Do you like Disney World or Universal more? And why?

OT

Finally enlarged your picture
For the likes of me, could not figure out what is was but now I know

Small world

Both my neighbors have a yard sign of that
crimson tide fans
 
OT

Finally enlarged your picture
For the likes of me, could not figure out what is was but now I know

Small world

Both my neighbors have a yard sign of that
crimson tide fans

Roll Tide to them.

1992 graduate, lifelong fan.
 
It's a discount. The normal rack rate is $279. SMSM is a discount. Not sure how to be any more clear than that. You can try to blur the lines all you want, but SMSM is a discount.

I wasn't trying to convince you about any "bang for the buck" situation. I was simply comparing rack rate vs rack rate. True apples to apples.

I love RPR...will be checking in there in 3 days. But, I believe in like/kind comparisons for fairness, too.

We've owned DVC at Disney for 15+ years, and it has long since paid for itself. Therefore, we stay at Disney deluxes for our points x maintenance fees, which equals to less than $100 per night pretty much everywhere.

You conveniently just disregarded what I said about comparing a moderate resort at Disney with no interiors corridors with a moderate resort at Universal that offers interior corridors, CL and all the benefits of a deluxe resort at Disney plus express pass. As I said earlier, you really don't want to compare prices at WL and AKL to RPR discount or no discount. As far as DVC if you held exception with me comparing SMSM I think you bringing up DVC ownership is really reaching.

ETA: RPR also offers room service. I have never stayed Moderate at Disney so I checked and saw that they do not. RPR would definitely be considered a deluxe at Disney based on services offered so for an apples to apples price comparison one would have to compare it to WL or AKL.
 
You conveniently just disregarded what I said about comparing a moderate resort at Disney with no interiors corridors with a moderate resort at Universal that offers interior corridors, CL and all the benefits of a deluxe resort at Disney plus express pass. As I said earlier, you really don't want to compare prices at WL and AKL to RPR discount or no discount. As far as DVC if you held exception with me comparing SMSM I think you bringing up DVC ownership is really reaching.

Ok...you win. I've lost interest.

I'm not sure why you think I'm arguing in favor of Disney. I simply stated that comparing rack rate vs rack rate in YOUR example (RPR vs POFQ) is the proper thing to do.
 


The thing is you really don't need to out-spend to get the FOTL access. Take for example this scenario I just ran with random dates that both showed availability:

9/15/17-9/19/17- RPR- 2Q Standard Room- $215.20 per night-2A/2C
9/15/17-9/15/17 - POFQ 2Q Standard View- $224.00 per night - 2A/2C

IMO RPR is a step above POFQ. I'm not a fan of exterior corridors and while at Disney only stay deluxe for that reason. I've visited both for almost every year for the past 20. Truthfully at this point, my family finds Universal being a much better bang for our buck.

Or you could just go at a slower time of year and not "need" express passes.

Unfortunately, going in September is not an option for me - I don't want my struggling high school student to miss a week of school. So instead I have to go for President's week.

I had priced out 2 nights during Presidents week this past year when we were down there:
2/21/17 - 2/23/17 - RPR - 2Q standard Room - Average $389 / night - with tax $436 per night = $872
Oh, and by the way, I have a preferred annual pass which in theory gives me a room discount, but it's a holiday week, so no annual pass discount for me! Thanks Universal! So we chose not to stay on site.

Now if I look at Disney - same two nights (and again real world I would be staying at a moderate if I had a cash Disney reservation).
2/21/17 - 2/23/17 - POFQ - $237 / night with tax $530 for 2 nights -but Disney will actually GIVE me a discount, so 20% off rack rate = $425 total.

So though you found dates that were cheaper at RPR, the dates I actually needed to use, RPR is more than double POFQ ($872 vs $425)
Comparable pricing at Disney for those two dates would be Wilderness Lodge - Which with the 20% discount offered would run $443 per night after discount and with tax. Or alternately drop to Cabana Bay for $229 a night - but now I lose FOTL - which is the whole point.

