Universal day before Disney--where should we stay?

[Sb4]

hello! I'm so grateful to have found these forums.
We are arriving in Orlando on a Friday, around 12:30. We plan to spend the afternoon swimming & relaxing, maybe hit Disney springs for dinner, and then do a full day at universal on Saturday (oldest is a huge potter fan). On Sunday, we plan to sleep in (a little) b/c of the late night at universal and the time change, and then head to either MK or HS. We have reservations at FW starting Sunday. My question is where should we stay Friday & Saturday? Does it make sense to stay at universal? A value resort at Disney? Somewhere off site? Either way, we would have to drop our bags at FW before heading to the Disney park on Sunday. I'm making myself crazy thinking about all of this, and need to get a plan together. Thanks! Oh--we are going in october.

 

[Poohsmommi]

hello! I'm so grateful to have found these forums.
We are arriving in Orlando on a Friday, around 12:30. We plan to spend the afternoon swimming & relaxing, maybe hit Disney springs for dinner, and then do a full day at universal on Saturday (oldest is a huge potter fan). On Sunday, we plan to sleep in (a little) b/c of the late night at universal and the time change, and then head to either MK or HS. We have reservations at FW starting Sunday. My question is where should we stay Friday & Saturday? Does it make sense to stay at universal? A value resort at Disney? Somewhere off site? Either way, we would have to drop our bags at FW before heading to the Disney park on Sunday. I'm making myself crazy thinking about all of this, and need to get a plan together. Thanks! Oh--we are going in october.

I would stay onsite at Universal. Depending on the hotel, you will get free access to Universal Express Unlimited.

 

[Tinks]

Universal. I'd pick Hard Rock Hotel.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Stay at Universal and eat over there the first night. The benefits for the on-site stay are useful, especially if you plan only one day at Universal.

 

[Princess Minnie321]

We are doing Disney and Universal next year. Our plan is to stay at the royal pacific hotel at universal for the front of the line access. Then we will switch to a Disney hotel.

 

[Sb4]

Thank you. We've never done universal. We could do an extra day and cut Disney short, if one day isn't enough time (kids are 7 and 9). I was pretty surprised to see how expensive universal is.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

Thank you. We've never done universal. We could do an extra day and cut Disney short, if one day isn't enough time (kids are 7 and 9). I was pretty surprised to see how expensive universal is.

Yeah, a single day at Universal is really expensive. We are doing a day for our November trip (also never been) and I was surprised at how much it will cost. We are going to stay at one of the Universal hotels because we'll get the unlimited express pass (or whatever it is called) included in the room stay instead of purchasing it, and the cost works out to be about the same.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thank you. We've never done universal. We could do an extra day and cut Disney short, if one day isn't enough time (kids are 7 and 9). I was pretty surprised to see how expensive universal is.

What part of the expense are you looking at?

Doing one day at any themepark is the most expensive way to do it. We once had a one night stop at wdw to do laundry (using Dvc points so I could wash clothes in our villa instead of dealing with a laundry room) on our way to universal, and I refused to buy a one day ticket to wdw (we were right there!) because it's so expensive.

Or are you looking at the hotel? Prices do change and as long as you book room-only you can change it if prices drop. Don't just assume you need to book a package. There is nothing in a basic package that you don't get from a room only stay. Only if a new park opens or its Celebration of Harry Potter time do the packages get interesting.

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh--we are going in october.

If you're going to stay, book asap. Because of their Halloween parties they start restricting onsite stays to more than one night as it gets closer to October. You don't want to delay and find yourself stuck with a two night stay. (Our first Orlando trip involved 4 days at universal and our longest stay there so far is 8 nights so it's not like I think two nights would be "stuck" or upsetting, but if you don't think you want that extra night it would feel upsetting)

Doing a room only stay means that you do pay up front for the one night, but you can change it if better rates come out.

And doing a one night means you don't get access to the "stay more save more" rates they might have.

