Best way to do both Universal and WDW in one trip?

[mi*vida*loca]

We just came back from an awesome 10 night trip to WDW. This was our 5th trip and my kids are now 15 and 9 and very into thrill rides. For our next trip I believe going to Universal is a must do.

We are planning for November 2017. Jersey Week. Maybe 8 nights or so.

My first thought was to do 2-3 nights at Universal on site (specifically for express passes) and then 5 nights at WDW on site. I don't know if I should begin with Universal or end with Universal.

Then I thought maybe just doing the 8 nights at WDW and booking a reservation at Hard Rock for one night in the middle of our trip. Traveling in the morning to HRH, checking in, hitting the park that day, staying their overnight and then hitting the park the next morning. Then going back to WDW.

We would never check out of our WDW hotel but would they cancel our reservation if they see we don't use our MB or opening our room door for that day and night?

Then another idea was to just buy Universal tickets and going for the day but we would have to pay OOP for the express pass. It doesn't seem so cost effective with 4 people.

Transportation costs are also a concern if we fly. We don't want to lose our DME if we fly. And the costs of taxi's to and from. If we drive that won't matter too much but I would much rather fly so I'm planning with that in mind.

For those who have done both in one trip which was the most cost effective strategy?? And how much is Uber or taxi's from WDW to Universal?

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We did our first Universal/Disney split trip in June. We did Disney first, then Universal, but that was simply because we were going to Disney for something specific (SWW) that only takes place on the weekend, so we had to be there first. I enjoyed doing Disney first and then Universal. Disney feels like a trip, whereas Universal feels like a vacation, at least when you're staying onsite at a deluxe resort. I wouldn't bounce back and forth. That's just no fun and I really think your family will fall in love with the Hard Rock. My kids are little (5 & 8) and they LOVED the Hard Rock. It's such a fun place to stay and being able to walk to both parks and Citywalk in literally under 10 minutes cannot be beat! I also think that after your kids experience Universal, for the age they'll be then, and because they're trill riders, you'll have a hard time convincing them to go back to Disney after they see all of the outstanding rides that Universal has.

We took DME from MCO to Disney, relied on Disney transport while at Disney, then picked up a rental car from the Car Care Center on Disney property and took that to Universal and then to MCO when our trip was over. I much preferred returning to MCO via a rental car than DME, but I'm also not a big fan of DME in general. On our next trip in October, we're going with a rental car the whole time. I have read on the Transportation board that Uber charges about $22 to go from Disney to Universal, but I think you can check their fare estimator online to see what to expect to pay.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We did our first Universal/Disney split trip in June. We did Disney first, then Universal, but that was simply because we were going to Disney for something specific (SWW) that only takes place on the weekend, so we had to be there first. I enjoyed doing Disney first and then Universal. Disney feels like a trip, whereas Universal feels like a vacation, at least when you're staying onsite at a deluxe resort. I wouldn't bounce back and forth. That's just no fun and I really think your family will fall in love with the Hard Rock. My kids are little (5 & 8) and they LOVED the Hard Rock. It's such a fun place to stay and being able to walk to both parks and Citywalk in literally under 10 minutes cannot be beat! I also think that after your kids experience Universal, for the age they'll be then, and because they're trill riders, you'll have a hard time convincing them to go back to Disney after they see all of the outstanding rides that Universal has.

We took DME from MCO to Disney, relied on Disney transport while at Disney, then picked up a rental car from the Car Care Center on Disney property and took that to Universal and then to MCO when our trip was over. I much preferred returning to MCO via a rental car than DME, but I'm also not a big fan of DME in general. On our next trip in October, we're going with a rental car the whole time. I have read on the Transportation board that Uber charges about $22 to go from Disney to Universal, but I think you can check their fare estimator online to see what to expect to pay.

You make excellent points.

I've also thought of doing a completely Universal trip but I really want to try out F&W. Then I thought to stay at the HRH the whole time and drop into MK and Epcot for a day each.

I like the idea of ending at Universal with a rental car after our Disney portion if we don't drive down from NJ.

 

[CyndiLouWho]

We're going Nov 13-22, 13-20 at WDW. Then transfer to RPR at Universal on 20th for 2 nights. 3 day park to park at Universal. Plan on using Uber for WDW to UO & UO to MCO.

We're starting at WDW because its the last weekend of F&W. Plus we're keeping UO a secret from DS. He is a bigger minion fan than princess fan.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

You make excellent points.

