the logistics of planning are killing me

[doobie11]

I am trying to plan a combined WDW and US/IOA trip. We've done WDW twice and it was pretty straightforward. Never done US/IOA.
we will be flying in, and do not plan on renting a car. We want to stay onsite at WDW and use ME to and from the airport. I also have a PIN for FD.
I know I can buy the ticket/transfer package from DU, but I was also hoping there was some way to get early entry to WWoHP and express pass. So I guess that means somehow staying onsite at Universal.
Is this even possible, without renting a car? How could we get ourselves and all our stuff to US? Mears? How would we get back to the airport?? I priced out Florida Tours and it would be about $70 (there are 2A,2C). Everything just keeps adding up and up. I also don't know whether to do it at the end or the beginning of the trip, or even the middle!
we are planning on going sometime between April 20-30. We are pretty flexible as far as how many days; we could go for 7 or 8,9,or 10. I guess it just depends on prices and availability. Mainly prices though. What started out as a fairly economical trip to WDW is skyrocketing because of Universal.
My price for 8 nights at POFQ with 5 day tix and FD is about $2650. That does not include airfare, but does include all other transportation and food. If I add on the DU package for 1 day to US it is almost $500. I just don't know what to do, and I'm giving myself a headache. I guess technically there is a way to do it, but is there a way to do it cheaper? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[damo]

The only way to get unlimited express pass is either to stay onsite or purchase the VIP ticket.

A two destination vacation will always be more expensive than a one destination. The longer you stay at one, either wdw or universal, the cheaper the daily rate. When you switch parks, you lose that discount.

Early to mid April will be extremely busy at Universal. I would recommend doing it as late in the month as possible if you are not staying onsite.

You will have to price out all your options individually to see which one works better for your family. One day at Universal really doesn't do it justice. It is like trying to do Magic Kingdom and Epcot in one day.

You aren't going to find a cheap alternative that allows you all the benefits. You will have to make some sacrifices either in price or perks.

 

[RMulieri]

The only way to get unlimited express pass is either to stay onsite or purchase the VIP ticket.

A two destination vacation will always be more expensive than a one destination. The longer you stay at one, either wdw or universal, the cheaper the daily rate. When you switch parks, you lose that discount.

Early to mid April will be extremely busy at Universal. I would recommend doing it as late in the month as possible if you are not staying onsite.

You will have to price out all your options individually to see which one works better for your family. One day at Universal really doesn't do it justice. It is like trying to do Magic Kingdom and Epcot in one day.

You aren't going to find a cheap alternative that allows you all the benefits. You will have to make some sacrifices either in price or perks.

Agree with Damo..It is never going to be economical.I would recomend staying onsite if you can, the perks can't be beat and the resorts are wonderful (and I find them better than Disney deluxe).Early-MID April is going to be very busy, I would hit the end of the month.

 

[k&a&c'smom]

I don't know how helpful my experiences will be, but I can understand your angst, so I thought I'd respond!

We have done split stays between US/IOA and WDW 3 times now. This year, we decided it is more economical to do them one at a time, so we are only doing US/IOA on our upcoming trip - that way, we get the multi-day discount on park tickets, without having to spend extra for WDW tix.

For the trips we have done that are split stay, we have booked our US portion at the beginning of the trip. Just worked out better for us, although I can see why some posters choose to do US at the end - more relaxing, as you get more down time at US.

Our first and last US/IOA trip, we had a rental car, so it was no big deal to transfer. For the 2nd Hard Rock stay, we had a town car pick us up from the airport, drop us at Hard Rock; pick us up again, drop us at WDW; pick us up at WDW and return to the airport. I think it was around $130+ tip for the 3-way trip, not that much more than to the resort and back. You could whittle that down by having a service pick you up at the airport, stay at US first, then use ME to return to the airport; or vice versa.

If you choose to put your US stay in the middle, you could use ME to WDW; take a taxi or car service to and from US; then use ME back to the airport. I don't see this saving anything, but it's an option.

ETA: I see you got some very good advice from damo and RMulieri! It took me so long to compose and post, I missed theirs. lol

 

[doobie11]

thanks so much for all the quick answers! They are what I was expecting, although not what I was hoping for. My kids really want to do Disney, but I know they would also love Harry Potter, so we will try to figure out a way to do both.
k&a&c'smom - when you say to take ME back to the airport (if we do universal in the middle), you mean if I was still staying at WDW, and only doing daytrips to Universal? I can only use ME on the day of check out from WDW, correct?
Also, damo and RMulieri - do you think April 20th onward IS considered the end of the month (as far as crowds go)? I do, but I have been researching times to go, and some sites indicate that this time would still be very busy. To me, it is the end of the month, but maybe I'm wrong. Easter is pretty early, so even if people stayed the week after Easter, we would be arriving after that. At least I'm hoping it won't be busy. Crowds are a dealbreaker for us. I could postpone until the fall, but have no guarantee of FD at that time.
I've thought about renting a car, but again the logistics of it all, plus parking, gas etc makes me not want to do it. ME is just so easy.
I've also priced out the onsite Universal hotels, and they are expensive! I've briefly looked at Universal hotel partners for the early entry but will have to do a bit more research on those. Well, back to the drawing board I guess. thanks again!

 

[k&a&c'smom]

Yes, you can only take ME from a WDW hotel. You could still stay onsite at US, by booking X number of days at WDW (taking ME from the airport); booking x number of nights at US (using taxi or car service to and from WDW; booking a second WDW reservation for the last portion of your vacation.

This would not be an ideal plan, but gives an option for doing US in the middle of the trip and still have the onsite advantage of FOTL. If you choose to give up FOTL, you could, of course, do a day trip to US. To me, that defeats the purpose, as you will still have to pay to transfer to and from US. ETA: I just realized you have planned to do free dining, in which case, booking a US hotel in the middle may not work.

Have you searched for US hotel discounts? We are getting a cheaper rate at Hard Rock than any of the WDW deluxe resorts with an APH rate. If you book US 3 days or more, you could check for the Stay More Save More rate. There might be a group rate for CAA, but I'm not sure.

Good luck, I know it can be stressful trying to coordinate a mix of destinations!

 

[damo]

thanks so much for all the quick answers! They are what I was expecting, although not what I was hoping for. My kids really want to do Disney, but I know they would also love Harry Potter, so we will try to figure out a way to do both.
k&a&c'smom - when you say to take ME back to the airport (if we do universal in the middle), you mean if I was still staying at WDW, and only doing daytrips to Universal? I can only use ME on the day of check out from WDW, correct?
Also, damo and RMulieri - do you think April 20th onward IS considered the end of the month (as far as crowds go)? I do, but I have been researching times to go, and some sites indicate that this time would still be very busy. To me, it is the end of the month, but maybe I'm wrong. Easter is pretty early, so even if people stayed the week after Easter, we would be arriving after that. At least I'm hoping it won't be busy. Crowds are a dealbreaker for us. I could postpone until the fall, but have no guarantee of FD at that time.
I've thought about renting a car, but again the logistics of it all, plus parking, gas etc makes me not want to do it. ME is just so easy.
I've also priced out the onsite Universal hotels, and they are expensive! I've briefly looked at Universal hotel partners for the early entry but will have to do a bit more research on those. Well, back to the drawing board I guess. thanks again!

The last week of April will definitely be less busy than the first two weeks. The hours are still higher than the beginning of May though, so the crowds are expected to be more moderate.

Remember that you only get early admission at the partner hotels if you book a package through Universal. You can't just book a room there and get the early admission.

Rooms are always expensive in April. When the resorts are in high demand, the prices are high.