No FOTL = No Universal Studios?

[MayMom]

I know that everyone agrees that staying onsite and FOTL is the ONLY way to do Universal. However - we will be traveling to Orlando in late May/early June 2006 and we will not be able to stay on site. Because we have a toddler we will be renting a condo for the extra bedroom, running space, full kitchen, etc. I have been reading the boards and have almost decided to cancel our plans to go to Universal. We have stayed at HRH in the past and I loved FOTL, but does Universal not have any type of FastPass for the poor morons that don't stay onsite? Is it just a waste of time to try Universal without FOTL? We have a little boy that LOVES Jimmy Neutron, Shreck, Spiderman, etc. and I would like for him to see these attractions, but will it RUIN our time at Universal if we don't have FOTL?

 

[A Mickeyfan]

Yes, they have the express pass system (like Disney's), and they also sell an express pass book that will give you one FOTL pass for each attraction. If you can get there early in the am, when the park first opens, you should be able to cover many attractions prior to the crowds. I wouldn't cancel just because you aren't staying onsite....

 

[paracelsus]

Our family has been going to Universal and Disney every other summer since 1993. It is always hot and crowded when we are there. The first time that we stayed on site at Universal was in 2002 when we stayed at HRH. Ever since then, we have stayed on site. On site is the way to go if you can. But we have always had fun and done everything there is to do even when we had no FOTL privileges at all. Sometimes having fun takes a little more work.

 

[jpeltier]

IOA/US sell express plus one hour after the parks open.These entitle you to FOTL one time on every ride in the park. Thye passes are 20-40 dollars each + the cost of your park tickets. If i were you, I would buy the Universal tickets online because the deals are really good.Then just buy the express plus at the parks.

 

[Snoopymom]

I think I'm the only one who here who hasn't stayed on site yet, LOL.

We went the first week of June this year and rented a villa. I did not think it was very crowded, but it was rainy. We never waited more than 20 minutes for anything except for the Pterandon Flyers.

We went again the 3rd week of June and it was a lot more crowded, but it was just ds and I so we got to the parks before they opened and got to ride everything we wanted to before noon without waiting hardly at all.

I definitely wouldn't pass the parks up. If you get there early, I think you'll be fine. Parking is quick and easy too. Have fun!

 

[deelam]

I'm going the end of April. We will stay onsite for some of the days, but I am also staying at the Nick hotel for a few days. Does anyone know what the crowds will be like April 20-APril 30 2006. I wonder if we will need FOTL access, because the crowds hopefully will be light. But I am also wondering if they do some kind of High School senior nights or something for Grads that would boost crowds.

 

[gigi1313]

i'll tell you what we're doing... originally we were going to stay at RPR (Universal on-site hotel) for a night or two and get the benefit of FOTL privileges... then disney offered free dining, so we opted to stay at disney the entire length of our stay and drive to universal a day or two... fine...

then i got to thinking about lines and such and decided that we'd buy the Express Plus Pass as an add-on to our tickets... when i did the math the EPPs were $212 for our family of four for two parks (in addition to ticket prices!) and a room at RPR was only $159 w/AAA discount... so, it became a "no brainer" to take the room for the night but we won't be giving up our disney room, basically planning to check in at the crack of dawn not caring if our room is ready or not... head right to IOA for opening... hit a few rides using our FOTL perk... have "brunch" (late breakfast) w/spiderman at IOA... finish up that park and head back to our room (if it's ready) for a rest/swim/whatever and then go over to US for the rest of the afternoon/evening... we'll have a late dinner at Margaritaville, maybe take another swim and decide then if we want to drive back to wdw or stay in our room at RPR... most likely we'll stay if we have some attractions/rides that we were unable to get to and do them the following day or leave if we're 'done' and planning a wdw day the next day...

so, basically, while we are paying for rooms in two different hotels for the same night we are "saving" money with free dining at disney (which we'll use later in the week) and FOTL passes instead of Express Plus Passes... with the added perk of having a place to take a break mid-day

works for us... play w/the numbers and see if it will work for you!

 

[gschmerl]

YOur FOTL will be good for two days, so you might as well stay and ride some of your favorites again.

 

[Foladar]

I think I'm the only one who here who hasn't stayed on site yet, LOL.

So far, I haven't, yet
Going to for my first time in Oct .. no FOTL isn't that big of a deal, you can get things done w/o it, we did it in Feb and May.

 

[gigi1313]

YOur FOTL will be good for two days, so you might as well stay and ride some of your favorites again.

but then i'd have to buy two day's worth of tickets! our plan is to upgrade our tix to two-day if we are having enough fun and want to stay...