Newbie Help- Trying to decide if I want to go to US/IOA

[poeticdiabetic]

Ok. The one and only time that I've been to Universal Studios was June, 1995. And I was with my wife. No kids. We were there for about 3 days.

Fast-forward to 2008 and 2 boys later (ages 8 and 10), both boys are now tall enough to ride all of the rides (they're both over 54".) We've been to WDW back during Spring Break and had a ball. I'm thinking about going out of town Thanksgiving week. So I have a lot of questions:

1. How long should we stay?

2. Should we stay onsite, or should we stay at a low-cost hotel offsite?

3. Is that meal-deal worth it, or would we do better eating on our own? And should we eat in the parks, or should we venture down International Drive?

4. During our visit on Thanksgiving, how should the crowd fare? And given that, should we opt for that express pass, given the expense?

Thanks so much in advance for your feedback and input!

 

[Tizzy_Meliss]

We've been to WDW back during Spring Break and had a ball. I'm thinking about going out of town Thanksgiving week. So I have a lot of questions:

1. How long should we stay? That question I can't answer, I think it is a personal thing that only you can know. We stay for 5 days or longer, depending on how busy DH is at work and how much time he can take off.

2. Should we stay onsite, or should we stay at a low-cost hotel offsite? IMO, if you can afford it, stay onsite. With onsite stays you get front of the line access, which means, you hardly wait, if at all, for rides. In November we have never waited longer than 10-15 minutes for the most popular rides.

Not to mention the the resorts are beautiful, there is plenty to do for the kids at the pool on days where you want to relax, games are played daily at the pool, movies on certain nights of the week are shown, and the pool is open til 10:00 or 11:00 pm.

3. Is that meal-deal worth it, or would we do better eating on our own? And should we eat in the parks, or should we venture down International Drive?
I've never done the meal deal, but for my family it isn't worth it. We don't eat that much in the parks. We eat in the hotels and City Walk, oh and Mythos and Finnegans when in the parks.

4. During our visit on Thanksgiving, how should the crowd fare? And given that, should we opt for that express pass, given the expense?
I think it would be more cost effective to stay onsite, besides with express pass you can only use them once per ride. During Tday week, the crowds are low that Monday-Wednesday leading up to Tday, after Tday it is crazy busy.

 

[Tinker-tude]

1. How long should we stay?

The first time we went was in January with no crowds, and one day in each park was NOT enough. Considering the fact that you are going in peak season, you MIGHT be able to hit the must-do things in three days. That's excluding the shows. Unless you stay onsite with FOTL (front of the line) benefits. Even then, if you want to see and do EVERYTHING during peak season, and have time to repeat your favorites a few times, I'd plan on 4-5 days.

2. Should we stay onsite, or should we stay at a low-cost hotel offsite?

Onsite RULES!!!!!!!!!! I will never do it any other way if I have a choice. If it's in the budget, it's very worthwhile. As mentioned, you get FOTL, as well as priority seating at the restaurants. No reservations needed! They also have great themed pools, really good restaurants, and the rooms are BIG. You're very close to the parks, so you can walk over or take the water taxi, which saves time and parking fees. My husband and I both said that the Hard Rock Hotel was so much fun to stay in that it would have been a great vacation even without the parks.

3. Is that meal-deal worth it, or would we do better eating on our own? And should we eat in the parks, or should we venture down International Drive?

If you have older teenagers who wolf down four big meals a day, it would be worth it. For our family, it wouldn't be. Especially since we don't want counter service all the time, and the meal deal is limited to certain places to eat. I wouldn't waste the time to eat out of the parks/Citywalk. There are restaurants of all kinds, from fast food to nice table service, and most of them range from good to fantastic. Food is a very important part of our vacations, and we were very happy with the food we tried in the parks. We also loved The Kitchen and The Palm at HRH, and we plan to visit other onsite hotel restaurants on our next trip. It was nice to be able to eat dinner right there at our own hotel and go up the elevator to bed.

4. During our visit on Thanksgiving, how should the crowd fare? And given that, should we opt for that express pass, given the expense?

Thanks so much in advance for your feedback and input!

I've never been during Thanksgiving, but it's listed as peak season. It'll probably be pretty crowded. Get to the parks first thing in the morning and hit the most popular rides first before the crowds build. If it gets really crowded, you can buy the EP later at Guest Services. If you stay onsite, you never have to worry about that. If you stay onsite, there are some rides that you still want to see the regular queue for, like Revenge of the Mummy in US and Dueling Dragons in IoA. There are others, but I can't remember which ones. Someone else can pipe in and remind me! Do those as soon as the park opens, and then you can use your FOTL the rest of the day.

Hope that helps!

 

[klfrech]

If at all possible, stay onsite. Just a word of caution, however, YOU WILL BE SPOILED! Going to the front of the line is worth every penny. Unlike Disney, if you stay onsite you can not only walk to the parks (or take the water taxi), but you can also walk to City Walk (Universal's Downtown Disney). Universal is much smaller, more compact and much easier to manuever (especially if you stay onsite).

 

[DamnSkippy]

Express Pass is definately worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I the Express Pass...

 

[Metro West]

If at all possible, stay onsite. Just a word of caution, however, YOU WILL BE SPOILED! Going to the front of the line is worth every penny. Unlike Disney, if you stay onsite you can not only walk to the parks (or take the water taxi), but you can also walk to City Walk (Universal's Downtown Disney). Universal is much smaller, more compact and much easier to manuever (especially if you stay onsite).