Perks of staying on site???

[JennCa]

If you stay on site, you can get into the Harry Potter area one hour early every day, correct? Is that the only area at IOA that is open an hour early? For those of you who have done it is it a crazy rush or it is not a big deal. I will have a bags to check so I know we are going to be a bit of a straggling group!

Also, with staying on site which rides are you not allowed to use the unlimited express pass type feature? Is it limited to once per day or any other restrictions?

Any other perks I need to know about?

It's mighty pricey for my dates, but am wondering if it is worth it for us... My hubby doesn't like to ride very much, but my daughter and I are ride crazy!!! We also will be with a toddler who I know won't be able to ride much : )

Jenn

 

[jeanico2000]

Hi Jenn! I can tell you this for sure: once you've stayed on site, you're spoiled for ever. It's a fabulous way to vacation at Universal Orlando! WWoHP is indeed the only area of the park that is open 1 hour early, but you'll be able to enjoy the entire Wizarding World quite peacefully until the masses arrive thanks to this particular perk. Forbidden Journey does not have Front of the Line access (FOTL), so I suggest you head for that first (unless you wish to visit Ollivander's wand shop for the cute little show. If yes, stop there before going to FJ). The two other rides there have FOTL access, so ride those, then browse the lovely shops before they get crowded. By the time you exit the area, the masses will be descending and you'll be thanking your lucky stars! Other perks? Priority seating at shows and in restaurants, free water taxis to get around, and 3 gorgeous resorts to pick from, with great pools (you can actually pool hop between the 3!). If the little one gets tired during the day, you can head back to your resort to swim/nap, and then return to the parks a bit later. We wouldn't do it any other way now that we've lived the 'on site experience'!

 

[tinydancer09]

I love staying onsite and I refuse to stay off unless it's a month like September or late January. I would say, esp since husband does ride, that those express passes will be worth it. You guys will get in and out of the rides quickly so that means more family time for you all. Also, if it's anything like my family, part of the group may want to return to the hotel for a while... husband, and the resorts are close enough to do this without stranding you all there. Its close enough to walk to all three, although I enjoy taking the boat for PBH.

Also with the express passes, the ones from the hotel are completely unlimited. You can ride Men in Black 45 times and still be able to use them on that ride for the dates on your key. Since you two love riding rides I would also say this is a major perk because when you buy the express passes you are limited to one express per ride.

Also, staying onsite you have close food options... and there are a lot of them! You can also pool hop between all the hotels... I love staying on site and would highly recommend it.

 

[Badge]

Staying onsite is a wonderful experince! However, like others have said, you get spoiled with not having to wait in lines! We are to the point where we are no longer doing Disney becuase we pay close to the same price for the room but have to wait in long, annoying lines all day long!

With express, you can ride every ride in the park except the main HP ride, the kid one in Jurrasic Park, and the Rip Ride Rockit. You can also ride them an unlimited number of times in one day. We normally do a MIB marthon where we ride MIB over and over and over again for about 2 hours during our trip, lol.

You also get the early access to HP like you mentioned. We are not morning people so never used this perk...plus we prefer HP at night...it looks SO much better!

You also get the boat service to the parks from the hotel. The boats are a great way to get to and from your hotel and are so much more relaxing than riding in a bus like at Disney. You are also within walking distance of the two of the three hotels. You can walk to all three, but PBR is a little long of us.

You can also use your room key to charge to your room so you don't need to bring cash or credit cards into the park. When you buy things, you can also have them delivered to your hotel room so you don't have to carry bags around the park.

Overall, staying onsite is well worth the money. I know a few people that have looked at the price of the hotel and where shocked at the price. So, they stayed off-site and purchased the express pass. However, they never figured out that they spend MORE money staying off-site and purchasing express pass than if they were to just stay onsite. Of course, this depends on how nice of offsite hotel you get, but it just not worth it to do that. Onsite is the best option and you will love it!

