Done with WDW new to Universal

[overdisney]

We are done with WDW and their nickel and dining guests to death and want to try Universal. It's been many many years since going to Universal so gave questions
1. How many days do you need to do and see everything 2. what moderate resort on site do you recommend 3. Best time of year to go for lest crowds. 4. will be driving better to eat on site or drive to local restaurants for dinner. 5. do they have discounts for veterans Any other info would be helpful might add just the wife and me

 

[Suzabella]

Following.

 

[macraven]

Check out some of the stickies I put up for general info

I have only stayed at the premier hotels but have visited a few of the moderate hotels

premier includes free express lines for rides and shows

It is a great time saver for me going solo

 

[davper]

Hi
Welcome to the dark side.

When I go, I do 3 nights and find that is enough to see/do everything. Add another day if you want to spend a day at the water park.

I always rent a car because I like the freedom to leave the bubbles. When it comes to food, UO is not Disney. They have some good restaurants, just not the variety.

I stayed in Cabana Bay and found it claustrophobic with just 2 of in the room. Since then, I have stayed deluxe at all 3. Take your pick, they are all good. And can be had for the cost of a moderate at Disney if you have an AP. I pay about 200 to 250 a night with my AP. Plus you get the unlimited Express Pass by staying in these resorts.

A basic AP is only a couple of dollars more than a 3 day ticket. More advanced tickets provides additional benefits like free parking at the park. Any AP will get you the AP rates at the resort.

Can't speak for best time as the Express Pass eliminates the long waits.

 

[Lashed34]

I would definitely consider staying in a deluxe because the free unlimited Express Pass is a solid gold investment to have.

We stayed first 2 weeks of December 2019 at Hard Rock Hotel, a 5 minute walk to Studios and crowds were low until around the time we left (middle of December).

The Express Pass allowed us to do ALL the rides in both parks in 1 day....even Hagrids twice and it had only been open a few months.

What the express pass enables you to do is zip through the parks, but also allows you to take time out, eat, have a siesta etc. But it also allows you the time to queue for Hagrids (and now Velocicoaster) without worrying that it's taking too much time out of your day.

Everyone in your room party get the pass, so would absolutely save you a lot of time in the parks.

 

[cfoxga]

Take a look at https://www.disboards.com/threads/how-i-plan-a-universal-trip.3794121/

3 full days in the parks is our minimum. If you go mid-week when kids are in school, the crowd levels should be reduced significantly. Weekends and holidays tend to be very crowded.

When picking a resort, definitely look at the APH rates as they save 30-45% off the standard rate, and tend to be the best discounts available. You'll have to buy at least one Annual Pass, but they are not too much more than a 2-day park-to-park ticket.

The EPs at the deluxe resorts are a great value (especially at the APH rate). The boat/walking access and nicer rooms are a great bonus. For our family of 4, the value of the EPs makes it easy to pick deluxe. With only 2, the math might push you towards the value/preferred. If you go that route, I would choose SF. While it doesn't have EPs, it does have a boat and is still walkable.

 

[overdisney]

Lots of good info from all thanks the wife and I are retired and can go anytime about a 6 hour drive from SC

 

[StageTek]

1. How many days do you need to do and see everything

Two days in each park. So four total. Than makes a relaxing trip with time to explore and spend some time at the resort.

2. what moderate resort on site do you recommend

Cabana Bay.

3. Best time of year to go for lest crowds.

Not at all different from WDW.

4. will be driving better to eat on site or drive to local restaurants for dinner.

There are many very good on site places to eat. There really isn't a "better" in this case.

5. do they have discounts for veterans

Yes, they do.

 

[kitkat4622]

We are done with WDW and their nickel and dining guests to death and want to try Universa

I am right there with you.
I had an 8 night stay booked at POFQ for April 2022. Cancelled and booked 6 nights at UO for myself and my adult grandson. I booked at a deluxe for the free unlimited express pass for less than a moderate at Disney.
I am so done with all the nickel and diming. paying for FP was the last straw.
I gave us 6 days to take in everything and more than one time including the water park.
I know it's not Disney but Disney isn't what Disney was anymore either.

 

[wdwrule]

I hear ya! Our true love is WDW however we had our very first trip to Universal a few weeks ago and we absolutely loved it! (I’m currently in the process of writing a trip report… The Trip of Firsts…). With annual passes we found it so more affordable than WDW! Plus, the kids are older and we were looking for something a little different as we’ve gone to WDW every year for the past 14 years approximately. Universal has a different vibe to it, in a good way. Long story short, we have several mini trips booked at Universal for this fall/winter which I don’t think we could’ve done with WDW and their prices. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

ETA: if you are into riding rides a lot, I would suggest trying to stay at a hotel that includes express passes (unlimited fast pass) at least for the first time. The hotels that include this are Portofino Bay, Hard Rock, and Royal Pacific. If at least one of you purchases an annual pass, you’ll most likely get great rates on these (and all) hotels that are on site.

 

[cschaaf]

For us, with Express Passes, three park days is the perfect amount.

Don't let the hotel tier categories throw you - while you may stay in moderates at WDW, you may also find that the Universal premier hotels can be around that same price - and give you a lot of value with the added Express Passes.

We've stayed at most of the hotels and have no complaints. In order of how many night we've stayed: Royal Pacific, Portofino, Hard Rock, Aventura, Cabana Bay, Surfside.

