Tell me about getting a "Throwaway Room" for EE and FOTL . . . .

[Indecisive]

Hi there! I am planning a WDW/US trip for spring 2017 for a crew of 3 adults (parents and grandma) and 2 kids. This would be our first trip to US. I am tempted to stay at both WDW and US in order to take advantage of the respective perks, yet I am loathe to waste valuable time packing and unpacking, checking in and out, etc. I know from experience that, at least in my family, getting packed up to leave a hotel is always more torturous and time consuming than it should be.

Therefore, I am thinking about staying the entire week at WDW and driving to US for two days (which would not have to be consecutive, unless I go with this "throwaway room" option).

So, I know I have seen people talking about getting a "throwaway room" at US in order to take advantage of early entry to Harry Potter land and front of the line passes. I am wondering how difficult and time-consuming this would be? It sounds like it could be almost as annoying as changing resorts, but maybe it is easier than I think?

If you have done this, can you please describe the logistics? Let's say we want to go to US on Wednesday and Thursday. I guess we would leave our WDW resort very early Wednesday morning, drive to the US resort, park our car at the resort (and pay the fee), check in to the resort, and get to the park in time for EE? (Is this even feasible at such an early hour? How easy/difficult is this to accomplish?) If desired, we could take a hotel break during the day to use the pool, etc. Then we would drive back to our WDW in the evening. Thursday morning, we would drive back to US, park our car at the resort, check out of the hotel, then go to the park in time for EE?

It feels a little difficult to fit in the checking in and out prior to EE, but maybe it is quicker and easier than I am thinking. Please advise!

Also, I am wondering if perhaps it is completely unnecessary to go through this time and expense. I think we will be at US in the first week of May 2017. If we go to US mid-week, maybe we don't need EE and FOTL at all?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have!

 

[DSLRuser]

all depends on what your time is worth to you. Is a cheap hotel room @ $120ish a night worth it to save 2 hours of standing in line.

 

[chabs]

You wouldn't have to worry about checking out if you put down a credit card for automatic check out-that way you wouldn't have to go back to the front desk in the morning to check out-they email you the receipt. It's not such a big deal to check in-you check in, get your room keys, take them to the machine that prints your front of the line passes and you're off. You can do it at the crack of dawn so that you are ready to head over to the parks for early entrance. Plus it's better than walking through City Walk because you can park at the hotel and take the boat over to the parks. I think the express passes are well worth it any time of year, but I won't go to Universal any time of year without staying on property. I have no patience for long lines, plus we can do both parks in a day and hit the rides each a couple of times with the extra time that the express passes gives you by not waiting in line. When we do spit stays-we just pack up and go-not the back and forth that you are proposing. Why deal with paying for 2 rooms and the traffic when you could just pack up and move? We pack our suitcases for each hotel instead of by person-so say one would have a clothes for Disney and the next would have the clothes for Universal, plus one for just everyone's toiletries and shoes-saves a lot of fooling around with packing and unpacking.

 

[xlsm]

We did this last year. You can read about it HERE . We did both parks in one day.

For us, it was cheaper to get a room with the perks included, than it was to get the FOTL passes with our park hopper tickets separately.

We left Wilderness Lodge by Uber at 6:00am, checked into RPR at 6:30, printed our passes, etc...and went up to check out our room (it was already ready, which I though was crazy! I wasn't expecting that!).

At the end of the day, we took a ferry back to the resort, checked out at a kiosk, and took an Uber back to WL. I feel like they gave us the option to check out via email too, but I could be hallucinating that!

Getting the extra hour and the FOTL passes was worth the early morning to us.

 

[Indecisive]

Thanks for your thoughts! I appreciate it.

chabs - One thing I hadn't mentioned explicitly is that even though 5 people are, I believe, ALLOWED to fit into a Deluxe room at US (and, thus, I could just rent one room if I was using it only as a "throwaway"), if we were actually going to sleep there, we would want 2 rooms so that we wouldn't have to have 3 adults and 2 kids in one room with one bathroom, etc. So, it gets a little less economical if we need 2 rooms and want to sleep there. Something to consider anyway.

xlsm - Thank you so much! I just skimmed your excellent trip report and will look at it more carefully later. It is great to know this was do-able for your family! Although it sounds like it was exhausting! I was thinking about doing two days at US instead of a whirlwind one. I will think more about whether it makes sense to use a "throwaway" room and go back and forth, back and forth to WDW or if it just makes sense to do a real split stay!

 

[chabs]

Believe me I get that-we get 2 rooms for our family of 4 so we can all have our own beds-plus one bathroom for 4 people is not going to cut it with our family.

 

[helenb]

Is it really that big a deal to switch? Just put your Universal visit at the end of your trip. Go from Disney to Universal, and then from Universal to the airport. Then when you pack up at Disney, leave out 2 days' worth of clothing and pack it in carryons, so you don't bring as much stuff into the Universal hotel room.

