Dilemmas for first time visitors, help!

[Alexsandra]

Hi everyone,
I was going to Orlando for 8 days on Sept 13 to the 21th. My hubby and I are going for our 10th anniversary and it is an adult only trip!

First we had decided to stay at WDW the whole time and visit Universal for one day only. However after asking and reading a bit on these boards, as well as checking Universal's onsite hotel pictures, we decided to do stay 2 nights at Portofino Bay. It seems like a romantic spot and that way we could take advantage of FOTL pass and early admission to HP, which everyone says is the highlight of staying onsite.

Now that that is settled, I need a little help with my other two dilemmas. First off, my husband is set on NOT renting a car. He wants his vacation stress free and traffic free. PLus he doesn't see the need for one as both WDW and UN have free onsite transportation. I, on the other hand, am questioning if it is better to have one at our disposal. I think it would just be easier to get from park to park and from resort to airport. Plus the shuttle ride from airport seems to be really long (with other hotel stop overs) and taxi ride seem really expensive.

My second dilemma, is if we should begin our trip with US or with WDW. We are tempted to begin with US because it is new to us but if we begin our trip with US, we would arrive on a Thursday, visit US on Friday and Saturday.
However, if we begin our trip at WDW instead, we would leave WDW on Tuesday morning early, check into Portofino and go to US that day and visit IOA on Wednesday. Plus if we begin with WDW, we could take advantage of Magical express on our arrival date and not worry about our luggage vs US where we would have to claim our bags, wait for the shuttle, taxi or car and that might be daunting after a long flight (especially if it has delays, already happened to me several times!)

Any advice would highly be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[Lees3rwe]

Hi!

What a fun trip you have planned!

I am going to Universal for the first time, but have been to Disney 3 times.
I like your second idea of using the Magical Express to get to Disney, then going to Universal on the slower days.

Have fun!

 

[RMulieri]

I would leave US till the END of your trip..Once you stay onsite at Universal, you are spoiled with the close walks and Express passes.Makes it hard to go over to disney and deal with Fastpass and busses and trams.It is a nice realxing way to end your trip..Hope you Enjoy Portofino Bay! it is our favorite and we are staying there again this August

 

[Yellowstonetim]

We will pass you the baton as we are leaving from a 9 day 30th Anniversary & birthday trip on September 13th! Our kids did Universal last trip in 2011 (They are grown it was our daughter's college graduation trip). They loved it but said Uni isn't Disney. Not that I'm a biased Disney fan or anything but I think it is better to finish at Disney. A rental car for all those days would be expensive. You can just do a cab to switch resorts and in when necessary. The one plus about Disney first is the magical shuttle. But you can get the reverse at the end of your trip.

 

[disnutz]

Well, just from our experience last summer we did a split trip starting at US and heading to WDW. The problem was we were sooo spoiled by the express at US as well as the short walks that the driving, busses, and waiting really plucked our nerves at Disney. i learned my lesson - we will always do US last if we split. You could always do Mag express to WDW then pick up a car at the car care center and head to US. Probably just as cheap as taking a taxi for a two day rental in Sept.

 

[keishashadow]

OP Orlando isn't the poster child for a stress- & traffic-free vacation

whenever possible, we rent a car. i'm a type A person and not a fan of the internal transport system @ WDW, Universal being much smaller is so much easier and faster.

Do a search on the transportation board here to find the names of the private car services. Many offer reasonably priced three-way stops. Not sure of the policy on the DIS as to naming companies (so i won't) but mousesavers have several listed to make it easy to obtain quotes.

fyi you can utilize ME to or from airport @ WDW if staying onsite. however, depending on 'where' @ WDW and traffic and including a minimal tip, it could easily cost $40 to take a cab to Universal and again you need to factor in the cost back to airport.

 

[lpearl]

I'd do US the first two days because they are weekend days and will be busier. With the ExpressPass at US, you don't have to care about busy, and let's you go to Disney on weekdays, which would be quieter. If you did US during the week, it might be a waste of the Expresspasses.

 

[Alexsandra]

Hi!

What a fun trip you have planned!

I am going to Universal for the first time, but have been to Disney 3 times.
I like your second idea of using the Magical Express to get to Disney, then going to Universal on the slower days.

Have fun!

Have a great trip too!

 

[Alexsandra]

I would leave US till the END of your trip..Once you stay onsite at Universal, you are spoiled with the close walks and Express passes.Makes it hard to go over to disney and deal with Fastpass and busses and trams.It is a nice realxing way to end your trip..Hope you Enjoy Portofino Bay! it is our favorite and we are staying there again this August

Thanks for the suggestion, will take that into account!

