Disillusioned by Universal. Not looking forward to trip

quandrea

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
I've been waiting for AP discounts for January. Universal won't be offering them for my trip days. It's left such a bad taste in my mouth. Truly, if it weren't for the fact my daughter's friend and her mom were joining us, I'd be cancelling.

Just to further aggravate myself, I checked to see if Disney was offering AP rates the first week of January. They are for virtually every one of their resorts. Even the Grand Floridian is cheaper than Universal's onsite hotels!

I'll actually be paying more to stay at Cabana Bay than I would if I stayed at many of Disney's deluxe resorts.

There is an element of greed on the Universal onsite hotels' part that just sits so poorly with me. Very little reward to being an AP holder in this case.

Trying to shake it off, but I'm so ticked off. Anyway just ranting to get it out. I'm anticipating long lines and very few attractions for us.


I like how at Disney, armed with a good plan, I can have a successful day. At Universal, it seems I have to throw money at the day, in order to reduce wait times.
 
Universal rarely has AP rates for prime dates such as the first week in January. They have inflated rates for those times and if there seem to be excess rooms, then they will put them up on an AP rate at a time much closer to the date.

I'm really surprised that there are even any rooms left at WDW during that time! What did you manage to find? I'm really amazed that Grand Floridian is cheaper than Cabana Bay!!!! I see Cabana Bay is $226 for Jan 1-5. I can't see any occupancy at Grand Floridian but I can't check AP rates.
 
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Universal rarely has AP rates for prime dates such as the first week in January. They have inflated rates for those times and if there seem to be excess rooms, then they will put them up on an AP rate at a time much closer to the date.

I'm really surprised that there are even any rooms left at WDW during that time! What did you manage to find?
There is tons available: Animal Kingdom Lodge, both Jambo and Kidani, Bith sides of Port Orleans, Art of Animation, All the All Stars, Pop, Coronado, Yacht and Beach club, Boardwalk--inn and Billas, the Poly, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Copper Creek, Boulder Ridge, Saratoga, Old Key West, Caribbean Beach.
 
There is tons available: Animal Kingdom Lodge, both Jambo and Kidani, Bith sides of Port Orleans, Art of Animation, All the All Stars, Pop, Coronado, Yacht and Beach club, Boardwalk--inn and Billas, the Poly, Grand Floridian, Contemporary, Copper Creek, Boulder Ridge, Saratoga, Old Key West, Caribbean Beach.

What dates are you looking at? Must be different than what I am searching.
 


I notice you say they'll perhaps put excess rooms up for AP holders much closer to the date. This is what I'm talking about with greed. Toss the AP holders a bone. Reward their investment in your parks. At RPR for example, every room category is available for my night. Put out a few AP rooms. I'm travelling without my spouse and we are required to have a lawyer's letter drawn up stating at which address we will reside while on holiday. My spouse must give consent for me to travel and our letter must be notarised. Holding out for AP rates that might never come is very difficult. That paperwork takes times to draw up.
 
@damo Thanks for mentioning that AP rates are still a possibility. I did a bit of research and found a general address for Universal. I can use that on my consent letter and switch hotels at the last moment if possible. I'm a bit cheered now.
 


A general address is a great idea. Just keep watching, but honestly, I wouldn't expect the rate to change for Jan. 2. The Universal parks are really, really busy the first couple of weeks in January. They have so few hotels that they can charge pretty much whatever they want during busy times.
 
A general address is a great idea. Just keep watching, but honestly, I wouldn't expect the rate to change for Jan. 2. The Universal parks are really, really busy the first couple of weeks in January. They have so few hotels that they can charge pretty much whatever they want during busy times.
So should I just plan to stay and enjoy the resort? Forget the parks?
 
What was the plan? Two days at the parks? What else are you doing for the vacation?
No that wasn't the plan. We had planned to tour the parks with dd's friend. When we booked, the HP rides didn't have EP. We are most interested in HP, so not having EP wasn't that big a deal. All that's changed now.

We have two days at Universal. Three days at Disney. We are going with dd's best friend and her mom. I've been to universal before but only with Express Pass. Problem is RPR is too pricey at this time. Me and my kids just don't have the patience to wait in lines. We figure, we've seen it before, if the parks are crazy, we'd rather opt out. Not worth the hassle. I'd always hoped we'd end up at one of the deluxes and that we'd have EP. Like I said, if it weren't for our travel companions, I'd just cancel and spend those extra days at Disney. Even with crowds at WDW, I manage to avoid waiting in line. Like I said, armed with a good plan, Disney is doable. Doesn't seem to ring true with Universal.
 
