Help me figure this combo trip out?

[jbrinkm]

I hope this is the right place to post this for a combo WDW & Universal trip...

We have a 7-night (6-full-days) trip planned for the end of August (I know it is hot and planning for downtime/pool in the afternoons!). My kids are 12 and 14. We've been to Disney World (once) when they were younger but never Universal. We'd like to do a few things at Disney but focus on the Universal part of the trip this time, as we've never been there and the kids are now older.

My tentative plan is to stay (somewhere) for the first two (maybe three?) nights - a less expensive place where we can save a bit on our budget. I'd like the hotel to be closer to WDW - maybe off site but nearby. We didn't do as much of Epcot as I would have liked last time, plus there are new exhibits at some of the parks that I think the kids would really enjoy (i.e. Star Wars and Avatar). I realize that is three different parks, which is part of the problem. Depending on how many days we need for Universal, I'm trying to figure out if I need to spend extra on Disney Park Hopper tickets (Thursday & Friday) or if I should just plan on one Disney park = one full day (Thurs - Saturday). Also if it even saves money to sleep off-site.

My original plan was to do Universal from Saturday (Volcano Bay) through Tuesday (Sun, Mon, Tues at Islands of Adventure & Universal Studios). Everyone says you can do Universal fairly quickly, but I'm worried about getting to everything we want to do at Universal if we cut down to two days and go to Volcano Bay on Sunday instead (Particularly because it will be hot and if we want to take a few hours in the afternoons for downtime). Also, we want to splurge at Universal and stay at the Hard Rock plus do the full dining plan, so I'm looking for ways to cut down on costs anywhere else I can while still doing what we want to do!

So here are my questions:
1. If I really want to save money for 2-3 nights near Disney, should I stay off-site? Can you ride share (Uber/Lyft) to the parks pretty easily? Will the cost of the ride shares totally erase any savings from staying off-site?
2. How do tickets, meal reservations, FastPasses work when you stay off-site? What about how do those work if I buy tickets from a non-Disney discount offer?
3. How would you recommend that I split my time? 3 days Disney, 3 days Universal (including Volcano Bay so only 2 days Universal theme Parks) OR 2 days Disney, 4 days Universal with V.B.? Is Volcano Bay even worth it? We're staying at Hard Rock - does this make doing Universal easier with the perks?
4. We'll also have a few hours on the Wednesday evening that we arrive (around 4pm) - how can we best use that? Would it be worth it to try to squeeze in one of the exhibits in the Disney Parks? Are there inexpensive evening hours tickets available? If so, can you use FastPass with it? We also have half a day on the other end - we don't fly out until 3pm the day we leave but I'm not sure we can squeeze anything in and still get packed and to the airport without stress. We'll probably just do the hotel pool that day.
5. Other than Avatar and Star Wars, are there any other new rides/exhibits in the last 5 years that would really appeal to teenagers?

Thank you so much for any advice.

 

[J'aime Paris]

I hope this is the right place to post this for a combo WDW & Universal trip...
I'm gonna try to answer some of this to help you out...

We have a 7-night (6-full-days) trip planned for the end of August (I know it is hot and planning for downtime/pool in the afternoons!). My kids are 12 and 14. We've been to Disney World (once) when they were younger but never Universal. We'd like to do a few things at Disney but focus on the Universal part of the trip this time, as we've never been there and the kids are now older.
Your kids are at a great age for Universal!

My tentative plan is to stay (somewhere) for the first two (maybe three?) nights - a less expensive place where we can save a bit on our budget. I'd like the hotel to be closer to WDW - maybe off site but nearby. We didn't do as much of Epcot as I would have liked last time, plus there are new exhibits at some of the parks that I think the kids would really enjoy (i.e. Star Wars and Avatar). I realize that is three different parks, which is part of the problem. Depending on how many days we need for Universal, I'm trying to figure out if I need to spend extra on Disney Park Hopper tickets (Thursday & Friday) or if I should just plan on one Disney park = one full day (Thurs - Saturday). Also if it even saves money to sleep off-site.
Staying at one of the All Star Resorts at WDW property will be your least expensive onsite option. If you are flying, the Magical Express is a free service to/from the airport.
If you're planning midday pool breaks at an offsite hotel, you'd be taking 4 Uber/Lyft trips daily. I think that would end up negating any savings of staying offsite.