I've also thought of doing a completely Universal trip but I really want to try out F&W. Then I thought to stay at the HRH the whole time and drop into MK and Epcot for a day each.

I like the idea of ending at Universal with a rental car after our Disney portion if we don't drive down from NJ.

On our trip in October we're doing Universal first and then Disney, so I'll let you know how doing it the opposite way goes.

 

[nacho113]

DW and I were visiting Orlando last November for my 55th birthday, crowd levels were such that we did not feel the need for Express pass at Universal.
We stayed on site for a couple of days at Cabana Bay for the early park admission (no Express pass incl at CB)
Also since our main focus at Universal was the Harry Potter areas and rides, it would have been no benefit to have the Express pass anyway since it doesn't cover the main attractions in this area anyway.

• Not valid at Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ™, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts™ and other select attractions.
• Not valid at Hogwarts™ Express.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

DW and I were visiting Orlando last November for my 55th birthday, crowd levels were such that we did not feel the need for Express pass at Universal.
We stayed on site for a couple of days at Cabana Bay for the early park admission (no Express pass incl at CB)
Also since our main focus at Universal was the Harry Potter areas and rides, it would have been no benefit to have the Express pass anyway since it doesn't cover the main attractions in this area anyway.

None of us our big HP fans. I think my DS may have read one of the books and the kids may have watched a movie but I've never watched or read any of the books. Not my thing but I think the theming (from pics I've seen) is awesome.

On our trip in October we're doing Universal first and then Disney, so I'll let you know how doing it the opposite way goes.

Thanks! My kids enjoyed our 10 night trip to WDW but they got a bit "bored" at times. There weren't enough thrill rides for them. DHS ended up being DSs favorite park and a close second for DD. I know they will LOVE Universal so ending their is probably my best best!

We're going Nov 13-22, 13-20 at WDW. Then transfer to RPR at Universal on 20th for 2 nights. 3 day park to park at Universal. Plan on using Uber for WDW to UO & UO to MCO.

We're starting at WDW because its the last weekend of F&W. Plus we're keeping UO a secret from DS. He is a bigger minion fan than princess fan.

I would love to keep it a secret from DS but now being a teenager he actually has a life and plans. lol

 

[mi*vida*loca]

My kids are actually going to Universal and Disney with their dad at Spring Break. He is going to visit family and during the trip they will do 2 days at Universal and 2 days at Disney. I can't wait to hear what they have to say.

 

[Lilminx]

Interesting read. When it's time for us to go my son will be 15 (loves rides) and my adrenaline junkie daughter will be 9 (she's 7 and loved rock n roller coaster at DLP) so now I'm rethinking our WDW trip. I was planning on A 14 day Trip and spending just 2 at universal driving to it. Now I'm thinking 10 days WDW and 4 at universal. Both me and son are HUGE potter fans. I'm so confused! What to do what to do?.?

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Interesting read. When it's time for us to go my son will be 15 (loves rides) and my adrenaline junkie daughter will be 9 (she's 7 and loved rock n roller coaster at DLP) so now I'm rethinking our WDW trip. I was planning on A 14 day Trip and spending just 2 at universal driving to it. Now I'm thinking 10 days WDW and 4 at universal. Both me and son are HUGE potter fans. I'm so confused! What to do what to do?.?

I love Disney and love thrill rides too. I haven't done Universal since the kids were 8 and 2. It wasn't much fun for me and back then my DS didn't like thrill rides much. We haven't gone since because DD would have probably had meltdowns if she was told she couldn't ride since she is an adrenaline junkie. At 5 years old ToT was her favorite ride!

I'm afraid the kids are going to come back from spring break with their dad and want to only do Universal on our next trip. That's not an option because I really want to try F&W. Plus we all do love Disney.

This is going to be interesting for me too.

 

[sharona]

WDW first then Universal on site w/ EP definitely! I would not want to do Uni w/ Express Pass then deal with WDW FP+ and long SB waits. I like your split of 5 and 3 nights, we find 3 nights just right for Universal as long as you're not looking for a lot of pool time. I've also done a single day MK trip from our Uni hotel and enjoyed it but it was a looooong day.

Re hotels - I loved the HRH but my DD12 enjoys the pool at RPR more. The HRH pool is pretty shallow except where the slide is... Also, DD doesn't get most of the rock n roll references at HRH. You can walk to IOA or City Walk easily from RPR, a bit of a longer walk to US. That being said, we would stay at whichever has the better rate (usually RPR).