 

[ChisJo]

I won't stay off site ever again - Never ever ever...hands down, worth every single dollar. The early entrance was worth it alone...We did get to see the entire Harry Potter exhibits before the swarms of people came. We were merrily walking out of that part with our butterbeers as the masses of the general population came in. Instant Pandemonium...but, it was SO quiet when we were in there. Worth it right there. If we had children, I think it would have made it even more worth it.

 

[disneyholic family]

i'm also considering getting a room, but not actually staying in it, so that we can get that early morning entrance into WWoHP...

we'll be staying onsite at Disney (free dining), but it seems paying for a universal room that i'm not going to use to get early entrance as well as FOTL would be worth it..

if i have a room for one night, that means i have FOTL for both days, correct?
but i really only want to go into the park one day (not two)...
so i want to check in the night before, get my key, so that i can get into IoA an hour early...
then i'll have to check out during the day, but i can keep using the key for FOTL, correct?

it seems no matter what i do, i'll have to drive to universal twice..
once on the day before to check in, then again in the morning to actually enter the parks...

seems crazy to go through this, but the only reason we're goign to universal at all is to see WWoHP.....so if i pay another couple of hundred dollars, so be it...
seems like the best way to do it...

 

[Badge]

i'm also considering getting a room, but not actually staying in it, so that we can get that early morning entrance into WWoHP...

we'll be staying onsite at Disney (free dining), but it seems paying for a universal room that i'm not going to use to get early entrance as well as FOTL would be worth it..

if i have a room for one night, that means i have FOTL for both days, correct?
but i really only want to go into the park one day (not two)...
so i want to check in the night before, get my key, so that i can get into IoA an hour early...
then i'll have to check out during the day, but i can keep using the key for FOTL, correct?

it seems no matter what i do, i'll have to drive to universal twice..
once on the day before to check in, then again in the morning to actually enter the parks...

seems crazy to go through this, but the only reason we're goign to universal at all is to see WWoHP.....so if i pay another couple of hundred dollars, so be it...
seems like the best way to do it...

The best solution for this problem is simple. Just stay at the Universal hotel that night! After you have your dinner at Disney with your free dining, pack a few items and head to Universal at night. Check in that evening and enjoy the amazing room! Take a tour of citywalk that night. Then, first thing in the morning you can just catch the quick boat ride to the parks and you are right there.

Either way you look at it, you are going to be paying for one night of hotel that you will not be using. It makes a lot more sense to STAY at the hotel that is closest to the park you want to visit the next day. Depending on when you go, the early entry into HP could be 7AM. Do you really want to wake up at 5:00 or 5:30 AM to get ready and then spend 30 minutes driving to Universal just to get there around 7:00? As long as you have dinner at Disney, you won't be missing anything with your meal plan, but will still get to enjoy a very nice Universal resort room as well.

As for your other question, yes the room key will be vaild on the day you check in AND the day you check out.

 

[Bluer101]

The best solution for this problem is simple. Just stay at the Universal hotel that night! After you have your dinner at Disney with your free dining, pack a few items and head to Universal at night. Check in that evening and enjoy the amazing room! Take a tour of citywalk that night. Then, first thing in the morning you can just catch the quick boat ride to the parks and you are right there.

Either way you look at it, you are going to be paying for one night of hotel that you will not be using. It makes a lot more sense to STAY at the hotel that is closest to the park you want to visit the next day. Depending on when you go, the early entry into HP could be 7AM. Do you really want to wake up at 5:00 or 5:30 AM to get ready and then spend 30 minutes driving to Universal just to get there around 7:00? As long as you have dinner at Disney, you won't be missing anything with your meal plan, but will still get to enjoy a very nice Universal resort room as well.

As for your other question, yes the room key will be vaild on the day you check in AND the day you check out.

And you will avoid 2 days of parking in the garage and pay one night of parking at the hotel. Plus its a lot closer to the parks than the garages.