Debating Universal Orlando for my huge HP fan instead of Christmas presents- help!

[newnana]

Hi guys,

I've been reading through all the universal trip reports on here because it feels smaller and more manageable than the whole internet. Thanks to everyone that has ever posted info here!!

DD is obsessed with HP. Was Hermoine last Halloween, read all the books 8 times, you get the drift.

While I wanted to do this for her 11th birthday, the stars did not align and that would be a crazy lot of money for a birthday present. I was completely overwhelmed by all the decisions to boot, especially since I'm uneducated on all of this.

Physically, we are closer to CA than Orlando, but there are direct flights to go to both. FL is bigger with more to see/do than CA for Harry Potter, but I don't know if the size will be an issue? I haven't worked out cost comparisons other than to assume CA would cost more. DD doesn't really care for thrill rides and is much more into scenery. When we did our Disney trip to Orlando 4 years ago, we just focused on princesses and the like. Advice? I know either way she'll be very into Olivander's and using the wand everywhere. She'll want to dress up and will want to see all of the details from the books put into the design.

She has Feb 20-21 off of school, so I'm thinking travel Feb 17 evening to Feb 21 evening, giving us 3.5 days in the parks in what looks to be a fairly crowded time.

I'm debating between staying on site with early access even though that seems to be more than I want to spend and recognizing that that is 2 hours earlier than our normal time zone. DD is an early riser, so that might not be an issue. Thoughts? I definitely like the idea of using the shuttles so I don't have to navigate with a car since DH would likely not go with us and I don't want to pay to rent a car.

We are costco members. It doesn't look like any of the current deals extend as far out as Feb and most are for staying off site.

I welcome any an all advice! I'm just starting to research and put together numbers to be able to approach DH with this crazy idea. Thanks in advance!

[SnuggleBuggles]

Do it!

Because it overlaps with President's Day weekend, staying onsite at one of the 3 hotels that include express passes would be smart (Portifino, Royal Pacific or Hard Rock). I hear you on maybe not using early hours. We had a hard time and it wasn't a time adjustment for us. Was nice to go early- staying late is pretty nice to though in Diagon Alley. Do FL as Diagon Alley isn't in CA...and it's awesome.
You could stay onsite at one of the 2 hotels that doesn't have express passes and save a good bit. Work the numbers and see what fits. With 3.5 days and a non thrill rider, no express passes isn't a deal breaker. Just be smart about where to go when and use the app to check wait times.
It's a very easy, manageable theme park. Staying onsite and jog dealing with a car is great too.
We had so much fun there. Just talked about it at work today.


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[newnana]

Thank you!!

Okay, FL wins.

Now number crunching. Last time I looked, flights were on sale on SW for $89 each person/each way. Today they are closer to $500 per person/ per leg. Watching for a deal there will be paramount to success.

Any idea if Costco will do deals for Feb within some time frame that won't make me too anxious to wait?

In looking at the universal website, there are 3 levels of hotels that allow the early entry: Premier with the express passes (would have to find a mega deal to afford that); Preferred and Prime. There is one prime hotel: Cabana Bay that is significantly cheaper than the other 2 Preferred, but I'm struggling to see what other big differences are between prime and preferred other than cost that would matter for just 2 of us. We aren't worried abouta pet or sleeping up to 5, but an express pass just in case she decides she should do some rides just because they are HP might be a good idea:
https://www.universalorlando.com/Hot...omparison.aspx

We will certainly get a park to park pass because of the need to ride the hogwarts express (both ways!) Now just to look for if it's better to bundle those with a room or buy separately. decisions, decisions! Thanks for the nudge in what I want to be the right direction

[SnuggleBuggles]

I didn't see any good deals through Costco when we went.
We stayed at Cabana Bay because of the price and we didn't think we needed express passes (a correct assumption). Sapphire Falls probably gets a bump up from Cabana Bay because of the water taxis (which would save time in security lines- Cabana Bay shares security with all day guests). No one on the Universal message board I go to really know why Royal Pacific is bumped down to same as Sapphire Falls as RP offers express passes still. They said maybe because it's more of a conference hotel, I think. I think they're just supposed to be nicer than Cabana Bay. CB was definitely more of a budget hotel (details like bedding, towels, amenities were just a bit less than fancier hotels) but it was perfectly fine and the theme was fun. Loved saving $.