I would not put Universal in the middle of a WDW stay just to keep DME (but then again I hate DME, lol). You would lose DME for the ride back to the airport but you could take a taxi or shuttle Universal hotel to MCO.

For a group of four, look into buying an AP for one person and getting the AP rate on the hotel. Sometimes this can be a great bargain vs. rack rate and a 3 day ticket and/or buying EP separately. Check your dates vs. the blackout dates for the Power Pass. It's too soon to see APH rates for your time frame but I have not had an issue getting them as long as I keep checking. We've been in March, November, April and September.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Interesting read. When it's time for us to go my son will be 15 (loves rides) and my adrenaline junkie daughter will be 9 (she's 7 and loved rock n roller coaster at DLP) so now I'm rethinking our WDW trip. I was planning on A 14 day Trip and spending just 2 at universal driving to it. Now I'm thinking 10 days WDW and 4 at universal. Both me and son are HUGE potter fans. I'm so confused! What to do what to do?.?

Huge Potter fans? I'd say allow two days just for that. It's really hard to explain, but my kids love just BEING in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. They also love the interactive wands and there are so many locations that it takes time to get to them all. It's so detailed in both Potter lands that you really don't want to rush it. Then I'd say another day at least to do everything else, though I think two will be ideal. Even outside the Potter areas the rides are just so much fun. We're a month away from our trip and the kids are listing off everything they want to do. Honestly, I felt with 2 1/2 days in June we didn't leave enough time for everything, and I'm starting to suspect our 3 days in October won't be enough, either. I wish we had time for 4 and I'm trying to find a way to wedge another day in, but I just don't think it's going to work for us.

 

[Bullseye]

We usually just do two full US/IOA days during our WDW trips. We get the park-to-park pass and we always cover just about everything we want to do in those two days. We always rent a car at the airport though which allows us the luxury to come and go wherever/whenever we want throughout the trip. The drive from WDW to US/IOA is just a quick jaunt down I4. We'll do several days at WDW, then a US/IOA day, then repeat. For the most part the lines at US/IOA have never been that bad that we need to pay for Express Pass.

 

[lovin'fl]

This Aug we had a 12 night trip with WDW and US. We are DVC and initially booked a week with 3 nights at AKV (club level to try that out) and then 4 at BWV (boardwalk view to try that out). Then we had to switch weeks to meet up with some friends of ours so we lost the club level and boardwalk view as they book up fast (the new week was booked up for those). So I did the whole week at BWV. We planned to do a day at US and just buy 1 day park to park tickets and go from our DVC resort. Then my SIL booked a trip at BWV and SSR for the same time so we added 4 nights at SSR to match.

Then we learned that we'd need the express pass as early Aug was still busy time at US (last time we went in late Aug and didn't really need the express pass). To get 1 day park to park with express pass for 5 of us was so expensive. I then looked up staying at a US hotel and getting the 1 day park to park and it saved us $300-400. So we did book 1 night at Royal Pacific in the cheapest room for 5. We booked it mid week of our BWV stay (we were going with our friends who were only there that week) so we didn't bother to cancel the night at BWV (didn't want to have to pack everything up and move it out anyway). DH didn't want to rush over to check in so we did a day at WDW and then left at dinner time and stopped at Giordanos for pizza on the way over. We didn't check in until late and then ran off to meet our friends at the Hard Rock Cafe for a drink. It was tough sleeping 5 in that tiny room (we are used to DVC 1BR and 2BR villas). We fell asleep pretty late and then had to meet our friends at the park gate at 7:50 am. We had to pack and load up the car first. We then did the 2 parks all day in the heat and we finally crashed at 5pm and headed back to BWV (our friends stayed on until 9pm). It would have been better to do 1 park 1 day and the other park on day 2 (can do HP stuff with the extra early hour on day 2). Or we could have had 2 nights in the hotel so that the one park day we could go early and do a few hours then go back to rest at hotel and then hit the park again in the evening. I also wished we did US at the end of our BWV stay and then did SSR after the US trip...that way we wouldn't have wasted a night of points on a villa that sat empty.

For OP, I'd recommend doing US at the beginning of your trip before you're too tired/sore (WDW is a lot of walking). Maybe book the 2 nights in the hotel there. Then switch over to WDW.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We've done many split visits. no one right way, but we prefer to rent a car. That gives us the most flexibility to go where we want when we want. When it comes to theme parks, sometimes minutes matter. DME costs quite a bit of time. My vacation time is valuable. We tried DME a number of times.

