Where to stay when visiting WDW & Universal

[Maresean]

Hi everyone! I have a bit of a predicament that I'm sure I'll get great advice for! We are planning a trip for 2005 (yes, I'm an early planner) and here are our wishes:

1. Stay at one hotel for 8 nights. (I hate to re-pack)
2. Be able to visit WDW for 4 days and Universal for 4 days
3. Keep room rates at around the 100-140 range
4. Get at complimentary transportation for at least one of the
locations.
5. Traveling with me is DH and DS who will be 4 1/2

I've been looking at POR but need more ideas....

We love a nice pool and a low key relaxing atmosphere.

This past October we stayed at the HI Fam Suites for one night (wouldn't do that again-too crazy) and Poly for the rest of the time. (Loved the Poly, just couldn't afford it this time)

Thanks for any help you can give me

 

[campingcorgi]

I'd seriously think about splitting my stay between a Disney resort and a Universal resort. I think the front of the line access at Universal would really make it worthwhile. You could stay at a value Disney resort to make up the difference.

 

[Maresean]

Unfortunately, 2 hotels is not an option. We definitely do not want to pack three times for one vacation! The money is not the issue. Last trip we stayed one night at HI, 4 nights at Poly and 4 more nights in a Disney cruise cabin and we hated the packing and unpacking part of it...

If you take away the 2 hotel idea, which area would you stay in?

 

[chager]

If you haven't already done so you may want to look at the Universal board too. We are looking into a similar arrangement and didn't want to repack. After reading the other boards I'm leaning towards staying offsite close to WDW and then spending a couple nights at a Universal resort. From what I have read the benefit of the front of the line pass is well worth it. Especially with small children. Our son is 9 and hates waiting in line for more then 15 min. I have also read that if you stay closer to Disney then allow an extra 45 min or so in the morning to get to Universal. I have found a few offsite places that have a shuttle to WDW but haven't found any that do both. Since we won't have a car when we go we are also considering that factor. If I find anything I'll let you know
Carolyn

 

[4greatboys]

We always split our stays and we love it. Yes its a pain, I pack and repack for all 6 of us. Universal resorts are awesome and you get FOTL access with your room cards--very little to no waiting at all. Then when we do Disney we stay onsite there as stince we are DVC members. Its so great not to have to drive to the parks--especially if you party wants to split up for a while.
For 4 days at each place I wouldnt want to drive it back and forth each day (even though they arent that far apart) wouldnt want to get stuck in rush hour traffic or just deal it it in general.
Normally with an entertainment rate you cna get the Universal resorts up to 50% off and they are all on par with Disney's deluxe resorts.

 

[Maresean]

What do you think about the Grosvenor Resort then the Hard Rock or Royal Pacific? I should be ashamed. If you can pack 3 times for 6 people, then I should surely be able to do it for 3. Now that I've learned from our first trip to pack MUCH more lightly! Thanks. Has anyone hear anything about the Sheraton Safari?

 

[tinaluis]

On-site for your Universal portion of the trip is definitely the way to go because of FOTL and the close proximity of all the on-site hotels to the parks. Personally, I think the Royal Pacific is very nice (we stopped by there on our last trip) but we've never stayed at either RP or HRH. The only drawback to staying onsite at Universal is they charge a self-parking fee (but I'm not sure if that's the case with RP -- it definitely is the case with HRH and PBH). We have stayed at the Sheraton Safari (this past October) and really liked it. We got a great rate through Priceline of $34/nt. and felt it was really a great deal. I wouldn't pay rack rate there (or anywhere else for that matter -- I'm spoiled by Priceline) but feel that anywhere in the area of $34-$59 is a good deal. We always stay in the I-Drive area when we visit both Universal and WDW -- it's a much newer area and we like it better than 192 and even Lake Buena Vista. If you truly hate packing and re-packing that much, and $$ is not that big of a deal, you might consider spending all of your hotel time at a Universal on-site hotel. You can usually get some great advance rates of about $109/nt. at RP, about $135/nt. at HRH and about $175/nt. at PBH. Good luck and have fun planning!

 

[4greatboys]

Originally posted by Maresean
What do you think about the Grosvenor Resort then the Hard Rock or Royal Pacific? I should be ashamed. If you can pack 3 times for 6 people, then I should surely be able to do it for 3. Now that I've learned from our first trip to pack MUCH more lightly! Thanks. Has anyone hear anything about the Sheraton Safari?

