Thoughts on best way to integrate Universal parks into Disney Vacation

[Albertan mom]

So glad I found this thread, as we are trying to figure out the same thing!

The difference is that we are going in August. So it will be super busy. So even though I hate the idea of paying $370 a night for the Hard Rock Hotel, we want the Front of the Line passes. So to try to pay the least amount possible, and still get the benefit of staying onsite, we are trying to figure things out.

Our thoughts are Disney for 7 days, then go to UO for 2.

1. Will the HRH hold our luggage for us if we arrive on Tuesday in the morning? At like 8am so we can be at the park at 9am opening?

2. Then we can use our FOTL passes for the day?

Then we check in, and sleep there that night, Tuesday.

3. Then we can use the FOTL pass again that next day? Wednesday?

4. And if we only wanted to stay there one night, will they hold our luggage until 8pm Wednesday night when we are done at the park?
(then we go to the Holiday Inn or something cheap that night, and fly out Thursday morning)

Does this make sense?
5. Would the HRH be willing to hold our luggage for basically all of Tuesday and all of Wednesday?

 

[disnutz]

Here is my 2 cents - I definately recommend staying onsite - you will get such a better feel for the place that way - its an easy walk to the parks, and you get the express passes - which even in the off season are AWESOME.

I also have to say, having done this a number of times, save US for the end of your trip. We have done the opposite and last year, the kids kept saying, I wish we had done Universal last because now I hate waiting in line or for fast passes.

That being said, we love universal and are devoting our trip to US and some off site attractions this year. No disney at all. Gulp.

 

[Alexsandra]

I was going through the same thing a few weeks ago and after doing a lot of research (asking around, checking reviews, DIS boards and reading up on Universal, blogs and trip report). I came to discover the best way to visit Universal. I am going to Orlando this September and at first had planed to stay on WDW property the entire trip and just visit US for a day. I am staying at the Polynesian and thought switching hotels would be too much hassle. But after my research I switched my plans around.
So, even though I have never been personally, I will share with you what I have learnt from the extensive research I've been doing:

1.First of all, everyone one says to really enjoy Universal you have to give it two days (one for each park US\IOA). They are both very big parks with lots of attractions and shows and unless you want to go "commando style" and end up very tired at the end of the day. Do the one park a day ticket for two days. However if you are just going to visit Harry Potter then you can go to IOA and do it in one day but it is not suggested.

2. Stay onsite at one of the three Universal resorts. That is what everyone recommends and that means even if you have to double book on night of hotel. Why? Because you not only get early admission to Harry Potter, you get front of the line passes for almost all rides (excluding a few like Forbidden Journey) which, just there, is worth the cost of staying onsite. Also the resorts a walking distance to the parks and all have free boat ride to the parks. The resorts are supposed to be higher quality than most WDW moderates and comparable to most luxury resorts at WDW. The beds are more comfortables, they have beautiful theming, big pools with slides, several restaurants and you have to free access to City Walk. That means with the front of the line pass you can do a lot of attractions in the morning, take a break in the afternoon, do some pool time and go back to the park. That seems less stressful than rushing to the park from WDW at a crazy time in the morning to then wait in long lines all day in the hot florida sun and rushing to get everything done before closing just so you can go back to Disney exhausted.

3. Transportation From WDW to Universal is the tricky part. Renting a car is expensive and you have to pay parking at UNiversal's parks and resorts. Then there are taxis and shuttle buses. TAxi looks like it costs about $50 from WDW to US and about the same from US to airport. Mears shuttle offers private car to US for about $50 and shuttles to airport at $30. There is also a shuttle from WDW to US parks at $19 round trip per person but that is if you are staying on disney property. You are not allowed luggage on that shuttle, it is a park to park shuttle service. You also have to reserve ahead of time. It leaves at specific times but runs starting at 7:30 AM to returns at the latest at 3AM the next morning. Personally, I decided to just take a taxi it so I can go and come back when I please. If you are deciding to visit US for one day, there is also "dreams Unlimited Travel" that offers a US one day multi park ticket with free round-trip transport from WDW. THis is a good deal if looking to stay on disney property however if you are going during a busy time of year you will miss out on early entry to HP which you get for staying onsite.

4. Budget is another consideration. Since I am staying at Disney's Polynesian, I am actually saving money by switching to a Universal resort for a few days. First, I looked into only staying 2 nights at Portofinos, but with the "more you stay, the more you save" promo, it ended up costing less to stay three nights. However, soon after, I read that purchasing an Annual pass for one person in my travel party might end up saving us more money. I checked into it and it ended up being the same price to buy an annual pass and getting a discounted APH discount on room (type in APH in promo code when checking rate on US site for APH rates) than if I don,t get it and pay rack rate. But then I get additional discounts on food/merchandise in parks and since I am going back to US with kids in MArch, APH is worth it. So do your calculations and you might end up saving more by staying onsite or buying and annual pass. In the end I am saving $600 to stay at Royal Pacific for 3 night and additional costs by getting AP for one person.

So in the end, I weighed the pros and cons of and found that it would be a more relaxing trip to stay on Universal property especially when I am saving money at the same time!
I hope this helped!
Good luck with your planning

 

[Fºoºz]

I concur with Ametista that split-stays can be time consuming, packing and unpacking. We did do both WDW and Universal last year, staying at PORS and PBH but had a B2B cruise separating the two ... and will do the same (but only a single cruise) next year. If you don't mind switching though, it is nice staying on-site at Universal ... decisions, decisions If it is your first trip to USF/IOA I would take two days. Good luck.

 

[Fºoºz]

So glad I found this thread, as we are trying to figure out the same thing!

The difference is that we are going in August. So it will be super busy. So even though I hate the idea of paying $370 a night for the Hard Rock Hotel, we want the Front of the Line passes. So to try to pay the least amount possible, and still get the benefit of staying onsite, we are trying to figure things out.

Our thoughts are Disney for 7 days, then go to UO for 2.

1. Will the HRH hold our luggage for us if we arrive on Tuesday in the morning? At like 8am so we can be at the park at 9am opening?

2. Then we can use our FOTL passes for the day?

Then we check in, and sleep there that night, Tuesday.

3. Then we can use the FOTL pass again that next day? Wednesday?

4. And if we only wanted to stay there one night, will they hold our luggage until 8pm Wednesday night when we are done at the park?
(then we go to the Holiday Inn or something cheap that night, and fly out Thursday morning)

Does this make sense?
5. Would the HRH be willing to hold our luggage for basically all of Tuesday and all of Wednesday?

Hi ... yes the hotel will hold your luggage at Bell Services until your room is ready. We got off our cruise last year and arrived at PBH before 11 am - our room would not be ready until later that afternoon so our luggage was stored. Front desk even had safes available where we could lock up our valuables (passports, documents, etc as you do not want to store them in your checked luggage and do not want to carry them around). They say they will give you a call on your cell when your room is ready but it's better if you call them.

They will also hold your luggage on check-out day but not sure what the time period is. You can use FOTL on both check-in and check-out days. If you are thinking of checking out and staying at a cheaper hotel before flying out, I would suggest staying at the Hyatt Regency at the airport the night before - not sure it would be cheaper but extremely convenient (just a suggestion). Good luck.