Would you pay $420 more to stay onsite for 2 nights?

[roliepolieoliefan]

We are going to Universal in 2 weeks prior to our DCL cruise, so we will be at Universal Thursday and Friday.

We currently have a room at the Best Western Universal Inn for $165 for 2 nights. Two people I know just returned from Universal and complained about how crowded it was and how they didn't get to ride even half of what they thought they would.

I don't want to go there and have to stand in 2 hour long lines but I'm wondering if $420 more is worth it to stay at an onsite hotel.

This was supposed to be a cheap side trip before our cruise which is turning out to be the opposite but I don't want it to be a waste of money also.

Thoughts? Try and convince DH to spend $420 more or stay put at the Best Western?

 

[2Monkeys]

We are staying onsite in June for that very reason, but I expect crowds to be a bit higher when we go. I looked at orlando informer crowd calender, and in 2 weeks, it is predicting moderate crowds (with wait times between 30 to 60 minutes). Your friends probably had longer wait times b/c of spring break.

We have never done Universal before, so I'm sure the experts on this board will give you great advice.

 

[davedmaine]

If if fits into your budget, it's worth it. We stayed at Hard Rock in Feb and the convenience of walking to the parks and and getting the free express ride passes was great. Plus, we didn't have to rent a car, pay for parking, etc..

 

[JessicaR]

Stay one night and get two days of express(arrive early) the day you check in and you can still use it all day the day you check out.

Don't stay on-site at all and just purchase express at the parks or now.

 

[damo]

Another option is to purchase an offsite package through www.universalorlando.com

This will allow you early admission to IOA. You won't get express but you will get the advantage of that 1 hour before the regular crowd shuffles in.

 

[Nickarooney]

As stated above, one night gets you two days on Express Pass. You could get a Universal hotel Thursday night, check out Friday morning and have the hotel hold your luggage (parking is good through midnight if you have a car), enjoy the parks all day and then get a less expensive hotel that evening. You can also check in super early on Thursday and get your hotel key/Express Pass and enjoy the parks before your room is ready. Maybe on night onsite and one night off makes the amount a bit easier to swallow

I love staying onsite - it is SO worth it. It changes the whole experience of Universal parks.

 

[cinabug]

Yes, one night equals two days of express pass. We did this on our trip last June. We actually just kept our week booked at an offsite hotel and had both hotels for one night. There were five of us, so this was a cheap way to get express passes. They didn't save us time on every ride, but boy did they ever pay off on headliners like Hulk and Spiderman. I'd do it again in heartbeat, but with two you'd have to crunch the numbers.

 

[macraven]

going by your figures you posted, that would be about $292 a night onsite.

i haven't checked the website as i don't know your dates.

do you have AAA?
if you decide to stay onsite, you can get a discount.
same goes for the universal packages for off site hotels.


i say go with what you have for priorities.
if you want a relaxing time before your cruise, stay on site.
if you just want to check out the highlights and Mr Pothead, stay off site.

check what the express plus passes would cost for the 2 days for both of you. add in the offsite hotel costs and see what your total would be staying offsite.

hopefully the offsite hotel would have a free shuttle for your transportation to the parks and back.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

The way I figured the rate the first time was 2 nights at royal pacific was $594.00 with tax. Best Western is $165.00 for 2 nights. $594-$165, thats how I came up with $420.

I looked into doing just one night at Universal. Of course since I posted this the Royal Pacific is booked for Thursday the 19th. Thursday night at the HRH and 1 night at the Country Inn and Suites at Port Canaveral is coming out to $315.50 more, so a savings of $100.00

We fly in Thursday morning. Our plane lands at 8:30am so we should get to Universal somewhat early. We rented a car.
We only have 2 day 1 park tickets. Figured we would do Universal the day we arrive and IOA on Friday since we can get there at park opening.

I'll keep checking Royal Pacific. The rate is $35 less than HRH. Any chance a room may open up?

I still don't know if DH will go for it. I'll run it past him though.
Thx for the great advice!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

What we love about staying onsite is not just the express line, sure that's a big part of it, but also just being able to walk to the parks and the fact that they're all deluxe hotels. We love the whole atmosphere, esp HRH.
Your dh may not ever want to stay in a Best Western after spending 2 nts at the HRH.

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

We just got back from our first trip. Stayed onsite at RPR - booked the cheapest room category available (barely looked out the window the entire trip ... so view did not matter at all). It was WORTH IT!!!

Our trip was definately peak season, so your mileage may vary. But the extra hour at Harry Potter and Express Pass were golden. I can't imagine visiting Universal any other way over spring break.

Imagine walking into the Magic Kingdom with a card that granted you instant fastpasses to nearly every ride ... that's sort of what like Express Pass was like. We saw many rides with 60-70 minute waits ... our average wait was less than 10 minutes. I think the longest wait of our entire trip was for Shrek ... and that's because we happened to wander into line just as another show started.