New to IOA/US...pay for express pass or stay on site for FOTL?

[tinkerrn]

We are currently staying at the BC at WDW for 7 nights with 2 rooms. It will be my hubby, his 16 yo son, my 75 yo mother, and myself. Mom and I are going to stay at WDW, but DH and son want to go to US/IOA for 2 days. Would it be better for them to just stay on site those 2 days or will it not be that horrible if they commute between WDW and IOA/US? What about buying this express pass? Would love to hear some advise on the matter.
We are getting 2 rooms any way, so them going to RPR for 2 nights is not a big deal. Thanks!!

 

[Motherfletcher]

If you stay on site and get a taste of FOTL DH and 16 yo will never want to return to WDW.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Do you & your Mom absolutely not want to go to UO? I always recommend anyone visiting UO to stay onsite. Not only for the FOTL, but also for the relaxing vacation it provides. Yes, I too was surprised the 1st time I realized a theme park vacation could be relaxing. The UO onsite experience is like none other. You & your Mom could visit the parks for a little while, do some shopping, then walk or take a short boat ride back to the hotel. Rent a cabana for a day, & spend some quality time lounging by the pool & chatting with your Mom. When it's time for dinner, enjoy a nice meal in your or one of the other resorts, or at CW. Once again, it's only short walk or boat ride away. Do this at the end of your trip, & go home relaxed.

If this doesn't sound appealing to you, only your family knows if it would be better for them to stay at UO, while you're at WDW. It's not something my family would do, but that's just a personal choice. Actually, I'm a coward w/o my hubby.

To help them decide, I can tell you that staying onsite will give them FOTL on rides as many times as they want to ride. The Express Pass only gives you FOTL privileges one time per ride. A 16 yo. is probably going to want to ride the thrill rides multiple times.

As far as hotels go, if you & your Mom decide to go also, Portofino Bay Hotel provides more of an escape from the parks. It's very nice & caters more to adults, IMO. However, it's further from the parks than the other 2 resorts. We took the boat to & from PBH, but some people walk. For a 16 yo. boy, Hard Rock Hotel is the place to be. It's also less than a 10 min. walk to the parks & CW.

Happy planning!!!

 

[buzz2400]

It is only about a 20 minute ride. If you stay onsite at universal it is unlimited front of the line access. If you buy the express pass it is only for that park and for one time each ride.

 

[tinkerrn]

HUMM....I didn't know that the express pass was for one park only. I may have to think this over some. I would like to go to universal and to islands of adventure. I just didn't think mom would want to go also. Maybe she would. I know very little about US/IOA. It might be a great time for all of us. Maybe I need to do a little research here and present it to dear hubby. I think it would be great if we could all go. Just need to tweak our dates a bit and hotels. Thanks!!!

 

[patster734]

If you are only going to the parks for 2 days, you only need to book 1 night at a UO hotel. The FOTL privelege starts the minute that you get your hotel keys and ends at park closing on the day you check out.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

If you are only going to the parks for 2 days, you only need to book 1 night at a UO hotel. The FOTL privelege starts the minute that you get your hotel keys and ends at park closing on the day you check out.

This is true, but then you are sacrificing the relaxation.

We always stay onsite, so we've never purchased an EP. I may be wrong, but I think I've read that you can buy a pass for both parks it just costs a little more. Someone else will come along that knows for sure. The only thing is, your stepson is going to want to ride the thrill rides more than once. This is coming from a mother of a DS(14).

Personally, my favorite park in Orlando is Epcot. However, I enjoy the experience as a whole much more at UO. We usually stay 4 or 5 nights though. That way we have plenty of time to take advantage of the resorts. I think your mom would enjoy it, especially if you stayed at PBH. Your stepson could pool hop to HRH if he wanted. If you want more suggestions to make the trip more special for you & your mom, just ask.

 

[brivers222]

I would see if you could get the FOTL access for your day.

Unless I was looking at them wrong, they were not available for anytime in June/July/August (sold out). Maybe I was looking at it wrong, but we actually timed it really good with only have 15-25 mins wait on every single ride last week!