Advice needed

hulk51382

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 21, 2011
First time going to Universal and need help. We are looking at going for either 3 or 4 days June 1-4. Here's the dilemma. We can either stay at RPS for 3 nights with 3 park days or stay 4 nights at CBBR with 4 park days. If we stay at CBBR it will save $500 and we get an extra day of vacation, but if we stay at RPS we get the Express passes. Has anyone gone in the beginning of June without express passes? I'm leaning towards CBBR since it gives us an extra day but i'm worried we will be waiting in lines all day and wont be able to relax like we would with EP. Thanks for any advice.
 
We have stayed at CB, RPR, and PBH. I would pick RPR for the following reasons:

1. EP - With kids getting out of school, I have to think Universal would be pretty crowded (UT shows 7 or 8 out of 10). Even if the lines aren't long, it is still a great perk.

2. Access to the parks. RPR have the ferry, which is great. It is also walkable, which is a nice option as well. The walk from CB to SF to catch the boat was a bit too long, especially on the way back from the parks after a long day. The bus was ok, but it kinda ruins the experience.

3. Nicer hotel. We really didn't care for the theming of CB, though the kids did like the lazy river. RPR was much better, with PBH being our favorite by far.

If price is a major factor or you just want one more day of vacation, the CB may win out in spite of the above...
 
All things being equal I would opt for an extra day of vacation. I went in 2017 from March 31-June 4th without express and remember the lines were a little long but we were able to ride everything we wanted to ride within 2 days. If you stay at Cabana Bay would suggest walking to Sapphire Falls for the boat instead of taking the bus and getting stuck in citywalk security line.

Having the express pass is great and it is at this point the only way we go. One suggestion I would strongly recommend is keep checking the annual pass rates for the hotels. You only need 1 annual pass and cost is like 30-40 bucks more than what your park ticket would cost for this many days. Right now rates are only available through May 22nd so I would imagine June rates will come out in the next few weeks or month. Check the APH rate thread post 1 in the stickies on the board for a link to check rates (I tried to paste here but the site thinks I'm trying to post spam) . I would expect you'd probably be able to cut down the cost enough that you might be able to do all the days and stay at a hotel with express (win-win). Right now if you check the rate in the link it just shows the standard rate and not the annual pass rate.
 
All things being equal I would opt for an extra day of vacation. I went in 2017 from March 31-June 4th without express and remember the lines were a little long but we were able to ride everything we wanted to ride within 2 days. If you stay at Cabana Bay would suggest walking to Sapphire Falls for the boat instead of taking the bus and getting stuck in citywalk security line.

Having the express pass is great and it is at this point the only way we go. One suggestion I would strongly recommend is keep checking the annual pass rates for the hotels. You only need 1 annual pass and cost is like 30-40 bucks more than what your park ticket would cost for this many days. Right now rates are only available through May 22nd so I would imagine June rates will come out in the next few weeks or month. Check the APH rate thread post 1 in the stickies on the board for a link to check rates (I tried to paste here but the site thinks I'm trying to post spam) . I would expect you'd probably be able to cut down the cost enough that you might be able to do all the days and stay at a hotel with express (win-win). Right now if you check the rate in the link it just shows the standard rate and not the annual pass rate.
Thank you for the info! So if one person buys the APH then I can get discounted tickets for everyone else plus discounted hotel rooms?
 


So if one person buys the APH then I can get discounted tickets for everyone else plus discounted hotel rooms?

If an ap rate is available for the dates you booked the hotel room, you get the discount

Just having an ap does not automatically allow you hotel discounts

Ap holders can get park ticket discounts
 
You could also consider doing one night at RPR and then switching to a less expensive hotel. Everyone registered to the RPR room would get Express Pass for both the day you check in and the day you check out.

If you're looking at packages, most folks here do not recommend them as doing tickets and hotels separately offer more flexibility and often, cheaper prices. Check out Undercover Tourist and Visit Orlando for possible discount tickets. You can upgrade a regular ticket to an annual pass if you find a good annual pass rate for a hotel.
 


I think it also depends on what rides your kids want to ride and their ages.

We are spoiled by Express Pass, but if you are willing to do Early Entry and get to the parks early every day (which is better in June, anyhow), you can get a lot done. Also depends on the make-up of your family and what you want to ride. I know my family could go early for the things we would ride together with long-ish waits (Spiderman, Gringotts, etc), but we could split up for some of the other rides (some of us like E.T. or Dr. Seuss rides while some might want to ride the Mummy). Some of the thrill rides can be cut down by using single rider line, so if everyone is old enough, you could utilize that if you don't get Express.

With $500 savings at CBBR could you pay for Express Pass for your family for one day? What about 2 nights RPR and 2 nights CBBR? Or if you don't like split stays, you can book CBBR for all 4 nights, but book a "dummy" room at RPR for one night to get 2 days worth of express (but you wouldn't actually have to switch rooms, but would be similar cost to RPR for 3 nights)?


I also like the suggestions of one person getting an AP if APH rates come out OR splitting the difference and doing RPR for 2 nights and CBBR for 2 nights
 
I think it also depends on what rides your kids want to ride and their ages.

We are spoiled by Express Pass, but if you are willing to do Early Entry and get to the parks early every day (which is better in June, anyhow), you can get a lot done. Also depends on the make-up of your family and what you want to ride. I know my family could go early for the things we would ride together with long-ish waits (Spiderman, Gringotts, etc), but we could split up for some of the other rides (some of us like E.T. or Dr. Seuss rides while some might want to ride the Mummy). Some of the thrill rides can be cut down by using single rider line, so if everyone is old enough, you could utilize that if you don't get Express.

With $500 savings at CBBR could you pay for Express Pass for your family for one day? What about 2 nights RPR and 2 nights CBBR? Or if you don't like split stays, you can book CBBR for all 4 nights, but book a "dummy" room at RPR for one night to get 2 days worth of express (but you wouldn't actually have to switch rooms, but would be similar cost to RPR for 3 nights)?


I also like the suggestions of one person getting an AP if APH rates come out OR splitting the difference and doing RPR for 2 nights and CBBR for 2 nights
I've been reading about these throwaway rooms today...I never even thought about that. It looks like as of right now I could book RPR for around $400 and that would give us EP for 2 of our days. As of right now that looks like our best bet. Thanks for the tip!
 

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