New Challenge Idea: Could you do a video about how much can be done in the parks after 6pm (aka free parking starts)! Including one snack/ meal. And 6pm- 10pm park hour. I'm hoping to do this for our next trip in June to save money and beat the heat.
Great tips (as usual)! Regarding early check-in and Luggage Services, we have used this service often. But regarding valuable, fragile or difficult-to-replace things like electronics, jewelry or medications, we suggest asking the front desk for one of their free safe-deposit boxes in their office. They are basically free lockers, and they give you the key. And, your on-site hotel concierge can arrange for your baggage to be delivered to your room from Luggage Services (when you are texted your room number) while you're not there. Another great video! Love you guys, love your show!
Wow, we actually didn’t know this! We just always tell them that we have fragile stuff like a laptop or camera gear and they stick a fragile sticker on it. We’ve never had any issues! That’s great to know there’s another option, though!!
Oh my goodness. This was so informative. The luggage one is a big help. Trying to plan flights and might arrive early and don’t want to wait around in the lobby with our luggage.
This video came at the best time for me! I’m buying annual passes for me and my family and staying at a premier hotel at the end of this month for the first time ever! We are beyond excited! I love y’all’s channel! Thank you for all of your help!
Thank you for talking about rider swap!!! It sounds so easy and we will definitely be using it on our first trip in June! Y’all also answered so many other questions I didn’t know I had lol! Such a great and informative video as always!!! ❤
Very helpful video. Going to Universal in September and my flight gets in at 5 am, your video answered my what to do with luggage question. Been watching tons of park videos to be fully prepared for when I go
You’re totally fine! There’s a reason we made this video and that’s because these are great questions that people have. We’re always happy to help in any way that we can. Thanks for watching!
We’re the same way! We spend all our time jumping from ride to ride! We keep telling ourselves we’re gonna take a trip where we actually slow down and enjoy the pools and stuff!
Great video as always. I have a couple of questions. 1) Does Universal have a Bus Service like Disney offers to your hotel and back to the airport? If so, is it free or $$. If not, what do you recommend and how expensive is it? 2) Have you completed a tour of the Hard Rock Hotel? Thank you for your time.
They do! It’s called the Superstar shuttle and unfortunately it’s not free. We typically use a ride share like Uber or Lyft and you can expect it to be in the $30 range unless it’s really busy. We haven’t had a chance to do our Hard Rock tour yet, hopefully soon!
This video is sooo helpful! We purchase military promotion seasonal tickets and it’s very affordable for us. We’re staying at the Cabana Bay resort for the first time. We usually rent villas. The pass is park to park and have NO blockout dates! If we didn’t live in Virginia Beach VA, we would visit more often.
Saw you guys talking to Marilyn Monroe at Studios! I had 5 cranky kids so I didn't stop to say hello. But I pointed you out to my family and was like "those are the people who I got all these tips/tricks from" 🤣 We loved the freestyle cups! Especially the slurpees. *Last night was the first time riding The Simpsons Ride and it will be the last. The kids loved it but 🤮 it was cute but man I felt so sick afterwards. Hope you guys had a great weekend!
Haha we wish you would have said hello! Thank you for watching all the videos and we are so happy the cups have been helpful! The simpsons can get you bad haha. Thank you! We hope you had a great weekend as well!
Just found ur chanel and love it! Must husband and I are from north Florida, and absolutely adore Universal! We have been living in so cal for the last 5 years or so, but we are moving back to Florida, to the Orlando area, next year! We are very excited to get annual passes!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your videos! I saw y'all there a few months ago and was star struck! I wanted to stop you and say hi but I chickened out. Next time though!
Hey the Pugh two! Love your content! I wanted to know if you guys think the OI crowd calendar is accurate? Do you guys use it to plan your days at the park? Or how might I use it?
They do a pretty good job of estimating the crowds! We definitely look at it from time to time, but we don't avoid the parks just because they're expected to be busy.
I’ve been a few times but this is first time we’re checking in very early and staying late. AND we have one-year-old Freestyles. So this was the perfect video. Thanks!
Hi both me and my son are stopping at CABANNA BAY HOTEL in January on our very first trip to Orlando. We are wondering if it is possible we are allowed to use the water taxi from Saphire falls even though we are not stopping at that hotel. By the way we watch your channel all the time, great to watch, so helpful and really fun to watch. Thanks
That’s so exciting! People definitely do that a lot. We’re not sure how Universal feels about it so we don’t promote that in our videos, but we can tell you that no one will be checking your room key or anything 🤷🏼♀️
You guys are the best! Always packed your videos with most useful info. Now I do have a weird question - have you guys ever split your hotel say, stay at the premier hotel for the express pass for a day or two and then switch to a different on-site or offset hotel for the rest of your vacation to maximize the usage of express pass?
We will make a reservation at Surfside for the full time frame (we like the family suite) and then book a premiere hotel for the second/third day but not actually move our stuff. Wake up early and take the park bus to city walk and then walk to the hotel and check in. Get room keys and go to the parks. We might visit the room mid afternoon for a break and explore since it is close by.
We don't think so! For all the rides that you can't take it on, they have free lockers you can rent while you ride to store your cup and any other belongings.
I have a cup from 2017 that I. Still able to activate, so yes you can reactivate older cups as long as the chip in the bottom of the cup has not been damaged.
Thank you for all the info. You’ve helped me so much! Can you tell me if the freestyle cups have a handle? My daughter wants to use a carabiner to clip it on her Fanny pack when it’s empty so she doesn’t have to hold it all day and I’m wondering if this will work. We love your channel!
