Universal Questions from a Newbie

[jackal]

We are heading to Universal for the first time in April. Usually we are Disney bound, but this year, the kids are getting older and I think ready for Universal. My main question is should we stay at one of the 3 on-site hotels or will we be fine at a partner hotel? We want access to the one hour early entry, which I understand we do get at some partner hotels.

We are also doing Discovery Cove and getting a free ticket to Sea World with that. So, I thought I would just get the 7 day park to park tickets for Universal and not the flex ticket.

We will be there 7, 8 or 9 nights depending on which hotel I decide on. Also, we will not have a car. I think I am using Mears from the airport to hotel.

Any help would be much appreciated!

 

[damo]

April tends to be busy. Personally, I would stay onsite for the express access.

 

[IdesOmarch]

It really depends on your budget. Staying on site is by far the preferred method, particularly for the fast passes that you get with your hotel room key. And it is a little more magical staying on site, because you can walk and/or take a boat into the parks from the hotels. Plus if you get a room view of the parks (which I try to do) it is really cool. Plus the onsite hotels are amazing. Portifino may be one of the best hotel resorts in the country, not just Orlando. And you can take the boat or walk into City Walk very conveniently where there are lots of restaurants to choose from.

Now for the other side, if you are on a limited budget, staying off site is not the end of the world. There are tons of very very nice hotels in the area you can stay at for 100 or less. So if you need to save the bucks, its not the biggest problem ever. I have done both. Staying on site is best, but staying off site is very do able. Actually in fact I've found some hotels that are so nice looking and so cheap, that my next trip probably will be off site just to experience these nice off site hotels I've found. I think some of the nicer hotels in the area have been lowering their rates to compete with the Disney and Universal hotels.

 

[jackal]

Thanks for the replies. We are staying from 4/23 to 5/2. prime Spring break time really. So the express pass will come in very handy, I would imagine. I also thought about a split stay with staying one site for 2 or 3 nights and then going somewhere cheaper, but I wonder if it's worth the hassle.

I can't believe how early Universal closes. Disney stays iopen till 2:00 a.m. in MK or Epcot during prime holidays. To me, that makes a difference with less time in the parks, too.

I'm torn. I really would like to save the money but do not want to wait in line during the spring break crowds. Decisions!

 

[bumbershoot]

If you do a split stay, start offsite. It will be painful to go the other way, and give up the express pass part of staying onsite.

 

[Metro West]

I can't believe how early Universal closes. Disney stays iopen till 2:00 a.m. in MK or Epcot during prime holidays. To me, that makes a difference with less time in the parks, too.

Disney stays open so late because they are out in the middle of nowhere...Universal is located inside Orlando city limits and must deal with the neighborhoods around the parks in the form of noise ordinances. .

Universal stays open much later when the projected crowds warrant it...especially summer and holiday time.

 

[schumigirl]

If you do a split stay, start offsite. It will be painful to go the other way, and give up the express pass part of staying onsite.

Absolutely agree

 

[jackal]

Disney stays open so late because they are out in the middle of nowhere...Universal is located inside Orlando city limits and must deal with the neighborhoods around the parks in the form of noise ordinances. .

Universal stays open much later when the projected crowds warrant it...especially summer and holiday time.

That makes sense! I guess I never thought of that. Should I expect Universal to stay open later than 10:00 p.m. during spring break or is 10 pretty much the latest they stay open?

 

[Metro West]

That makes sense! I guess I never thought of that. Should I expect Universal to stay open later than 10:00 p.m. during spring break or is 10 pretty much the latest they stay open?

Remember...park hours are subject to change. If the parks are busy enough during those days of Spring Break, I wouldn't be surprised to see IOA stay open later.

 

[IdesOmarch]

Yes resort hopping to save $$$ is a good idea IMO and I do this frequently. Particularly if I fly into Orlando late, I will stay at a budget hotel the first night to save the $ then head to the nicer resort for the first full day. Yes if you can manage say a 2 night stay on site, then a budget resort thereafter you can save tons of cash. I know some hate changing hotels, I actually like it just because I like moving around and changing environments.

Plus keep in mind, you can typically find (although depends on time of year) very nice resorts off site for cheap, like 120 a night or less, I have found very nice hotels for as little as 80 a night, and I mean nice, like waterfalls in the pool etc., not a flea bag. So just do a massive Expedia, Hotwire, Priceline or similar website searches for hotels and you'll find deals everywhere.

My theory is that Orlando has over built hotels which is why you can find so many nice hotels for cheap, I have no way to know if that is actually the reason, but it makes sense, and it is a fact that there are tons of hotels in the Orlando area, maybe some of the nicest hotels out of any city in the US for very reasonable prices. One example the last I checked the Double tree which is very nice and just across from Universal it was $83 a night.

