Need some help

[damo]

Aaaaah that makes sense - I figured I was reading something wrong. We're looking at staying at RPR, I think. We aren't going to do a package, though.

Right now the UO site has 2-day (3rd day free) tickets for $119.95. The park-to-park ones are $139.95. Those rates are cheaper than what I saw on UT. The restriction is that they have to be used by June 17, which is fine for us. Are there any other legit vendors that might be cheaper?




We're only staying 2 nights at RPR, then staying on DVC points for the rest of our stay. We don't have AAA right now but I'd consider joining if the discount on the room was significant enough. Any clue if it would be worth it?

The UT tickets include taxes and fees, the ones on the universal site don't.

AAA discount is usually around 10%.

 

[trips44]

Mac. Thanks for the help. I prefer to stay close to park if possible to avoid car rental; but it seems to be necessary if we plan to go to sea world, aquatica, and Wet n Wild, & legoland. Again thinking flex tix; best bang for the buck 14 days unlimited visits. The reason I was looking at the timeshares was price. I could spend a week to 12 days for the same cost as 2-4 nights at rpr and get some tix too. are there any you been to? The only reason I would stay at rpr is because of unlimited universal FOTL pass although I will admit it is very tough to justify; Im hoping for a good rate on their 1 day sale but we'll see. any ideas or help would be appreciated; we are family of 5 kids 12-9-8. Huge HP fans on a value conscious budget. First time to orlando. Can't Pm till I post 10x; I guess I need to do some dummy posts.

 

[macraven]

Mac. Thanks for the help. I prefer to stay close to park if possible to avoid car rental; but it seems to be necessary if we plan to go to sea world, aquatica, and Wet n Wild, & legoland. Again thinking flex tix; best bang for the buck 14 days unlimited visits. The reason I was looking at the timeshares was price. I could spend a week to 12 days for the same cost as 2-4 nights at rpr and get some tix too. are there any you been to? The only reason I would stay at rpr is because of unlimited universal FOTL pass although I will admit it is very tough to justify; Im hoping for a good rate on their 1 day sale but we'll see. any ideas or help would be appreciated; we are family of 5 kids 12-9-8. Huge HP fans on a value conscious budget. First time to orlando. Can't Pm till I post 10x; I guess I need to do some dummy posts.

were you able to read the pm i sent you?
pick a few threads and just do a smilie in adding to any conversation.
once you hit 10 posts, you can send pm's.

there are some on Major Blvd but i have read some poor reviews on a few of those hotels.
Days Inn has had many negative comments on the Trip Advisor site.

I recommend Drury Inn for a good hotel.
https://wwws.druryhotels.com/?gclid=CJ3ml77q6bUCFfBDMgodpBIAmw

list the city as Orlando.

they do have a shuttle and very clean rooms.
some of the reviews on http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Re...Drury_Inn_Suites_Orlando-Orlando_Florida.html
have mentioned the shuttle to sea world and universal.

i'm familar with the Drury Inn & Suites in st louis.
(my old stomping grounds......)

not many on the disboards, darkside part, have talked about staying there.
i have had a couple of friends that did book and stay there and really liked it.

if you have AAA, you can get a discount on the room.

https://wwws.druryhotels.com/PropertyHotelServices.aspx?Property=0152

check out the above link also.
it mentions the amenities for the guests.
free continental breakfast, free kick back hour..

from that site:
This is what free tastes like! Wake up each morning to a free Hot Breakfast! Take your pick from a selection of great breakfast items including scrambled eggs, biscuits & gravy, sausage and make-your-own Belgian waffles. In the evening, join us at the 5:30 Kickback® for free hot food and cold beverages. Our rotating menu features a variety of hot food, including chicken strips, macaroni & cheese, hot dogs, baked potatoes, broccoli cheddar soup and more! Plus, beer, wine, mixed drinks and soft drinks are served everyday. There’s something for everyone at Drury’s 5:30 Kickback. It's a snack for some, meal for others and free for all!

The big game just got bigger! That’s because you’ll find Flat Panel LCD TVs in every room! Kick up your feet and enjoy the view!


this hotel is also an Universal partner hotel in case you want to book a package.

check with that hotel about their shuttle.
if it won't work with the plans your family has for exploring orlando, then you would want to look into car rentals.

i know many homies post about the hotels that are walkable to the parks.
do a search for hotels in the park area and you will see quite a few more.