Unfortunately they don’t! The old ones did, but I think you can buy a coozy type thing for them that do have handles! We’ve seen people with something like that at the parks.
When you guys hotel hop, what transportation do you use to get between resorts? Do they have shuttles that go from resort to resort? Or do you take rideshares like Uber/Lyft?
We just use ride share! You could theoretically take a bus to CityWalk and then take a bus to the other hotel, but that would be a nightmare with luggage!
I need a vacation to recover from our vacation. 😂 The park was definitely busier last week than any other time we have been. We were there for 5 days, so it wasn't a big deal. We finally rode Fast and Furious and it isn't that bad. We rode it more than once. My boys LOVED P fury!
Hey guys!! Been binging y’all’s videos, as I always do right before a trip. So I have a comment about the freestyle cups. I brought some old freestyle cups to the winter oi meetup hoping to reactivate for use during our hotel stay (since drinks are free at the meetup). When I went to reactivate I was told that resort cups are separate from park cups, therefore I could only reactivate them while in the parks, but I could buy a resort cup for drinks at the hotel. So we opted to not do that since we had brought drinks for the room, but that might be why some people say they couldn’t reactivate theirs? Just a thought, but we are planning on buying one resort cup this June for the meetup and bringing our old freestyle cups to reactivate during our days in the parks since we are visiting both day and night this June during the meetup week. Thanks again for all y’all do and I’m still waiting to hear if y’all are gonna be there in June (nudge nudge lol)
This would make a lot of sense cause yeah those are two totally different things! We can see how that could confuse people for sure. And thank you for watching the videos and commenting! It means so much. We will definitely be there at some point in June!
We are new passholders as of a couple months ago. We were super excited to be able to get passholder rates for upcoming trip in february. I got an email that rates had been released so just keep an eye out for those. I believe we saved close to $150 per night at Royal Pacific
Maybe it's a weird question, but, since I'm from another country, it's the kind of thing I'm not familiar with. How much do you usually tip to the person at the luggage service? I'm staying at Royal Pacific in September and I'm so excited! It's going to be our first time staying on property.
I enjoy y’all’s videos and the information. My wife and I went to Universal last September. Planning on going back this September. Never been to Volcano Bay and want to try it. Have you all been or done a video?
love this video concept! What is the best way to plan a trip for large groups? (8+) Can I use my UOAP pass to get the discounted hotel rate for the large group?
The UOAP discount is one per room, but some of the resorts do have very large rooms/suites that could accommodate 8+! I’d suggest calling Universal to get some help with your options!
The greenhouse at FJ is the extended queue so not everyone gets to see the greenhouse anyway. If you hear a TM being told to 'water the mandrakes' that means they have to go extend the queue into the greenhouse.
What do you do with the freestyle cups when you get on an attraction since the free lockers are small and you would have to turn them sideways? I’m guessing you just drink it before putting it in but maybe there is a secret tip😁 Btw love the channel, you 2 are great!
You can drink them before getting on the rides or they provide sinks/bins at the attractions to dump your liquid! Never put them in the lockers with liquid cause they will leak! Thank you so much!!
Don't be sleeping on those 3 for $10 candy bars!!! Avengers is my favorite. We've tried back to the future, jaws, swamp bar, spider-man, donkeys waffle bar, Jurassic Park fossil bar, and ET. We've got a few more to try next visit. We loved all of them.
@@ThePughTwo I'm gonna need to see chocolate bar footage lbvs. My boys and I got a kick out of the designs. They're really good. Also that confetti cake at today cafe is so good. I think it's like the cake on the birthday shake at toothesomes.
Hey you Two, thanks for all your videos. I wonder if I’ve missed it…did you do a video about the Christmas time celebration @ Universal? I think they call it Grinch Mas? If not I would love to see that. Thanks you too love your videos!👍
When you purchase an annual pass like premier, when do you start receiving the free parking benefits? I believe it says after first visit so does that I mean I’d have to pay for parking when picking up the pass and then once more as a first time with the pass, and then it becomes free?
No, just the first time. And it’s just a logistics thing. You can’t use your pass for free parking until you physically have it.. which you can’t do until you park and go get it lol. You could Uber the first time if that’s cheaper from wherever you’re staying!
Love the one about queuing then backing out of the big rides ,cos my partner hates them and I know she’ll bottle it when get to front ha ha but don’t want her to miss out on the things to see while queuing 👍👍😍
Haha we feel that! Anna chickened out on the big drop slide at Volcano Bay and had to walk ALL the way back down the stairs 😂😂 child swap is much more convenient!
I know y’all do a lot of universal videos and they’re very helpful but I’m just curious to see y’all‘s take on Disney stuff especially with the new ride. Will y’all ever considered doing a Disney vlog??
Thank you for this video - my family I going to visit next week - and all of this is new to us. Also would you use Orlando Shuttle or is it cheaper to get an Uber?
We would definitely use an Uber in that situation! The shuttle is 40 dollars per person each way while an Uber might cost you guys 60 each way as a group!
My wife and I, our names are Shane and Allison, we were the ones who saw you two today outside The Traders store. Your info about the on-site motels is part of the reason we booked at Cabana Bay. You two are great and we hope to see you again.
This was a super helpful video! Definitely one of my favourites from your channel and I've binge watched almost all of them :-) luggage services at the hotels was something I loved to learn and will use for booking next Universal trip!
