Can you universal pros help this newbie out

[LaDonna]

We have been wanting to visit universal for years now, Me hubby and kids ages 13,6,3..... With the buy two get three days free we are thinking of planning us a trip very soon......... We had planned on going the day after Christmas and then we realized there is no reservations so we’re thinking that would not be a good idea to chance that with it being a super busy week usually
our next option is Presidents week which I realize is also crowded but maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as Christmas?

we were looking at the Drury inn, but now are wondering will it be more beneficial to do an on-site hotel like one of their value ones? I don’t think we could afford the ones that have the free express passes...... We have a total of six people going possibly 7 so I need to look at all options Though as possibly two people will be pitching in for the room/s

I need to try to save money where we can on food too, i’m thinking we can bring snacks into the parks but not like sandwiches and stuff?

 

[Befferk]

We're going to be in Orlando from 12/25 - 1/3 and we're doing Universal 12/31 & 1/1, so yeah it's going to be busy when we go. We're staying offsite, but also knew that having Express Passes was going to be a must. I about died when I saw the price of the EPs though. So I worked through a travel agent (Marvelous Mouse Travels) for no cost, and she booked us one night at the Royal Pacific. With that we get Early Entry and unlimited EPs for both our arrival day (12/31) and departure day (1/1). It saved me around $1000 to do it with the room/tickets/EPs vs just buying the park tickets and EPs on my own. At first we weren't even going to use the room, but now my son and his GF are going to stay there that night. So check your options (I was VERY skeptical until I saw the numbers).

ETA: Regarding Christmas vs Presidents week, I would bet that parks will reach (the limited) capacity at both times, so crowds will be the same. You even run the risk of them actually increasing said capacity by Presidents week vs what it will be for Christmas time.

 

[only hope]

You can bring in as much food as you want, including meals. Just no glass or alcohol. Many qs meals are large; people with small appetites can share.

Cabana Bay has suites; may be cheaper than multiple hotel rooms and would give you early entry.

 

[davper]

If onsite premium hotel is out of the question for the Express Pass, I would consider staying in a house rental with that many people.

Consider one, from each room, getting an Annual Pass. Then you can get discounts on the premium onsite hotel and get the benefit of express pass. AP holder will also get discounts on merchandise. If you stay offsite, you can get free parking at the park.

 

[cfoxga]

Here is how I plan for our family of 4: https://www.disboards.com/threads/how-i-plan-a-universal-trip.3794121/

With 5 in your family, the deluxe hotels are a great deal, since everyone would get EPs. Much cheaper than buying EPs for a day. Since you are planning far enough in advance, definitely see if you can get an APH rate which will save around 30% on the room. If you think the you'd make a second trip within 12 months, then you could upgrade everyone to Seasonal Passes. That is what we ended up doing.

I would always try to stay at one of the onsite hotels. Being able to take the bus or ferry to the parks is great, and the value hotels are not much more than the Drury Inn. The 2 bedroom rooms at ES is a nice way to get a little separation from the kids. We're trying that out for part of our trip this Thanksgiving.

 

[Laura353741]

Universal is never disney-level crowded but that specific week I think you would benefit greatly from Express passes. So worth pricing out the deluxe hotels just to see. Also you would save on parking, car rental, etc if you're planning to go that route with an off-site hotel or house.

 

[LaDonna]

Loving all these tips and tricks thank you so much!!

I didn’t realize you can basically bring in any food you wanted...... The wording on the site made it sound like just snacks..... I think we would do what we did on our last Disney trip though just pack a lot of things like nuts peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and chips trail mix etc..... But for five people it would probably look like more than just snacks Lol

this is kind of a last minute trip so we’re trying to make it as budget friendly as we can we can’t afford to spend a ton on it(meaning we definitely can’t afford the express pass for five people buying separately and not staying on site)

so the benefits of getting an AP for one person would mean we could get extra discounts on the room, would we also be able to take advantage of the buy two get three days for rest of party? I guess you wouldn’t be able to book it as a package than her because one person in your party wouldn’t need tickets? I am basing it on what Disney does I know when you book a package everybody has to get tickets
I think as far as passes go I’m pretty sure the cheapest AP would not be doable I’m thinking there was a blackout date for Presidents week

so if staying on site it’s quite a bit quicker than getting to and from the parks(I was thinking the Drury was only a five minute drive) I know you wouldn’t have to pay the parking fee for the park if staying onsite but still have to consider the parking fee for the hotel I’m thinking they have that at their hotels

