On site hotel for part of stay?

[Lees3rwe]

Sorry- me again...

If we are staying in Orlando for 4 days/3 nights and 3 of those days are Universal Days (1 is Legoland), should I just book an onsite room for 1 night since I get the Express benefits for 2 of our 3 days? (Our plan for the 3rd day was just hitting our favorites again at both parks).

I booked all 3 nights onsite, but now that I am thinking about it, I could save a lot of money (for my 2nd Florida trip in November 2012!!!)

What would you do?

 

[Bluer101]

That sounds like a great plan, many people do this.

 

[AJA]

You could do that. I have to be honest though, the hotels at US are awesome. Much better than Disney (ducking for cover from the rest of the board) they are totally worth the price. We fell in love with onsite US so much so that our next Disney trip, with a 2 day stop at Universal, has been canceled in favor of an entire week onsite at Universal relaxing and enjoying the hotels as much as the parks (you can pool hop at US).

 

[bumbershoot]

You could do that. I have to be honest though, the hotels at US are awesome. Much better than Disney (ducking for cover from the rest of the board) they are totally worth the price.

Same feeling from me!

 

[nytimez]

You could do that. I have to be honest though, the hotels at US are awesome. Much better than Disney (ducking for cover from the rest of the board) they are totally worth the price. We fell in love with onsite US so much so that our next Disney trip, with a 2 day stop at Universal, has been canceled in favor of an entire week onsite at Universal relaxing and enjoying the hotels as much as the parks (you can pool hop at US).

Same feeling from me!

Agreed. I love the US hotels. They're worth the extra scratch, unless you really need to cut some corners.

Also, there's something to be said for NOT having to play musical hotels.

Either way, you'll have a great time. Enjoy.

 

[Lees3rwe]

That was my thought as well (not having to switch hotels!)

We honestly do not spend a lot of time in our room, we stay in the parks all day and this is such a quick trip!

Maybe 2 nights on site and 1 off, I think that difference in price would cover the Legoland tickets!

I need to get a part time job to support my theme park habit.

 

[macraven]

in the fall, i stay 8 days onsite and never run out of things to do when at the hotel.


there is more to do there than just sleep.

 

[torinsmom]

I am staying in a pool home in July and booking one night at Universal to get the FOTL passes. We have APs, so hoping to get a decent rate and not pay the $300 we had to pay 2 years ago. We may take a break in the onsite room, but we aren't spending the night there. I stayed one night at RPR two years ago, and I just wasn't that impressed with the room or the service. It was a lot smaller than the Hyatt Place Universal we stayed at the year before and the beds were not nearly as comfy. I also got free wi-fi and free breakfast at Hyatt Place. I paid for wifi, but then had to spend an hour on the phone with tech support trying to get it to work. The phone was full of static all night and day, which was blamed on a one hour thunderstorm.

We used Priceline and bid on a 3.5* or better in the Universal area for two years. First year we got Hyatt Place for $30/night(the year before WWOHP opened) and the next year we got the Holiday Inn Universal for $40/night.

 

[Lees3rwe]

yeah, I was quite surprised that at that rate per night you don't get wifi or a mini fridge. That is crazy to me.

Honestly, the pools aren't a huge draw for us, we have a pool.. We are all about the parks!

Thanks for all of the input!

 

[christophfam]

yeah, I was quite surprised that at that rate per night you don't get wifi or a mini fridge. That is crazy to me.

Honestly, the pools aren't a huge draw for us, we have a pool.. We are all about the parks!

Thanks for all of the input!

Have you been to Universal onsite before? I ask because your statement above is exactly what I would have said before my first onsite trip. At Disney, we are all about the parks but at Disney it really HAS to be that way. For us when we go to Disney, we leave the room at the crack of dawn and don't return until closing. We love it, but is is SO exhausting. Staying onsite at Universal allows such a completely different vacation. The resorts are so easy to travel between the parks and you don't have to get up early or stay all night. With the express, you really don't need to! This different style of touring just puts you in the resort more whether or not you use the pool. There is more to the pool though than just a place to swim. RPR has a volleyball net in the pool and at the beach, a water play area, pool table, ping pong, someone that leads games for the kids, evening movies and those wonderful tropical drinks! I haven't been to Disney in three years, a record for me and it is all because I just haven't wanted to deal with the madness of the rush at Disney. Staying onsite allow you to thoroughly cover the parks AND relax and spend time with your family. I would stay at least two nights so you can get the full feeling of the relaxed touring style, the easy access to your room, the wonderful staff, the great food and of course the parks! It really is kind of an experience and staying offsite with family our last trip, I certainly wasn't feeling it then!!

 

[damo]

yeah, I was quite surprised that at that rate per night you don't get wifi or a mini fridge. That is crazy to me.

Honestly, the pools aren't a huge draw for us, we have a pool.. We are all about the parks!

Thanks for all of the input!

Getting unlimited express pass access far, far, far outweighs the value of a mini fridge and wifi, especially if you are someone who is all about the parks. Free wifi is available in the lobby and other public areas. Also, being able to walk everywhere is a huge time (which to me is money) saver.

Also, you can easily get free wifi if you just stay onsite twice a year (or 5 days at one time). The Loews perks program gives free wifi to all of its gold members as well as other benefits. We are platinum members and get free wifi plus a suite upgrade plus a $100 food and beverage credit each time we stay at one of the Loews hotels.

http://www.loewshotels.com/en/youfirst/benefits

 

[Lees3rwe]

No, we have not stayed there or ever been to Universal.
We stay Value at Disney because, as I said, we are all about the parks.

Thanks for all of the information, I appreciate it!

Another question. We will have 3 day tickets (the ones from Costco).
We are going back to Orlando in the Fall or Winter for Disney, should we save that 3rd day for that trip or try to cram a 3rd day in for this trip?