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[newnana]

Thanks for the Cabana Bay review! Perfectly fine is definitely what I'm looking for in terms of price. Good to know about the security lines!

[SnuggleBuggles]

You can take the boat to the parks if you walk over to one of the other resorts. We almost did that but never got around to trying. It was a mob at security though and it felt like an endless walk. I was jealous of the boat people.


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[baymom]

Yes, yes, yes, do it!!! We went to Orlando 2 summers ago and this HP fan family was blown away by the detail and thought put into every aspect of the experience. It will surely be an amazing trip for your DD. We basically tagged a few days onto my DH's work conference there and so bought a 3 day pass (which I think was only slightly more expensive than a 2-day). His conference was at the Portofino Bay, so we had to stay there. It was beautiful and we all loved taking the water taxi to the park every day and of course, getting in early and the express pass. I haven't done any research into how it compares price-wise to the other on-property resorts, so I don't know if it's a good price. It was certainly gorgeous. One thing I'll point out is that it is cheaper to buy your passes online from Universal than it is to buy them at the door. Plus, no lines. We were there in June, so there were crowds. But, with the Express Pass and early entry, we were fine. We came from California so the time difference was a bit brutal, but we managed. I wish I was going in Feb!

[Percycat]

This is a great idea. My kids would love for us to take them to Universal again and I'm sure would consider a trip a wonderful gift.

We stayed at Hard Rock and had less than a 5-10 minute walk to the park along garden paths. I loved not having to drive anywhere and not having to wait for transportation.
We had the express pass and used it quite a bit -- even though most of my crew does not ride extreme rides.
We went in October -- so maybe the temperatures will be similar to presidents weekend???? We wound up eating most of our dinners at the bar by the pool. My kids loved watching movies at the pool while we ate and enjoyed the music piped in the pool (under water).

If you have American express, check to see if there are any card discounts. When we went (2 years ago), American Express was the preferred card and there were discounts.

Costco is offering this discount package, but it expires 12/16. You could contact them to see if they have an offer for February: https://www.costcotravel.com/Vacatio...ntent=20161013

Have a great time!

[pharmjenn]

We are going before Thanksgiving with DS8. I decided on Royal Pacific for the express passes, as we are thrill riders and it seems like it will be busy. When we purchased tickets, US was having a deal buy one day, get 2 free, and I debated that over the Undercover Tourist offer of buy 2 days, get 2 days free. You should check if their offer is still going, since you plan on 4 days (3.5.) On a facebook Universal studios page I am on, most agree that 3 days is fine to explore most everything, even on busy days.
If you only plan on Universal, you really don't seem to need a car. Parking on site is $22/day! I plan to use a private service to get from the airport with a stop for a little grocery food, and Uber back to the airport. Much cheaper than a car rental plus parking, or the Super Shuttle types. We leave really early Thanksgiving morning, so will be staying the last night at the Hyatt MCO. I got a decent deal for Royal Pacific, and Cabana Bay was almost half the price if you pass on the express pass.

[newnana]

Thanks ladies, keep the ideas coming! Walking over to one of the hotels with the boats might be the way to go. DD is generally an early riser and for something as special as this she would be game for anything.

This is going to be a tough sell to DH as we're remodeling the kitchen and he thinks we agreed to not spend too much fun money, so keep the bargain ideas flowing pretty please!

Great idea on calling costco and just asking. I don't know why that didn't occur to me. Thanks!

I'm seeing on the website that ticket prices are cheaper there than in person, will definitely put that on the things to remember list!

Pharmjenn, I was seeing a buy 2 days get 2 free on the universal site, but it's not at one of their resorts and I didn't really understand how the 2 days free worked. Is it a deal like this one?
https://www.universalorlando.com/vac...n-Package.aspx



I'm not a member of undercover tourist. Do I need to be to get the deals?

Definitely only Universal. We did disney 1 time (would love to do more) and while DD would love to go back, I'd prefer to focus on a theme/resort. In this case, HP. I didn't realize parking was that much. Add it to the list of reasons to not do a car!

Thanks so much everybody, very very helpful information!