Transportation: Staying at US/IoA then Disney Resort

[rsagusti]

I think this is my first post, and I've tried to find the answer to my question but can't seem to find it. I'm sure its been asked before so please don't throw rotten fruit at me

We are going to be flying into Orlando then first staying at a Holiday Inn outside of Universal Studios for 3 nights. Then we will be staying at Disney Caribbean Beach Resort for 6 nights.

We have done Disney many times, but never Universal.

We travel with a big stroller as we do the parks hard core. We would prefer not to rent a car for this reason because it would be to $$$ to get a vehicle big enough for a stroller and luggage for 10 days.

Is there a better way to do the transportation other than this plan:

Mears shuttle from Airport > Universal Area
Mears Shuttle from Universal Area > Airport
Disney Magical Express from Airport to Disney

Can I do a 1 way Mears Shuttle from the airport to universal, then a 1 way mears shuttle from Universal right to our Disney Hotel?

Or is there a better way to do all this. Better = cheaper and faster than taking 2 buses

 

[Lynne G]

Not really. Most use a town car service, and do a 3 leg, one from airport, one transfer, then back to airport. May want to see if Tony's or another service is just as cheap, and is only your family. Some dislike Mears, others find it ok. Many choose uber now, but with a big stroller, you may need an Uber XL, and then price, not sure of. Can always check though. There's always an Uber driver available around Universal and Disney.

No rotten tomato or other thrown here. We're a friendly bunch,

and to the DIS and this forum.

 

[keishashadow]

I think this is my first post, and I've tried to find the answer to my question but can't seem to find it. I'm sure its been asked before so please don't throw rotten fruit at me

We are going to be flying into Orlando then first staying at a Holiday Inn outside of Universal Studios for 3 nights. Then we will be staying at Disney Caribbean Beach Resort for 6 nights.

We have done Disney many times, but never Universal.

We travel with a big stroller as we do the parks hard core. We would prefer not to rent a car for this reason because it would be to $$$ to get a vehicle big enough for a stroller and luggage for 10 days.

Is there a better way to do the transportation other than this plan:

Mears shuttle from Airport > Universal Area
Mears Shuttle from Universal Area > Airport
Disney Magical Express from Airport to Disney

Can I do a 1 way Mears Shuttle from the airport to universal, then a 1 way mears shuttle from Universal right to our Disney Hotel?

Or is there a better way to do all this. Better = cheaper and faster than taking 2 buses

First off, to the Disboards!

Reading your post, confused, do you mean for 2nd leg of transportation:

Mears from Universal to CBR?

In figuring transportation costs, it does depend on how many people in your party for Mears. A taxi likely is less expensive but still in area of $50+. They are used to tourists and all their gear, but always a good idea to edit luggage. All disney resorts have convenient laundry facilities.

Does the Holiday Inn charge for parking? You should be able to find a good deal on a rental car (check out the links on the transportation board for monthly codes that are working well). Alamo is good choice since it's easy to return onsite at WDW at either Care Care Center or Dolphin area. A three night rental can price out the same as a week factoring in daily rates/weekly & coupons. Make sure to price the rental out for both time periods.

If you decide not to rent, Uber is typically less than both a taxi and mears for more than 1 person to WDW from your hotel.

Good luck.

 

[macraven]

Welcome and happy your first post came to us on the UO side

The others gave you the same advice that I would
Only thing I can add is, call the hotel direct and ask if they provide free shuttles to their hotel

There is a company that transports guests from the airport to the offsite hotels in Orlando but do make stops along the way at other hotels

 

[rsagusti]

Either leg of the trip really. I'm nervous about renting a car because last time our suitcase and double stroller was a really tight squeeze, and that was when we did laundry on site as well for another 10 day trip. The double stroller is a beast, but renting a double stroller there plus a rental car is even more expensive than the Mears shuttle.

However I had no idea that you could return Alamo onsite at WDW!! That's good news, so maybe i'll continue to explore that option.

I'll have to look at the Uber and the size of the vehicles. but then we'd need to bring our carseats as well (5 year old and 8 year old). And yes I realize my 8 year old should walk, but we max out our park days and I don't want to be carrying a passed out 50lb kid at the end of a long day, that's when we actually use the stroller).

First off, to the Disboards!

Reading your post, confused, do you mean for 2nd leg of transportation:

Mears from Universal to CBR?

In figuring transportation costs, it does depend on how many people in your party for Mears. A taxi likely is less expensive but still in area of $50+. They are used to tourists and all their gear, but always a good idea to edit luggage. All disney resorts have convenient laundry facilities.

Does the Holiday Inn charge for parking? You should be able to find a good deal on a rental car (check out the links on the transportation board for monthly codes that are working well). Alamo is good choice since it's easy to return onsite at WDW at either Care Care Center or Dolphin area. A three night rental can price out the same as a week factoring in daily rates/weekly & coupons. Make sure to price the rental out for both time periods.

