CONVERT me from WDW to US

[AdWayInc]

As you can tell by my signature - I have always gone to WDW and now I am thinking of traveling to the dark side... but I have many questions that I can not seem to find all the answers...
My DH and I planning to stay at the BWV - March 4-11 but I am thinking of going 2 days earlier to spend at the RPR - March 2 -4.

I do not need a car staying at WDW - would I need one for Universal?
If not - the best way to get to USH from MCO and then to BWV?

I am AAA member - do they really have good discounts? or is there someplace else I can register or cc to get for better rates?

Best place to get a 2 day pass for the parks?

Best resturants?
Is their meal plan worth it?

How do they all compare to WDW - Hotels, Parks, Food?

I know it is only for 2 nights - 3 days but it is only for my DH and I - married for 30 years and we only have grown kids so we are going "kid" less
and we haven't been to Universal in 20 years... we may be converted.

Any answers are greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

[khertz]

I don't think there's any kind of US transportation from the airport, but a cab would be easy. Once you're there, you definitely won't need transportation to get to and from the parks. We stayed at Royal Pacific as well, and it's about a 5-7 minute walk from the resort to City Walk, which has access to both parks. The walk time between the two parks is probably less than 5 minutes as well. But if that's too much walking for you, they also have guys on bikes with seats that will bike you between City Walk and the hotel, and a water taxi. Trasportation within US/IOA and the resorts is VERY easy!

We didn't do the meal plan when we went last year, but we are thinking of doing it this year when we go. It seems like a cheap enough price per person per day for the amount of food you get, versus paying for each meal.

The hotels are GORGEOUS! They don't, of course, have that "magical" Disney feel to them. In fact, you don't really feel like you're staying onsite at a theme park. More like you're just staying in a REALLY nice hotel. In the past, we've also stayed at HRH and had a great experience with both. The rooms are spacious, and the decor is really nice. And because they are newer compared to most Disney resorts, I actually prefer them to some of the Disney resorts! Plus, the transportation is just SO easy and convenient. It might make you change your mind about skipping US/IOA in the future! The parks don't really compare to the Disney parks, and if you try to compare them, you'll probably be disappointed. The employees are friendly enough, but not usually as great as the Disney CM's. The rides are more thrill rides, and there's not usually a lot of characters walking around for photo ops. And even though they don't have fast passes for rides, you'll be spoiled by having front of the line access for every ride since you'll be staying on site, and your room key acts as an express pass for EVERY ride!

As much as I love Disney magic, we couldn't do Disney without Universal. We usually only allot 2 days to see everything, and if you're going at an off time, the crowds will be even less than in Disney (our pictures from IOA during the first week of October last year had NO ONE in them, and we rode most of the rides by ourselves!). It's great for people who love thrill rides and rollercoasters! My DH loves Disney, but I think he loves US/IOA just a little bit more. Haha.

Sorry, I can't comment really on the rest of your questions, but hope this helps anyway!

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

I agree with pp. Just want to add mho... I'd add the RPR on to the end of your trip. Once you try FOTL, you will be forever spoiled. We just returned and even over LD weekend never waited more than 5 mins. for any ride.

All USO hotels are 4* deluxe. Best discounts are AAA if not a FL resident or AP holder. Sometimes they offer Super Saver rates that can be better than AAA but keep checking your price as it may go down.

Last time I checked ticket prices, AAA was about the same as USO's website.

I would use a taxi or sedan service to go from WDW to RPR. You don't need a car at all and onsite hotels charge for parking so don't get a car unless you will be visiting other places.

We used to be die hard Disney fans too but after a while it's nice to do something different. Go with an open mind and you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[macraven]

you were given some wrong info on transportation.
you can call mears for transportation to the universal hotels.

they provide that service for both theme parks, universal and disney.
they do provide service from mco to the universal hotels.

mears also runs their vans back and forth from universal to disney hotels.

you have to call and reserve your seat. a round trip ticket is $16 per person when you travel between the two parks.

or you can go with car service from mco to universal then to disney.
most car services offer a free 30 minute grocery stop if requested when booking them.

i do both parks on each trip.
i start at the motherland and then transfer over to the darkside.
i do a 3 leg trip with private car service for less than $120 total.
i have been going solo the last 4 years and prefer car service over buses/vans to get to where i am going.

you do not need a car when staying at universal hotels.
transportation from the hotels have the water taxis, walking paths, rickshaw drivers and a bus that makes the circle around the front of each hotel.
for the fun of it, i take the bus from hrh at night just to see the fronts of the other hotels all lite up. cheesy, i know.

i have stayed at all 3 hotels on site at universal and all have a 4* rating.
disney only has 4 out of all their resorts at that level.