Can you do maybe an updated “what’s in your bag” or “must have items to bring to the parks”….Every time I go to the parks there’s always new things I bring, or things I tweak to make the trip and park visits as easy as possible. Would be cool to see if y’all added any cool travel gear, gadgets, must have items.
Hi Folks, great videos and love watching from the Uk for all the tips. we are going to get a Premier hotel for a night to access express passes. If we have 4 guests in the room do we get 4 separate express passes or will the room key allow all 4 of us express. Thank you
When you check in, they’ll ask for the name of everyone in your room and each person will get their own room key! It’ll have your name printed on it and everything so you don’t get them confused. We hope you have an awesome time on your trip!!
We are going to universal on Thursday but islands of adventure closes at 9 pm while universal studios closes at 6 pm. We’re going there early in the morning but I don’t know which park to go to first because of the weather or just because islands of adventure may be crowded later that day. Any tips?
Hey one thing that doesn't really get talked about (understandably since you don't have little ones) but we had to figure out ourselves which rides have the best child swap areas we found some have A/C some don't and some even have movies playing or better routes back on to the ride once you swap. If you want, since we have to use these every time we go we would love to do like a collaboration and make a video ourselves ranking the child swap areas and send it to you guys.
There are 3 frozen drinks each $5.75 at Bob Marley's you need to try!! Cool you down frozen, mighty good drink, and the freedom freeze. My favorite is the mighty good drink it's pineapple, strawberry, and coconut juices. Through the park we had several frozen drinks/slushies. Pina colada, banana, watermelon, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, lemon, moose juice orange, goose juice green apple, cherry coke, margarita, mr. Teeny pineapple, and butterbeer. We had so much fun trying different drinks. We did try alot of the drinks in H.P. and we really liked alot of them. The 3 butterbeers, the otters orange fizz, the tongue tying lemon squash, pumpkin juice, and flavored potions. The potions we had were babbling beverage which is kind of a fruit punch, fire protection potion which is watermelon peach strawberry, and elixir to induce euphoria which had pineapple and hints of green apple. One potion was out. I didn't like the peach tree fizzing tea at all.
Hi do most places in the parks take cash ie gift shop food ect as we are coming soon from the UK and the UK parks are all cashless now thanks love the video keep them coming
What is the latest you recommend making a reservation at the city walk restaurants. We're going down the first full week of June, is making reservations the same day feasible? Or should it be booked weeks ahead?
@@ThePughTwoThanks!! Follow up question. We are landing at mco around 9:44am, I made a reservation at toothsome for 1:15. Is that enough time to take the universal shuttle to the Hard Rock Hotel, check in, and drop off luggage?
@@jeromesexton1426 that should be plenty of time! Only potential issue is if your flight gets delayed substantially. From the time you land, it should be about an hour or two before you’re at the parks, tops!
@@ThePughTwo thanks!! This is our first trip to Orlando (from Pennsylvania) and I can't begin to tell you how helpful and crucial your channel has been for my planning. I can't wait for the "things to know about visiting in June" video comes out!
Personally i recommend going early November i go all the time and it is rarely crowded basically the first week or two is perfect cause its right after hhn and right before Christmas and thanksgiving
So they usually do some maintenance on the water rides in the beginning of the year, but they do one at a time. So it’s possible one of them will be closed, but they won’t all be!
Probably a silly question to ask but what is the latest time to check in at a hotel? Like I was planning to say at Surfside but I get out of work at 5 and it’s a 4 hour drive from where I live, and I rather get there that night then drive up early morning (idk in our heads it seems more convenient) because we’re planning to be there for three days it’ll be on the weekend. I know I can probably call and ask but thought I’d give it a shot here first lol.
We’ve had flights delayed and not get there until 2 or 3 in the morning. We’re not sure if there’s an official cutoff, but we would suggest calling them and just giving them a heads up so you’re not counted as a no-show.
Here's something I've wondered about, since I'm bringing some of my grandkids later this month...what happens if someone gets sick or hurt while at the parks? Is there somewhere on the resort where you can go for medical care or do you have to find a clinic offsite?
We have never done the Christmas tour, but if the parks are rented out for a special event and the VIP tour would be taking place after dark, we would say it won’t be happening
Hi, you two, thank you for all the vids, can i ask a question please, is there a list of rides where you can opt out of the ride at the last minute, as we have someone in our group who isn't keen on the rides but they miss out on the themed queues-thank you
Blackout dates apply to certain annual passes. Your hotel doesn’t have anything to do with your ticket into the parks, so that doesn’t affect blockout dates at all!
The day you check out and leave the luggage to pick up later. Do you have to go to a park to have that service? Because I’m planning a trip and the day we check out we won’t go to universal parks but to sea world and we don’t want to have to carry the luggage around the park. Thanks in advance
The Freestyle cups do regularly go bad. Bring it to the register, and they will try to reactivate it (as long as you have the receipt). If they can't get it to reactivate, they will swap it out. We are local, so we go regularly and had to swap out a few.
we've been using the same Freestyle cups since 2017. one Halloween Horror Nights cup and 4 regular ones. the old style with handle and straws. still work every time. I hate the new ones with no handle or straw.
when the line at the Big Round Room is long we cut through the bushes, scoot across the street, and use Valet Parking security. never a line and right onto City Walk.
@@ThePughTwo don't be scared. Just do it. Valet security doesn't care where you come from. People that stay off property and walk from Doubletree and other hotels do it regularly.
Absolutely! I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad experience at any of them. Bar 17 at Adventura is a good one, and we’re big fans of the Kitchen at Hard Rock, too!