But this doesn't even meet reality for me - since I own at DVC. I have a room already booked through DVC for 2018 Presidents week - Sunday through Thursday for 4 nights at AKV, value room - costing me 52 points, my points cost me $8.30 per point, so $431.60 for FOUR nights at AKV - yes that's $108 per night.

ONE night at RPR on Saturday 2/17 - will cost me $469.
FOUR nights at AKV 2/18 - 2/22 - will cost me $432.

It's not even close in my DVC reality. I'm personally beginning to wonder if I'm crazy to even stay at Universal for the one night. It's really disappointing, because I really would like to stay at Universal for even a couple nights, but I just can't justify the cost.

Edit: BTW - this huge difference in room costs based on time of year tells me that Universal has a very hard time selling these resorts at slower times of year, so they drop the price significantly.
 
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Unfortunately, going in September is not an option for me - I don't want my struggling high school student to miss a week of school. So instead I have to go for President's week.

I had priced out 2 nights during Presidents week this past year when we were down there:
2/21/17 - 2/23/17 - RPR - 2Q standard Room - Average $389 / night - with tax $436 per night = $872
Oh, and by the way, I have a preferred annual pass which in theory gives me a room discount, but it's a holiday week, so no annual pass discount for me! Thanks Universal! So we chose not to stay on site.

Now if I look at Disney - same two nights (and again real world I would be staying at a moderate if I had a cash Disney reservation).
2/21/17 - 2/23/17 - POFQ - $237 / night with tax $530 for 2 nights -but Disney will actually GIVE me a discount, so 20% off rack rate = $425 total.

So though you found dates that were cheaper at RPR, the dates I actually needed to use, RPR is more than double POFQ ($872 vs $425)
Comparable pricing at Disney for those two dates would be Wilderness Lodge - Which with the 20% discount offered would run $443 per night after discount and with tax. Or alternately drop to Cabana Bay for $229 a night - but now I lose FOTL - which is the whole point.

But this doesn't even meet reality for me - since I own at DVC. I have a room already booked through DVC for 2018 Presidents week - Sunday through Thursday for 4 nights at AKV, value room - costing me 52 points, my points cost me $8.30 per point, so $431.60 for FOUR nights at AKV - yes that's $108 per night.

ONE night at RPR on Saturday 2/17 - will cost me $469.
FOUR nights at AKV 2/18 - 2/22 - will cost me $432.

It's not even close in my DVC reality. I'm personally beginning to wonder if I'm crazy to even stay at Universal for the one night. It's really disappointing, because I really would like to stay at Universal for even a couple nights, but I just can't justify the cost.

Edit: BTW - this huge difference in room costs based on time of year tells me that Universal has a very hard time selling these resorts at slower times of year, so they drop the price significantly.


As I said earlier I used POFQ just to show that you could get more bang for your buck at RPR. If comparing apples to apples one would need to compare a lower level deluxe such as WL or AKL with RPR. All three have interior corridors, CL, room service and pretty much the same amenities. Bringing DVC into the discussion is convenient but has no basis for a true comparison, the same with annual passes which my family also holds.

I completely understand your issues with your HS student missing school, we feel the same way, so being that I couldn't pull up past dates I went with future school holidays. Not knowing if your schools start before or after Labor Day, I chose Thanksgiving 11/22/17-11/24/17. I played it safe not knowing how long your break is and this way no discounts at all applied. You can always play with discounts. That's why I chose rack rates for both. Bottom line is I've never gotten a better deal at Disney. We always stayed Deluxe and always CL. Even staying at PBH CL which is our preference we save a huge amount of money when comparing to our preferred Disney resort. To each his own. By the way, I tried to originally pull up rates for next President's Day but for some reason the Disney site would only let me book until the end of 2017.

