Help This Disney Girl with Universal Questions

[j37o]

Like so many with younger children, we always do WDW trips and go all-out Disney! Well, my daughter is now very much into HP and wants to do Universal. So for our 7 day trip in September, I am planning on 2 days at Universal. While I will spend the next month figuring out the rides and restaurants and such to make the most of our time there, I need to get my trip booked which brings me to my questions.

Would it be best to stay at a Disney resort the entire trip and travel to Universal the two days? If so, what's the best method of transportation and what cost am I looking at?

Or would it be best to do a Disney resort for 5 nights and Universal hotel for two nights? Do those hotels offer transportation to airport like Disney?

After feeling quite confident with my knowledge of WDW, tackling Universal has me feeling lost. Thanks for any help!

 

[bchbetha]

Switch hotels. It’s great to just wake up and practically be at the park. If you choose Hard Rock, Portofino or Royal Pacific then you’ll also get Express Passes from check in through check out day- and, in case you didn’t know, these put Disney fast passes to shame. No scheduling, tiers or limits.
I really wouldn’t stay at Disney for your Universal stay. But, if you opt to, use Uber or Lyft to transit. Cheap and easy. Same deal getting back to the airport. There’s no shuttle but it’s also really convenient. It’ll be about $20 to get to the airport.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

We did this in December. We used Tony Hinds to pick up from the airport and then stayed two nights at Royal Pacific Resort, getting the unbeatable perk of express pass. Then on day 2 spent the whole day in the parks and then used Tony to transfer us to WDW. We then checked into WDW to finish up our vacations and then used ME (or rather the resort check in for luggage and then uber ) to get back to airport. I was really worried about wasting time with all the transfers but it was seamless. Tony was $120 or maybe a bit more for the transfers but we had 8 of us, a scooter and he had to use a trailer to fit all our luggage and the scooter.
My only regret is that we only did two days at Universal ....which Is why I just booked a full week for November. Disney was a bit of a disappointment after Universal, it was so crowded and the express pass beat fastpass by a long mile. I do love WDW but Disneyland is my favorite park with Universal now a close second .

 

[bobbie68]

Hi I agree with pp's about the split stay. We have done this a couple of times. We would split the days between Disney and Universal and use Tony Hinds to transport us. We would do the same as pp. We would stay at Universal then use Tony to Disney then take ME to the airport. We love Tony and he is reliable and a great guy. We now do our entire vacation at Universal. You will get spoiled with the express pass. What's nice is you don't have to plan like you do Disney. You really don't need reservations for dinner. No booking rides and deciding three months in advance what park you will go to. It is a much more relaxing vacation to us. Universal has great water taxis transportation from their three deluxe hotels, Cabana Bay has buses and Sapphire Falls has the water taxi's. You can also walk about 10-15 minutes from the three deluxe hotels close to the parks. City Walk which is right in between two of the parks has an amazing assortment of restaurants.

Enjoy planning your trip!

 

[princessebird]

Compared to Disney, Universal is super easy. If you stay at RPR, PB, or HRH, you get the Express Pass for both the day you check in and the day you check out. I made a touring plan the first time I went, but it was really silly. The Express Pass made the touring plan completely unnecessary. While Disney is definitely an experience, Universal is a vacation. Sleep in? Sure. Swim at any pool on property you want? Why not?

I would say give yourself 2 days (and at least one night at RPR, PB, or HRH) and you will have a great time.

 

[sandam1]

I would definitely recommend a split stay. If you can afford one of the hotels that offers the Express Pass, that's great. But I've done a few September trips, staying at Cabana Bay, and have never missed it.

I also highly recommend Tony Hinds for the transfers. He is a super guy and a dream to work with. Do NOT use Universal's shuttle service! Just don't! Spend a little bit extra and go with Tony. He will also do a grocery stop if you want.

A few other tips and tricks:
- Get a park to park ticket. The parks are side by side and you are going to want to hop back and forth.
- Depending on when you go in September, you might be impacted by Halloween Horror Nights. On those nights, the Studios side closes early (Islands stays open). If you are heading over to Islands on an HHN night, don't take the Hogwarts Express. There are a ton of other people doing the same thing as you and waits grow pretty fast.
- Because of HHN, early entry is usually 7 a.m. on the Studios side. Note that some of the hotel restaurants don't open until 7 a.m., which can scramble some breakfast plans. If you plan on taking advantage of EE, plan on something in your room or catching something in the parks (each park has a Starbuck's). This one threw us for a loop on our first September trip!
- You might want to consider upgrading one of your tickets to an annual pass. That would make you eligible for pass holders rates at the hotels. Although the passholder rates aren't out for September yet, you can book your room now and keep looking for a better deal. The code for these rates is APH.
- If you do get an AP, there are usually AP specials in August and September. The past two years have had buy one, get one 50% off on the quick service dining plan (note: you don't have to buy it in advance like Disney, the dining plan can be purchased when you purchase your meal), a discount on the photo package, and a few other deals.
- If you stay at one of the EP hotels, it also gives you priority seating at most of the restaurants in City Walk. There is really no need to make reservations at most of the restaurants.

Universal is actually a pretty simple place to navigate. I know that you will have a great time.

 

[AlohaNow]

Hi! I've been planning an October trip for a few weeks now. The more research I do, the more the WDW portion is morphing into a Universal portion! We've been doing DLR more recently and to me the level of planning required for WDW is a bit insane. And I'm a planner! I love this stuff. But we like sleeping in on vacation and not having a schedule. Universal is sounding more our speed for the Orlando part of our Florida trip!