 

[schumigirl]

I would leave US till the END of your trip..Once you stay onsite at Universal, you are spoiled with the close walks and Express passes.

I would definately do Universal last too.

After unlimited Express Pass....you will be spoiled.

As for a car.....we always have a car gives you freedom to do what you want when you want. I would not want to be without one.

Hope you have a great trip....we are there from the 12th Sept till the 29th, but at RPR

 

[Alexsandra]

We will pass you the baton as we are leaving from a 9 day 30th Anniversary & birthday trip on September 13th! Our kids did Universal last trip in 2011 (They are grown it was our daughter's college graduation trip). They loved it but said Uni isn't Disney. Not that I'm a biased Disney fan or anything but I think it is better to finish at Disney. A rental car for all those days would be expensive. You can just do a cab to switch resorts and in when necessary. The one plus about Disney first is the magical shuttle. But you can get the reverse at the end of your trip.

Wow, 30 years, congrats!
I am also a huge Disney fan however I think I will like Universal. Since my kids are so young DS 3 and DS 6, Universal was not a great option for our family trips. But since my husband and I are big movie buffs and big Harry Potter fans, I think we will enjoy the older movie inspired rides.
Plus Universal will be something new for us vs. WDW where we have visited every year for the past 3 years. However I am staying at the Polynesian Resort for the first time so that will be fun since we've ever only stayed at moderate resorts in the past and having access to the monorail will be exciting. However, the rooms and beds at Portofino look like a notch higher than those at Disney. Can't wait!

 

[Planogirl]

We stayed onsite at WDW the whole time during our last long trip but we had a car for the first four days and visited Universal for three days of that. I think that we should have reversed it. WDW just seemed too crowded and I missed the car big time. It depends on where you stay at WDW of course but the buses can be a pain to put it mildly.

 

[Alexsandra]

We stayed onsite at WDW the whole time during our last long trip but we had a car for the first four days and visited Universal for three days of that. I think that we should have reversed it. WDW just seemed too crowded and I missed the car big time. It depends on where you stay at WDW of course but the buses can be a pain to put it mildly.

I think I will take your suggestion and stay at WDW first and then go to Universal the last 2 days.

As for the car, my husband keeps trying to convince me that we don't need one since we are staying at Polynesian and will have monorail access. Also, the fact that we can use magic express when arriving makes the trip stress free for him. The fact that we would have to pay parking when staying at Universal property also does not help. He thinks a car is just another thing to stress about (driving, getting lost, traffic, and extra costs we don,t need to pay for). I would rather have access to a car but he does not think we will use it that much since there is so much to do onsite. I am still not convinced but I will have to sit down and do the math to see how much we would save or spend in the end.

If we do decide to not rent a car, I found Tony Hinds Transport recommended by someone on these boards. He seems to offer fair prices and will bring me from WDW to US and then US to airport on my departure day. It comes out to around $90 something dollars in total for both trips.

Thanks again

 

[momto3pirates]

We have done it both ways. When we do WDW first, take ME to resort, only use Disney transportation and have a car service pick us up at Disney and drop us at US. We have the same company pick us up to take us back to MCO. If US first, car service picks us up at MCO, drops us at US, takes us to WDW when it is time. We have never rented a car.

 

[macraven]

i do both theme parks and stay onsite for each.

i have rented cars in the past.
i always get lost or turned around, even at the motherland, so i quit renting cars.

i book a 3 leg private car from mco to wdw.
wdw to uo resorts and then back to mco.

for $140 total, it's cheaper than renting a car and paying for parking.


at disney, if i don't use the busses, i use a taxi.
at universal, everything is walkable for the resorts, parks, city walk.

if i want to take a walk to walgreens, i can take a cab back for $5 to the uo resort.

do the motherland first.
if you don't want a long wait for a bus, use a taxi.

at the darkside, you don't need a car, really...

i do the motherland first, and the darkside last.
i like having the end of my vacation to be relaxing and no rushing.
you might enjoy doing disney first, universal last.

you can get the town car at the darkside resorts for $50 for returning to the airport.


if you decide while at the motherland you do need a car for a few days, rent one then.

