Universal while staying on DVC points at WDW

[Vdh730]

My family of four have a 10 night split stay trip planned for this August. My son is a humongous Harry Potter fan. I wanted to add a day or two at Universal while using our DVC points. We originally were also gong on a cruise the first week in August out of NJ but being that was cancelled I feel like it is finally the right time to visit Universal for the first time Since this is sort of last minute add I didn't originally think to plan for it. I don't want to add on before or after since we are already doing a longer trip. I have priced it out and it seems like it would be advantageous to book a room at Hard Rock or another hotel in that tier for the night to gain the unlimited express pass and early park admission along with our 2 day 2 park to park tickets.

Is this something a lot of you do? I do think in the future we will add a few days at a Universal hotel rather than going the throw away room route, but for this summer I think it will work.

 

[Nabas]

I have priced it out and it seems like it would be advantageous to book a room at Hard Rock or another hotel in that tier for the night to gain the unlimited express pass and early park admission along with our 2 day 2 park to park tickets.

Is this something a lot of you do?

We have booked a single night at a Universal deluxe hotel to get 2 days of unlimited Express Pass.

Express Pass is good on check-in and check-out days. When we did this, we showed up at the hotel early (i.e. 7 AM) so we could check-in and pick up our Express Passes. Our room was not ready (of course) but we simply left our stuff in the car and headed straight for the parks.

 

[Best Aunt]

Before you book, make sure you understand what you get -- and what you don't get -- by staying at a Universal hotel.

For example, express pass is not valid at Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.

If you stay at the Hard Rock, you get Early Park Admission to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter one hour before the parks open (valid theme park admission required). But to take advantage of this, you would have to be at the theme park one hour before part opening. You would need to check theme park hours. If you're driving over from Disney, would you be able to arrive at Universal early enough to have checked in and gotten over to the theme park one hour before park opening? That could mean leaving Disney pretty early. If your family can't get moving that early, you would need to take advantage of this the morning after you have slept in a Universal hotel rather than on arrival day.

I liked Hard Rock because it was an easy walk to the 2 theme parks. But I thought that Portofino Bay and Royal Pacific had better food options.

People on the Universal board can give you better advice. I thought the shops in the Wizarding World were very crowded, and that was pre-COVID when I wasn't worried about germs. So if you aren't crazy about crowds because of COVID, this might not be the time to go there. Also, if you get motion sick, you can't do any of the Harry Potter rides. (I even got queasy on the Hogwarts Express.)

You do seem to have caught on that you need the 2-park pass in order to be able to ride the Hogwarts Express train.

 

[DisneyGal24]

We did this in December 2019 and we are doing it again in a few weeks. We will keep our DVC room and stay at Hard Rock for one night.

 

[CarolynFH]

We've done this twice when staying (sleeping) in other Orlando TS, once with 5 adults and another time with 3 adults. Even with the extra-adult charges, the single night at a UOR deluxe saved us significant $$, both on EPs and on parking at UOR. We made sure to check into the hotel to get our key cards (which are the EPs) early enough to take advantage of the early entry.

 

[dunhill76]

The throw away room is the easiest way to get everything done. I wouldn't even worry about the early entry. When we have gone in the past Royal Pacific seemed to always be the cheapest deluxe. I can't stay in a normal hotel room anymore after dvc. The idea of being crammed in a tiny room with 3 teenagers makes me cringe. Dad is paying for all this he should at least get a chance at some magic.

 

[AussieFan8]

You mentioned that your son is a huge HP fan; are you planning to primarily stay in the Harry Potter areas? If so, you may not need to pay the extra expense of the throwaway room. Not all of the Harry Potter rides have Express Pass, and if you're willing to take advantage of single rider lines some or all of the time, the waits aren't bad. Also, we have found that Universal crowds thin out in the evenings so the lines aren't as long.

 

[Vdh730]

We did this in December 2019 and we are doing it again in a few weeks. We will keep our DVC room and stay at Hard Rock for one night.

We have decided to do the same. We have a studio at OKW for this part of the trip so I don't feel terrible staying the one night at Hard Rock for all the added convience. It saves so much $$$ on the unlimited express pass and I know my kids (7 and 10)...they do not care how much they want to ride something. If there is a line, thats it, they aren't waiting so the perks will really pay off for us and ensure we have a great first adventure at Universal. I know that not all of the HP rides have express pass but thats fine, at least I know we can utilize it to maximize our short time in the parks.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[houseofduck]

I know that not all of the HP rides have express pass but thats fine, at least I know we can utilize it to maximize our short time in the parks.

Thanks for all the advice!

Hagrid's is the only HP ride that doesn't have an express pass line.

 

[Shellyred8]

When we did a split with Universal and Disney, we did our first couple of nights at a Universal resort and then did the rest of the nights at WDW/DVC. This alleviated the need to do a throw away room for us.