Myriad Questions

[MaddieinWonderland]

Hi there

I'm new here. . . registered for the express purpose of posting this, even, and hoping that y'all can provide me some answers and advice regarding my family's upcoming vacation.

We have 6 full days planned for Orlando, staying at Downtown Disney's Hotel Royal Plaza the entire length of our stay. On the Disney end of things, we're purchasing four-day park hopper passes for the four of us and plan to spend two or three days as "day visitors" to the Universal property.

If you don't mind, I have a number of questions about the Universal property. While I was at Islands of Adventure in July of 1999, nobody else in my family's visited the park, nor have any of us been to Universal Studios since 1993. To compare, they were last in Walt Disney World in 2000, while I've been there in 2000, 2001, and 2002.

Now, onto my specific questions:

• The ubiquitous "What sort of crowds can we expect?"

We're visiting Central Florida August 20-25 (Wed. through Mon.) and are required to spend Friday in Disney, due to E-Ride Night. What are the crowds like at these parks during that time, and better, during specific days of the week. When I visited in July of 1999, IOA was a ghost town, practically, with the longest wait being 45 minutes for Spiderman and nothing more than 10 minutes for all other attractions. Is IOA considerably more or less crowded than US on a given day? The crowds we may encounter will affect what sort of admission media we use.

• Is Universal Express as effective as Fastpass?

I have loads of experience using Fastpass, but none at all with Universal Express. My lack of experience is compounded by the seemingly endless variety of "Express passes" available to Universal's guests. I understand that by not staying at a Universal property, we're forfeiting our chance at front-of-the-line privileges, but we can't justify the extra expense. We're staying at the Hotel Royal Plaza for $63/night, versus quotes upward of $200 for any of Universal's three hotels.

That said, I understand that all regular admission media is eligible to use the Universal Express machines and that the system operates almost exactly as Fastpass does. The Universal ticketing website also indicates $20 Express cards that are good for either US or IOA on a specific day which must be chosen ahead of time. Do these simply offer front-of-the-line privileges once per attraction? Similarly, there is a thread here that indicates the recent creation of an "Express Bonus Pass," that is similar to the $20 offer, but covers both parks. Is there word yet on how much this is and where it can be purchased? Is it really necessary these days? A lot must've changed since 1999, if so. It seems like being able to ride Dueling Dragons dozens of times in a single day is a notion from the past and now it's practically required to use these front-of-the-line passes to tour efficiently?

• How are Annual Passholder discounts handled?

The 2 years for the price of 1 Preferred Pass offer is hard to pass up, even though we live in New York. I understand, after reading this site, that this offer is good for anyone and is not limited to FL/GA residents.

That pass offers free self-parking. But, we may only spend two or three days at Universal, and the first of those will be without my "processed" pass. Will we still receive free self-parking before the pass has been processed?

Similarly, my parents are the folks footing the bill of this trip, but I'm the one who's most likely to get use of an Annual Pass. Will my AP discounts still be applicable to their purchases, assuming that I am present? That is, if they pay for dinner with a credit card with their name on it, can we still get the dining discount using my AP?

Are admission media discounts available through online purchases?

What if I purchase the AP at the same time as other passes?

If I can't purchase passes at a discount online, or until I receive my annual pass, or until I receive my voucher for my annual pass, we'll have to purchase them at the parks. In that case, is a voucher eligible to receive the discounts? Again, if I show up at IOA and my parents try to buy three 2-day passes, can they use my AP voucher to receive a discount?

Are the Bonus Passes, good for 5-consecutive days' admission and only available online, eligible for an AP discount?

(I'm impressed if you're still reading. )

• 2-Day Pass with the 3rd day free?

I've read on various sites about 2-day admission media that includes a complimentary third day of admission, but can find no mention of such an offer on Universal's ticketing website. Is this available?

• How advantageous is park hopping at the Universal parks?

At Disney, I can't live without the freedom that park-hopping provides. But, then, because I've visited Disney so often, I take things at a much slower pace these days and really just enjoy being able to go anywhere to eat or ride on a whim.

