Newbie questions

[lauradis]

First thank you for reading my rambling!

We are doing a Split stay Dec 1-5, 2015 Disney

Dec 6-9, 2015 the Darkside, which is kinda scaring me since we have never stayed, just hopped over for HHN with express passes.

Details of trip so far

Taxi from Disney hotel to Hard Rock as early as I can get them up (good luck me)

Hard Rock regular queen room. Rates running about 259 night. AAA discount??

Get tickets 2 day park to park one day free after signing up for Mousesaver news letter from UT running about $591.63 before mousesaver news letter.

Looking to get late flight back home. So we can sleep in and relax around the pool before leaving.

Since the crowd levels don't look bad here are my list of questions.

1. Can we get away with sleeping in and visiting Harry potter later in the day? Like 2 hrs before park closes. Or is the best way to do it with the early park entrance?

2. Is it easy to just pay for stuff oop or charge to room, and if you do charge to room what is the daily limit is there one, is there a deposit required, do they charge your card daily?

3. Can you really get away with out having dinning res. or will we end up waiting 45 to 1.5hrs if not. Plus this is really werido and like disney once was.

4. Are old school fanny packs allowed on rides or are those require to be checked in a lockers too?

I don't really want to plan out our whole time hr by hr, I stopped doing this at the motherland too.

I just want more insider info to set my planning ocd soul to rest.

Thanks again for reading and all your help.

 

[horse11]

Although I can not answer your questions I will be following along. We too were thinking about doin the same thing. May be we can learn from each other. First my group includes Me, my husband, three boys ages at time of trip (11, 9, & 7), and my mother and father. Both my husband and parents do not like split stays. they hate having to pack up and move but after some reasearch I really think the split stay would work out better since we want to do both Universal parks and Disney. Here is what I came up with so far.
1st day arrival at CBR (disney hotel) Thinking about going to Beach Club for there sea food buffet for dinner that night

2nd Day: Sleeping in and going to Epcot around 9:30 leave around 8:00pm

3rd Day: MK get an early breakfast at BOG before the park officially opens. That way we did not have to be aroeund the crowds at rope drop and yet we can head to Fantasy land to get the goo rides in early

4th Day. Familly usually needs a relax day so we will bne hanging out at the pool and then head to dinner at one of the restraunts at the Grand Floridian

5th Day Hollywood studios for Star Wars Weekend get there at rope drop and stay late

6th Day sleep in and leave by 11:00 to head over to The Royal Pacific Hotel (universal hotel) We plan on using Meers which would be around $106 for all 7 of us. Once checked in let the kids swim and then catch the Luau at the hotel that night.

7th Day: Do either Univeral Studios or Islands of Adventure

8th Day Do either Universal Studios or Islands od Adventure or may be both

9th Day: Departure day. may be hand out by the pool or go to City Walk for a little while before heading back to the airport. Once again probally going to use Meers.

I am still working out how to tour Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure since I am never been there before. Hoping we ca nhelp each other out in that department since we seem to be in the same boat. My problems is the boy are not ready for the big roller coasters yet but are getting closer so my tour plan may change by next year. We plan on going the third week of may so we can catch both the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot and the Star Wars Weekend at Holloywood Studios. Was also thinking about October but the boys will be too young to do Halloween Nights at Universal

 

[RMulieri]

1) Either first thing in the am or the last hour before park closing is the least wait..HOWEVER..there is always a chance if you save it till later in the day, there could be technical issues and you wouldn't get to ride. This happened to us on our first visit with Forbidden Journey( luckily we were there another 2 days).
2)You can charge to the room, I cant answer specifics since we never do
3)ADRS are not needed.We book them because we like to eat at certain times and hate waiting, but you can get away without them.Places like Margaritaville often have lengthy wait times, especially on weekends
4)You can use a fanny pack with a 3 PRONG clasp.It has to have a 3 PRONG clasp. HOWEVER...NO bags including waistpacks are allowed on : Hulk, Rip Ride Rocket and occasionally Dragon Challenge ( I say occasionally because we were told NO on our trip in Jan, but others here have said they had no issues)

