Hi there!
We are planning our first trip to Universal Oct 11-18. We took both our girls to WDW when they were very young (most recently 10 yrs ago) during mid-Sept. It was an amazing experience both times having to wait AT MOST 20 minutes in any ride line and included a free dining plan. I would love to go that same time of year but our girls will now be high school and college age so taking them out of school an entire week isn’t really feasible anymore and our best bet is to go during their fall break mid-Oct. Unfortunately, this also falls during Columbus Day and the crowd calendar that week is showing on average 8-9…
We are planning on about 3 days between US & IOA, 1 day at VB, & 2 days at EU. We are also planning on one night for Halloween Horror Nights. We are absolutely planning on an express pass for Halloween Horror Nights but my question is…should we stay at the cheaper Cabana Bay and just play it by ear each day on whether or not to buy an express pass when we get to the parks? Or should we splurge for a room at Royal Pacific that includes the unlimited express pass? It seems to be about a $4K difference in hotel prices for us… Booking RP with included passes would be about $1K cheaper than if we were to book CB with separate express passes for all four of us each day, but I just hate to waste that kind of money if passes are not needed. We are trying to find the happy medium between a great first time experience and low financial burden/stress.
Also curious if anyone believes a travel agent is worth the extra expense? (Never needed one for WDW before but again, this was during their slowest time of year.) So far it seems that the cheapest options I can find for us are through our Costco membership but also open to any other large discounts anyone is aware of. Thank you all in advance!
Did you look at one of you getting a seasonal or power pass and then looking at AP rates for the room?
I agree with @PrincipalTinker. You are there for enough nights that the AP will save you a bunch in hotel rooms. Only one of your group has to have a pass.
Also, you could do a split stay. Doing just one night at royal pacific gets your family express passes to USF and IOA. It’s does not get you express to volcano bay or epic universe so you could stay at cabana bay for those nights.
You are going to NEED the Express Pass for this holiday weekend, if you want low wait times and to experience most of what UOR has to offer. It is always a busy holiday weekend.
Furthermore, this is going to be a incredible BUSY year at Universal with the opening of Epic Universe this Memorial Day weekend. Many people, like myself, are planning our visit visits to Epic Universe to coincide with HHN.
I know you haven’t mentioned going to Epic, but the crowds are going to overflow into the entire UOR campus.
Also, be aware because of HHN, USF does close at 6pm Wed. - Sun.
The most of the rides are still open during HHN, but the haunted houses & seasonal shows are not to be missed! I go to HHN annually and can 100% say that the UXP for that night is a MUST - no joke or exaggeration. Wait times for the houses, in standby, are regular 80 -100 minutes. Sometimes going as high as 120 - 150 on the weekends! It’s crazy!!
Once you are able to get 4 people in a room at one of the Premier hotels the UXP does “pay for itself” as you’ve noticed.
You are right on the “bubble” of when it makes sense to buy a Seasonal AP. (The lowest tier, but the restrictions won’t affect this trip. Basically, Thanksgiving/Christmas and July are blocked out)
Those “pay for themselves” on day 4.
There are many promotions & deals for Universal once you stay four nights - very similar to WDW.
Please ask as many questions as you want! Many of us love answering them as a way to kill time waiting for our next Universal Adventure.