Our visit to Universal, I'm sure, will be a bit more hectic, as my family hasn't visited in a long time and is eager to see all that's new and changed. So, will our opportunities for seeing our favorite attractions many times be increased if we can parkhop there?

• Which hotels are eligible for front of the line privileges?

Is it just Universal's three properties; the Hotel Royal Pacific, the Hard Rock Hotel and the Portofino Bay? Or, like with Disney, are their "partner" hotels nearby that offer this perk? If so, maybe it's worth it for us to visit Universal's parks back to back and book a night's stay at a nearby cheap hotel? Even it it's a weekend.

If a family of four bought the Express cards for $20 for each park, we'd be spending $160. If there's a hotel that offers front-of-the-line privileges and charges a rate of less than $160/night, we'll book a single night there and use our front-of-the-line privileges from there instead.

Has anyone tried this?

Okay, I think that's all for now. Thank you all so much reading this far, if you have, and I'm really appreciative of the resource you have here. Finding information about when CMs go to the bathroom in Walt Disney World is a cinch on the internet, but finding comparable information about Universal is considerably harder.

Any information you can provide is appreciated.

 

[crazyme5kids]

As far as tickets go, someone else can answer better than me (I'm still trying to decide what to do too). There are so amny discounts avalible for the on site hotels, just call and ask what they have (entertainment,AAA, fan club etc...). Be polite and keep asking them to look. Eventually one will be found. I think paying a little more for the hotel is well worth it.

 

[MaddieinWonderland]

Originally posted by crazyme5kids
As far as tickets go, someone else can answer better than me (I'm still trying to decide what to do too). There are so amny discounts avalible for the on site hotels, just call and ask what they have (entertainment,AAA, fan club etc...). Be polite and keep asking them to look. Eventually one will be found. I think paying a little more for the hotel is well worth it.

I suppose that this brings up another question. . . if I buy an AP online, am I allowed to get discounts on the resort rates? Do I have to wait until the AP arrives, or will they give me the AP rate on good faith and ask that I show my voucher when we check-in.

Of course, I use "check-in" loosely. We'd only be interested in doing this for two days worth of FOTL privileges if the parks are going to be crowded. Moving all our luggage doesn't seem like something we want to do.

 

[highlander447]

As I understand it u can get the discount over the phone and present pass at check in also rpr is giving pretty good rates as I read in other posts certainly under $160 per night as for park hopping u will find this easier here as the parks are 5 min walk from each other hope this helps

 

[MaddieinWonderland]

Originally posted by highlander447
As I understand it u can get the discount over the phone and present pass at check in also rpr is giving pretty good rates as I read in other posts certainly under $160 per night as for park hopping u will find this easier here as the parks are 5 min walk from each other hope this helps

Thanks

Does anyone have any idea of what sort of crowds we should expect? I know that Florida schools will be back in session by our trip, but other schools will not -- New York schools, for example.

But, if there won't be sizable standby queues, there's no use wasting the money on front-of-the-line access.

If we do book a night's stay at a hotel that gives FOTL access, it'll likely be a saturday night, locking us into spending Saturday and Sunday at the Universal parks. Weekends are more crowded, presumably, but will the added benefit of FOTL access offset the additional crowds?

Trying to keep track of all of these variables is like trying to predict when a meteor will hit Earth, I think. It's crazy.

Again, thanks for the help

 

[crazyme5kids]

Are you flying or driving? If you are flying what time is your flight out on Mon.? How locked into your hotel are you? Can you cancel any of your hotel days? Are you definatly buying the express passes if you stay off site? For what you would spend on the passes you could get a room on site.
What I would do is cancel a day or two of the hotel and stay at one of the on-site hotels. We will be there the same time, and one thing that I think will be nice is that we can go back to the room during any afternoon rainstorms. After standing on line at Disney FOTL is a real treat!

