How to do Universal & Disney?

[ceecee]

This year we would like to do Disney, Universal & a few days at SIL's house at the beach. We are so spoiled with Magical Express and never having to drive, handle luggage, etc. How can we do this? We don't want to rent a car for the entire time since we wouldn't use it at all at WDW.
Is it worth it to stay at one of the Universal hotels for the express thing? Their website is a tad confusing.

 

[leebee]

Summer 2010 we stayed at Disney but went to Universal to see WWHP. I bought my tickets through Dreams Unlimited, which was running a package that included park tickets and bus transportation from Disney to Universal (and back, of course!). Don't know if they are still doing this or not. I also think there's a thread here somewhere that talks about how to get to Universal from Disney.

Another thing to consider would be renting a car through Alamo for the days you want to spend off-site. You can rent vehicles at the Car Care Center or at the Dolphin (or is it Swan?). You can take Disney transport to the Yacht/Beach Club (if it doesn't go to the Dolphin directly) and walk to the Dolphin. If using the rental agency at the CCC, they will pick you up at your resort on the day your rental starts, and take you back to the resort after you drop off your rental.

 

[LJSquishy]

I just bought Universal tickets through Dreams Unlimited which include transfers to/from your Disney resort. We've planned to do both parks in one day so it was the cheapest option considering round trip transportation. We will print our Universal tickets out at will call when we get there, and call Mears transportation at least 24 hours in advance to schedule to be picked up. It sounds easy enough!

 

[AllesonWonderland]

What time of year will you be going? We went last month and had no problem with crowds--didn't stay onsite or buy FOTL privileges. I imagine it would be useful at busier times though.

 

[Planogirl]

If you go during a busy time, it is very worth it to stay onsite at Universal. You get front of the line for most attractions plus the hotels are lovely. I personally think that staying right there is easier than running back and forth particularly if you don't have a car.

How do you plan to get to SIL's house?

 

[pigletto]

We also used the Dreams Unlimited ticket with transportation provided. It was a good deal, and the transportation worked out to be free. We bought 2 days worth of tickets and transportation, but one day is available too.
It went smoothly and I would use them again.

Here's the link
http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/universal/tickets.htm

You can also get to the page yourself by clicking "tickets" on the blue area above this screen. It's about a quarter of the way down the page.
We went late August and did buy the FOTL pass for one of the days. It was useful, but not necessary and I wished at the time that we had just saved the money. Crowds will depend on your dates. You can go back to the front of the park and buy the FOTL option if you find the crowds to heavy I am pretty sure.

 

[shoney]

If you can, I suggest staying onsite. We stayed at the Portofino about 9 years ago and loved it. The FOTL access is great....like have unlimited fast passes.

Just keep in mind the one you buy is good only for 1 time for each ride. Not worth it IMO.

3 years ago, we stayed in a timeshare and bought upgraded VIP passes online. they were expensive but worth it. It basically gave you the same unlimited pass that you get when staying on site.

Our boys must have rode the mummy 15 times in a row while we continued our "lunch" at the Irish pub!

Also when we stayed on site, we walked up to Margaritaville and there was a 2 hour wait. I showed her the passes and asked if they were good there. she said YES! We were seated in 10 minutes!

 

[weewuvvdisney]

We went to Disney in march 2010. We ordered tickets (can't remember where - Ticketmania perhaps), Since there were 6 of us, we went down to the reception desk the night before asked them to reseve a van for us. The van was ready, right at the time we requested it. On our return trip, we just excited the park and followed the signs and staff who escorted right to a taxi van. It was about $80.00 return. For us it was a good deal as there were 6 of us. If we had gone through Mears or another company, it would have cost us more. By using a taxi, we got there early and we were able to leave when we wanted. Unfortunately, one of our friends was sick and we ended up leaving earlier than planned.

Good luck with your arrangements!

 

[MK2thcleaner]

We spent 10 days at PORFQ right before Christmas. On check out day my son and I walked over to a DTD hotel that has a Budget rental agency. We didn't have to walk as we could have caught a bus from DTD, but we were feeling adventurous. I chose Budget because it was so much less expensive than using the Car Care Center on property (4 day CUV rental for less than $150). Then we went back and picked up my mom and headed to our next hotel.