Animal Kingdom Lodge
Standard View
1/22/2017 - 11/24/20172 Adults, 2 Children Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge

Views of Rooftop or Parking Area

2 Queen Beds or 1 Queen Bed and 1 Bunk Bed or 1 King Bed and 1 Day Bed

Sleeps up to 4 Adults

Standard Room Rate

Standard Room Rate $401.00 USD $ 401 00 USD
Avg/Night Excl Tax


Disney's Wilderness Lodge

1/22/2017 - 11/24/20172 Adults, 2 Children Disney's Wilderness Lodge
Courtyard View - Bunk Bed View Photos for Courtyard View - Bunk Bed - Opens a dialog
Views of Courtyard, Pool, Waterfall or Bay Lake

1 Queen Bed and 1 Bunk Bed

Sleeps up to 4 Adults

Standard Room Rate

Standard Room Rate $559.00 USD $ 559 00 USD
Avg/Night Excl Tax



Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando
Booking Details

1 Room(s), 2 Night(s)
Check-in:
Wed Nov 22, 2017
Check-out:
Fri Nov 24, 2017
Guests:
2 Adult(s), 2 Kid(s)
Hotel
Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando®
6300 Hollywood Way
Orlando, FL, 32819
Phone:
1-888-464-3617
Fax:
(407) 503-3010
uerpr.png

Choose your room(s)
Show rooms with:
Seasonal Rate Average Rate Per Night: $354.00
Rate Description:


You receive FREE Universal Express Unlimited to skip the regular theme park lines. Room only rate, not combinable with other offers. Theme park tickets not included.

Standard 2 Queen Room
Enjoy 335 square feet of tropical paradise in one of these inviting standard guest rooms. Each room offers two queen beds and all of the modern amenities.


Average Rate Per Night: $354.00
 


Unfortunately, going in September is not an option for me - I don't want my struggling high school student to miss a week of school. So instead I have to go for President's week.

I had priced out 2 nights during Presidents week this past year when we were down there:
2/21/17 - 2/23/17 - RPR - 2Q standard Room - Average $389 / night - with tax $436 per night = $872
Oh, and by the way, I have a preferred annual pass which in theory gives me a room discount, but it's a holiday week, so no annual pass discount for me! Thanks Universal! So we chose not to stay on site.

Now if I look at Disney - same two nights (and again real world I would be staying at a moderate if I had a cash Disney reservation).
2/21/17 - 2/23/17 - POFQ - $237 / night with tax $530 for 2 nights -but Disney will actually GIVE me a discount, so 20% off rack rate = $425 total.

So though you found dates that were cheaper at RPR, the dates I actually needed to use, RPR is more than double POFQ ($872 vs $425)
Comparable pricing at Disney for those two dates would be Wilderness Lodge - Which with the 20% discount offered would run $443 per night after discount and with tax. Or alternately drop to Cabana Bay for $229 a night - but now I lose FOTL - which is the whole point.

But this doesn't even meet reality for me - since I own at DVC. I have a room already booked through DVC for 2018 Presidents week - Sunday through Thursday for 4 nights at AKV, value room - costing me 52 points, my points cost me $8.30 per point, so $431.60 for FOUR nights at AKV - yes that's $108 per night.

ONE night at RPR on Saturday 2/17 - will cost me $469.
FOUR nights at AKV 2/18 - 2/22 - will cost me $432.

It's not even close in my DVC reality. I'm personally beginning to wonder if I'm crazy to even stay at Universal for the one night. It's really disappointing, because I really would like to stay at Universal for even a couple nights, but I just can't justify the cost.

Edit: BTW - this huge difference in room costs based on time of year tells me that Universal has a very hard time selling these resorts at slower times of year, so they drop the price significantly.