 

[MaddieinWonderland]

Originally posted by crazyme5kids
Are you flying or driving? If you are flying what time is your flight out on Mon.? How locked into your hotel are you? Can you cancel any of your hotel days? Are you definatly buying the express passes if you stay off site? For what you would spend on the passes you could get a room on site.
What I would do is cancel a day or two of the hotel and stay at one of the on-site hotels. We will be there the same time, and one thing that I think will be nice is that we can go back to the room during any afternoon rainstorms. After standing on line at Disney FOTL is a real treat!

We're actually flying out really, really early Tuesday morning. So, we couldn't just cancel the end of our stay at the Hotel Royal Plaza. Instead, we'd need to book two nights at a Universal hotel at a higher rate.

What we're doing instead is keeping the reservations for 7 nights at the Hotel Royal Plaza at $63/night and booking an overlapping night (8/24) at the Royal Pacific Hotel for $110/night at the Entertainment Book rate. Now, to find someone with an entertainment book

It's a $50 savings over the individual $20 Express passes, with the added benefit of allowing us unlimited front-of-the-line access over two days versus the rigid limitations of the cards.

We may or may not actually make use of the room at the Royal Pacific Hotel. In all of this, we're making an enormous assumption about how crowded the parks might be. Though, reasonably speaking, it seems like the FOTL access for resort guests has made the standby waits considerably longer for everyone else. Since our time at Universal is limited to two days, we'd like to accomplish as much as possible.

Reading reports on this site of people riding MIB dozens of times in a single day has made me starry-eyed, I suppose.

We're also tentatively planning to return to Disney on Monday night before our departure Tuesday morning. We figure that if we tire of Universal after a day and a half of FOTL access, we can go back to one of WDW's late-closing parks and spend the night there. It certainly seems like that'd be more magical than the 7 pm closing time at Universal. The Hotal Royal Plaza's proximity to WDW makes this a bit more plausible

 

[wendypooh]

Not to rain on anyone's plans....... but I just called and was told the ent. rate is no longer available....for aug. I do think they still have the ent. books for $10.00 though.
We are staying at the RP 8-11/15, and I got the ent. rate of $110.00, however someone posted that they just got an AP rate for 105.00......... so, that is why I called back........ no such luck, they said that they had NO rates for aug. at that price, and that the ent. rate was NO Longer available, so I'd better stick with what I have, so I am !!!!!!!! BUT, as we all know, keep trying......... you may get lucky..... some people who you deal with know more than others therefore you get different rates from different people.... Good Luck....... I do think the fotl is worth the price though!!!!

 

[MaddieinWonderland]

Well, we did call the Universal reservations line and were quoted a rate of $110 for checking in Aug 24 and checking out Aug 25. Maybe it was the short stay that made it possible to get the rate?

We even managed to get ahold of an entertainment book. So far, so good.

Now we're on a quest to figure out how far we can get with discounts and things on an unredeemed AP voucher

 

[crazyme5kids]

Universal closes at 7:00 in Aug? Uh oh......... Guess I'll be sending my kids to the movies a couple of times.

 

[damo]

You get very good discounts on meals with your AAA card. I think they are as good as the annual pass. Also a fan club card will get you great discounts, check around on this board and I'm sure someone will send you one.

You refered to hotel users making lines longer. Please realize that all express pass holders whether they be from the hotels or from the kiosks or from purchased express pass booklets, all stand in the same express line. No one is any the wiser as to which type of express pass they have.

On a very hot day, you might want to go back to the hotel for an hour or so for a swim. Also remember, that if you are at a hotel, you park at the hotel parking lot and walk to the parks from there. The hotels don't include parking in the hotel prices since many people come without vehicles(you don't need a car at Universal). It is a $8.00 extra charge per night.

There are many things to do in the evenings. Citywalk is great and it has a movie theatre. The hotels have great pools with Dive-In movie nights. You never know, hours may change depending on the crowds. Hours usually coincide with anticipated crowd levels. So from past experiences, the parks must be expecting lower than normal crowds at that time of August.

 

[MaddieinWonderland]

Originally posted by crazyme5kids
Universal closes at 7:00 in Aug? Uh oh......... Guess I'll be sending my kids to the movies a couple of times.

