Adding on 2 days at Universal...???

[k3chantal]

So any suggestions?

All of our past trips have been strictly Disney. But kids are getting older, and I really liked Harry Potter myself. So we are thinking of adding on 2 days at either beginning or end of our DVC trip that I just booked for next Spring (sat-thurs nights, depart fri). Of course it overlaps vacation weeks due our school schedule as well.

So our options are book 2 extra nights at Universal the thurs/fri at the beginning or fri/sat at the end. And this decision will likely be impacted by flight availability - which is not yet all available.

Although not yet available online, booking is available through the 800# already. Just called for rates - and although I would love the equivalent of the 2 BR I have at Kidani rates are about $1000/night at Hard Rock up to $1300/night at Royal Pacific (plus taxes)!!! So that is not happening for those 2 nights..

Other option is getting 2 standard connecting rooms to handle the 6 of us for about $359 each at Royal Pacific. Interesting that the RP had best rate for std rooms but highest for the Suites...

So issues to ponder are:
Add on before or after DVC?
Type of rooms to book for the add-on at US?
Handling of the transportation to/from MCO for the portion of trip not at DVC (when we will use Magical Express)?
Flights?

Any suggestions as I keep planning will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,

We just did this this past May. We are a family of five youngest is under 3 so we were able to get a garden view standard room with two queens and put her in a playpen. We had only been to WDW and since our kids love Harry Potter we thought we would try Universal. We checked out from Kidani and had Mears pick us up in a SUV at 9 am. We were able to check in early into the Royal Pacific for $266.00 a night using our AAA discount. We bought two day passes without the 'park hopping feature' and got into the park around 11:00. The first day we went into Universal Studios and the second day we went to Islands of Adventure.

Because we stayed onsite we were able to get into Islands of Adventure an hour earlier 8 am(only Harry Potter land is open) and were given their 'express pass' for free. Both the ability to get into the park early and the express pass made our experience. That afternoon, we left around 3:30, got our luggage from the bell service, Mears picked us up at 4 pm and were were at the airport a little before 4:30 for our 7 pm flight.

It worked perfectly.
Definitely recommend staying onsite. Without the onsite 'perks' our time in the parks would not have been so wonderful. We did not wait for any ride for more than ten minutes. The exception was the big Harry Potter castle ride but that was a reasonable wait and walking through the castle while you wait is well worth it.

Generally speaking, we found everything more expensive than Disney. We walked accidentally into Hog's Mead for breakfast (guess you really should have reservations) and that was one of the most expensive food bills of our entire trip. If you put into the equation that we went to Akershus, Wolfgang Pucks, T-Rex, Tokyo Dining, Boma, etc....you can tell it isn't like we skimped on prices in WDW. But that TiW card really did make a difference.

Anyway, it can be done. I am surprised at the prices they quoted you for the cost to stay at the Royal Pacific.
Mears charged about 70 dollars to get from Disney to Universal and around 60 dollars to get from Universal to the airport.

 

[Carl'n'Ellie'sDad]

Count another family who enjoyed starting a DVC stay with a side trip at Universal. DW wanted to enjoy HP so we stayed 2 nights before heading to SSR. RPR was enjoyable -- not Poly enjoyable, but certainly more than half as nice for less than half the price. Our trip went from RPR to SSR studio to SSR Treehouse, and moving from small to larger accommodations was a plus. Staff at RPR was a positive surprise; "CM's" at Universal not so much. OP mentioned having a 3y.o. -- our oldest was 3 and loved Barney and ET.

Shaving off one day at Treehouses next summer due to points reallocation, so we'll be adding one day at RPR -- our family spent as much time in 2 nights enjoying resort pool at RPR as we did in 10 nights at SSR.

 

[Scrappy_Tink]

Because we stayed onsite we were able to get into Islands of Adventure an hour earlier 8 am(only Harry Potter land is open) and were given their 'express pass' for free.

Isn't that Harry Potter que the longest you've ever seen in your life? I felt we walked miles before we finally got to the ride!!

 

[k3chantal]

Isn't that Harry Potter que the longest you've ever seen in your life? I felt we walked miles before we finally got to the ride!!

That's why I will only go to Universal if I can stay on site. I couldn't imagine waiting in that line if I didn't have the onsite perks. They are certainly prepared to have people wait.

 

[jeankeri]

Onsite. Really, if you are one of the masses trying to do any ride after 1 you will regret not having the FOTL. I also agree with doing Universal first. While I loved the HP ride, the rest of the experience was just meh for me. We did our IOA day the first day of our WDW trip-adding a day was not an option. I was very glad we saved the Disney magic for later in the trip.

 

[smidgy]

We visit both every summer. We always do Universal first. I agree with the PP, we like starting out in the regualr hotel room and then moving to our DVC room. We can catch up on laundry when we get to Disney this way. We always prefer to do this order because we like to end our trip with Disney magic! Also, totally worth staying onsite at Universal to get FOTL. We wouldn't go any other way. Hard Rock id our favorite. Royal Pacific was Ok, but the kids missed having a pool slide. Also we love to eat in the Kitch at the Hard Rock.

when you stay at one of the 3 onsite resorts, you can pool hop.

 

[smidgy]

Isn't that Harry Potter que the longest you've ever seen in your life? I felt we walked miles before we finally got to the ride!!

how dark is that line?(hubby has low vision, and I lead him through the dark lines.)(lots of stubbed toes, bumps, and irritated people behind us cause we are walking a little slower)

 

[jeankeri]

Similar lighting to HM/Space Mountain/Splash queues. The ride itself is also a lot darker (dimmer) than the commercials make it out to be.