Including Universal in the grand scheme

[Hooked_on_Mickey]

Apologies up front if this post is in the wrong forum....

We are planning our trip and have decided to fly down and we will be staying at CS resort. We plan to use Disney transportation throughout our stay.

We would like to include a couple of days at Universal while we are there, but without transportation I'm kinda stuck....What do you recommend we do?

Rent a car?
Does US provide trans to and from Disney resorts?

Please help me figure this one out...

 

[eliza61]

I don't think Universal provides transportation from the World. We rent a car for this reason. You can get some really good deals especially if you have some type of discount card like AAA, AARP or Amer Express. Last year we rented a for for a week for $79.00 bucks. Have a great time!

 

[Noelle]

We usually do a "day trip" to Universal. This year we're going to go to Discovery Cove. We usually hire FL Tours for our transportation to & from the airport / WDW. When I book it online, I just add the pick-up and drop-off to whatever other attraction we are going to see. It's worked out real well for us. It would take too much of our vacation time to get a rental car for just a day or two and it would be a waste to have one our entire trip since we always use Disney Transportation.
Good luck!

 

[jarrdisney]

Rent RENT RENT a car! This will be your best option hands down. The cab fare/etc isvery expensive. Especially if you plan on going to Universal for more than one day. You'll find that driving to the other parks in disney will be much easier as well. Just my two cents!

 

[WillCAD]

I always rent a car for my entire trip. This covers A) Transport to and from MCO, B) Resort to resort transport (in case i want to eat outside the parks), C) Off-site dining and shopping (so I can visit the outlets, and get film developed before I went digital), and D) Transport to Universal (since I always go to Uni for at least oe day).

 

[eblondie]

I would definately say rent a car just for the convenience of it. We have used Mears previously but it's not an experience that we would like to repeat

 

[Hooked_on_Mickey]

I was afraid that renting a car for the entire week would be cost prohibitive, but considering the savings in other areas by having one plus convenience, I think I just might consider it. Is eliza61's price of $80 a week for real??

 

[frayedend]

I was afraid that renting a car for the entire week would be cost prohibitive, but considering the savings in other areas by having one plus convenience, I think I just might consider it. Is eliza61's price of $80 a week for real??

You have to search for that price, but you can get it (depending on when you go). Even still it will cost you almost 80 bucks a day to take a cab or Mears to US. That also depends on how many you have in your party. Since Mears charges by the person and a cab doesn't it can make a difference. We went to Universal with 7 people in a cab for like 35 bucks each way or so. But Mears was gonna be like 80, so that was cheaper for us.

I don't know about driving to the parks from resort simply because I think you have to pay to park at the parks. Not sure though.

 

[Harmony]

Would it be possible to do the entire Disney vacation and then use a towncar service to transfer to Universal and spend an evening or two there, at one of their hotels? (they have great deals where you can get 1 day free when you purchase 2 day tickets or something like that)

That's how we've done it and it works out great. Esp since Universal does the FOTL pass when you stay at one of their hotels. Helps you see and do the entire park in 1/2 a day.

It's wonderful to be able to see and do everything w/o having to rush, rush, rush. It's definitely more relaxing when you can use the FOTL pass. That's why we plan to incorporate it at the end of our next Disney trip instead of at the beginning.

 

[WillCAD]

I was afraid that renting a car for the entire week would be cost prohibitive, but considering the savings in other areas by having one plus convenience, I think I just might consider it. Is eliza61's price of $80 a week for real??

Typicall, I get weekly rates between $80 and $120. Then you add on any extra days at the higher daily rate (I often go to WDW for 8 days, so I pay for 1 week at the weekly rate plus one day at the daily rate), then subtract any coupons or discount codes you might have, then add the taxes and various fees to come up with the total. For an 8 day rental of a compact or mid-size car, my total is generally somewhere between $120 and $160; this will vary depending on time of year and what kind of coupons or discount codes you can find.

I don't know about driving to the parks from resort simply because I think you have to pay to park at the parks. Not sure though.

If you are a Guest at a Disney resort, parking at the Disney theme parks is free. You will recieve a parking pass for your windshield when you check in.

Would it be possible to do the entire Disney vacation and then use a towncar service to transfer to Universal and spend an evening or two there, at one of their hotels? (they have great deals where you can get 1 day free when you purchase 2 day tickets or something like that)

That's how we've done it and it works out great. Esp since Universal does the FOTL pass when you stay at one of their hotels. Helps you see and do the entire park in 1/2 a day.

It's wonderful to be able to see and do everything w/o having to rush, rush, rush. It's definitely more relaxing when you can use the FOTL pass. That's why we plan to incorporate it at the end of our next Disney trip instead of at the beginning.

That's a great way to go, but it can often cost you more than renting a car, because of the cost difference in the Universal resorts. All three of Uni's hotels are equal in cost and ammenities to Disney's Deluxe category.

Not being able to afford the Deluxes, I typically stay at either an inexpensive off-site hotel near WDW, or at one of the Disney Value resorts. I like to drive up to Uni for two days in the middle of my trip; this breaks up the trip and gives me a little bit of variety.

 

[Harmony]

That's a great way to go, but it can often cost you more than renting a car, because of the cost difference in the Universal resorts. All three of Uni's hotels are equal in cost and ammenities to Disney's Deluxe category.

Not being able to afford the Deluxes, I typically stay at either an inexpensive off-site hotel near WDW, or at one of the Disney Value resorts. I like to drive up to Uni for two days in the middle of my trip; this breaks up the trip and gives me a little bit of variety.

Oh for certain, my suggestion isn't the cheapest way to go but I was just throwing the idea out there, just in case it is possible for the OP's family to go that route. We've found that doing Universal like that makes for a nice, relaxing end to a vacation.

 

[frayedend]

Typicall, I get weekly rates between $80 and $120. Then you add on any extra days at the higher daily rate (I often go to WDW for 8 days, so I pay for 1 week at the weekly rate plus one day at the daily rate), then subtract any coupons or discount codes you might have, then add the taxes and various fees to come up with the total. For an 8 day rental of a compact or mid-size car, my total is generally somewhere between $120 and $160; this will vary depending on time of year and what kind of coupons or discount codes you can find.



If you are a Guest at a Disney resort, parking at the Disney theme parks is free. You will recieve a parking pass for your windshield when you check in.



That's a great way to go, but it can often cost you more than renting a car, because of the cost difference in the Universal resorts. All three of Uni's hotels are equal in cost and ammenities to Disney's Deluxe category.

Not being able to afford the Deluxes, I typically stay at either an inexpensive off-site hotel near WDW, or at one of the Disney Value resorts. I like to drive up to Uni for two days in the middle of my trip; this breaks up the trip and gives me a little bit of variety.

Thanks WillCad. I didn't know about parking at the parks when staying at the resort. That may make a difference for me in the future

 

[Demon Llama]

If you don't want to rent a car (you just want to catch a cab) I suggest taking the WDW bus to DTD West Side first. That cuts the one-way cost to $20.