Would you do a throw away room at a universal hotel?

[kimberlyWDW]

We're going to do a Universal trip May 29-Jun 4. There are five of us including one Harry Potter freak. We will be staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek in a two bedroom condo.

I am considering renting a room at a Universal hotel for one night. The cheapest is $284 with tax. That would give us two days of early access and the unlimited express pass.

That is only $25 more than buying two days of express pass during that time.

Do you think that the difference in wait time would justify that expense? Or, would you rather put that money towards a different park such as Busch Gardens?

Thanks for all your help!!!

 

[Metro West]

That time of year isn't really busy so I would skip it and put the money towards BGT or something else. Early entry would be nice but since Forbidden Journey does not accept Express, having unlimited Express access won't really do you that much good. The rest of the park shouldn't be too busy. I doubt you will have problems doing both parks during that time however...keep in mind Despicable Me is supposed to open sometime next year and could be around that time. Any new attraction will bring large crowds but again...Express will probably not be offered IF Despicable Me is open when you're visiting...so again...unlimited Express access won't do you any good.

 

[macraven]

i think i would do the one night room and use it for an overnight.

you could stay in the parks late that night, then hit city walk for a late dinner.

wouldn't have to drive back to bonnet creek then.


in the morning, get your items together and store them with valet.
hit the park at early entrance for park guests then.

stay as long as you want and then leave for your room at bonnet creek later that day.

you would be saving gas money and tolls besides the $25 you mentioned.

this would also give you the chance to know the layout and system of the hotels to the parks for a future use.


looking at a calendar, june 1st is a friday.
if you stayed onsite for friday night, you would have no issues with crowds for friday and saturday by being hotel guests.

you said you were doing a 5 day UO trip from may 29 to june 4th.
plan your trip to stay offsite during the weekdays, M-th and you won't have issues with park crowds then.
stay onsite the one night on friday and also have the ease of no lines for express on friday/saturday.

sundays usually are limited crowds at best.

 

[Badge]

You also mentioned that you would get two days of early entry with your one night hotel stay, however that is going to be hard to pull off. Early entry starts at 8AM. You are going to want to be at the front desk checking in no later than 7:00-7:15...earlier if possible.

Also, don't forget that all on-site hotels charge a $15 parking fee, so you need to add that into the mix.

Personally, if you are going to be visiting Universal Olrando for the length of time you mentioned (6 or 7 DAYS at the parks), I would skip the hotel room and skip BGT as well. While Universal is a big place, you will have more than enough time to ride everything more than once at both parks without any issues. You will have no need for early entry since you will have already spent a ton of time at Harry Potter. I would take that money you are planning to spend and have a few nice meals at Citywalk or some of the on-site hotels. With that amount of time you are visiting, you will have enough time to enjoy nice seat down meals without thinking your wasting time.

 

[rthib]

Same Question but we will be there during the Christmas crush.

Th-Fri (22-23rd)

Two High School girls who love Potter and Roller Coasters.

Staying at Marriott Vacation Club, but thinking about getting throw away room for early entry, express.

Cost is $249.

Will it be worth it that week or with patience can they still do what they want in two days?

 

[macraven]

the holiday time periods always brings in crowds.


just depends if you want to spend the money to stay onsite.
if you do, do you need to still keep the ressie for the other hotel?


if you are planning to be in florida for a longer time period than the two days, why don't you do the hotel on site at the end or beginning of your vacation?

that way you won't be paying for a room onsite and one offsite for the same dates.

 

[rthib]

We are doing time-share trade, so "Hotel" is already paid-for.
We arrive on first day of stay and leave on last, so no extra hotel needed.

Would only be used for early admit/express?

Because of Amex Plat, actual cost is only $150, so I guess the question is:

During that week, is early admit and express worth $150?

 

[Badge]

Yes, it is well worth it. The price for express passes on the 22nd and 23rd are $69.99 per person, per day and are only valid ONCE per ride. For $150, you get two days of unlimited express for everybody in your party, which is an amazing deal.

Like macraven said though, if you are driving down and not flying, have you considered just staying at the hotel after your trip is over? Are you coming down JUST for Universal on those two days, or are those the two days you have set aside in a larger trip that might include Disney? I think what macraven and I are trying to say is, if you are coming down for lets say one week and doing 5 days at Disney and those 2 at Universal, you might want to consider spending all 7 days with your time share hotel going to Disney (adding two extra Disney days costs only about $4 per person per day) and then just extending your visit by a day to stay at the onsite Universal hotel that you are going to be paying for. That way you don't have to deal with driving back and forth from the parks in the evening and can just take the nice boat ride back to the resort.

Either way, I would get the hotel onsite simply for the express, but you would be better off using the onsite hotel if possible simply because you are paying for it. No idea how time shares work (You seem to spend more money on them than if you were to just take the trip without the time share) but is there a way to "trade" your time with somebody else so you can just use the onsite hotel if all your coming down for is Universal? Seems kinda pointless to have two hotel rooms...

 

[kimberlyWDW]

$150??? How are you able to book for that? I'd love to know the details!

 

[kimberlyWDW]

I love my timeshare!

I definitely get my money's worth. I bought mine on Ebay for next to nothing (and it came with two banked weeks!). Once you are used to a timeshare it is very hard to stay in a hotel.

We have five people in our family. A hotel room is a very tight fit for us (and forget about any vacation romance ). We usually get a two bedroom condo with our wyndham timeshare (about 1200 sq.ft.) We also get a full kitchen and a whirlpool tub in the master bath! We save hundreds of dollars every vacation on food.

Our resort (Bonnet Creek) is amazing! It costs us about $900 a year in fees. We would easily spend double to triple that to stay in two hotel rooms at a nice place. We can also book last minute trips through RCI for about $250 a week.

It's definitely not right for everyone, but for us it make a huge difference in our ability to vacation every year. Plus, the payment seems to disappear in our budget, so it makes it seem even cheaper to vacation. This year we worked the credit card sign up deals for free airfare and we have the timeshare. The only thing I need to budget for is rental car and tickets!

 

[rthib]

We are flying so no way to extend.
The Timeshare is for whole week, other days are already booked for Disney (Candlelight procession and other events) so those are the only days available for Universal.

$150??? How are you able to book for that? I'd love to know the details!

Amex Platinum has Fine Hotel program and the Portofino Bay is part of it.
You get a bunch of perks including a $100 room credit, so net cost is $150.

You have to have a Platinum Card and book through the Amex Fine Hotel site.
I travel a bunch, so the other perks are worth the fee for the Platinum

 

[AJA]

Yes I would do it. The express pass is awesome, remember it's unlimited. Of course the resorts are awesome too...I would stay late and use the room.