 

[Alexsandra]

i do both theme parks and stay onsite for each.

i have rented cars in the past.
i always get lost or turned around, even at the motherland, so i quit renting cars.

i book a 3 leg private car from mco to wdw.
wdw to uo resorts and then back to mco.

for $140 total, it's cheaper than renting a car and paying for parking.


at disney, if i don't use the busses, i use a taxi.
at universal, everything is walkable for the resorts, parks, city walk.

if i want to take a walk to walgreens, i can take a cab back for $5 to the uo resort.

do the motherland first.
if you don't want a long wait for a bus, use a taxi.

at the darkside, you don't need a car, really...

i do the motherland first, and the darkside last.
i like having the end of my vacation to be relaxing and no rushing.
you might enjoy doing disney first, universal last.

you can get the town car at the darkside resorts for $50 for returning to the airport.


if you decide while at the motherland you do need a car for a few days, rent one then.

I think you nailed the head in the coffin for me: no car needed! Stay at wdw first and then US. Take a third leg car service. Great advise!
Appreciate it

 

[gcoolie]

Hi everyone,
I was going to Orlando for 8 days on Sept 13 to the 21th. My hubby and I are going for our 10th anniversary and it is an adult only trip!

First we had decided to stay at WDW the whole time and visit Universal for one day only. However after asking and reading a bit on these boards, as well as checking Universal's onsite hotel pictures, we decided to do stay 2 nights at Portofino Bay. It seems like a romantic spot and that way we could take advantage of FOTL pass and early admission to HP, which everyone says is the highlight of staying onsite.

Now that that is settled, I need a little help with my other two dilemmas. First off, my husband is set on NOT renting a car. He wants his vacation stress free and traffic free. PLus he doesn't see the need for one as both WDW and UN have free onsite transportation. I, on the other hand, am questioning if it is better to have one at our disposal. I think it would just be easier to get from park to park and from resort to airport. Plus the shuttle ride from airport seems to be really long (with other hotel stop overs) and taxi ride seem really expensive.

My second dilemma, is if we should begin our trip with US or with WDW. We are tempted to begin with US because it is new to us but if we begin our trip with US, we would arrive on a Thursday, visit US on Friday and Saturday.
However, if we begin our trip at WDW instead, we would leave WDW on Tuesday morning early, check into Portofino and go to US that day and visit IOA on Wednesday. Plus if we begin with WDW, we could take advantage of Magical express on our arrival date and not worry about our luggage vs US where we would have to claim our bags, wait for the shuttle, taxi or car and that might be daunting after a long flight (especially if it has delays, already happened to me several times!)

Any advice would highly be appreciated.
Thanks

What a fun trip! My DH is the same; not having a car takes a lot of stress off him and we have never missed having one at Universal or WDW. It bugs me to pay to leave one sitting in the hotel parking lot. Also, The Forbidden Journey lines die down at night if you don't want to make the mad rush in the mornings. You will love that Express Pass too!

Have fun

 

[hydrotony]

Different aspect of your trip.

Universal tickets for 2 days are basically the same price as 3 days. Now, there is a buy 2 days, get the 3rd free offer. I don't know what restrictions there are for September or what special offers but get the 3 day tickets since you can use the resort FOTL pass from the day you check in to the day you check out, which is 3 days. You can do a lot at either park in a few hours especially with FOTL.

Forget the 3rd day free offer, must be fully used by the end of June

 

[hermionesnape]

I'd do US the first two days because they are weekend days and will be busier. With the ExpressPass at US, you don't have to care about busy, and let's you go to Disney on weekdays, which would be quieter. If you did US during the week, it might be a waste of the Expresspasses.

Ditto! Depends on how much of a ride person you. Going to WDW all week days will deffintally cut down line time. With US and IOA it really won't make a difference in you go on the weekend or during the week. With the FOTL pass the waits will be basically the same.

 

[Alexsandra]

Ditto! Depends on how much of a ride person you. Going to WDW all week days will deffintally cut down line time. With US and IOA it really won't make a difference in you go on the weekend or during the week. With the FOTL pass the waits will be basically the same.

I do not like to wait for more than 20-30 min. for a ride, if it is above that, I skip the ride entirely. I have gone to WDW multiple times so I don't care if I miss some. But since it is September I figured the crowds should be manageable even on week-ends and with my touring plans on hand I am not worried. I could be dead wrong of course!
However, I want to take it easy on this trip, take advantage of the restaurants and visit the parks without rushing or without my kids begging me to head to the next attraction.
I am still considering going to US before WDW because I want to avoid HHN at Universal which is the FRiday night.
We'll see!