Staying at DVC and visiting other theme parks

[Girlstar30]

Alright so I've pretty much decided not to do the Universal Swap for now but I'll post whatever info I keep getting.. So the way it works is pretty much how I thought that you sell your points and then they book the rooms for you with that money. I like that apparently there are no tax implications for you by doing a swap (correct me if I'm wrong) and that you don't have to worry about deposits or anything. They can also swap for tickets and other add ons.

What I don't like outweighs what I do like, well first of all for BLT they only give $17 pp which i think is crazy that they give less pp than AKV which is $18. Secondly, you gotta be quick and on top of picking up all these reservations and booking with your points or you may end up not selling enough points to get your universal reservation and then your screwed having points sold and no reservation. It's very likely you won't have this issue if you do it well in advance of your banking deadline, but the fact it's not guaranteed once you decide you want to swap points because you want to go to universal only is pretty much a no for me, I would be very upset if I sold points and then couldn't go or had to cough up more cash.

My last issue is you really dont know how many points this is going to cost you until you see if youre able to sell those points at $18 or $16 or at all. Committing to something and not knowing how much it's going to cost is a definite no for me. Communication with DVC rental store is also quite slow with no chat feature ( I prefer dealing with Davids over DVC Rental Store when buying rental points due to the quick chat feature responses) and a designated person that handles all of this that you need to communicate thru with email (no response on weekends and could be days for responses on weekdays).

I have been trying to get a full picture of how this works for about a week now. I've asked to see a sample points chart of what it could cost in both scenarios (selling at $16 and $18) but I'm not sure if they will want to go through the trouble of hypotheticals. Also I can't just see charts that show me if another time would be cheaper to go like I can with DVC. I have asked twice if another season would be cheaper and it hasn't been answered probably because, well, hotel prices tend to fluctuate based on demand and universal isn't dvc with a set point chart. Any question I may have will take 2 to 3 days for an response on average.

So yeah in conclusion it's a no go for me, but I'll still post more info as it comes if they're willing to give more, for those that are interested and perhaps in the future when I've already dipped into renting points for cash at DVC rental store and feel comfortable with it then I'll consider this option

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I've been looking at other hotels and i think I might as well stay at Disney because for the same price as selling points and booking I'm not getting anything better... that hard rock hotel is expensive and other hotels look to be a step down... Knotts is cool as long as expectations are set accordingly. I personally enjoy it and think it's def worth the money.

It is possible to stay at WDW and travel to Universal for a day trip, but not necessarily ideal. I've done WDW and Universal every which way, including a number of split trips. With both WDW and Universal, the lines are short during early entry. At Universal, since it is usually only Islands that is open early, you can also do well if you get to the Studios park at park opening.

I am often able to check out of WDW, then drive to Universal, drop off my bags, pick up my Express Pass (= room key), and be in the parks for the tail end of Early entry or the start of rope drop, but the traffic on I-4 can be an issue.

The end of any long park day is also easier if I don't have to drive back between WDW/US. The new Epic park will be somewhat in the middle.

If you want to visit Epic, but you are not a passholder, then - for now- you will need to buy a 3-day ticket (1 day Epic +2 days IoA/Studios). With 3 park days, it is worth staying at one of the Universal hotels, IMO.

Hard Rock is great, and it comes with Express Pass, so keep that in mind when you are looking at the price. The Universal hotels are on-par with WDW's hotels, and often a bit better for the price. DO look at their special offers. The other Universal hotels are not a step down, IMO, especially the deluxe ones that come with Espress Pass. For one thing, the transportation between Universal's hotels and the parks is much better than WDW's. It is also generally easier to walk between the hotels if you want to eat (except the ones over towards Epic). If you don't care about Express Pass, then Sapphire Falls is really nice with a great pool.

I recently stayed at the new Endless Summer and brand new Stella Nova, and both are really nice. If you like suite style rooms, the ones at Endless are pretty nice.

IMO, I am inclined to say, dollar for dollar, the food at Universal is better quality than what you'll get at WDW these days. Now Universal has a few QS dining options that are not great, but so does WDW.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I didnt realize they include express passes when staying, do you get to just hop to the front of the line an unlimited amount of times or is it more regulated (booking rides, etc) like LL?

If you stay onsite at Universal, you get the unlimited version of Express Pass for the duration of your stay. So for a 2 night stay, you get 3 days of Express Pass.

The unlimited EP is better than WDW's LL offerings because you can just enter any Express Line whenever you want, as much as you want in both islands and Studios. Initially, Epic will not have Express Pass.

