going to Universal while staying DVC

[sloneta]

We are planning on taking my sis and BIL to WDW next May. Neither has been to Orlando in about 15 years. The plan was to stay at BCV and do everything since so much has changed in that time. Also, we get to use our points, save money and show off how beautiful BCV is.

Well, in talking to sis last night, she informed me that she wants to go to Universal while there. I asked US or IOA and she asked "what's the difference"? So, now I am thinking she may want to do both (DH and I have never done the US or IOA thing). My dilemma is, would it be easier to stay onsite at US and take advantage of the on-site perks they offer? But, then, the budget part of using points is taken away because we now have to pay for a hotel for 1 or 2 nights.

How inconvenient would it be to stay at BCV but go to Universal one or two days?

All thoughts are welcome!

 

[Dean]

That's much like staying at the Ritz and going to Wal Mart, LOL. Serisously, I'd likely stay off property for a couple of days at Universal. If you're hitting a weekend, use points for the week days at WDW and then stay off the weekend saving a lot of points. It's about 10 miles and if you don't want to move, it's not that big of a deal. Either way you should be fine.

 

[AnnK]

I would stay at one of Universal's Resorts. They have "front of the line access" and it's AWESOME!!!! All you need to do is show your room key and you head right in to the "express pass line" which gets you right to the front. We have never waited more than five minutes, even during peak times! Portofino is beautiful, but quite a long walk from both parks. Hard Rock is very nice, and much closer to Universal. Royal Pacific which is due to open soon, looks like it will be close to IOA. I would do as Dean suggested and stay during the weekend. I would also go to the Universal Board right here on the the"Dis", they can let you know about current deals and discounts. Universal was recently offering a two park year pass for 99.00. The night life there is great, don't miss Citywalk, there are some fantastic restaurants and bars there!

 

[ripleysmom]

Definitely stay at US for a weekend. Moving to US is worth it for front-of-the-line access which is a perk of staying at an on-site hotel.

 

[bongo59]

I think it matters only if your point and budget conscious.....we just stayed at BWV last week and we did all the WDW and both universal parks.......and hate to say this now that I am a fellow DVC'er now I loved the Islands of Adventure over everything else.....but I am a big kid who stays in the park form opening to closing......for logistics I would stay at the hard rock hotel......but if your more laid back stay at BCV....use your points ...that is why you bought em.........

 

[Muushka]

Since we now have a $99 AP at USF/IOA (and none at WDW), we will always include at least 2 nights to our Orlando vacation at a USF property. Last month we spent 5 nights at OKW and then really had a great time at Universal for the next 3 days. We stayed at PB, but to be honest, we liked HRH more.
I have a feeling that we will be shaving off days at DVC to be able to stay more days at Universal. We enjoy DVC, but the hotels at USF are really great. And you cannot beat the FOTL.

 

[Caskbill]

We have AP's to USF/IoA as well as SW/Busch. We stay at DVC and go to the other Orlando parks all the time. It's not that big of deal to drive. (We take a back route, staying off of I-4 or International Drive. - Directions: From Disney, exit by Crossroads, turn left, then turn right at next light. Follow that road (at 1st light turn right to SW, or go straight for USF and turn right when directed))

We get free parking with AP's, so that can be an issue for you.

What we like best is not having to change hotels, and we can mix up what parks we go to and when, EG Disney 2-days, then a SW day, then Disney again, then USF , then an off-day, etc.

Note we have not stayed at PB or HR right there at Universal yet (may still do that), and that could change our opinion dramatically.

We do go off season all the time, so front of the line access is never really an issue for us.

 

[Candace]

Just a thought - you can actually stay only ONE night, but you can get 2 days of Front of the Line Access. I did this just this past weekend. We checked in at Hard Rock Hotel around mid-day, on Saturday, and the room wasn't ready until 4. I had three boys with me, and they gave them their temporary keys right then, so they had FOTL until park closing the first day, and then even though we checked out the next morning, they had FOTL all the second day as well.

 

[Halle]

Does anyone know how long you have to wait in line without FOTL privileges?

 

[Desperado]

"Definitely stay at US for a weekend. Moving to US is worth it for front-of-the-line access which is a perk of staying at an on-site hotel."

Great advice, thank you.

 

[WebmasterBarry]

You can check in as early as 7 am. Your rooms may not be ready, but your keys will. They work from the day you check in until midnight of your checkout date.

As for line waits, Universal says it's no more than a 15 minute wait. Usually, it runs anywhere from 1 minute to 10 minutes.

 

[Robinrs]

Originally posted by Halle
Does anyone know how long you have to wait in line without FOTL privileges?

Depending on the day of the week and the time of year anywhere between 10 minutes and an hour. The major attractions, Spiderman, the Hulk, Jurassic Park River Adventure, MIB can be MORE than an hour wait at times. The "FOTL" or Universal Express feature is WELL worth the investment.

 

[beattyfamily]

IMHO, it's more economical to use your points for your WDW stay and then pay cash for the Universal portion. Universal has some wonderful deals for their onsite resorts. I paid $117 for HRH last year and this year could have paid $99 for their new resort, the Royal Pacific, but I chose Club level for $139.

We also are DVC members.

To me this is similar to people saying it's not worth it to use points for a DCL cruise. But if that's what you bought your points for then it's your decision! Last year, we booked a cruise with points but then the cruise rates went way down so we ended up canceling the points and paying cash then used our points for our next vacation!

Just figure out how much your points are worth the days you'd be spending at Universal to see what it comes out to. Depending on the difference you can decide from there.

To each is own.

 

[DisneyBB]

We are DVC members, staying in the BCV's in October. When I heard about the special offers at RPH we booked 4 nights at $139 club level. We are booking out of BCV's on Wed and returning to OKW on the Sunday. That way we save the most points by not staying over the weekend. I think it is worth the money to enjoy US and IOA to the fullest. We are looking forward to not having a long long day at the US parks. We can go back to the hotel for a rest and return refreshed. We got used to this staying at a DVC resort, now it is really hard to spend the entire day at the parks. We are really looking forward to staying some where different also.