Is there a SHUTTLE between HRH and Disney?

[BosLAD]

My family and I have booked 6 nights at HRH and now I fear that 6 days is way too long to spend at Universal!

I know there is a shuttle to Sea World, but is there also a daily shuttle to Disney World? If so, how frequent does it run? I did not plan to rent a car since we would be staying at an on-site hotel. Yeah, I know..."why would Universal want to shuttle you to their major competitor?"...but I was told by someone who was at Universal last year that there was a shuttle and I find that hard to believe.

Am I better off just trying to cancel my reservation for a couple of days at HRH and booking a couple of nights at a Disney resort? My 10 yo daughter would probably prefer Disney rides.

We will be traveling on April 18th.
Thanks in advance!

 

[tippytoe]

Your instincts were correct-Universal does not have a shuttle from the onsite hotels to Disney. However, you can get transportation through Mears to Disney. My 11 year old daughter prefers Universal and IOA rides over Disney parks ( and has for a couple of years). We alternate going to Disney one year and then going to Universal the next. If you are going to several disney parks it would probably be easier to stay at Disney. If you are only going to spend a day at Disney I would stay at HRH.

 

[BosLAD]

TippyToe,
As of right now, I haven't purchased any theme park tickets and I am booked for six nights at HRH. I assume 6 days is too much time to spend at Universal, especially since we will have use of the FOTL passes. Do you agree? Am I better off taking a shuttle/cab to Disney to visit their park(s) for 1 or 2 days, or should I just book 2 nights at a Disney resort and cancel a couple days at HRH?

My only concern with checking out/in to the two hotels in one day is it will waste too much time, considering the 11 am checkout and 4 pm check-in and the cost of a day's ticket rides for 4 people!

 

[tippytoe]

Even though you would be losing some time with a move, I think I would just go ahead and move over to Disney for a couple of days after you finish with Universal. Any Disney hotel will store your luggage if fyour room is not ready and then you can just zip right out to a park.
We love the parks at Universal and IOA, but 6 days would be a lot! The issue for me is always trying to justify the cost buying park tickets for Universal and Disney in one trip. Be sure to check out the new price structure for the Disney tickets because they really drop the longer you stay. A 4 day pass might not cost much more than a two day pass. Where do you think you would stay at Disney?

 

[BosLAD]

Tippy:
Thanks for your thoughts.
My last two trips to Disney were spent at the Wilderness Lodge. We loved it there! I just figured since my kids are older now (13 & 10) and we have never been to Universal, we'd give it a try.

My concern with splitting my 6 days is that I've already booked 6 days at HRH thru an online website (HotelKingdom.com). They were the only site that still could book rooms at HRH - not even Universal's website had rooms available!

How much of a hassle is it to change your reservations? I don't want to show up at the HRH and find my entire ressie has been deleted!

 

[tippytoe]

We stayed at WL for the first time last Sept. and really enjoyed it also! I would not think it would be a problem to change your reservation with hotelkingdom. I have changed reservations with them before ( and cancelled altogether) and have not had any problems. I think your kids will love HRH. If you plan to spend a lot of time at the hotel and citywalk (which is awesome and has great restaurants) the days may fly by for you. We usually stay 5 nights at a Universal hotel. However, we are not theme park commandos and spend a lot of time relaxing in a cabana etc. Also, you can pool hop at Universal which is nice-although I think HRH has the best pool for teens (and almost teens). Your kids might be wild about the Universal parks and won't want to leave!! Esp. if they like roller coasters! This year we are going to tack on a couple of nights at the Nick Hotel. My kids are excited about going there!

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

We usually spend 5 nights and 6 days at Universal. It is so much more than just the parks. You can sleep late, lounge around the hotel. Then hit the parks late morning, early afternoon. You can enjoy City Walk, stay out way too late at the clubs Back to the sleep late thing...and just enjoy the time together as a family. No commando style attack plan needed. We have literally strolled over to the parks just to see a show or ride one ride.

Since you are staying 6 nights, you may want to see if buying APs will work out better than length of stay passes. The AP's will also give you a nice discount on souveniers and meals. Last time I checked, the AP's were about $170 and the AP with black out dates (Power Pass?) was a bit less. Who knows, you may get bitten by the UO bug and want to return again!

 

[robvia]

I would keep the reservation at the HRH.
You've never been to IOA/USF, so you don't know what you're missing.
Most people who visit and stay on site love it, and then say how great it is. Your 10 year old daughter doesn't know what's waiting for her, that's why she's saying Disney.
You will only need 3 days to see the parks, 1 day for each park, and then a 3rd for favorites. Then you can use 1 day for Sea World.
On two of those days, you can visit Disney driving from the HRH early in the morning.

I'd rent a car, it's easy to find your way around, you take I-4 between the parks. You can even drive the 1.5 hours west on I-4 to Busch Gardens Tampa and visit that park.

The HRH pool is great, the kids will enjoy hanging out there.

If money is not the issue, I don't see what checking into a Disney hotel does for you, besides the shuttle to and from the parks. You can still go to Disney from the HRH.

 

[BosLAD]

Thanks for that opinion. I don't want to rely on "hanging out by the pool" for a couple of days - what happens if it is cloudy and/or cool?!?