 

[lauradis]

1) Either first thing in the am or the last hour before park closing is the least wait..HOWEVER..there is always a chance if you save it till later in the day, there could be technical issues and you wouldn't get to ride. This happened to us on our first visit with Forbidden Journey( luckily we were there another 2 days).
2)You can charge to the room, I cant answer specifics since we never do
3)ADRS are not needed.We book them because we like to eat at certain times and hate waiting, but you can get away without them.Places like Margaritaville often have lengthy wait times, especially on weekends
4)You can use a fanny pack with a 3 PRONG clasp.It has to have a 3 PRONG clasp. HOWEVER...NO bags including waistpacks are allowed on : Hulk, Rip Ride Rocket and occasionally Dragon Challenge ( I say occasionally because we were told NO on our trip in Jan, but others here have said they had no issues)

Ty I'm early bird so sleeping in is hard for me but they do have Starbucks at the hard rock.

I'm thinking it will be easier to just oop then charge to room but still wondering how it works.

I hate fanny packs lol but hey a girl has to have her lipstick, battery charger and iPhone.

 

[lauradis]

Although I can not answer your questions I will be following along. We too were thinking about doin the same thing. May be we can learn from each other. First my group includes Me, my husband, three boys ages at time of trip (11, 9, & 7), and my mother and father. Both my husband and parents do not like split stays. they hate having to pack up and move but after some reasearch I really think the split stay would work out better since we want to do both Universal parks and Disney. Here is what I came up with so far.
1st day arrival at CBR (disney hotel) Thinking about going to Beach Club for there sea food buffet for dinner that night

2nd Day: Sleeping in and going to Epcot around 9:30 leave around 8:00pm

3rd Day: MK get an early breakfast at BOG before the park officially opens. That way we did not have to be aroeund the crowds at rope drop and yet we can head to Fantasy land to get the goo rides in early

4th Day. Familly usually needs a relax day so we will bne hanging out at the pool and then head to dinner at one of the restraunts at the Grand Floridian

5th Day Hollywood studios for Star Wars Weekend get there at rope drop and stay late

6th Day sleep in and leave by 11:00 to head over to The Royal Pacific Hotel (universal hotel) We plan on using Meers which would be around $106 for all 7 of us. Once checked in let the kids swim and then catch the Luau at the hotel that night.

7th Day: Do either Univeral Studios or Islands of Adventure

8th Day Do either Universal Studios or Islands od Adventure or may be both

9th Day: Departure day. may be hand out by the pool or go to City Walk for a little while before heading back to the airport. Once again probally going to use Meers.

I am still working out how to tour Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure since I am never been there before. Hoping we ca nhelp each other out in that department since we seem to be in the same boat. My problems is the boy are not ready for the big roller coasters yet but are getting closer so my tour plan may change by next year. We plan on going the third week of may so we can catch both the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot and the Star Wars Weekend at Holloywood Studios. Was also thinking about October but the boys will be too young to do Halloween Nights at Universal

Np that's what the dis board is for.

Actually I'm more excited for the darkside part of the trip.

 

[HM]

Hard Rock regular queen room. Rates running about 259 night. AAA discount??
YOU HAVE TO CALL FOR THE AAA DISCOUNT. NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Get tickets 2 day park to park one day free after signing up for Mousesaver news letter from UT running about $591.63 before mousesaver news letter.
THIS IS A GOOD DEAL. THE NEWSLETTER DISCOUNT WILL TAKE OFF ANOTHER DOLLAR OR TWO.

Looking to get late flight back home. So we can sleep in and relax around the pool before leaving.
THE POOL AREA IS NICE. IT'S GOOD YOU WILL TRY TO GET IN SOME TIME THERE.

