Hi everyone. I'm looking for people's opinions on planning a trip to Universal. A little background: it will be my family of 5 (kids 9, 12 and 15 y.o) and we are thinking of going in mid to late January or early February of 2025. We are Disney veterans and are DVC owners so are vacations are pretty laid back and we always have a kitchen at our disposal meaning we do lots of food in our room. We want to try Universal and would probably stay for 4-5 nights. I have done some research but i'm kind of stumped at how to proceed. I have 2 ideas not knowing what the better idea would be.
Idea One: stay at a premier hotel probably Royal Pacific and potentially get club level. the pro's being there is some food and drink (since we don't have a kitchen) and we would have the express pass. this will probably be a surprise christmas gift so part of me wants to go "all out"
Idea Two: stay at a "cheaper" hotel maybe Cabana Bay? which would give us more space and save us a lot of money. i don't think we would buy the express pass if we stayed here.
so i guess the questions i have are
1.) do i need express pass at that time of year?
2.) we do not want to go out to eat for every meal, how difficult will that be if we don't have club level?
3.) is a park hopper worth it? (we usually hop at disney, it's not necessary but we like having the flexibility)
We are not on a crazy tight budget but I also don't want to be frivolous. (if most things are walk on in january maybe the express pass is a waste of money?) any tips, tricks, recommendations are welcome. Thanks in advance!!
Idea One: stay at a premier hotel probably Royal Pacific and potentially get club level. the pro's being there is some food and drink (since we don't have a kitchen) and we would have the express pass. this will probably be a surprise christmas gift so part of me wants to go "all out"
Idea Two: stay at a "cheaper" hotel maybe Cabana Bay? which would give us more space and save us a lot of money. i don't think we would buy the express pass if we stayed here.
so i guess the questions i have are
1.) do i need express pass at that time of year?
2.) we do not want to go out to eat for every meal, how difficult will that be if we don't have club level?
3.) is a park hopper worth it? (we usually hop at disney, it's not necessary but we like having the flexibility)
We are not on a crazy tight budget but I also don't want to be frivolous. (if most things are walk on in january maybe the express pass is a waste of money?) any tips, tricks, recommendations are welcome. Thanks in advance!!