So if I literally stay for one night at an EP hotel and purchase two-day park-to-park tickets, I get the EP both days? I am liking the sound of that!

 

[schumigirl]

Hi! I've been planning an October trip for a few weeks now. The more research I do, the more the WDW portion is morphing into a Universal portion! We've been doing DLR more recently and to me the level of planning required for WDW is a bit insane. And I'm a planner! I love this stuff. But we like sleeping in on vacation and not having a schedule. Universal is sounding more our speed for the Orlando part of our Florida trip!

So if I literally stay for one night at an EP hotel and purchase two-day park-to-park tickets, I get the EP both days? I am liking the sound of that!

Yes, you get Unlimited EP from as soon as you check in on day 1 and can get to the park, till closing on your second day.

 

[AlohaNow]

Thanks! And sorry for the silly question. I should have started by reading the stickies and FAQs, which is what I'm doing now. So much to learn!

 

[gotomu212]

The only thing I could think to add to the already great advice is that most of us book directly with the hotel (Loewshotel.com) and then you’ll get cancellation rights up to 3 days before check in and then you can buy your tickets directly from UO or from undercover tourist (which is really reliable).

The packages dont save you anything in our experience but do offer less flexibility since you have to pay to make changes. The meal plan gets mixed reviews but no one really finds great savings. There are a couple of food choices that might offer a slight savings but nothing worth locking yourself into a meal plan. HOWEVER if you do find you want it you can add it right there at the cashier.

 

[j37o]

Thank you all for the fabulous answers!

 

[CPanther95]

Split stay (stay at PBH, HRH or RPR) and do Universal last. If you do it first, your Disney leg will feel much less magical than it should.

 

[keishashadow]

If you only want to do 2 days in the park, could just book one of the resorts with Fotl the last day.

Taxi up approx $35, uber def less, you can estimate both easily online. Uber-U, in $30 - $35 range depending on traffic.

Two nights better than one. However, you could plan on transferring over for rope drop (disney girls got this down pat lol). plan on spending the next day in the parks too before departing early evening. We always tend to book the last flight out to stretch the trip

Lastly, you mention October. Be advised that for many the focus then is HHN which run several nights a week & Studios will close early those nights.

 

[Elliemay2]

Because of HHN, early entry is usually 7 a.m. on the Studios side. Note that some of the hotel restaurants don't open until 7 a.m., which can scramble some breakfast plans. If you plan on taking advantage of EE, plan on something in your room or catching something in the parks (each park has a Starbuck's). This one threw us for a loop on our first September trip!

What is HHN and EE? Thanks!

 

[schumigirl]

What is HHN and EE? Thanks!

Halloween Horror Nights

Early Entry

 

[Princess Minnie321]

We are doing a split stay. Royal Pacific for the express pass and then over to Disney.

 

[Sparkly]

Hi! I've been planning an October trip for a few weeks now. The more research I do, the more the WDW portion is morphing into a Universal portion! We've been doing DLR more recently and to me the level of planning required for WDW is a bit insane. And I'm a planner! I love this stuff. But we like sleeping in on vacation and not having a schedule. Universal is sounding more our speed for the Orlando part of our Florida trip!

So if I literally stay for one night at an EP hotel and purchase two-day park-to-park tickets, I get the EP both days? I am liking the sound of that!

Just to clarify for the future, we've never felt like booking our fastpasses to be too much of a insane level of planning. I actually find it helps our late-rising family more then old fastpass would have done!! It only seems so crazy because people on here obsess over it and go far beyond what most guests do.

Nothing beats the express pass though!! On a quiet day in February we've managed to knock both parks out in 1 1/2 days! (of course, prior to having both HP areas)

 

[schumigirl]

We are doing a split stay. Royal Pacific for the express pass and then over to Disney.

Hope you have a lovely time at RP and Universal before heading to Disney........

 

[DisneyTravelers2008]

We are huge Disney fans and after one visit to Univ. we fell in Love with all things Harry Potter. We are on our 2nd set of Universal Annual Passes. There is lots of good info here and also I used Orlando Informer to get lots of good info. Univ. does not require the level of planning that Disney does and I find that quite refreshing. I Will add that the HP sections are not huge, but they are AWESOME! They tend to fill up fast so arrive early! If you stay onsite at Univ, their transportation system is great and fast!

 

[GoldmanTrust]

Hi! I've been planning an October trip for a few weeks now. The more research I do, the more the WDW portion is morphing into a Universal portion! We've been doing DLR more recently and to me the level of planning required for WDW is a bit insane. And I'm a planner! I love this stuff. But we like sleeping in on vacation and not having a schedule. Universal is sounding more our speed for the Orlando part of our Florida trip!

So if I literally stay for one night at an EP hotel and purchase two-day park-to-park tickets, I get the EP both days? I am liking the sound of that!

This is exactly why we love Universal. We like to have a little structure to our vacation but not having detailed plans. We like to have the option of sleeping in and taking things slowly. Last year we did 2 weeks at Cabana Bay, going to Volcano Bay most often, but hitting the big parks at least a few hours each day.

We then went ahead and got our Disney dosage by visiting Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. My daughter loved that one evening, as we got so many rides done. But we had to prepare ourselves for that night quite a bit and I couldn't see myself doing that for two weeks straight. I like the easy going vibe at UO.