Large family first visit to Universal Nov/Dec 2019- Advice needed!

Penmac

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 31, 2017
We just returned from our 4th trip to Disney. Now that we are back and I am crying onto my keyboard about vacation being over, I am looking ahead to our next trip that will include our first visit to Universal-- in either late November or early December 2019.

We will be doing 2 days at Universal for this visit, and the whole paying for FP thing is totally new to me. I utilize MDE app for FP all day at the Disney parks. I can't imagine life without it. We didn't wait more than 15 minutes for any ride this past trip, and we hit all the major coasters and attractions, sometimes twice. The thought of waiting in endlessly long lines at Universal makes me very nervous since we have 5 kids (oldest will be just 11 and youngest 4 at time of this trip), but I have heard the cost of express pass is very expensive. I am not even sure where to price this stuff out- that's how clueless I am!

Would we be better off chancing not having to pay for Express Pass and trying to hit the park on a quieter week? We have to go at that time because my job is really busy until the weekend before Thanksgiving, and we all have an after 5pm Disney convention pass that expires on 12/31/19. We don't want it to go to waste, so taking a trip between Thanksgiving and Christmas makes sense.

Alternately, wondering if staying onsite at one of the express pass hotels would work best from a value standpoint? We have 5 kids, but could probably squeeze into a 6 person suite since my youngest won't even be tall enough for the big ticket attractions that would require the EP. I don't think we could afford two hotel rooms at these locations.

Any large family people with experience at Universal that have some wisdom to share- I would SO appreciate it! I feel like we have managed to do Disney at a reasonable price point for our family. I don't expect we will do Universal again for years so I want it to be memorable for my kids. I don't want them to be stuck in lines all day.
 
Since you have 7 in your group, you need two standard rooms or a large suite to accommodate your family at the UO hotels

Loews hotels is guided by the city ordinances and not possible to squeeze in extra peeps to the room

All registered to the Loews hotel rooms receive the hotel card key
This is what is needed for early entry and using the express lines in the parks



Out of the dates you listed, my guess is early December would be calmer period to do the parks

Price out costs for onsite stays compared to offsite hotels

Are you driving, flying with car rental?
Onsite deluxe hotels have the $35 + tax hotel parking per night charges

City walk garage also has a fee if you are coming from offsite to the parks
 
Keep an eye out for Passholder rates for the dates of your stay (use promo code APH). I've seen $179 passholder rates at the Royal Pacific and like $230 for the Hard Rock this year. Two rooms even with taxes and parking fee would be cheaper than Express Pass for 7 people for two days. You only need the one hotel night to get EP for both days. And only one person in the party needs to have the AP, and you can also get food & merchandise discounts.

Last year, I booked a room the week before Christmas for 2 nights in Sept with an AP rate, I don't know if AP rates are available now for December.

But honestly, Universal is a different kettle of fish than Disney. I've visited all times of year without Express Pass and if you are there at opening and have a proper schedule you can tour without waits of more than 20 min. The two main HP rides can be exceptions but you are going want a little wait to properly take in the queue. A half hour wait in those queues is nothing like a half hour wait for Dumbo.
 
Hi I have to agree with previous posts especially about one person getting an AP for the hotel rates. Having to only pay for the on site hotel for one night and two day express pass may make it easier to do. For late fall 2019 you will have to wait till probably next summer for AP rates. You can always book the rooms at regular rates than change. Loews hotels have the 100% refund as long as you cancel within the time frame of 6 days Two rooms will cost you quite a bit and I can understand that. Personally we won't go without the express pass, so we find a way to budget for it.

However, another option is if you look at one of the other 4 resorts Cabana bay, Adventura, Sapphire Falls and the Endless Summer opening in 2019 you can get cheaper rooms or large room. You will not get the express pass but can get early entry into the parks which could help with some of the major rides you would want. There is limited sections opened on early entry. Usually it is the Harry Potter Worlds in one of the parks. Sometimes they offer one other ride.

What you want to do is if you go onto the Universal Orlando sight and go to "tickets and packages" there will be subheadings. You can pick the tickets and check the prices then right under that is the express pass information. The summer months are pretty high for purchasing the express pass so that would give you an idea at a high estimate of the cost per person. I would go over to the "places to stay" and check out the room prices. Universal for the most part unless you go through Costco or AAA you get a better deal with room only ans purchase tickets separately. The key to remember is that you are getting two days of express pass for one night on site stay at one of the three deluxe hotels (Royal Pacific, Portofino Bay and Hard Rock). Sometimes looking at it that way it isn't as much.

I agree with macraven that the early December will be your slower times. You might want to check out the trip reports thread on here. There maybe people who have reports from that time of year and you can get an idea of previous years. I always go in the summer months so I can't help with personal experience. One way I save some money is in the food area. We usually have stuff for breakfast in the room and I have also used the fridge for cold cuts for sandwiches for either lunch or dinner. This time I did do club level at Portofino Bay for my family of 4 and we saved quite a bit of money. I utilized the breakfast and evening foods for meals.

Good luck!
 


Thank you! This is all so helpful. I never would have thought to check out AP rates. I'll educate myself on what that entails this year. Can an AP holder book 2 rooms?

I am also thinking if we could utilize the early admission, it may help with some of the wait times. We are get up and go people so it might be worth risking it and staying at Cabana Bay, etc. I know we can hit the park super early and check a few rides off our list!
 

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