When to go to Un/IOA - do we stay onsite?

[backinoz]

Help please from Universal Experts...

We'll be @ WDW/Universal from 12/30/08 until 01/14/09 - 6-10 days at WDW, a day to Kennedy Space Centre, a day or so (or a couple of 1/2 days) at the Outlet Malls and a couple of days at Universal/IOA.

So, how do NYE celebrations at Universal/IOA/Citywalk compare with WDW? Which should we do? (We are a family of 4 - DD10 & DD11 coming with us).

Are there any seasonal shows/parades etc. @ Universal showing on 12/31 that won't be there after New Years?

Given we have a wide time frame to visit Universal - when should we go there, and is it worth staying a night or two for FOTL pass during this time?

We're not planning on getting a hire car for the whole time we're there, but would it best the best way to commute between WDW & Universal for us?

We're on a reasonably tight bidget as we are flying from Oz, but prefer to stay onsite at WDW and/or Universal for 'full imersion' experience - will it be worth it?

Thanks for your help.

 

[backinoz]

Anybody????

I guess everyone here must spend NYE at WDW.

 

[pixeegrl]

Welcome from all the planning I have done recently lol in my opinion I would try and stay onsite for sure. The crowds at that time or huge!

 

[damo]

I've never done NYE anywhere but at home but the crowds are going to be large and it will be nice to have the advantage of unlimited express.

 

[BrownDalmatian]

I'll try to field a few of these.

We'll be @ WDW/Universal from 12/30/08 until 01/14/09 - 6-10 days at WDW, a day to Kennedy Space Centre, a day or so (or a couple of 1/2 days) at the Outlet Malls and a couple of days at Universal/IOA.

So, how do NYE celebrations at Universal/IOA/Citywalk compare with WDW? Which should we do? (We are a family of 4 - DD10 & DD11 coming with us).

Are there any seasonal shows/parades etc. @ Universal showing on 12/31 that won't be there after New Years?

I've never been to WDW or US/IoA for New Years, sorry.

Given we have a wide time frame to visit Universal - when should we go there, and is it worth staying a night or two for FOTL pass during this time?

I THINK any 2-3 days during your stay would be fine for Universal. I'm not sure what the best days would be from 12/30-01/14. Maybe someone else will chime in.

It is absolutely worth staying onsite if you can afford it. I would cut out other plans to save money for this if I had to. Staying onsite IS that awesome.

Also, honestly I'd skip Kennedy Space Center and get another (3rd) day at US/IoA. Just my very humble opinion though; it's been years since I've been but I personally wasn't that thrilled with Kennedy Space Center.

We're not planning on getting a hire car for the whole time we're there, but would it best the best way to commute between WDW & Universal for us?

In my opinion yes a car would be great to have if you can afford it, but mostly for the purpose of your Outlet Mall shopping days. You could take a taxi or shuttle or something like that from WDW to US/IoA, and if you stay onsite then you can just walk from the hotel to the parks. It's a short walk (7-10 minutes or something like that), and it's safe (well lit, on the US property, etc.).

We're on a reasonably tight bidget as we are flying from Oz, but prefer to stay onsite at WDW and/or Universal for 'full imersion' experience - will it be worth it?

Again, in my opinion staying onsite is very much worth it. I would postpone the vacation another month to save money if I had to, or cut out some shopping or something.

That certainly does not mean you cannot have a GREAT time if you stay offsite. You definitely can! But staying onsite gives you the "full immersion" (as you said), not to mention FOTL which is the greatest perk on earth.

I hope something in my rambling helped.

