newbie to US/IOA...have questions about staying on site

[ShellyMouse]

hi! i have never been to these parks, and planning our 1st visit this dec, after WDW.

in another post, i read about front of line passes....do you automatically get these if staying on site? i'm trying to decide where we are staying after WDW, and this would make my decision very easy if true!

parking.....if you stay on site, do you get free parking? do they have shuttles to the parks from the hotels?


thanks alot!!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

You do get FOTL access, when staying onsite. It's a fabulous perk, & the resorts are all very nice.

There is a $12/ night parking fee at all 3 resorts.

There's buses & boats travelling between the parks & resorts. However, you can easily walk to the parks & CityWalk from HRH. RPR is a fairly easy walk to IOA & is walkable to US. We did use the boat a few times, when we stayed there. When we stayed at PBH, we always used the boat transportation. UO isn't set up anything like WDW. It's very easy to walk between parks. They're connected by CityWalk. Staying at one of their resorts & being able to walk most anywhere provides a much more relaxing vacation.

 

[ShellyMouse]

thanks alot for your information!

i'm looking at other options now, the 4-night stay at royal pacific with tickets is almost as much as 10 days at wdw with ddp & park hoppers! (not quite, but it's alot....)

thanks again!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

thanks alot for your information!

i'm looking at other options now, the 4-night stay at royal pacific with tickets is almost as much as 10 days at wdw with ddp & park hoppers! (not quite, but it's alot....)

thanks again!

Wow, I'm surprised to read that. We've always been able to go to UO cheaper than WDW. We've never been on the dining plan though. Most of our fav. WDW restaurants are 2 TS credits, so the plan doesn't really work out to our advantage.

Universal's resorts have options for getting a discounted rate. I don't know, if you were aware of that. Also, the price of admission to Universal's parks is much cheaper than at WDW. However, I can see that you would be getting a break on the last few days of you trip @ WDW by buying the longer pass. If it were me & I were already going to be spending time @ WDW, I'd look into ways of saving money at UO & go there too. I think you'd be surprised at how much you enjoy staying onsite there. A lot would depend on the ages of your family too. If you're kids are 8 or older, you should seriously reconsider going to Universal. JMO

If you have any more questions or need help in finding the best deals, feel free to ask. People on this board are very helpful. Hope you enjoy your trip, whatever you decide.

 

[damo]

hi! i have never been to these parks, and planning our 1st visit this dec, after WDW.

in another post, i read about front of line passes....do you automatically get these if staying on site? i'm trying to decide where we are staying after WDW, and this would make my decision very easy if true!

parking.....if you stay on site, do you get free parking? do they have shuttles to the parks from the hotels?


thanks alot!!

If you give us your dates and the prices you have found, we will try and see if we can find better deals for you. Right now there are specials for five day tickets for $75, and there are great discounts on hotel rooms with AAA and annual passes. Rooms do tend to be expensive between Christmas and New Year's though.

 

[ShellyMouse]

here are the prices i got from AAA this am......

Dec 26 - 30, royal pacific hotel:
*standard room, 2 queen beds
*tickets (good for 14 days, but we will only be there 4-5) to universal, ioa, wet & wild (we wouldn't use....it's december!!!), and sea world.

through AAA we would also get these perks:
*prefered seating at rest., city walk party pass, 1 free appitizer @ hard rock, 1 free dessert @ hard rock, 1 free appitizer @ royal pacific, 1 free kids meal @ nascar cafe, 1 free souvenier picture @ any park.

total $1,888.29 !!

(our wdw package through AAA for 10 days with park hopper and ddp @ pop is $2,956.34, thats with a preferred room)

wdw is for 3 adults, and one 7 yo........universal is for 2 adults and one 7 yo. (my mom will be with us for 1/2 the trip)
now, since we check into wdw on the 16th, we get the value rate for our whole stay, and RP hotel would be at holiday rates, i know.

now, through AAA if we stay right outside the gates, at "double tree universal" (has anyone stayed there?), we get all the AAA perks, 1 day at SW, 5 days @ univ/ioa, and city walk passes for $886.64. if i add an extra sea world day the total will be $ 1,084.50.

i have never been to any of these parks before except wdw. but i'm thinking we need 2 days at SW, and 2-3 at univ/ioa....don't ya think?

what do you all think of these prices?

oh, another question......can you explain the differences between universal and IOA?.....how would you describe each park? is one more rides than the other, one more shows?? thanks agian!

thanks a ton for your help!!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

I normally never recommend this, but have you considered going to Universal 1st. I prefer to end our trips there, but going there 1st would save you a substantial amount of money. Could you still get the same rate at WDW, if you don't check in until the 21st?

You could get a room using the AAA code for $159/ night at RPR starting on the 16th & checking out on the 21st. Book directly with Universal rather than going through a AAA agent. The same room on the 26th would cost you $299.

You could purchase 5 day hopper, expiring, passes to Universal online for $75. Purchasing tickets through their site also gets you a coupon book that includes the discounts AAA is offering you, except for the free picture. You just have to go to Guest Services at either park & ask for the coupon book. Staying onsite gets you preferred seating at restaurants. We always make reservations anyway.

1 day at Sea World is enough for our family. If you want to go 2, there's often specials that give you 2nd day free. I don't know, if it's available now or not.

The fact that you can keep the pre holiday rate at WDW does make a huge difference. Personally, I wouldn't go with the offsite Universal option the week after Christmas.


ETA: I forgot to compare the parks for you. Universal is more like MGM, but is a much better park. IOA would more closely compare to the MK, but they're not really the same. IOA has some whimsical rides, but also has thrill rides.
Universal has more dark/ indoor attractions. Mummy would compare to Dinosaur at AK, but is much better. MIB is comparable to Buzz in the MK, but again it's a better ride. There's also simulator & 3D attractions.

They have about the same amount of shows. IMHO, this is one area that WDW really shines over UO.

 

[disneyhottie]

You may want to consider having 1 of your adults get an Annual Pass to recieve a larger discount(many discounts on food and other venues in park).Also where are you staying at WDW?If I am correct by looking at your post, it is Pop Century.This being said,refigure your WDW trip by pricing your trip with you staying at the Wilderness Lodge instead.I think you will see a dramatic cost change.I have stayed at Pop.Even though it was great(any time at WDW is great)Pop in no way compares to any of the resorts at Universal.Check out Universalstudios.com to get a feel for the 3 resorts.(Sorry so long...I love to talk).

 

[damo]

You may want to consider having 1 of your adults get an Annual Pass to recieve a larger discount(many discounts on food and other venues in park).Also where are you staying at WDW?If I am correct by looking at your post, it is Pop Century.This being said,refigure your WDW trip by pricing your trip with you staying at the Wilderness Lodge instead.I think you will see a dramatic cost change.I have stayed at Pop.Even though it was great(any time at WDW is great)Pop in no way compares to any of the resorts at Universal.Check out Universalstudios.com to get a feel for the 3 resorts.(Sorry so long...I love to talk).

I checked out discounts for between Christmas and New Year's for them and there is no discount at that time.

I agree with tarheelmhfan. You can save a bundle by rearranging your holiday.