Split stay with universal

[ellataylor]

Hi guys,

I am planning an Orlando trip for summer 21/22 depending on the Covid situation.

My family‘s heart lies with Disney, but we would like to do 2 days in Universal for Harry Potter and the water park. Last trip we finished with Universal and although we had fun, my Ds said it was tainted with sadness about leaving WDW. Equally we love getting to MCO and getting on the ME!

So can anyone think of an issue with having 2 separate bookings with 6days each in 2 resorts, 2 separate dining plans (fingers crossed for free dining) and 14 day tickets. Then going to universal for the 2 days between WDW resorts?

Thanks in advance

 

[starry_solo]

That sounds interesting Good luck!

 

[rwdavis2]

I would do Universal first.

 

[KyCoKe16]

Hi guys,

I am planning an Orlando trip for summer 21/22 depending on the Covid situation.

My family‘s heart lies with Disney, but we would like to do 2 days in Universal for Harry Potter and the water park. Last trip we finished with Universal and although we had fun, my Ds said it was tainted with sadness about leaving WDW. Equally we love getting to MCO and getting on the ME!

So can anyone think of an issue with having 2 separate bookings with 6days each in 2 resorts, 2 separate dining plans (fingers crossed for free dining) and 14 day tickets. Then going to universal for the 2 days between WDW resorts?

Thanks in advance

Why not? It would give you a little change of pace in between Disney resorts. After the honeymoon we just took, I’d consider just about any kind of split. We live in KY, drove to Charleston, SC to get married. Spent 4 nights there leading up to the wedding, then drove down to Savannah for the afternoon before driving to St. Augustine where we spent two nights, then drove to Tampa and flew out to South Dakota where we spent 4 nights before flying back to Tampa and driving to Orlando for 4 nights at Universal, then drove home to KY. And we had the BEST time!
So I say, if that would make you happy...sandwiching Universal in between your Disney days, do it!

 

[Jadyreen1282]

If Covid goes into 22 there may be no Disney or Universal. I don't see how anything business survives NO business for two years.

 

[Minnie1222]

Personally, that would be a lot of unpacking, repacking and wasted time traveling among the resorts.
Do all family members feel this way or just your son? I don't know how old he is, but children's opinion and feeling change all the time. He may not even want to be at WDW or Universal in a year or two.

 

[CarolynFH]

I agree that a 3-segment split would be too much unpacking and repacking and moving to me. I’d do several days at Universal followed by WDW or vice-versa. Three or four nights in one of Universal’s deluxe hotels (for Express Pass), then the remainder of your stay at WDW. But for that long of a stay, I’d also think about a single off-site condo or house, with laundry facilities to make washing clothes easy and a full kitchen for reducing food costs.

How old is your DS? Many kids seem to like the thrill rides at Universal more and more as they get older, making it more desirable to spend more time there. You might be wanting to split your vacation equally between UO and WDW!

 

[ellataylor]

Thank you so much all for your helpful replies.
I was very misleading missing off a D on my Ds, we have actually have 4 DDs (aged 16-23) and a GD who will be 4!! So they are quite set in their likes and wishes (apart from GD).

I was wondering whether there would be an issue with linking the park tickets for both resort stays if we have a gap in the middle for Universal. The ticket would be linked to the MDE for our first stay, so would we need to carry 2 magic bands during the second week for the resort and DDP?

This may be more hassle than it’s worth....I might need to persuade them that it’s Universal for starters or no universal!

 

[rwdavis2]

I agree that a 3-segment split would be too much unpacking and repacking and moving to me. I’d do several days at Universal followed by WDW or vice-versa. Three or four nights in one of Universal’s deluxe hotels (for Express Pass), then the remainder of your stay at WDW. But for that long of a stay, I’d also think about a single off-site condo or house, with laundry facilities to make washing clothes easy and a full kitchen for reducing food costs.

How old is your DS? Many kids seem to like the thrill rides at Universal more and more as they get older, making it more desirable to spend more time there. You might be wanting to split your vacation equally between UO and WDW!

By the time out daughters reached 10 and 13 they preferred Universal to WDW.

 

[Blondie58]

Why not? It would give you a little change of pace in between Disney resorts. After the honeymoon we just took, I’d consider just about any kind of split. We live in KY, drove to Charleston, SC to get married. Spent 4 nights there leading up to the wedding, then drove down to Savannah for the afternoon before driving to St. Augustine where we spent two nights, then drove to Tampa and flew out to South Dakota where we spent 4 nights before flying back to Tampa and driving to Orlando for 4 nights at Universal, then drove home to KY. And we had the BEST time!
So I say, if that would make you happy...sandwiching Universal in between your Disney days, do it!

Awesome. Living the traveling dream!!! Congratulations. And I agree, be happy and have fun!!! Sandwiched between - perfect.

 

[JiminyCricket!]

From a practical perspective with MDE and magic bands, I don't think there would be any problem with going Disney then Universal then back to Disney. For the computer system, it wouldn't be different than just switching Disney hotels, or having multiple reservations for dates with gaps in between, all of which I've done, and all have been seamless with Magic Bands & park tix and MDE. If this is how your family will best enjoy your vacation, then do it!

 

[CarolynFH]

I was wondering whether there would be an issue with linking the park tickets for both resort stays if we have a gap in the middle for Universal. The ticket would be linked to the MDE for our first stay, so would we need to carry 2 magic bands during the second week for the resort and DDP?

Any MB linked to your MDE account is interchangeable with any other MB linked to you - it’s simply a key to your MDE account where the resort, tickets and DDP information is stored. So you can use any MB you want on any given day - some folks have a wardrobe full to coordinate with different outfits. So no, no need to carry 2 MBs at any point during a split stay.

 

[CheshKAT]

We did a 10 night stay with Disney with 7 day park tickets and slept at a Disney resort the whole time. We took a cab to Universal for 2 days. It was an easy 10 minute drive to and from. We preferred the food at Disney much better than US. Kids had a fab. time *O*