Universal newbie seeking advice

[Travis B]

My partner and I will be heading to Disney for free dining this fall, and have decided to visit Universal for a few days beforehand. I'm having a really hard time nailing down my plans and am hoping some of y'all will share your wisdom with me and help me figure it out. We will be at Universal from 10/22-10/25 of this year, spending the 23rd (Friday) and 24th(Sat) at the parks for sure. We might also spend our arrival day in the parks as well. So onto the questions...

1.) Lodging -- Considering Cabana Bay or an off-site hotel. I know Cabana will get us in the parks an hour early, and probably has better shuttle transport than an off-site property. Benefit to off-site is that we won't pay for amenities we aren't using (lazy river, etc), and can get an equally nice hotel for 50-60$ less per night. I also think its lame that Cabana charges for parking. Not a deal-breaker though. Portofino Bay looks gorgeous and the free express pass would be nice, but I don't think I can jan justify the expense.

2.) Express Pass - Getting express pass will double our ticket prices. Do you think I'll need it at this time of year? Should I get it for each day? For only one day? Buy it now or when we get there? Do they sell out?

3.) Crowds - What can I expect this time of year? There is a remote possibility we could rearrange things and do Universal after we do Disney - 11/1-11/4. Would that be dramatically less busy? I prefer to be in parks on slow days if possible.

I appreciate your feedback. Please let me know if there are options you think I'm missing. Thanks!

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

None of those dates should be very crowded, but if you go in late October, the park will be closing early almost every night for Halloween Horror Nights. That will most likely make the crowds lighter, but you'll need alternate evening plans.

EP really shouldn't be necessary on these dates, and you can purchase it at the park if the crowds are higher than expected. Also, more rides have single rider lines than at Disney, if you are willing to ride close to each other rather than next to each other.

 

[Travis B]

None of those dates should be very crowded, but if you go in late October, the park will be closing early almost every night for Halloween Horror Nights. That will most likely make the crowds lighter, but you'll need alternate evening plans.

EP really shouldn't be necessary on these dates, and you can purchase it at the park if the crowds are higher than expected. Also, more rides have single rider lines than at Disney, if you are willing to ride close to each other rather than next to each other.

Awesome. Maybe I'll add a third day to compensate for the lack of evening time. Thanks for the info

 

[chmurf]

1.) Lodging -- Considering Cabana Bay or an off-site hotel. I know Cabana will get us in the parks an hour early, and probably has better shuttle transport than an off-site property. Benefit to off-site is that we won't pay for amenities we aren't using (lazy river, etc), and can get an equally nice hotel for 50-60$ less per night. I also think its lame that Cabana charges for parking. Not a deal-breaker though. Portofino Bay looks gorgeous and the free express pass would be nice, but I don't think I can jan justify the expense.

price a night at RPR
note that 1 night gets you 2 days of unlimited express, so you could split stay with 1 night at RPR for both days you're sure to go to the park, and CBB or offsite for the other days
(Cabana Bay has a short walkway to the parks, shuttle might actually take you more time than walking)

2.) Express Pass - Getting express pass will double our ticket prices. Do you think I'll need it at this time of year?

you can do without, at that time of year, but it depends on your tolerance for wait times.
consider that HHN closes USF early on some nights.

also price a 1 night at RPR with unlimlited express vs. 2 days of express (single) + another accomodation

Should I get it for each day? For only one day?

hard to tell

Buy it now or when we get there? Do they sell out?

they can sell out
will they sell out for your dates ? hard to say

the catch is that, if, on the day, you decide that it's too crowded and you need express, chances are other guests will have the same idea, and that's when they could sell out on the day. (but quite unlikely at that time of year)

3.) Crowds - What can I expect this time of year?

Touringplans forecast a 2 out of 10, so let me amend my previous statement : you probably won't need express at all.

