For those who did a split vaca between Disney and Universal

Sorry, it looks like there between general public sales on Orbitz right now. If you're in no hurry give it a few days. Early Entry and Express Passes at onsite hotels are a function of staying at the hotel not how you book it. Booking through Travelocity, Orbitz, or directly from Universal doesn't matter.

Just did some more looking on the website. Their best current deal is 10% off. http://www.orbitz.com/mktg/Why-Book-on-Orbitz/

no, we're in absolutely no hurry...we're not planning to go until June 2016, but this is when I start planning, budgeting and obsessing. I hate waiting for the last minute! :rolleyes1 But it gives me plenty of time to keep an eye on all the discounts. I signed up for emails from Universal too, so hopefully they send out discount emails too...
 
We've done both locations. We tend to prioritize WDW, and do more days there.

I can't speak for others...but it's hard to talk about either without a few tiny comparisons. For us- the new HP excepting- Universal has some of the top rides, but WDW was more comprehensive. I think Three Broomsticks is amazing, probably better than any QS at WDW, but I like seeing the different parts of WDW on most visits- so the Bwk area, at least one monorail resort, the WS. When it comes to dining - for us- we're just not as nostalgic for US dining. It's hard to explain why.

But that's the past.

The new HP/Simpsons areas, combined with WDW's meaner policies/high prices, is tipping US into more of a must do part of our vacation. I never thought I'd say that! Suffice it to say, Disney's kind of driving us away, while Universal's adding appeal. I feel like Disney has taken several measures to punish guests, and that's not a magical way to be treated.

What works for us is to make sure we have a car.

It also pays to pack with a split stay in mind. I don't fully unpack anywhere, and try - at least the second half - to leave some stuff in the car. I put my toiletries in 3gallon zip lock bags (dump n GO), but travel carriers might also work. IMO, they always have too many small pouches.

Also, we do better when there is a reasonably clear division of labor. One person packs most the luggage, so they know everything was packed, and where it is. Meanwhile- the other person gets the more random honey-do list: reviewing plans, getting the car, double checking under the bed, etc. If the packer makes a request, the honey-do person tries to help. ::yes:: It doesn't always work perfectly, but assigning roles helps us stay organized, which is key to easy split stays.

One more thing worth mentioning...there's much more to FL than the two theme parks! Sometimes on transition days eating offsite is nice, or going someplace else. We've recently discovered Tampa! St. Augustine is also amazing! the Everglades are pretty far, but also a big wow! Stepping outside the themed bubble is great place to find fresh air!
 
I am looking at doing a split trip this November. I really want to see the Harry Potter stuff. I haven't been to Universal since pre-IOA days. Right now I am booked for 8 nights at a Disney value resort but am also double-booked for four of those nights at Universal's new Cabana Bay resort. I just can't decide between doing an actual split stay or just staying at Disney the whole time and drive over for the two days I want to see Universal/IOA.:confused3

I know there is no hope in me getting up and moving my stuff and getting checked in at Cabana Bay in time to do rope drop at Universal. :coffee: I will do well to even drag my sleepy-head self over if I am staying onsite. So I will lose a day or at least half a day in the move. Mid-trip that wouldn't be bad. The crowd calendars all recommend doing USF/IOA mid-week so that would lend itself to just staying put at the resort and commuting. I could also just do a car rental for two days then and ride ME both ways.

:confused3:confused3
 
I am looking at doing a split trip this November. I really want to see the Harry Potter stuff. I haven't been to Universal since pre-IOA days. Right now I am booked for 8 nights at a Disney value resort but am also double-booked for four of those nights at Universal's new Cabana Bay resort. I just can't decide between doing an actual split stay or just staying at Disney the whole time and drive over for the two days I want to see Universal/IOA.:confused3

I know there is no hope in me getting up and moving my stuff and getting checked in at Cabana Bay in time to do rope drop at Universal. :coffee: I will do well to even drag my sleepy-head self over if I am staying onsite. So I will lose a day or at least half a day in the move. Mid-trip that wouldn't be bad. The crowd calendars all recommend doing USF/IOA mid-week so that would lend itself to just staying put at the resort and commuting. I could also just do a car rental for two days then and ride ME both ways.


:confused3:confused3


What about doing the transition the night before your US day? Make the transition day more of a WDW day. Disney will store luggage after check out. You could go to a park, use some FP+, hit the pool...then go to US for dinner/check in.

Does anyone know if the US resorts offers similar bell service? I can't imagine that they wouldn't.
 

Those split vacations have always been the most expensive vacations. I guess it's because of transportation to the other resort, then the fact that tickets are front loaded so you spend less on a WDW vacation the longer you stay.