If you opt to stay elsewhere and buy EP, then it is a bit pricey. If you opt to buy EP as a standalone, then they offer different versions. There is an unlimited version and a version that is 1 per ride. That said, if you run the math, staying at one of the 3 onsite deluxe hotels works out to a better deal: HRH, Porto, and Royal Pacific are the 3 that come with EP. (for now, that could change after Epic opens).

Neither WDW's LL nor Universal's EP quite equals just jumping to the front of the line. Your LL and EP wait depends a bit how crowded the park is, and how long the wait is for that attraction, and how the express line for that attraction was designed. Sometimes both can be very short- just about walk-on. Other times it can be more like 20minutes, and sometimes even longer. Most EP and LL waits are under 20minutes. At either property, if there is ride stoppage, the wait could be longer. IME, ride stoppages are more common at WDW.

 

[Girlstar30]

It is possible to stay at WDW and travel to Universal for a day trip, but not necessarily ideal. I've done WDW and Universal every which way, including a number of split trips. With both WDW and Universal, the lines are short during early entry. At Universal, since it is usually only Islands that is open early, you can also do well if you get to the Studios park at park opening.

I am often able to check out of WDW, then drive to Universal, drop off my bags, pick up my Express Pass (= room key), and be in the parks for the tail end of Early entry or the start of rope drop, but the traffic on I-4 can be an issue.

The end of any long park day is also easier if I don't have to drive back between WDW/US. The new Epic park will be somewhat in the middle.

If you want to visit Epic, but you are not a passholder, then - for now- you will need to buy a 3-day ticket (1 day Epic +2 days IoA/Studios). With 3 park days, it is worth staying at one of the Universal hotels, IMO.

Hard Rock is great, and it comes with Express Pass, so keep that in mind when you are looking at the price. The Universal hotels are on-par with WDW's hotels, and often a bit better for the price. DO look at their special offers. The other Universal hotels are not a step down, IMO, especially the deluxe ones that come with Espress Pass. For one thing, the transportation between Universal's hotels and the parks is much better than WDW's. It is also generally easier to walk between the hotels if you want to eat (except the ones over towards Epic). If you don't care about Express Pass, then Sapphire Falls is really nice with a great pool.

I recently stayed at the new Endless Summer and brand new Stella Nova, and both are really nice. If you like suite style rooms, the ones at Endless are pretty nice.

IMO, I am inclined to say, dollar for dollar, the food at Universal is better quality than what you'll get at WDW these days. Now Universal has a few QS dining options that are not great, but so does WDW.

The food at Universal orlando is so much better than universal California imo! I remember eating at that chocolate emporium restaurant in Orlando and the food was delicious and in California they used a different meat for the burger and it was I wonder why that is.

I was watching YouTube videos of all the deluxe resorts (portofino, pacific and hard rock) this weekend and I'm comparing pacific to poly and portofino to riv. Of course I love the look of portofino (I'm a riv girl ) and the food options look excellent. Pacific seemed to me less glamorous than poly but I could be wrong because I've never been there. Hard Rock looks fun, loved the statues and pool slide looks great!

 

[Girlstar30]

If you stay onsite at Universal, you get the unlimited version of Express Pass for the duration of your stay. So for a 2 night stay, you get 3 days of Express Pass.

The unlimited EP is better than WDW's LL offerings because you can just enter any Express Line whenever you want, as much as you want in both islands and Studios. Initially, Epic will not have Express Pass.

If you opt to stay elsewhere and buy EP, then it is a bit pricey. If you opt to buy EP as a standalone, then they offer different versions. There is an unlimited version and a version that is 1 per ride. That said, if you run the math, staying at one of the 3 onsite deluxe hotels works out to a better deal: HRH, Porto, and Royal Pacific are the 3 that come with EP. (for now, that could change after Epic opens).

Neither WDW's LL nor Universal's EP quite equals just jumping to the front of the line. Your LL and EP wait depends a bit how crowded the park is, and how long the wait is for that attraction, and how the express line for that attraction was designed. Sometimes both can be very short- just about walk-on. Other times it can be more like 20minutes, and sometimes even longer. Most EP and LL waits are under 20minutes. At either property, if there is ride stoppage, the wait could be longer. IME, ride stoppages are more common at WDW.

