Persuading my family to TRY Universal just for 1 Night!

[Dizney73]

Our family, 2 adults, 2 kids ages 15 and 11, have always been huge Disney fans! We go to the Disney Resort 2 -3 times a year (sometimes we don't even go to the parks!)as we are DVC members and do a 3 night Disney cruise every Thanksgiving! Next Thanksgiving, however, my husband's work schedule does not allow us to fly to MCO until the Friday AFTER the holiday. I have been to Universal a few years ago with friends and absolutely loved it! I have been trying to persuade my husband and kids to use our time at Universal Studios vs. Disney but they just will not have it! Crazy right? They all love Harry Potter and coasters!

So I used our DVC points to book a room at AKV from Friday, November 27- Wednesday, December 3 (the only Disney Park we will do is the Mickey's Christmas Party on Dec 2) but I would like to book just 1 night during our stay at a Universal Resort on Sunday, November 29 to get the Express passes. I would purchase 2 or 3 day park-to-park tickets. I really think they will love it! I just have to get them there!

If I book one of the three Deluxe resorts we will get the Express pass and early entry for 2 park days correct?
Which resort is best to book for a first stay? We won't honestly be there much with only 1 night booked.
I chose the Sunday night because it is cheaper and perhaps less crowded than a Saturday?
Thanks so much! Please advise!

 

[macraven]

Yes for a one night stay, any of the premier hotels will be fine
You are basically using it for sleeping only

I’ve stayed at all 3
I usually stay at RP for lengthy visits and HR if it is a few nights short trip

The 3 premiere hotels offer free ep but all the onsite UO hotels offer early entry to the parks on designated days

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Oh, I do hope you're able to talk them into it especially if they're Harry Potter & coaster fans - I' m sure they'll LOVE it!

We stayed one night at Hard Rock & it was very nice & super convenient to get to & from the parks. We 're going to try Royal Pacific next time for something different. For only one night maybe just go with whichever Premier has the cheapest rate?

 

[damo]

We've got friends who are super Disney fans and the husband and sons decided to give one day a try on their last vacation. They ended up buying APs!

 

[Leigh L]

We just did this for the first time over the holidays. DD13 is a big HP fan. Dh and I had a blast (and we're total Disney people too). We stayed one night at RP for the 2-day EPs and this was awesome. Loved the close proximity to the park! We did do a few partial days at the parks since we were in Fl to see family too, but only on property for the one night. Totally worth it!

 

[RogueX]

I'm sure once you get them into the parks, they will really like it. My sister, a self-proclaimed Anti-Harry Potter, went with me on my last trip and loved that area of the park. Now she's planning her next trip to Universal for this summer.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

My favorite on-site is Royal Pacific Resort. I just love the theme and the vibe and they actually do a nice job decorating for the holidays. Portofino is stunning at Christmas too. You can't go wrong either way.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

Our family loves it, we have 9 and 12 year old boys...
I think the part that got them to go was they knew and grew up with almost all of the movies... spiderman, minions, king kong, transformers, Harry Potter, jurrasic park etc. The boys had a great time meeting the transformers, scooby doo crew, sponge bob and s few others.
To get them really excited watch tim tracker videos on you tube

 

[Kellydelly]

We were just there the week after Thanksgiving. I don't think you need the express passes, we were able to ride everything without too much wait (longest line was Hagrids, 48 minutes). We had four day passes and started them on Sunday. It wasn't bad at all. But if money is no object, go for it! Your kids should love Universal, I have no idea why they would prefer Disney. My kids were bored at Disney (we went one day during our trip). My kids are 17, 15, 15.

 

[tweak89]

Universal parks are now our (wife and I) go to parks for vacations, with Disneyland our now preferred Disney destination. We've all but abandoned WDW as it's just waaaaay to much work.

Once they get a taste for the more freewheeling nature (especially with Unlimited Express) of a Universal visit, things will change pretty quickly!!

 

[skylock]

Tell them that having the express pass will be like having a fast pass to every ride except hagrids that you can use as many times as you want.

 

[J'aime Paris]

Our family, 2 adults, 2 kids ages 15 and 11, have always been huge Disney fans! We go to the Disney Resort 2 -3 times a year (sometimes we don't even go to the parks!)as we are DVC members and do a 3 night Disney cruise every Thanksgiving! Next Thanksgiving, however, my husband's work schedule does not allow us to fly to MCO until the Friday AFTER the holiday. I have been to Universal a few years ago with friends and absolutely loved it! I have been trying to persuade my husband and kids to use our time at Universal Studios vs. Disney but they just will not have it! Crazy right? They all love Harry Potter and coasters!

So I used our DVC points to book a room at AKV from Friday, November 27- Wednesday, December 3 (the only Disney Park we will do is the Mickey's Christmas Party on Dec 2) but I would like to book just 1 night during our stay at a Universal Resort on Sunday, November 29 to get the Express passes. I would purchase 2 or 3 day park-to-park tickets. I really think they will love it! I just have to get them there!

If I book one of the three Deluxe resorts we will get the Express pass and early entry for 2 park days correct?
Which resort is best to book for a first stay? We won't honestly be there much with only 1 night booked.
I chose the Sunday night because it is cheaper and perhaps less crowded than a Saturday?
Thanks so much! Please advise!

Maybe show them some photos from the Universal TRs here on this board. There are some great ones!
You Tube also has lots of videos...that may get them interested.

 

[cfoxga]

Make sure to check out the pricing of annual passes vs your 2-3 day park-to-park tickets. It might only cost a little more but gives a discounted APH rate at your hotel AND the ability to come back as often as you want for the next 12 months (excluding blockout dates). We did that on our first trip and our loved (10 and 11 at the time) loved it so much that we came back at Thanksgiving that same year. It was nice not having to pay for tickets on the second trip.

Universal at Thanksgiving/Christmas is really great. We went again last Thanksgiving and bought APs again. The girls were immediately asking when we were going back, so it looks like we'll be heading back in March...

 

[Dizney73]

Make sure to check out the pricing of annual passes vs your 2-3 day park-to-park tickets. It might only cost a little more but gives a discounted APH rate at your hotel AND the ability to come back as often as you want for the next 12 months (excluding blockout dates). We did that on our first trip and our loved (10 and 11 at the time) loved it so much that we came back at Thanksgiving that same year. It was nice not having to pay for tickets on the second trip.

Universal at Thanksgiving/Christmas is really great. We went again last Thanksgiving and bought APs again. The girls were immediately asking when we were going back, so it looks like we'll be heading back in March...

Thanks! I'll look into that!

 

[Dizney73]

We were just there the week after Thanksgiving. I don't think you need the express passes, we were able to ride everything without too much wait (longest line was Hagrids, 48 minutes). We had four day passes and started them on Sunday. It wasn't bad at all. But if money is no object, go for it! Your kids should love Universal, I have no idea why they would prefer Disney. My kids were bored at Disney (we went one day during our trip). My kids are 17, 15, 15.

Thanks for the after Thanksgiving information! I'll really pit that into the equation because I already have a room booked for AKV for our entire trip. Maybe I should take the ,money I would have spent on a hotel stay to use to just buy us all annual passes! Now that brings me to AP questions because I see there are many different choices!

 

[JakeAZ]

We've all but abandoned WDW as it's just waaaaay to much work

Amen!