How to combine WDW & Universal in 1 trip?

[Mainebound]

Hi all,

We [me, DH, DS2, DS4] are planning another 8 night trip next March to WDW, but we would like to spend two days in Universal parks, which we have never done. How do you folks do this? For example: We will stay in a WDW resort, but should we move to a Universal resort for the last night or two? Should we do Universal first or last (or in the middle)? Is it hard to get from one to the other without a car?

I know this is a matter of personal opinion, but I'd love to hear your opinions! Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

--Mainebound

 

[beattyfamily]

We split our vacation every year now!

We've done WDW first and Universal first. I prefer ending with Unviersal if I had to choose.

We usually rent a car for the transporation from the airport and then over to Universal. We have a full size for $111 total! It's just much more convenient. I believe Mears offers shuttles though of that's the way you want to go. I'm not sure of the rates.

It's wonderful to stay onsite at Universal at one of their 3 resorts, the Portofino (5 star;fancy), Hard Rock Hotel (cool atmosphere) and the newest, Royal Pacific...very tropical. You can walk to the parks from both the HRH and the RPH. They have wonderful zero entry pools.

The best thing though is guest get "Front of the Line" access which means you head to their "Express Pass" (like Fastpass) line and show your room key. It's wonderful. You can do one park in one day easily with this great benefit!

Let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[kj&zb'smom]

Why would you want to end the trip at Universal? As you have done it this way I would love to know why it is better?

We are going in Sept and we are starting 2 days here (PBH) and then 8 days at Poly - I thought it would be better to end with the mouse (at least for my kids DD4 and DS 13mos.

 

[JOC]

We like to try to end our trip at Universal because you get spoiled by the front of the line privileges. If we did Universal first then Disney, we probably wouldn't want to stand in line!

 

[beattyfamily]

Originally posted by kj&zb'smom
Why would you want to end the trip at Universal? As you have done it this way I would love to know why it is better?

We are going in Sept and we are starting 2 days here (PBH) and then 8 days at Poly - I thought it would be better to end with the mouse (at least for my kids DD4 and DS 13mos.

For the same reason JOC mentioned!!!

We like to try to end our trip at Universal because you get spoiled by the front of the line privileges. If we did Universal first then Disney, we probably wouldn't want to stand in line!

 

[gschmerl]

We split our stay last summer between the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal and the Dolphin at WDW. We wanted to be at the HRH for July 4th, so we did Universal first and then went to WDW. We knew what to expect at WDW so it really didn't matter which we did first. Universal is definitely MUCH more relaxing and easy to do than WDW. We were just two adults. If I went with children, I'd save Universal for the end also. The express access makes a great, relaxing, fun ending for the vacation.

 

[Planogirl]

We did not stay on site so our visit to Universal was not quite as relaxing even though we used our FastPasses as well as we could. Plus my son was so excited to be at Universal that he almost ran me ragged! Our later Disney leg of the trip was the more relaxing of the two, maybe partially because we've been to WDW a lot and just hit our highlights now.

 

[*Fantasia*]

April 03-- 5 nights at Universal then moved to Disney for 2 nights.
June 03--3 nights at Universal then move to Disney 6 nights.

I would like to end my trip at Disney. I am a big Disney fan and if I start with Disney, I am afraid I will not leave Disney. Besides, I want to end my trip with "Magic" and to say good bye to Mickey before leaving Orlando.

 

[4greatboys]

We cannot go to Orlando and not do Disney and Universal. We love both. We stay onsite at both places. Nothing beats FOTL at Universal! They have wonderful resorts--right on par with Disney's deluxe resorts but not quite as expensive. Last trip we did Disney for 7 days then on to US/IOA for 2 days.
This year we got AP's for US/IOA with our fan club card--B1G1 half price. Thinking about getting Disney AP's too so next year our trip will practically be free, lol.

 

[Robinrs]

I split a visit at the HRH and the Dolphin like gschmerl, HRH first for 2 days and Dolphin last for 4. BIG mistake. It was a shock to my system to stand on line, the first ride was at EPCOT and it was for 45 minutes. You can get very spoiled by FOTL.

I am renting a condo in the Disney area for a week on my next trip next month. I've already told Michael we WILL be going to Disney this time. It's like a THREAT to him. I like all the parks (ex AK) but he ONLY likes USO and IOA. He TOLERATES MGM but don't mention the others to him.

 

[calgarygary]

The biggest mistake we made when we were in Orlando in Nov. was not allowing 3 days for Universal. We did not stay on site but lines were never an issue except when we were repeating rides later in the day. I personally feel that each park deserves it's own day and a third day should be spent doing the rides/shows you enjoyed the most. MIB, Spiderman, the coasters, Twister are all addictive.

Gary

 

[Minniespal]

We usually spend about 8 days at WDW, 3 days at US/IOA, 1 day at Seaworld and 1 day at Busch Gardens. Fab!!!!!!!!!

 

[antmaril]

We always split our stay between WDW and Universal. We do Disney first and then Universal. IMO it is much better to do Universal last because of the FOTL privileges. If you do Universal first, you are spoiled. You will hate standing in those long lines at Disney, once you've done FOTL at Universal. When you do Disney first, you have FOTL at Universal to look forward to.

