Universal and Disney in a week ...where to stay?

[Dunegirl50]

Hi we are heading to Orlando end of Oct. to November. We want to do 2 days at Universal and then hit the Disney parks for 3 to 4 days. We will start at Universal first. What is the recommendation to stay with doing both parks? Is there somewhere that has shuttles to both parks or would we need to get a hotel near Universal then transfer over to Disney property? Thanks in advance for any help with this. We are trying not to rent a car unless we have to and would like to get Downtown Disney in there as well.

 

[CynBeth]

I would stay at a Universal premier hotel so you get the early entry and express pass for those few days and then stay on Disney property for the rest of your trip. Sorry I can’t answer your other question about a shuttle we always rent a car as we do a few other area attractions along with Disney. We visit every few years and go for a little longer than you are so take one night for Disney Springs which is what Downtown Disney is now called. With such a short trip I don’t know if I would take park time away for that.

 

[DisneyMama811]

We are doing Universal & Disney in January but in opposite order of you, starting with staying at AoA for 8 days then will take a Mears town car or an Uber to a hotel at Universal (Dockside Inn) for 3 nights, Universal has a complimentary shuttle from their hotels to the airport

 

[jods]

We did disney and universal last year and will again this August. We start at disney, on property, then hire a car.to take us to universal. We stay at a premiere hotel at universal for the express passes. We end at universal because we don't want to start with express and then go to Disney and wait on line.

 

[CarolynFH]

I agree with the suggestion to book a UOR deluxe hotel (Hard Rock, Portofino Bay, Royal Pacific) to get the Unlimited Express Pass for everyone registered to the room from checkin day through park closing on checkout day. Look at the website and do the math. Twice now we've found it less expensive to book a deluxe room for 4 or 5 adults than to pay for the UEPs for everyone - and we didn't actually sleep there!

 

[gorkt]

I agree that the express pass is well worth getting, but if you want to save some money, you could stay at Dockside/Surfside, and get a throw away room for one night at one of the premier hotels. They gets you two days of express pass and is usually cheaper than buy express pass for those two days. You have to make a separate trip to check in to the premier hotel though.

 

[Tom_E_D]

Hi we are heading to Orlando end of Oct. to November. We want to do 2 days at Universal and then hit the Disney parks for 3 to 4 days. We will start at Universal first. What is the recommendation to stay with doing both parks? Is there somewhere that has shuttles to both parks or would we need to get a hotel near Universal then transfer over to Disney property? Thanks in advance for any help with this. We are trying not to rent a car unless we have to and would like to get Downtown Disney in there as well.

There are hotels that offer shuttle bus service to both Disney and Universal. However, I haven't heard of any that offer good shuttle service to both. Often, the shuttle will offer just a ride or two in each direction per day. It won't necessarily arrive in time for rope drop or stay until after fireworks, and you may have to stop at other hotels on your way to and from the parks. For some hotels near Universal, you may get better service than that for Universal, but not for Disney. For hotels near Disney, vice versa. Some of the shuttles drop off and pick up only at the TTC (Ticket and Transportation Center) at Disney and you'll have to then use Disney transportation to get to the parks. As others have recommended, I suggest you spend the Disney part of your trip at a Disney resort and the Universal part of your trip at or near Universal. Believe it or not, the Disney resorts have the best free transportation to the Disney parks and the Universal resorts have the best free transportation to the Universal parks. You would have to pay for your transportation while switching hotels. I've done two Disney and Universal trips and I switched hotels both times: from Pop Century to the Doubletree on Major Blvd. near Universal one time, and from All-Star Movies to Universal's Aventura the other. (I've also done several trips to Disney or Universal, but not both.)

