WDW/Universal split stays? Suggestions please!

[monica9]

Looking to do a split now that our oldest will be 12 and the Disney rides are just not cutting it for her. For those that do a split, what is the cheapest way to do this for a 7 night trip? Would like to spend most of our time at WDW but at least 2 Universal park days. Ideally we'd like to spend our WDW days staying at a Disney hotel but open to all suggestions. Trying to do this the cheapest possible way
Thanks!

 

[Wild4Walt]

We're planning a Disney/Universal split stay for 2021 so I have been looking at pricing for 2020 to get a budget started.

We decided that we would probably do 2 nights at UAO at Sapphire Falls ( this seems to be the closest to a Disney moderate ) and then Coronado at the Gran Destino Tower.

We picked Sapphire Falls not only for price but because it also offered early entry ( I know some of the resorts also offer Express Pass with the package but we are going in off-season and didn't feel we'd need that ) and you could get the water taxi to City/Walk.

I also priced out the DoubleTree at Universal ( which is lower priced if cost is an issue ) and staying at Disney the whole time and just taking a cab over to UAO ( this was the highest priced option of the 3 ).

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Unfortunately, on-property rooms at WDW for budget minded travelers are hard to come by. If you want to stay on property it's best to figure $200+ per night (including parking and such) at the All Star resorts. YMMV depending on time of year. Especially if doing a split stay, I'd look into renting something thru Airbnb or VRBO. Good locations are plentiful. You can get a whole 3-4 bedroom house with a private pool for less than what you'll pay to stay at an All Star resort.

 

[monica9]

We're planning a Disney/Universal split stay for 2021 so I have been looking at pricing for 2020 to get a budget started.

We decided that we would probably do 2 nights at UAO at Sapphire Falls ( this seems to be the closest to a Disney moderate ) and then Coronado at the Gran Destino Tower.

We picked Sapphire Falls not only for price but because it also offered early entry ( I know some of the resorts also offer Express Pass with the package but we are going in off-season and didn't feel we'd need that ) and you could get the water taxi to City/Walk.

I also priced out the DoubleTree at Universal ( which is lower priced if cost is an issue ) and staying at Disney the whole time and just taking a cab over to UAO ( this was the highest priced option of the 3 ).

Thanks for the reply. We too are looking to do the split in 2021. Hoping for end of Jan or beginning of Feb before President's day.
I was wondering if staying at the deluxe Univeral resort was really worth it for the express pass. I didn't realize you can stay at one of their moderate type resorts and get early entry. I'd rather go as cheap as possible for this next trip in regards to hotels since we won't be spending time in the pool during that time. Just got back a couple days ago from a 10 day trip to disney. Although staying at the Poly was wonderful, I can't see spending that money when being in the pool. Will probably go value this time around.

 

[mtrib]

We have done split stay twice. And once just took Disney shuttle to Universal. Here are my thoughts:
1-Splurge and stay at one of the Deluxe resorts and get the Unlimited Express Pass. Look at your dates and AP availability at those hotels. I upgraded to an AP for $40 and saved a huge amount (it was 1/2 price per night for our nights!) on the hotel which made it cheaper than their cheaper hotels. Just be sure you aren't there during any blackout dates.
2-The Express Pass is really great. We were there last time during a low crowd time but many of the rides had hour plus waits without EP. Remember that park hours are much shorter so waiting in line feels more frustrating. With EP you don't need a TP at all. Just walk to the next thing you want to do and get in line. Often the EP line takes 20+ minutes.
3-You should still do the early entry hour because WWHP is so much nicer without the crowds. We went to Universal first this time. 1/2 day on arrival day, full day, then I had a few hours in WWHP the last morning before moving to Disney while everyone else slept in. We thought we would head to Disney late that afternoon or evening but my family was done with Universal and all the screen rides.
4-Like Disney the portions are large so you may be able to share meals unless you have a teenage boy like me. You can take snacks in to the park with you. Breakfast of granola bars, etc in the room just like at Disney to save money.
5-Hopefully you can find some value resort deals at Disney. Or a Priceline Express deal as your dates are closer to help even more.
Hope that helps!

 

[monica9]

Unfortunately, on-property rooms at WDW for budget minded travelers are hard to come by. If you want to stay on property it's best to figure $200+ per night (including parking and such) at the All Star resorts. YMMV depending on time of year. Especially if doing a split stay, I'd look into renting something thru Airbnb or VRBO. Good locations are plentiful. You can get a whole 3-4 bedroom house with a private pool for less than what you'll pay to stay at an All Star resort.

Thanks for the suggestions. I know off property is cheaper but we truly don’t feel we are in the magic unless we are on property. For me, $200 per night seems like a value compared to what we normally would spend.

 

[SaintsManiac]

We are splitting next month. 2 nights at Hard Rock then moving to Pop for 6 nights. We bumped down from WL and used the money saved from that to book Universal. We have buy 3 get 2 days free park to park tickets, as well.

Pop was about $170 a night with an AP discount. Higher than I like to pay, but $2000 less than WL!!!!

 

[blackpearl77]

We did a split stay last May. We stayed at Cabana Bay then moved to the Poly. Cabana Bay was really cheap compared to Disney! I think we paid $179 a night for Cabana Bay. We didn't get the express pass (we mainly went for Harry Potter and the longest we waited was 35 minutes for Forbidden Journey). We didn't do the other Universal rides so can't comment on if the express pass is helpful for those or not. It didn't seem that crowded the week we went in May.

 

[CBMom01]

We loved Cabana Bay, and just paid for Express Pass and ended up paying less for 2 people than we would have paid for one of the top tier hotels.

Going from Cabana Bay to Pop Century was a huge letdown. Pop was my first Value resort and i was not impressed.

Universal has a buy 2 days get 2 free deal. 4 days for price of 2. If it again, I’ll do most of my nights at Cabana Bay and maybe 1 at a Disney moderate. Disney’s room prices are so ridiculous its ruined the experience for me. Staying at a value in Dec to be part of a large family trip but never again