Ticket/Hotel Question

[vcgirl925]

We are planning our first trip to IOA/US the week of September 23rd. I have a couple of questions about the Front Of The Line Access.

I understand you can get this two ways. One being if you stay in one of the three Universal hotels you get access on your room key. Second being if you pay for it at the front gate on the day you plan to visit. Is that correct?

Staying onsite is more expensive for us than staying our our vacation club. But when we factor in needing a rental car if we stay offsite, parking, and gas we are talking about a $500 difference. To me it still seems worth it to stay onsite to have FOTL access and early entrance to WWOHP. We have an 8 year old, a 6 year old, and a 1 year old.

Do you think that at that time of year FOTL access is still worthwhile? Or will the crowds be semi-low enough to have decent wait times?

Also, do we all go together for FOTL access and is there a baby swap (like disney offers)?

V

 

[yaytezIOA]

FOTL in September is iffy. You're going when HHN starts, so the park will be closing early. Even if the crowds aren't huge, you'll have a limited amount of time. Universal offers baby swap for most rides, only it's not like Disney. They usually have your party go through the line, while you get to wait in a special area. You then get right to the front of the line once your party gets off the ride.
I still recommend staying onsite.

 

[vcgirl925]

FOTL in September is iffy. You're going when HHN starts, so the park will be closing early. Even if the crowds aren't huge, you'll have a limited amount of time. Universal offers baby swap for most rides, only it's not like Disney. They usually have your party go through the line, while you get to wait in a special area. You then get right to the front of the line once your party gets off the ride.
I still recommend staying onsite.

So iffy as in, i probably won't need it? Or iffy because we won't really be able to take advantage of it because of the shortened hours?

What is HHN? I'm guessing it's a halloween party of some sort?

So even with FOTL access you would still recommend staying onsite?

 

[bumbershoot]

We have *only* been to Universal at slower times...mid-September, early February, and mid-December. And we have LOVED the Express Pass option from staying onsite. Even if it saves us a few minutes per ride, by the end of the day we've done more rides than we would have done without it!

 

[hockeymomNS]

Just back this week from our time in Orlando. We stayed a weekend at Royal Pacific at a "slow" time of year. That being said, we loooooooved the front of the line passes. We literally walked on every ride - it was so worth the money. Also we loved the hotel.

 

[5forDis]

Could you stay 1 or 2 nights at Universal and then stay at your vacation club? We had a condo through our timeshare & left to stay at Royal Pacific for 1 night (unlike Disney, you can have a family of 5 in most rooms). We loved the hotel and the convenience of hopping on the boat in the morning to go to Islands of Adventure for the early entrance. The FOTL benefit of staying onsite was amazing (no running around for Fastpasses). It was much more relaxing.

Our youngest is 7 yrs old & Islands of Adventure had more for her to do than Universal. I think we will probably wait until all 3 are older to go to back to Universal. Although, Despicable Me is opening, so I'm sure that will be fun for you family. It wasn't open when we were there.

My son is 12 and he loved the roller coasters. WWOHP was well-worth seeing. I loved how authentic it seemed...must have made JK Rowling proud to see how true to the story they stayed. I know everyone says Forbidden Journey is such a great ride...I thought it was OK. I wanted something more. I went on it about 6 times with my kids...they kept wanting to ride it. My husband only went once because he said it made him feel sick. My youngest (age 7) only went on once & kept her eyes shut through the ride because she was scared.

Onsite would be very convenient with a baby, too. You or your husband could ride the boat back to the resort if the baby needed a nap & then meet up with the rest of the family.

 

[Metro West]

What is HHN? I'm guessing it's a halloween party of some sort?

Halloween Horror Nights occurs at the Studios from late September through Halloween night. This is NOT for children so if you have children under the age of 13, it is not recommended. HHN causes the Studios to close an hour early (5pm) on the nights when it's staged.

 

[damo]

We were there this past year on Sept 23-25. The crowds were very low. We stayed onsite. The main reason that I would stay onsite at that time is that it was HOT HOT HOT!!!!!

We needed to go back to the hotel for a few hours in the middle of the day to get away from the heat. It is way to0 hot to be going commando from open to close.

 

[buckeev]

For us, the on site experience adds another layer of memory making. The Express Pass and the ability to get to the parks in a few minutes are worth the extra expense.
If you purchase the Express Pass instead of staying on site, you'll have some limitations. My son has enjoyed the "character meals" at the on sites numerous times, make sure to check the schedules.

 

[vcgirl925]

Halloween Horror Nights occurs at the Studios from late September through Halloween night. This is NOT for children so if you have children under the age of 13, it is not recommended. HHN causes the Studios to close an hour early (5pm) on the nights when it's staged.

So is this like Disney's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in respect of the park closes and you need a different ticket to get in? Good to know that it's not "disney like" and i shouldn't take my kids to this one.

 

[vcgirl925]

We were there this past year on Sept 23-25. The crowds were very low. We stayed onsite. The main reason that I would stay onsite at that time is that it was HOT HOT HOT!!!!!

We needed to go back to the hotel for a few hours in the middle of the day to get away from the heat. It is way to0 hot to be going commando from open to close.

Commando as in running through the parks from ride to ride like a mad person or sans underpants? I'll keep both in mind.

 

[damo]

Commando as in running through the parks from ride to ride like a mad person or sans underpants? I'll keep both in mind.

Sans underpants for sure!!!!!

 

[RMulieri]

The express pass you buy is DATE Specific and PARK specific and only good for ONE ride per attraction.It is non-refundable ,which is why the boards never recommend buying them till you get to the park and see if you need them.Also the express pass for purchase goes up in price with projected park crowds.The lower the crowds the lower the price.It is not unusal for a busy time of year to see the price for just the express pass go up to $59., that is not including park admission.The Hotel guest version is good from check in till midnight of checkout day and is UNLIMITED rides per attraction.Add to that the close proximity of the 3 onsite resorts ,how beautiful they are and how close each park entrance is to each other.It is well WORTH the $$$ even in low times of year

 

[Metro West]

So is this like Disney's Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party in respect of the park closes and you need a different ticket to get in? Good to know that it's not "disney like" and i shouldn't take my kids to this one.

Yes...you need a separate ticket to enter and unlike at the MK, you cannot enter the park early with your ticket. The park is swept to make sure all day guests are gone before HHN starts.

 

[vcgirl925]

Thanks everyone!

We are probably going to get a three day two park ticket. We will stay at a universal hotel for at least those three days.

I'm looking forward to our first "non-disney" Orlando vacation.

V