That said, I'd spend 3 nights at UA and 5 nights at WDW.

This... I would do a split stay every time if we could. The best trip we had was 5 nights at Disney followed by 3 at Universal and it was perfect! Since then we have done just Disney to save costs, but this October DH and I will be at Disney to see the new Fantasyland and go to food and wine and will end with Universal. We will be at WDW for two nights and UA for four, but actually spending 3 days in each park.

I personally prefer UA on the back end of my vacation because it is more relaxing, and because you can end your trip at Disney with a half day at AK or HS and then still visit your first UA park in the evening after you move. I just need that evening and two more days at UA and that's plenty.

Hopefully,next year we will take the kids and do a week at Disney and 3 nights at Universal again.
 
We do a split stay every time we are in Orlando. Typically we do Disney first because it's more "work" and wrap up with a night or two at Universal because it feels more like a "vacation".
 
We did a split stay 2 years ago. Stayed on-site at both places. You w't regret stay on-site. We never waited more than 10 minutes to board a ride and it was July large crowds. We also took advantageof their meal plan. It was awesome and saved us money. Have fun!!:)
 
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What about doing the transition the night before your US day? Make the transition day more of a WDW day. Disney will store luggage after check out. You could go to a park, use some FP+, hit the pool...then go to US for dinner/check in.

Does anyone know if the US resorts offers similar bell service? I can't imagine that they wouldn't.

Yes, they will hold your bags also. We always stay at the HRH and leave our bags at bell services and spend the day in the park. We pick up our bags at the end of the day.
 
What about doing the transition the night before your US day? Make the transition day more of a WDW day. Disney will store luggage after check out. You could go to a park, use some FP+, hit the pool...then go to US for dinner/check in.

Does anyone know if the US resorts offers similar bell service? I can't imagine that they wouldn't.

99% of hotels offer bell service. Any hotel will have a place you can store luggage for the day. So yes, the US resorts offer this as well.

We are doing the exact scenario you mention - we check out of our WDW resort on a Wednesday and whenever we are ready, likely after dinner, we'll take a cab over to our US resort. We'll check out City Walk for the night, but will leave the Universal parks for Thursday and Friday.
 
Well, I broached the subject of a split vacation to my DH this morning, and to my surprise, he's SO EXCITED about it !! :cheer2: I'm so shocked! Normally, he's not a move from here to there kind of guy, but what sold him was the "avoid the lines" when you stay at one of the 3 Universal resorts. I'm not kidding, the man was giddy with excitement! :rotfl: He's so excited for the fast / daredevil rides and for HP also.

So I asked him if he'd rather do WDW or Universal first, and he wants WDW first... which surprised me... but he said exactly what all of you have said... if we do Universal first with "front of the line", won't it be hard then standing in line at Disney". Yup. So we'll do Disney first w/ ME for 3 nights/4 days and then on the fourth night we'll head over to Universal to check in and do City Walk then the parks for the next 3 days till we fly out on the last day. :cool1: I'm so excited to do a split vacation now!

One question that I forgot to ask...we're so familiar w/ the dining plan at Disney, and he still wants to do the deluxe plan there... do you guys do the dining plan at Universal or just pay out of pocket? It doesn't seem like there's a ton of sit-down in the parks, so maybe it's better not to do it there ? What's everyone's thoughts on that.... I'd be so appreciative for input on that.
 
We're doing a collection of all the parks down there in Sept, but staying on Disney property the entire time. I like to sandwich the trip in Disney as it's most magical to start and end there, so something like our 3, 6 & 8th day are at Universal & Seaworld to "take a mid trip break" from the mouse
 
One question that I forgot to ask...we're so familiar w/ the dining plan at Disney, and he still wants to do the deluxe plan there... do you guys do the dining plan at Universal or just pay out of pocket? It doesn't seem like there's a ton of sit-down in the parks, so maybe it's better not to do it there ? What's everyone's thoughts on that.... I'd be so appreciative for input on that.

the Universal meal deal, which is available to any guest at Universal on a per-day basis, does not include sit-down dining. Counter service only, and only in the parks - not the resorts.

There is a package booking you can get at the Universal resorts that includes dining (yes, sit-down dining too), but package bookings are not as prevalent at Universal as they are at WDW. It works a bit like the WDW basic plan with these exceptions:

1) Guests do not pick their own dessert at sit-downs, they get a "chef-selected" dessert.
2) Guests are entitled to a beverage per day IN ADDITION TO the snack - they get a separate beverage credit.
3) When you book it you receive a voucher that you can exchange for a Dining Card at the resorts or parks.
4) The Universal literature is very specific that substitutions are not permitted. You must order exactly what you are entitled to (no substituting appetizers for desserts or for entrees for example)
5) It does not appear that the entitlements are pooled like Disney's - you must use them per day.