 

[trips44]

If we stay offsite; without universal express pass; what type of wait times can I expect midweek during end of June. June 24-29 specifically. Is any day(s) better than the other. ie. Mon etc for fewer crowds? I have a feeling I need to stay onsite for at least 1 night to make the most of those days am I correct?

Mac; I am checking some of those places too and will keep u posted as I am sure I'll have more questions.

 

[macraven]

last week of June will have crowds.
the biggest crowd period for summer will start early july.


check out UO website, get familiar with the layout of the parks for rides, eateries, rest rooms, etc.
have a tenative plan laid out for the day.

make a 'must do list' for the parks.

sometimes you will have to adjust to your 'plan' and hit the rides if there is a smaller line for the ride.

families tend to travel on vacations on weekends.
leave either saturday or sunday for their destination.

probably more tend to depart from their vacation on a sunday if they need to be back at work on monday.
when that happens, you will tend to see smaller crowds on sundays.

holiday weekends cancels out that above statement.

if the single rider lines are open, generally, those line waits will be shorter than the regular line.

i stay on site but still use the SRL for some of the rides.
I use SLR for spiderman.
for the times i go on that ride, the TM has taken 2-4 peeps from the SRL to fill in seats.

if your children are old enough to sit alone, you might consider using the SRL to save time on line waits.

you all exit the ride at the same place.
a person can't get off the ride once the ride has started so you wouldn't fret of losing them.
on many of the rides, you don't have the opportunity to talk with those next to you on the ride.

 

[trips44]

11. Am i interpreting these tickets correctly? 5 or 6 park Flex pass; unlimited park to park admission to 5 or 6 parks for 14 calendar days; 3 park unlimited; unlimited park to park admission to US, IOA, and Wet n Wild for 14 calendar days?
12. Anyone been to legoland or Busch gardens; if you were gonna choose 1 of these which one would you choose kids 12-9-8; all over 50 inches tall. Can these be enjoyed fully in 1 day or does it take 2? Does either park offer an FOTL pass?
13. How is the cinematic spectacular? would you recommend it? or are any of the other dinner shows a must do?
14. Once again family of 5; Without going crazy; what is a realistic # to put on a universal vacation for budgeting purposes; including tickets, food, hotel, etc, for a week to 10 days; either by day or person not including air; ie. 500/day; 500/person etc.

 

[macraven]

11. Am i interpreting these tickets correctly? 5 or 6 park Flex pass; unlimited park to park admission to 5 or 6 parks for 14 calendar days; 3 park unlimited; unlimited park to park admission to US, IOA, and Wet n Wild for 14 calendar days?
12. Anyone been to legoland or Busch gardens; if you were gonna choose 1 of these which one would you choose kids 12-9-8; all over 50 inches tall. Can these be enjoyed fully in 1 day or does it take 2? Does either park offer an FOTL pass?
13. How is the cinematic spectacular? would you recommend it? or are any of the other dinner shows a must do?
14. Once again family of 5; Without going crazy; what is a realistic # to put on a universal vacation for budgeting purposes; including tickets, food, hotel, etc, for a week to 10 days; either by day or person not including air; ie. 500/day; 500/person etc.

11. if you are doing other tourist type of parks besides UO, the flex tickets are a decent deal.

12. i know a family that did lego land. their kids were, i think, about 9 and 7 at the time. think she mentioned some older kids were there at Lego land when they were and it seemed like older kids were not as into the park the entire day.
maybe she meant some of the older kids kind of outgrew the lego stuff.

i've never been.
i spent too many years getting ouches on the bottom of my feet steping on those things during the night.
you know, the boy has a nighmare, needs a drink a water and i would run into his room and scream when i stepped on the legos on the floor.

13. i enjoyed the cinematid show but i recognized most of the movis they showed so it made sense to me. the dinner and show wasn't worth it for me
there are other places around he lagoon that had great views.

