Pros and Cons of off-site stay for Universal/Disney combo trip

[Happyjen27]

Hi everyone,

I asked this on the Universal board, but then realize that I might want to get opinions from many sources.

We are visiting Orlando for an 8 night adventure in Feb 2016, the week after the big President's week break. Traditionally this week is lower crowds, around 4s or so according to EasyJosh. So, a couple of the perks from staying onsite, the Front of the Line Access at Universal and the 60 day FP+ window (as opposed to only 30 day with off site) might not be as impactful as if we were going at a very busy time.

We're doing 3 days at Universal, 5 days at Disney. I have 2 options before me, and I'm really struggling with what the best option is.

Option 1: Off site stay, perhaps Bonnet Creek, perhaps a hotel with an indoor pool (do those exist in Orlando? It might be nice to swim, and with February weather one might not be able to swim outside).

If we stayed off site, we wouldn't have to move mid-week when we change from Disney to Universal. We would also save money, we would also have better food options.

Option 2: Staying on-site at both places. I'm leaning toward the Grand Floridian if we stay at Disney and the Hard Rock Hotel if we stay at Universal. It would be nice to get the perks of staying on site, in particular the driver behind the decision would be to have easy access to the MK.

The struggle is that I don't want the bother of packing up and moving mid-week, which leads staying off-site to look pretty attractive. However, I also don't know how much bother it is to park and then monorail/ferry/bus into the Magic Kingdom is. I've been spoiled with very easy access to the MK my last 2 trips. Of our 5 Disney days, 3 will be MK days.

Any insight you all can offer on staying off site versus on site would be so apprecaited!!

 

[starvenger]

For the record, I stay offsite but I also alternate park days with non-park days (read: I take my SO shopping). Still working on convincing her to go full bore WDW.

With MK you should probably allow 45-60 min to drive/park/monorail to the gates. Probably half that for the other parks. It likely means that you will need to get up earlier if you like doing the rope drop. And that it will be a very long day if you stay for the fireworks. Plus it costs ~$18 to park.

Also, if you're going to a park every day I dont know if you'll be dining offsite outside of maybe breakfast (if you eat breakfast, that is). So I'd probably not factor food into the equation.

So it's a classic time vs cost dilemma. Does the extra time you take to get to the park have more value than the extra money you pay by being onsite? Also consider that some of that time is hypothetically offset by the need to pack when switching resorts.

I guess I can't provide more insight than that. I hope this at least quantifies things a bit for you.

 

[TravelMommy]

While I have only done either staying one week, WDW and then one week US, or one or the other;I vote for option 2. You really can't beat being so close to the parks. Staying on sight especially at Hard Rock, is truly awesome, it is less than a 5 minute walk to the parks. You wouldn't have to drive there, park the car, walk from the beginning of Citiwalk. If you want to take a swim break it is so convenient. You get front of the line access at Universal as well as early entry. Have a great trip whatever you decide.

 

[My3SonsandMaya]

We have done both and I will never stay onsite again. We have four kids and the last trip we took we split our time between Disney and Universal and Seaworld. We stayed at Windsor Hills. Not only was a four bedroom house with a pool cheaper than staying onsite we at breakfast and dinner at our rental and saved a ton there too, and the food was a lot better! Staying at Windsor Hills was actually quicker for us than staying onsite at Disneyworld. Having your own car is so much easier than waiting on Disney transportation. I found it a lot less stressful. Especially when leaving at night. At universal we payed the $15 Valet fee, so you drive right up to the entrance and they park your car. Totally worth it and easy. Sounds like you are going at a low crowd time so the front of the line perks and EMH don't really matter. People make staying offsite sound tedious. It's not, it's a lot better and you get way more for your money. Whatever you decide I would pick one place and stay there the entire time. It would be a headache to change locations.

 

[SethandMac]

Wanting to split trip but will not have a car. Is there a way to get from one park to the other besides calling a cab?

