Does it make sense to stay at value resorts but go to universal orlando a day or two?

[Shellydm]

Hello,

We have always gone to Disney and stayed at a Value resort. We love it.
For our next trip we were thinking of doing the same thing, but also venturing out a few days too since we drive and will have a car.

I thought about still staying at the Disney value resorts and of course still going to all the Disney parks, but also a few days drive over to Univeral Orlando too.

Would it make sense to book the value resort and then just get less tickets than days at the value resorts, and then go to Universal those days but still stay at the value resorts?

My thinking is it would be easier than trying to change hotels mid-vacation. But woudl it cost way more than staying off-site somehwere else on those days?

Is Universal Orland worth going to ? It looks neat, but we are a creature of habit and are nervous to step out of our comfort zone of what we always do. But that is why I want to step out too, we may be missing more fun in addition to Disney too!

Thanks,
Shelly

 

[Meetmeinmontauk]

I was planning on doing the same thing for our trip in a few years, especially if free dining is going on when we visit. I think it would be too much of a hassle to move everything a few days before the vacation is over. I'll also be able to come back to Disney every night

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

We're in the same boat. At some point we want to visit Universal but haven't tried it yet.

I was thinking along the same lines as you - book a stay at Disney (we like the All Stars Resorts) and then visit Universal for a day or 2 during a trip. But then I read on a few posts about a "front of the line pass" that is free for people staying in the Universal Resorts and they get some kind of early opening (an hour early). I haven't checked into their prices yet but from what I'm reading it might be worth it to swap hotels for the extra time in the parks (especially the Harry Potter area) and the pass.

 

[LJSquishy]

I took my first Disney World trip in February with my husband...we did 7 nights (Mod) with one full day at both Universal parks. Universal Studios/Island of Adventure is NOTHING even remotely close to Disney World. We enjoyed a couple of things at each park, but we did not feel it was worth $300 for the two of us to go and by 3pm we were done with both parks and just wanted to go back to Disney.

Harry Potter is TINY, do not let anyone tell you different! I had read about how huge it was and that it took 4+ hours to do just that section...it is very small, and while it is fun, the size of it really took away the magic.

We felt that Universal/IoA only offered thrill rides and little kid rides...not much in between. It is definitely not on par with Disney, at least I don't think so. I would never consider going back to Universal even with free tickets.

If your family wants to give Universal a try, I would definitely go for it because you will regret it otherwise. If no one seems to keen on leaving Disney for a few days to do Universal, then staying at Disney the entire time would be best. Some folks love the Universal parks, and some folks (like me) hate them. Research all of the rides before making your decision, maybe even view videos of them on YouTube. Universal rides for the most part are much more dated than Disney rides, so what was "scary" years ago, is just kind of hokey now.

I wanted to also add that we purchased 1-day 2-park tickets from Dreams Unlimited which included RT transportation to/from Disney/Universal. We stayed at our Disney hotel and did not stay at Universal, and we were so glad we did because we were done with both parks by 3pm and then went back into the Disney parks when we returned!

 

[Shellydm]

Thanks everyone for the replies! I really appreciate it!

Shelly

 

[cheap traveler]

I might be doing this in August too! The only issue to think about is if you are going at a peak time, traffic on I-4 can be BAD!

We enjoyed Universal, but it will be 2 shorter days for us this year, instead of trying to fill 4 days. The decent hotels closer to Universal are around $70-100 per night.

As for staying onsite with Universal...$200+ per night. Not worth it in my eyes, and you would only need the FOTL passes if you are going at peak times (Pres week, spring break, July, Xmas).

I went last year 9/30-10/2, and all roller coasters were 10 min wait or less, only 25 mins or so for Forbidden Journey. Pres week, FJ was 115 mins, roller coasters 50+ mins.

Also, you can buy the FOTL pass alone, just price the differences.

 

[Sandi]

My 17 yo DD and I did this earlier this month. We stayed at Pop Century for 8 nights. Two of our days we spent at US/IOA. We did those touring days on the Sunday and Thursday of our trip. We did not have a car; I purchased the DreamsUnlimited 2-day 2-park, with transfer, package for us. Here is a link to that if you're at all interested: https://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/universal/

It worked great. On both mornings, we were picked up at Pop at 6:25 a.m. by a Mears shuttle, picked up additional passengers at two off site hotels, and were taken to the drop off area at US/IOA by about 7:15. IOA opened at 8:00 a.m. and we wanted to be there for park opening both times. The first day, I also had tickets to the Blue Man Group (lots of fun) and we were picked up at 9:15 by a Mears motor coach. The Thursday, we asked to be picked up at 3:15 and, again, a motor coach transported us back to Pop. On both return trips, Pop was the first drop off. If I had a car, I probably would have driven to US/IOA, but I was glad to not have to figure out directions, pay for parking, etc.

