Is it worth staying onsite to get FOTL Mid Sept

[Carina]

Cost is a 'tiny' bit of the factor... meaning I can swing it in the budget.

Basically, we are planning 2 Universal days. We can do them at the end of our trip. if we stay at a Uni Hotel

We are staying off-site in a pool-house, and renting a car

We could leave the pool-house, check in at a RPR or HRH very EARLY and use the Harry Potter extra hour, stay the one night, do it again the next day, then leave that night for Tampa and stay in a hotel there until our morning flight, which would save us worries over morning traffic and give us more time to sleep ( we fly out of Tampa Airport Sept 18th at 9:30ish AM)

This would be a Sunday night stay at a Uni Hotel, using the FOTL for Sunday and Monday.

I cannot decide if the FOTL and Extra Harry Potter hour gives enough benefit Mid Sept to make it worthwhile packing up the pool-house early and hauling it all to Universal.

I know we would be able to live out of suitcases the last 2 days but for 5 people thats still a lot of hauling bags around OR time spent organizing our last few outfits ( ha ha my son always says 'guys don't wear Outfits') into one suitcase.

AND we would lose our kitchen.

BUT if we save a lot of time in lineups it would balance out... Or in fact be very worthwhile.

Otherwise we would probably space out our 2 Universal days through out our time in Orlando.

What would you do???

 

[damo]

You should be just fine to stay where you are.

 

[macraven]

if you went to the darkside on the 16th and 17th of september, you wouldn't be seeing crowds.

i have been once during that week and it was light in the parks.


if you decide to do different dates at the darkside and stay at the 'home' base off site hotel, just avoid saturdays at the park.
that would be the one day you'll see more peeps in lines for rides..


stick with m-tu-we-th.
going on sunday for the 16th won't be an issue for crowds.
(that monday also will be fine as it is not part of a 3 day weekend.)



if you want to do the experience of staying onsite, it will be fun.
you'll have a totally different experience of universal and what it has to offer.

if you are on a budget and want to save money, you could do a couple of day trips in that mid september time period w/o hour long waits at all....


express pass plus tickets won't be necessary staying offsite.


do what is best for your family.


if this is going to be the only experience you have at the darkside, do consider staying onsite for feeling the total immersion of universal.

you'll have very little waits in the early entry for parry hotter.
spiderman also is included in that early entry program.
once you leave the park for a mid day break or at the close of the day, you have a short walk or boat ride back to the hotel.
swim in the pool, have dinner at city walk.
no drive back to a hotel.

rph can run cheaper than hrh.
you can pool hop to any of the onsite hotel pools.

if you have AAA, you can book with a discount for the room.
low season is in the time period you are considering to stay on site.


whatever you do, have a butter beer or two while in the parks.
enjoy!