Universal & Disney Cruise...Too Much?

[SandyinMonterey]

Has anybody done the Disney Cruise and Universal together? Am I being too ambitious and over-extending ourselves? We are flying from West Coast to MCO day before cruise and staying at MCO Hyatt and started thinking, "we're in the area, why not?!" Not sure if spending another day at MCO Hyatt to go to Universal is worth it or maybe stay at Universal one night? If we go to Universal, it would probably be after the cruise so I wouldn't have to take daughter after school. Any thoughts? Any advice?

 

[tink too]

If you have the vacation time, I would go for it! We think like you, since we've travelled all this way (from Scotland) we're going to make the most of it. If you stay even just 1 night at a Universal hotel (except Cabana Bay, I believe - but could be wrong), you would benefit from "front of the line" access to most rides, too. This counts on your check-in AND check out days.

We stayed on site at Universal for the first time in January after a WDW stay/DCL cruise on the Dream and enjoyed each part of our vacation.

 

[Weedy]

How many days is your cruise?
3 or 4 day I say go for it.
I'm always exhausted after a 7 day.

 

[bumbershoot]

Do it!

And stay onsite. Especially for a shorter visit, you WANT that unlimited Express Pass and early entrance that staying at a Deluxe gives you.

 

[AngelDisney]

Nothing is too much! I pay airfare which is not cheap to fly to Orlando. I always try to make the most out of it. In 2011, we did 3 nights at Universal (We should have stayed onsite. We stayed onsite last year and it made a big difference.), 8 nights at WDW, then a 4-night cruise on Disney Dream, and one night at Port Canaveral visiting Kennedy Space Center. I have to say, at the end, I was so ready to go home, but we had a wonderful time. Wish the cruise was longer though. Cruising is much more relaxing!

Go for it and have a magical time! Have fun planning!!

 

[ShelsGoingToDisney]

We just did this the end of May! Flew in to MCO for our 7 night Eastern Caribbean on the Fantasy. After the cruise (Saturday) we rented a car at the Budget near the port and drove to Universal, stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel so we had the Express Pass. We had a Buy 2-Get 3 Days tickets from Universal. After having lunch we headed over to Universal (about 3ish) and stayed until between 9-10. On Sunday we did the parks with a couple hour pool break in the afternoon. Monday we headed back to the parks until about 3:30 and then headed to the airport for our 6:30 flight.

We had a great time. It was hot and very crowded. I would prefer to see the Harry Potter stuff in smaller crowds, but it wasn't too much for after a cruise. My kids are 15, 12, and 10. If you have small children it may be more tiresome, but it was fine for us.

 

[Ofinn]

We have done it three times. A couple nights at Universal before and after a 7 night cruise. We had annual passes which at Universal are not much more than a 3 day ticket. We travel from the West Coast and we never stay less than 10 days. We have spent 17 days in Orlando on one trip. I would rather have one or two long vacations a year. We never do short weekend trips like most people that just doesn't feel like a vacation to me.

 

[HollenAngi]

We are doing a 5 night cruise in January then heading to Universal for 3 days.

 

[timrousbeastie]

We always stay at WDW before and after the cruise. Both Universal and WDW allow you to use your multi-day passes within a 14 day window. We rent a car and leave WDW between noon and 1 pm the day of embarkation which allows for a nice breakfast, morning in one of the parks, and plenty of time to get to the (almost empty) terminal. If you are able to arrive early the day before the cruise and leave late in the day after debarkation, a 3 day pass will be worth it. And tickets for each additional day will be very low additional cost. Just speaking for my own family, the thought of going directly from the cruise to MCO and flying back to Europe would be too sad. An extra day or two at the parks is the perfect way to give the vacation a happy ending.

 

[mumto2]

We did two days at Universal last fall prior to our 4-night Dream cruise last Thanksgiving. We had a great time, BUT we started the cruise exhausted. My ankles and feet were very swollen for the first two days on the ship. We are doing a seven night this year and not adding parks on.

We drove down, so spent Friday night in Georgia, got up and finished the drive, were at the Royal Pacific around lunch and headed straight to the parks. Staying onsite got us comp express passes,and early admission the following day. Without these, there is no way we'd have gotten to see/do everything we wanted. We left the parks on Sunday evening, drove to Titusville and then boarded the next day for our cruise. I don't think doing the parks afterwards would have worked for us, but before the cruise was good. Have a great trip!

 

[chimo2u]

We are doing our 7 night western carribean Fantasy cruise October 31-November 7, then heading to Boardwalk Inn/WDW after disembarking 7-11th then heading to hrh at universal for 3 nights to end out our vacation (11-14!) we are spending so much to fly from Alberta Canada ($1900 for 2) and I can't imagine being so close to my favourite parks and not stopping in! This will give another week of fun after the cruise to look forward too! DH has never been to Universal Florida, so I'm looking forward to sharing it with him

 

[DISNEY FANTASY]

I have done it and I say do it, we did a week at Universal, but included sea world and a water park in they, and staying at a universal part hotel we got first in line access which was a must, then we did the DCL cruise then WDW.

Do stay on site for the extra benefits there.

 

[robin19871]

We are spending 4 days at HR Universal before our 7 day Fantasy cruise. We cant wait.

 

[jlemieu1]

I recommend doing it too. If anyone in your family is a Harry Potter fan they will love it. I also recommend staying on site for the Express pass. Portofino is our favorite location because it is very quite.

 

[seacruise]

I would definitely extend your trip. We fly from the west coast as well and always add on some extra days to make all the travel worth it.

 

[algae]

Yup, we went to the Portofino after a DCL sailing so we could go to Universal. Spent 1.5 days there which was just about enough time. As others mention, it is worth it to stay at one of the Universal Hotels to get the express pass. That's the only way to cover it all in 1.5 days.

 

[MUN]

We spent 4 nights / 3 days at Universal b/4 our 7 day EC cruise this month and it worked out great! We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel which gave us the Express Pass. We took a cab from the Orlando airport to HRH and rented a car from Hertz to get from the hotel to the port. Hertz is on site and it couldn't have been more convenient.

MUN

 

[mevelandry]

Go for it! Universal is awesome!

 

[The Sasquatch]

Definitely do it! We normally do disney for 2-3 nights pre cruise then 2 nights at universal post. Definitely stay on site to get fast passes and the wizarding world is worth the admission alone!

 

[Madame]

We are spending 4 days at HR Universal before our 7 day Fantasy cruise. We cant wait.

We are going to do the exact same in Aug 2016!