Late August Trip to Universal - Express pass a waste?

[Nubiwan]

5th visit to Florida. Bigger family, so we normally rent a villa, but wife really wants kids to experience onsite resort. I am sceptical about room sizes, privacy for my older 2 girls, buying meals etc, but willing to give it a shot. What a trooper huh?

So me, wife and our 4 kids plan to stay at Universal onsite August 26-Sept 2.

Some Questions:
What August weather can we expect - I fear for Hurricanes? I guess it is the risk you take.
Are the late August crowds as slack as some of the calendars are suggesting?
Is the Express pass worth it this time of year? Might do 3-4 day park pass.
Any ride scheduled to close in August for Maintenance. Kids will wanna do Kong. Be nice to know what might be closed.
Club level worth it at any of the hotels? Thinking feeding 6 here......
Do both parks open early in the morning?
will 6 in the Cabana resort suite be too crowded for 6 people (kids are 8,11,13&15)? Should I get 2 rooms side by side?
Are resorts as quiet as parks in terms of guests?
When might APH deals be out for August resort bookings? APH any better then extended stay discount?

I am tempted to stay at the luxury resorts, but not sure the EP is worth the extra cost for the time of year.

Lot of questions, so appreciate any feedback....

Visiting from the Rock in Canada. Cant wait.

Nubs

 

[keishashadow]

Check out the stickies to see which onsite properties will handle 6 pp...I'm thinking CB & PBH suite otherwise. 2 rooms

Have never stayed. @ CB, it looks lovely but no free EP. It would be expensive to purchase for family of 6. Not sure I'd stay there vs a villa offsite...JMHO as I don't necessarily equate the lack of EP to reflect the full onsite experience. Many disagree with me BTW. With some of the APs you do receive free parking in the main garage after the first day.

August historical storms available on weatherunderground site among others. It's Florida, blink and the weather can change anytime of the year.

IMO U tends to be a bit slow to announce shutdowns/maintenance vs other parks. Check the website and here as day gets closer

RE APH rates - check out last year's thread here to see when/rates that others received for an inkling of what you will find. There's also a thread here that is updated when new APH dates are released.

Enjoy planning your trip!

 

[chmurf]

What August weather can we expect - I fear for Hurricanes? I guess it is the risk you take.

hot, humid, afternoon thunderstorm (expect temporary pool closures every day, when a storm is under 10 miles from the resort

Hurricanes ? The NHL team ? Sure, there's always a chance they visit Universal

Are the late August crowds as slack as some of the calendars are suggesting?

basically : yes.
you'd be amazed at how crowds thin once school resumes.
Last year it went from "can't even see my feet walking in citywalk" to "they've all been adbucted by aliens or what ? " litterally overnight.

Is the Express pass worth it this time of year? Might do 3-4 day park pass.

keep the cash, and stay at a family suite at CBBR
Go to parks early in the morning. 5/10 minutes lines for the first couple of hours at most rides

Any ride scheduled to close in August for Maintenance. Kids will wanna do Kong. Be nice to know what might be closed.

Club level worth it at any of the hotels? Thinking feeding 6 here......

no. Unless you feed on alcoholic liquids. Besides, you don't get proper meals from CL

plus, 6 of you might require 2 rooms at any hotel with Club Level
your only option for 6 is the family suites at CBBR as previously mentionned

Do both parks open early in the morning?

no, only one

will 6 in the Cabana resort suite be too crowded for 6 people (kids are 8,11,13&15)? Should I get 2 rooms side by side?

that will be crowded
in a suite you get 2 queen beds, and a sofa bed in the living room.
once the sofa bed is deployed, there is not much moving around possible inside the suite.

I'd take 2 rooms, but no guarantee you'll be connected. You'll need to ask.

Are resorts as quiet as parks in terms of guests?

I could tell you they are, but what if you found yourself next to Joe SixPack's room (and find out he came with his whole extended family all staying at the same level ?)

but they are

When might APH deals be out for August resort bookings?

keep checkin the APH thread
but usually it's 3 months out, but keep checking, it might be sooner

APH any better then extended stay discount?

you might break even with a 4/5 nights stay
anything longer will have a much better deal with SMSM than with APH

I am tempted to stay at the luxury resorts, but not sure the EP is worth the extra cost for the time of year.

not worth the extra cost. Especially since you would need 2 rooms

 

[schumigirl]

Many people do make a proper meal from Club Level.........check out the hotel stickies. PB sticky has recent Club Level food pictures.

