Disney & Universal w/o car (How would you do it?)

[toonaspie]

What is the best strategy (in regards to both time and money) for planning a one-week Florida vacation where you do both Disney & Universal w/o a car?

I ask this because I plan to do at least a couple of days at Universal (staying on property) but for Disney I also plan to stay on property for when I'm there but I also want to use DME to get from the airport to Disney.

Is is better to do Disney first using DME and then go to Universal for the final days and leave for the airport from Universal? Does Universal provide airport transportation? Is it possible to do Universal in the middle of the week and go back to Disney later?

We don't mind spending the money to use Mears or a taxi to get from Disney to Universal and/or vice versa. Car rental is too much of a hassle. I want to know what is your take on this.

Also how would one be able to book these? Is it better to use a travel agent? Would Disney get suspicious if I they were to see a mysterious gap in the middle of my travel days if I was to make reservations on their site? :

 

[TimothyG]

I would book Disney on both ends and go to Universal in the middle. You could take the Mears shuttle which is $18 RT I believe. You have to call them to get the details.

You can be very upfront about your plans with Disney. I've done trips where I've only used Magical Express one way per reservation. They don't really mind if you do something like that. A very common scenario of this is when people go on Disney cruises and use ME to get to their hotel, check out and go on a cruise, then come back to WDW and spend a few more days.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I'd start at Universal for a couple of nights, move on to Disney and use the ME to get back to the airport. I don't like to pack and unpack so wouldn't want to do a third move. I prefer a car service over Mears but if you are only a group of one or two and Mears is much cheaper go that route.

 

[toonaspie]

I would book Disney on both ends and go to Universal in the middle. You could take the Mears shuttle which is $18 RT I believe. You have to call them to get the details.

You can be very upfront about your plans with Disney. I've done trips where I've only used Magical Express one way per reservation. They don't really mind if you do something like that. A very common scenario of this is when people go on Disney cruises and use ME to get to their hotel, check out and go on a cruise, then come back to WDW and spend a few more days.

I wouldn't mind doing a 3-way split trip. Maybe do a different Disney hotel for the finals days if I decide to do Universal mid-trip. The next question is how I would book this in such a matter? Would it be better to book through a travel agent. How would I book split Disney days via the website?

 

[jfelcie]

We are doing just that next month. 6/26-7/5 Disney using DME. Florida tours picks up up at the BWV and brings was to Royal Pacific for 4 days. Then they pick us up at Royal Pacific and bring us to the airport. I think it was about $125.00 for the 7 of us. I like doing Universal last as it is a nice relaxing ending to our vacation. You can't beat 'Front of the line Access'. Once we did Universal first and it made waiting in the lines at WDW seem soooo much longer.

 

[Sydnerella]

I wouldn't mind doing a 3-way split trip. Maybe do a different Disney hotel for the finals days if I decide to do Universal mid-trip. The next question is how I would book this in such a matter? Would it be better to book through a travel agent. How would I book split Disney days via the website?

I know you say this but as a bossy mom (in honor of Mother's Day) I will say that with only 7 days and desire to do both Universal and Disney you are wasting precious touring-fun time and money moving and packing, repacking-unpacking with 3 different places in such a short span. You would regret that I am 98% certain.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[454RAT]

We do both every time we do Disney, couple days of Disney, arrange Mears for the next morning, go to Universal all day. Call Mears about an hour before ready to leave Universal, then they take us back to our resort in Disney, next day back at Disney park, then again at Universal the following. Simple! And easy. We split it up during the week, also throw in a day at Sea World.

 

[Annie78]

You need to book the two Disney stays (if you do a WDW-UOR-WDW split) separately. They will be completely separate trips as far as Disney is concerned, and they will zero percent care about the gap. You can still use a single set of MYW tickets for both Disney segments, since it's all within 14 days, but the resort side of it needs to be separate. Dining plan could get tricky if you want that, since it requires a minimum ticket purchase. If you want a dining plan during both Disney segments, you could just keep the extra tickets, unused, for your next Disney trip. Also, you won't be able to carry over dining credits from the first stay to the second.