 

[Indecisive]

Hi helenb! I know it probably *shouldn't* be a big deal to switch, but somehow every memory I have of checking out of a hotel room with my kids is a picture of annoyance and chaos, maybe because their stuff is always all over the place, they are too young to help (much), and they are always bickering and high maintenance whenever DH and I are trying to get organized. Maybe my kids are particularly sloppy, or DH and I are particularly bad at disciplining, but all I know is it always seems harder than necessary to get out of a hotel! But I do like your ideas about putting 2 days' worth of clothing in carryons. I will think about that!

 

[ZellyB]

We did this last January. We were staying in a townhome near Disney for our stay and didn't want to cram 5 of us in one room but we wanted the perks. We were doing two park days and so just got the room for 5 of us for one night. As PP said, it was cheaper than paying for the Express Pass for all of us for two days and we got the added benefit of EE.

It was very easy although on the first day we did get up at the crack of dawn to get there. I think EE started at 8 and I was worried about how long the process would take. We got there at 6:30. We were checked in and had our FOTL passes in 15 minutes. We went up and just checked out the room and rested a bit before heading to the parks. They had a credit card on file, so we didn't bother with checking out. That EE was really worth it. We rode Gringotts 3 times in a row with basically no wait and wandering around DA with almost no crowds was amazing. The only thing I would change is letting myself sleep in a bit more.

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

Very simple - take an overnight bag with swimming trunks and change of clothes. Put the do not disturb sign on your Disney hotel, and come back in 40 hours. Why not just sleep there and casually enjoy the evening on Wednesday? On check out day, give your overnight bag to luggage services, hit EE, and when you are ready to leave, stop back for your bag and go back to Disney.

I think your desire to be back in Disney on Wednesday night is what is making the logistics seem more complicated. Also, we use a car service so we don't pay parking. From the time you arrive at the hotel to the time you get to the park is about 20-30 minutes, it is very efficient.

I have done this on 6 occasions and it works great. Granted, I have been there many times and I have a different perspective now, but an evening swim and sushi at Orchid Court is very relaxing. Personally, I have never had trouble at my "home" hotel. I tell them what we are doing, the do not disturb sign has been honored, and I have all of my valuables with me.

 

[Indecisive]

Thanks, VacaPlanner2012. I don't know that I would so much say I "desire" to be back in Disney Wednesday night. It is just that I don't want to sleep 5 people (including 3 adults) in one room at Universal. And 2 deluxe rooms gets rather expensive. If we use the room only as a "throwaway," we only need one room. Otherwise, I think your plan sounds great! I have just penciled out: (1) doing a split stay between Disney and Universal (with 2 deluxe rooms) versus (2) staying at Disney the whole time and getting one throwaway room at Universal for one night, and Option 2 is less expensive. It's still an open question for me which option makes more sense logistically. I appreciate hearing everyone's experiences! It seems there are a lot of ways to do this!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Mid-May, if you plan on 2 days, I'd just go and skip the hassle. The you can also split it up. Yes, you might have to wait in a few lines but if you plan you'll know what you want to hit early and what's ok to wait until later. The amount of time you'll spend might actually be similar to the time spent going to the hotel and getting everything arranged. Just something else to think about.

I've only stayed at Universal when I had a conference, otherwise our time there is from off-site. I still don't feel a compelling need to stay onsite or get a throw-away room.

 

[bumbershoot]

I think your desire to be back in Disney on Wednesday night is what is making the logistics seem more complicated.

I agree.

The 5 person thing complicates matters as well. I don't have that problem (sure wish I did, though, sigh). My dad's second family has that problem and they routinely stay in one room, smaller rooms than even RPR, so I'm not sure it's a horrible problem.

For one night? I'd sleep there. You're getting a hotel room and a gorgeous resort for 2 days from checkin (which you can do as early as 6am) to midnight on checkout day. You have access to ALL the pools onsite, you can wander, dine, etc, at will. You'll only be squished in the room for bedtime.

If you don't want to do the throwaway concept, just have a small bag packed for those two days. The clothes you wear there and a change for the next day. Swimsuit. Makeup, hair brushes, sunscreen. Shoes. PJs. You just leave the rest of the stuff back at Disney.

And YES we have done this, though in reverse. We had an 8 night reservation at Universal, and we rented a Little Mermaid room for one night so I could have access to rundisney transportation for the Half last year. We just whittled things down for the 1 night and 2 days (plus my running stuff) and left the Uni room as it was.

I have literally never "checked out" of a WDW or Uni hotel. I've barely "checked out" of other hotels. Almost all of them take CC info to charge anything else to, and I just walk away. So there's *leaving* the hotel with the stuff you need, vs fully checking out including going to the desk etc.

On your second day there, you just pack up the small amount of belongings you brought, take it to Bell Services (or have them come get it), and then traipse off to the parks for the day. Come back before midnight, get it, and go back to WDW.

Parking at the parks (citywalk garage) for two nonconsecutive days will be two charges.

For parking at the hotel, you are charged at midnight. So this one night's stay (with 2 days) will be ONE parking charge. I truly do not know how it works if you leave the lot then come back then leave. I'm sure you could work it out with the front desk, but then you're visiting the front desk more than just once.


Anyway, in case you want permission to squeeze yourselves into a room for sleeping for one night, I hereby give it to you.

