New to Universal, big fan of DW...Need help!

[moliuchick]

Hi all,
My family has been to DW a few times in the past. My teenage kids have been wanting to go back for the rides and fun. I am thinking this year why not give it a change. I want to surprise them with Universal. I guess the Universal plan is not necessary cheaper but I think it is different. I am planning on going from March 6 to March 9. Two days park and staying in onsite resort to get to express lines for rides. Since I am going to fly in, do you think two days is enough for both IOA and Studio? My plan is to take a early flight and do some stuff at the resort on the 6th , then 7th and 8th will be park days. 9th will be resort or city walk. Do you think it is worth it to spend about $3,314 (not including food) on a family 4 day, 3 nights trip?

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

Go to Undercover Tourist and buy the 2 day park to park with 2 extra days free, so you can go to the parks every day. With staying on site, there is no need to have a resort day and a park day, everyday is a park/resort day. You can catch a boat and be in the parks in 10-15 minutes, ride some rides, you will be amazed by how much you can get done with express, then head to CityWalk for a meal or back to the hotel for a nap/pool time. It is not Disney, no need to commando the parks. By the 8th, you will have a real good feel for the layout, and you can really customize that last full day.

I know there are many ways to save money and budget an Orlando vacation. Of that, I am not an expert at all! We love Orlando, and we love some of luxuries, which are now necessities for us. We always stay on site, we always eat well, we always use Mears, and we almost always head out of the resort at least once (Disney Springs, Sea World/Aquatica, WonderWorks, etc.) Without making significant sacrifices, it always runs us about $1,000 per day for my family of 4 (food included). We save until we can afford that. If we come in under budget a bit, we buy Blue Man tickets, or go to Cirque, or have a few really significant meals (Dine with Shamu!).

 

[gotomu212]

I second getting tickets for all days. We usually have an early flight and get to the parks around 12-1 the first day. With express passes you can do a lot and just get a feel for the parks.

To me, including flight, that doesn't seem like an unreasonable amount, BUT I will add that Universal generally gets cheaper (incrementally) the longer you stay so if it fits with your schedule you might want to add 2 more nights.

 

[TnTWalter]

Annual Passholder Discount at Hard Rock is $858 for 3 nights, Mar 6-9, 2017.
$250 each for3 of you 2day+1 tickets from Undercover Tourist [tax included]. $284 for Seasonal Passholder for 1 of you [to get rate]...didn't include tax on AP.
< $2k plus food and airfare.

 

[damo]

Your post's title read funny. On the disboards DW is an acronym for Dear Wife. I found it surprising that there was a whole new thread about being a fan of one's wife and the implication that it required intervention!!!!


Disney World's acronym is WDW.

 

[Kivara]

Your post's title read funny. On the disboards DW is an acronym for Dear Wife. I found it surprising that there was a whole new thread about being a fan of one's wife and the implication that it required intervention!!!!


Disney World's acronym is WDW.

Glad I wasn't the only one that read it that way! I thought maybe he needs help convincing DW to go to Uni

 

[Mama Lo]

Annual Passholder Discount at Hard Rock is $858 for 3 nights, Mar 6-9, 2017.
$250 each for3 of you 2day+1 tickets from Undercover Tourist [tax included]. $284 for Seasonal Passholder for 1 of you [to get rate]...didn't include tax on AP.
< $2k plus food and airfare.

This is a great plan.

You can purchase all of your tickets from Undercover Tourist for the 2 day + 1 free and then upgrade one to the Annual Pass (AP) once you are there onsite. Since you only have to show your AP during your stay this will work.

The upgrade should cost around $30 per person. So you may decide to upgrade everyone with sights on a future trip.