Since the crowd levels don't look bad here are my list of questions.

1. Can we get away with sleeping in and visiting Harry potter later in the day? Like 2 hrs before park closes. Or is the best way to do it with the early park entrance?
WE DID NOT GET UP AT OPENING ON ANY DAY OF OUR MOST RECENT TRIP. WE DID GET TO THE PARK IN THE FIRST HOUR AND IF THE LINE WAS SHORT ENOUGH, GOT IN. WE HAD SOME LUCK WITH DOING THE RIDES AT NIGHT WITH VERY LOW WAITS (NOTE, GRINGOTTS RIDE BROKE DOWN ON ONE NIGHT...NOT TO COME BACK UP...BUT THEY GAVE OUT EXPRESS PASS THAT COULD BE USED ON IT THE NEXT DAY).

2. Is it easy to just pay for stuff oop or charge to room, and if you do charge to room what is the daily limit is there one, is there a deposit required, do they charge your card daily?
WE'VE DONE IT BOTH WAYS. NEITHER WAY WAS BETTER THAN THE OTHER TO ME. I THINK THE LIMIT WAS $500? YOU CAN ASK TO SEE YOUR CHARGES AT ANY TIME AT THE DESK. IF YOU USE AMEX TO PAY, YOU CAN GET A DISCOUNT SOMETIMES.

3. Can you really get away with out having dinning res. or will we end up waiting 45 to 1.5hrs if not. Plus this is really werido and like disney once was.
WE ONLY MADE TWO RESERVATIONS, AND REALLY DIDN'T NEED THEM. LONGEST WAIT WE HAD FOR A PLACE WITH NO RESERVATION WAS MARGARITAVILLE..APPROX 1/2 HOUR.

4. Are old school fanny packs allowed on rides or are those require to be checked in a lockers too?
MOST RIDES WILL ALLOW THIS, BUT NOT ALL AS NOTED BY THE PRIOR POST

I don't really want to plan out our whole time hr by hr, I stopped doing this at the motherland too.
WE DIDN'T PLAN OUR TRIP AT ALL. THE FAMILY LOVED HAVING NO COMMITMENTS TO ANYTHING. THE EXPRESS PASS WAS KEY, BECAUSE YOU COULD PRETTY MUCH CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO NEXT AND JUST DO IT WITH LITTLE TO NO WAIT.

 

[macraven]

Although I can not answer your questions I will be following along. We too were thinking about doin the same thing. May be we can learn from each other. First my group includes Me, my husband, three boys ages at time of trip (11, 9, & 7), and my mother and father. Both my husband and parents do not like split stays. they hate having to pack up and move but after some reasearch I really think the split stay would work out better since we want to do both Universal parks and Disney. Here is what I came up with so far.
1st day arrival at CBR (disney hotel) Thinking about going to Beach Club for there sea food buffet for dinner that night

2nd Day: Sleeping in and going to Epcot around 9:30 leave around 8:00pm

3rd Day: MK get an early breakfast at BOG before the park officially opens. That way we did not have to be aroeund the crowds at rope drop and yet we can head to Fantasy land to get the goo rides in early

4th Day. Familly usually needs a relax day so we will bne hanging out at the pool and then head to dinner at one of the restraunts at the Grand Floridian

5th Day Hollywood studios for Star Wars Weekend get there at rope drop and stay late

6th Day sleep in and leave by 11:00 to head over to The Royal Pacific Hotel (universal hotel) We plan on using Meers which would be around $106 for all 7 of us. Once checked in let the kids swim and then catch the Luau at the hotel that night.

7th Day: Do either Univeral Studios or Islands of Adventure

8th Day Do either Universal Studios or Islands od Adventure or may be both

9th Day: Departure day. may be hand out by the pool or go to City Walk for a little while before heading back to the airport. Once again probally going to use Meers.