Thanks for all the details! I had totally dismissed every staying at Universal before because I thought it wouldn't be on par with Disney, but all of this sounds wonderful i mean the Express pass alone is a huge advantage. I really have to think about what I'm going to do because I'm really thinking i don't want to go to universal without that Express pass and I don't want to pay for it individually sooo it seems like these 3 resorts are the way to go for when I want to do Universal. I've never been to volcano bay and I barely got to go on any rides at the og and islands of adventure the one time I went before because I didn't have Express pass and lines were horrendous. So I'd actually want to do four parks!

 

[Genie+]

Thanks for all the details! I had totally dismissed every staying at Universal before because I thought it wouldn't be on par with Disney, but all of this sounds wonderful i mean the Express pass alone is a huge advantage. I really have to think about what I'm going to do because I'm really thinking i don't want to go to universal without that Express pass and I don't want to pay for it individually sooo it seems like these 3 resorts are the way to go for when I want to do Universal. I've never been to volcano bay and I barely got to go on any rides at the og and islands of adventure the one time I went before because I didn't have Express pass and lines were horrendous. So I'd actually want to do four parks!

We’ve not done a UO trip yet. When we finally do, I’m sure we’ll do a couple nights at a resort that gets us the Express Pass. The advice I’ve seen is looking to get one person in your party a Universal AP, which basically pays for itself between getting better room discounts and all the other perks. There is a lot of math to run lol. Which hotel, AP tier, dates, etc. I think it’s worth the time.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Almost the one place I have not visited is Volcano Bay. I almost went when it was new, but I'm not that big on water parks. (though I do enjoy hotels that have a fun pool w/ a water slide. I tend to visit the pool for about an hour though, then I'm ready to do something else.)

Different people have different takes when comparing WDW to Universal and their respective hotels. I've been to both many times. There are aspects of all of them that I like, and ways all of them could be a bit better.

Once upon a time WDW used to have better customer service and food, but I've seen a big uptick at Universal in recent years, while WDW has declined a bit. My most recent visit though, the contrast was a great as I have ever seen it. I met a number of really kind, enthusiastic Universal employees. They seem truly excited for the opening of Epic. A number of them shared that they had applied to work in the new park, and they couldn't wait to start!

One rainy night, I dined at Confisco. It was cold, rainy, and the place was empty, but the food and service were excellent. Since it was so quiet, our waitperson stopped to talk and shared all kinds of fun details about the memorabilia and Universal props that now adorn the walls. (they were recently moved there)

As with WDW, some dining is better than others. The quick serve option at Hard Rock is much smaller than many of WDW's food courts. Excellent for coffee, but not exciting for breakfast. One option that works well at Universalis actually to pick up a few breakfast items from the nearby Whole Foods, on Sand Lake Dr. they have excellent fresh fruit, pastries/breads, yogurt, and a large buffet of prepared soups/salad/hot foods. It is a little pricey for groceries, but great if you just want the kind of items I listed. All the rooms at Universal come with small fridge.

Also, if you like Pho soup, I recently discovered a great place on I-Drive less than 10min from Universal. The soup was SO good, and only like $15 for a huge bowl of it. It was so good, we returned the next night.

The menu at Stella Nova was a bit limited, but the food we had was excellent! Really delicious, and considerably better than many table service meals we've had. A very worthwhile breakfast!

I also like the food at the two Potter quick serves. I'm not too big on Butterbeer, but the food is pretty good. The pulled chicken salad (3 Brooms) and the Banger and Mash (Leaky Cauld) are among our favorites. Another great place is Terrace Falls.

Citywalk also has some good options. Cowfish is pretty good. The dining at the Chocolate Emporium is just okay, and the milkshake things are Instagram-photo over-the-top/too much, but the chocolate shop has some of the best dessert confections I've ever had anywhere! Look in the glass case. (Over at WDW, I'm partial to Amorette's.) Antojitos is kinda standard Mexican food, but it has decent food.

Another excellent offering at Universal is the new Minions popsicles, especially the plain-looking fruit ones. The mango and mint/lemon are especially good. Very refreshing on a hot day. The Minions cafe is also super cute. Not all around the best tasting food ever, but edible, and worth a visit.

 

[Girlstar30]

We’ve not done a UO trip yet. When we finally do, I’m sure we’ll do a couple nights at a resort that gets us the Express Pass. The advice I’ve seen is looking to get one person in your party a Universal AP, which basically pays for itself between getting better room discounts and all the other perks. There is a lot of math to run lol. Which hotel, AP tier, dates, etc. I think it’s worth the time.

Why would it be beneficial to get one person an AP?

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

We haven’t been to UO in over 2 years and we weren’t DVC at that time so haven’t tried it yet. But every time we’ve gone to Universal in the past has been a single day tacked on to our Disney trips and we would just go from whatever Disney resort we were staying at that trip.

