Split stay, first time, need advice please!

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Hello all, the wife and I are going to WDW in Sept. So I've been looking at maybe doing a 2 night stay at Universal Studios before our Disney trip.

Here are the details... we check-in at WDW on Sept 19th so looking at checking into Universal on the 17th and check-out on the 19th then head over to WDW.

We've never been to Universal before, so everything is new to us here and not too sure about some of the things I read on here about Universal, that's why I'm asking for help. I'm looking for advice on Onsite hotel, tickets etc... I priced Cabana Bay Beach hotel for $136.50 per night. And 2 day Park to Park tickets for 2 at $439.98 on the site.

I'm opened to all suggestions or ideas as to what might be a better deal or option for us. Thank everyone in advance for the help and suggestions.

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[macraven]

if you would have said you wanted to stay deluxe, i would have answered by saying, book tonight

staying at Cbay will be easier as they do have openings.

the only issue you will run into is HHN opens friday september 16th.
it also will be held on saturday the 17th and sunday the 18th.


you should try to book soon as HHN brings in a lot of people and that weekend might fill up with the cheaper rooms first.
i'm sure you will find availability but check out the website and put your dates in for the 9/17-19 stay.

you will be allowed Early Entry since you are staying onsite.
hotel guests are allowed in the park one hour before it is opened to the public.
the parry hotter section and DE ride will be open in that one hour period.
once the park officially opens, all rides in both parks will be operating.

Mid september has always been a nice time to do the parks as it is not large crowds.
with hhn and opening weekend, i have no idea how much of a crowd will be present in the afternoons at the studios
some people come to the parks on Sat/Sun around 2-3 and catch the rides until the studios close.
if you find line waits during that period, use the single rider lines and you will have less of a wait.

that park will close at 5 and only those with hhn tickets can stay in the park in a holding area.

IOA will be open until 8:00 pm.
no hhn events are at that park

i think you will be able to do a lot in your time period if you start early and switch to IOA before 5:00 when you are there.

some posters talk about doing the EE and then before the park opens, take the HE from the studios to the other park/ioa
you will empty out in another potter area.
you could be ahead of crowds by doing that.
it is possible but not guaranteed.

do look at UT and maple leaf or best of orlando sites to see if tickets are any cheaper than UO's tickets.
they are all the same but some 3rd party vendors have discounts for multi day/ p2p passes.

if there is only a slight difference of a couple of bucks, might as well use UO.
if you decide you want to try hhn, you can buy the discounted add on ticket for the event.
all you need is a day park ticket to buy the add on ticket.
just throwing that out there in case you are interested in the event.

i always tell peeps to look at the UO website to get an idea of the layout of the parks.
you can get ride descriptions, see where first aide is located, also the eateries and rides/shows.

you don't feel as "lost" in the park if this is your first time there then.

if i have been too general with my answers, ask me again if you need details.

 

[foots]

Thanks very much for the reply Macraven, and thanks for the info on HHN. I will make a note of that and do that park early on the 2nd day. Again thanks for your time and reply, very helpful to me. Take care.

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[macraven]

if you have any more questions, come back and you will get answers from me and others.
lots of homies go to bed earlier than i do.
hopefully they will see your post in the morning and hop on to help you out.

it is good for you to get other opinions also.
i wouldn't steer you wrong but other posters have different thoughts which can help you even more.

the darkside forums tend to work as a team.
many will share their opinions and you can get a whole lot more info than what i posted.

getting as much info as you can when you are a newbie to the darkside is extremely helpful.

in case you buy undercover tourist UO tickets now, they had a special of buy 2 days and get one day free.
think it still is available??

when you stay onsite at UO, you get the early entry from the day you check in to the day you check out.
you could do early entry on monday(your check out day) if you had a park ticket.
then head to disney later that morning

i would assume that monday will be a slower day in the parks.

 

[foots]

Thanks Macraven, yes I thought about that also. Also been looking around reading and checking prices out and for a $235 dollar difference, which would still come in under $1000 with two day Park to Park tickets. We could book a room at Royal Pacific Resort and get the Express Unlimited, and rooms are available now, which would help out I think for the weekend crowd. So might go that route. Thanks again.

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[macraven]

i always stay at rpr.
i call it my home away from home.....

having the free unlimited usage of the express pass really helps when the parks are crowded.
there are a few rides that do not have express lines.
a few are FJourney at ioa, gringotts at the studios.

since you are limited to two days in the parks, unlimited ep would be worth it.
you would cover everything in that 2 day period
and it would be beneficial for saturday and sunday afternoon in case many come to the parks early prior to staying for hhn.

some people will book one night only at the deluxe hotels then check out the next day and move to Cbay to save money.

you get ee and ep on your check out day if you went that route and a cheaper room for sunday night.

the hotel/rpr will hold your luggage if you want to hit the parks sunday
i have heard that sometimes they will move you to the other hotel.
but, have read where peeps say they had to spend $5 for a taxi to move from the deluxe to Cbay.

just tossing that out there in case you are concerned about the money for the rooms.

 

[foots]

Thanks again my friend, great info! Well I'll be working on a plan now since I feel I have a better idea of what I need and can do. Thanks so much.

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[macraven]

 

[angryduck71]

Macraven answered almost everything. LOL. If your plans are flexible... I might suggest doing Universal last... after having to plan Disney to the last minute -- if you stay at RPR (which I highly recommend -- you can walk to both parks and the express pass is SO NICE to have), you'll feel so much more relaxed than at Disney. You'll feel a little stressed having to go to Disney after Universal.

 

[angryduck71]

You might also take a look at the Orlando Informer website. It has lots of good info.

 

[foots]

Thanks for the info and suggestion angryduck71. I did read some from the Orlando Informer site too, thanks. I've gone ahead and made reservations at the Royal Pacific and purchased 3 day P2P tickets for our trip. Btw, the disney trip is pretty much done with as far as planning, and we're pretty seasoned doing Disney now, so not much stress for us at this point. Just have fastpass to do, (have times and attractions planned) and no big deal if we don't get what we have planned, as we take Disney at a real leisure pace now. No rope drops or anything. LOL

As was mentioned, I think the express unlimited pass will come in real handle and going to the parks on our check-out day will help also. Angryduck71, with my available time, going before Disney was the only way to fit Universal in on this trip. As I said, this will be our first time at Universal, so hopefully this will get our feet wet for future trips.

I really appreciate the input Macraven and Angryduck71, really helpful.


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