I am still working out how to tour Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure since I am never been there before. Hoping we ca nhelp each other out in that department since we seem to be in the same boat. My problems is the boy are not ready for the big roller coasters yet but are getting closer so my tour plan may change by next year. We plan on going the third week of may so we can catch both the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot and the Star Wars Weekend at Holloywood Studios. Was also thinking about October but the boys will be too young to do Halloween Nights at Universal

are you using Mears private car or their shuttle?
private cars you can bring luggage and your items.
shuttles don't allow carry on luggage.

 

[lauradis]

Hard Rock regular queen room. Rates running about 259 night. AAA discount??
YOU HAVE TO CALL FOR THE AAA DISCOUNT. NOT AVAILABLE ONLINE.

Get tickets 2 day park to park one day free after signing up for Mousesaver news letter from UT running about $591.63 before mousesaver news letter.
THIS IS A GOOD DEAL. THE NEWSLETTER DISCOUNT WILL TAKE OFF ANOTHER DOLLAR OR TWO.

Looking to get late flight back home. So we can sleep in and relax around the pool before leaving.
THE POOL AREA IS NICE. IT'S GOOD YOU WILL TRY TO GET IN SOME TIME THERE.

Since the crowd levels don't look bad here are my list of questions.

1. Can we get away with sleeping in and visiting Harry potter later in the day? Like 2 hrs before park closes. Or is the best way to do it with the early park entrance?
WE DID NOT GET UP AT OPENING ON ANY DAY OF OUR MOST RECENT TRIP. WE DID GET TO THE PARK IN THE FIRST HOUR AND IF THE LINE WAS SHORT ENOUGH, GOT IN. WE HAD SOME LUCK WITH DOING THE RIDES AT NIGHT WITH VERY LOW WAITS (NOTE, GRINGOTTS RIDE BROKE DOWN ON ONE NIGHT...NOT TO COME BACK UP...BUT THEY GAVE OUT EXPRESS PASS THAT COULD BE USED ON IT THE NEXT DAY).

2. Is it easy to just pay for stuff oop or charge to room, and if you do charge to room what is the daily limit is there one, is there a deposit required, do they charge your card daily?
WE'VE DONE IT BOTH WAYS. NEITHER WAY WAS BETTER THAN THE OTHER TO ME. I THINK THE LIMIT WAS $500? YOU CAN ASK TO SEE YOUR CHARGES AT ANY TIME AT THE DESK. IF YOU USE AMEX TO PAY, YOU CAN GET A DISCOUNT SOMETIMES.

3. Can you really get away with out having dinning res. or will we end up waiting 45 to 1.5hrs if not. Plus this is really werido and like disney once was.
WE ONLY MADE TWO RESERVATIONS, AND REALLY DIDN'T NEED THEM. LONGEST WAIT WE HAD FOR A PLACE WITH NO RESERVATION WAS MARGARITAVILLE..APPROX 1/2 HOUR.

4. Are old school fanny packs allowed on rides or are those require to be checked in a lockers too?
MOST RIDES WILL ALLOW THIS, BUT NOT ALL AS NOTED BY THE PRIOR POST

I don't really want to plan out our whole time hr by hr, I stopped doing this at the motherland too.
WE DIDN'T PLAN OUR TRIP AT ALL. THE FAMILY LOVED HAVING NO COMMITMENTS TO ANYTHING. THE EXPRESS PASS WAS KEY, BECAUSE YOU COULD PRETTY MUCH CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO NEXT AND JUST DO IT WITH LITTLE TO NO WAIT.

Ty that was very helpful.

I would also recommend all people new to read trip reports. There are tons of info between the pictures and personal information. Like pp said very very helpful

 

[macraven]

i'm always pushing the trip report forum.

some of the peeps that show their pictures look as professional as UO publishes!


i always enjoy reading how a family gives advice to the readers on what worked for them and what didn't during their visits.


and of course, i'm always reading about the food......
i have found some gems that i have over looked in past visits and find out about them in these reports.