You may also be able to maximize savings by getting an Annual Pass - again, you might never consider that over at Disney, but you may be surprised once you do the math at Universal.

We always drive down but rarely move the car once we get there. Again, we only stay a few days, so it's easy for us to find restaurants we love for those nights. We could easily spend a week there and not worry about where to eat.

The crowds at both Universal and Disney follow the same patterns. If possible, avoid any time that kids aren't in school - summer, long weekends, spring breaks, etc. However, with Express Passes, it's much less of an issue.

 

[Tink3815]

Has anyone said at the new Dockside value hotel? Interested in how their shuttle buses compare with Disney buses to a value.

 

[schumigirl]

Has anyone said at the new Dockside value hotel? Interested in how their shuttle buses compare with Disney buses to a value.

Anyone who uses the buses from the Universal hotels, always say they are fabulous and run incredibly well, with little to no wait time.

Never read a bad review of the buses.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

Only have experience with Cabana Bay but it's head & shoulders over Disney buses at Universal. They ROLL those busses one right after the other! Fantastic service across several visits. We haven't stayed at either of the Endless Summer resorts but reviews say it's the same there.

 

[wdwrule]

Has anyone said at the new Dockside value hotel? Interested in how their shuttle buses compare with Disney buses to a value.

Yes. I just recently answered someone’s question about this in the Dockside thread. We felt they were decent and were pleasantly surprised of no wait at park close to go back to Dockside.

 

[GatorChris]

Hi
Welcome to the dark side.

I was about to say the exact same thing!

Only have experience with Cabana Bay but it's head & shoulders over Disney buses at Universal. They ROLL those busses one right after the other! Fantastic service across several visits. We haven't stayed at either of the Endless Summer resorts but reviews say it's the same there.

This is where Universal absolutely KILLS WDW. We went for the first time last October and I couldn't believe how fast they were. After spending alls, I remember going back to the Cabana Bay bus stop and seeing a huge line of people. My instant "Disney hat" went on and I started to bellyache. I said, "It'll take at least 4 buses to come and get the crowd in front of us." Thinking Disney, that's at least a half hour of waiting or more. But in less than 10 minutes, 4 buses had cleaned up the line and another bus was waiting for the people who'd come behind us. At that point, I was hooked on Universal.

We did 4 days at Universal, with tickets to all 3 parks. That was just about perfect, as we spent one full day at Volcano Bay. Don't know if you like water parks, but this one is without a doubt the best in the world. We loved that place. And we'll be doing it again in December no matter how cold it is. If you do just the main parks, 3 days should do ya if you have park-to-park tickets.

For the best times, think Disney. It's the same pretty much. Though I'm curious to see what an off-season visit is really like. It may be way better than WDW, which doesn't have much of an offseason anymore.

We stayed at Cabana Bay and will again because they have rooms that fit 5, plus they're right next door to Volcano Bay.

As far as restaurants go, no need for a car to head around town. The parks and City Walk have plenty of great places to eat. And if you aint diabetic, head over to Voodoo donuts for something that will put your tastebuds into shock.

Have fun! And welcome to the dark side.

 

[cschaaf]

I've given the busses a bad review

We stayed at Aventura and it shares a bus loop with Cabana Bay. CB is the first stop. We'd watch, either from the bus stop or our room, 3 and 4 busses stop at CB, load up with people, and skip Aventura.

We still didn't wait a crazy amount of time, but it was frustrating to see bus after bus drive right past the Aventura driveway. It wasn't hard to start to think that, with the size of CB, they could continue to fill busses and we'd never get a chance.

The only way we had a chance was if there were Aventura people returning from the park and needed dropped off. And then, there were only that many spots available.

I'm not quite sure how you fix that issue, either. Other than having a separate route.

Now that I've got that out... it wasn't enough of an issue that would stop us from staying there again. We're mostly price motivated - if we see Aventura prices in the vicinity of CB prices, I'd choose Aventura every time.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

We're mostly price motivated - if we see Aventura prices in the vicinity of CB prices, I'd choose Aventura every time.

Curious why you opt for Aventura over CB? I'm debating between the two for a few nights of our trip (2 adults).

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

I've stayed at all the resorts multiple times and happy to help answer any questions. You cannot go wrong any of them but really depends on what you're looking for that trip. But yes, the proximity to the parks allows for more pool breaks and relaxed touring. You're always a quick water taxi or bus ride away.

 

[tony67]

Curious why you opt for Aventura over CB? I'm debating between the two for a few nights of our trip (2 adults).

Aventura is an easy walk to the parks. You also have easy access to SF and its options. I usually take the water taxi back to SF and its a short walk to Aventura
CB does look cool and its better for families that want to use the pools and lazy river etc..- but Aventura is more Adult - a lot more like an AC Marriott than a theme park hotel.

As for the busses - going to Universal was always really quick in my experience - there was always a bus waiting and it was just easier to hop on the bus - biggest drawback is you have to go through the security hub with all the day guest and other folks that bussed in. It quick and efficient but can be annoying.

Getting the bus back is another story - it can be packed and stops at CB first - but they run ton of them so it can be quicker than the boat to SF - although sometimes I get the boat to RPR and walk as that boat is usually less crowded

If you walk or take a boat there is still security but its before you get on the boat or at the end of the walkway and its usually very quick.