My heart is with Disney resorts but.....

[bumbershoot]

Why wouldn't you just split? It is the best solution. You don't waste time in transportation.

Because they aren't planning on a Disney visit. They just want to stay at Disney while going to all these other parks.

This was the only mention of Disney, and it was just a possibility:

who knows we might throw in 1 park at Disney or a water park.

 

[Anthony1971]

My take...
We own DVC for 12 years so always stay Deluxe and previous we did mostly as well. never stayed at a Disney Value so I can not comment on that.
We stayed at Cabana Bay last November... I can say for what they charge it is a FAR better deal than a Disney Moderate when you take into consideration the pools. We loved it there... The food at Universal parks was not great and everything had a similar smoked flavor even the sit downs... Cabana Bay had far better food and the prices were reasonable in fact we and many others we ran across enjoyed the food a lot... City walk is by no means Disney springs but are still a few good places to eat and they have mini golf and a lot of bars. Universal is far smaller than Disney all around.. To compare Disney and Universal is not what I feel can be done.. they are different in a lot of ways Universal has some great attractions as does Disney but they are not the same type of rides nor concepts. We in the future will enjoy both... keep an open mind with universal and you will greatly enjoy start saying Disney... and you will not... not a put down as again we enjoy universal but to try to compare apples to apples in this case you are comparing an apple to an apple tree when it comes to how much each can invest in the parks and how much space is available. Set your expectations to enjoy something new and you will find universal as attractive as Disney.

 

[GoBears 1980]

Because they aren't planning on a Disney visit. They just want to stay at Disney while going to all these other parks.

This was the only mention of Disney, and it was just a possibility:

They aren't planning on going into the Disney theme parks, but as they said themselves, there is so much more on the Disney property and they are only doing 2 days out of 6 at Universal. There is plenty to do onsite at Disney, including just hanging at the hotel.

 

[mister morrow]

if you can find a better deal at disney world than cabana bay, stay at disney.
like other PP said, since you are not planning to visit disney it would be easier to have an off site resort.
totally up to you.

 

[ParksPixar&Pizza]

I love Disney and everything about it but We are going to be visiting Universal this trip. I am having a very difficult time deciding where to stay. Our budget allows for Cabana Bay but I want to stay at CBR. We are only going to the Universal parks for 2 days staying 6 nights but their parks close early and I don't know if there is enough to do to keep us entertained. Disney offers so much more than just the parks. Plus we will also be playing a round or two of golf. I am horrible about making up my mind and really need help. Has anyone done both resorts and stayed at both that can give me the pros and cons. We might also hit a day at Busch Gardens never been there, who knows we might throw in 1 park at Disney or a water park. Please help this very indecisive person.

My last trip we stayed at Portofino Bay and did 4 park days at Disney, 2 days at the Universal Parks and then a pool day. Pros are obviously you basically get free express passes at Universal which is insanely helpful and the free boat transportation to the parks/City Walk is great. City Walk has great restaurants (I love Cowfish!). Cons, I was sad I didn't stay on Disney Property though, but we ended up saving SO much money. UO properties are dramatically cheaper and the rooms are incredible, great pools and dining. Another con, you obviously have to drive to Disney for the parks or to even eat if you want to eat there, which can seem like an inconvenience, but you'd have to do the same if you wanted to go to UO. Look, I LOVE Disney, but UO is great too, you can do both! Give UO a try or maybe even do a split stay? If you're worried about not having enough to do, I think especially if you're playing golf, you'll have plenty to do. IOA and US are packed with rides. I could easily spend all day in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade myself. Hope this helps!

 

[metzgardesign]

If you're going to Universal I'd definatley stay at one of their hotels. You'll get early entry perk. Cabana Bay looks amazing. I love WDW resorts, but Universal hotels blow WDW out of the water. We've stayed at Hard Rock and Portofino. In Deluxe category WDW resorts don't even come close.

On our last trip, this was our experience, as well. We stayed at Hard Rock and went to Universal for the first time (after having driven past on our way to WDW for several years).

Our stay at POR after Hard Rock (while decidedly different resort 'levels' I believe) was a tremendous buzz-kill. The Uni hotels were really that impressive to us (dining also).

 

[Sue M]

On our last trip, this was our experience, as well. We stayed at Hard Rock and went to Universal for the first time (after having driven past on our way to WDW for several years).

Our stay at POR after Hard Rock (while decidedly different resort 'levels' I believe) was a tremendous buzz-kill. The Uni hotels were really that impressive to us (dining also).

We did a split trip 2 yrs ago, did Universal first for 3 days and stayed at Portofino. It was amazing. Then went to WDW GF, so wasn't too much of a buzz kill for us, lol. But Portofino was even more amazing than GF.