 

[jackal]

Yes resort hopping to save $$$ is a good idea IMO and I do this frequently. Particularly if I fly into Orlando late, I will stay at a budget hotel the first night to save the $ then head to the nicer resort for the first full day. Yes if you can manage say a 2 night stay on site, then a budget resort thereafter you can save tons of cash. I know some hate changing hotels, I actually like it just because I like moving around and changing environments.

Plus keep in mind, you can typically find (although depends on time of year) very nice resorts off site for cheap, like 120 a night or less, I have found very nice hotels for as little as 80 a night, and I mean nice, like waterfalls in the pool etc., not a flea bag. So just do a massive Expedia, Hotwire, Priceline or similar website searches for hotels and you'll find deals everywhere.

My theory is that Orlando has over built hotels which is why you can find so many nice hotels for cheap, I have no way to know if that is actually the reason, but it makes sense, and it is a fact that there are tons of hotels in the Orlando area, maybe some of the nicest hotels out of any city in the US for very reasonable prices. One example the last I checked the Double tree which is very nice and just across from Universal it was $83 a night.

Thanks for the tips! I am going to be checking around. We are doing Discovery Cove and Seaworld this trip too, so those two days it would be waste to stay onsite. I will do some checking. Even if we stay 2 or 3 nights offsite and the rest onsite, it will save some cash. I am somewhat worried about moving around too much too with no car. We don't rent car as DH hates to drive where he doesn't know where he is going. Same with me. So we are limited as we have to rely on taxis or shuttles, etc.

 

[IdesOmarch]

Yes taxis can be a bit much on $$, if there are shuttles that is a huge plus for that particular resort, I do know that the Universal resorts have shuttles to Seaworld, at least they did last I was there, but you could check places like the Doubletree that may as well. Seems like the Holiday inn on International Drive had shuttles to all the major parks, so you might try that as well, can't remember the prices on that.

I will advise you that the taxi services do rip into your wallet pretty much IMO. A drive to the airport from your resort or anywhere seems like it was going to be around $35 to $60 a pop. I only did the taxi thing one trip and that is what I took away from it. I was surprised by that because I was used to taxis in the DC area where you can go here and there for 15-20 most of the time, Orlando seemed to have pretty high taxi rates, although it is a lot more spread out than DC in a way. So yes a big question you may want to ask is whether or not the particular resort you're considering has shuttle service to and from where, Etc.

 

[jackal]

Is there free parking to hotel guests at the onsite hotels if we do rent a car? I thought I read you have to pay for parking at the hotel you are staying at. Disney's free parking is a great perk.

 

[IdesOmarch]

That is the only downside to Universal I've found, they do seem to nickel and dime you to death when staying onsite. Yes they do charge for parking at the hotels, haven't been in a year, so not sure if this has changed. Also, when staying on site, I would also advise to touch NOTHING in the room in the line of the water, bar, phone etc. One bottled water they will charge you like $10 Phone charges are kind of silly as well. I do think coffee in the room is free, but I would double check to make sure they don't charge you $10 for using the coffee packages. Not to scare you off, but just be aware. We brought in our own food for snacks and bottled water, cokes in the cooler etc., always save that way anyway.

 

[jackal]

Yikes Do they have refrigeraters in the rooms? Also, is there a place to get drinks, muffins, etc. outside of the room? Like disney has their quick service places in the hotels. Does Universal have that? How about refillable mugs? Or is that just in the parks?

 

[IdesOmarch]

Yes, that was what I was referring to, last I was there they had refrigerators with stuff in it (bottled water etc), touch and drink and they charge you major $$$$. Yes they have everything under the sun on site to eat, muffins, pastries etc. We would eat breakfast at the bar where they had a lot of breakfast items, and it wasn't too bad on prices, but still much more than you would spend if you just stocked up at the local grocery. Like for 4 pastries and some coffee, orange juice, you're looking at probably $30, give or take a little. Yes everything is expensive when staying on site, it is just part of it. It is super nice and plush, so its kind of you get what you pay for, but it is expensive.

That's what I was saying its good if you want to save dollars to bring a lot of stuff with you, cokes, snacks etc., to save those dollars and maybe just spend money for nice dinners. But it all depends on your budget, if money is no object, then you know you can get whatever.

 

[jackal]

Thanks so much for the information. I am beginning to wonder if Club level would be better for us. We like our sodas, especially in the morning. The kids like to have easy access to breakfast items, etc. That's why the Disney meal plan was such a good fit for us.

It may be worth it to do Club level as breakfast would be included, we could eat in the parks for lunch and then come make for the dinner offerings in the Club level. Something more I have to figure out money wise!

How about the refillable mugs? Is that only in the parks or are their places to fill them up at the onsite hotels?