But it's kind of disingenuous to compare a DVC rate because if you're a member, you paid more up front when you joined. That amount should get added into your tallies when you say how much per visit you spend. It might just be $432 for this visit but how much have you paid in just for the privilege of membership? Kwim? It just isn't a comparable comparison. :)
 
But it's kind of disingenuous to compare a DVC rate because if you're a member, you paid more up front when you joined. That amount should get added into your tallies when you say how much per visit you spend. It might just be $432 for this visit but how much have you paid in just for the privilege of membership? Kwim? It just isn't a comparable comparison. :)

Well - that's why I kept that comparison separate - you are completely right, and that's why I specified "in my reality". My costs I listed factors in my buy-in as well, though, so it's real costs for me. The more accurate comparison that would apply to everyone is the previous estimate, which compares the POFQ vs RPR vs WL.

What I see is that RPR is priced closer to a moderate during slow times, and closer to a deluxe at busy times. The reason (as I see it) - slow times you don't need FOTL, so people aren't will to pay that premium. Busy times they'll pay that premium.

Not knowing if your schools start before or after Labor Day, I chose Thanksgiving 11/22/17-11/24/17. I played it safe not knowing how long your break is and this way no discounts at all applied. You can always play with discounts. That's why I chose rack rates for both. Bottom line is I've never gotten a better deal at Disney. We always stayed Deluxe and always CL. Even staying at PBH CL which is our preference we save a huge amount of money when comparing to our preferred Disney resort. To each his own.

Agree with all of this, I do think Disney's deluxe prices are outrageous, and you are 100% right that Universal's hotel prices compare favorably to Disney's when you make that comparison on a deluxe basis. My problem is I can't normally afford to stay deluxe at either place. But Disney is more egalitarian. If I stay at a Deluxe, or a Moderate, or a Value, I still get the exact same benefits and the exact same park access. The only benefit to Deluxe resorts is really resort location, resort amenities, and room size. If I don't care about those things - I can stay at the moderate / value and save money.

If I compare say Cabana Bay and Royal Pacific, at $229 a night versus $419 a night next February, I get a marginally better resort location, resort amenities and room size at RPR. Now these differences aren't as strong as say the difference between Port Orleans and Beach Club, but unlike those - I also get the FOTL. And that's really a positive to Universal and to those willing to spend at the nicer hotels, there are more benefits to be had at those nicer hotels over the "value" hotels, and a greater benefit to staying at RPR than at say WLV.

But to someone like me, who can't really afford $400 a night hotel rooms, and doesn't care about room size, resort amenities, and location...well then I just look at that extra $180 a night and say "that's how much it costs me for FOTL". And I understand that, and accept it. But I don't have to like it. And that was really my original point - I prefer to be able to save money and out-think guests in order to have a better experience, than to simply have to pay more money for a better experience.

By the way, I tried to originally pull up rates for next President's Day but for some reason the Disney site would only let me book until the end of 2017.

Yeah - Disney hasn't opened up bookings past end of 2017, which is pretty common, I think they usually so that in May. That's why I used this past February since I could look up the pricing at both resorts. (I also slightly disagree with you using Disney rack rates - since I never ever have paid rack rate for a Disney trip. I don't know enough about Universal to know if discounts are common, but my experience of only Presidents week says that you have to pay rack rate. I should probably check if there is a AAA discount.
 
Can I just ask why people who seem to hate Universal come over here to seemingly do nothing but compare it (unfavorably) to Disney? I don't get it and it's really disheartening to read. There are a ton of places on this board to talk about how wonderful Disney is and bash Universal - please don't bring it here.
 
Can I just ask why people who seem to hate Universal come over here to seemingly do nothing but compare it (unfavorably) to Disney? I don't get it and it's really disheartening to read. There are a ton of places on this board to talk about how wonderful Disney is and bash Universal - please don't bring it here.

Wish I could like this post more than once.

It really does get old and yawn inducing hearing how bad Universal are at certain things........in some folks eyes of course........
 
