Is this a crazy idea?

[brooker]

We are going to be in Orlando for 7 days April 30-May 7. We have 4 nights booked at a Disney value resort with 5 day passes with park hoppers and water park. We also have the 7 day Universal pass to use for 2 or 3 days of our trip. Its our 2nd trip to Disney and first to Universal. We currently have a hotel in Lake Buena Vista booked for the last 3 nights and a car for the last 3 days also. Heres where it gets crazy....Just recently(today), I have been feeling that it would be great to stay at a onsite Universal hotel(Royal Pacific) for just one night, and then move to our Buena Vista hotel for the last 2 nights. I would love to stay onsite for the FOTL access. Is going through 3 hotels in 7 nights too much? Also, we can check into the RPH hotel early(say 9:30AM) even if a room is not ready right? We then can get out key to get FOTL access at the park correct? I know the FOTL is good for all the next day even after you are checked out. I would love to stay 3 nights onsite at US but our trip is so very costly as it is, so we cant afford 3 nights.

 

[damo]

The parks shouldn't be very busy if you are going during the week.

I think staying onsite for one night at least is a great idea. It is so different when you get the full immersed experience. You get two full days of FOTL with one night's stay.

Go for it!!! Do you have AAA? The rates are somewhat better. They are a lot better with an annual pass but that would mean trading in one of your $85 tickets for a $170 annual pass. Royal pacific is $124 during that week and $159 for that weekend with the annual pass. It is $191 weekend rate with AAA.

 

[brooker]

When you say not very busy, how long of a wait do you think on average for each ride? When don't have any discount options but a room for 1 night is $239 plus taxes. The AP option actually seems like a good idea. Is it availible to me living up in the great white north?

 

[damo]

When you say not very busy, how long of a wait do you think on average for each ride? When don't have any discount options but a room for 1 night is $239 plus taxes. The AP option actually seems like a good idea. Is it availible to me living up in the great white north?

I'm from the great white north too and I've got one. We've had annual passes at Universal for many years and tend to go down about twice a year. I was down during February for my daughter's reading week and we're going down for 4 days in April. We just got airfare for $640 all together for the four of us (that's US because we're flying out of Buffalo). That makes the vacation so much cheaper. With Air Canada, each flight was going to be over $1000!!!! We are saving about $3300. I would never go down for a four day vacation if flights were $1000 each.

With the AP's we are getting Hard Rock Hotel for $150/night. It turns out to be a very reasonable holiday. You also get discounts on food and merchandise in the parks.

We're going down from April 25 to the 29th and expect the lines to be around the 10 min - 30 minute range but with onsite privileges they should be nonexistant.

 

[macraven]

if you have AAA, you can still get a great rate.
depending on where you live, will determine the cost of a one year membership.

you also get discounts of 10% on food and merch at the parks and some of city walk besides the on site hotels.

you can also get a discount at disney for the rooms with AAA

for chgo area, we pay $54 for a one year membership.
besides using it for the orlando trips to disney and universal, we use it for target.com for discounts also. check out the aaa website for the benefits.

move from disney to rph for one night. get 2 days of fotl perks.
when you check out of rph, go to the off site hotel.

sure, i have relocated to 4 different hotels on one trip.

 

[brooker]

I'm from the great white north too and I've got one. We've had annual passes at Universal for many years and tend to go down about twice a year. I was down during February for my daughter's reading week and we're going down for 4 days in April. We just got airfare for $640 all together for the four of us (that's US because we're flying out of Buffalo). That makes the vacation so much cheaper. With Air Canada, each flight was going to be over $1000!!!! We are saving about $3300. I would never go down for a four day vacation if flights were $1000 each.

With the AP's we are getting Hard Rock Hotel for $150/night. It turns out to be a very reasonable holiday. You also get discounts on food and merchandise in the parks.

We're going down from April 25 to the 29th and expect the lines to be around the 10 min - 30 minute range but with onsite privileges they should be nonexistant.