So I have a question. Can anyone ride the water taxis? So we are staying at Cabana Bay could we walk across the road to sapphire falls and ride the water taxi from there to the park?
Have you ever Pool hopped at the resorts?
No, but it's on my list! Would like to try CB but don't necessarily want to stay there.
No but we've hopped over to take the boat to city walk! Skip all the escalators and security
Haven't had the time to check out the pools, I'm all about the parks when I'm there
Yesss!! When I stay at Aventura, I go to Hard Rock's pool. Two boats and I'm there!
I haven’t been in a hotel pool! Hahah
I’ll take my book and go sit by them though 😄
We have cups from 2019 and they reactivated just fine last summer. But we still get new cups because we love the new designs.
Haha we do, too! The seasonal ones are the best!
Love the Preds jersey in the back ground! LETS GO PREDATORS!
Haha thank you! Go preds!
New Challenge Idea: Could you do a video about how much can be done in the parks after 6pm (aka free parking starts)! Including one snack/ meal. And 6pm- 10pm park hour. I'm hoping to do this for our next trip in June to save money and beat the heat.
Haha that’s a specific one! We’ll keep this in mind and see what we can do!
The best time to go is whenever you can!
Love this style video
Thank you Mike ❤️❤️!
Great tips (as usual)! Regarding early check-in and Luggage Services, we have used this service often. But regarding valuable, fragile or difficult-to-replace things like electronics, jewelry or medications, we suggest asking the front desk for one of their free safe-deposit boxes in their office. They are basically free lockers, and they give you the key. And, your on-site hotel concierge can arrange for your baggage to be delivered to your room from Luggage Services (when you are texted your room number) while you're not there. Another great video! Love you guys, love your show!
Wow, we actually didn’t know this! We just always tell them that we have fragile stuff like a laptop or camera gear and they stick a fragile sticker on it. We’ve never had any issues! That’s great to know there’s another option, though!!
@@ThePughTwo - Also with early check-in, you can ask the desk for refrigeration for insulin if your room isn't ready.
@@mattrost2574 someone else said that, we love that that’s an option!!
Oh my goodness. This was so informative. The luggage one is a big help. Trying to plan flights and might arrive early and don’t want to wait around in the lobby with our luggage.
We are so happy it was helpful! We hope you have such an amazing time in the parks!
This video came at the best time for me! I’m buying annual passes for me and my family and staying at a premier hotel at the end of this month for the first time ever! We are beyond excited! I love y’all’s channel! Thank you for all of your help!
Yay!! We are so happy for you and happy that the video was helpful! Thank you for watching!
Hahahaha Your M&M joke. You guys always make us laugh
Thank you, Emily!! We love hearing that!
I’ve been binge watching your videos this is my favorite!
Thank you! You’re so sweet!
"Turns out a restaurant will let you come in and pay money to eat food" 😂😂😂
😂🤣 what a shocker! Lol
Hey Tyler, the m&m commercial is “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hands” doesn’t say the outside candy shell won’t. LOL.
They are scammers! 🤣
Thank you for talking about rider swap!!! It sounds so easy and we will definitely be using it on our first trip in June! Y’all also answered so many other questions I didn’t know I had lol! Such a great and informative video as always!!! ❤
Thank you Stephanie! So happy we could help address some of your concerns! We hope you have such a great time in the parks!
Very helpful video. Going to Universal in September and my flight gets in at 5 am, your video answered my what to do with luggage question. Been watching tons of park videos to be fully prepared for when I go
Oh my gosh this just popped up in my feed. Sorry I didn’t see it before asking my questions. Thanks again!
You’re totally fine! There’s a reason we made this video and that’s because these are great questions that people have. We’re always happy to help in any way that we can. Thanks for watching!
Hey guys! Lighting and sound in your videos is on point! Very clear voices. Thank you!!!
Thank you Ted! We are always working on improving the quality of the videos so we love getting these type of comments!
We stayed at cabana bay resort and never even went to the pool. I regret that but we were only there 2 days and spent it in the park.
We’re the same way! We spend all our time jumping from ride to ride’
We’re the same way! We spend all our time jumping from ride to ride! We keep telling ourselves we’re gonna take a trip where we actually slow down and enjoy the pools and stuff!
Great video as always. I have a couple of questions. 1) Does Universal have a Bus Service like Disney offers to your hotel and back to the airport? If so, is it free or $$. If not, what do you recommend and how expensive is it? 2) Have you completed a tour of the Hard Rock Hotel? Thank you for your time.
They do! It’s called the Superstar shuttle and unfortunately it’s not free. We typically use a ride share like Uber or Lyft and you can expect it to be in the $30 range unless it’s really busy. We haven’t had a chance to do our Hard Rock tour yet, hopefully soon!
This video is sooo helpful! We purchase military promotion seasonal tickets and it’s very affordable for us. We’re staying at the Cabana Bay resort for the first time. We usually rent villas. The pass is park to park and have NO blockout dates! If we didn’t live in Virginia Beach VA, we would visit more often.
The military pass is an awesome deal! We’re so glad you guys take full advantage of it! CB is such a fun hotel, and the villas are the best!!
This is a good video post. Information is as important as entertainment when it comes to planning a vacation. Thank you again
Thank you, Mike! We’re so glad it was helpful!
I enjoy you guys so much. We need to get you guys more subs!!!
Thank you Jon! We would love that and hopefully it happens over time!
I 100% agree Tyler!!!