 

[squirrel]

I wouldn't do a throwaway room. Seems wasteful to me. Do Universal at the end of your trip. You could even leave half the people at Universal and only have one or two go back to WDW if you really want to waste having two hotel bookings.

 

[dja14]

my tentative plan for this August is a one night room. We are a family of 5 (2 A and 3 adult size teens) We have rented a condo (at a good price) with room to spread out so I won't give that up, but the express pass was something my kids asked for. We (okay 'I') decided that a one night hotel with 2 day express was worth it. We will be in universal other days as well but for 2 days we will have express. Family just can't handle being crammed in for 2 weeks.
My plan is to arrive in morning (maybe not for early entry) and then use express that day and then use early entry the second day. Maybe enjoy pool first day. If anything has had a long queue we will do it these days. My kids really like riding things multiple times, so I think we will get good value from it.
I don't plan on checking out of the condo and only plan on taking a small bag and basics, as we will have a car and could always drive back over if we needed to for emergency.
If I had a hotel room I might think differently, either do a stay at the end or just make the kids wait. I would not pay for 2 nice full price hotel rooms though (our condo works out to several free nights)
Good luck with your decision!

 

[Indecisive]

Thanks again, everyone! Even though many of you have different suggestions, they all make sense in their own way. This tells me that there are a lot of different ways to do this and my family will just need to pick something and go with it.

Just to respond to a few items: I can't see my party squishing into one room, even if only for one night. This has to do with the particular dynamics of my group (for example, my mother snores and needs to use the restroom in the middle of the night, both of which would wake my light-sleeping DH and would make my mother very self-conscious and uncomfortable). So that means 2 rooms if we were going to spend even one night. Also, I think if we do a split stay, we will end up spending two nights at Universal. If we have two park days, say Thursday and Friday (with Saturday being our departure day), even if we check-in early Thursday morning, we will need to spend the night somewhere Friday night. I know some people here would think nothing of switching hotels again and just staying somewhere cheaper but, as I've mentioned, my family is not big on switching hotels! So, 2 deluxe for 2 nights really gets pricey as compared to our intended WDW accommodations (DVC villa on rented points). THAT SAID, we may end up thinking it is worth it anyway to do a true split stay and enjoy the amenities of a Universal resort without all the back and forth to WDW.

I will just have to keep thinking about this, and I will surely change my mind dozens of times before making a decision, or my name isn't "Indecisive!"

Thank you so much.

 

[billlaurie]

We have a four night trip planned and CB was the only resort available for the whole stay. It was cheaper to book a night at RPR than to purchase EP for 4 people for two days. The problem with booking at the beginning or end of your trip is that you don't get two full days of EP so not as much bang for your buck. We booked the RPR room for the second night but are keeping the CB room so we don't have the hassle of packing and unpacking. We plan on using both rooms, however, so don't look at it as a throwaway. We will have one night of total comfort where each of us gets our own bed and only two people sharing a bathroom instead of four, so I look at it as a win-win: less money ($260 vs $800) and greater comfort.

 

[martymcflyy85]

If doing the throwaway room, does everyone in your party need to be present at check in? Can one person just go check in and also print the express passes for everyone else in the party? Or does it require taking your picture?

 

[macraven]

If doing the throwaway room, does everyone in your party need to be present at check in? Can one person just go check in and also print the express passes for everyone else in the party? Or does it require taking your picture?

every one on the reservation will receive a hotel key card for their room.

that card is required to create the photo id express pass.
each pass has the name and photo of the guest which is used for all the express lines and admittance to early entry to the parks.

if all are not with you when you check in, they can pick up their hotel key card when they arrive.
maybe it is possible depending on the circumstances for one person to check in and get all the hotel cards at that time.
i don't know as haven't had that experience.

 

[Minniesgal]

Thanks for your thoughts! I appreciate it.

chabs - One thing I hadn't mentioned explicitly is that even though 5 people are, I believe, ALLOWED to fit into a Deluxe room at US (and, thus, I could just rent one room if I was using it only as a "throwaway"), if we were actually going to sleep there, we would want 2 rooms so that we wouldn't have to have 3 adults and 2 kids in one room with one bathroom, etc. So, it gets a little less economical if we need 2 rooms and want to sleep there. Something to consider anyway.

xlsm - Thank you so much! I just skimmed your excellent trip report and will look at it more carefully later. It is great to know this was do-able for your family! Although it sounds like it was exhausting! I was thinking about doing two days at US instead of a whirlwind one. I will think more about whether it makes sense to use a "throwaway" room and go back and forth, back and forth to WDW or if it just makes sense to do a real split stay!

We have done this, as we are DVC member we have a 2 bedroom villa at WDW and to go down to staying in those tiny rooms at HRH or RPH would be hard especially with 5 so we have book a 2 night throwaway room at HRH. It was great we stored stuff there, got stuff delivered to the hotel, used the pool in the afternoon. My teenage son even stead one night while we went back to disney.

Only 4 of us going this year so instead we have booked a room at PBH and we will stay for 3 nights. I'm still kinda dreading the lack of space but we will manage. Financially it is almost a wash with sating in a cheaper resort and buying FOLP but early entry swings it.