After doing our two days at US/IOA, we both agreed that, while it was fun and it was great to do the whole Harry Potter World thing, we don't ever need to go back there. We've been to WDW nearly 20 times, US/IOA only once. I'll do WDW at least 20 more times!

 

[Sandi]

I might be doing this in August too! The only issue to think about is if you are going at a peak time, traffic on I-4 can be BAD!

We enjoyed Universal, but it will be 2 shorter days for us this year, instead of trying to fill 4 days. The decent hotels closer to Universal are around $70-100 per night.

As for staying onsite with Universal...$200+ per night. Not worth it in my eyes, and you would only need the FOTL passes if you are going at peak times (Pres week, spring break, July, Xmas).

I went last year 9/30-10/2, and all roller coasters were 10 min wait or less, only 25 mins or so for Forbidden Journey. Pres week, FJ was 115 mins, roller coasters 50+ mins.

Also, you can buy the FOTL pass alone, just price the differences.

When we were there during Spring Break (a peak time), the FOTL passes were $60 per person. Not worth it to me! The FOTL pass price changes to account for demand.

 

[natenapril]

We stayed at WBC and went to uS/IOA for 2 days and wish we had more days there. My family loved it! We will always do it that way!

 

[fortwildernessishome]

Hello,

We have always gone to Disney and stayed at a Value resort. We love it.
For our next trip we were thinking of doing the same thing, but also venturing out a few days too since we drive and will have a car.

I thought about still staying at the Disney value resorts and of course still going to all the Disney parks, but also a few days drive over to Univeral Orlando too.

Would it make sense to book the value resort and then just get less tickets than days at the value resorts, and then go to Universal those days but still stay at the value resorts?

My thinking is it would be easier than trying to change hotels mid-vacation. But woudl it cost way more than staying off-site somehwere else on those days?

Is Universal Orland worth going to ? It looks neat, but we are a creature of habit and are nervous to step out of our comfort zone of what we always do. But that is why I want to step out too, we may be missing more fun in addition to Disney too!

Thanks,
Shelly

We just stay on Disney property and drive to Universal for a day. We always get there at opening and have found it to be a quick and easy drive.

I finding that changing hotels during vacation to be a lot of work and I dont enjoy it. We have, however done it numerous times on our longer trips of two weeks. We will often spend one week at the Values and a second week at a Deluxe. However for a week or less, moving would be too much work for me, plus you lose part of a day, packing, checking out, checking into a new hotel, and unpacking.

 

[nilseks]

We have gone to Universal 3 times while staying at Disney. A few thoughts on this...

I'm not a big fan of the Mears shuttles. They're really not all that cheap, and they eat up a lot of time stopping at several Disney resorts. We did that once and said no way, not again. The next 2 times we took a cab, no pre-arrangement necessary, just go to the cab stand at your Disney resort and you'll have a cab in 2 minutes. It is a flat fee, maybe like $60? But we have done it where we go 7 in a van cab so it's cheaper than Mears.

Unless you are going at a way peak time, you don't need FOTL passes. We have been there at times when it was ridiculously packed at Disney, and you can practically walk onto everything at Universal. When we went last year first of December, we literally walked straight onto Harry Potter. Just walked through the queue and directly onto the ride.

You can easily cover everything at Universal in 2 days. Last time, since we now know what we like, we did both parks in one day. Universal doesn't have that magic feeling and it's not for everyone, but my older son (age 11) likes Universal far more than Disney.

 

[mercydisney]

We have gone to Universal 3 times while staying at Disney. Universal doesn't have that magic feeling and it's not for everyone, but my older son (age 11) likes Universal far more than Disney.

I agree nilseks, My DD's are 11 and 16. They enjoy Disney but at this stage in their life they prefer Universal. If you ask them w/theme park they will Universal.

OP remember that if you do decide to go to RPR the experience is way different form a value resort. You will be spoiled.

Depending on what time of yr I wouldn;t stay in a Universal hotel just to FOTL Access. I remember last Sept. you could walk right on to any HP attraction.