❤️
Saw you guys talking to Marilyn Monroe at Studios! I had 5 cranky kids so I didn't stop to say hello. But I pointed you out to my family and was like "those are the people who I got all these tips/tricks from" 🤣
We loved the freestyle cups! Especially the slurpees.
*Last night was the first time riding The Simpsons Ride and it will be the last. The kids loved it but 🤮 it was cute but man I felt so sick afterwards.
Hope you guys had a great weekend!
Haha we wish you would have said hello! Thank you for watching all the videos and we are so happy the cups have been helpful! The simpsons can get you bad haha. Thank you! We hope you had a great weekend as well!
Hey! I think I saw you guys vlogging this morning at Universal Studios! Can't wait to see your video and will definitely like and subscribe
Thank you so much! You probably did haha we were there most of
The day!
Just found ur chanel and love it! Must husband and I are from north Florida, and absolutely adore Universal! We have been living in so cal for the last 5 years or so, but we are moving back to Florida, to the Orlando area, next year! We are very excited to get annual passes!
Oh wow, that’s so exciting! We’re so glad you’re enjoying our videos, we appreciate you watching! We hope your move goes smoothly!
My freestyle cup and popcorn bucket are all ready in the suit case and ready to go. 😆🤣
Haha we love it! We actually brought our cup from home this time and then forgot it in the hotel 😂😂
I LOVE LOVE LOVE your videos! I saw y'all there a few months ago and was star struck! I wanted to stop you and say hi but I chickened out. Next time though!
Haha never be star struck with us! We are always happy to stop and say hello!
Tyler, you're gonna love this one.... Can you use the freestyle cups for butterbeer?
Haha unfortunately no! That would be dangerous for us if you could 😂😂
Are you guys gonna be in the parks tomorrow?
We were there today! We hope you had a great time if you were there, too!
Thanks for the very helpful video! I have never pool hopped but didn't even know you could. Have a great day!
We’re so glad you enjoyed it!! It’s an awesome perk that Universal offers! We hope you get to try it on your next trip!
Hey the Pugh two! Love your content! I wanted to know if you guys think the OI crowd calendar is accurate? Do you guys use it to plan your days at the park? Or how might I use it?
They do a pretty good job of estimating the crowds! We definitely look at it from time to time, but we don't avoid the parks just because they're expected to be busy.
I’ve been a few times but this is first time we’re checking in very early and staying late. AND we have one-year-old Freestyles.
So this was the perfect video. Thanks!
We’re so glad this one was helpful! We hope you have an amazing time on your trip!!
Hi both me and my son are stopping at CABANNA BAY HOTEL in January on our very first trip to Orlando. We are wondering if it is possible we are allowed to use the water taxi from Saphire falls even though we are not stopping at that hotel. By the way we watch your channel all the time, great to watch, so helpful and really fun to watch. Thanks
That’s so exciting! People definitely do that a lot. We’re not sure how Universal feels about it so we don’t promote that in our videos, but we can tell you that no one will be checking your room key or anything 🤷🏼♀️
You guys are the best! Always packed your videos with most useful info. Now I do have a weird question - have you guys ever split your hotel say, stay at the premier hotel for the express pass for a day or two and then switch to a different on-site or offset hotel for the rest of your vacation to maximize the usage of express pass?
We will make a reservation at Surfside for the full time frame (we like the family suite) and then book a premiere hotel for the second/third day but not actually move our stuff. Wake up early and take the park bus to city walk and then walk to the hotel and check in. Get room keys and go to the parks. We might visit the room mid afternoon for a break and explore since it is close by.
Absolutely! We do that all the time! We’ll stay at the a cheaper hotel on the nights we get there/leave to save some $$!
Thank you for all the great information! We are starting to plan 2023 trip. Was unsure about luggage check in, you covered my concerns!
We’re so happy we could help! There are definitely a lot of logistic questions that come up when you’re trying to plan everything!
I was debating checking luggage vs doing carry on? Have you guys done both and what do you prefer? Thanks for your videos, they are very informative.
Oh we were just talking about checking your luggage at the hotel. We personally always check our bags when we fly, though. Much less of a hassle!
Love the Cheetos shirt Anna 😂😂😂
Thank you!! 🥰
Regarding the freestyle cups, does it get annoying to have to carry around the cup? Where do you put it when you ride?
We don't think so! For all the rides that you can't take it on, they have free lockers you can rent while you ride to store your cup and any other belongings.
Great content again, so informative! Have always wondered that myself, it's the great M&M conspiracy.
Lol they’re feeding us lies! So glad you enjoyed it!!
I have a cup from 2017 that I. Still able to activate, so yes you can reactivate older cups as long as the chip in the bottom of the cup has not been damaged.
We’ve had people tell us they have ones from as far back as 2014 that still work!
Thank you for all the info. You’ve helped me so much! Can you tell me if the freestyle cups have a handle? My daughter wants to use a carabiner to clip it on her Fanny pack when it’s empty so she doesn’t have to hold it all day and I’m wondering if this will work. We love your channel!
Unfortunately they don’t! The old ones did, but I think you can buy a coozy type thing for them that do have handles! We’ve seen people with something like that at the parks.
When you guys hotel hop, what transportation do you use to get between resorts? Do they have shuttles that go from resort to resort? Or do you take rideshares like Uber/Lyft?
We just use ride share! You could theoretically take a bus to CityWalk and then take a bus to the other hotel, but that would be a nightmare with luggage!
Awesome vid as always
Thank you!!