If you decide not to rent, Uber is typically less than both a taxi and mears for more than 1 person to WDW from your hotel.

Good luck.

 

[rsagusti]

oh one more question, will MEARS go from a Universal hotel to a WDW hotel? Or do we need to take it to the airport and get on the magical express??

 

[macraven]

since you are booked at disney, yes, you could return to the airport after your UO portion of the vacation and take the Magical Express bus to the disney hotel.

 

[keishashadow]

oh one more question, will MEARS go from a Universal hotel to a WDW hotel? Or do we need to take it to the airport and get on the magical express??

you can schedule mears or call a taxi or uber from any hotel in Orlando to WDW

Having a car can help with food budget too, easy to stop for kid-supplies/water/snacks even food places that might be more familiar to your kids' liking than what you'd find at the parks.

 

[rsagusti]

After a little research it looks like there is no UBER XL at the Airport for some reason. Maybe that will change before our trip. So we'll have to take either a Taxi or a Mears Shuttle or something cause we need more room than a Sedan. One way that looks to be $50-$70. THEN we can take an UberXL from our Universal hotel to our Disney Hotel for about $25. So all in all that looks like the easiest / cheapest way to go. If we rent a Car it will be about $150 for the 3 days for an SUV (needed for our stroller/luggage).

Not worried about food budget cause we get the Disney dining plan cause we love the food there!!

 

[Lynne G]

So glad you have a plan. Check the transportation forum, there's a thread about Uber, and it will give you the most updated info about what's available from the airport. Have an awesome trip.

 

[Squirlz]

After a little research it looks like there is no UBER XL at the Airport for some reason. Maybe that will change before our trip. So we'll have to take either a Taxi or a Mears Shuttle or something cause we need more room than a Sedan. One way that looks to be $50-$70. THEN we can take an UberXL from our Universal hotel to our Disney Hotel for about $25. So all in all that looks like the easiest / cheapest way to go. If we rent a Car it will be about $150 for the 3 days for an SUV (needed for our stroller/luggage).

Not worried about food budget cause we get the Disney dining plan cause we love the food there!!

Uber can't pick up at MCO. You can go to the Hyatt valet area and get a full size SUV that will take you to the Universal area for $55..

 

[rsagusti]

How far is the Hyatt Valet Area from baggage claim? Is it a lot of walking? or is it attached to the airport?

Uber can't pick up at MCO. You can go to the Hyatt valet area and get a full size SUV that will take you to the Universal area for $55..

 

[Lynne G]

How far is the Hyatt Valet Area from baggage claim? Is it a lot of walking? or is it attached to the airport?

Not far at all. We stayed at the Hyatt when flying in very late for a cruise the next day. You can see the hotel clearly from the baggage area, and there's signs directing you to it.

 

[bumbershoot]

Since the 8 year old only uses the stroller late in the day when he's tired, why hassle with a double stroller all day? Get a stroller for the 5 year old and bring something smaller for the end of the day to get him out of the parks. Hook an umbrella stroller onto the 5 year old's stroller. It seems like such a pain to deal with a beast for an hour or so's use each day.

And remember that kids change. And they use what's available. He might be totally fine on this trip. He might be fine if there's no stroller available.

We let ds decide about the Volo for our first WDW trip when he was 6.5. Even though the year before he still needed it at night at disneyland, he never asked to bring it to the WDW parks. It sat folded in the hallway the whole stay.

 

[rsagusti]

The stroller is actually unbelievably easy to deal with, an umbrella stroller would actually be much harder to push around. We do plan to try and leave it behind in our room for a couple days to see how they do, but I'd rather have it and not need it, than not have it and need it!

Anyway I decided to book a SuperShuttle, executive meet and greet, the kids will be excited to find their names on a little card held by our driver, and it was only $55 for our own private vehicle. We'll do an UberXL from Universal to WDW. I'm excited that we can skip the shuttles and multiple stops!

Since the 8 year old only uses the stroller late in the day when he's tired, why hassle with a double stroller all day? Get a stroller for the 5 year old and bring something smaller for the end of the day to get him out of the parks. Hook an umbrella stroller onto the 5 year old's stroller. It seems like such a pain to deal with a beast for an hour or so's use each day.

And remember that kids change. And they use what's available. He might be totally fine on this trip. He might be fine if there's no stroller available.

We let ds decide about the Volo for our first WDW trip when he was 6.5. Even though the year before he still needed it at night at disneyland, he never asked to bring it to the WDW parks. It sat folded in the hallway the whole stay.

 

[Lynne G]

Nice, and that's a good price for your family and all the luggage/strollers you'll have and coming and going without stopping for others is awesome. So much easier, particularly when with kids. Then a free magical bus back to the airport. Easy and less stressful. Enjoy your vacation.