Traffic Getting To Universal?

[Senator Tressel]

I'm going to be in Orlando for a total of four weeks this fall, staying on Disney property. I had planned to go to Universal on Sundays because I figured that was the best day for traffic on I-4 during the 8AM hour. However, on the days I am going to Universal, I'm going to stay all day rather than having to drive all the way back, take a break, and go back again. So since this will cause me to miss four weeks of NFL games, I'm thinking of trying to go on Mondays instead.

Basically my question is, is the traffic headed into town on I-4 during the 8AM hour on weekdays completely awful? If it is, maybe I'll just go ahead and do the drive back in the middle of the day on Sunday. I don't really want to try watching at the Nascar restaurant because everyone will be trying to do that, I won't know whether the game will even be on there, and I don't feel comfortable taking up a table for three and a half hours during what is a busy time.

 

[PammyK]

Honestly, you shouldn't have any problems at all. Universal is far enough from downtown Orlando to not be impacted by normal rush hour traffic. My normal commute includes much of the stretch of I4 that you are going to be on and I rarely see ANY congestion during my commute. So I really don't think you'll have a problem. And if you do hit any serious traffic, you can get off I4 at pretty much any exit between the Disney exits and the Universal exit and still get to Universal very easily.

 

[macraven]

have you considered going a back way instead of using I4?

 

[damo]

have you considered going a back way instead of using I4?

Exactly. We never use I4. There are some nice backroutes you can take that are very quick and very pretty.

 

[truck1]

Traffic definitions being bad are person to person. With that sad, coming from Disney, there are some slowdowns around the 536 to 528 exits, but things still move. Unless someone does somethign stupid and all bets are off. I generally run I4 from Polk County to North I Drive about 5 minutes from Universal, between 8 and 9 on the weekdays. Its rare to have I4 stopped lately. Slows down a little, but never really stops unless theres an accident.

Theres 3 options for driving from Disney to Universal.
option 1. Take I4 from Disney to Universal. Keep in mind that if you do get stuck theres several option to get off I4 and onto the side roads Im about to mention. (On I4 you can get off on Sand Lake Road, turn right and take that to Universal Blvd,and turn left onto Universal or the 528 and take that to Universal Blvd which you would turn left on to Universal Blvd. This is also the most direct path.

Option 2. Take BVD( Buena Vista Drive,its the road that runs infront of Downtown Disney) to Hotel Plaza Blvd and turn rt onto Hotel Plaza. At the 535 intersection turn left. Go to Palm Parkway and turn right and stay on Palm. Palm will turn into Turkey Lake, and both roads will run parallell to I4. Then turn right onto Hollywood Way which will take you into the parking area. Theres a big Universal sign at the intersection.

Option 3. From wherever yoru staying, take 536 (which is after the Carribean Beach coming from DHS or after Typhoon Lagoon coming from DTD.Both are right lane exits) to International Drive. Take I Drive north to the Universal Blvd cut off which is at the begining of Pointe Orlando. Youll see a sign on the right that says to Universal Blvd. Turn left onto Universal Blvd from Pointe Place and follow Universal Blvd to Universals parking lots.

 

[damo]

We take option 2.

 

[DOOM1001]

I agree,it's pretty rare to find slowdowns between Disney and Universal,if Universal was further north getting closer to Downtown then yes there would be more.As stated before there are plenty of ground streets that will get you between the resorts without having to get on I-4.The Palm parkway/Turkey lake rd stretch has little to no traffic.The same goes for the International Drive to Universal blvd option,just make sure you get on Universal blvd at Pointe Plaza blvd just past the convention center as International Drive north of the Convention center will have traffic,sometimes lots of traffic.In option 1 mentioned above you can also get off I-4 at Sand lake rd and turn left and then turn right on Turkey lake which goes directly to Universal.Another option not mentioned is to turn left from Hotel Plaza blvd to 535,go straight for about 5-10 minutes and turn right on Sand Lake rd and turn left on Turkey lake to Universal.