AAA gives good hotel rates. it can also be used in the parks for food, and merch with a 10% discount on everything. city walk included on the discounts using aaa.

mythos has been voted the best restaurant in orlando again.
they close at 3 pm and ressies are not necessary in advance.
no 180 day out needed to plan to eat there.

the counter food places varies.
some i always go back to and a few i would never try again. i give a cs place 3 attempts before i scratch them off my list.

international food film festival has 4 cs of different food types.
a couple of them are the best.

finegans is a sit down rest. that has live music. this place has a good choice of food.
the hamburger places such as richters, capt america have fixing bars for your burgers or chicken sandwiches.

ioa has counter service places with deli sandwiches made to order.

look at the universalorlando.com website and check out the places and menus.

debs allears.net has menus also for universal.

there is less table service places at universal but you do have city walk and a variety of decent places to eat at.

go online to UO for the better ticket prices.
tickets can also be bought thru any AAA travel agency cheaper than at the gate.


check out the interactive map on the uo site.
it gives you a lot of info about the rides, attractions, characters, food places, etc.

there are meet and greet areas in the parks.

check the guide park map when you enter the park to see the listings, times and places for the characters.

the one i always remember is the 4 marvel heroes daily arrive to the front of the spiderman ride on atv and spend 30 minutes or so there for pictures and talking to guests.

in seussland, you will see the cat in the hat characters.

there are too many to name.
if you have a question on a particular character, i can try to answer that for you.

i always like to see the lucy and ricky ricardo and marilyn monroe impersonators at the studios.

hth

 

[dlbbwu]

you were given some wrong info on transportation.
you can call mears for transportation to the universal hotels.

they provide that service for both theme parks, universal and disney.
they do provide service from mco to the universal hotels.

mears also runs their vans back and forth from universal to disney hotels.

you have to call and reserve your seat. a round trip ticket is $16 per person when you travel between the two parks.

or you can go with car service from mco to universal then to disney.
most car services offer a free 30 minute grocery stop if requested when booking them.

i do both parks on each trip.
i start at the motherland and then transfer over to the darkside.
i do a 3 leg trip with private car service for less than $120 total.
i have been going solo the last 4 years and prefer car service over buses/vans to get to where i am going.

you do not need a car when staying at universal hotels.
transportation from the hotels have the water taxis, walking paths, rickshaw drivers and a bus that makes the circle around the front of each hotel.
for the fun of it, i take the bus from hrh at night just to see the fronts of the other hotels all lite up. cheesy, i know.

i have stayed at all 3 hotels on site at universal and all have a 4* rating.
disney only has 4 out of all their resorts at that level.

Mac: You have all the answers

Speaking of rickshaw drivers...we finally broke down and did one when we went in June. Poor guy. please remember there are four of us, 2 adults and 2 children. We had the youngest (DS 10) sit on a lap and it was tight but we managed. So imagine in your mind this gentleman trying to start the bike from a dead stop.. He was not a big guy either, but once he got going, of course, the bike coasted. There are some hills on the pathway, and going up was rough. I did tip him well, since he was sweating and breathing hard when we got to the park from PBH..

Hope this makes everyone's day in laughter

 

[czycropper]

We are converts! We went in June and my DDs want to go back when we go in Dec for a Cheer Exhibition.

We didn't have a car and it was fine. We took a taxi from Caribbean Beach since we didn't know exactly at what time we would get out of the WDW park of the day. I will tell you that my DH said that his vacation actually began when we checked in at RPR since I didn't really have a "plan" as to US/IOA so it was less stressful for him having to go get a FP at a certain time, etc! That reminds me if you stay on-site (not sure if it has been mentioned) you can go in the Express Pass line which Disney really needs to learn from - we NEVER waited more than 10 minutes to get on a ride. We spoke to a woman from UK who had been waiting for her family to come out of the Spiderman ride for over an hour, no they weren't staying on site. My younger DD who is 8 literally rode Spiderman about 10 times for a 3-day period since she liked it so much and wasn't tall enough for the Hulk. My DH & I are thrill ride fanatics so Universal was great for those!

You have the best of both worlds - 4-Star Hotels with ALL the perks at a reasonable price and two great parks within walking distance. Oh, also combine into that CityWalk (can't forget it )where the food is fantastic! and it was a great ending to an Orlando vacation! It would be great for you since you could stay at CityWalk at night which we couldn't do since our DDs are 8 & 10.

We're also going down once the HP World opens, we'll be down in Nov. 2010 and I've asked my DDs and they are saying that we don't have to go to WDW that time just US/IOA/SW. We'll see since I still need to visit my favorite WDW Park - Epcot

Hope you'll give it a try!

 

[Subi WRX]

I'm of the opinion that if you need to be converted or convinced to go, you probably don't really want to go in the first place.