acarsme123
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2015
I am looking to take the family to Universal Orlando for spring break 2020, which is second week of March for us. I am having a difficult time navigating the vacation package/ticket options on Universal's site. We have gone to Disney a couple of times now, and I find their site much more user friendly when it comes to pricing out a vacation. I would plan on arriving to Universal on a Sunday and staying until Friday. I will most likely stay at one of the upper tier resorts, like Hard Rock or Royal Pacific. We never go to the parks on the arrival day. And we are planning on going to Magic Kingdom for one day as well. With that being said, anytime I try to do a vacation package, it always seems to assume I want park tickets for every day of my hotel stay. But since I won't be going to the parks on arrival day, or the day we go to Disney, is there any way to save money and reduce the amount of ticket days the package has? Every time I try to adjust it, the site just tacks on additional tickets instead of replacing the ticket package it already generated. It's really aggravating.
Also, the package picks a 3 park, park-to-park ticket option. I'm not sure how to best play this one because being able to use Volcano Bay might be questionable given the time of year. Last time we went to Disney this time of year, we had a few cold snap days where the pools were unusable. So I'm not sure if it's a waste of money to have all 3 parks or not. Would it be better to just have the 2 parks, and then if the weather is good, buy Volcano Bay tickets on the day of? But once again, I can find no easy way to adjust this.
Along these same lines, I also looked at what the cost difference would be to choose a cheaper resort on-site, but then get the tickets and express passes separately. However I see no easy way to do this either. From what I can tell, the site isn't even letting me buy tickets/express passes individually for that far out....however, it will let me book a vacation package this far out. Or is best just to forget trying to do it this way, and just stick with the upper tier resort to make it easiest?
I also want to ask if now is really the best time to be booking for a March 2020 visit, or if I should wait until later like in October or November? Does Universal ever put better deals out around then? I know for Disney, we could always count on them usually offering some special deal in the fall for spring break time frame. My worry is always waiting too late though and then having no room availability at the resort we want to stay at.
Lastly, and I'm sure this question has been asked a lot, between the three top tier resort options, it seems like Hard Rock or Royal Pacific would be the best options for us. Portofino looks nice, but it just seems like it would be better for a couple's vacation, rather than one with the kid. Between the two, which one would you choose and why? I understand from my research Hard Rock is closest to the parks, which could be super convenient after a long day walking around. I also understand the overall food options at the Hard Rock are better quality than Royal Pacific too from what I've read. I'm not quite sure how much the resort food will matter to us though as I assume we will probably eat mostly in-park or at Citywalk restaurants. Royal Pacific looks cool from the decor standpoint. That theme appeals to me a little more than Hard Rock's.
Thanks for all your assistance.
Also, the package picks a 3 park, park-to-park ticket option. I'm not sure how to best play this one because being able to use Volcano Bay might be questionable given the time of year. Last time we went to Disney this time of year, we had a few cold snap days where the pools were unusable. So I'm not sure if it's a waste of money to have all 3 parks or not. Would it be better to just have the 2 parks, and then if the weather is good, buy Volcano Bay tickets on the day of? But once again, I can find no easy way to adjust this.
Along these same lines, I also looked at what the cost difference would be to choose a cheaper resort on-site, but then get the tickets and express passes separately. However I see no easy way to do this either. From what I can tell, the site isn't even letting me buy tickets/express passes individually for that far out....however, it will let me book a vacation package this far out. Or is best just to forget trying to do it this way, and just stick with the upper tier resort to make it easiest?
I also want to ask if now is really the best time to be booking for a March 2020 visit, or if I should wait until later like in October or November? Does Universal ever put better deals out around then? I know for Disney, we could always count on them usually offering some special deal in the fall for spring break time frame. My worry is always waiting too late though and then having no room availability at the resort we want to stay at.
Lastly, and I'm sure this question has been asked a lot, between the three top tier resort options, it seems like Hard Rock or Royal Pacific would be the best options for us. Portofino looks nice, but it just seems like it would be better for a couple's vacation, rather than one with the kid. Between the two, which one would you choose and why? I understand from my research Hard Rock is closest to the parks, which could be super convenient after a long day walking around. I also understand the overall food options at the Hard Rock are better quality than Royal Pacific too from what I've read. I'm not quite sure how much the resort food will matter to us though as I assume we will probably eat mostly in-park or at Citywalk restaurants. Royal Pacific looks cool from the decor standpoint. That theme appeals to me a little more than Hard Rock's.
Thanks for all your assistance.