 

[englishteacha]

I love Disney, but I had an amazing time at Universal last year. I am so glad we went. We don't usually stay onsite at WDW, so I can't comment on that. We have found, for us, that combining a WDW trip with a trip to Universal is pretty darn expensive, so last year's trip was a Universal/SeaWorld/Busch Gardens/Shuttle launch trip. It was a slower vacation than our Disney trips have been, but just what we needed. Restful and tons of fun.

We were at Universal during President's week 2011, and it was busy, mainly in the Harry Potter section (I'm an HP nut, so we spent a lot of time there!). The rest of the parks, though were dead. We walked on to every other ride, with a 10 minute wait, maximum. We didn't stay on site and didn't get FOTL passes, and we got to do everything we wanted multiple times.

 

[eyor44]

We go to and stay at Disney every year and every couple of years we will go over and spend a day at Universal.

 

[sullins5]

We're staying at CBR for a week, and hitting Universal for 2 days. That being said, we have free qsd, so we'll eat our breakfast at CBR, hit Universal, and come back to the resort for our late dinner. We really wouldn't consider moving resorts when we love CBR. And for us? We look forward to coming back to the resort from spending the day at the parks, shopping, or where ever we've spent our day. We didn't buy 7 day Disney tickets either...just for the days we'd be at their parks and then the tickets for Universal will just be for a couple of days.
My older kids (24, 25) think they love Universal, but by the time we spend a day in that park, this Disneychik is wanting the magic of the mouse!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Makes complete sense. You have to stay in a hotel so why not at Disney.

 

[Kellydelly]

We are a family that loves Universal . We always rent a private home near Disney and do both parks, usually spending more time at Universal because it is cheaper. My kids have been going to Universal since they were babies and toddlers. Staying at the Universal resorts is cost prohibitive for a family our size, but we have never gone during peak time and had to worry about the front of the line passes.

 

[ajh88]

If I were you, I would do exactly what you are planning - keep your value room and just drive over to Universal for the day(s) you want to go. It isn't really that far and in the end I think would be much less of a headache than trying to change hotels.

That said, we did NOT do it that way last year - we started off our trip with 1 night at Royal Pacific ($300+ for that night, if I recall correctly) and we bought 2 day 1 park passes (we were going specifically for WWoHP). We spent an afternoon at CityWalk and ate at Jimmy Buffett's (sp?) then we decided to spend a couple of hours at the park. Got a lay of the land and such - spent about 2 hours there (not the greatest use of our $$ I will admit) but we did get to see WWoHP at night (very cool). Next day, used our early admission (which is ONLY for WWoHP, unless they have changed things) and spent about 4 hours in the park - and we were done. Admittedly, we loved front of the line access and we did get super spoiled by it - we loved essentially not waiting in line at all (we were there first of August - not packed but plenty busy).

We thought Harry Potter was fantastic - small, yes, but incredibly well done nonetheless. DH rode FJ 4 times single rider, never waiting more than 15 minutes. DD enjoyed the park but not the rides - I sort of agree with a PP that rides are either geared towards young kids or are more thrill rides.

OK, I've probably carried on too long already - truth told, I like the way we did it because once we entered our Disney "bubble" we never had to leave. However, based on cost and budgeting, I would say doing it your way would make way more financial sense. In the end, those 6-8 hours total we spent at Universal cost us over $600 in hotel and admission alone. You could obviously do it for less if you did not stay on-site at Universal. FWIW, in the end we did enjoy our time at Universal but the consensus was that it wasn't somewhere we would feel compelled to visit on every trip - maybe every 2nd or 3rd year, depending on what (if any) new attractions are added.

No matter what you decide, hope you have a great time!

 

[Arynrm1]

We are doing the same thing, staying at POP century for 7 nights but doing 2 days at Universal studios. We did it that was a couple years ago and it worked out great!

This time we hope it won't be too busy, with WWoHP and all. We are going in November.

 

[Disney-Chick]

We always stay at DW and have gone to Universal a couple of times. A couple years ago my DH was able to purchase 7 day tickets for $100/pp with non expiry. We bought 2 years worth and still have a set of tickets left. We went to Disney Feb. 2011 with FD and did 7 days at Universal/IOA. We enjoyed it but it made it hard to use all the FD when your off Disney. I agree with a PP that Harry Potter is small and for us never took 4 hours. Unless the person who posted this was at a very busy time and the crowds made it that way. But my family enjoys Uni/IOA and are always excited to go and visit. I would never leave Disney though to stay onsite.