I need a vacation to recover from our vacation. 😂 The park was definitely busier last week than any other time we have been. We were there for 5 days, so it wasn't a big deal. We finally rode Fast and Furious and it isn't that bad. We rode it more than once. My boys LOVED P fury!
Haha we feel that on a spiritual level! So happy it seems like you guys had a great trip!
Vip tours is amazing
We gotta try one!
@@ThePughTwo I like them because you get breakfast and lunch
Hey guys!! Been binging y’all’s videos, as I always do right before a trip. So I have a comment about the freestyle cups. I brought some old freestyle cups to the winter oi meetup hoping to reactivate for use during our hotel stay (since drinks are free at the meetup). When I went to reactivate I was told that resort cups are separate from park cups, therefore I could only reactivate them while in the parks, but I could buy a resort cup for drinks at the hotel. So we opted to not do that since we had brought drinks for the room, but that might be why some people say they couldn’t reactivate theirs? Just a thought, but we are planning on buying one resort cup this June for the meetup and bringing our old freestyle cups to reactivate during our days in the parks since we are visiting both day and night this June during the meetup week. Thanks again for all y’all do and I’m still waiting to hear if y’all are gonna be there in June (nudge nudge lol)
This would make a lot of sense cause yeah those are two totally different things! We can see how that could confuse people for sure. And thank you for watching the videos and commenting! It means so much. We will definitely be there at some point in June!
I SPY CABANA BAY BEACH RESORT!! 0:29 that’s where I stayed:)
Hahah it’s a great one!
I'm watching on my lunch break so...it better be good! 😆 lol
Update: video awesome! going to Universal in September I'll come back to this one then.
Haha we’re glad you enjoyed it! We hope it kept you entertained while you ate!
@@ThePughTwo It did, y'all are very good at what you do. I always look forward to your new ones.
@@HeyTommyMain we appreciate that!
We are new passholders as of a couple months ago. We were super excited to be able to get passholder rates for upcoming trip in february. I got an email that rates had been released so just keep an eye out for those. I believe we saved close to $150 per night at Royal Pacific
That’s amazing! When the passholder rates pop up, they can save you a TON of money. We’re so glad you found that deal!
Maybe it's a weird question, but, since I'm from another country, it's the kind of thing I'm not familiar with. How much do you usually tip to the person at the luggage service? I'm staying at Royal Pacific in September and I'm so excited! It's going to be our first time staying on property.
We always say that $5 is a good even ground and generally safe! We are so excited for you!
I enjoy y’all’s videos and the information. My wife and I went to Universal last September. Planning on going back this September. Never been to Volcano Bay and want to try it. Have you all been or done a video?
We’ve actually only been once! We’re planning on doing a video over it before too long. It’s so much fun, though! We absolutely recommend it!
love this video concept!
What is the best way to plan a trip for large groups? (8+)
Can I use my UOAP pass to get the discounted hotel rate for the large group?
The UOAP discount is one per room, but some of the resorts do have very large rooms/suites that could accommodate 8+! I’d suggest calling Universal to get some help with your options!
Love the hair, Anna!!! 😍🥰
Thank you Cherie!!
The greenhouse at FJ is the extended queue so not everyone gets to see the greenhouse anyway. If you hear a TM being told to 'water the mandrakes' that means they have to go extend the queue into the greenhouse.
This is such a hilarious detail. We had no idea that was a thing!
@@ThePughTwo I only learned it on Tuesday on the Castle Tour
Great Video! Very helpful
Thank you! We appreciate you watching!
I have a cup from 2015 that still works. I've seen others in the parks with the same cup too. It's the blue and white cup with the handle.
Thank you for letting us know!!
You are always so informative U2 are my favorite RUclipsrs I hope to meet you in October
Awh thank you so much, Ann! You’re so sweet! We’ll definitely be around in October so if you see us, come say hi!
What do you do with the freestyle cups when you get on an attraction since the free lockers are small and you would have to turn them sideways? I’m guessing you just drink it before putting it in but maybe there is a secret tip😁
Btw love the channel, you 2 are great!
They usually have bins/buckets in locker areas to dump liquid out before placing it into the lockers.
You can drink them before getting on the rides or they provide sinks/bins at the attractions to dump your liquid! Never put them in the lockers with liquid cause they will leak! Thank you so much!!
Don't be sleeping on those 3 for $10 candy bars!!! Avengers is my favorite. We've tried back to the future, jaws, swamp bar, spider-man, donkeys waffle bar, Jurassic Park fossil bar, and ET. We've got a few more to try next visit. We loved all of them.
Some of those little themed candy bars are so good! They retheme them for HHN sometimes and we always enjoy the ones we try!
@@ThePughTwo I'm gonna need to see chocolate bar footage lbvs. My boys and I got a kick out of the designs. They're really good. Also that confetti cake at today cafe is so good. I think it's like the cake on the birthday shake at toothesomes.
Hey you Two, thanks for all your videos. I wonder if I’ve missed it…did you do a video about the Christmas time celebration @ Universal? I think they call it Grinch Mas?
If not I would love to see that. Thanks you too love your videos!👍
Hey Kathy! We’ve talked about it in a few videos but we haven’t really done an entire video just about Grinchmas. It’s a lot of fun, though!
When you purchase an annual pass like premier, when do you start receiving the free parking benefits? I believe it says after first visit so does that I mean I’d have to pay for parking when picking up the pass and then once more as a first time with the pass, and then it becomes free?
