So many questions

[Esmeralda123]

I will only start out with 3 though.

First, we will be in Orlando for seven nights, seven days. We have no interest in going to WDW (we've been 25+ times). Traveling will be an old 49 year old, an 18 year old with autism who can only handle about three hours touring at a time, and a 28 year old "caregiver" who has never been to Florida at all.

What I do know is this - we will stay onsite, probably Royal Pacific, for the nights we are at Universal. Our primary focus will be Universal, however, we would also like to go to Sea World and Busch Gardens if posssible.

We will come the last week in March/first week in April.

How many days would it take to explore all the Universal parks on a leisure basis with front of the line access (3 hours morning, 3 hours evening)?. Are there any ticket options where you can pay monthly and have them paid for when you get there? (I thought I saw it but can't find it again). We will be driving and I was thinking of staying somewhere MUCH cheaper on the days we would see Sea World and Busch Gardens. The 49 year old and 18 year old LOVE the pool, and the caregiver loves clubbing (when not working of course!). Due to health concerns, it would be nice to have cooking facilities. Any suggestions on ticket options, days of the week we should stay at Universal, how long to tour Universal and Hotels for the days not at Universal?

We have no money to waste, but it is equally important that ease of the trip is considered because if things don't go as planned or she has to wait, meltdowns will occur.

Thanks!

Esmeralda

 

[mrsabbott]

That is the time frame we went last spring. I will say this, plan your Universal days mid week! We went to Universal on a Sunday and while it wasn't packed, it was crowded! We went again on a Tuesday and it was MUCH less crowded and more enjoyable!

Now, I don't have any ideas about staying onsite. I do know that the fast passes may make the "waiting in line" less stressful for your 18 year old. The midweek crowd levels might also ease her anxiety. Monday to Thursday I think will have the lightest crowd levels then Friday to Sunday.

We were at the parks from open until close both days and we did NOT have fast passes, but we did get to see most of the highlights. That said, we did miss out on some things we wanted to see and do because we just ran out of time. This time, we plan to spend 4 days in the parks so that we can take our time and really soak in all the details.

Now, we stayed offsite at a condo and drove to the parks. Not a problem for us. The bright side to that was the amount of space, not as expensive (it was free for us last time, but we are paying this next time!), plus we have a full kitchen and a washer and dryer! It might be better for your daughter being onsite though, because if she is getting tense then you can head back to your room and decompress and maybe go back later if she feels up to it.

Sea World was wonderful, but again, we were there from open until close and didn't quite get to see and do everything we wanted. It isn't one of my DH's favorites, so we probably won't go back again this next time. I've never been to Busch Gardens.

As for "night life" for the caregiver on her off hours.. City Walk would probably be perfect for her. It is walking distance and plenty to see and do at night. She should be able to find something to occupy her time!

 

[macraven]

you'll be hitting the parks during spring break.

do expect more peeps in the park.



suggest you trip trip advisor for some offsite suggestions for the other places you wish to stay near.


i keep my stays onsite so can't offer suggestions for other places.

 

[subtchr]

My best advice would be to pick another week!!

The last week of March is a huge spring break week, for much of the midwest at least, on any year. And for this coming year, it will be magnified by the date of Easter - April 5. Many schools who do not schedule their spring break by the academic calendar choose the week before Easter. The crowd calendar I use shows 10s for most of that week.

Even with express pass from staying at RP, the crowds will be oppressive. I was there two years ago with a group that week, and it was so bad you had to wait in a long line just to get a pass to ENTER the WWOHP area. Not to ride any rides, just to enter the area.

Especially if your teenager has issues with crowds, just moving around the parks on those days can be overwhelming.

Sorry I don't have any more constructive advice, but I do hope you can change your dates!

 

[2girlsmom]

I am wondering if you are open to moving more than once? I ask because Busch Gardens is approx 1-1/2 hours away from Universal/SeaWorld area, and with your daughter's issues, it may be worth staying in Tampa for a night or two, so that you would be close by and have a room to go back and forth to. The La Quinta on Fowler generally gets decent reviews, from what I have seen (live in Tampa Bay so we don't look much for hotels here). As far as offsite hotels near SeaWorld, we have stayed at the Springhill Suites and really enjoy it there, it is usually something like $89 per night and is a partner hotel so you get express pass one time through for their top 6 or so rides, and does include breakfast. There is a Hilton vacation club property right up the road that is also a partner hotel and would have full kitchens, we haven't stayed there, so I can't say how the pricing is, etc. When we are staying longer times and want space, we generally stay at Caribe Royale, this is on World Drive, so closest to Disney, but about 10-15 minutes drive from Seaworld and Universal. The 2 bedroom units have a full kitchen, laundry room, king bed in the master, 2 queens in the second bedroom, 2 full baths, and the price is generally in the $200 range (though have seen as high as $300 per night). I do agree that it is worth it to stay onsite at Universal for the express as well as for the ability to be a boat ride/walk away from your room, so easy to decompress and also for the caregiver to hang in the clubs in Citiwalk as desired at night.