We stayed at a Universal hotel right after Christmas. We spent one night, but checked in at 7AM to get our cards, print out or tickets and then went over to Universal on our first day. The second day we packed up, loaded the car, then high tailed it over to Islands of Adventure for early entry. This is the only way I would do it during such a busy time as the holiday season. The parks were ridiculous! So many people you could hardly walk. However, we got into WWHP a little after 7AM and were out by 9AM. My son did the single rider for the new HP ride as the line was already 75min long. He was done within 35min since the HP ride does not have FOTL access. I got a frozen butterbeer and checked out the stores while I waited. By the time we left the area, it was closed for regular entry and they were giving out passes for people to come back at a certain time. Later that afternoon we heard the HP ride line was 5 hours long.

With the hotel key card we were able to slide in and out of ride lines that were 2+ hours long within 10-20 minutes. Time in a park is so valuable, it was so nice to not have to wait long.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I've usually found the least expensive option is the simplest. Just get a car for you entire stay. I'm sure other options have worked for others, but whenever I priced out a car rental for part of our stay, it cost as much as just having the car the whole time. If you try to do a shuttle/car rental combo, it's going to cost more in $ and time.

I don't find it a hassle to have a car at WDW at all. You just park it when you don't need it. Some trips, we hardly used a car at all, others we used the car every day. It depends a bit where you are staying. A car is very useful if you are staying at one of the mods or even values. It's also useful if you want to have dinner at a resort other than your home resort. For most resorts it's also much faster if you want to take an afternoon break.

If we are at a deluxe though we tend to use the boats, monorail, and in some cases the bus. WDW transport is best to MK, IMO.

Picking up and dropping off a rental car at MCO is also super easy. Most of the car companies are in the terminal. Your retnal car will be MUCH faster than the ME bus! You will gain at least half an hour of vacation time. More likely you'll beat the ME bus by a full hour or more!

You also get the freedom to LEAVE WDW whenever you choose. If you want moretime at the airport to eat, you can, if you want a little less then three hours(I don't suggest that ) you could. You dop the car off right at MCO- so it's super easy to get inside with your luggage.

 

[englishteacha]

We went to Universal last February during Presidents' week. We stayed offsite and had a car rental. The WWoHP was busy, but every other attraction in both Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure was walk on! Our longest wait was 5 or 10 minutes, mainly for rides that had a "show" element to them, like Earthquake. It was such a great vacation for us. We also did Sea World and Busch Gardens during that trip.

So based on my experience, during what is traditionally a busier week due to school vacation, we had no need to stay onsite. Yes, WWoHP was packed to the gills, with crazy long waits, but those attractions don't have FOTL benefits anyway.

I'd figure out what a car rental costs for the time you're in FL. It may be a lot less than you think, and certainly would make going to Universal much easier. We've always rented a car, and it's so easy to just grab your luggage, get your car, and go. No waiting for buses or shuttles, and you can be completely on your own schedule.

 

[hockeymomNS]

I have heard of people going to the Budget location.
I would suggest tho that it doesn't hurt to check the car rental sites for your dates. There are discounts sometimes that are pretty amazing.
Try autoslash.com and http://www.rentalcarmomma.com/cities/florida.htm

 

[lisaross]

We did both a few years ago. It worked out Great! We did Disney for 7 nights - took the magical express from the airport. Then we stayed in Universal Hard Rock for 4 nights - took a cab from Disney Hotel to Hard Rock. Loved staying in a Universal Hotel - so different then Disney and more relaxing. When it was time to go home we took another taxi to the airport. No car is needed for universal! Have FUN!

This year we would like to do Disney, Universal & a few days at SIL's house at the beach. We are so spoiled with Magical Express and never having to drive, handle luggage, etc. How can we do this? We don't want to rent a car for the entire time since we wouldn't use it at all at WDW.
Is it worth it to stay at one of the Universal hotels for the express thing? Their website is a tad confusing.