Totally overwhelmed with planning

[connorlevismom]

We are planning a trip to Orlando Mid-March for 9 nights. We are a Disney family and have never ventured to Universal Studios. Our plan is to do Discovery Cove for a day and Aquatica another day. Then we would like to focus on Universal, IOA and Volcano Bay. Our kids LOVE water parks, so possibly doing Volcano Bay 2 days. We currently have a house rented for all 9 nights but considering staying onsite for a few nights at Universal to get the express pass included. I am just so completely overwhelmed that every time I start to research it I get give up and stop looking.

We are a family that likes a little space, so we would need a 1 bedroom suite, at least so when I look, it tells me it would be over $5000 for 4 nights. This seems to include tickets and the express pass, but it still seems REALLY expensive. But then I look at tickets and express passes and the price seems just as expensive and I am so confused about it. The house we are renting is great with a nice pool in Windsor Hills and is only $2400 for all 9 nights.

I normally rock at planning the family vacation but I feel paralyzed on this one. Can anyone give me any advice on where to even start?

 

[escapeartist]

Keep your rental house for all the nights of your trip. Just book 2 standard rooms at royal pacific for 1 night. That gives you unlimited express passes for 2 full days at both Universal and Islands of Adventure for 10 people. If you're family is 5 people or less, just book 1 room. You do not need to sleep there! No need for a suite! Just check in at 6am on check in day to pick up express passes. You can use the room for a nap or never even go into it. (I call it a 'throw away room") pro tip: You can pay for one hotel night of parking and it's good for both parking days with in out priveleges, instead of paying for 2 days parking in theme park parking lot. Use your express pass each time u exit lot.
No planning involved beyond booking 2 rooms and picking up express passes!

 

[connorlevismom]

Wow, thanks!! So just book the hotel room and then buy the park tickets separately? Or should I bundle the tickets with the room?
Also-do you have to buy the volcano bay express pass serpeately or is that included in the room too?

 

[bchbetha]

Don't book a package. There’s no value added by doing that. Just make sure you buy tickets only (some people still think they have to buy Express Passes).
The hotel room doesn’t include EPs for Volcano Bay. I wouldn’t buy those ahead of time. Crowds at water parks is so weather driven that you could wind up wasting money because things aren’t crowded.

 

[cfoxga]

The good news is that Universal is easier to plan than Disney, but there is a learning curve. The throwaway room is a good idea if you cannot stay onsite. Another thing to consider is to get annual passes instead of multi-day park-to-park tickets. As long as the blackout dates do not impact your trip, they might be cheaper and have the added benefit of giving a discount to stay at one of the onsite hotels. Plus you might enjoy Universal enough to want to come back again within 12 months, so the tickets would be paid for. I've been looking at prices in March, and they are very high right now. I'm hoping they come down as we get closer to the date.

 

[connorlevismom]

Don't book a package. There’s no value added by doing that. Just make sure you buy tickets only (some people still think they have to buy Express Passes).
The hotel room doesn’t include EPs for Volcano Bay. I wouldn’t buy those ahead of time. Crowds at water parks is so weather driven that you could wind up wasting money because things aren’t crowded.

Thank you so much for this information. I really appreciate the help!

 

[connorlevismom]

The good news is that Universal is easier to plan than Disney, but there is a learning curve. The throwaway room is a good idea if you cannot stay onsite. Another thing to consider is to get annual passes instead of multi-day park-to-park tickets. As long as the blackout dates do not impact your trip, they might be cheaper and have the added benefit of giving a discount to stay at one of the onsite hotels. Plus you might enjoy Universal enough to want to come back again within 12 months, so the tickets would be paid for. I've been looking at prices in March, and they are very high right now. I'm hoping they come down as we get closer to the date.

Thanks for this as well. Do you know, do you get free parking with the seasonal annual pass like Disney has? That would make a huge difference. And on that same note, if I buy an annual pass now and not use it on a park until March, can I still use it to get a hotel discount before that?

 

[schumigirl]

Thanks for this as well. Do you know, do you get free parking with the seasonal annual pass like Disney has? That would make a huge difference. And on that same note, if I buy an annual pass now and not use it on a park until March, can I still use it to get a hotel discount before that?

No you don’t get free parking with the seasonal pass. Here’s the link to what AP perks you get with each.

https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/tickets-packages/annual-passes/uoap-types#seasonal-pass
Yes, you can book a room now with the AP discount and show your AP when you’re at the hotel.

 

[connorlevismom]

No you don’t get free parking with the seasonal pass. Here’s the link to what AP perks you get with each.

https://www.universalorlando.com/web/en/us/tickets-packages/annual-passes/uoap-types#seasonal-pass
Yes, you can book a room now with the AP discount and show your AP when you’re at the hotel.

Thank you so much!

 

[Darcy03231]

When we travel as a group we stay off-site for the extra space. My strategy is to book one room for one night (the least expensive one) to get the express passes for 5 of us for two days. Since I have young adults (all 21+) they will stay in the room to take advantage of City Walk one night during the trip. The older generation just goes back to the house and sleeps there.

For tickets, look into the annual passes. I've found that once you're there for 4 nights or more it usually less expensive to buy the annual pass and you get the discounts. I buy one that includes parking and discounted rooms, etc. Last year they had a great deal, My annual pass was good for 18 months. I gotten three trips out of it so far and it's still good until May 2020.

 

[imprint]

Maybe it was said and I missed it, but I want to be clear that the unlimited Express Passes are included with a room(s) at Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, and Portofino Bay. The other resorts include Early Entry (as do the aforementioned resorts), but they do not include Express Passes.