Exclusive unlimited front of line access for hotel guests is OVER

[luckybug]

That’s right kids the unbathed masses that are not staying in the Universal hotels also can get the magic key to unlimited express line access on all attractions.

$160 2 park 1 day unlimited ride access UNIVERSAL VIP EXPRESS pass.
$260 2 park 7 day unlimited ride access UNIVERSAL VIP EXPRESS pass.

So if the regular express pass is $50 (one front of line per attraction) why wouldn’t you put out the extra $10 and get unlimited front of line per attraction.

What does all this mean?

1) Why would anyone stay at the Universal hotels now? $300 a night for what? Wait I forgot you get a boat ride to the park...how special.
2) The express lines will now be just as long if not longer than the standby lines. This is because you have the hotel people, regular express pass holders and VIP pass holders all jumping in the express line.

We are canceling our hotel reservations and tacking three days onto the other hotel we were staying at anyway. Then we will just buy the VIP passes.

Stupid Universal.

 

[Irish Guy]

Stupid realy

 

[mjohnson96]

That’s right kids the unbathed masses that are not staying in the Universal hotels also can get the magic key to unlimited express line access on all attractions.

$160 2 park 1 day unlimited ride access UNIVERSAL VIP EXPRESS pass.
$260 2 park 7 day unlimited ride access UNIVERSAL VIP EXPRESS pass.

So if the regular express pass is $50 (one front of line per attraction) why wouldn’t you put out the extra $10 and get unlimited front of line per attraction.

What does all this mean?

1) Why would anyone stay at the Universal hotels now? $300 a night for what? Wait I forgot you get a boat ride to the park...how special.
2) The express lines will now be just as long if not longer than the standby lines. This is because you have the hotel people, regular express pass holders and VIP pass holders all jumping in the express line.

We are canceling our hotel reservations and tacking three days onto the other hotel we were staying at anyway. Then we will just buy the VIP passes.

Stupid Universal.

Bad day?

I would not be cancelling ours since I paid $99 for our ticket, ok so that leaves $160 I would need to save on hotel. Well that means $40 a night (4 nights) so I would stay somewhere close for less than $100 a night (can do no problem) but then I have to pay for parking or taxi each day...okay that ups the price again. Oh, and I really want to use the pools and ....welll that solves it, I will be staying onsite still in less than 2 weeks.

 

[ADP]

So I'm trying to understand this....Does this mean FOTL is over for resort guests?

Also, and somebody really nees to speak to this, what about the people who've already booked their room expecting FOTL access?

 

[luckybug]

So I'm trying to understand this....Does this mean FOTL is over for resort guests?

Also, and somebody really nees to speak to this, what about the people who've already booked their room expecting FOTL access?

No you still get FOTL by staying at the hotels. It is just not EXCLUSIVE anymore to those people staying on site.

Basically anyone can get FOTL now.

 

[ADP]

No you still get FOTL by staying at the hotels. It is just not EXCLUSIVE anymore to those people staying on site.

Basically anyone can get FOTL now.

Oh! I see. Phew! I misread your post.

Sounds like another way for Universal to generate some revenue.

 

[tlinus]

If I am not mistaken I am thinking those prices are not inclusive of park admission. They are the prices for the unlimited VIP pass. Someone on here reported buying them.

Also, staying onsite does not have to cost 300 per night......there are MANY deals out there.

 

[luckybug]

Bad day?

I would not be cancelling ours since I paid $99 for our ticket, ok so that leaves $160 I would need to save on hotel. Well that means $40 a night (4 nights) so I would stay somewhere close for less than $100 a night (can do no problem) but then I have to pay for parking or taxi each day...okay that ups the price again. Oh, and I really want to use the pools and ....welll that solves it, I will be staying onsite still in less than 2 weeks.

I was just using $300 as an example of what the RPR costs a night during July. What people actually pay is all over the place.

We do both parks when we visit Orlando and we allways had to do the hotel schlep because we wanted to be close to Disney when were doing those parks. The ONLY reason we stayed at the Universal hotels was for the FOTL access.

Say your staying in a rental property with other familly or freinds. Your share of the house cost is say $300. You now dont have to buck up again to go stay at the Universal hotels you just need to throw down the $160 for the VIP ticket.

 

[damo]

People who go for one day aren't likely to spend that much money. A one day/two park ticket is $95 so the express pass is an extra $70 -- all the time. That's a lot for a pass. So for 4 people for two days you are paying $640. I don't see that as being too popular. People who are wanting to save money by staying offsite really don't want to be spending $640 on tickets.

The 7 day ticket is around $100 so the express pass is then $160.

This offer is only available online and not at the parks.

I don't see it cutting into things very much.

They've had this deal in Hollywood for a long time. We used it about 6 years ago. There were very few others using it.

 

[luckybug]

If I am not mistaken I am thinking those prices are not inclusive of park admission. They are the prices for the unlimited VIP pass. Someone on here reported buying them.

Also, staying onsite does not have to cost 300 per night......there are MANY deals out there.

really so it would be $100 + $160 for two park one day FOTL with VIP?

If that is correct $260 is outrages for one day.

