Best Hotel for Universal, Sea World, Discovery Cove Trip?

[spyder114]

We are struggling to find the right hotel for this trip and was curious if anyone could point us in the right direction.

-We are flying into MCO
-We are staying May 23rd-May 30th - Sunday to Sunday (7 nights)
-The initial plan is to take one day for Discovery Cove, two days for Universal and three days for SeaWorld/Aquatica

The plan was to stay near SeaWorld and shuttle to all the parks, but I'm finding that the hotels don't always provide shuttles to everywhere and when they do, they often leave at times that aren't ideal. They often leave too late (we like to get to the parks early).

After looking at a map, we realized that if we stayed at the Renaissance, it would be an easy walk to SeaWorld, but a long walk to Aquatica and Discovery Cove. We could do the Hilton Garden Inn which would be a fairly easy walk to both SeaWorld and Aquatica, but a long way from Discovery Cove.

Any suggestions on what we do? We hate to take Ubers all week as that will add up pretty quickly. The last time we came to Orlando, it was a Universal exclusive trip and I guess we got spoiled by their non-stop shuttles all week.

I heard that if you stay in certain Universal hotels, that they have a shuttle that runs to SeaWorld. Is this true? We'd plan to go to Universal anyway for at least two days, so that would work for us if it's true. Does it only run to SeaWorld or would it also take us to Aquatica as well? What about Discovery Cove?

Thanks for any help you can give!

 

[Grumpy92]

I would suggest the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld or thev Homewood suites Orlando theme parks. Both are very convenient and nice. The both offer SeaWorld benefits. Such as the shuttle

 

[DL1WDW2]

Be sure to call for specific details concerning Shuttle Service.
Many require a fee and a reservation in advance . and this was before Covid...

 

[jolene63]

We stayed in a two bedroom at Staybridge Suites over spring break. We loved our room! After looking at google maps, it looks like it's a mile walk to Aquatica and less to Discovery Cove.

 

[puffkin]

So our situation is a bit different as we had DVC points to use up....but we just did a weeklong trip to SeaWorld/Aquatica/DC and Universal. We also got a rental car. We stayed at SSR for the first 4 nights and did all the SeaWorld stuff those days. SSR is very close to SeaWorld from Disney property. At night we had an easy walk over to Disney Springs for dinner/shopping, etc. I had the upgraded pass at SeaWorld that included parking. The rest of the family just had the regular one. It gave us a bit of a Disney fix since we weren't doing Disney this trip. Then our last 3 nights, we moved over to the HRH and did Universal/City Walk. We try to stay premier because we love the EP's. It really was a fabulous trip. We had an awesome time.

 

[keishashadow]

OP - do a split trip, we prefer the Hampton Inn for days we are visiting SW. in response to the shuttle not running then they were offering free parking at SW last fall.

I’d check on the SW forum here to see if shuttles are currently operating & whether the complimentary Quick Queue is being offered. Haven’t seen it featured lately on their website.

100% recommend staying onsite at U at one of the resorts that offers FOTL. Well worth the split stay as just one night affords you two days of it.

Car rental rates are wildly expensive & limited availability right now. If you are considering renting a car, lock it in with a non-prepaid reservation. Would check estimates on current uber pricing to help you decide if that’s an option too

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The free hotel Quick Queue at SW partner hotels is definitely not being offered, I asked the last week of April and told it was a no-go. The rescue tour was also not included . The shuttles had started up again by that point though (we drove, so didn't need them).

 

[keishashadow]

The free hotel Quick Queue at SW partner hotels is definitely not being offered, I asked the last week of April and told it was a no-go. The rescue tour was also not included . The shuttles had started up again by that point though (we drove, so didn't need them).

Any idea if it’s just temporarily discontinued?

 

[CAPSLOCK]

They didn't say. It is not listed as a hotel benefit on SW's website anymore.