I know my daughter isn't going to go on any of the aggressive roller coaster rides (hey, even for me "Space Mountain" has been my limit!), so I don't want her feeling short-changed on this vacation. I know we all would like spending a day or two at Disney. It's just a question of "Do I rent a car (and if so, for the entire 6 days or just 2 for 2 days at Disney), or do I just check in to WL @ Disney for 2 days, thereby getting cheaper ticker price for rides, park transportation, etc...?"

Decisions, decisions!

 

[robvia]

I don't think it will be cold in April, nor does it rain that much.

If you do decide to split the stay, then you go to Disney first, because having FOTL is the best, and you'll want that at the end of your trip.
Whenever I travel, I always rent a car and find it useful for making grocery store trips, and traveling to restaurants, and other parks. I always rent the car no matter where I go. That's why I made my Orlando pages here.
http://www.nogodforme.com/orlando2004.htm
If you do decide to split the stay, don't cancel the HRH ressie until you know there is a room at WL, and they'll let you do it without a penalty. I've read horror stories of people canceling their ressie, and then a room not being available. If you can't cancel, don't worry about it, you rent the car and drive over to Disney and Sea World early each morning and it will be almost the same. You'll still feel the magic, because once you're in the Disney parks, it's all the same because there is no FOTL. It just means you're waking up in the HRH and driving over, and the HRH has it's own magic. But I'd definately rent the car for the entire week, even if it costs $200 plus the $7 a night at the HRH to park it. I'm sure you can get a discount for the entire week from the entertainment book or something. Eitherway, you're going to have a great time, because the HRH is awesome, and the kids will enjoy the pool.
There are play areas, and things to see in each park that will keep the kids busy for hours.

 

[BosLAD]

I'm also concerned about canceling 2 or 3 days out of the 6 at HRH and then showing up at the reservation desk at HRH and having the 20something cletk say "I'm sorry, but that reservation was completely cancelled and we have no other rooms available"! I didn't make the ressie directly with the Hotel.

Does Disney still have those E-Ticket rides on certain nights? Walking around Disney at night after the official closing and going on the top rides with no lines whatsoever is really cool! I have pics of my son & I as the only passengers on the entire ride down Splash Mountain!

 

[damo]

I'd stay at HRH and just visit Disney if you are feeling bored. We've stayed there for 6 nights first week in May and thought it was wonderful. A diversion to Sea World is a great idea. You can also go to Wet 'n Wild.

 

[BosLAD]

Yeah, I'm thinking I'll just stay put at HRH now. I just bot the Buy 2 Days - get 3 free so that leaves me one free day, which I think will be at Sea World.

 

[disneyfreakk]

My family and I have booked 6 nights at HRH and now I fear that 6 days is way too long to spend at Universal!

Am I better off just trying to cancel my reservation for a couple of days at HRH and booking a couple of nights at a Disney resort? My 10 yo daughter would probably prefer Disney rides.

We will be traveling on April 18th.
Thanks in advance!

we are staying for 2 weeks in october and this was my reasoning on the whole car issue:

In my opinion, it is alot easier to just use a towncar service as opposed to mears or renting a car. with mears, you are on their schedual and the van is kinda cramped and not very clean. with renting a car, you have to pay for parking (even @ the HRH) not to mention actually having to park.

out of couriosity, what form of transportaiton do you use to get from the airport?? or do you just from home??

 

[BosLAD]

we are staying for 2 weeks in october and this was my reasoning on the whole car issue:

In my opinion, it is alot easier to just use a towncar service as opposed to mears or renting a car. with mears, you are on their schedual and the van is kinda cramped and not very clean. with renting a car, you have to pay for parking (even @ the HRH) not to mention actually having to park.

out of couriosity, what form of transportaiton do you use to get from the airport?? or do you just from home??

In the past, I have used Tiffany Limo service. They were recommended on the Mousesavers site. I haven't had any problems with them both times I used them. I have noticed, however, that mousesavers now recommends Happy Limo. I am going to HRH in April and have not yet decided whether to rent a car or use a service.

I agree that Mears can be a hassle because as soon as you get off the plane (after a flight from Boston) you want to get to your hotel ASAP. With the shuttle, you may be the last hotel on their scheduled stops - so you have to wait for each party to get out, get their luggage, tip the driver, etc...for each and every hotel! Not a good way to start your vacation!

 

[BosLAD]

DisneyFreakk:
After re-reading your message, I noticed that you are going for 2 weeks! WOW.

Getting a rental car for 2 weeks and paying for parking will add up, but having the freedom of going somewhere else for breakfast/lunch/dinner would be a welcomed alternative, not to mention a big $$$ savings.

If it were me, I'd be splitting my time between Disney, Universal, Sea World, Busch Gardens, Cape Canaveral, etc... so yes, a car would come in quite handy.

I would weigh the cost of a car rental + parking vs. the savings on restaurants, shuttle services and freedom to come cand go as you please.
Remember, you don't necessarily have to rent a car for the entire 2 weeks!

Good Luck and keep us informed!

 

[blueeyes]

For traveling between airport to theme parks or wdw to us. I found
Orlando Taxi Service while surfing the web. Has anyone used this
transportation? They seem to have good prices, can accomodate my
family of 5 with a van, will stop at a store if we choose. Seem very
trustworthy and family oriented. Website is www.OrlandoTaxiService.com