Universal in August

[chazzeek]

first off let me say that i am a long time reader, first time poster. but i think you have such a great community here, and give quality advise.

My wife and I are thinking of going to universal for her birthday August 24. i was wondering if anyone could speculate on the timing of this trip. would we be much better off waiting another month for kids to get back into school? I am wondering about crowd management, i understand that there will be a ton of people there to see Harry Potter, but just wondered if people thought it would be crowded beyond enjoyment.

we also plan to be in the park for 3 days, with the package deal for breakfast at the 3 broomsticks, and 1 hour early admission. will the hour early give us the chance to beat the general admission crowd into the area and experience the harry potter stuff at a crowd level that might be closer to a typical busy theme park crowd?

being her birthday and all the wife would much rather stick with our dates if we can.

any advise or tips would be much appreciated. thanks all!

 

[mjohnson96]

I didnt' se where you woudl want to stay at but if you stay onsite you get the 1 hour early and the unlimited express pass. Your timing is okay, it will still be hot in August so if you can put it off another month then it will be cooler and less busy but then you might have an issue with a Hurricane popping up

I honestly would not do a package and just try to get a AAA , AP, or Stay More discount at the hotels. The only thing is you dont' get breakfast but some here have been able to get in for breakfast without the package. I guess it just depends on the cost difference.

But with the express pass the crowds even in August will be great, and will give you time to hang out by the pool too to relax and enjoy the birthday

 

[BrerFoxx]

If you are staying on-site, you will have no problem managing the crowds. I am going in August as well, 15th-20th. I have stay on-site in October and in July over the 4th. Historically, these two times have large crowds because of the summer and HHN in October. Front of the Line access allows you to do what you want, when you want, as many times as you want and still have tons of time to relax by the pool or exlore the resort. August will be hot, so make sure you get your afternoon nap or pool time in. Harry Potter will definately increase the crowd level, but FOTL and early access to WWHOP will help you work around the crowds.

Have a great time.

 

[chazzeek]

thanks for the advice. we saw the package available on the Universal website, but asked our AAA travel agent about the package too, and was quoted about the same thing. the way it was described on the website, made it seem that the early entrance was only available to those who got the package. and that the early access only the WWOHP attractions would be running.

we were planing on staying at the Royal Pacific, only because i didn't see much difference in quality of the on site resorts and it cam up as the least expensive.

so, just to make sure i understand the resort benefits, they are:

express pass
early entry
CityWalk Party Pass

and the package adds:

breakfast at the 3 broomsticks
Commemorative Ticket


thanks again for putting up with all my questions

 

[mjohnson96]

I don't think you get the CityWalk Party Pass for staying onsite but I might be wrong. Your multi day ticket will get you the Party Pass or there are coupons that will also get it for you

But other than that you are basically right about what you get. I would call the Hotel direct to inquire about the AAA room rates, sometimes you can get it lower thru them for some reason.

 

[francie57]

We do our trips through AAA each year. When we first started going we would book a package and then priced it separately one year and its cheaper to do the AAA discount on the rooms and purchase tickets at AAA office at their discounted prices. We are returning in Aug. and have 2 rooms at the HRH and got a discount with AAA for the rooms and then we bought our tickets at the local AAA office. The only difference, other than price, with the package it the breakfast and commerative ticket. If you are a AAA member make sure to carry your card with you since it will get you a 10% discount at the restaurant, snack carts, and shops in the parks and most of the restaurants in City Walk with the exception of Emerils and maybe one other upscale restaurant.