Staying on WDW property while most time at US/IA

[Belle5]

We are considering eight nights with the dining plan and a one day WDW hopper in order to see all the faves in one day (Toy Story Mania, Wishes, etc.) We love dining at WDW resort hotels for dinner. Would consider using the QS portion each day for a big breakfast before heading out to US. Is this just crazy? Obviously, another option would be to use our snack credit for an early breakfast and spend the mornings at US, then return to use our QS credit for lunch, nap, swim. (Maybe 2:00 lunches, late resort dinners). I really like this idea. Has anyone done this?

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

And why do this instead of staying IN the Universal hotels...Hard Rock comes to mind.

 

[Belle5]

And why do this instead of staying IN the Universal hotels...Hard Rock comes to mind.

We really like WDW property and food. The dining plan makes it affordable for our family of eight.

 

[Metro West]

We really like WDW property and food. The dining plan makes it affordable for our family of eight.

Make sure you venture over to one of the onsite hotels at Universal and take a look around...they might just change your mind for the next trip.

 

[damo]

There are many advantages to staying onsite. One of the many reasons for me is that my relaxation time is valuable. I don't want to be rushing around, driving all over the place and standing in long lines. If I stay onsite, I can walk everywhere and enjoy my unlimited express pass on every ride except Pteranadon Flyers and Rip Ride Rockit.

I also love it because staying onsite allows me to take advantage of Loews YouFirst benefits which gives me free internet, a free upgrade and food and beverage credit. Because we stay quite often, I get free upgrade to a suite and $100 food and beverage credit for each stay. I also use my annual pass for great discounts. We are getting RPR for $170 during President's week.

We also love the food at Universal. Their restaurants are excellent!

 

[rpbert1]

There are many advantages to staying onsite. One of the many reasons for me is that my relaxation time is valuable. I don't want to be rushing around, driving all over the place and standing in long lines. If I stay onsite, I can walk everywhere and enjoy my unlimited express pass on every ride except Pteranadon Flyers and Rip Ride Rockit.

I also love it because staying onsite allows me to take advantage of Loews YouFirst benefits which gives me free internet, a free upgrade and food and beverage credit. Because we stay quite often, I get free upgrade to a suite and $100 food and beverage credit for each stay. I also use my annual pass for great discounts. We are getting RPR for $170 during President's week.

We also love the food at Universal. Their restaurants are excellent!

 

[christophfam]

I sort of know where you are coming from, I guess. I love Disney and the resorts and the dining plan is awesome (especially since I go during free dining), BUT I can't quite imagine doing this. Staying onsite at Unviersal is an amazing experience. Traveling between the two would be a bit of a hassel on a daily basis.

I have some questions for you -

Are you going during free dining? Is that why it is important to stay at Disney?

Where do you usually stay at Disney?

What are the ages of your children?

Have you considered a split stay?

 

[ThemeParkGuy]

I like the food better at universal. ALso there are value weeks when the kids eat free for lunch and dinner at the hotel resturants if staying on site. Hard rock has been my families best hotel expierence ever!

 

[Rip]

I like the food better at universal. ALso there are value weeks when the kids eat free for lunch and dinner at the hotel resturants if staying on site. Hard rock has been my families best hotel expierence ever!

No question that the food is, on average, much better at Universal. Even the counter services in the parks are better than the ones at Disney.

 

[Gr8t Fan]

We did the exact thing you're thinking about last year when we went during Free Dining. We have APs for Universal so we spent most of our time at US/IOA but we did take advantage of FD and had a late sit down meal every night and used our CS for a late lunch each day. It worked so well for us that we're doing it again in August.

 

[bigmama67]

When are the value weeks at US/IOA when you can get that dining deal for kids? We are planning on late August (20-29) and are hoping for a good deal at RPR for at least a few nights of the stay. We already have the $99 one week unlimited, and also plan to do Sea World and Busch (we will have premium Sesame Place passes so that won't cost us any extra).

Rachel in NJ
DH
DS7
DD1