Late Oct. crowds at Universal or IOA? Need to stay onsite?

[Puffy2]

How are the crowds in late Oct for Universal and IOA? Is staying onsite really necessary?

 

[tinkerbarb]

I was there last year and stayed on site, but everything was a walk on.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

Hm, that would mean we don't need to stay onsite for FOTL access (another post already said there was no early entry benefit either). Therefore we could save lots of $$$ by finding cheaper lodging nearby -- any recommendations?

Cheers

 

[Robinrs]

I went one time in October and the crowds were very light. I also ran into a hurricane!

I think the best part of being onsite is the convenience and the location, with the extra perk of Universal express. With the entertainment rate the price is not much different than the offsite properties, and the perks are priceless.

 

[EUROPA]

We tried to reserve an "on-site" room during the first week of November but they rooms were booked(convention at the hotel). We ended up reserving a room at the Sleep Inn Suites. (1 block from Universal) 49.00 dollars a night which includes a breakfast buffet each morning. Plus we save 50.00 dollars a day over staying on-site. With the low crowds Free Universal Express Passes we didn't see the need to push to stay on-site. If we were going a a busier time then we would have.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

The only drawback I can think of to staying off site at the non busy time is the small amoung we'll pay for parking plus that long hike through the parking lot
Everything was practically empty when we went one Feb. and yet they made everyone park in a far away lot for some weird reason.

Cheers

 

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by Pixie_Dust
The only drawback I can think of to staying off site at the non busy time is the small amoung we'll pay for parking plus that long hike through the parking lot
Everything was practically empty when we went one Feb. and yet they made everyone park in a far away lot for some weird reason.

Cheers

I think the difference amounts to a couple of dollars a day. They charge for parking at the Hotels now. I could do without that walk from the parking garage to the parks though.

 

[Jane E.]

For that reason, we use the valet parking. Dh did not want to use it, but I talked him into it & he ended up agreeing with me that its worth the extra money. Thats one long walk from the parking garage & we always have to go up or down levels it seems. Even the walk from City Walk to the parks is long. We made the mistake of having lunch at City Walk when we were spending the day at Univ Studios. Because of the heat & the length of the walk, by the time we finished lunch & got back to meet our teens at King Kong we were worn out! I wish they'd have a trolley at the rear of each park to transport you to City Walk.

 

[Puffy2]

I'm confused a little by the last post. I think City Walk is very close to both parks - hardly a walk at all.

 

[MKPcm]

Are you talking about the parks in the daytime or during HHN? The parks in the daytime at the end of October can be busier on the weekend because of HHN where people can go all day and night long. Mid week will be quieter.

One other thing to consider is that October has a lot of conventions and that can skew things off. (particularlly with hotel availablity)

 

[Seahag]

Late October should be a peak time , with Halloween Horror nights & all. ( Am I wrong ??) We are also going in late October, & hae decided to stay on site, a lot of the weekends were already booked. I figure if people go to HHN, they will probably go to the parks the following day. I know we plan on it ! Besides, how can express access hurt ?