We are doing a day for our November trip

If you booked just the room through Loews make sure to check in to see if rates come down.

 

[Sb4]

What part of the expense are you looking at?

The tickets. It looks like one day with park to park will be around $700 for our family of 4.

 

[Sb4]

If you're going to stay, book asap. Because of their Halloween parties they start restricting onsite stays to more than one night as it gets closer

Good to know! We would be there 2 nights, since we can't check into fort wilderness until Sunday. So Friday & Saturday at universal (if available). Although, it looks like universal & IOA close pretty early. Maybe we could do one night at a universal hotel, do the park(s) Saturday, and then move to a Disney value resort or offsite hotel that's close to FW Saturday night? Drop our bags at FW Sunday morning and head to MK or HS? That sounds a but chaotic with 2 kids and a time change doesn't it? lol.

 

[bumbershoot]

The tickets. It looks like one day with park to park will be around $700 for our family of 4.

Yep. More expensive for a one day hopper at wdw of course.

We would be there 2 nights, since we can't check into fort wilderness until Sunday.

I would consider two day tickets.

 

[Sb4]

[QUOTE="bumbershoot, post: 57465423, member



I would consider two day tickets. [/QUOTE]

Not a bad idea. We could do an evening in the park and all day Saturday. Go to bed early, and get up bright & early Sunday to head to mouse house.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

If you're going to stay, book asap. Because of their Halloween parties they start restricting onsite stays to more than one night as it gets closer to October. You don't want to delay and find yourself stuck with a two night stay. (Our first Orlando trip involved 4 days at universal and our longest stay there so far is 8 nights so it's not like I think two nights would be "stuck" or upsetting, but if you don't think you want that extra night it would feel upsetting)

Doing a room only stay means that you do pay up front for the one night, but you can change it if better rates come out.

And doing a one night means you don't get access to the "stay more save more" rates they might have.



If you booked just the room through Loews make sure to check in to see if rates come down.

Thanks, will do. Haven't booked yet but probably will next month. Looking at close to $1200 for one night at a hotel and one day in the parks. Expensive, but similar to what we'd pay for Disney.

 

[Dakota731]

Front of the line is so worth a nights rent at a Universal hotel. It puts the fast pass to shame in my opinion!

 

[2Monkeys]

I definitely agree that staying onsite at Universal is worth it for the Express Pass. Example: We came into IOA and my son wanted to ride Spiderman. The standby line was posted at 70 minutes. We entered the Express Pass queue, rode the ride, and were on our way to the next one in less than 20 minutes.

You might want a 2 day ticket. There are lots of fun things at both parks, so one day may not be enough!

 

[Disney Khi]

You should look into the cost of an annual pass at Universal. If even just one person gets an AP you could use it for the AP hotel discount and food and merchandise discounts in the parks. We did that a few years ago and saved enough money to more than make up the difference in cost from regular tickets to APs. I'm not sure what kind of AP hotel discounts they are offering these days, but when we had them they were substantial.

 

[crazylady]

Are your Disney dates and/or Friday arrival set in stone? If not, I would highly recommend Universal after Disney. If your son is really into HP, it will likely be the highlight of his trip. And FP is really a let down after using the front of the line access at Universal.

 

[GeorgiaHoo]

You should look into the cost of an annual pass at Universal. If even just one person gets an AP you could use it for the AP hotel discount and food and merchandise discounts in the parks. We did that a few years ago and saved enough money to more than make up the difference in cost from regular tickets to APs. I'm not sure what kind of AP hotel discounts they are offering these days, but when we had them they were substantial.

We'll look into this. Thanks for the advice.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

[QUOTE="bumbershoot, post: 57465423, member



I would consider two day tickets.

Not a bad idea. We could do an evening in the park and all day Saturday. Go to bed early, and get up bright & early Sunday to head to mouse house.[/QUOTE]

This is what I would do.