 

[katyjeka]

We spent 3 days at Universal this past Dec. and a few days at WDW. Stayed at Bonnet Creek the entire trip. We've stayed at Bonnet Creek several times and are returning this Dec. It took us less than 10 minutes to Universal, traveling well under the limit. We did not need front of the line at Universal including the Harry Potter section. We rode many rides several times in a day. Longest wait was maybe 10 minutes!! We continue to go back to Bonnet Creek as the rate on the 2 bedrooms are soooo cheap. Have a great trip.

 

[Ksquared]

We are doing 7 days in Disney then heading over to Universal for 3 days (November timeframe). We are staying at Bonnet Creek for the Disney portion of the trip then staying onsite at Universal. We normally like to stay one place for our entire trip, and originally we wanted to stay onsite for both parks, but could not justify the onsite prices for Disney and decided to stay offsite for the first part of the trip which makes it easier to stay onsite at Universal. The FOTL passes are a real perk I think and because we have not been to Universal in years we splurged. I've stayed at Bonnet Creek before and you just can't beat the location, price and space you get at Bonnet Creek. Also, we like to spread out when we are on vacation. It will definitely be hard going from our room at Bonnet Creek to a hotel room at Universal.

 

[Lynne G]

Wanting to split trip but will not have a car. Is there a way to get from one park to the other besides calling a cab?

No. Cab or uber or towncar, or rent a car for one day, pick up in Disney and return close to Universal. Also, note that if you stay at a Disney hotel, you can take free transportation to and from the airport. There is no free transportation from Universal to the airport or from the airport to Universal either.

If you want to stay offsite of both parks, rental car would be the easiest to get around with. Must also factor in parking fees and gas. Universal hotels charge a parking fee, Disney hotels get free parking at the hotel and at the parks. If not staying at any of the onsite hotels, there is parking fees to park at both Universal and Disney parks.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

We always stay offsite at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, and we never had issues with getting back and forth to the parks (we've done both WDW and Uni). It's great to be able to have breakfast and a couple of dinners at the resort, and the pools / lazy rivers are great for days when you just don't want to go into the parks. Having the w/d is also a great way to cut back on packing, and you can't beat having a full condo for the day it pours cats and dogs. You can just kick back with the wifi and multiple tvs and not have to move.

 

[cadawson]

Wanting to split trip but will not have a car. Is there a way to get from one park to the other besides calling a cab?

The Doubletree at SeaWorld has shuttles that go to both Universal and WDW. You could stay there without a car and use the shuttles. Search the threads because someone wrote a TR about taking only shuttles on their entire trip recently, and they stayed at the Doubletree by SeaWorld.

 

[Lucius Best]

Personally, I always stay onsite, but I like staying in the Disney atmosphere, and we don't spend much time in the room, we're usually out at the parks all day every day.

Stayed at Universal (Royal Pacific) last year for 3 nights, and were totally spoiled by the front-of-the-line pass. We've taken day trips to US in the past, and it was hit or miss whether the park was crowded or not. Doesn't matter when you can skip the lines. Early admission to Harry Potter is also a great perk. We got so much done, so fast, we only needed 2 days to do everything multiple times. If you decide to stay onsite at Universal, I would be inclined to do 2 days at Universal and 6 days Disney.

Grand Floridian is a great resort, but quite expensive, as is everything on the monorail. A cheaper option close to MK would be the Wilderness Lodge, can easily get to MK by bus or boat.

If you're staying offsite and driving to MK, that involves paying $18 to park, walking or taking shuttle to Ticket and Transportation Center, then taking monorail or ferry to MK (no bus).

Regarding FP+, even if you are going during a not-busy time, there are a couple of attractions that often fill up more than 30 days in advance: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and meeting Anna & Elsa.

 

[cnetbuild]

Staying off property without a car is going to be very difficult. Renting a car is probably going to blow the savings of staying off property. Regardless, here's my advice for staying off property. There are some myths about the benefits of staying on property. Good luck!

 

[Parker Clan]

We always do US/WDW combined trips. For the first time last year we stayed on site at Loews Royal Pacific & loved it. It's a short walk to the parks & we rode a TON of rides with the express passes. Of note though, we always go in August & the wait times for many rides are long! So I would have to agree with a PP who said 2 days at US & 6 at WDW.
Enjoy your trip!!