If your kids like HP, I suggest getting at least one of the (overpriced) wands. Yes, they are crazy $$, but using them is much fun. I've always found WDW special after dark, but if you get any after dark hours at HP- that's a prime time to do spells. Also maybe suggest kids go HP for Halloween.
Years ago, US was not as nice as WDW. Now they have swapped. US seems cleaner and better maintained. I probably would not do US mid visit...but I actually have done it.

Last trip we moved around quit a bit. Organization is good. Minimizing the unpacking is good. Have a system you like for keep track of stuff. But we moved around to four hotels! Usually moving hotels costs quite a bit of time. WE got it down to a minimum, but still any day of hotel swap = not having any room access from 11am to 4pm (or longer if you try to do rope drop). Again, we find having our own car is key to making swaps easier. We just leave what we don't need in the trunk.

Another cost cutter is to eat a meal offsite (especially on transfer day). US actually has better food at better prices than WDW (Seriously WDW, $60 for a buffet!?!?!?!?), but offsite also has better food than WDW at better prices. Some I-Drive places are not good, but many offsite options in the area are great. Just off US property is a plaza with super Whole Foods (LOTS of prepared foods, super pizza, seafood, BBQ, desserts, coffee, baked goods) and some a few decent quick Serve places.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Portofino is about = to a WDW deluxe. HR and RP have more mod sized rooms, maybe, but the hotels over all are great, and otherwise = WDW deluxes. Overall, staff was super! the water taxi between hotels is nice service. Faster than taking WDW water taxi's.

We loved having US hoppers. Being able to go between parks made touring easier, especially if you have FotLA, and like HP. At WDW, hopping doesn't add as much value.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

As DD has gotten older, it is harder and harder for us to come to Orlando without going to Universal. Most recently, we did a split stay in May. We did Disney first then had a friend drive us to Universal. We had planned to take a cab, but the friend was leaving on the same day, so it worked out. We grabbed a town car at Royal Pacific to get back to the airport at the end. I didn't really need a vehicle in between - I just needed a way to get from Disney to Universal and Universal to the airport. If you are renting a vehicle, put parking fees into your budget (you will pay whether you park at the park or at the hotel).

Universal is a lot like Disney in that everything you need is there - resort, parks/fun, food, evening entertainment. It is better in some ways because it is more compact. It is no big deal to move from one park to another or slip out to CityWalk for a meal.

 

[KeroKero]

Our last trip was the first time we ever stayed at Universal. The Express Pass isn't a big deal for us, during the off season which is when we're usually there, so we opted for Cabana Bay (absolutely lovely! much better than POP or the All Stars for so many reasons). I loved staying there so much that we'll be back there again this year (31 days and counting down). Staying there really felt like a vacation, I had so much time to relax by the pool with a book and a cocktail or two or three! This time, like last we're doing Cabana Bay first (cab from airport) for 3 nights and then cabbing it over to Coronado Springs for the duration of our trip. We do it this way, cause I prefer to use Magical Express on the way back to the airport than taking it to the resort. Just our preference.

 

[Canuck16]

We did a 2 day Universal stay at HRH along with a 12 day WDW split stay at POR and BC and we did Universal first and then moved over to Disney.

Having the Express Pass for our family of 4 and the early entry to Harry Potter was definitely worth staying on site for. Plus being able to walk or take the boat from the resort to the parks was also a plus for us.

When we go back again we will do Universal first the WDW as we like to finish our trip at Disney....but that is just what we like to do.

Have a great time and enjoy the parks!!!

 

[muenginerd]

DH and I did both for our Honeymoon last September. We did Universal after Disney, in hind sight we were really disappointed with Universal after spending a week at Disney. I would do Universal first.

We went end of September, stayed at Portofino, had the express passes but barely used them. The lines were really minimal for most things. Harry Potter is where is it would have come into the most use, but of course it doesn't work for many of the rides there. Going again, I don't know if I would worry about an express pass during a slow season.

We weren't fans of Universal as we both grew up going to the old school Universal. We loved things like Jaws, King Kong, Earthquake.... all things gone now. They've added more coasters, but to us in the end it's just a glorified version of Six Flags at home. It didn't have the same magic Disney did...
Of course, Harry Potter was a different story and I could have nerded out there all day if DH let me.

We both had gone to Islands of Adventure when it first open many years ago, we didn't see a whole lot of changes and just found many rides to be meh...