We didn't do Universal last August but we did do SeaWorld. And enjoyed it very much. We stayed at the Polynesian, so we walked over to the TTC and caught the Lynx bus to SeaWorld. It is the Orlando transit system. It stops right at the entrance to the parking lot at SeaWorld. You do have to tell the driver you want to stop there. To return, you just cross the street across from the bus stop you arrived at. THe cost was about $2.50 pp, r/t. Be sure to have $1.25 in exact change. Maybe you could do it this way and Dh could take the car. We did most of what we wanted at SW and left there around 4:30 or so. We got there at 9ish. It really didn't take us a whole day and it wasn't nearly as rushed as WDW can be. Don't know if this has helped or just confused you more. But, go and have a great time, no matter what you choose.