p2p pass I was gonna buy, I would save on my room rate and 15% on the passes for the rest of my 4 family members (savings of $95).

So at first I had a room at HRH pool view and was paying $808 for the room. Then got AAA discount and was paying $727. Now using AP and staying at Royal Pacific Club Level I am paying $650. There are rooms available at PRH for $405 but we really want to try club level.

So there can be quite a bit of savings once you get an AP. Not to mention the discount on food and merchandise through out Universal. Check into it.

 

[danalee]

ok i have playing on universals site and no matter what "good neighbor hotel" i get this...is this the early thing we are talking about? sorry to be so but i am clueless with universal anything!

Econo Lodge Inn & Suites
Room # 1- 3 Adults 1 Child
Room Type - Standard


(included in base price)
1-Day Base Ticket
3 Adults $90.53 ea. 1 Junior $90.53 ea.
$362.12

CityWalk Party Pass
Included with hotel

Early Park Admission to Islands of Adventure
Included with hotel

Hotel Base Price (includes certain taxes and services) $52.08
Options $362.12
Total Price $414.20
Price Per Person $103.55

 

[macraven]

We are considering staying one night on-site at the beginning of our trip to gain the Express ride pass and early entry into Harry Potter. If we did that we would be staying Saturday, January 7, 2012 and going to IOA on Sunday, Jan 8, then moving to Disney Sunday night. Would the on-site benefits be worth it for this time frame (2nd weekend in January)? This is a week before MLK day. If we don't stay on-site, we will probably just pick a day midweek to go and get there before opening.

Thanks for your help!

you won't have to worry about any park crowds for your dates.

it is more than the perk of express line usage and early entrance that keeps me staying on site.

the hotels are great. employees at the hotels are nice and helful.
you have the star service program and can get anything you forgot to bring without charges.
(shave cream, razors, toothbrush, etc), quality bedding, room service, beautiful grounds around the hotels, etc.

i enjoy the laid back very peaceful atmosphere, very relaxing.

i can go to the park anytime and be able to return to my room within 8-15 minutes once i leave the park.

there is more to universal than just the parks.

great dining at the hotels and at city walk.
outdoor entertainment at city walk on the weekends evenings. (free)
a cinema, speciality stores, shops, snack shops meaning cinnabon, starbucks, etc.

if you only want to go to the parry hotter section for one day, you could do that easily by staying off site.
for the time period you will be there, you should not be encountering crowds.

 

[edamethyst]

I would definetly stay at the hotel in the parks. The front line access is great, the hotels are fabulous, the food at city walk is good and lots of choices, the hotel restaurants are great. its so nice to be in the parks and walk back to your hotel, no crowds no waiting, just walk back, swim for a lil bit, get cleaned up, walk back to parks for a while, have dinner at city walk...

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

This is so funny to see this pop up. We have never done Universal (or wait. . .I did once in college when it was just Universal, no IOA). We are planning to return to WDW in September 2012, and we are DVC members.

DH & I were talking last night about how much we wanted to do Harry Potter. We were thinking of driving down a day earlier than planned (we have a little one, so we drive all night), arriving around lunch on a Thursday. We'd check into RPR (that one won me over from the pics), and just relax (even if the room wasn't ready, that's ok). Do dinner at City Walk that night, and then the next day, do Harry Potter before going over to our WDW resort.

We really only want to do HP, so I'm excited to read about all of this and see everyone's hints for doing a trip this way!! Thanks so much!!

 

[damo]

This is so funny to see this pop up. We have never done Universal (or wait. . .I did once in college when it was just Universal, no IOA). We are planning to return to WDW in September 2012, and we are DVC members.

DH & I were talking last night about how much we wanted to do Harry Potter. We were thinking of driving down a day earlier than planned (we have a little one, so we drive all night), arriving around lunch on a Thursday. We'd check into RPR (that one won me over from the pics), and just relax (even if the room wasn't ready, that's ok). Do dinner at City Walk that night, and then the next day, do Harry Potter before going over to our WDW resort.

We really only want to do HP, so I'm excited to read about all of this and see everyone's hints for doing a trip this way!! Thanks so much!!

You should be checking out the main Universal boards too. They are more about the planning and less about the hotels.

 

[danalee]

So front of the line access is more like fast-pass shall we say, and early entry into the park, is a perk for guest's at one of the three major hotel plus there good neighbor type hotels? Is this close to being right