Universal Studios
My family and I need help trying to find the lowest cost for a trip to Islands of Adventure and Universal.We are driving down and all we need is hotel and park. We decided to do the 2 day get the 3rd free ticket. I found prices for like a hotel that supplys the fastlane like thing but that will cost for all 4 people $1218 and a hotel w/o the fast lane thing is $734 or something like that i would prefer the fasst lane like thing can you buy them seperate?????
~Zach S.~
You're gonna want Rollergator's expert opinion on this one... Bill?? Take it away..
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Sorrrrrrrry folks! Parks closed. The moose out front should have told you.
First order of business is to tell you NOT to buy those tickets. I repeat: DO NOT BUY THOSE TICKETS.
For $99 each...about $5 more...you can purchase a Power Annual Pass that is good for 365 days except weekends between July and August and the week between Christmas and New Years. There's no mention of them at the ticket booths, but ask ans they will gladly sell you one. I am not a fan of Universal Express, but these passes have them if you want to try it. Scan your passes at the kiosks, blah, blah, blah.
If you don't mind a basic, but very clean and newly-built hotel, try Extended StayAmerica's StudioPlus Convention Center. A room with a king bed, a foldout couch, full kitchen (stove/oven/fridge) and pool was under $270 for a week, barely $300 with tax. What's the catch? No daily room service. If you don't mind making up your own bed, you save a pile of money. You can save even more if you buy groceries (and remember, fresh seafood is cheap!)
If you're going down before May 31st, take some of that money and run down to BGT. For the price of a single day's admission, you can revisit the park anytime in 2002.
So let's summarize here: New hotel for a week, park admission for 4 with front-of-line access, no special requirements for $700.
You're welcome and enjoy your trip!
-'Playa
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Coming 6/6/02--the CoastaPlaya 100!
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*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya on 5/15/2002. ***
Best place to go is www.universalstudiosvacations.com
You can get package deals on good hotels and park tickets. A family of four can stay and play for 3 days for around $500.00 depending on the ages of your children.
Brian you scare me...."expert"...if that's the case, I gotta start charging for my *services*, LMAO....I'd be homeless pretty quick!
Anyhow, on topic: We got our Annual pases thru AAA (not AA) for $99. Considering the gate and parking, that's an amazing deal. Plus it comes with discounts on food etc., all over the park! I found out soon after that Universal had the same deal arranged with ACE, not sure if that's still available.
...not sure what "the deal" is with Universal Express - it's never that busy when I go...;), and I have been pretty outspoken in my distaste for all this virtual queueing. Now, in Universal's defense (and FL parks in general), we have enough staff to do this kind of thing well. Also remember to take advantage of the "single-riders" lines on Hulk and Doom if applicable....:). Jill usually is "done" before me, so it's a quick way to get the adrenaline fix before leaving....
Also, there is a new "annual passholder's lounge" by Kong at USF, I think they've got deals on lodging, etc., if you don't already have it set up.....they were closed the last time I went to do "reconnaissance", so I don't have much info on *the lounge*. Accoriding to ALL reports, you may want to catch a last ride on the Big Ape, he may not be around long - just about lived his life-span anyway, IMO...at least as far as the attraction is concerned...;)
you can stay at the Royal Pacific for as low as $91 a night if you belong to a club, such as ACE, AAA, or served in the military.
Hard Rock is about $250
Portofino, which is nicer than Hard Rock (and which ill find out in July) is probably better than Royal Pacific.
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HurricaneGeauga- Just in case
*** This post was edited by CarrieSpiwak on 5/17/2002. ***
The "express thingy" works like this..........;)
You have Express Pass machines for each major attraction located in somewhat close proximity to that attraction. (Although I have to admit sometimes finding the machine for a particular attraction is like a weird game of "Where's Waldo?".) These machines resemble ATM machines except without any buttons. You can either swipe the magnetic strip on your ticket, or wave the bar code on your pass under the scanner. The touch screen gives you a choice of 2 time frames for you to take your ride. You choose one, and it issues you a ticket with the time frame you chose (a two-hour block).
Just remember, if you choose a time frame that, for example, runs from 1:00 to 3:00, you can NOT get another Express Pass for any other ride until after 3:00.
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There is NoLimit when it comes to Roller Coasters.
NoLimitChic's Coaster Page
Bad idea. You can get USF's Power Annual pass for $99 and get a combo fun card (BGT/Sea World/Adventure Island) for about $124.90. Five bucks more for 50 weeks more admission to five parks.
Remember....always pass on the first 'good deal' offered to you.
-'Playa
(who spent way, way, wayyyyy too long pricing stuff)
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The CoastaPlaya 100 begins 6/6/02...
*** This post was edited by CoastaPlaya on 5/17/2002. ***
The "fun cards" are fun if you got one....but they fill the park (BGT in my case) up really quickly. I kinda liked it when I had the place to myself....basically, the deal with them is you pay a single-day admission (about $50), wait thru what SEEMS to be an interminable line, and then your fun card allows unlimited visits to THAT park for the rest of the CALENDAR year.
I knew they had separate fun cards for BGT and SWF, appparently 'Playa found a "combo fun card" deal that's somewhat better though if you want all three parks....personally Adventure Island was always WAYYYY too crowded for me. Besides, Wild Waters/Silver Springs is free for State employees, and relatively empty...:)...
bill, wondering what's gona happen to our Annual passes when BGT completes the switch to platinum/gold/silver/bronze passes....(I know bronze is the fun card, but what do we convert into?).....
Rollergator's correct....the Fun Cards are only good for that calendar year. No blackout dates, though.
The USF/IOA Power Annual Pass is good for a full year from when it's purchased, except for the blackout dates. The blackout dates will also be printed on the pass itself when you purchase it.
Another good strategy for USF/IOA (if you can't get discounted annual passes through AAA or ACE) is to purchase one full-priced pass along with the rest of the Power Passes. This will give you free regular parking and the discounts on souvenirs you'd miss with the other Power Passes and still saving you $60 on the each of the other cards.
The Busch Family Fun Cards would already give you discounts on grub and trinkets.
-'Playa
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The CoastaPlaya 100 begins 6/6/02...
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