So I wouldn’t mind using our points and staying on Disney property and ubering to UO for the day, makes sense to me. BUT, at least for our for first Epic Universe trip, we’re definitely going to splurge for a few nights and stay on property, maybe even Helios if we can swing it. Not as interested in the original 2 parks- they get old fast for us so I don’t care if the hotel doesn’t include express pass, not sure we’d use them anyway since it doesn’t include EU as of now. I’d happily pay for a separate express pass Epic, if they ever introduce that though.

 

[Genie+]

Why would it be beneficial to get one person an AP?

There are many factors to consider when booking UO signature, but right off the bat:
(The first is regular cash rate, the second is AP rate)




The AP discounts on the ‘signature’ rooms can be quite substantial. In many cases upgrading one person in your party to getting an AP can end up less expensive overall. If the AP only costs a couple hundred more and it saves $500+ o the room, plus then you get all the other discounts and perks associated with the pass… it can make sense. I haven’t kept up on the UO board for a while but this was a very common strategy for years.

 

[Girlstar30]

Almost the one place I have not visited is Volcano Bay. I almost went when it was new, but I'm not that big on water parks. (though I do enjoy hotels that have a fun pool w/ a water slide. I tend to visit the pool for about an hour though, then I'm ready to do something else.)

Different people have different takes when comparing WDW to Universal and their respective hotels. I've been to both many times. There are aspects of all of them that I like, and ways all of them could be a bit better.

Once upon a time WDW used to have better customer service and food, but I've seen a big uptick at Universal in recent years, while WDW has declined a bit. My most recent visit though, the contrast was a great as I have ever seen it. I met a number of really kind, enthusiastic Universal employees. They seem truly excited for the opening of Epic. A number of them shared that they had applied to work in the new park, and they couldn't wait to start!

One rainy night, I dined at Confisco. It was cold, rainy, and the place was empty, but the food and service were excellent. Since it was so quiet, our waitperson stopped to talk and shared all kinds of fun details about the memorabilia and Universal props that now adorn the walls. (they were recently moved there)

As with WDW, some dining is better than others. The quick serve option at Hard Rock is much smaller than many of WDW's food courts. Excellent for coffee, but not exciting for breakfast. One option that works well at Universalis actually to pick up a few breakfast items from the nearby Whole Foods, on Sand Lake Dr. they have excellent fresh fruit, pastries/breads, yogurt, and a large buffet of prepared soups/salad/hot foods. It is a little pricey for groceries, but great if you just want the kind of items I listed. All the rooms at Universal come with small fridge.

Also, if you like Pho soup, I recently discovered a great place on I-Drive less than 10min from Universal. The soup was SO good, and only like $15 for a huge bowl of it. It was so good, we returned the next night.

The menu at Stella Nova was a bit limited, but the food we had was excellent! Really delicious, and considerably better than many table service meals we've had. A very worthwhile breakfast!

I also like the food at the two Potter quick serves. I'm not too big on Butterbeer, but the food is pretty good. The pulled chicken salad (3 Brooms) and the Banger and Mash (Leaky Cauld) are among our favorites. Another great place is Terrace Falls.

Citywalk also has some good options. Cowfish is pretty good. The dining at the Chocolate Emporium is just okay, and the milkshake things are Instagram-photo over-the-top/too much, but the chocolate shop has some of the best dessert confections I've ever had anywhere! Look in the glass case. (Over at WDW, I'm partial to Amorette's.) Antojitos is kinda standard Mexican food, but it has decent food.

Another excellent offering at Universal is the new Minions popsicles, especially the plain-looking fruit ones. The mango and mint/lemon are especially good. Very refreshing on a hot day. The Minions cafe is also super cute. Not all around the best tasting food ever, but edible, and worth a visit.

I'm not big on water parks either and that park would definetely be last on my list, but I think the wave people looks amazing and I can do wave pools, multiple slides at my age and arthritis is not fun i did the "lazy river" and a slide at atlantis and let's just say it wasn't so lazy and I'm traumatized I'm with you on the Disney slides, I did the Jambo one and it was fun!

I agree with you on Disney standards declining. Disney has been a part of my life since I was a kid and then a cast member. We learned the four keys of customer service in training and our motto was we work while others play. We were praised when we would use themed phrasing during our interactions with guests on the attractions and I remember even handing out water bottles when the go coaster broke down at toon town to guests. I notice all of these things from the themed phrasing to the cast members looking at their reference guides when they don't know an answer to a question. Let's just say much of what I used to do customer service wise when i worked at Fantasyland attractions was non existent on our last trip Of course my cast member days were about 18 years ago...