It appears to be about $52 per day ($18 for children 3-9, same age limits as Disney)
 
the Universal meal deal does not include sit-down dining. Counter service only, and just certain ones.

I posted this as you were posting too.... okay, so it doesn't seem like the dining plan is completely necessary at Universal then.... that works for me... we can just pay out of pocket then.
 
the meal deal is the one you can get for quick service in the parks (and it is not accepted at resort restaurants), and anyone can get it, on a per day basis - whether they stay at a Universal resort or not.

The other (the one with sit-down dining) is only available with package bookings at the resorts (like Disney's is)
 
the meal deal is the one you can get for quick service in the parks (and it is not accepted at resort restaurants), and anyone can get it, on a per day basis - whether they stay at a Universal resort or not.

The other (the one with sit-down dining) is only available with package bookings at the resorts (like Disney's is)

and the sit down only lets you choose from 9 restaurants... so it's probably better to just pay out of pocket and get a better choice.
 
well, after talking to my DH, we decided to do an ALL Universal / Se World vacation instead of a split. His thinking was, we've never been to Universal or SeaWorld and we've now done Disney twice..... plus, he's flipping out about the 'skip the line' perk for staying on site. And bonus, we're going to save $ 2600 by going to Universal, PLUS we get to add a day. It's hard not to pass that up. We decided to stay at Loew's Royal Pacific. (that may change to Portofino Bay....we're still trying to figure out which we think we might like better)

I've been budgeting for Disney and I have to admit, I've been eh about going.... I love Disney... but with all the issues lately, plus the heat in June, it hasn't really been "exciting". Now that we've decided to do Universal, I'm SOOOO excited. the more I read about Harry Potter and people's trips, the more excited I get. Maybe because we've never been, so the excitement of the unknown is fun. I only hope our DD won't be disappointed..... I'm hoping once we show her all the things at Universal, that she'll be excited too.....
 
I'm planning a split park trip for spring next year. As of right now it'll be 2 days of Universal and 4 at Disney. It will be DH, DD8 (it'll be her birthday while we're there), DD2 and myself. My best friend and her family are also coming. We can't afford to stay at both Disney and Universal, so we'll either stay at one of the lower tier Disney resorts or rent a house (my preference.) Either way, I'm super excited, more so about HP than anything else. AND my daughter has no idea, we'll be driving down overnight and not telling her until we arrive. I'll be laying out some serious price comparison spreadsheets once Disney opens up their packages for next year.:scared:
 
well, after talking to my DH, we decided to do an ALL Universal / Se World vacation instead of a split. His thinking was, we've never been to Universal or SeaWorld and we've now done Disney twice..... plus, he's flipping out about the 'skip the line' perk for staying on site. And bonus, we're going to save $ 2600 by going to Universal, PLUS we get to add a day. It's hard not to pass that up. We decided to stay at Loew's Royal Pacific. (that may change to Portofino Bay....we're still trying to figure out which we think we might like better)

I've been budgeting for Disney and I have to admit, I've been eh about going.... I love Disney... but with all the issues lately, plus the heat in June, it hasn't really been "exciting". Now that we've decided to do Universal, I'm SOOOO excited. the more I read about Harry Potter and people's trips, the more excited I get. Maybe because we've never been, so the excitement of the unknown is fun. I only hope our DD won't be disappointed..... I'm hoping once we show her all the things at Universal, that she'll be excited too.....

Cool!

$2600!! :thumbsup2
 
Our Disney family is headed for our first trip to universal in october. DD is a huge HP fan & the new area looks outstanding. We will do 3 days/2 nights onsite @ RP. We will then move to Downtown Disney Hotel (won 2 free nights!!!). Will relax, go2 a disney halloween Party & resort hop/ dine & ride monorail. No tix 2 the parks as I hate FP+, so most of my money will go elsewhere this trip( not starting one of those debates :)).

I wood suggest checkin out the tips in the DIS univeRsal pages as I got lots of excellent ones. Highly recommend checking cheaptickets.com to book hotel as we saved $$$$$--cheaper than AP discounts & was able to cancel & re-book due 2 plan changes. Goin 2 buy tix through USSSA or undercover tourist, etc.

Good luck on planning your trip
 
If you don't have a car, what is the best option for getting from a Disney resort to Universal (preferably very early)?
 














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