We did look at AP But the cheapest one had block out dates when we would most likely go

 

[fredandkell]

There is no way I would go on the date you are suggesting without Express Passes. You're going to stand in line all day and maybe get to ride 5-6 things. The 3 and 6-year olds will not like this. While EP is expensive, so is your time. Also remember if you do an onsite hotel, you get EPs for both the day of arrival and the day of checkout, so if you go two days in a row, this more than pays for itself.

 

[Erica Ladd]

Wanting to check out that planning thread later. Thx!

 

[LaDonna]

There is no way I would go on the date you are suggesting without Express Passes. You're going to stand in line all day and maybe get to ride 5-6 things. The 3 and 6-year olds will not like this. While EP is expensive, so is your time. Also remember if you do an onsite hotel, you get EPs for both the day of arrival and the day of checkout, so if you go two days in a row, this more than pays for itself.

We will be going for at least five days..... And possibly even getting an AP........ Do you think wait times will be bad As bad if they’re still limiting capacity.

 

[LaDonna]

What is USF? If we decide to get a season pass it looks like President week is not a Blockout date but I’m not sure what this is

 

[LaDonna]

Here is how I plan for our family of 4: https://www.disboards.com/threads/how-i-plan-a-universal-trip.3794121/

With 5 in your family, the deluxe hotels are a great deal, since everyone would get EPs. Much cheaper than buying EPs for a day. Since you are planning far enough in advance, definitely see if you can get an APH rate which will save around 30% on the room. If you think the you'd make a second trip within 12 months, then you could upgrade everyone to Seasonal Passes. That is what we ended up doing.

I would always try to stay at one of the onsite hotels. Being able to take the bus or ferry to the parks is great, and the value hotels are not much more than the Drury Inn. The 2 bedroom rooms at ES is a nice way to get a little separation from the kids. We're trying that out for part of our trip this Thanksgiving.

Thanks

 

[Lynne G]

Oh and parking is charged at the hotels if at a Universal Hotel, regardless of whether you have an AP or not. And no, if you drive to City Walk and want to park because you are staying onsite, you will pay there to park as well. Thus, we all say, even with a car parked at hotel and paying for parking there, take the bus, walk, or boat and leave car if going to the parks. Much easier to get through security via hotel, rather than City Walk.

We have stayed over Christmas, I would not go without staying at one of the hotels that has EP. Take advantage of the early entry and even by lunchtime, even the express lines can be quite long.

And yes, you can bring food, but unless someone wants to be the holder, the free lockers for the rides that you cannot have bags on, is very small. Bigger lockers are ones you pay for. Water rides, can bring bags, but unless yours is waterproof, it most likely will get wet. Lockers at the water rides cost money.

I do think meals are large enough for sharing. Eat off times, and that time of year, if you want a sit down restaurant, make a reservation. Most are months out to reserve, but not like Disney, that all are 6 months out, if even that. Can make reservations right from Universal’s website. I’d check often to see when the day you want to reserve, opens. Some are on Open Table, so you can check there, as they do have a longer range for making a reservation.

If you get at least one person an AP at the preferred level for free parking at City Walk, not only you may be able to get an AP rate at the hotels, though at Christmas, you may not see any AP rates available, you get discounts on food and merchandise as well.

Note that the bonus tickets definitely have an end date you cannot use after, so make sure you know that end date. I think the current get free days ones end use date is 21 December.

Either time, there may be crowds. But certainly, the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, are the most crowded you will see.