Can I just ask why people who seem to hate Universal come over here to seemingly do nothing but compare it (unfavorably) to Disney? I don't get it and it's really disheartening to read. There are a ton of places on this board to talk about how wonderful Disney is and bash Universal - please don't bring it here.

If you are referring to me - I am not trying to bash Universal and don't think that I am. I was just told how much cheaper Universal is, and I was pointing out that it depends on time and circumstances. Both can be done cheaper or more expensive. It doesn't make one better or worse. Plus - this thread asks the specific question of comparing Universal and Disney...seems like it should have both positives and negatives of BOTH. (And there are positives and negatives of both.)

For instance, even though I prefer Disney, I would agree that Universal does a MUCH better job of keeping the most modern impressive of rides. Disney's lack of new rides over the last 20 years is shameful. Also, I 100% agree that Universal is a much more "laid back" vacation - at least if you consider a theme park vacation as being laid back - or at the very least much easier to plan. And Harry Potter land is the best themed land in Florida (and I doubt Pandora will beat it only because it's HP vs Avatar and who cares about Avatar).
 
I personally prefer Universal but I wouldn't go to the Disney theme park forums and say so. I don't see the point. I also love Cabana Bay best so what do I know? ;)
 
We did a four night stay at the HRH with the two day + two days free park to park tickets last week. It was our first time in Universal since 2009, pre-HP.

We THOUROUGHLY enjoyed our stay... but it still doesn't come close to Disney for us.

1 - HP - there is nothing in the Disney parks that matches Diagon Alley. It's a 10/10. Best theming in Orlando in my opinion.

2 - Ride seats - the big but (maybe pun intended? ) to the above is that I couldn't ride FJ. I'm a big guy, but there are zero rides that I can't ride at Disney. Not being able to ride FJ, RRR, Hulk (three major headliners), and Dragon Challenge is really ridiculous. There's really no excuse for it whatsoever.

3 -- rest of the parks -- Springfield is great. Otherwise after the HP areas, there's a big drop off in quality. That's where as a whole, Disney still way exceeds Universal for us.

4 -- Hard Rock Hotel -- GREAT hotel. Liked it a lot. I agree overall there isn't a strong tie in with theming to the parks, but the HRH has its own unique theme. The people there were super friendly. The biggest complaint we had was the club lounge was too small. Not nearly enough seats, so we had to being the food back to the room a few times, which we really haven't had to do at any of the Disney resorts.

5 - security lines on the walkways/boat launches/etc, instead of at the parks -- genius.

6 -- Rides -- Universal has their target niche with the action rides. It's not our preference. This is probably where it's the most subjective. I like coasters, but my wife doesn't. Plus as I said above, I couldn't ride most of them at UO, while I can ride RnR, EE, etc, with no problems. Gringotts and The Mummy are both world class rides though.

7 -- Frozen Butterbeer -- damn that stuff is good.

8 -- there's nothing at UO that wows you like Cinderella's Castle and Spaceship Earth (the Epcot globe). The dragon is amazing, but the universal parks didn't have the wow factor of the WDW parks to us. Again, all subjective.

Overall we'll probably come back to UO eventually, but we'll go to WDW many many times before then.

I agree 110% with your point #2!!! Huge (no pun intended) design flaws in the HP ride vehicles, even in extended seats. Not sure they took into account the average size of US citizens who are likely the majority of guests.

EP is the answer.......you never have to stand in insane queues with it.

A RIP even better lol. Cost does come into play though. If one buys a multinight ticket, especially if early in season & doing scream & stay, you can knock out at least 3 houses before lines build.

I was on a thread on the DVC boards talking about booking and having to understand DVC - and it brought me back to this thread:

At Disney - you get an advantage by being smarter/wiser/planning ahead more than "the other guy". (FP+, ADR)
At Universal - you get an advantage by spending more money than "the other guy". (FOTL via $$/On-site hotel)

I've always preferred to out-think than to out-spend.