RPR has a varied menu for Club Level meals........always one hot meal choice every evening. Can be Chicken in a variety of sauces with pasta, orange chicken with rice, macaroni cheese with chicken, chilli and rice, a vegetarian option one night, fish with rice and other veg.....and many other meal options.........always a large salad choice, crudités and dips, chips and dips and cheese and crackers.

 

[bumbershoot]

expect temporary pool closures every day, when a storm is under 10 miles from the resort

Not that far. Both Disney and uni close pools when there is lightning at either 4 or 5 miles out. Not 10.

no. Unless you feed on alcoholic liquids. Besides, you don't get proper meals from CL

Easy to get decent meal especially for a light water with no ingredient issues or pickiness.

Breakfast, unless you require eggs etc, is totally doable. At dinner they have cheese, crackers, some cut veggies, and a hot entree. We've never had the entree because it's never been vegetarian when we are there but others make a meal if it. Then dessert and for the adults wine and beer.

When we are hungrier we'll get a pizza for the room and bring the cheese crackers etc on back to supplement.

The issue is that you have to be there to partake of it all, and if there are later park hours then decisions have to be made.



Op I'd stay onsite and go for the EP if you can. Club level if you can swing it and will have a park-going schedule that makes it possible to partake in the club offerings.

 

[chmurf]

Not that far. Both Disney and uni close pools when there is lightning at either 4 or 5 miles out. Not 10.

metric system user here, sry

 

[nkereina]

Might do 3-4 day park pass.

Since you know about the APH rates, you probably know the most economical option is to get the annual pass if you're considering tickets for more than 3 days. Thought I'd mention it just in case though!

When might APH deals be out for August resort bookings? APH any better then extended stay discount?

I was able to access APH rates for my stay next week during the first week of January, so about 3 months out seems to be pretty accurate. August will be different than my March stay, but for us, APH was much better than the stay more save more rate. But March is busier too. You'll have to compare the two rates and you should have no problem switching to the better one if it's available.

 

[wagman67]

Cabana Bay is $128.89 without APH rates for a suite for the dates you mentioned and the family mixture of adults and kids.

Totally agree with getting Seasonal Passes if you are considering staying that long...about the same as a 4 day ticket...and you are beyond the blockout date restrictions.

I don't think you need to worry with EPs, and if you are going to stay a week, you will have plenty of time to do everything again and again....with a nice mixture of relaxation at the resort.

 

[kohlby]

We had 7 people and did two adjoining standard rooms and it worked out great! Even though you *could* fit 6 people in a family suite, it was really nice having two rooms and two bathrooms. (We had two adults and five kids- ages 7, 10, 12, 12, 15). The 7 and 10 year old went to bed earlier than the older three kids so it helped with that too.

You should be fine without express. I would take advantage of that early hour though. It won't be as hot then. Also, the HP areas can get crowded for walking even on days that don't have high crowds. That early extra hour is a nice time to relax and not bump into people as you're using your wands or enjoying the area.

I do really like Royal Pacific but once you multiply the cost times two rooms, it could easily be a scary high number. We usually are a family of 5 and RPR worked quite well for us - until we took our two nephews and I computed the cost of two rooms at RPR! We had a lot of fun at CB, saved money, and the kids loved the pools - especially the oldest three.

 

[atricks]

Yeah late August crowds evaporate, not uncommon for things to be walk on, and not just at Universal. Labor day weekend excluded until Rock the Universe/Halloween Events go full gear.

Weather tends to be very hot, with the afternoon storms going. Hurricanes are always a possibility during June-Nov, but they are also extremely rare to affect Central Florida, last year Matthew closed the parks for a day, which is the first time anything even came close to Orlando in 11 years. I have a weather station in the back yard since I live crazy close to Universal https://www.wunderground.com/person...FLORLAN113#history/s20160801/e20160831/mmonth that can go back in history to see August last year (and the year before).

 

[wookiebeck]

Our best bang for the buck vacation was to do RPR, two rooms, club level. The second room gets you a) privacy for the teens and b) one more bathroom. Club level helped us a) have a place to chill when the teens need privacy and b) took the edge off of food costs, for sure.

And the bonus is having the EP, even if it is late August, when you have the EP, you don't need to worry about anything else.

 

[nouvellefleur]

I believe Cabana Bay's two bedroom suites will be finished and available by your trip. If EP isn't required, the rooms look like they'd be the right amount of space for your concerns. I haven't cross checked prices, but it might work out cheaper than two standard rooms with the added benefit of Volcano Bay-facing rooms (word is the volcano is going to look amazing when lit up at night).