 

[Planogirl]

I have often driven back and forth between the two parks and I-4 shouldn't be too bad but sometimes something happens and it can get backed up. It's a heavily traveled road so that is to be expected.

I would never use International Drive. We've gotten caught up in terrible traffic jams a few times and it's not worth it. I use Universal Drive and hit International Drive via connecting roads if we need to go there.

I also like option 2.

 

[DisneyLandMan]

Not to change the topic, but how long does it typically take to get from say Downtown Disney area hotel to Universal?

 

[DOOM1001]

Not to change the topic, but how long does it typically take to get from say Downtown Disney area hotel to Universal?

10-20 minutes,if you get on I-4 at 535 and the traffic is flowing you'll get there in about 10 minutes as it's a 7 mile drive on I-4.Taking the ground streets that have little to no traffic might be an easier drive not having to deal with the I-4 traffic but it's obviously going to take longer as you won't be doing 60-65mph and you'll likely get a couple of red lights.

 

[DisneyLandMan]

10-20 minutes,if you get on I-4 at 535 and the traffic is flowing you'll get there in about 10 minutes as it's a 7 mile drive on I-4.Taking the ground streets that have little to no traffic might be an easier drive not having to deal with the I-4 traffic but it's obviously going to take longer as you won't be doing 60-65mph and you'll likely get a couple of red lights.

Thanx a bunch. I am staying in a Downtown Disney hotel and will be driving to Universal 2 days....Just wanted to get an idea. So a mid day break at the hotel is doable.

 

[PammyK]

Thanx a bunch. I am staying in a Downtown Disney hotel and will be driving to Universal 2 days....Just wanted to get an idea. So a mid day break at the hotel is doable.

When thinking of a midday break, don't forget to factor in the walk time from the park to your car. You'll have to trek out of the park, through Citywalk and into the garage. Depending on who is traveling with you, you might be better off taking a late afternoon break enjoying Happy Hour at a place like Finnegan's or Backwater or one of the Citywalk restaurants/bars.

 

[damo]

Thanx a bunch. I am staying in a Downtown Disney hotel and will be driving to Universal 2 days....Just wanted to get an idea. So a mid day break at the hotel is doable.

Watch for park closing times. If you are going in the fall, it could be around 7 pm. If you are taking a break back to the downtown Disney area, you are going to be expecting probably at least a 3 hour break.

 

[DOOM1001]

The last responses are very true,my driving estimates are driving times from the general Lake Buena Vista/DTD area to say the Universal parking toll booth.From the parking garage to the Universal parks themselves can be 15 minutes or more as you're talking about the biggest parking garages on earth and walking through Citywalk as well.So actual times to go from your hotel room to your car to then get to Universal,park and walk to the parks would be a good 40-60 minutes.

 

[jarrdisney]

I live 10-15 minutes from Disney depending on where I'm going and less than 10 minutes to Universal. I drive back and forth on regular basis.

I can almost unequivocally say that I4 will be your best bet unless there's an accident or crazy tourist (summer) traffic. Even if you are staying right near the downtown disney entrance near 535, I4 will be faster than palm parkway/turkey lake.

If there's insane traffic ahead near the sand lake exit, than I would get off there, but expect an extra 5 minutes or so taking that exit, compared to the next exit for Universal.

At the end of the day, you shouldn't have a problem at all in Oct regardless.

 

[aubriee]

The last responses are very true,my driving estimates are driving times from the general Lake Buena Vista/DTD area to say the Universal parking toll booth.From the parking garage to the Universal parks themselves can be 15 minutes or more as you're talking about the biggest parking garages on earth and walking through Citywalk as well.So actual times to go from your hotel room to your car to then get to Universal,park and walk to the parks would be a good 40-60 minutes.