14. if you find out hte answer to that qustions, share it with me!
i stay on site for 11 days


my ambein pill has kickdd and having a dickens of a time typig english now..can;find the rihght keysl

 

[macraven]

nnnothing is woese typing in sllow motion

 

[LMichelleee]

13. How is the cinematic spectacular? would you recommend it? or are any of the other dinner shows a must do?

Cinematic spectacular was a great show! I wouldn't do the dinner with it though. It's expensive and if I remember correctly, there were 2 or 3 screens set up so there are great views all over the lagoon.

My experience with partner hotels...

When we stayed at a partner hotel last May the shuttle times were awful. We got there an hour or so after opening and had to leave about an hour before closing. Plus there were 6 different hotels on our route, so it made for a long bus ride. We didn't book the package, but if we did in order to get there for early entry we would have had to get a cab or walk there. We didn't rent a car since we didn't want to pay for parking at the parks. Our last night there we decided to stay til closing so I could see the wizarding world lit up at night, so we got a cab. It was only $6, including a generous tip, which was much cheaper than renting a car. We didn't use the trolley so I can't offer any advice on that.

The good things about our partner hotel is that it was cheap and provided a very nice hot and cold breakfast. Now we use a town car service from the airport to RPR that lets us do a grocery stop and we get lunch, breakfast, snacks, and water at a nearby Publix.

Another thing that makes staying onsite so awesome is the ability to do a wet ride morning! Afterwards we just took the boat ride to the hotel, changed, and went right back out. So nice. Express pass is a wonderful, amazing thing. We rode ride after ride after ride over and over again. It was so worth it.

 

[trips44]

looks like were taking advantage of Lowes daylight sale. They have been very responsive and gave me a rate of 2 nights, water view, 440. approx 220/night plus tax. Is this a good rate? I'm thinking this a requirement, with the expected crowds, it will give us 3 days of unlimited express pass, correct?. Am I making the right decision. I need comfort from those that have been there in late June.

This is cutting into our budget for lodging so are any nice clean family places to stay off site for the remaining portion of our trip. Anywhere from 6-9 nights. Can I expect to find a nice place for $100/night or less?

 

[damo]

looks like were taking advantage of Lowes daylight sale. They have been very responsive and gave me a rate of 2 nights, water view, 440. approx 220/night plus tax. Is this a good rate? I'm thinking this a requirement, with the expected crowds, it will give us 3 days of unlimited express pass, correct?. Am I making the right decision. I need comfort from those that have been there in late June.

This is cutting into our budget for lodging so are any nice clean family places to stay off site for the remaining portion of our trip. Anywhere from 6-9 nights. Can I expect to find a nice place for $100/night or less?

A couple of us responded to your first question in the other thread. You can check previous years' June rates in the old date and rate threads. Just do a search.

Any of the hotels on Major Blvd. are good for close and clean and pretty cheap.

 

[macraven]

i gave you some websites to check out for offsite places.


remember, think twice before you stay at Days Inn on Major blvd.
read all of trip advisors comments on that place if you are still in the decision making process of where to stay.

 

[damo]

i gave you some websites to check out for offsite places.


remember, think twice before you stay at Days Inn on Major blvd.
read all of trip advisors comments on that place if you are still in the decision making process of where to stay.

That Days Inn is on Caravan Ct. if you're checking trip advisor. Check the ones further down Major, such as La Quinta, Holiday Inn Express, etc. They are a bit cheaper because they are a bit further away.

 

[macraven]

thats right but years back many referred to days inn on major.
you turn left on major to caravan for that hotel.

 

[mjohnson96]

i gave you some websites to check out for offsite places.


remember, think twice before you stay at Days Inn on Major blvd.
read all of trip advisors comments on that place if you are still in the decision making process of where to stay.

We made the mistake of staying there when we got into town a day early. It was the scariest experience I have ever had at a hotel. I stayed awake most the night, I just did not feel safe there. It has really gone down hill since I lived in Orlando, my brother also picked it up the next year (did not listen) for one night and then moved out.

 

[glocon]

I would definitely do the RPR for 2 nights, then maybe look at a timeshare. You can save a lot of money by spending a morning listening to the timeshare speech, then have the rest of the week free to do as you please. The only one I ever did was a nice place and we saved a ton of $$$. That might make you feel better about the RPR price. But staying onsite is worth it.