Getting free express passes for staying at a Universal Premier Resort is a nice perk. It can be cheaper than buying express passes separately. But if paying for a Premier hotel isn't in your budget, I think you should do just fine staying elsewhere and waiting in the standby lines. That's what I've always done and it sounds like you'll be traveling after Fall Break and before Jersey week. That may not be a very quiet time for Universal, but it shouldn't be very busy either. It would help if your Universal days are weekdays instead of weekends, but that may not be the case.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Tom_E_D]

We are doing Universal & Disney in January but in opposite order of you, starting with staying at AoA for 8 days then will take a Mears town car or an Uber to a hotel at Universal (Dockside Inn) for 3 nights, Universal has a complimentary shuttle from their hotels to the airport

Since when has Universal offered a "complimentary" shuttle to the airport. I've stayed at Universal hotels and always paid to get to the airport, either a Mears shuttle or an Uber. Did I overlook that perk or is it a recent change? I knew that you could book a shuttle through your Universal hotel, but thought you had to pay for it.

 

[DisneyMama811]

Since when has Universal offered a "complimentary" shuttle to the airport. I've stayed at Universal hotels and always paid to get to the airport, either a Mears shuttle or an Uber. Did I overlook that perk or is it a recent change? I knew that you could book a shuttle through your Universal hotel, but thought you had to pay for it.

I don't know I haven't been to universal in over 20 years since I was a child, I was looking at packages last week and I swear it said there was a free shuttle... I'll have to look further into it

 

[Tom_E_D]

I don't know I haven't been to universal in over 20 years since I was a child, I was looking at packages last week and I swear it said there was a free shuttle... I'll have to look further into it

They have free shuttles . . . to the Universal parks. Is that what you read? You may be right about a free shuttle to the airport, but I never heard of it before.

 

[DisneyMama811]

They have free shuttles . . . to the Universal parks. Is that what you read? You may be right about a free shuttle to the airport, but I never heard of it before.

no I went back and looked, they do have a shuttle to the airport called Superstar Shuttle but it's not free... I had to do a lot of digging to actually find the price though, it was a bit misleading

 

[Tom_E_D]

no I went back and looked, they do have a shuttle to the airport called Superstar Shuttle but it's not free... I had to do a lot of digging to actually find the price though, it was a bit misleading

Most paid airport shuttles save money if you are traveling alone. However, I seem to remember your saying in another thread that there are four of you. In that case, it's probably cheaper to Uber/Lyft/taxi to the airport.

 

[DisneyMama811]

Most paid airport shuttles save money if you are traveling alone. However, I seem to remember your saying in another thread that there are four of you. In that case, it's probably cheaper to Uber/Lyft/taxi to the airport.

yea the universal shuttle is $23/adult and $18/child so $82 for the 4 of us.... I'm hoping an Uber would be cheaper than that!!

 

[macraven]

Hi we are heading to Orlando end of Oct. to November. We want to do 2 days at Universal and then hit the Disney parks for 3 to 4 days. We will start at Universal first. What is the recommendation to stay with doing both parks?

With hhn being held during your planned time period, book your onsite hotel room asap

Rooms do book up due to that event for quite a few of their hotels

If you stay at one of the premier hotels, you do receive free express passes for rides and shows in the park

Monday and Tuesday usually has lesser crowds in the parks

 

[bridget]

We used the Universal shuttle that the concierge told us about to get to the airport. For a family of 4, it wasn’t much more than Uber. We were there New Years week and it was so busy, we liked knowing that we we’re getting picked up at a specific time. Sometimes the Uber wait was over 45 min. and prices were high- we needed an Uber XL due to luggage.

When you get there, you’ll be able to see Uber prices based on demand and wait times. You definitely have lots of options to get to the airport.

 

[rwdavis2]

Hard Rock at Universal. You can walk to the park and the service is excellent. Rivals about anything at WDW.

 

[BLTtinkerbell]

I like the idea of staying on property whenever possible.

WDW has many different options in different price ranges.

My family is trying Universal for the first time. I booked Portofino for my upcoming trip based on reviews and felt it would be a good fit for my family, as we are used to deluxe resorts & DVC at WDW. I like that express pass is included and think that will be a huge benefit with summer crowds.

I would book as soon as possible, to get the room type/resort you want.

Happy planning!