Disney Resorts versus Universal Resorts?

[FairyDust2008]

My family and I are planning our 1st family trip to WDW/Universal/Sea World, Orlando area in general and Disney's prices for their deluxe accomodations are OUTRAGEOUS! We LOVE the AKL and that one is the only one that suits our tastes & budget and we may very well book there but...............I also like the Royal Pacific at Universal because I love the theming there. The Polynesian at Disney I like because of the theming but the difference in pricing between it and Royal Pacific is HUGE. I think RPR from photos looks more updated and new and the Poly looks a tad outdated for the cost of the rooms. What are the advantages of staying at Universal versus on Disney property. Thanks in advance

 

[rpbert1]

2 Years ago i stayed at RPR then went on to Disneys POFQ, there was not much difference in prices, so last year i just stayed at RPR. and have booked again for this year, plus the FOTL perk is worth the stay alone. I also joined the Loews First and am now Platinum so get upgraded to a suie free, so work out even better value than a Disney resort.
Staying onsite at Disney was ok, but did not think the advantage of EMH was anything to rave about as the crowds where probably worse than a normal day, unless you where there to the early hours when the crowds started leaving, the transportation was good, but the convience of staying at Universal is far much superior than Disney, and if we decide to visit a Disney park its only about a 30 minute drive.

 

[Lucky'sMom]

If you are visiting both parks, which it sounds like you are, it would be better to split your stay between both Disney and Universal resorts. The parks aren't really that close to each other, and there's no sense in paying for each resorts perks if you aren't visiting those theme parks. Stay at a Disney resort when visiting Disney, and then move to a Universal resort for your Universal days.

 

[goofy!]

We always stay at Universal now when we go to Orlando. Even when we are doing Disney, we stay at Universal. We don't find the drive bad at all.

We don't get any benefits from staying at WDW. But we do get nights credited to our LoewsFirst when we stay at Universal. Since we are now Platinum and a family of 5, the suite for the cost of a garden view room far outweighs any conveniences we may get from staying onsite at WDW.

I would not give up a single night towards keeping my platinum status by staying at Disney. We used to be regulars at the Poly, but now prefer the Portofino.

And we like staying at a 4* hotel for a reasonable price. Disney's deluxe hotels have become far too overpriced for what you get.

Besides, FOTL is the greatest perk in the world.

 

[FairyDust2008]

I think after all my researching that I still prefer to stay onsite at Disney and I like the theming of the Deluxe resorts so that is where we are planning to stay. We will take a day at Universal but all of our main stuff will be mostly at Disney. Thanks again!

 

[apparition]

I like a lot of Disney's resorts. Especially the Polynesian and Boardwalk. I've only stayed at Port Orleans and that was a long time ago. They're way too expensive. My family was considering going to Polynesian this summer, if not for the whole trip, at least half but it's way overpriced. Disney doesn't offer much of anything for staying at their resorts. Extra Magic hours are a joke because they're only at certain parks on certain days and you can be sure that if you went at those times, the park would still be packed cause everyone would be taking advantage of them.

I really don't know how families afford to stay at a resort and go to the parks for the length of the trip.

I'm staying at Universal this summer and we're going to the Magic Kingdom for one day. With 6 people going, the tickets for one day at the park are going to cost 400+ dollars and they're for only one park/one day. At least with Universal you get to use your tickets for both parks, length of stay. Depending on which type of tickets you buy.

After staying at Universal for the past 5 years, I don't think I could ever stay at a Disney resort. I guess I've become spoiled in a way.