Help with Split Stay/Disney/Universal

[Laura_Dee_]

We will be doing a split stay this June between Disney and Universal. We plan to stay at Pop Century and Hard Rock. We have 10 days total but 2 of those will be driving/traveling so 8 park days. For those of you that have done split stays how many days did you spend at each? We will also be doing Volcano Bay. Also did you prefer to do Disney first or last? Looking for suggestions

 

[macraven]

For my split stays, I do Disney first and then relocate to Universal

First potion of my vacation is more of a fast pace and I stay on a schedule for the fp rides and adr times.
It’s a fun time but a very busy time for me

After I switch hotels/parks, it’s a very low key time
The parks at UO are smaller and closer to the onsite hotels and takes less time to reach the parks

Having unlimited usage of their express lines for rides and shows allows me to do a lot more in those parks
I can do a lot more and not rush which is how I like to end vacations

 

[glocon]

Agree. We always do wdw first. It’s hard to leave wdw so having another great destination like UO helps. Plus, fp+ cannot compare to unlimited ep at UO. Definitely want to do that after fp+.

 

[JAMIESMITH]

I would start at POP and end at HRH since HRH is nicer. You don't want to be spoiled at HRH a.d then feel like you are downgrading when you get to POP.

 

[CPanther95]

Definitely do Universal last.

The number of days at each is a personal decision based on your family's tastes. Some families love the fellowship you get spending endless hours standing in line and some prefer spending their time with rides, relaxing by the pool and eating superior food. The more you value the former, the more days you should spend at Disney.

 

[bobbie68]

Hi we have done split stays at uni and disney. I would do Disney first then Uni like pps suggested. Uni is so much more relaxing.

To be fair and honest we enjoy uni more and have been to DIsney so much that we go for specific things and would put about 3 days there. We love the whole atmosphere at Uni so we could spend a week there.

If it is your first time and with doing VB I would put more days at Uni. VB is an amazing water park and we did two days there and were not bored. VB will be busy that time of year so you may need extra time for there. You will not have the express pass that comes with the Hard Rock so I suggest going for early entry.

Great information from pp.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[Silvermist999]

We are doing a split stay Disney/Universal soon. Initially we were only going to do Universal but after factoring in the cost of our flights and the fact we haven't been to WDW since 2017, we decided to do Disney also, then end with Universal since it will be our first visit.

 

[Jake]

Have to check the ticket pricing. A five day ticket at Disney is the same price as a seven day at Disney.$30 more. Two day universal is the same as a four day at universal.

 

[Sue M]

For you I’d do WDW first. You really don’t want to go from HRH to Pop! It will be a huge let down.

 

[DisneyMom93]

When we did our first (and only so far) split stay we did Universal first then Disney, (HRH and Pop).

We don't do Disney Parks on weekends and found Universal pretty empty on the weekend compared to Disney (especially with Express Passes). So we got there on a Thursday and did Universal Friday through Sunday, spent day at pool Monday and moved to Pop Monday night. Spent the week days at Disney and weekends at Disney Springs and pool. It worked well for us. (But we stayed at Disney for two weeks. Did the parks for 9 week days.)

We liked ending it at Disney, especially since we spend the last day at the pool to relax. If we did a split stay again I would consider doing Universal last since it is more relaxing. But to be honest I would let the park crowd calendars or hotel rates decide, as well as how it fits into our "No weekends at Disney Parks" schedule.

 

[DisneyMom93]

I forgot to add that we did not do Volcano Bay (we feel we can do a water park close by where we live in the summer). We did park-to-park tickets for 3 days. We did one day at each park, and then split the last day between two parks. We felt it was more than enough to get everything done and rode some rides as many as 4 to 8 times (Spider-Man and Minion)(with EPs). You can easily do one park each day and do Volcano Bay on a third day IMO.

 

[Kyle4858]

The way I've done it: I do Disney first (usually 5 nights - a day for each park with a rest day, i.e. Disney Springs, in the middle. I check-out of Disney hotel last park day in the morning and leave luggage with concierge/bellhop. Spend all day in final Disney park, then return to hotel to retrieve luggage and call a cab,Lyft, Uber for transport to Universal (I've always stayed at Royal Pacific) to make use of Universal's fast pass and their version of extra magic hours. On my last day at Universal...repeat the process (check-out, luggage to bellhop, day in park, call Lyft to be driven back to WDW). The last evening is usually at a Disney Value resort (Pop, All-Stars, etc) so I can make use of the Magical Express transport to the airport the following morning.

- Kyle

 

[DisneyMom93]

On my last day at Universal...repeat the process (check-out, luggage to bellhop, day in park, call Lyft to be driven back to WDW). The last evening is usually at a Disney Value resort (Pop, All-Stars, etc) so I can make use of the Magical Express transport to the airport the following morning.

- Kyle

Interesting.

Why do you go back and spend money for a night at a Disney resort? Seems like a lot of checking in and out to get free airport transportation. Why not just use that money you spend for a hotel room for car service back to the airport? (Not to mention the money on Lyft to go back to Disney.) It’s a lot less for airport transportation than a night at the resort plus Lyft.

Or is there also a different reason you go back to Disney?

 

[wendlle]

We are the opposite, we always do Universal first. We are hard core Disney fans so I need to spend my last day at WDW - there is no budging on this rule.
We used to get a taxi between the two but that was before Uber, now we get a private transfer because we have two small children and can't go in an Uber with them.
Also we're from Australia so our trips are usually 3-4 weeks long. 1 week at Universal and the rest at WDW.