My original plan was to do Universal from Saturday (Volcano Bay) through Tuesday (Sun, Mon, Tues at Islands of Adventure & Universal Studios). Everyone says you can do Universal fairly quickly, but I'm worried about getting to everything we want to do at Universal if we cut down to two days and go to Volcano Bay on Sunday instead (Particularly because it will be hot and if we want to take a few hours in the afternoons for downtime). Also, we want to splurge at Universal and stay at the Hard Rock plus do the full dining plan, so I'm looking for ways to cut down on costs anywhere else I can while still doing what we want to do!
Weekends are busiest at Volcano Bay, many locals go there. If you can switch that to a weekday, it would be better.
Staying at the Hard Rock is a SUPER idea. You'll get unlimited EPs. That is priceless in my opinion. And midday breaks are soooo easy here. You are minutes from both parks!
It is commonly stated that he dining plan is Not a good deal....up to you though...

So here are my questions:
1. If I really want to save money for 2-3 nights near Disney, should I stay off-site? Can you ride share (Uber/Lyft) to the parks pretty easily? Will the cost of the ride shares totally erase any savings from staying off-site? Gave my opinion on that above.
2. How do tickets, meal reservations, FastPasses work when you stay off-site? What about how do those work if I buy tickets from a non-Disney discount offer? NO Fastpasses currently for anyone. You'll need a reservationa to visit a WDW park, in advance. You are able to make meal reservations...but must also have a park reservation if you want to eat in a park. Park hopping is quite limited....only after 2pm I think and only at park that has availability.
3. How would you recommend that I split my time? 3 days Disney, 3 days Universal (including Volcano Bay so only 2 days Universal theme Parks) OR 2 days Disney, 4 days Universal with V.B.? Is Volcano Bay even worth it? We're staying at Hard Rock - does this make doing Universal easier with the perks?
Are your kids into Marvel, Harry Potter?? Universal is kinda geared toward the teen crowd, but preferences would dictate how many days for each place.
August is notoriously, ridiculously hot! I'd certainly keep Volcano Bay. It's lot of fun!
4. We'll also have a few hours on the Wednesday evening that we arrive (around 4pm) - how can we best use that? Would it be worth it to try to squeeze in one of the exhibits in the Disney Parks? Are there inexpensive evening hours tickets available? If so, can you use FastPass with it? We also have half a day on the other end - we don't fly out until 3pm the day we leave but I'm not sure we can squeeze anything in and still get packed and to the airport without stress. We'll probably just do the hotel pool that day.
Disney Springs has a lot to offer, shopping and eating. Universals City Walk is smaller but has mini golf. Teens usually enjoy that!
Could also be good to grab a meal and hang out by the pool....
5. Other than Avatar and Star Wars, are there any other new rides/exhibits in the last 5 years that would really appeal to teenagers?
If you've never been to Universal, then the Harry Potter areas (there are 2) will blow your socks off!
There will always be one person who will say the opposite, but an extreme majority fall in love with these areas of the parks, lol!

Thank you so much for any advice.
Hope that helped a bit!

 

[jbrinkm]

Thanks, J'aime Paris! That is a lot of useful information. I'm hoping that things will be more normal in August than they are now... maybe the FastPass will be back at that point.

 

[J'aime Paris]

Thanks, J'aime Paris! That is a lot of useful information. I'm hoping that things will be more normal in August than they are now... maybe the FastPass will be back at that point.

I hope so as well.....Fingers crossed!