We are flying with Westjet from St. Johns Newfoundland, flights alone for 4 is $2000 Canadian. Plus the costs of Disneys 5 day pass and onsite value hotel. It adds up very quickly. So thats why money is an issue, but at the same time I want us to get the most of our 7 days there. So I am thinking I will book the 1 night on site just for FOTL. So how early can you get you room key? Can you go to the hotel in the morning to get your key and then go to the park early ?

 

[macraven]

We are flying with Westjet from St. Johns Newfoundland, flights alone for 4 is $2000 Canadian. Plus the costs of Disneys 5 day pass and onsite value hotel. It adds up very quickly. So thats why money is an issue, but at the same time I want us to get the most of our 7 days there. So I am thinking I will book the 1 night on site just for FOTL. So how early can you get you room key? Can you go to the hotel in the morning to get your key and then go to the park early ?

last october, i checked in and got my room key at 7:30 am.

room not ready but it was when i returned later

i imagine you could check in at 6 am and still get the room key. room won't be ready but you'd be checked in.

 

[brooker]

Thanks for all the great help. I think I will be booking the RPH today. We have $4000 spent now....so whats another $200 right?...lol

 

[Motherfletcher]

One spring break we rented a room with a kitchen for the week. I, then, got ressies at RPR for 2 nights (not consecutive) and had 4 days of FOTL and used the kitchenette room as home base.

 

[robvia]

The plan will work.
Check into the RPR at 6-7am and your room may be ready. If it isn't, you get your magic keys and head to the parks. When the room is ready they'll call if you have a cell phone, and you don't have to go back to the front desk. For us this happened at noon one time. I imagine you'll get your room early since you're not going at a busy time.

 

[tikkipoo]

I for one think it is a crazy idea. To much moving around for my taste. What if you were to ditch the rental car, use Disney transportation, and get a cab to take you to RPH? Could you afford the difference in the hotel price then?

 

[keishashadow]

We're big fans of split stays; but moving 3 times in a week is a bit much even for me.

JMHO, if you haven't bought the MYW tix; why not drop the PH option ($45); WP option ($50) and, if you added No Expir, eliminate it too ($60); you'd save over $155 pp...add another $10 pp to the discount if you go thru a ticket broker. Of course, you can't add the DP if you use a broker & book room only.

FYI, the current Univ $85 "special" is a fantastic deal too.

When I last priced out the AS prem rooms, they were $130+ night for my dates ; got AAA rate @ RPR for $199+. Not sure what you're paying @ LBV.

good luck with your decision.

 

[brooker]

We're big fans of split stays; but moving 3 times in a week is a bit much even for me.

JMHO, if you haven't bought the MYW tix; why not drop the PH option ($45); WP option ($50) and, if you added No Expir, eliminate it too ($60); you'd save over $155 pp...add another $10 pp to the discount if you go thru a ticket broker. Of course, you can't add the DP if you use a broker & book room only.

FYI, the current Univ $85 "special" is a fantastic deal too.

When I last priced out the AS prem rooms, they were $130+ night for my dates ; got AAA rate @ RPR for $199+. Not sure what you're paying @ LBV.

good luck with your decision.

We actually have the free water park, park hopper upgrade, so that is no extra cost. We do have the $85 universal ticket purchased as well. We have a cheap rental through Dollar and for 3 days it is only $78 total. We would need a car to get all 4 of us back to the airport. Right now I only have Disney (AS Sport) booked for 4 days and 3 nights reserved for Comfort Inn LBV. But our US days are gonna be on a Friday, Saturday, and maybe Sunday. Which I now know is the busier time. Thats the only reason I am considering 1 night at RPH, just to get FOTL. I am just wondering, if I called up Disney is it possible to get my dates moved back by 3 nights to do US at the beginning of the trip, or is there a chage now to change it? Our comfort Inn costs is only 49 per night in case you were wondering.

 

[tikkipoo]

Wondering if the FOTL will be that benificial to you during this time. I would think that if you got there early all three days, you would be able to do just about everything you would want to. Unless something unexpected happens (and I guess there is always that chance) it should not be too crowded that week.

 

[robvia]

You don't want to put an onsite visit to Universal at the beginning of the trip and then go to Disney. You'll be spoiled with the FOTL and the Universal hotels are deluxe compared to AS.

