onsite or not?

[Blanche_Neige]

never been to US but we are thinking about it.

What would you suggest for 1st week of March, 1 adult and 1 child. We don't have a lot of money... we will not have a car therefore rely on transportation or walking.

-What are the pro and cons for staying onsite?
-What is the $$ difference?
-How are the waits at the begining of March?
-is there fireworks?

thank in advance

 

[macraven]

i have stayed off site and on site at universal.

for the last 10 years, i only stay onsite due to the convenience.

i like being on the grounds with little walking to the park.
you don't need a car if you stay onsite.


you also will not have long waits for rides and attractions when you stay onsite.
one of the perks is FOTL for hotel guests.

i would have to look at the UO calendar before i could answer your questions about the time period you plan to go.

rates are higher for the spring break period.
not sure what part of march will be effected by it next year.

 

[Pink Flamingo]

Like you, we have not had a car on our past trips, so we've opted to stay at the on-site hotels.

When staying on-site, you can walk or catch the boat/bus transportation to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, City Walk, & the other on-site hotels. The hotels also have a complimentary shuttle that runs to Sea World & Wet n Wild (maybe Aquatica too ~ can't remember for sure). The advantage here is that you don't have to worry with a rental car & it's so easy to get to everything on-site.

For us, the front of the line (FOTL) access has also been a huge plus, as we've been there in the summer when the crowds are heavier. With FOTL, our wait for all rides has always been very minimal.

The resort hotels all have a wonderful atmosphere & great pools ~ & pool hopping to the different on-site resort pools is allowed.

From my recent research, it appears that it costs on average about double to stay on-site.

I'm not sure about the transportation costs & or walk distance from off-site hotels, as we have never done that.

There were not fire works when we were there this past June.

 

[torinsmom]

You can stay at Hyatt Place Universal, right across the street for $69/nt. You can walk to the parks in about 10 minutes, take a cab for $5 each way or take the scheduled shuttles--4xday--for free. Huge rooms, free wi-fi, fridge, free continental breakfast, can't beat it. You might schedule one night onsite to get FOTL for 2 days.

Marsha

 

[Blanche_Neige]

You might schedule one night onsite to get FOTL for 2 days.

Marsha

thanks for the tip

 

[mykidsand_i]

DEFINATELY ONSITE!!! We were just there and here are the pluses of onsite:

-there is DEFINATELY a benifit to having express pass at US and IOA!!! The waits for the average line on Christmas day- and days after were about 60-70 minutes. We never waited more than 10. And 10 was the longest we waited! We saved a TON of time not waiting in the long lines.

-the onsite resort has the best transportation. We never waited longer than 15 minutes (usually it was 0-10 minute wait) to board a boat. The ride was enjoyable (unlike the bus system for off site hotels, which I heard many people complain about! Uncomfortable, they waited anywhere from 10-30 minutes for a bus)

-If we wanted to just run over to the park to go on one or two rides, eat a meal and come back to the hotel, it was easy to do! There were two days that we just stayed at the hotel to enjoy the pool- we decided to go grab a bite to eat and went on two rides, we went back to the hotel- it was fun and easy to do.

-There are special deals at the hotels that offer stay 4 nights and you get free tickets- along with those tickets, you still have the express passes that other people have to pay for (not many people do pay for them from what we saw, it was mostly people who were staying at the Universal resorts using express pass lines)...

-the universal resorts are very nice- if you stay there, the atmosphere of the resort pools, service and amenities are worth it. There are ways to save money by staying there- free park tickets with stay, free express line passes, free transportation to parks, Sea World and Wet and Wild from hotel...


We did stay off site about 6 years ago and we were mad that we did. It seemed like it was not 1/2 of the great experiance that the onsite hotels provided. The transportation was not always on schedule, it was a packed bus, it took us about a 1/2 an hour to get to the parks from our 'right next door' hotel that we booked and we actually ended up renting a car for the last 3 days because it was more conveniant.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Another money-saving tip -- you can use your AAA (and I think CAA?) card at most locations onsite and save 10% on food and souvenirs. You may also be able to get a good onsite hotel discount with it -- you can call to make a reservation and see what deals are available. We saved a ton on everything by just showing our card.

Maria

 

[Blanche_Neige]

wow thanks for all the info

we are planing for March 2011 (yes I'm early, I'm a little nuts )
But we are planning a 4 day cruise and I thought I would stay a couple of days extra with my eldest son to visit US.

Is there usually promition for begining of March and if so when do they come out?

Also, is there car service to go to the airport Sanford or MCO?

 

[jenseib]

How much does the express pass cost to buy it if you stay off site?

 

[torinsmom]

How much does the express pass cost to buy it if you stay off site?

It varies according to how busy it is that day, I think from $29.99/person per day for one park. This is the one that allows you to use Express once per ride. I have read that when it is that cheap, you really don't need it.

Or you can pay 259.99 for a seven day ticket with unlmited Express privileges.

 

[TheWog]

wow thanks for all the info

we are planing for March 2011 (yes I'm early, I'm a little nuts )
But we are planning a 4 day cruise and I thought I would stay a couple of days extra with my eldest son to visit US.

Is there usually promition for begining of March and if so when do they come out?

Also, is there car service to go to the airport Sanford or MCO?

We too are researching for 2011 so no worries. I think AAA or in your case CAA might have the best rates I am finding for now. Will wait awhile to book the rooms. We too are doing a cruise afterward. Have fun.

There are many car services. if you go to the transportation board they can help you there. www.happylimo.com is one, FL Tours is another, Tiffany Town Cars, these have all had pretty good reviews. I have used Happy and if you go to www.mousesavers.com there is a discount for round trip airport service, but I am not sure if it is for Sanford or not. Good luck.