 

[katiee511]

Well, backinoz, I am NOT a Universal expert by any means but our first trip to stay there is 12/25 -12/26/08. In my research and my days and days of reading all the boards, this is what I understand:

if the Express Pass rate is high (50.99) than higher crowds are expected and/or the park has longer hours. If the passes are low (25.99) obviously the reverse is expected. We will be in Florida 12/24/08 - 01/02/09 so very little of my research overlaps your time there. Here's what I have:

12/30 - (2007) park hours 8am-10pm (2008) ExPass $50.99
12/31 - (2007) park hours 8am-1am (2008) ExPass $50.99
01/01 - (2008) park hours 9am-8pm ExPass not offered yet
01/02 - (2008) park hours 9am-8pm " " " "
01/03 - (2008) park hours 9am-8pm " " " "
01/04 - (2008) park hours 9am-7pm
01/05 - (2008) park hours 9am-7pm

We are only staying one night at Royal Pacific Resort on US property and we are paying a seasonal rack rate of $324 for 2 adults/2 children in a standard 2Q room. With that we get FOTL perks for 12/25 & 12/26 all day. We are staying at Fairfield Inn & Suites the evening we arrive so we will be up & ready to check in at RPR at 8 am (these boards have awesome tips!!) If we chose to stay off-site, two days of Express Passes would cost $327.92 before fees & taxes (12/25 is 30.99) so that's basically a free room!! And the FOTL access is priceless along with the whole "experience" of being on property. We thought it was a great deal (our hubbies are a different story )

Okay, as for the shows I believe they do a Grinchmas and some sort of holiday parade ?? I believe I also read there could be fireworks that week. As for NYE, I would imagine CityWalk would be hopping. We were there a few years ago during Spring Break and it gets quite active later in the evening

We are renting a Villa for the week and are opting for the neighborhood resort activities/family celebration ourselves, so I can't say I have bothered to read too much about NYE celebrations. I will note that IF you are at US you can at least walk back to your room if it's too much for the kids. If you are at a Disney Park, I know transportation back to your resort can have very long lines and a long drive back if your bus "shares" with other resorts. We stayed at All Star Music and it serviced all the budget properties with one bus.

I'll have to agree with a pp, unless there is a scheduled launch, I found the Space Centre boring when I was kid and my parents took me there. However, my dad was a jet engine mechanic and that kind of stuff was cool to him..... so if that's important to a member of your party, go for it!

Hmmm, what else? We are getting a rental car due to being at a private home most of our stay. If you choose all hire transportation, definitely read the disboards transportation threads. Lots of great car for hire/shuttle/Magic Express info there.

I know Disney does a Mickey's Very Merry Christmas thingee. Read some threads on that to see if it would appeal to your kids (it may be a seperately ticketed event that actually shortens the park hours, I think) I do not know what US does that is similar.

I guess my advice would be to read old discussions and see what should be going on at each place the time you are there and see which you may enjoy more. Then I would compare park hours to see where you get more bang for your buck to help make the decision about which parks on which days.

When we went to Disney a few yrs ago, planning was half the fun....... until I became obsessed with it and spent all my free time reading boards
But we did have a great, well planned, well organised trip that we all enjoyed. Have fun reading, take lots of notes and it will all start coming together and then the details get easier and easier. Good Luck!!!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I've never gone during holiday times but have stayed onsite many times (we're AP holders.) I would just like to mention it may be better to do your WDW visit first cuz once you try FOTL you won't want to go back to regular lines or even fast passes.
When we were there for a quickie in Sept, we stayed at HRH 4 nts. The 3rd day we went to MK. BTMR had a wait of 20 mins. My ds7 stomped his little foot when he saw the wait time and said, "I am not waiting in line for 20 minutes!" That's how spoiled we are w/ FOTL and why we went again in Nov and Jan. lol! It's so nice and the most relaxing park touring in the world.

 

[dsmom]

We live a two hour drive from Universal/Disney. We have done New Year's
at Disney many times and it is a madhouse! I would definately do disney first. I would stay on site at both. The best way to get between the two is to drive yourself. The crowds do thin out some after Jan. 2nd.
It it were me I would not spend too much time with the outlet malls- they seem overpriced to me. Our family LOVES Kennedy Space Center. It you have never been it is worth taking time to see it.
After the crowds at Disney - Universal will seem relaxing! What resorts are you considering?

