Trying to fit in Universal on trip. Help!

[Alexsandra]

Hi everyone. I am traveling with my husband and 2 boys (5 and 9 y.o.) I am flying into Orlando on Feb 29 and leave on March 09. That gives me 8 full days of vacation time (the other days are travel days that are completely wasted). I am planning on going to Disney for most of my trip.

I visited US alone with my husband in Sept 2013 and then went back with the kids in Feb 2014. My husband and kids absolutely love it and they really would love to go back, especially with the add-on of Diagon Alley which we still have not seen We stayed on property the last two times and got early entry to HP and EP which was great. I had purchased an Annual Pass and got great discounts for both vacation.

With the Canadian dollar being so bad this year, and because we are staying longer than our usual 7 days, we are on a tighter budget. We like to stay on Disney Property to take advantage of ME and not have to rent a car. My husband finds it relaxing not to have to drive. Last time we taxied from WDW over to US and spend our last 2 nights at Hard Rock and then took taxi to the airport. After calculating hotel, transport and ticket prices for US I just don't think we can afford it this time around. I am waiting to see if US releases any discounts for that time a year but it is a busier time as it is Spring Break. I looked at staying at Cabana Bay which has more decent prices than the other onsite properties but we don't get EP and it still less expensive to stay at Disney the whole time.

My husband thinks we should just skip US this year but my boys will be disappointed. Should I just stay at Disney the whole time and get a 1 day park to park ticket and try to find transportation to the park for one day? Help!

 

[alopez926]

Depends on how much of the park you want to see. I wouldn't think the time of year you are going will be very busy as most spring breaks in the US will start after you leave, but you should check to see if they have any competitions or conferences that might bump up attendance. What if you started your trip for one night at Universal (HRH, RPH, or PB). You get the express passes for both your arrival and departure day. You would have to pay to get to the hotel from the airport (about $45) and then for a taxi that will take you to WDW (about $35). We were able to do as much as we wanted in both parks in one day with the express passes. It's $600 for 4 park to park tickets for one day (without the express passes), so it's going to be an expensive day no matter how you slice it! I'm not sure I'd let the $80 in additional transportation costs stop me if it's something I really wanted to do.

 

[sk8jdgca]

Using uber would cut down on your transportation cost

 

[Alexsandra]

Depends on how much of the park you want to see. I wouldn't think the time of year you are going will be very busy as most spring breaks in the US will start after you leave, but you should check to see if they have any competitions or conferences that might bump up attendance. What if you started your trip for one night at Universal (HRH, RPH, or PB). You get the express passes for both your arrival and departure day. You would have to pay to get to the hotel from the airport (about $45) and then for a taxi that will take you to WDW (about $35). We were able to do as much as we wanted in both parks in one day with the express passes. It's $600 for 4 park to park tickets for one day (without the express passes), so it's going to be an expensive day no matter how you slice it! I'm not sure I'd let the $80 in additional transportation costs stop me if it's something I really wanted to do.

We are not big thrill ride seekers so we usually skip all the major roller coasters. But we do love the simulator rides like Transformers and Spiderman. With that being said I think we can do both parks in one day. But you are right, seems like a lot of money either way! It definitely is a better value to stay onsite especially with the benefit of EP.

 

[Alexsandra]

Using uber would cut down on your transportation cost

I heard they banned Uber from entering all resorts at Disney and US!? Plus I need to use free wifi if not I will pay a crazy amount in Roaming fees because I have a Canadian phone plan, so don't know how that will work if I need to hitch a ride after my day at US.

 

[macraven]

if you go to the darkside on the weekend, you will be hitting mardi graus there.

 

[Alexsandra]

if you go to the darkside on the weekend, you will be hitting mardi graus there.

That is so cool. Now I really want to go!