Unfortunately, yes. At least, for some of our visit. Aug. 20-23, the Universal parks close at 8 pm. The 24th and 25th, however, they close at 7 pm. For comparison, Disney's Magic Kingdom close at 8:30 on the 25th -- which ends up being a late closing compared to the rest of our visit. So, why would Disney be expecting larger than normal crowds, but Universal is expecting smaller crowds? Are the differences that large between attendance at the competing parks?

You refered to hotel users making lines longer. Please realize that all express pass holders whether they be from the hotels or from the kiosks or from purchased express pass booklets, all stand in the same express line. No one is any the wiser as to which type of express pass they have.

Yes, I realize that the lines used for all Express features are the same, but I think that the variety of available features is what may contribute to increased standby waits. It may not even be substantial, however.

As you probably know, Disney's Fastpass system, which is limited to a single method of distribution and redemption, offers a certain number of tickets for every time slot. So, for any given time, standby guests are assured that, at most, a fixed number of guests enter the fastpass queue. This means that Disney can optimize the wait time based on ride capacity and throughput in a way that decreases wait times for everyone. To be fair, this probably doesn't always happen.

Universal Express, on the other hand, has a least three forms of distribution and a single form of redemption. Only one those distribution forms is time-limited as Disney's Fastpass is. The other two methods -- the room key access and the $20 Exress Card -- can each be redeemed at the discretion of the user. So, it stands to reason that it's more difficult for Universal to properly distribute Express access crowds at a given attraction over time. If a large number of hotel guests show up at an attraction at a single time, this would result in longer waits for standby guests.

Unless, of course, the distribution of Fastpass-style Universal Express tickets takes this into account such that a smaller number of those are distributed than might be were the attraction at operating at Disney. In that case, it's possible that a sudden "surge" of hotel guests could bring an attraction up to its best capacity, but it would otherwise be operating inefficiently.

Anyway. . .I digress.

You get very good discounts on meals with your AAA card. I think they are as good as the annual pass. Also a fan club card will get you great discounts, check around on this board and I'm sure someone will send you one.

Shh! I want an Annual Pass Besides, we're not AAA members.

On a very hot day, you might want to go back to the hotel for an hour or so for a swim. Also remember, that if you are at a hotel, you park at the hotel parking lot and walk to the parks from there. The hotels don't include parking in the hotel prices since many people come without vehicles(you don't need a car at Universal). It is a $8.00 extra charge per night.

Well, I'm somewhat afraid of swimming, but my brother might make use of the pool. We're really just abusing the hotel and using it for two days' worth of FOTL access. I doubt we'll actually use the room at all; maybe not even see it.

It just ends up being more economical to book a room for that perk than it is to buy into any similar system that's available.

Because of that, I'm sure we'll be parking in the garage for each of those days.

There are many things to do in the evenings.

I think that, based on my handy park hours spreadsheet that I've got here, we'll set aside that final night for time at Disneyquest. We can see a movie here

 

[KProuty]

I would bring a small bag and just stay in the room for the night. There is NOTHING better than being able to just take a boat back to the hotel, sit outside, and have a drink and relax. It is also GREAT to be able to just get up the next morning and take the boat over.

Pack the bag, I'm sure you will be happy you did!

Katherine

 

[MaddieinWonderland]

My saga continues.

Okay, so, for those of you who're playing along at home, and with the hope that people who come along after me need not also write a novella about their questions, this is what we learned today about our vacation.

-- Confirmed and booked a room for $110/night Entertainment rate at the Royal Pacific Hotel for 8/24. This is a Sunday/Monday combination, so we hope that the school night and school day will diminish crowds further. The park hours are shortened, but with less crowds and FOTL access, we're anticipating the parks to be our playground.

-- Even if I order a 2-park Preferred Annual Pass and have it delivered to my home, I cannot make use of any of its benefits until after I've had it processed. This means a slight inconvenience for us, as I'll have to go into IOA or US alone and get my pass processing taken care of, leave the park and buy passes at a discount for my family, and re-enter.

This raised some new questions.