LOL I wasnt trying to make you feel bad for not wanting to pack or move But really it is easier to stay one place then move to another for the other parks. We have stayed at YC then moved to RPR and our last visit we stayed at the HRH then moved to OKW. My favorite is the RPR, I love the tropical theme but my 2 oldest boys love the HRH. They both are very nice.
Talk about packing lightly I always want to pack for my dh, he tries to take twice the amount of clothing I do
I think the rooms at the HRH are a bit larger than RPR if that is a factor in your decision. But the pool at RPR is better for kids, no slide but a great ship for them to play on.
Sorry I dont know anything about the Sheraton Safari. If you rent points from a dvc member you could stay at one of the dvc resorts--the 1 bdrms have a full kitchen and washer/dryer. It was really great to have cold drinks when we wanted them and we froze water at night to take to the parks during the day.

 

[Maresean]

No, you didn't make me feel bad, you just opened my eyes!! And I just packed way too many toys for my DS (then 2 1/2) and way too many clothes for myself! All he wanted was the pool.

How do I get advance rates at the Universal Hotels? Everywhere I look, they are the same. Does Priceline let you pick the hotel?
Sorry so many questions, I just want to do this right...Thanks!

 

[4greatboys]

For our trip I pack our portable DVD player to watch on the plane. As for toys I pack a few little ones for the baby to play with--like a few Power Rangers or something small like that. I also usually catch a sale at TDS and buy one or two small items and then give them ot the little ones once we are at Disney. That way I didnt have to pay to much $$ for them and they are still something new from Disney.
We dont use Priceline because you dont know what your getting ahead of time. If it doesnt matter to you, then it would probably work out good. Then you will be setting the price you want to pay.
There are a few ways to get a discount at Universal: Hotelkingdom.com sometimes has very good discounted rates, you can also call 1-888-BEASTAR and aks them what the Entertainment rates are (you need to have the Entertainment book and take the card out of it with you), Passholder rates--not out yet for my June date.
The AP for Universal are normally very reasonable and you get a lot of discounts in the park with one.

 

[kaygela]

You can also check into AAA for a Universal package which has some nice perks. HRH is nice because it's a short walk to the parks. They are very accomodating there and my kids loved the underwater music in the pool.

 

[KLAIT]

We just got from 6 nights at the Sheraton Safari and then 2 at the Royal Pacific.

We were able to get the Safari for $34.00 with Priceline and the Royal Pacific for about $115 through Hotwire.

These hotels were the exact ones that I wanted. I read and read and read different boards and was pretty sure that when I bid, these were the Hotels I would receive. I got really lucky.

The Sheraton was OK, I would never ever pay rack rates for this place......I probably wouldn't strategically try to bid to get this hotel again either.....

I was not too fired up about changing hotels either..me, DH and DS (5), but did enough research to be convinced that Universal On-Site was worth it....IT WAS!

The best thing ever invented in Theme Parks is the FRONT OF THE LINE pass at Universal.......

We didn't get a chance to use the pool because it was cool and we stayed at both Universal and IOA until close......the neat thing was we were eating in Jakes Bar and Scooby Doo came in....there were only about 3 kids in the place so my son got to play with him for a long time.

 

[Maresean]

Wow, you guys have it down to a science! I hope I can get that well versed on the Res scramble. I am planning a trip for Sept 2005. When should I try to book the hotel? Very early or last minute to get the best rates on holtelkingdom.com? I like to plan way ahead but with some of the rates I've seen on this board, it may be well worth it to wait?? I know, I'm such a rookie...Now I am looking at the HRH or RPR..for all 8 days. Maybe I'll rent a car for 4 days and drive to Disney then be on site for the Universal part of our stay. Or...do you suggest a cab? Sorry for all the questions....

 

[4greatboys]

I wouldnt book now since the discount codes for your stay wont be out for a while. If you book throuh a wholesaler like Hotwire or hotelkingdom and you cancel I think they keep asmall part of your deposit so read their termscarefully before you go through one of them thinking you might cancel later for a cheaper rate. They just now have ent rates for June 2004.
As for rental car vs cab I say rental...cabs are not cheap.

 

[Maresean]

How did you bid on Hotwire in order to get those hotels? I would probably want either the Grosvenor or Sheraton Safari and then the HRH. I have no clue how to bid on hotwire..

 

[KLAIT]

I used 3 sites for my research. I used www.biddingfortravel.com for the Priceline portion of my bid and I used www.betterbidding.com for the Universal portion of the trip, as well as the good old DISBOARDS.

Please understand that I took a chance with these bids, as nothing is guaranteed. But, with the right framework, I felt confident enough that whatever I received was going to be OK and I would not be disappointed.

 

[Kapp]

at a Universal resort but if you are going to be there for 4 days, I would look into that. We are MAJOR in-park folks. For WDW, you may want to look into the Dolphin. We have stayed there before and LOVED it! Some say there is no Disney feeling but we didn't experience that at all. The staff was just as friendly and in many cases, ever more so that Disney. They usually run some good room rates and offer a lot of specials. Even more so if you are a Teacher or Nurse.