 

[minijeanie]

If you're going to Universal I'd definatley stay at one of their hotels. You'll get early entry perk. Cabana Bay looks amazing. I love WDW resorts, but Universal hotels blow WDW out of the water. We've stayed at Hard Rock and Portofino. In Deluxe category WDW resorts don't even come close. Cabana Bay has an amazing pool, and I think a bowling alley!
At Universal you can discover all the resort restaurants, and Universal Walk restaurants at night. They also have bus service to Seaworld. You can have a waterpark day at Aquatica. If you buy Seaworld/Busch combo tickets you get free bus service to Busch Gardens from Seaworld.
I would also use the time to discover other Orlando attractions.

I cannot agree with you more. I have stayed at HRH twice and their rooms are 100% better than any Disney resort. There Is citywalk in Universal and as OP said they may go to seaworld/Bush gardens. Why spend the $$ on a Disney resort if you are not doing the parks. Go Universal for sure

 

[Poohbear03]

We decided to do 3 nights at Cabana Bay for Universal and 4 nights at Disney doing 2 parks there. I just need to decide French Quarter or Caribbean Beach? We have stayed at Coronado and Riverside. Any suggestions on which out of the two is better?

 

[bumbershoot]

We did a split trip 2 yrs ago, did Universal first for 3 days and stayed at Portofino. It was amazing. Then went to WDW GF, so wasn't too much of a buzz kill for us, lol. But Portofino was even more amazing than GF.

Wish you would join us on the Universal forum to mention that! We had a poster comparing the lobbies and Portofino wasn't impressing him, and he was worried he wouldn't like any of the hotels or parks because of that. Anyone who has STAYED at PBH knows the greatness isn't in the *lobby*.


OP, do you want close-in or sprawling for the Disney mod? Did you end up giving up on the other parks for this trip?

 

[Poohbear03]

Wish you would join us on the Universal forum to mention that! We had a poster comparing the lobbies and Portofino wasn't impressing him, and he was worried he wouldn't like any of the hotels or parks because of that. Anyone who has STAYED at PBH knows the greatness isn't in the *lobby*.


OP, do you want close-in or sprawling for the Disney mod? Did you end up giving up on the other parks for this trip?

We have been to SW before so that was okay with not going. We have never been to BG, we did give that up along with Aquatica. I am sure Orlando has so much to offer and I am hoping we made the right decision. We don't go on vacation often so it is really hard to decide what vacation destination to go on.

 

[ellie05]

We have done slip stays between Disney and universal before and one coming up in October. I wouldn't book a Disney resort unless you will be going to the Disney parks. We always hotel hop to one of the universal hotels for that part of our stay. We did royal pacific the first time and we will splitting our stay between BWI/BLT and Portofino in October.

It is totally worth the express pass and being within waking distance to the parks. Plus you can get much better hotels off site for much cheaper tha CBR.

 

[Poohbear03]

Okay - we had difficulty making up our minds, actually mine.....This is final and made the reservations this morning.....We are skipping Disney, we have been there plenty and I am going to try something new. Decided to book 7 nights at Royal Pacific, we will do both Universal parks, SW, Busch Gardens and maybe take a look at Clearwater Beach, and play golf. Thanks for all of the replies, I am going to go outside my comfort zone and enjoy.

 

[pcstang]

Okay - we had difficulty making up our minds, actually mine.....This is final and made the reservations this morning.....We are skipping Disney, we have been there plenty and I am going to try something new. Decided to book 7 nights at Royal Pacific, we will do both Universal parks, SW, Busch Gardens and maybe take a look at Clearwater Beach, and play golf. Thanks for all of the replies, I am going to go outside my comfort zone and enjoy.

You will have a great time! If you've never been to the gulf coast beaches, you will love it. Watching the sunset from Clearwater beach is amazing.

 

[bumbershoot]

Okay - we had difficulty making up our minds, actually mine.....This is final and made the reservations this morning.....We are skipping Disney, we have been there plenty and I am going to try something new. Decided to book 7 nights at Royal Pacific, we will do both Universal parks, SW, Busch Gardens and maybe take a look at Clearwater Beach, and play golf. Thanks for all of the replies, I am going to go outside my comfort zone and enjoy.

You are being so brave!

 

[Little E]

I would suggest a split stay between Cabana Bay and your time at Universal, and CBR and WDW. We did this in 2014, just a few weeks after Cabana Bay opened, and we really enjoyed our time both at the resort and at Universal. After our stay at Cabana Bay/Universal, we used Mears to transport our family and luggage to WDW for the Disney part of our trip. During that trip, we stayed at OKW, but our family has also stayed at CBR on a previous trip. Both Disney resorts are wonderful, and the transport with Mears was seamless. It was very manageable and we were able to enjoy both Universal and Disney to fullest extent by staying onsite at both places.

Good luck and have a wonderful trip!!