Large family-on site or off site? $$$?

[HarleyGirl514]

Ok friends-y'all were so helpful before so I have another question.. we are a large family of 7, so no single hotel room will hold us all! So my dilemma is this: we are visiting US & IOA in June, and I have found some good deals on "partner hotels" (getting 2 adjoining rooms) but no early entry perks. Will we need Express passes for the lines? I would love to stay on site but we just cannot swing two rooms for 5 nights. are there better options? Either hotels or express passes? Thanks for your help!

 

[Metro West]

Ok friends-y'all were so helpful before so I have another question.. we are a large family of 7, so no single hotel room will hold us all! So my dilemma is this: we are visiting US & IOA in June, and I have found some good deals on "partner hotels" (getting 2 adjoining rooms) but no early entry perks. Will we need Express passes for the lines? I would love to stay on site but we just cannot swing two rooms for 5 nights. are there better options? Either hotels or express passes? Thanks for your help!

Early June usually isn't too bad but as you go through the month it gets busier. When in June are you visiting?

If you decide to stay offsite, you can purchase EPs at either park and I would encourage you to wait until you arrive to make that decision. You'll need to see what the lines are like before spending the money.

I think you could do both parks (one full day for each) and not spend the money for EPs but you'll need to plan to stay all day.

 

[sheetz]

Can you afford to stay onsite for 1 night? That would give you 2 days of Express Passes. If the offsite hotel is cheap enough you could even sleep there for the entire 5 nights and just use the onsite rooms as "day rooms."

 

[tricky1]

Depending on your dates and budget a AP could help,

Example: June 2nd- June 5th (3 nights) 2- 2 queen rooms@RPR
$553.00 each room APH rate. $1106 total for rooms.

Of course you will need to purchase 1 annual pass, which would also give you
15% off multi day tickets,(up to 6,which is what you would need) and other discounts on food and such.

 

[HarleyGirl514]

We are visiting mid month. How do u think the crowds will be then? Also, a question about the express passes with staying on site: you get days worth of EP for one night? And I never even thought about the AP! That might really be of use for us! $1100 doesn't sound too bad for two rooms on site! You guys have such great ideas!!

 

[HarleyGirl514]

Depending on your dates and budget a AP could help,

Example: June 2nd- June 5th (3 nights) 2- 2 queen rooms@RPR
$553.00 each room APH rate. $1106 total for rooms.

Of course you will need to purchase 1 annual pass, which would also give you
15% off multi day tickets,(up to 6,which is what you would need) and other discounts on food and such.

Ok so I've done some checking and your idea might really work for us! We are staying June 17-21 by the way. So the AP gives us 15% off of my other 6 tickets, right? If that's the case then buying an AP plus 6 tickets would end up being almost $100 less than buying 7 tickets! And that's not even the discount on the rooms!

 

[damo]

Depending on your dates and budget a AP could help,

Example: June 2nd- June 5th (3 nights) 2- 2 queen rooms@RPR
$553.00 each room APH rate. $1106 total for rooms.

Of course you will need to purchase 1 annual pass, which would also give you
15% off multi day tickets,(up to 6,which is what you would need) and other discounts on food and such.

The ap discount on the multi-day tickets is still more expensive than purchasing them through undercovertourist.com

The hotel discount is what needs to make up the savings if the AP is going to be worth it.

 

[HarleyGirl514]

The ap discount on the multi-day tickets is still more expensive than purchasing them through undercovertourist.com

The hotel discount is what needs to make up the savings if the AP is going to be worth it.

I'll go check undercover tourist for sure! I've been looking at hotel rates and I can't find a place that allows you to view APH rates. Can I see what our rates would be before I make a purchase?

 

[reelmom]

When you put your dates in, use APH for the code.

 

[damo]

Another good place to check for hotel rates is priceline. Occasionally they have some really good prices on the online hotels.


Here's the link to use when looking for APH rates:

http://www.loewshotels.com/en/booking/uo?hotel=UEPBH,UEHRH,UERPR

like reelmom says, use APH in the box that says code.

 

[HarleyGirl514]

Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but even when entering the code the pricing is the same. What am I doing wrong?!

