Help With Split Trip - Universal/Disney

YoJDew

YoJDew

Member
Looking for some collective group wisdom here. Am I overthinking this? Here's the sitch:

In March, I booked a 7-night stay for me, DH, DD (3), and my mom for mid-August. Staying at WL, sharing one room, 6-day park hopper with water park option. Booked ADRs and FPs. A week after FPs were booked, we found out my mom had to have surgery so we cancelled her portion of the trip She was supposed to have it in early July and I planned to take some time off work to help her recover, but she decided that going to WDW so soon after a major surgery was not a good idea; but she said we should go without her. So, I contacted our travel agent, who took her off the reservation, and then I updated the FPs and ADRs.

Then, last week, she found out she can't even HAVE the surgery until end of August. So she went online and bought herself a 3-day pass to Universal, because she decided she would like it better. She didn't talk to me about it first. If she had, I would have tried to talk her out of it. She also bought a one-day ticket to Disney, but I don't know if it's a park hopper or not. Neither does she. I'm happy to fold her back into the plans, but I'm a little bit confused about a few things, and that's where I need your help.

1) Will Disney allow her to stay in our room at the WL if she only has a one-day Disney pass? If so, will we have to pay extra for her to stay in our room?
2) She doesn't like roller coasters and thrill rides. Isn't Universal mostly thrill rides?
3) Is it possible to copy all of our FPs onto her account using the MDE website? I feel like the last time I tried to do this with friends, last year, it got all screwy and we lost some of our FPs.
4) Do you get a MagicBand with a one-day pass?

I kind of want to talk her out of it, mostly because I would just really like us to vacation as a family. My little daughter loves Disney, and I really think my mom would get a huge kick out of touring Disney with her granddaughter. I'm also a bit stressed about this because I am a PLANNER. I have already created touring plans, schedules for each day, and have even drawn up maps listing our FP times, ADRs, and show/parade/event times. I would be more than happy to redo it but I feel like her plans are too up in the air. It's making me uncomfortable.

Hit me with some truth bombs. Am I being ridiculous? Should I just go with the flow here?
 
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Tuvalu

Tuvalu

Premium Member
To answer some of your questions:

1) If you, DH and DD are on a package reservation, your mom cannot stay in the room with you unless she has the same package components (6-day hopper + water park). If you booked a ROOM ONLY reservation and purchased your tickets separately, she can stay in your room. There is a $25 plus tax cost per night for her (more than 2 adults per room incur the additional fee. It was included in your original reservation.)

2) Universal has A LOT of thrill rides.

3) You can copy your FP choices over to her account pending availability. If you are nervous about attempting this, call Disney and have a cast member walk you through it.

4) MagicBands are tied to resort reservations, not tickets. Everyone staying at a Disney resort receives a MagicBand, whether they have a ticket or not. MagicBands serve as the room key and can be used for charging privileges (in addition to use as admission, FP and dining plan.)

So it may not be up to you to "go with the flow." Your mom may be the one having to make adjustments.
 
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SnowWhite1015

SnowWhite1015

Well-Known Member
I don't know much about the ins and outs of the tickets/magicbands, or the hotel thing, but I can say that I quite enjoy roller coasters and thrill rides, and I still got sick on some of the rides at Universal (Simpsons and Transformers, and I sucked it up for HP because it was so cool). I also think that three days at Universal is a loooong time especially if she doesn't plan on riding everything.
 
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Beckett

Beckett

Well-Known Member
Well, I've gone twice to Universal and Islands of Adventure this year, and yes...mostly thrill rides. Most of them have a lot of sudden and hard movements that can cause motion sickness. I get motion sickness, but have been lucky to not experience it in any ride. What I did experience is back pain. There's a lot of rides that seem harmless until you feel it the next day. Has she gone there before? Maybe Uni's pay for 2 and get one free deal convinced her. But if she is not into thrill rides and will be going by herself, she will kind of be wasting her money. But she is kind of stuck now...Universal definitely does not return your money. Will your family go with her then?
 
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Gaston's gal

Gaston's gal

Well-Known Member
I just got back from a trip to Universal. A 3-day pass is a long time. We bought it and realized we would've been fine with just a 2-day pass. Also, there are so many simulation rides. If she gets motion sickness easily, she won't like most of their rides. Good luck with your plans.
 