 

[Lynne G]

Oh and there is no or very little savings to book a package. If you make any changes to a package, they charge. Plus, the packages have a longer time to cancel at no cost. A room only has a 5 day before checking in, no cancellation fee. And staying onsite or not, always cheaper to buy your tickets separately from the hotel reservation. Check Undercovertourist or other authorized reseller, for cheaper tickets then from Universal. Check before you compare, as tax is included in Under’s prices, Universal does not add the tax until you checkout.

Oh, and if you have a ticket, like Disney, they will upgrade to a pass. With a discounted several day ticket, the price of the lowest pass is very little or no difference in price if you upgrade. May think about if you are going to be back within the year, and not during the blockout times. The website clearly shows the blockout dates for the different passes.

 

[puffkin]

One thing I think should be mentioned is the age of your kids. While we really enjoy US, many of the rides are significantly more intense than the Disney rides and may not be suitable for your younger children. I know I have a VERY adventurous 8 year old and we only recently started doing US with him. He is a Disney/theme park veteran and will ride pretty much anything he is tall enough for, but still has reservations about some of the Universal rides. He also now knows the Harry Potter stories but wouldn't have known much about them at a younger age. While there is plenty of Universal IP (intellectual property) that is kid friendly in the parks, it is no where near the IP of Disney and definitely skews older. Just something to keep in mind, especially if you are expecting a more Disney like experience.

EP's are worth their weight in gold. If you can swing the cost, definitely do so. You can get creative and bookend your trip with off site accommodations and still get almost maximum benefits of the EP's if budget is a concern.

 

[only hope]

Lockers are a good point- standard width and depth but only as tall as the longer end of a credit card. So you’ll each have to carry your own thin bag of stuff, someone has to sit out and watch the bag(s), you’ll be paying for an all-day locker at the front of the park, or you’ll pay for a big locker at each attraction.

The website does say snacks only but it’s not true. I think Disney’s site says the same thing. AP will get you hotel discount and up to 15% off food and merch depending on which one you get, but the discount can’t be shared. So if one person gets an AP they’ll have to pay for everything to get the discounts.

 

[Erica Ladd]

What is USF? If we decide to get a season pass it looks like President week is not a Blockout date but I’m not sure what this is

Someone please correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that means you can’t go to Universal Studios but as a seasonal pass holder you can still go to IOA. At least that’s how I figured it. FWIW I am going with family of 5 and staying at HRH (splurging for the holiday season) so we get early entry and EP. Also bought seasonal AP for everyone (15 months promo) and figured with the price of regular tix and the extended AP window that if we made it back just for one or two more nights before March 2022 we’d more than break even. We go December 6-8 as a family then DH and I stay thru the 11th (might change to the 10th depending on flights,etc)

ETA - those are 2020 dates in your pic so make sure you have correct 2021 blackout dates!!

Just looked - Concert dates have not been announced yet for 2021 and who knows when they will!!!

 

[LaDonna]

Someone please correct me if I’m wrong but I believe that means you can’t go to Universal Studios but as a seasonal pass holder you can still go to IOA. At least that’s how I figured it. FWIW I am going with family of 5 and staying at HRH (splurging for the holiday season) so we get early entry and EP. Also bought seasonal AP for everyone (15 months promo) and figured with the price of regular tix and the extended AP window that if we made it back just for one or two more nights before March 2022 we’d more than break even. We go December 6-8 as a family then DH and I stay thru the 11th (might change to the 10th depending on flights,etc)

ETA - those are 2020 dates in your pic so make sure you have correct 2021 blackout dates!!

Just looked - Concert dates have not been announced yet for 2021 and who knows when they will!!!

oh goodness I didn’t even realize those USFdates were 2020..... So those extra dates that were in my picture had to do with concerts.?? Because there were concerts on that date we could not enter Universal Studios on those dates..... Well if I had to guess they’re probably aren’t going to be any concerts for this February with everything going on

 

[Erica Ladd]

Who knows what will happen as far as concerts go. They seem unlikely but they are kinda spread out. The way I figured is if we go for a long weekend in February or March only one out of 2-4 days would be affected and we could just do City Walk and IOA

 

[LaDonna]

As far as needing to get lockers most of the time we’re doing child swap anyways so someone is always there to stay with the stuff and we will probably have a small stroller with us