You probably wouldn't need FOTL the last week of April and the first week of May if you did the arrive early thing. The kids are still in school and the crowds will be light. FOTL does help in the afternoon when the crowds show up. I tell everyone to arrive the parking garage at 8am. Everyone who does this reports a great visit.

The thing staying onsite will do is let you "feel" like part of the action. People who drive up from Disney and go back say it's just "ok" and they didn't feel the magic. If you stay onsite you'll get the entire experience of walking from your hotel to the parks and the huge pool. Disney pools are nice, but the RPR pool is one of the largest in Florida.

 

[keishashadow]

We actually have the free water park, park hopper upgrade, so that is no extra cost. We do have the $85 universal ticket purchased as well. We have a cheap rental through Dollar and for 3 days it is only $78 total. We would need a car to get all 4 of us back to the airport. Right now I only have Disney (AS Sport) booked for 4 days and 3 nights reserved for Comfort Inn LBV. But our US days are gonna be on a Friday, Saturday, and maybe Sunday. Which I now know is the busier time. Thats the only reason I am considering 1 night at RPH, just to get FOTL. I am just wondering, if I called up Disney is it possible to get my dates moved back by 3 nights to do US at the beginning of the trip, or is there a chage now to change it? Our comfort Inn costs is only 49 per night in case you were wondering.

lucky you w/the WDW tix deal (will you use all the WP pluses or are you converting them to no expiration? might be worthwhile in that case to add a few extra park days on for the next trip).

not sure about the change fee for a package, think you can alter w/o penalty before the cancellation period begins (30 days prior?).

Great rate on the car rental too (did you run all the codes on mousesavers - one that's not listed is KISSE?)

We stayed @ the HRH for 4 days prior to WDW over Presidents day weekend ; couldn't help but compare the lack of FOTL unfavorably.

My family won't even consider visiting U w/o FOTL - it's a priceless perc

 

[macraven]

I am just wondering, if I called up Disney is it possible to get my dates moved back by 3 nights to do US at the beginning of the trip, or is there a chage now to change it? Our comfort Inn costs is only 49 per night in case you were wondering.

you can easily change/modify your disney stay without penalty if it is 5 days prior to your stay.

if they have rooms available, you will not have issues switching the dates around.

there is no change to switch dates at disney resorts.
i have done it before.

 

[brooker]

lucky you w/the WDW tix deal (will you use all the WP pluses or are you converting them to no expiration? might be worthwhile in that case to add a few extra park days on for the next trip).

not sure about the change fee for a package, think you can alter w/o penalty before the cancellation period begins (30 days prior?).

Great rate on the car rental too (did you run all the codes on mousesavers - one that's not listed is KISSE?)

We stayed @ the HRH for 4 days prior to WDW over Presidents day weekend ; couldn't help but compare the lack of FOTL unfavorably.

My family won't even consider visiting U w/o FOTL - it's a priceless perc

We are using the KISS2 code, we can get a compact(Dodge Caplier type) for $20.99 per day. We will probably use 1 of our water park plus tickets. A water park sometime throughout the week. We did Disney Quest last time and didn't enjoy it to much. We never thought about adding the no expiration option. Right now I am still conflicted. I want FOTL, I don't really want to switch hotels 3 times. But with no discounts, my base rate is $209 per night and tax compared to $49 off site to Universal.....what to do...arrrghh.

 

[damo]

Think of it in the long run. Will the $600 you spend at the hotel really make that much of a difference to you? If it will, then you know you can't stay there. If it won't, then go for it.

 

[brooker]

Well, we know have it finalized. We decided to spend the last 3 nights of our trip at Disney. This way we can take advantage of ME to and from the airport. After thinking about it, 3 hotels would be a bit much in 7 nights. We decided to rent a car on Tuesday evening, returning it Friday morning. This will give us 2 full days at US on Wednesday(2nd)and Thursday(3rd). Thanks for those who suggested going throughout the week for the lower crowds. If, (most likely when) we take another Orlando trip, we will definitely be getting an AP and staying onsite at US. Hopefully next time we can get a little cheaper airfare.....thanks again for all the suggestions. Now if only know we could get our son's passport.....but thats in another thread...lol.