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LAKid53

LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
The two main roller coasters at Uni are not for the faint of heart. The Hulk shoots you out like a bullet and has many twists and loops (think Rock 'n' Rollercoaster on steroids). I love roller coasters and that one made me a little dizzy. The Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket has a tall climb and drop, probably similar to coasters at Six Flags. Many of the other rides are simulators, similar to Star Tours. Like others have said, if she is sensitive to quick up/down/sideways motion, then many rides in Uni will not be for her and she's wasted money. Plus, without Express Pass, she's going to spend time waiting in line for the popular rides unless she uses the single rider line. Express Pass (Uni's version of Fast Pass) is not free (unless you stay in one of Uni's deluxe resort hotels) - about $40 per day per ticket. And not every ride at Uni allows Express Pass.

Since you have multi day tickets at Disney, you will be able to only add her to your FP selections for one day. I would add her to your existing plans (she should be able to up her existing one day ticket to a multi day) but you will need to call to do this...which means she will have a 6 day park hopper ticket, along with her 3 day Uni ticket. And Disney, like Uni, doesn't refund tickets. And since you've bought a package (room/tickets), if you need to change again, you must do so before the 45 day window or you will be charged a change fee if your revised vacation cost is less. And if you include her in your room without officially adding her on the reservation, she will not have a magic band to enter the room, since the magic band is also your room key. And if Disney finds out....

And as Beckett mentioned, how is she getting to Universal? Unless you have a rental car (and will have to pay for parking), you are going to either take a taxi or a shuttle bus (which I believe you have to order). The drive between the two parks is 20-25 minutes, depending on traffic. And you will be driving on a heavily traveled road.

Quite frankly, she messed up and I'm afraid she's going to have to eat the cost of the tickets to Universal if she wants to join the rest of the family. As others said, she needs to go with your flow and figure out what to do. Me, I'd tell her to make her own Disney resort reservation so that I wouldn't be stuck - financially or planning - since her plans seem to be up in the air. I know she's mom, but this isn't a trip to the mall. This is a not cheap vacation that can be winged. My daughter's then boyfriend dumped her a month before our planned trip to Disney. Since we were only 30 days from our date, I ate the $50 change fee. Which I would have taken out of his hide, but if I had seen him, I would have spent our vacation in jail.

Good luck.
 
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Dwarful

Dwarful

Well-Known Member
Did you ask her why she wants to go to Uni? Does she enjoy HP? Maybe she wants to enjoy those experiences, shops, dining? (no idea, just guessing here). Does she want to give you some 'family time' without being obvious about it? or give you or your husband a break from being with her 24/7? Even the nicest hotel room is still just a hotel room and with 3 adults and one child in one room maybe she is afraid she will feel 'the walls closing in on her'? At this point arranging transportation to Uni for her on those three days and possibly adding days to her Disney pass might be your best bet...figure out which days she wants to go with you to the WDW theme parks. Good luck and enjoy the trip regardless of how it turns out with your mom. These trips when the children are young are the best, don't let her flip flop decisions ruin your vacation.
 
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YoJDew

YoJDew

Member
Original Poster
Beckett said:
Well, I've gone twice to Universal and Islands of Adventure this year, and yes...mostly thrill rides. Most of them have a lot of sudden and hard movements that can cause motion sickness. I get motion sickness, but have been lucky to not experience it in any ride. What I did experience is back pain. There's a lot of rides that seem harmless until you feel it the next day. Has she gone there before? Maybe Uni's pay for 2 and get one free deal convinced her. But if she is not into thrill rides and will be going by herself, she will kind of be wasting her money. But she is kind of stuck now...Universal definitely does not return your money. Will your family go with her then?
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No, we can't. We have had our 6-day MYW package booked for months. I'm not going to waste three of our precious Disney days and throw half our money away that we already spent on the Disney package. Her plan is to take a taxi to Universal & back... for three days... so that'll cost a pretty penny.
 
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YoJDew

YoJDew

Member
Original Poster
Dwarful said:
Did you ask her why she wants to go to Uni? Does she enjoy HP? Maybe she wants to enjoy those experiences, shops, dining? (no idea, just guessing here). Does she want to give you some 'family time' without being obvious about it? or give you or your husband a break from being with her 24/7? Even the nicest hotel room is still just a hotel room and with 3 adults and one child in one room maybe she is afraid she will feel 'the walls closing in on her'? At this point arranging transportation to Uni for her on those three days and possibly adding days to her Disney pass might be your best bet...figure out which days she wants to go with you to the WDW theme parks. Good luck and enjoy the trip regardless of how it turns out with your mom. These trips when the children are young are the best, don't let her flip flop decisions ruin your vacation.
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Honestly, the reason she wants to go is, she saw it on a Florida tourism website and she just decided it looked better. She likes Harry Potter. This is how she makes decisions: She decides she feels like doing something and she does it, and damn the torpedoes. So that's where we are. :/
 
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