 

[damo]

Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but even when entering the code the pricing is the same. What am I doing wrong?!

If the pricing is the same there is no annual pass rate available at that time for one of many reasons. Could be sold out, never was available or isn't out yet. What are your exact dates?

Looks to me like the first week of June is the last week that APH rates are offered.

 

[HarleyGirl514]

If the pricing is the same there is no annual pass rate available at that time for one of many reasons. Could be sold out, never was available or isn't out yet. What are your exact dates?

We are staying June 17-22. Thanks for your help! Sorry about my crazy first timer questions!

 

[sheetz]

To find the AP rates you have to choose "Promotion" for the rate and enter "APH." However it looks like the AP rates are only available for the first week of June.

 

[damo]

To find the AP rates you have to choose "Promotion" for the rate and enter "APH." However it looks like the AP rates are only available for the first week of June.

It will automatically switch to "promotion" when you enter APH in the code box.

We are staying June 17-22. Thanks for your help! Sorry about my crazy first timer questions!

I'm not seeing any APH discounts for that time at all. I don't see any discounts at Priceline either.

 

[sheetz]

It will automatically switch to "promotion" when you enter APH in the code box.

Not when I use Firefox, which is what I normally use. It only switches when I use IE.

 

[damo]

Not when I use Firefox, which is what I normally use. It only switches when I use IE.

Works for me in Chrome, too. Good to know.

 

[gopherit]

Greetings - like you, we are a larger party size (6 gophers - 2 adults, 2 adult-sized teens, a teen girl, and a lil' gopher pup). Also like you - we are going in mid-June (June 18-22). It appears, however, that for now our vacations are ill-timed, as most all the "perks" (APH rates, ticket deals, etc) are for those traveling BEFORE June 16.

That said - I called US today to reserve some rooms. I was quoted the same prices you see on your computer website ($251 for the std 2 Q, $278 for the water view 2Q). I went ahead and reserved the std rooms because they will give you the APH rate if/when one comes up. Best to have on reserve first...

One thing we have found - staying on-site and getting that Express perk is so good, we don't find we need to stay as long. So I second the comments from others that even spending 1 night - perhaps your first night? - over at a US hotel would mean maximizing your ride time for 2 days. (Only place that doesn't work is Potterville - but for the other "big" rides, like Spidey, Hulk, etc. - it REALLY pays off). Then you could move to a (cheaper) hotel for the rest of your time and take more advantage of down'-time, pool, etc. We have stayed at all 3, and 2 rooms at RPH works best for us (gives you 2 bathrooms too).

 

[HarleyGirl514]

Greetings - like you, we are a larger party size (6 gophers - 2 adults, 2 adult-sized teens, a teen girl, and a lil' gopher pup). Also like you - we are going in mid-June (June 18-22). It appears, however, that for now our vacations are ill-timed, as most all the "perks" (APH rates, ticket deals, etc) are for those traveling BEFORE June 16.

That said - I called US today to reserve some rooms. I was quoted the same prices you see on your computer website ($251 for the std 2 Q, $278 for the water view 2Q). I went ahead and reserved the std rooms because they will give you the APH rate if/when one comes up. Best to have on reserve first...

One thing we have found - staying on-site and getting that Express perk is so good, we don't find we need to stay as long. So I second the comments from others that even spending 1 night - perhaps your first night? - over at a US hotel would mean maximizing your ride time for 2 days. (Only place that doesn't work is Potterville - but for the other "big" rides, like Spidey, Hulk, etc. - it REALLY pays off). Then you could move to a (cheaper) hotel for the rest of your time and take more advantage of down'-time, pool, etc. We have stayed at all 3, and 2 rooms at RPH works best for us (gives you 2 bathrooms too).

Thanks for your help! I'm going to look at RPH for one night and see if we can swing it. Our kiddos are all little, so anything that could help us get through the parks would be really helpful! How does the express pass work with staying on site? We won't arrive early enough in Orlando to hit the parks the day day we arrive. Is that the day the express pass is good for?

 

[tricky1]

The express pass is good the day you check in and the day you check out.