DVC'ers that have visited Universal...what would you do???

[edk35]

Just curious how you all do the staying DVC, but visit Universal too when you are on vacation. Do you stay at Disney the entire vacation and then rent a car/ use a car service or personal car to drive off site to Universal? Or do you just stay at Universal resorts when you visit those parks to get the EXPRESS PASS deal??? I am trying to decide what to do for our Nov. trip. We will be at OKW our last few days and we want to AVOID the Disney parks on Tuesday and Wed. of Thanksgiving week (been there done that and it is so crowded we end up back at the resort anyway)...so we are planning to go to each of the Universal parks those two days. We could rent a car just for those two days. We could use our car service like we did last year for a one day outting to Sea World but renting a car is probably cheaper but it was so nice to be picked up outside our villa for Sea World and picked up when we were ready to come home. We were at WDW for 14 nights this past summer so we want to include Universal in our Nov. trip since it is cooler. If we stay at Universal our last 2 nights we would save 54 DVC points. If we stay 3 nights at Universal resorts...for 3 nights we would save 83 points. We are going to Disney next summer for about 10 days and saving points for that trip is tempting???!!!! Any tips/suggestions would be appreciated. Universal is open from 9 til 7:00 on those days. Thanks so much for helping me again.

 

[wheelcap]

We got a Mears van to take us to Universal for a few days, then had a van take us to the airport. The big selling point was the no-lines deal with staying on site - DEFINITELY worth the staying on-site.

 

[edk35]

We got a Mears van to take us to Universal for a few days, then had a van take us to the airport. The big selling point was the no-lines deal with staying on site - DEFINITELY worth the staying on-site.

SO you just switched from Disney to Universal resorts??

 

[dizplanner]

For our March trip, we are staying at VWL for 6 nights and then moving to Portofino for two nights (Fri/Sat). This way we avoid the high point weekend nights and get the FOTL access during busy spring break season. We like the Universal hotels, although going from a two bedroom to one room will probably be a bit of a shock, but it is only for two nights.

We have done the similar thing on three previous family trips, but only the last one was DVC. We have stayed at Hard Rock Hotel twice and Royal Pacific once. Both are very nice, but RPH room was pretty cramped with two adults and two teens. I want to try PFH this time and their rooms are larger.

Since we are switching to Universal, we will be renting a car.

 

[BriarRose59]

We have done this just about any way it can be done. Over the years we have had our own car, used a town car service, rented a car and stayed at the Universal Resorts. You just can't beat FOTL at Universal, especially since its during a huge holiday week. We have decided that if we go at peak times we will stay on site at Universal, otherwise we stay at Disney. Check around for the best rates at Universal, we used our AAA card and saved some. Also, make sure you sign up for their member program, YouFirst https://www.loewshotels.com/en/YouFirst/Default.aspx?Culture=en#1. Even if you haven't stayed at a Loews hotel, if you have signed up for the program, you get free internet.

Have a great time!

 

[Laurabearz]

We had added on a few night stays at US/IOA for a couple of years now.

Since we like to stay two weekends, we stay at the hard rock for one of them, to save on points.

Plus you can't beat FOTL