Best laid plans of mice & men...You can think all you want, but if the hotel rates/DVC availability isn't there, you're out of luck. Often @ 11 month for 2 of my memberships (AKV-value studios & BWV-standard) I'm either walking or holding my breath waitlist comes thru.

You can also employ the 'secret' loopholes for WDW (2nd set of MB, etc.) but eventually the playing field starts to level when the word gets out. Don't forget that Disney offers private tours, special events as add on $$$ to enter park early & late for those who are willing to pay for it. I predict there will be more of ala carte options in the future if they are churning income for the mouse :).

Unfortunately, going in September is not an option for me - I don't want my struggling high school student to miss a week of school. So instead I have to go for President's week.

I had priced out 2 nights during Presidents week this past year when we were down there:
2/21/17 - 2/23/17 - RPR - 2Q standard Room - Average $389 / night - with tax $436 per night = $872
Oh, and by the way, I have a preferred annual pass which in theory gives me a room discount, but it's a holiday week, so no annual pass discount for me! Thanks Universal! So we chose not to stay on site.

Now if I look at Disney - same two nights (and again real world I would be staying at a moderate if I had a cash Disney reservation).
2/21/17 - 2/23/17 - POFQ - $237 / night with tax $530 for 2 nights -but Disney will actually GIVE me a discount, so 20% off rack rate = $425 total.

So though you found dates that were cheaper at RPR, the dates I actually needed to use, RPR is more than double POFQ ($872 vs $425)
Comparable pricing at Disney for those two dates would be Wilderness Lodge - Which with the 20% discount offered would run $443 per night after discount and with tax. Or alternately drop to Cabana Bay for $229 a night - but now I lose FOTL - which is the whole point.

But this doesn't even meet reality for me - since I own at DVC. I have a room already booked through DVC for 2018 Presidents week - Sunday through Thursday for 4 nights at AKV, value room - costing me 52 points, my points cost me $8.30 per point, so $431.60 for FOUR nights at AKV - yes that's $108 per night.

ONE night at RPR on Saturday 2/17 - will cost me $469.
FOUR nights at AKV 2/18 - 2/22 - will cost me $432.

It's not even close in my DVC reality. I'm personally beginning to wonder if I'm crazy to even stay at Universal for the one night. It's really disappointing, because I really would like to stay at Universal for even a couple nights, but I just can't justify the cost.

Edit: BTW - this huge difference in room costs based on time of year tells me that Universal has a very hard time selling these resorts at slower times of year, so they drop the price significantly.

Are you saying you priced out RPH 'when' you were there in February? If so, you'd likely be looking @ rack rate. Did you check last year's date & rate thread here to see what people were actually paying during that time period for an accurate comparison?

Despite taking any personal feelings into account as to favoring one park over the other. You cannot fairly compare a moderate resort to a deluxe hotel. If anything you should compare CB's prices to a disney moderate. SF is more akin to a deluxe IMO

Playing devil's advocate lol, you could rent those same 52 DVC points for $15 a night. The actual value is much higher, you could easily earn approx $800 via a rental.

But it's kind of disingenuous to compare a DVC rate because if you're a member, you paid more up front when you joined. That amount should get added into your tallies when you say how much per visit you spend. It might just be $432 for this visit but how much have you paid in just for the privilege of membership? Kwim? It just isn't a comparable comparison. :)

I see your point too. My DVCs were bought & paid for day one. Saved up and paid in cash each time i purchased/added on, would never-ever dream of financing a timeshare. Tipping point for me was booking the Poly for a week back in 2004 and realizing i could purchase a small, re-sale DVC TS & stay @ a value resort instead that trip for the same amount of money! A no-brainer for me. YMMV

The dues are an afterthought for us, auto payment each month. Yearly total is in area of a 3 nights @ a disney deluxe for ability to book 3 weeks in a studio a year there. A 'deal' for us, as the mr now feels compelled to visit and use the points :).
 

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