Help/advice needed for travel from WDW to Universal

[thepedigree123]

Hello Disboarders, I hope someone can help me out with this.

Both myself and my girlfriend will be staying at the Art Of Animation resort from 12th Jan 2013 for 14 days.
During this time I would like to take her over to Universal studios/IOA as she is a big Harry Potter fan.
Can anyone suggest the best way to get to Universal from WDW? We will not be driving and I have never used public transport/taxis the past 4 times I have visited Orlando. I would like to spend 2 days at the Universal parks.
I'm sure I have seen on the Dreams Unlimited site that I can buy a park ticket along with a pick up from WDW to Universal but cannot find it now
If anyone can give me some good, clear advice for a U.K traveler both myself and my girlfriend will be eternally grateful.
Many thanks for your time.
Shane

 

[MinnieLee]

We always use Mears. Call the night before (407-422-2625), they will give you the times that they pick up at AOA. Select your time and they pick up at the front of your resort. When you are ready to return from Universal, 1-2 hours before you call. Again, they will give you the return times and the bus stop number. Costs around $22 roundtrip. They usually send a van in the morning and depending on how many are returning you would either have a van or coach bus.

Maybe someone here can give you what the cost of a cab would be. We did it once and can't remember the price. We never had a problem with taking the shuttle/bus though.

 

[Sandi]

Hello Disboarders, I hope someone can help me out with this.

I'm sure I have seen on the Dreams Unlimited site that I can buy a park ticket along with a pick up from WDW to Universal but cannot find it now
If anyone can give me some good, clear advice for a U.K traveler both myself and my girlfriend will be eternally grateful.
Many thanks for your time.
Shane

Hi Shane,

Here is the DU page you're looking for: http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/universal/
scroll down a little to the "1 or 2-day 2-park with roundtrip transfers" for pricing, etc.

We did the 2-day, 2-park option with DU in April when we stayed at Pop Century. It worked well. We got the earliest possible shuttle so we could be at Universal for opening. Pop was the first pick up and I think we picked up passengers at three other hotels (not on property) before going to Universal. You can set a return time when you call to arrange for your original pick up or you can call for a return about 3 hours before you want to return to your hotel. On the return trips, we were on motor coaches. Fortunately Pop was the first drop off.

 

[pigletto]

Hi Shane,

Here is the DU page you're looking for: http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/universal/
scroll down a little to the "1 or 2-day 2-park with roundtrip transfers" for pricing, etc.

We did the 2-day, 2-park option with DU in April when we stayed at Pop Century. It worked well. We got the earliest possible shuttle so we could be at Universal for opening. Pop was the first pick up and I think we picked up passengers at three other hotels (not on property) before going to Universal. You can set a return time when you call to arrange for your original pick up or you can call for a return about 3 hours before you want to return to your hotel. On the return trips, we were on motor coaches. Fortunately Pop was the first drop off.

We also used this last summer for 2 day trips to Universal and it all worked wonderfully. The only thing you may want to consider is that an overnight stay at a Universal resort is also going to get you front of the line access which saves a considerable amount of time waiting in lines.
For this reason we stay onsite at Universal for one or two nights now. However if that is not possible or appealing for you, the Dreams Unlimited transportation and ticket deal is really good.

 

[thepedigree123]

We also used this last summer for 2 day trips to Universal and it all worked wonderfully. The only thing you may want to consider is that an overnight stay at a Universal resort is also going to get you front of the line access which saves a considerable amount of time waiting in lines.
For this reason we stay onsite at Universal for one or two nights now. However if that is not possible or appealing for you, the Dreams Unlimited transportation and ticket deal is really good.

I considered the overnight stay at a Universal resort but have heard they are a quite pricey on the whole.

 

[goofy4tink]

I considered the overnight stay at a Universal resort but have heard they are a quite pricey on the whole.

They can be. I know that a few years ago, my friend and I were both staying at BWV..each had our own studio. We decided to head over to US/IoA during that stay. We both had APs to US/IoA from other visits..so were able to get a decent room rate at RPR. We packed our backpacks, booked the Mears shuttle and off we went. You can't bring luggage on the shuttle but you can carry a backpack...they were able to carry everything we needed for that one night.

 

[OhMari]

You asked about a taxi. It would probably run around $40 or $45 one way. Lots of traffic early morning on I4 going into Orlando, but Universal doesn't open till 10:00 a.m. so traffic might not be so bad. Sometimes taxi's are sitting outside resorts and for sure at Universal.