FYI - We always rent a car when we visit Orlando, so splitting the stay is no big deal.

Have fun!

 

[BarryCF]

It's approx. 10-12 miles from WDW to US, which will cost about $20 one way by cab, maybe more. $40 rt for 2 days=$80. You can rent a car for less than that, so I would suggest you do that or move from a WDW resort to a US resort, or vice versa depending on whether you decide to do US at the beginning or end of your trip. Another option would be to call one of the Towncar services, but I have no clue what that would cost. If you do decide to change hotels, you'll still have to pay cab or Towncar fare to move you and your stuff.

Cheers

 

[ohbothernc]

My family (sons 3, 8 + 17) travels to Orlando 3 or 4 times a year and we always split the stay between Universal and WDW. We usually stay at Universal first, since my family likes to spend more of their vacation time at WDW. By having season passes to both we can go wherever we like whenever we like. Onsite at Universal = FOTL morning at IOA, pool time, then evening at Epcot. On site at WDW = daytime easy parkhopping and back to Universal for express passing a few favorites at night. Price out the cost of APs vs multiday passes and then plan next year's trip before the APs run out.

We always rent a car for easy transport. Check for discount codes and be sure and rent from a company located INSIDE the airport terminal. Minivans (good for lugging strollers for your boys) can be $199 a week. There is a great Publix grocery/ Walgreen's drugstore shopping center just 5 minutes from Universal's onsite hotels. Tons of restaurants close by, too. What you save on some offsite meals can pay for the rental car.

We'll be at PBH May 29 (4th nt. free rate at Hotel Kingdom.com) then Polynesian (AP rate) until June 9. FOTL and the high quality of the hotels are why we LOVE to stay onsite at Universal. By using FOTL, we get our fill of Universal rides in a few days. It's easy to do both parks in two days, depending on park hours. Universal Studios probably has more for younger kids than IOA. Don't forget to use the Baby Swap waiting areas so Mom and Dad can both ride everything, just not together.

We've stayed at each of the Universal hotels and they are all wonderful. With boys 2 and 4, you could try Royal Pacific. The pool is huge, with a zero entry area and big play zone for little ones.

With a car, splitting a stay is easy. It's fun to try new hotels, and you can't go wrong with any of the onsite hotels at Universal OR Disney. You and the boys will have a great time in March!

 

[ksdave]

Since our kids are now older (DD 13, DS 11), we just do UO. We are staying at PBH again in September. I've stayed at almost all of the WDW deluxe resorts over the years and none of them are up to the standards of PBH. The FOTL makes it a great time (versus the 20-60 minute lines at WDW), and the atmosphere and extras at PBH (like the pools, Mama Dellas, etc) make it a total vacation. Plus, I've been able to book Bay View at PBH twice now at the $170/night Entertainment rate. Can't get those kind of discounts at WDW.
Hope you have a great time no matter what you do.

 

[Mainebound]

Gosh! I didn't realize that combining WDW and Universal/IOA was so common, or that there were so many different ways to do it.

It does sound like there's a consensus for staying on site at Universal for FOTL, so that's probably what we will do.

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far!

--Mainebound

 

[TreeOfLife]

This is how we're doing it and I think it is great: We're booking 7 nights for the price of 4 at Disney. That is, hoping that package is available at the end of the year. But I think it will because it has been extremely successful and we're arriving at the end of value season.

Then at the peak of the holidays, we're doing Universal. With FOTL access we should not even mind the crowds and see it all in 2 days.

Our break down is as follows:
Dec 18 - Dec 24 AKL
Dec 25 - Dec 27 HRH

We're staying onsite both times to take advantage of ee, fotl and transportation conveniences.

I am always keeping my eyes open for codes and promos but feel very happy with how we broke it down.

Gosh! I didn't realize that combining WDW and Universal/IOA was so common, or that there were so many different ways to do it.

I don't think Disney calls them competitors out of the fear that they'll take over the family entertainment business, but because fewer and fewer guests visit Orlando nowadays skipping Universal in their vacations!

The first time I went I said to myself I could not return without the kids. Then I took them and they liked it better than Disney! Now we like both and always look to include Universal in our trips to Disney.

All you need is an open mind and a first time visit to experience why there's no reason in the world to skip Universal during your family vacation in Orlando.

 

[msr709]

Everytime I go to Florida its for Disney and USO trips. I also start with Disney and end with Universal. I go for 5 days to Disney and 3 to USO. In addition to the reasons stated before on ending with the USO is that USO is also closer to the airport and I can use a towncar for transfers between the hotels and/or airport. For economical reasons you can use the shuttle vans to get you to your hotel in Disney and then use a towncar to transfer you to USO and to the airport (its cheaper this way) or spend a little extra and use the towncar all the way for hotel transfers and airport. I've done it with one the previous towncar service from these boards and it was appx. $160 for pick up at airport to Disney hotel, from Disney hotel to USO hotel and then from USO hotel to airport (mind you this was 2001 summer). Hope this helps you.

 

[4greatboys]

We used Fl Tours last Sept and paid about $120. We paid $90 for a van (there were 7 of us) to YC and that included being picked up at RPR resort att the end of of trip back to the airport. And we paid $30 to get from YC to RPR.