Orlando Trip Questions

[socalMAN123]

Hey everyone!

I might be going to Orlando this summer and I have some questions that need answering. Here they are:

1. Should we get Park Hoppers at WDW or not?

2. Should we stay onsite at WDW?

3. When we go to Universal, should we stay onsite to get the Universal Express or is it really worth it?

 

If you guys could answer these questions ASAP, it would be greatly appreciated!

Brent "I'm so excited" Shenton

[BarryH]

1. Should we get Park Hoppers at WDW or not?

 

I would invest the extra money on the park hopper option for your WDW tickets. Animal Kingdom usually closes at 5 pm and Epcot at 9 pm, so you can spend part of the day at AK and then park hop to Epcot for the rest of the night. I always find that I park hop at least once per visit.

 

2. Should we stay onsite at WDW?

 

I've found WDW hotels pricey for what you get. The benefits of staying onsite are:

 

- Disney transportation to the parks (buses, monorails, boats)

- Extra Magic Hours

 

However, you can survive WDW by staying offsite at a cheap hotel. Some hotels have shuttles to WDW. If you are renting a car, you can drive back and forth from WDW to the hotel.

 

3. When we go to Universal, should we stay onsite to get the Universal Express or is it really worth it?

 

It depends on when you are going. If it is in early June, you really don't need Universal Express. The Universal parks tend to get busy as the days pass in June. You can probably find AAA discounts for the Royal Pacific for around $150-$200 during June.

 

You might be looking into buying the Universal Express Plus tickets, but they will be around $40-$50 near the end of June. If you have 3-4 people your party, you can actually save money with Universal Express by staying onsite. 4 people with Universal Express Plus tickets cost $200.

 

You can get an onsite Universal hotel for that much (each extra adult over 2 adults cost an extra $25 per adult). Universal Express Plus tickets can only be used once per attraction. Your room key can be used multiple times per attractions (restrictions may apply during busy periods). Additionally, you can technically use your room key for unlimited Universal Express access for two days. You can use your room key as early as 7 am on the date of your arrival to midnight of your departure date. You can check in as early as 7 am at the hotels. Your rooms may not be ready, but you can leave your bags with the bellhop while you have fun at the parks. You can call the hotel around 4 pm to find out your room number.

 

Given a choice, I'd stay onsite at Universal rather than WDW. If you really need to save $ at WDW for the Universal onsite hotels, I've found hotels in the Kissimmee area off Priceline for around $20-$25 a night for a one star hotel. $25 is usually the magic number for one star hotels in the Kissimee area from Priceline.

[Ghost]

Hey everyone!

I might be going to Orlando this summer and I have some questions that need answering. Here they are:

1. Should we get Park Hoppers at WDW or not?

2. Should we stay onsite at WDW?

3. When we go to Universal, should we stay onsite to get the Universal Express or is it really worth it?

 

If you guys could answer these questions ASAP, it would be greatly appreciated!

Brent "I'm so excited" Shenton

 

Hopper is must have. (my opinion)... I like to close my day at EPCOT (illuminations), even if I was at another park for the rest of tha day.

 

I would go onsite. It is extra magic and extra hours. And during peak hours you could always go to the hotel for a swim...

 

Universal Express... During summer. You'll need it. (I was even happy having it during October off peak weekday)

 

Enjoy, and share your trip report with pictures (I love picture trip reports)

[yaytez]

I agree with the NOT staying onsite at disney. Not worth it. Busses are always crowded, and if you get up early you can usually make it through a park before 2, and start hitting some rides again.

Universal, definately worth it. The parks are five minutes away by boat, the express is nice to have...that way you can sleep in after stumbling back to your room from CityWalk.

[erinys]

Don't know if it fits your dates, but the ad on this page http://www.channelcincinnati.com/travelgetaways/9151864/detail.html seems pretty good - 5 nights in budget Disney resort, park hopper tickets, and minimal dining plan for $435/adult starting 8/13, booked by 6/4. Think I might spring for the insurance during hurricane season though.

 

I'd kill (alright, maim) to find a similar deal for mid to late January or February '07.

[socalMAN123]

I see that everyone does not think we should stay onsite at WDW, but we found the best deal in the world. 5 nights and 6 days at any WDW resort, park tickets (not park hoppers), and a free meal plan. I will post more details about it later, but this all will cost us about $2000 for 5 people. IMO, I think it is a great deal.

---Brent

[BeemerBoy]

Think I might spring for the insurance during hurricane season though.

 

True, if they were going anytime from August thru October (even though hurricane season officially starts in June). And I would agree with what most of the rest of the folks have said about staying on property....skip it. That deal you mentioned probably sets you up in the low end Disney joints (the name escapes me right this minute), and while not bad accomodations, you'd be better off staying at Universal in my opinion.

 

Barry laid it out pretty good for you. I think it just comes down to yours and your family's personal preference as to what you're looking forward to more. Since you're from SoCal, I'd think that Disney wouldn't have too much more to offer that you haven't already experienced (minus EE, M:S, RNRC, etc.), whereas IOA will blow you away if you've never experienced it. And if you can use your Universal room key as Barry suggested, that may be of more interest to you if you end up liking the thrills of Universal as compared to Disney. If it were up to me, I'd lean heavily towards Universal. Good luck with your choice...but you'll enjoy it either way!

[socalMAN123]

The idea we had for Disney was at the following link: http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/special/offerDetail?id=FallPackageOfferPage . Erinys mentioned this and I think it is a very good deal. It said we would either be staying at Port Orleans or the Music one. IMO this should be a very good package. Just to let you know, we will be staying onsite at BOTH WDW and Universal.

---Brent

[BarryH]

If the WDW packages are the same price, I'd go for Port Orleans over Music. All Stars Music is the value resort, while Port Orleans is a moderate (I believe). You might as well stay at the nicer place if you're paying the same!

 

When I stay at WDW, I usually stay at a value resort, but I generally pay between $60 to $70 for it. Rack rate is $99 and I think that's way too much for a value resort! I'd rather pay $80 more and stay onsite at Universal!

 

If you can get a good deal with the WDW package, go for it. If I were to go cheap and price it out separately, I can spend around $25 a night for a hotel off Priceline and $30 to $50 a day for food. Of course, I've been at WDW many times, so I don't feel a need to stay onsite every time. Besides, people call me "the cheap hotel king" for a reason!

[socalMAN123]

This package also includes a free dining plan, which is awesome. The dining plan is as follows:

 

1 counter service

-drink

-entree

-dessert

 

1 snack

-anything from any cart

 

1 sit-down

-appetizer

-entree

-dessert

-drink

 

We get all of these every single day of our visit. So Day 1, we get all this and so on. I really think it is worth the price because the price is very low.

---Brent

[BarryH]

Universal might have a similar offer, but I don't really check into package deals all too often.