Need major trip help PLEASE!

[sarahg311@hotmail.co]

Advice please. Right now we have a reservation for the kids eat,stay and play deal for 5/19-5/24. Budget wise we chose the Fairfield Inn but now I really want to stay onsite so we can get FOTL. My kids are young so it would be a lot easier. Financially we really cannot spend 5 nights onsite so is there any other options? I just realized that the Express Plus Pass isn't available during our stay so any advice would be great. Is the kids eat.stay and play for free only available for a 3 night minimum? Thanks a bunch!

Sarah...

 

[Fan2CSkr]

The express plus pass is available for your dates $20 a day per park or $35 a day for both parks. Did you check your dates without a package, sometimes thats a better rate. Check an annual pass rate, APH code online or a AAA rate. The kids stay free anyway and kids meals start at $5.00 -6.00. You could purchase the buy one aduly pass get one kids free. If you buy 1 preferred annual pass you can get a decent discount on the room as well as many food and shopping discounts.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

I wanted to add this on express plus for you.
$35 1-Day/2-Park Express Plus Pass

This pass allows you to bypass the regular lines by providing Express Access to almost every attraction at both Universal Studios Florida® AND Universal's Islands of Adventure® theme parks. Express Access is a separate line at each valid attraction with an average wait of only 15 minutes or less.
Please note that the Express Plus is not valid for admission to either theme park.

This Express Pass is valid on one (1) of the following dates (based on availability):

3/23 - 3/24, 3/26 - 3/30, 4/2 - 4/7, 4/23, 5/19 - 5/26, 8/14 - 8/27, 9/2, 9/3, 11/22 and 11/23/2006

NOTE: Date selection is required before entering ticket quantity.


http://secure.universalstudios.com/...goryGroup=UOMain&SalesCategory=UO2ParkUEPLive

 

[powellrj]

Check out the price without the package. If you buy your tickets from the universal site, you can get the buy one adult, get a childs free ticket good for 5 days. That puts your cost at about $100 for an adult and child 5 day ticket. If you have AAA, you can get a pretty good room discount. Remember, you get FOTL on the day you check in and the day you check out, so you would only have to stay one night on site to get 2 days of FOTL. You can check in to your hotel in the morning, and get FOTL even if your room isn't ready.

We checked both the package and paying for each thing on our own, and the cheapest by several hundred dollars was NOT to get the package.

 

[sarahg311@hotmail.co]

Woo hoo! Thanks for your help. My Dh is getting an APH and now we are staying at HRH!! I love that place....I feel so much better with our desicion. Just one more question though... Since we will have a rental car is there a discount on hotel parking or no? I noticed that there is free parking at the parks so maybe we should just leave the car there? It is such an easy walk to the hotels from the park so I can't justify spending $10 a day on parking at the hotel for it just to sit. Thanks again!!

 

[E&B's Mom]

I'm pretty sure there is no overnight parking at the parks. It is not meant for hotel guests to save $ on hotel parking, sorry. If Universal is you only destination, why rent a car? You won't need it. Just get a car service or taxi from the airport to the resort and don't worry about a car.

 

[sarahg311@hotmail.co]

We have a car because we are doing both Disney and Universal.

 

[robvia]

You'll have to pay the $10 a night parking fee and live with it.
The convience of the rental car makes up for the expense.

You'll be able to visit Publix and stock a cooler, which you should do before checking in.
http://www.nogodforme.com/directionstopublix.htm
Eating doughnuts in the room before heading to the parks will easily save you $50, as you won't have to visit a restaurant for breakfast. Plus you'll save a lot of time and get a head start of the crowds. Not to mention all the savings on beer and wine.

Pssst, I do have a little secret so you won't have to pay to park at Disney. Drive over to the All Star Resorts, like Movie. As you drive up, there's a guard gate. Show your license and just say, "I'm going to All Star Movies." They'll tell you it's 1 mile down the road on the right. Go there, park, then take the bus to the MK, I've never seen them check hotel IDs to get on the bus. Or heck, you could park at Downtown Disney and catch a bus from there. But the All Star resorts have cool food courts. The guard gate is really to tell people where to go, don't be scared of it.

 

[sarahg311@hotmail.co]

Thanks for all of the tips...I will get a cooler for our stay at HRH! I'm kinda bummed about Disney because I thought we wouldn't have to pay for parking at the parks because we are staying onsite at Port Orleans Riverside. Ridiculous! Oh well...

 

[MouseEarsJenny]

If you are at POR, you will not need to pay for parking at the Disney parks.

 

[mckinfam]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought one of the benefits of purchasing an annual pass was free parking at the Universal resorts.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought one of the benefits of purchasing an annual pass was free parking at the Universal resorts.

Free parking at the parks not the hotels.

The parking fee at the resorts has always been a sore subject. I think they should just add the $ to the nightly room rate and do away the daily parking fee. Many hotels charge a parking fee and most are more than $10 a day.

 

[damo]

I never have a car at Universal resorts. I am thrilled that the price doesn't include the parking rate. Maybe that could be a perk for Platinum Loews members!!!

I can understand where the issue lies though. Parking is not very plentiful at the hotels.

 

[Motherfletcher]

Parking is bad at HRH that they bus in the employees.
I've stayed at some hotels that only allow valet at $20 a day. The additional pain to that is we leave the hotel frequently and have to tip $2 to the valet for retreiving the car.