Just booked for June and have some questions

[kelmac284]

So I just booked 5 days 4 nights at the Royal Pacific. We have been to IOA 3 times and once to Universal. We have stayed at the Doubletree offsite but never on and have only been once since the orig Harry Potter opened.

Would love any and all info we might need to know. Don't know anything about our hotel and my mom is somewhat disabled and was wondering if the transportation is reliable and somewhat close? Are there scooters in the parks like at Disney?

And how does it all work with early entry and the express pass. If we are going on a Sun, Mon and tues in June (beginning) would we be able to go on the big rides?

Anything else we may need to know?

TIA for any and all info!!

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

Absolutely visit the Resort page on the disboards and look at the Royal Pacific info and pictures. We will be there the week after you and the hotel is just wonderful!!!

Use the boats, they are very reliable and will pick you up/drop you off near the hotel and park entrances.

When you check in to the hotel, each person will get a room key. You take the room key over to the self service kiosks near the front desk and take a picture/print out your express pass. This is your source of immense happiness in the parks, keep them with you. They will be scanned at each ride (with some exceptions, mostly HP castle and bank), your hotel key will be needed for early entry.

Not to be rude - what exactly is "somewhat disabled"? Only share what is comfortable, but the group can better answer that question with a little info. Spend some time looking through the threads, I think you can calculate the total number of feet your mom will need to walk with the info on here.

Three days staying onsite during any time of year will allow you to ride everything multiple times. Plan around Potterland as the two major rides don't accept Express Pass and can be total mayhem at times. The rest of the parks are very manageable with Express Pass, they are wonderful.

And maybe, just maybe, Kong will be there as well (guessing no Express Pass)!!!!

 

[snoopboop]

The water taxis are accessible by wheelchairs/scooters and are definitely reliable and close. There are always lots of people on scooters in the parks, though I don't know whether Uni rents them or not.

Early entry gets you in to one of the parks (you won't know in advance which one - they don't publish that information anywhere online that I know of, and it can change from day to day anyway) one hour before the park opens to the general public.

I'm not sure what you mean when you ask whether you'd be able to go on the big rides.... With the unlimited EP, you'll definitely be able to do everything you want to do over three days.

 

[nkereina]

Since you are staying onsite, you will receive express pass and will have no trouble getting the headlining attractions done. But do note that Gringotts, Forbidden Journey, and Hogwarts Express don't have EP so do those early. Once you check in at RPR, you will proceed to the self serve kiosk near the Concierge desk and print your express passes. If you check in on Sunday and check out on Tuesday, your express pass will be valid Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

For early entry, they will tell you at check-in which park has early entry for the time you are there. It changes and to my knowledge it's not published anywhere. You'll just need to show your room key card for entry (along with scanning your ticket, of course).

For transportation, the water taxi came pretty frequently during our stay two weeks ago. We found the walk to the parks easy as well but definitely long for someone who is disabled. Tower 3 is probably the best one to request to be closest to the water taxi.

 

[kelmac284]

thanks so much everyone. My mom is having both knees replaced. Tomorrow as a matter of fact. Right now she can't walk at all and uses a scooter but even 6 months from now while the hope is that she will be walking I don't think she will be up for the kind of walking required at a theme park so that was why I was asking. I think she will still want a scooter for inside the parks and I just didn't want her having to walk a mile to get on the boats or whatever. We stayed at Coronado Springs the last time we went and that place is HUGE and long walks to the restaurants and pool etc.
And yes by the big rides I meant HP but as long as we go for early entry hopefully that will work and then we can use the express pass for everything else. Thanks so much!!

 

[RMulieri]

early entry is ONLY for the HP stuff nothing else is open usually till official park opening . The exception to this is when early entry is in the studios, because the only HP ride open is Gringotts, they also open Despicable me for early entry. The shops and wand show is operating for early entry, but the Hogwarts express is not. At IOA, the rides are open in Hogsmeade, nothing else( occasionally if it is exceptionally busy, they open a Seussland ride too)