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Old 11-23-2009, 07:05 PM   #1
Tawnya
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Question Stay onsite or off?

DH and I are planning on going either next october or november and well be staying onsite at WDW for a 4 nights and plan to spend two days at universal. is it worth it to stay onsite or are we better off staying off site? Also what hotel do you recomend onsite and why? TIA!!
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Old 11-23-2009, 07:17 PM   #2
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My friends went to Universal and there is (was?) some sort of deal where people who stayed in their resorts could have perks similar to fastpasses. I don't know if this is still happening, but it might be worth it to stay there.
Two of the main benefits to staying on property at WDW are proximity to the parks and EMH. You won't need these perks if you're taking a few days to go elsewhere. I guess you'll have to decide if the hassle of moving outweighs the savings and/or benefits of staying elsewhere.
Good luck!
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Old 11-23-2009, 10:22 PM   #3
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We think it's totally worth to stay in one of Universal's onsite resorts, especially for "front of the line" access for resort guests. Just show your room key to the ride attendant "Team Member" and you will be directed into the Express Pass line - this perk is unlimited for resort guests. Usually the Express line has little or no wait.

You can get 2 days worth of FOTL (Front of the line) with one night's stay. Arrive at the hotel early that morning and check in. Most likely your hotel room won't be ready, but you can obtain your room keys and head to the park. You can use your room key for FOTL all day. The next morning that you check out your room key is still good for FOTL the biggest part of the day. Sometimes the expiration time varies. It has been 3 pm in the past, and some times it's good all day until park closing. But, this way you can get two days for the price of one night's stay.

Another perk of staying onsite is the close proximity to the parks from the onsite resorts. You can walk to both parks if you stay onsite. Add this to the FOTL for resort guests and you've got an easy way to experience all the attractions and still have an afternoon break in your room or at the pool.

Check out the Universal page on MouseSavers.com - Disney Discount Source - Disney World Discounts, Disneyland Discounts, Disney Cruise Discounts for any available discounts for Universal resorts.

October is busy with Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. November is probably a slower time, and you may not need the FOTL access to do everything. The Doubletree at Universal is a great offsite resort, very close by, great rooms and amenities, and reasonable rates.
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Old 11-24-2009, 01:03 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by Shell_of_the_South View Post
We think it's totally worth to stay in one of Universal's onsite resorts, especially for "front of the line" access for resort guests. Just show your room key to the ride attendant "Team Member" and you will be directed into the Express Pass line - this perk is unlimited for resort guests. Usually the Express line has little or no wait.

You can get 2 days worth of FOTL (Front of the line) with one night's stay. Arrive at the hotel early that morning and check in. Most likely your hotel room won't be ready, but you can obtain your room keys and head to the park. You can use your room key for FOTL all day. The next morning that you check out your room key is still good for FOTL the biggest part of the day. Sometimes the expiration time varies. It has been 3 pm in the past, and some times it's good all day until park closing. But, this way you can get two days for the price of one night's stay.

Another perk of staying onsite is the close proximity to the parks from the onsite resorts. You can walk to both parks if you stay onsite. Add this to the FOTL for resort guests and you've got an easy way to experience all the attractions and still have an afternoon break in your room or at the pool.

Check out the Universal page on MouseSavers.com - Disney Discount Source - Disney World Discounts, Disneyland Discounts, Disney Cruise Discounts for any available discounts for Universal resorts.

October is busy with Universal's Halloween Horror Nights. November is probably a slower time, and you may not need the FOTL access to do everything. The Doubletree at Universal is a great offsite resort, very close by, great rooms and amenities, and reasonable rates.
I would say with these benefits, it would be worth the hassle of packing up from one location to the other.
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Old 11-24-2009, 04:07 PM   #5
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We've stayed onsite at Universal for the front of line access twice now. The Royal Pacific is a gorgeous hotel. It's great being able to take the boat to the parks and use the room key as a "fastpass" all day. I would recommend staying onsite at least one night.

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Old 11-24-2009, 04:29 PM   #6
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I agree with staying onsite at least the one night. We did and the FOTL access was awesome!
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Old 11-24-2009, 05:27 PM   #7
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We stayed one night at HRH then moved across the street to The Doubletree. From HRH we were able to walk quicker then taking the boat. We also walked one morning from Doubletree, it took us 20 min. Doubletree also has excellent shuttle service to and from Universal all day long, not just at opening and closing times. They also have a shuttle to Seaworld.
With a 2 day only stay, I'd just stay onsite. We were in Orlando for 10 days, and did alot of moving around!
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