Managing spring break without express

[auntyjenn]

Sigh, I just don't know if I can do it. I'm still hoping for discounts during spring break (though, the person at RPR said sometimes they don't offer any) but right now I'm looking at $1211.64 for three nights plus rollaway and parking at RPR or, $341.82 at Best Western Plus Universal Inn and they have breakfast every morning. Even at half or 40% off the Best Western is looking pretty good.

We only have two days in the park. What is the longest line and average line waits you think we will see? (I like being able to check out the Disney wait times from home : ) My friend coming with me will probably stay all day in the HP lands. he he.

I'm heading to the Hotel section to check if anyone's stayed at the Best Western and if you can really walk to the parks easily.

Thanks!

 

[RMulieri]

What are your dates? if you are anywhere near the week before, or the week after Easter, it will be extremely busy.You are looking at waits of over an hour or even longer for things like Spiderman, Despicable me etc

 

[pixeegrl]

How many people in your group? If you're only doing two days at the park you can stay one night and get two days worth of Unlimited Express Pass. You can check in early before the park opens and bell services will hold your luggage until your room is ready. You can stay offsite the rest of your days

 

[MrsPMC00]

It will be busy! I agree with trying to do even 1 night on property to get 2 days of express pass. Spiderman was over 1.5 hours last spring break, and with express pass we waited about 10 minutes.

 

[mrsabbott]

When is your spring break? I think that makes the biggest difference. We were there last year over spring break but ours falls pretty early, right before the main spring break time frame.

We stayed offsite without the express pass or early entry. We are a family of 6. Our longest wait was Forbidden Journey, which was a good 45 minutes to an hour but the queue was interesting and it didn't seem so bad. Despicable me was about 45 minutes too. Other then that, our wait times were all 30 minutes or less and on the 2nd day we were there, we walked on several rides. Hubs utilized the single rider lines on some of the coasters.

We visited on a Sunday and a Tuesday. The Sunday wasn't packed but it was busy. Tuesday was a breeze! Granted, Diagon Alley wasn't opened yet, so I imagine it will be slightly more crowded then before.

Our Spring Break this year is the week after Easter weekend, so I don't know how that will effect the crowd levels. We are going M-TR to the parks this time in hopes that it will be a little less crowded. We are also spending 4 days instead of 2 to give ourselves time to really check things out instead of rushing to squeeze in as much as possible.

 

[mrsabbott]

What are your dates? if you are anywhere near the week before, or the week after Easter, it will be extremely busy.You are looking at waits of over an hour or even longer for things like Spiderman, Despicable me etc

Yeah, this is NOT what I was wanting to hear! I hate that our Spring Break falls right after Easter this year, but we are avoiding that weekend and are hoping the crowds will be a little less on the weekdays! Or at least more manageable!

 

[johde]

If it's just the 2 of you, Theme Park tickets plus Unlimited express for 2 days + 1 free is $339+tax a piece during that time. If you subtract the $176 for the Theme park tickets that makes the express passes $163 each for up to 3 days. If you're in town and made your third theme park day Easter Sunday, even if only for a couple of hours, the tickets are even cheaper. But right now, that's cheaper than booking onsite.

 

[auntyjenn]

Thanks for the replies. There are 7 of us, and we plan on being at Universal on the 15th and 16 th of March (if that's a Monday and Tuesday). I think I could handle 30-45 min waits. even an hour if its only one or two rides. I just remember one time we went to Great America and after six hours we had only been on six rides. it was kind of lame.

 

[RMulieri]

Yeah, this is NOT what I was wanting to hear! I hate that our Spring Break falls right after Easter this year, but we are avoiding that weekend and are hoping the crowds will be a little less on the weekdays! Or at least more manageable!

I wish it were so, but I remember some of the reports last year and they all said it was extremely busy and the express passes made it much more tolerable

 

[Pembo]

We stayed at the Comfort Suites a few years ago during spring break and were able to use early entry. That definitely helped with crowds. March 15-16 are a few weeks before the holiday so it will be a little better. Get there early, hit the headliners first and be prepared for crowds. It can be done!

As for walking distance, the Comfort Suites said you could walk but it would be a haul! We opted to drive over and pay for parking.

 

[johde]

Thanks for the replies. There are 7 of us, and we plan on being at Universal on the 15th and 16 th of March (if that's a Monday and Tuesday). I think I could handle 30-45 min waits. even an hour if its only one or two rides. I just remember one time we went to Great America and after six hours we had only been on six rides. it was kind of lame.

March 15-16 actually shouldn't be too bad (somewhere between moderate and busy). You may want to consider playing around with Touringplans.com and their personalized plans. You need to register but it's free. Getting their app to use in the park and crowd forecasts for Universal are only $4-$5 with a coupon code. Also, depending on how long your trip is, that Saturday will probably be Mardi Gras. There will be a free concert at USF at park closing. If it's a group you want to see it may be worth switching one of your days around.

 

[auntyjenn]

OK, I played around with the touring plans. They seem to think we can still get everything (that we want) done pretty easily even without early entry and FOTL passes. Do you think that 23 minute wait time at 9:30 for Minions is accurate? 4 min for Mummy at 10am? MIB 13 min at 11am? I guess they do a lot of research, but the wait times seem like low estimates...

 

[pcstang]

OK, I played around with the touring plans. They seem to think we can still get everything (that we want) done pretty easily even without early entry and FOTL passes. Do you think that 23 minute wait time at 9:30 for Minions is accurate? 4 min for Mummy at 10am? MIB 13 min at 11am? I guess they do a lot of research, but the wait times seem like low estimates...

Not accurate for DM imho.

 

[RMulieri]

Not accurate for DM imho.

Agree..Even in slow times it builds waits of 60 mins..It is right as you come into the park and appeals to everyone so it generates lines pretty much all day

 

[Darcy03231]

We went in the summer when the parks are busy and didn't get an express pass. We found that if we got to the parks for opening the crowds really didn't start to form until around 11 am. It wasn't until early afternoon that the lines for the headliners got bad (over an hour). We were able to everything in both parks in two very full days, and that was with spending a good part of one day in IOA at HP (Diagon Alley wasn't open yet).

If you're at the gates before the published opening time (sometimes they open them early) we found that we really wouldn't have needed the express passes.

 

[auntyjenn]

should we hit the minions first then? or do RRR and Transformers?

 

[Disneyof3]

Make a mental note: This is when our March Break is up here in Ontario Canada. Most head down to the sunny state to get out of the cold.

 

[RMulieri]

should we hit the minions first then? or do RRR and Transformers?

Minions..RRR has single rider if need by and Transformers moves fast

 

[kelleybean]

OK, I played around with the touring plans. They seem to think we can still get everything (that we want) done pretty easily even without early entry and FOTL passes. Do you think that 23 minute wait time at 9:30 for Minions is accurate? 4 min for Mummy at 10am? MIB 13 min at 11am? I guess they do a lot of research, but the wait times seem like low estimates...

Despicable Me wait time doesn't sound right. I've seen it have a much longer waits at that time even when the park wasn't terribly busy. In my experience though the Mummy and MIB tend to have pretty low wait times. I'm always surprised by the short lines at the Mummy since that ride is so well done!

As someone else said, I think the biggest key is getting there early. We have AP's and frequently go at opening and ride our favorites, then leave after a few hours. I'm always shocked by how many people are coming in as we are going out!