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You might find it cheaper to stay at one of the hotels that offers express pass to each person staying then to stay at CB and buy the express pass separate. If you are staying just one night, I beleive you can get 2 days of EP out of it.
 
You might find it cheaper to stay at one of the hotels that offers express pass to each person staying then to stay at CB and buy the express pass separate. If you are staying just one night, I beleive you can get 2 days of EP out of it.
I know. We won't be buying Express Pass, and the Royal Pacific is too expensive at $454. That's my point about having to throw money at Universal for a seamless touring day. We stayed last year at HRH for $209. That's about a fair price for that hotel. It's $519 right now, I think. Just not a fan of how they do things, I suppose.
 
Choose a premium day and you are going to pay a premium price.

If you are planning to go to the crowded parks, you might as well get the EP. $85 per pass times 4 = $390. That means you only pay $64 for your room. If you go to the parks for 2 days, they are paying you to go with express pass..

If you are not going to the parks, why stay at the parks.

It seems like you are not willing to have a good time. If you were, paying a little more for tremendous value would have you excited. Unless of course you are already stretching your budget. In which case, I would probably find something else to do.

What is the other couple expecting to do? Resort day or park day?
 
Choose a premium day and you are going to pay a premium price.

If you are planning to go to the crowded parks, you might as well get the EP. $85 per pass times 4 = $390. That means you only pay $64 for your room. If you go to the parks for 2 days, they are paying you to go with express pass..

If you are not going to the parks, why stay at the parks.

It seems like you are not willing to have a good time. If you were, paying a little more for tremendous value would have you excited. Unless of course you are already stretching your budget. In which case, I would probably find something else to do.

What is the other couple expecting to do? Resort day or park day?
I think you are right about not wanting to have a good time. My nose I out of joint. I'm aggravated. The other couple will be touring the parks without Express Pass. The EP for our days is $110. $440 for one day for our party. The way you put it, the hotel is practically free. However, I can go down the road to Disney, pay less for my hotel and get Fast pass. Armed with a good touring plan, it doesn't matter which hotel I stay at at WDW. Everyone is eligible for the same experience.

We aren't stretching our budget. Having stayed at Universal before and knowing the resorts, I'm unwilling to pay $454 a night for a room. Universal just isn't for me.

ETA: Our friends can't afford $454 per night. $229 for a room (like at CB) is about their limit. Ah well. I've seen it before. We will enjoy CB. I've heard it's pretty cool with the pools, bowling alley, food options.
 
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If I were in your shoes, I'd probably just skip Universal altogether or stay at Royal Pacific for the one night. I think the value for the money is still really good at that time of year with the unlimited express. We were just at WDW a few weeks ago, and even during what should have been a slow time, it was really difficult to get that fourth fast pass and lines were really long. I can only imagine what it is going to be like for the first week in January. At Universal, we were able to ride a ton of stuff with our express passes.

Everyone has a different value for their money and it is really personal choice.
 
I think you are right about not wanting to have a good time. My nose I out of joint. I'm aggravated. The other couple will be touring the parks without Express Pass. The EP for our days is $110. $440 for one day for our party. The way you put it, the hotel is practically free. However, I can go down the road to Disney, pay less for my hotel and get Fast pass. Armed with a good touring plan, it doesn't matter which hotel I stay at at WDW. Everyone is eligible for the same experience.

We aren't stretching our budget. Having stayed at Universal before and knowing the resorts, I'm unwilling to pay $454 a night for a room. Universal just isn't for me.

ETA: Our friends can't afford $454 per night. $229 for a room (like at CB) is about their limit. Ah well. I've seen it before. We will enjoy CB. I've heard it's pretty cool with the pools, bowling alley, food options.

You have a decision to make.
 
I like how at Disney, armed with a good plan, I can have a successful day. At Universal, it seems I have to throw money at the day, in order to reduce wait times.
Doesn't staying at the pricier Universal resorts give you easy access to rides?
 
UOs EP experience is very different then Disney’s FP. W/o EP you can still arm yourself with a plan. Hit rope drop, and get great rides. It sounds like you got a great deal in the past and are expecting a very low rate for a high volume time. UO has no reason to do this.

Having stayed at a variety of Disney hotels (mostly beach club, but also POR) and Comparing to our PBH stay, PBH was a far superior hotel IMO.

I’m not sure UO did anything wrong here. They have to make money, it’s a business.
 
Just based on reading your posts, you may just want to stay at Disney the whole time and Uber over to Universal. It's never fun changing hotels, plus you'll avoid the angst you seem to have.
 

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