Do they throw in a message with that?

 

[damo]

really so it would be $100 + $160 for two park one day FOTL with VIP?

If that is correct $260 is outrages for one day.

Do they throw in a message with that?

Park admission is included.

Enjoy up to seven (7) consecutive days admission to both Universal Studios Florida® and Universal’s Islands of Adventure® theme parks AND Universal Express access to skip the regular lines as many times as you’d like at participating rides and attractions in BOTH theme parks - per person, per ticket.

I have never spent $300 per night on a universal hotel. Using your annual pass you can get Royal Pacific for $129 this summer. If you spend $200 to get an annual pass and renew it for $100 each year (price of a normal ticket), you get a well priced vacation with unlimited express pass.

 

[torquelover]

If I am not mistaken I am thinking those prices are not inclusive of park admission. They are the prices for the unlimited VIP pass. Someone on here reported buying them.

Also, staying onsite does not have to cost 300 per night......there are MANY deals out there.

So, if you have a hotel room for one night you get express entry for everyone with a room key? For a family of four, it's cheaper to get a room at the RPH for one night as opposed to springing for two days worth of the VIP passes, or maybe even the regular express passes.

 

[luckybug]

here is the LINK, Cut and paste it into your internet browser.

https://secure.universalstudios.com...xternalID=UOMain&CategoryExternalID=UO1D2PVIP

 

[jeffdi89]

This might be a better option for longer stays or smaller parties, but for a stay of say 4 nights, there is not a tremendous savings for a family of 4 (even using the $300/night):

Stay on site:
4 nights hotel @ $300 = $1,200
4 reg. passes @ $100 = 400
Total Cost = $1,600

Stay offsite:
4 nights hotel @ $100 = $ 400
4 VIP passes @ $260 = 1,040
Total Cost = $1,440

The difference of $160 or $40/night is certainly worth it to me to stay on-site with the increased amenities, especially given the discounted hotel rates that many of us have received lately. Now for longer stays or smaller parties, the VIP passes might start to make more sense. Just my 2 cents...

 

[damo]

This might be a better option for longer stays or smaller parties, but for a stay of say 4 nights, there is not a tremendous savings for a family of 4 (even using the $300/night):

Stay on site:
4 nights hotel @ $300 = $1,200
4 reg. passes @ $100 = 400
Total Cost = $1,600

Stay offsite:
4 nights hotel @ $100 = $ 400
4 VIP passes @ $260 = 1,040
Total Cost = $1,440

The difference of $160 or $40/night is certainly worth it to me to stay on-site with the increased amenities, especially given the discounted hotel rates that many of us have received lately. Now for longer stays or smaller parties, the VIP passes might start to make more sense. Just my 2 cents...

I would change the onsite hotel cost to $200. That is much more reasonable. Then you are actually saving $200 by staying onsite since your onsite total is $1200 and your offsite total is $1440. So Universal is actually making money by having people purchase the VIP pass instead of staying onsite. Not so stupid, I guess. I don't think that many people will fall for it, though.

 

[Procrastinate]

The VIP Express Pass includes admission. There is also a 7-day VIP Express Pass for $260. I don't know how long these have been around, but it is at least a couple of months since I saw first saw them mentioned on another board.

I did the math for my family of four, staying one night and spending two days in the park. It was cheaper for us to stay on-site.

 

[tlinus]

Thanks for correcting the info.....I though someone had said it was separate. My fault

and one night in an onsite gives you 2 full days of FOTL access for all members of your party (up to 5 because that is the max allowed in the double queen rooms)

 

[damo]

The VIP Express Pass includes admission. There is also a 7-day VIP Express Pass for $260. I don't know how long these have been around, but it is at least a couple of months since I saw first saw them mentioned on another board.

I did the math for my family of four, staying one night and spending two days in the park. It was cheaper for us to stay on-site.

So let's do the math again.

Onsite for one night -- two days in park for a family of four

hotel: $200
tickets: $400
total: $600


Offsite for one night -- two days n park

hotel: $100
tickets and passes: $260x4 = $1040
total: $1060 + parking


However, with one annual pass you can stay at any of the three onsite hotels this summer for under $200. For $250/night you get your kids free and unlimited express pass. There are so many ways to get a better deal for staying onsite than for staying offsite and using the VIP express pass

 

[Darcy03231]

I looked at this when we went down the last week in April and, quite honestly, it was less expensive to stay on-site. Here are my figures:

5 nights at the HardRock (buy 3 get 2 free deal)

Hotel - $900
Tickets - $200 (I had one free)

Total $1,100.00

5 Nights offsite

Hotel - $500
Tickets - $780 (would have had to buy 3)

Total $1,280.00

For me it was a no brainer to stay on-site, it was cheaper!

 

[Sleepy]

From a business point of view, this is smart. Think about it. Disney 7 day is about that. You don't get FOTL at WDW. Universal is about to open a new coaster and Harry Potter. They need to make profit. So, I figure they will initially have a huge price jump, using the FOTL as a way to entice customers. Then, maybe later on, drop the FOTL from the ticket, but keep the ticket price high. Just my thoughts.