I agree that some other theme parks food has gotten better. I think Knotts quick service is superior than Disneyland. The food at Universal in Cali is actually not good at all imo. The leaky cauldron is the best option at Harry Potter land and toadstool cafe now actually has some pretty decent offerings. Aside from that, I always eat at Citywalk because everything else i have tried has been subpar. Ohh they have panda express which is probably actually the best Butterbeer is okay for a few sips for me and then I'm done. I am interested in these new butterbeer puff pastries I saw on Instagram! Cant wait to try the Minions popsicles!

 

[Girlstar30]

There are many factors to consider when booking UO signature, but right off the bat:
(The first is regular cash rate, the second is AP rate)

View attachment 944185
View attachment 944186

The AP discounts on the ‘signature’ rooms can be quite substantial. In many cases upgrading one person in your party to getting an AP can end up less expensive overall. If the AP only costs a couple hundred more and it saves $500+ o the room, plus then you get all the other discounts and perks associated with the pass… it can make sense. I haven’t kept up on the UO board for a while but this was a very common strategy for years.

Whoa that's an huge difference, definetely worth looking into! I was going to throw the towel in on staying at UO resorts because of the cost and the point swap is NOT good. Each point is worth $18 and they book at current rates on the Universal site so let's just say the cheapest room you can get comes out to a whopping 46 points for a Saturday night in September.... HARD pass!

 

[Girlstar30]

I also just wanted to point out that on the DVC rental store universal orlando point swap website it says

Loews Portofino Bay

17-27 Points Per Night

This is incorrect seeing that a Saturday night in September for the lowest room rate was well above this at 46 points.... Based on that I highly doubt that 17 points per night is possible at Portofinos since $18 is the highest payout this swap provides... that would mean portofino would have to be $306 a night with tax and without ap or Florida residency discounts... seems highly unlikely, maybe they posted this a while ago but it should be updated so as not to be misleading, I could have saved a lot of time and emails knowing the true range

 

[Genie+]

Whoa that's an huge difference, definetely worth looking into! I was going to throw the towel in on staying at UO resorts because of the cost and the point swap is NOT good. Each point is worth $18 and they book at current rates on the Universal site so let's just say the cheapest room you can get comes out to a whopping 46 points for a Saturday night in September.... HARD pass!

Yeah the swap doesn’t look great. I would check out OU ticket prices for your dates along with the best room discounts, then compare that total price against getting one AP plus the other ticket(s) and those room discounts. Could be a game changer.

 

[Girlstar30]

I'd like to point out that the swap just emailed me and said that AP discounts and Florida resident do apply, so that makes it *better* but still not better than dvc points wise cuz u have to buy the annual pass and not everyone's a Florida resident

 

[Girlstar30]

Yeah the swap doesn’t look great. I would check out OU ticket prices for your dates along with the best room discounts, then compare that total price against getting one AP plus the other ticket(s) and those room discounts. Could be a game changer.

Thanks so much!

 

[Brian Noble]

I like that apparently there are no tax implications for you by doing a swap (correct me if I'm wrong)

The IRS disagrees. It is unlikely they will ever know unless you tell them, but still.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/OC-...achtransactionistaxabletobothpartiesFINAL.pdf

My last issue is you really dont know how many points this is going to cost you until you see if youre able to sell those points at $18 or $16 or at all.

It does not have to be one-for-one if you are DIY. Rent out the points you know you won't use, and pay cash for the room you need. One can be more or less than the other and it is fine.

 

[Girlstar30]

The IRS disagrees. It is unlikely they will ever know unless you tell them, but still.
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/OC-...achtransactionistaxabletobothpartiesFINAL.pdf


It does not have to be one-for-one if you are DIY. Rent out the points you know you won't use, and pay cash for the room you need. One can be more or less than the other and it is fine.

We have a family member that is a Florida resident and she decided she wanted to come with so now it's totally worth it to rent out the points and pay cash for Portofino or just pay cash and keep points. Sunday to Friday night stay averaged to $360 a night plus tax. Even less if I factor in that were getting the express pass. Definetely some good deals to be had over there! Good to know about the taxes, I must have read incorrect information somewhere, can't remember where

 

[Girlstar30]

Epic universe tickets on sale now, $139-$199

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

Epic universe tickets on sale now, $139-$199

Got mine for August.
Epic, free water park days, moonlight magic, maybe a day at Epcot if the refurbed TT is great…