No, just the first time. And it’s just a logistics thing. You can’t use your pass for free parking until you physically have it.. which you can’t do until you park and go get it lol. You could Uber the first time if that’s cheaper from wherever you’re staying!
Love the one about queuing then backing out of the big rides ,cos my partner hates them and I know she’ll bottle it when get to front ha ha but don’t want her to miss out on the things to see while queuing 👍👍😍
Haha we feel that! Anna chickened out on the big drop slide at Volcano Bay and had to walk ALL the way back down the stairs 😂😂 child swap is much more convenient!
@@ThePughTwo yep that’s in our package too so I’ll be the only one getting wet 😂
I know y’all do a lot of universal videos and they’re very helpful but I’m just curious to see y’all‘s take on Disney stuff especially with the new ride. Will y’all ever considered doing a Disney vlog??
We are going to dip our toes into Disney very very soon!
@@ThePughTwo Yay!!
Thank you for this video - my family I going to visit next week - and all of this is new to us. Also would you use Orlando Shuttle or is it cheaper to get an Uber?
We would definitely use an Uber in that situation! The shuttle is 40 dollars per person each way while an Uber might cost you guys 60 each way as a group!
My wife and I, our names are Shane and Allison, we were the ones who saw you two today outside The Traders store. Your info about the on-site motels is part of the reason we booked at Cabana Bay. You two are great and we hope to see you again.
Thank you so much for saying hello!
This was a super helpful video! Definitely one of my favourites from your channel and I've binge watched almost all of them :-) luggage services at the hotels was something I loved to learn and will use for booking next Universal trip!
Awww thank you so much! We love it when we get positive feed back! Luggage services is such a great feature and has saved us tons of time and money!
They do melt in your hand
😂😂
When is hagrids getting express line?
We wish we knew haha!
Can you do maybe an updated “what’s in your bag” or “must have items to bring to the parks”….Every time I go to the parks there’s always new things I bring, or things I tweak to make the trip and park visits as easy as possible. Would be cool to see if y’all added any cool travel gear, gadgets, must have items.
We did one a month or two ago! Our items definitely change and evolve over time, so we try to update you all every once in a while!
Great video!
Thank you!
Met you at hard Rock hotel, nice couple, great channel. Talked about cameras. Pleasure to meet you
It was so nice to meet you, we enjoyed it!! We appreciate it!!
Hi Folks, great videos and love watching from the Uk for all the tips. we are going to get a Premier hotel for a night to access express passes. If we have 4 guests in the room do we get 4 separate express passes or will the room key allow all 4 of us express. Thank you
When you check in, they’ll ask for the name of everyone in your room and each person will get their own room key! It’ll have your name printed on it and everything so you don’t get them confused. We hope you have an awesome time on your trip!!
@@ThePughTwo Great, thanks for the reply and super videos 👍
i have a question, is there a exclusive line for EPA if you are in one of the 3 premier hotels or if u have a premier annual pass?
No it is all lumped together!
THANK YOU SO MUCH IVE BEEN LOOKING FOR 2 DAYS
I can't wait to see the questions and answers lol. I love your videos. At Universal right now!
We hope you are having a blast! We will
Be there in about 12 hours!
@@ThePughTwo we are definitely having a blast! I hope you enjoy your time at Universal too! Hopefully, we run into you so we can say hi
best time to go: multiple nights during HHN end of october
We usually visit during the middle of October. We're hoping we're living down there this year so we can see how the event changes over time!
We are going to universal on Thursday but islands of adventure closes at 9 pm while universal studios closes at 6 pm. We’re going there early in the morning but I don’t know which park to go to first because of the weather or just because islands of adventure may be crowded later that day. Any tips?
We would suggest getting Studios done earlier since it closes first! Weather could change that, but that’s our thought!
Hey one thing that doesn't really get talked about (understandably since you don't have little ones) but we had to figure out ourselves which rides have the best child swap areas we found some have A/C some don't and some even have movies playing or better routes back on to the ride once you swap. If you want, since we have to use these every time we go we would love to do like a collaboration and make a video ourselves ranking the child swap areas and send it to you guys.
Thank you for the information! We always enjoy getting others views on the parks especially ones that we have no experience with!
Great info
Oh I forgot to ask the reason I asked about the uber is because we are a party of five - and finally I am new to channel so thanks again.
Thank you for checking out the channel!
The chips inside the cups can become damaged and not allow you to reactive them, but other then that you should always be able to reuse them
Oh yes, absolutely! Especially if you put them in the dishwasher!
There are 3 frozen drinks each $5.75 at Bob Marley's you need to try!! Cool you down frozen, mighty good drink, and the freedom freeze. My favorite is the mighty good drink it's pineapple, strawberry, and coconut juices. Through the park we had several frozen drinks/slushies. Pina colada, banana, watermelon, raspberry, strawberry, cherry, lemon, moose juice orange, goose juice green apple, cherry coke, margarita, mr. Teeny pineapple, and butterbeer. We had so much fun trying different drinks. We did try alot of the drinks in H.P. and we really liked alot of them. The 3 butterbeers, the otters orange fizz, the tongue tying lemon squash, pumpkin juice, and flavored potions. The potions we had were babbling beverage which is kind of a fruit punch, fire protection potion which is watermelon peach strawberry, and elixir to induce euphoria which had pineapple and hints of green apple. One potion was out. I didn't like the peach tree fizzing tea at all.
Ooo those sound delicious! Thank you so much for the suggestion. We are going to have to try those out sometime!!
@@ThePughTwo you won't be disappointed.