-- Where in the parks do you get your annual pass processed, what information or identification is required, and how long does it usually take? Since we need to do this ahead of time, and they currently offer a 2-day pass w/ a 3rd day free, we're anticipating arriving at US/IOA at 2/3 pm Thursday afternoon, taking care of the processing, and enjoying the evening in the parks. Is there a better or worse time to have your pass processed?

-- I understand now that there's a nightly charge for use of the hotel parking lot. So, is it safe to assume that it's a controlled lot? There is *no* free parking onsite at Universal until after 6 pm?

-- Finally, a question I may have to call Universal again and ask as I forgot today. . . The AP discounts can be applied to all applicable purchases by any member of a party? If my parents pay the bill for dinner, they'll still get a discount if I'm there with my AP?

You can't imagine how useful this has been for us. I think it went a long way in reducing my anxiety about the 3-day Disney, 3-day Universal plan my family wants to try. Even typing out the questions that haven't yet received answers has helped for me to get my thoughts in order.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Originally posted by MaddieinWonderland
Unfortunately, yes. At least, for some of our visit. Aug. 20-23, the Universal parks close at 8 pm. The 24th and 25th, however, they close at 7 pm. For comparison, Disney's Magic Kingdom close at 8:30 on the 25th -- which ends up being a late closing compared to the rest of our visit. So, why would Disney be expecting larger than normal crowds, but Universal is expecting smaller crowds? Are the differences that large between attendance at the competing parks?

Keep in mind that Disney has been around longer and is more well-known than Universal. Naturally, they draw larger crowds. That's the reasoning I have for it.

 

[MaddieinWonderland]

Originally posted by the Dark Marauder
Keep in mind that Disney has been around longer and is more well-known than Universal. Naturally, they draw larger crowds. That's the reasoning I have for it.

I s'pose I just expected that, while overall attendance at Universal parks may be less overall, the fluctuations in expected attendance would be the same in Disney and Universal. In other words, the attendance at the parks would remain in proportion as overall attendance fluctuated, thus suggesting that the changes in operating hours at the parks would be the same.

Of course, looking at Disney's own park hours and seeing that the Disney Studios maintain an 8:30 closing time while the Magic Kingdom fluctuates like crazy puts my entire theory out to pasture, I guess

 

[crazyme5kids]

You might want to double check about using the tickets on thurs. if you are going on Sunday. I think they are only good for consecutive day use although I could be wrong.
I am thinking about getting AP tickets, can anyone tell me how early in the morning I can get them processed?

 

[MaddieinWonderland]

Originally posted by crazyme5kids
You might want to double check about using the tickets on thurs. if you are going on Sunday. I think they are only good for consecutive day use although I could be wrong.
I am thinking about getting AP tickets, can anyone tell me how early in the morning I can get them processed?

The Third Day Free offer is a saga of its own.

The Universal ticketing website makes no mention at all of this offer. It simply offers 2-par, 2-day tickets for $103.26 after taxes.

This website lists information for the Third Day Free passes, in which it states that the three days must be used within 7 consecutive days of the first use. So, if that's the case, Thursday, Sunday, and Monday is no problem.

A call to Universal yesterday revealed that they were still offering the Third Day Free promotion, but that it could end at any time. Since we have to purchase the tickets once we arrive in Orlando so that we receive a discount, we're just going to play it by ear. If the third days' admission is free, we'll spend the evening at IOA/US. If it's not, we'll brave I-4 and head back to Disney.

 

[crazyme5kids]

The ticket thing makes my head spin LOL! Right now I am leaning toward just getting APs for all of us, it doesn't cost that much more and maybe we will get another trip out of them. If not it isn't that much money to be out of. Now I also can factor in the Burger King buy one year get the second free (just need the code and maybe the coupon). But wait!!!!! Would it be cheaper to get the flex pass because I think I am going to Sea World and am debating on going to Busch Garden (thanks Kelly M. for making Busch Garden sound so good in your book!) as well.
I have a headache thinking about all this! What I need is someone to decide for me.

 

[highlander447]

I f u r intending to do seaworld and Busch I would go for the flex pass we had these last year thought they where great value