 

[cph706]

Just got back from 4 days & I say that FOTL is the greatest thing ever! The afternoons were quite busy & we zoomed by long long lines w/FOTL. They were quite diligent about checking them, too, no line jumping allowed at all. It is possible to do so much more staying on site!

 

[bubba's mom]

I've never been to WDW or US/IoA for New Years, sorry.


I THINK any 2-3 days during your stay would be fine for Universal. I'm not sure what the best days would be from 12/30-01/14. Maybe someone else will chime in.

It is absolutely worth staying onsite if you can afford it. I would cut out other plans to save money for this if I had to. Staying onsite IS that awesome.

I agree...I've never been to the parks during the holidays, but it WILL be busy, and you DO want to stay onsite

Well, backinoz, I am NOT a Universal expert by any means but our first trip to stay there is 12/25 -12/26/08. In my research and my days and days of reading all the boards, this is what I understand:

if the Express Pass rate is high (50.99) than higher crowds are expected and/or the park has longer hours. If the passes are low (25.99) obviously the reverse is expected.

She is well on her way to becoming an UO expert tho...she is absolutley correct with her facts here...

We are only staying one night at Royal Pacific Resort on US property and we are paying a seasonal rack rate of $324 for 2 adults/2 children in a standard 2Q room. With that we get FOTL perks for 12/25 & 12/26 all day.

If we chose to stay off-site, two days of Express Passes would cost $327.92 before fees & taxes (12/25 is 30.99) so that's basically a free room!! And the FOTL access is priceless along with the whole "experience" of being on property. We thought it was a great deal (our hubbies are a different story )

It is actually CHEAPER for her to stay onsite, as you can see! Keep in mind, the room key for onsite is UNLIMITED Express Pass...while the 'purchased' Express Pass Plus is only good for ONE time each attraction


katiee511....don't worry about your husbands....you got a GREAT deal and once you are there and actually seeing HOW spoiling FOTL IS...they will thank you and be hooked....trust me (make sure to keep reminding them of the standby wait times and the 'repeated' riding too )

 

[katiee511]

She is well on her way to becoming an UO expert tho...she is absolutley correct with her facts here... [/COLOR]


It is actually CHEAPER for her to stay onsite, as you can see! Keep in mind, the room key for onsite is UNLIMITED Express Pass...while the 'purchased' Express Pass Plus is only good for ONE time each attraction


katiee511....don't worry about your husbands....you got a GREAT deal and once you are there and actually seeing HOW spoiling FOTL IS...they will thank you and be hooked....trust me (make sure to keep reminding them of the standby wait times and the 'repeated' riding too )

Why Thank you Bubba's mom What a nice compliment!

These are GREAT boards and if you spend enough time reading, taking notes and researching you start to "feel" like an expert!
When I planned our DW trip a few years ago from the expert advice on these boards, I must say my family was duly impressed!
With the availability on the internet to answer just about any detail you can think of (and many, many that you wouldn't have thought of) I am amazed when I see families with small children with a bewildered look on their face, frantically searching the park maps and turning in circles because they really have no idea what they should be doing or where to go.

The planning can drive you whacko sometimes, but it is sooooooo worth it! DH gets a kick out of all my charts and spreadsheets as I get thru the planning stage. I'm a dork, what can I say??

Funny thing, our family is just the three of us, so we aren't really getting the free room. But we are meeting up with my little sister and they are a family of four. I thought it was a convincing argument for us too
Our last two vacations we went to Kalahari Resorts (indoor waterpark) first in Wisconsin Dells and then in Sandusky, Ohio so I think I have slowly convinced my DH the value of staying on property versus the costs of each perk individually. And if he wants to ride Hulk or MIB over and over and over again, he will learn quickly to appreciate FOTL benefits, which we all know are simply priceless!!


I get so excited just thinking about our trip!! DH and DS have not seen our BIL/Uncle and Nephews/Cousins in more than 3 yrs!! And we are all spending Christmas Day together in US/IOA How perfect is that??