There is a remote possibility we could rearrange things and do Universal after we do Disney - 11/1-11/4. Would that be dramatically less busy?

according to the forecasts I have access to, First week of November *should* be significantly busier than your original dates (10/23-10/24) so I'd stick with the original plan

 

[Travis B]

price a night at RPR
note that 1 night gets you 2 days of unlimited express, so you could split stay with 1 night at RPR for both days you're sure to go to the park, and CBB or offsite for the other days
(Cabana Bay has a short walkway to the parks, shuttle might actually take you more time than walking)

Great information, thank you! I hadn't thought of doing the resorts that way. The only deluxe I see available now is Portofino, but I assume it would work the same way? Also, would I need to book the deluxe for the first night of our stay? Can I book it through an outside website and still get the express passes?

 

[chmurf]

Great information, thank you! I hadn't thought of doing the resorts that way. The only deluxe I see available now is Portofino, but I assume it would work the same way? Also, would I need to book the deluxe for the first night of our stay? Can I book it through an outside website and still get the express passes?

you get the benefits starting when you check in (so as early as you can, like 7am, even though your room won't be ready, and you'll need to store bags with bell services)
so the first day might not be a good idea if you're not able to be at the hotel really early
you keep the hotel perks until midnight at the end of your check out day.
so you could do 10/22 at some hotel
check in on 10/23 at a deluxe, very early (store luggage with bell services), and hit the parks for the first day
use your second day on 10/24 still with express (storing bags again with bell services before leaving for the parks) then checking in at another hotel in the afternoon/evening


you get the unlimited express no matter who you book through (you'll also need tickets to access the parks, express is not a ticket)
cheaptickets often has discounts, check if there is a current discount code

 

[dixonsontour]

We stayed at Cabana bay last year those dates and are booked again this year. I thought crowds were very low and manageable. Use the early entry for harry potter. There is a deal on if you book Cabana bay for those dates you get 2 free breakfasts. Have a look on expedia. Ifyou can ger Cabana bay at a decent rate it is well worth it for the convenience only 5 mins to the park by bus and the early entry.

 

[Travis B]

you get the benefits starting when you check in (so as early as you can, like 7am, even though your room won't be ready, and you'll need to store bags with bell services)
so the first day might not be a good idea if you're not able to be at the hotel really early
you keep the hotel perks until midnight at the end of your check out day.
so you could do 10/22 at some hotel
check in on 10/23 at a deluxe, very early (store luggage with bell services), and hit the parks for the first day
use your second day on 10/24 still with express (storing bags again with bell services before leaving for the parks) then checking in at another hotel in the afternoon/evening

Thanks for taking the time to provide that info, I really appreciate it. I think that's what we'll end up doing. What we will save on express passes will make up for the difference in hotel costs, AND we'll get to check out a deluxe for the night.

 

[Travis B]

We stayed at Cabana bay last year those dates and are booked again this year. I thought crowds were very low and manageable. Use the early entry for harry potter. There is a deal on if you book Cabana bay for those dates you get 2 free breakfasts. Have a look on expedia. Ifyou can ger Cabana bay at a decent rate it is well worth it for the convenience only 5 mins to the park by bus and the early entry.

Right now I'm finding Cabana Bay for $150 a night or so, which is do-able. I like to stay on-property at Disney so I'm sure I'll prefer to do on-property at Universal as well. i'm thinking we'll stay off property our arrival night, then do Portofino, then do Cabana before we head over to Disney. Hopefully this year is the same as last in terms of the crowds. Thanks for your input.

 

[macraven]

i suggest you do the motherland for the beginning of your vacation
do the darkside on the november dates you listed.

hhn will be over and less crowds in the parks at that time.
locals come on the weekend for hhn prior to the start of the hard ticket event.

probably better room rates onsite as hhn will be over then.
check room prices for november weekdays and see what the difference would be
find the rates of end of oct and compare it to the november dates.

 

[Travis B]

probably better room rates onsite as hhn will be over then.
check room prices for november weekdays and see what the difference would be
find the rates of end of oct and compare it to the november dates.

You're correct! Much more availability, and lower prices as well. I'm seriously considering moving Universal to the last part of our trip as you suggest. I think looking forward to the brand new experience at Universal might also help with the suckiness of leaving Disney. Thanks for the input!