Thanks for all the info! We are visiting the last 2 weeks in August. Do you know what the park opening hours will be?
They don’t release park hours until about 4 weeks ahead of time. You can find the hours on the Universal app, though!!
Hi do most places in the parks take cash ie gift shop food ect as we are coming soon from the UK and the UK parks are all cashless now thanks love the video keep them coming
They do take cash as of the last time we checked!
Can;t wait to go in Oct.
October is an awesome time to visit!
What is the latest you recommend making a reservation at the city walk restaurants. We're going down the first full week of June, is making reservations the same day feasible? Or should it be booked weeks ahead?
We have heard you can make them same day, however with how busy July can be, we would consider calling and trying to get them a week or so in advance!
@@ThePughTwoThanks!! Follow up question. We are landing at mco around 9:44am, I made a reservation at toothsome for 1:15. Is that enough time to take the universal shuttle to the Hard Rock Hotel, check in, and drop off luggage?
@@jeromesexton1426 that should be plenty of time! Only potential issue is if your flight gets delayed substantially. From the time you land, it should be about an hour or two before you’re at the parks, tops!
@@ThePughTwo thanks!! This is our first trip to Orlando (from Pennsylvania) and I can't begin to tell you how helpful and crucial your channel has been for my planning. I can't wait for the "things to know about visiting in June" video comes out!
Personally i recommend going early November i go all the time and it is rarely crowded basically the first week or two is perfect cause its right after hhn and right before Christmas and thanksgiving
Yeah we would say that period is definitely one of the least busy times in the park!
Are the water rides running in Islands during Jan? We are going this Jan & is hoping the Jurassic one is open 😊
So they usually do some maintenance on the water rides in the beginning of the year, but they do one at a time. So it’s possible one of them will be closed, but they won’t all be!
Probably a silly question to ask but what is the latest time to check in at a hotel? Like I was planning to say at Surfside but I get out of work at 5 and it’s a 4 hour drive from where I live, and I rather get there that night then drive up early morning (idk in our heads it seems more convenient) because we’re planning to be there for three days it’ll be on the weekend. I know I can probably call and ask but thought I’d give it a shot here first lol.
We’ve had flights delayed and not get there until 2 or 3 in the morning. We’re not sure if there’s an official cutoff, but we would suggest calling them and just giving them a heads up so you’re not counted as a no-show.
Bringing back season 1 freestyle cup this summer. Will let you know if it still works. It did 3 years ago.
Haha that’s awesome! We’re excited to hear the verdict!!
It worked!
@@teresamasontheteacher3047 Love it!
Here's something I've wondered about, since I'm bringing some of my grandkids later this month...what happens if someone gets sick or hurt while at the parks? Is there somewhere on the resort where you can go for medical care or do you have to find a clinic offsite?
Hey Marcie! Great question! There are 3-4 first aid and med service buildings in each park!
Do the freestyle cups fit in the smaller lockers for some rides?
They do! Make sure you empty them first, though!
@@ThePughTwo y’all the best! Thank you so much! Haha, definitely will be making sure they are empty haha. Keep up the great videos, can’t get enough!
Orlando informer is Dec 2&3. Will they have the VIP Christmas tour on these days? From past season experience.
We have never done the Christmas tour, but if the parks are rented out for a special event and the VIP tour would be taking place after dark, we would say it won’t be happening
Which hotel restaurant do you recommend?
Ooo that’s a good question! We honestly don’t eat at too many of the resorts!
Hi, you two, thank you for all the vids, can i ask a question please, is there a list of rides where you can opt out of the ride at the last minute, as we have someone in our group who isn't keen on the rides but they miss out on the themed queues-thank you
You can actually see that on the app! When you look at each ride, look for the child swap option. That’ll be the easiest way for you to tell!
@@ThePughTwo Thank you, don't got to August so haven't dowloaded the App will do that now, thank you
Do blackout dates apply to you if your staying on property
Blackout dates apply to certain annual passes. Your hotel doesn’t have anything to do with your ticket into the parks, so that doesn’t affect blockout dates at all!
The day you check out and leave the luggage to pick up later. Do you have to go to a park to have that service? Because I’m planning a trip and the day we check out we won’t go to universal parks but to sea world and we don’t want to have to carry the luggage around the park. Thanks in advance
You do not have to go to the park! You can leave it at the hotel you check out off with proof of stay!
The Freestyle cups do regularly go bad. Bring it to the register, and they will try to reactivate it (as long as you have the receipt). If they can't get it to reactivate, they will swap it out. We are local, so we go regularly and had to swap out a few.
we've been using the same Freestyle cups since 2017. one Halloween Horror Nights cup and 4 regular ones. the old style with handle and straws. still work every time. I hate the new ones with no handle or straw.
That’s a great tip to know! Thank you!
We need a handle one haha!
when the line at the Big Round Room is long we cut through the bushes, scoot across the street, and use Valet Parking security. never a line and right onto City Walk.
Haha you have said this before and it scares us to try!
@@ThePughTwo don't be scared. Just do it. Valet security doesn't care where you come from. People that stay off property and walk from Doubletree and other hotels do it regularly.
Are any of the restaurants at the different resort hotels worth visiting?
Absolutely! I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad experience at any of them. Bar 17 at Adventura is a good one, and we’re big fans of the Kitchen at Hard Rock, too!
So I have a question. Can anyone ride the water taxis? So we are staying at Cabana Bay could we walk across the road to sapphire falls and ride the water taxi from there to the park?
Yeah you can walk across the street and take the taxis!