But I really think a two-way split would be more enjoyable...

 

[Darcy03231]

If you're going to stay on-site at Universal you'll get the unlimited express pass for free (like an unlimited fast pass). Do the Universal portion of the trip last. If you do it first you stand the chance of your kids complaining about having to stand in line at Disney and "why can't we go back to Universal?" BTDT

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

I would do Disney first and then Universal and stay onsite for each.

You could do DME to Disney World and then book a car service to take you to Universal and then when you are done with Universal, have the same car service booked to take you to the airport.

I recommend Universal last because if you stay at one of the onsite resorts (Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel or Portafino) you will get free express access. The newest Resort there doesn't have that - Cabana Bay I think it's called.

Those are my suggestions.

 

[savannahcat]

We are doing a three way split for our next trip, but our total trip length is 2 weeks. We're staying 7 nights at Disney, 3 nights at Universal, and then 4 more nights at Disney. We were able to book a town car through Mears for about the same price as a taxi. $39 each way.

With a stay of only one week, I think I would do a two way split, and have Mears take us to the airport on departure day.

 

[toonaspie]

Good advice folks.

My party consists of just me and my friend. We're not pool people and we don't plan on doing EVERYTHING in just one week since we've both been to Disney before. However Universal (which only I have been to once before when it was just USO by itself) will be a bigger and brand new experience for both of us, so we definitly want to take advantage of the Express stuff if we go for it. But again we don't plan on doing EVERYTHING at Universal. The only two major must-dos for us will be The Simpsons and Harry Potter. Everything else will be icing on the cake. Expect to see a list of priority stuff on this thread here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3272084

So it does sound like doing Disney first then Universal would be the way to go. .

 

[Roborn]

I may be in the minority here but this is what we do when we split a stay if you want 2 days at Universal.
This works really well if you are arriving early into Orlando:

Day 1
-Early flight into MCO. Car service or taxi to USF.
-Choose Hard Rock (Our favorite), Royal Pacific or Portifino Bay so you can receive free FOTL Passes
-Check in even if room is not ready. Get your FOTL pass.
-Buy 2 day park to park admission ticket or Power Pass Annual Pass (Might have discounted room rates)
-Enter Universal Studios and go on all attractions you have listed in your wish list with FOTL pass (Possible exception will be Gringotts Coaster and Hogwarts Express.)
-After getting your room you can head back to either park and do other FOTL attractions. I see on your wish list you have the 3 water rides at IOA listed. Keep in mind that these attractions could be closed for maintenance or may be a little bone chilling depending on temperature in December.

Day 2

-Enter for early on site admission to either Hogsmeade at IOA or Diagon Alley at US. (Depends on which attractions you want to do)
-Head back (5-10 minute walk) to your hotel 1/2 hour before check out (If you have not already) and exit your room. Leave your bags at bell services.
-Re-enter either park and spend as much time as you need the rest of the day doing the attractions you want.

You can then take a car service to WDW and enjoy your stay there while using ME for your return trip to MCO.

The above plan is nice because you can get 2 full days of FOTL access and only pay for 1 night at a Universal hotel.

Another poster had stated that Cabana Bay does not offer free FOTL passes with your hotel stay. Also keep in mind that you will be taking a shuttle from Cabana Bay over to the entrances of both parks rather than walk to your hotel room when staying at any of the other resorts listed above. Hard Rock Hotel is a 5 minute walk to US and slightly longer to IOA.

Hope this helps

 

[Roborn]

Just to add from above. Hard Rock Hotel on Dec. 14th 1 night stay is around $292.00. Includes FOTL passes.
FOTL passes for 2 people for 2 day would be about $360.00.

Easy choice in my opinion if you plan on 2 park to park days at USF.