We'll be going over to Universal one day next week from AKL. I'll have my mom's ECV in the trunk of our rental car. She has a Texas handicap tag that we'll be taking with us. Where is the handicapped parking at Universal?

I hate driving in any kind of traffic, so will be using the Option 2 route someone above mentioned. But how do I get from AKL to Buena Vista Drive? (I've never driven down there and am a little nervous.)

 

[DOOM1001]

We'll be going over to Universal one day next week from AKL. I'll have my mom's ECV in the trunk of our rental car. She has a Texas handicap tag that we'll be taking with us. Where is the handicapped parking at Universal?

I hate driving in any kind of traffic, so will be using the Option 2 route someone above mentioned. But how do I get from AKL to Buena Vista Drive? (I've never driven down there and am a little nervous.)

The road that leads in and out of AKL is Osceola Parkway,one of the first exits you will see as you head out will be Buena Vista dr.It will also be the exit for the All Star resorts,the All Stars are to the right,you'll turn left and follow that road straight.Once you get to DTD near the marketplace the road will become Hotel Plaza blvd.,just make sure to stay to the right and not go straight.As far as handicapped parking I believe after you pay for parking at the booths it will be to the left,ask the attendant to be sure.

 

[jarrdisney]

We'll be going over to Universal one day next week from AKL. I'll have my mom's ECV in the trunk of our rental car. She has a Texas handicap tag that we'll be taking with us. Where is the handicapped parking at Universal?

I hate driving in any kind of traffic, so will be using the Option 2 route someone above mentioned. But how do I get from AKL to Buena Vista Drive? (I've never driven down there and am a little nervous.)

You'll sit in more traffic and lights on buena vista drive and hotel plaza blvd, then you ever would on I4.

 

[patster734]

I'm going to be in Orlando for a total of four weeks this fall, staying on Disney property. I had planned to go to Universal on Sundays because I figured that was the best day for traffic on I-4 during the 8AM hour. However, on the days I am going to Universal, I'm going to stay all day rather than having to drive all the way back, take a break, and go back again. So since this will cause me to miss four weeks of NFL games, I'm thinking of trying to go on Mondays instead.

Basically my question is, is the traffic headed into town on I-4 during the 8AM hour on weekdays completely awful? If it is, maybe I'll just go ahead and do the drive back in the middle of the day on Sunday. I don't really want to try watching at the Nascar restaurant because everyone will be trying to do that, I won't know whether the game will even be on there, and I don't feel comfortable taking up a table for three and a half hours during what is a busy time.

You can also watch NFL games at NBA City, and I've heard also at Hard Rock Cafe. If the only reason you plan to drive back is to watch NFL games, I'd go ahead and get a table at either NBA City or Nascar (possibly at HRC too). We watched an NFL game at NBA City a few years ago, and it wasn't crowded at all. Another benefit of watching the game at NBA City is that many of the booths have their own personnal tvs, so if the game you want to watch isn't on one of the main tvs, you should be able to watch it on your booth's tv.

 

[truck1]

We'll be going over to Universal one day next week from AKL. I'll have my mom's ECV in the trunk of our rental car. She has a Texas handicap tag that we'll be taking with us. Where is the handicapped parking at Universal?

I hate driving in any kind of traffic, so will be using the Option 2 route someone above mentioned. But how do I get from AKL to Buena Vista Drive? (I've never driven down there and am a little nervous.)

When you leave AKL, stay on Osceola Parkway, past the All Star/Blizzard Beach exit. Go to Victory way. On the right will be the ESPN Sports Complex. Turn left. Take Victory to BVD. Youll pass Art of Animation,Pop Century and the Carribean Beach. Where Victory ends,(its maybe 2 mile long)youll see a fire station in front of you and DHS will be to your left. Turn right. This puts you about 2-3 miles further down BVD. If you are traveling early in the morn, say 8-9 am, there pretty much no traffic on BVD. Its all headed to the parks.