Huge Problem need suggestions...

[NewTravlr]

Maybe I'm being ambitious here but, I want to get both Universal parks, all the Disney parks, one water park, and Sea World all for one low-ish price. I've found some combo tickets but, they're either Disney or Universal. Is there a combo ticket for both? I was thinking about staying at a Universal Hotel (not so Disney hokey [all the people I'm going with are adults]) to get the front of the line access and getting one of the 4 park hopper passes. But then I still have to add in Disney tickets! I'm hoping to go this July so I need to figure all of this out pretty quick! I'm overwhelmed and I need help! Does anyone have any ideas on how to get as much done in 8 days as possible and for the lowest price???

 

[AZKathy]

First of all, welcome to the DIS! <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/15_1_70.gif' border=0></a> You will get so much info here!

It is a great idea to stay at one of the Universal hotels for FOTL perk. There are a lot of hotels in WDW that are not hokey for adults to stay in, though. Don't stay away from any on WDW property for that reason, please! Depending on your budget, you can find most any Disney property quite appealing to your adult crowd. Give them a look while planing; you do get the perk of early entry if staying on WDW property and doing eride nights, you know. You could divide your trip to get both atmospheres, also. We did that for our trip this past summer and really found it not to terrible to switch hotels.

I think your best bet for WDW hoppers are when you purchase them advance purchase. You will save a little on the price you would pay at the hotel or at the gate. We got ours at the Disney Store and saved over regular price.

Once again, welcome <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/23/23_3_36.gif' border=0></a>and have fun planning. <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/3/3_8_7.gif' border=0></a>

 

[Luv2Roam]

I have not stayed in any US hotel, but I can't imagine they would not be good
The boatride is a plus. At least there must be decent transportation to the parks.

We were at IoA yesterday, and are new PAP holders. We were surprised not to have a discount on FotP at US/IoA.
At least with a hotel stay that fee is waived, and you feel like you get a little more something for your hotel expense.
FotL pass cost: $21 and some change for both parks, per person. $18.95 (I think) for one park.
And unlike FP, FotL is that -- FRONT of the line.

 

[disney4us2002]

We're planning to do nearly as much as you (not Seaworld) and we're going at Christmas!! I think the Uni hotels look fantastic. If you have all adults, you'd probably enjoy the Hard Rock as I understand they have a really cool sound system right in the pool and of course FOTL is awesome! Call the Loew's reservation line and see if any of the 3 are taking Entertainment rates during your July stay which will make the hotels much cheaper than rack rate. IF they are available THEN purchase the Entertainment book. Mousesavers has a link to the Orlando book for a good price and free shipping. If no Ent rates, they also offer AAA discounts and even the retail shops and restaurants offer a AAA discount so that would be a good investment. The cheapest prices I've seen for the tickets are both linked thru mousesavers, $80 for five consecutive days or $89 for five days (but this is a Mastercard only purchase and is actually buy 4 tickets and get the 5th one free). If you have 5 in your party that is the better deal. If neither Ent rates or AAA are available, try hotelkingdom.com as I've seen great offers thru them as well.

There are discounts for Disney park hoppers but if you want the 4 day plus, you can't buy that thru Disney, only thru other means, ie ticketmania, hotwire, etc.

Personally, I'd probably plan two/three nights at a Uni hotel (FOTL is from check in til midnight of check out day) and then move to Boardwalk Inn or Beach Club. This gives you great access to Epcot and MGM and is more adult-oriented than some of the other Disney hotels.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

We checked out the Portofino Bay (I think thats what it's called) last Sunday and it was nice. I doubt we'd ever stay on Universal property though, because we just aren't fans of US/IOA and prefer DIsney.

But maybe if you want to get the perks, split your stay between a Disney Hotel and a US hotel?

The boat ride at US to the hotels is nice.

I'm not sure what you mean by "adult orientated?" . There are going to be children at all Disney Hotels and all Disney hotels have Disney themes. I have never stayed in one that did not.

Now, I might get flamed for this, but my boyfriend and I (late 20's / early 30's) found our biggest gripe with US was the overwhelming amount of teenagers (and I'm not talking the nice teens who post on here...I'm talking obnoxious little punks who were loud and unruly, cursing loudly, and just generally being bratty) . Maybe there was some sort of school trip or something but we were really surprised at how differently kids behaved at US than at IOA.

Again, I'm sure most of the kids at both places are fine, we just hit a bad crowd. I guess my point is though, if you want to avoid kids, Disneyworld might not be the place for you.

 

[JRLATL]

Hi Newtravlr ~ I would recommend you re-post under the Universal Resorts Forum. I think you'll have more input geared toward US.
We love both resorts, especially Wilderness Lodge at WDW and Hard Rock Hotel at US.
I can understand wanting to get everything under one umbrella for your trip. You usually come out better though, with price if you do not use the packages. AAA has discounts on everything you are wanting to do, that would be a one-stop-shop for you. I don't know your geographical local, but I was able to get Annual Passes for US for only $119 ea. at AAA. Even if we only have one visit this year, that gives many discounts. It does not help at the time of year we are going, but may help give you an AP Discount on your rooms.

 

[moinab]

If you don't have any children in your group, I would suggest skipping SeaWorld (unless you have die-hard marine biology fanatics with you.) Don't get me wrong - SeaWorld is great. We had annual passes last year and really enjoyed it, but I don't think it would have been worth it for us if it were just DH and myself, and we were trying to get in a bunch of other stuff in a limited amount of time. Just something to consider. Good luck with your planning.

 

[crazyforgoofy]

If you're most interested in riding the most popular rides at both Universal parks I think staying on property is certainly worth it. We added a day onto a trip with family two summers ago. Universal's parks aren't my favorite but Leah (who as 10 at the time) was wild to meet Scooby Doo and her dad and sister, Megan, wanted to ride Spiderman. We got a great deal at the Royal Pacific and liked it very much. The room wasn't very large but was well appointed and frankly the Express Pass was the greatest! We didn't wait in line for anything and we were there just after the 4th of July! We toured both parks in one day and rode and saw everything we wanted to.

We've put a two night stay at the Hard Rock into our trip with the grandkids this summer as Clay is a Spiderman and Hulk nut. I figure we can tour both parks easily in the 2 night almost 3 days we'll be there. We've also planned one day at SeaWorld and the rest of our two week vaca will be Disney.

So a partial stay at Universal gets my vote. If it were me, I'd move to a Disney resort for part of the stay too. I think the moderate Disney resorts are certainly "adult friendly". Watch for discount codes!