Worlds collide: UO and WDW in one trip...thoughts???

[Jonfw2]

Hello all. Next summer, I'm going to do the massive combined trip I've always wanted to do. But I have no idea what the best strategy is here.

My initial thought is to book 8 days at a WDW resort and on the two UO days, just take a very early Uber over...but cost-wise, would it make more sense to STAY at UO for that one night?

Or, should I go totally nuts and do, like, 4 days at one WDW resort, 2 at UO, and then 3 more at a DIFFERENT Disney space?

Love everyone's feedback!!!

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

IMO, definitely Universal at the end of the trip and definitely stay at one of the UO premier resorts for the included express passes. Especially in the summer if you have just two days, the express passes will be worth it.

 

[glocon]

Most of our trips are a split WDW and UO trip. It is expensive to do but that’s what we enjoy. Usually 4-5 nights at WDW first then 3-4 nights at UO. And agree, definitely stay at a deluxe at UO for the unlimited EP. Doing the UO portion last helps with the “I’m leaving Disney blues” because you have a second half of vacation to look forward to as well as not having frustration at no unlimited EP at WDW after having it at UO. Go for it!!!

 

[gharter]

We have always done UO first, then gone to WDW after. No real reason why.
Totally agree with staying in the Deluxe resort and getting the unlimited EP. Other than Hagrids and Velocicoaster, you skip the line for everything. It makes it easy as you need no plan. We were able to ride everything we wanted multiple times in 2 days. But Hagrids and Velocicoaster weren't open yet.

 

[katyringo]

I agree with others so stay at one of their hotels that comes with express pass.
We did one day at UO and took an Uber and bought the express pass for one day and had a great time and did all we wanted- however one day was $$$$… if wanting to do multiple I think you will be better off staying there.

 

[marcais]

How many of you are there? Our last 2 trips there were 5 of us and one night at one of the premier hotels got us Unlimited Express Passes for the two days at UO, so it worked out cheaper to stay at the hotel than to pay for even just one-time express passes for the 5 of us.

Next year we plan on doing the water park as well. We've gone fully offsite for the Disney portion of the trip, so I need to figure out what we're going to do for the UO part, and whether to do UO before or after WDW on the trip.

 

[123SA]

Another vote for the express pass hotels. We’ve done both UO then WDW and the other way. UO is always easier to manage. We’re leaving next week for 11 days at WDW followed by 4 nights at UO.

 

[Jonfw2]

How many of you are there? Our last 2 trips there were 5 of us and one night at one of the premier hotels got us Unlimited Express Passes for the two days at UO, so it worked out cheaper to stay at the hotel than to pay for even just one-time express passes for the 5 of us.

Next year we plan on doing the water park as well. We've gone fully offsite for the Disney portion of the trip, so I need to figure out what we're going to do for the UO part, and whether to do UO before or after WDW on the trip.

3. 1 adult, two teenage girls.

 

[Diane Kompan]

Doing just this in less than 3 weeks. Two nights at UO (Pacific Royal) then onto WDW for another 7 nights. 3 adults and 1 child (8 yo). Using a car service from MCO to UO and then again to WDW (Riviera) and back to MCO. We've done multiple trips to both parks and we've always used Express Pass. Since this is the 1st time at UO for my granddaughter, it will make it easier to do child swap so the adults can enjoy those rides she isn't tall enough to go on without having to wait longer times in line.

 

[rwdavis2]

We’ve done UO first, staying at the Hard Rock. You can walk to the parks and get the free Express Pass. You’ll get spoiled by the hotel and the service there.

 

[HopperFan]

Just went. Offsite large MVC unit by WDW. Travel, one down day, 6 park days.

- AK
- Resort Day (4th of July)
- Epcot
- MK
- UO/IOA
- UO/IOA
- MK

We do both often, no different than more days at Disney. You might want to consider UO hotels if you can do deluxe and get Express Pass included. If you do UO in the middle, why not two different WDW hotels in front and behind?

 

[Disneylover99]

We always do Universal first, then Disney on our split stays.
I wouldn't enjoy Universal as much if I did Disney first because I'm always sad to leave Disney and mostly just want to head home after leaving Disney.
Typically we do Universal for 3 or 4 days. Sometimes at an express pass hotel and sometimes not. I have to say, it's great to have Express Pass, but when I don't have it, I don't really miss it. Not having it just forces us to get up and go to the parks earlier which is mostly a good thing.

 

[Distriv]

I'm doing a split stay in September. Starting at Boardwalk for 3 nights, over to Universal for 2, and to the Polynesian for the week leading up to the 50th anniversary.

I did Universal for the first time on my last trip and it has some really cool attractions but it feels much less immersive than a stay at Disney. It's well above something like a Six Flags but outside of the Harry Potter areas it's not as cohesive or "magical" as the Disney parks. I wouldn't consider capping a trip with a stay there but either starting with Universal or doing it between two Disney stays seems like the right call for me. I stayed at the Adventura hotel last time and liked it enough to book it again this stay. It's a standard "modern" design hotel but the price is good, the rooms are nice, and you can still walk to the parks (about 15/20 minutes) if you don't want to wait around for the shuttle.

 

[Jonfw2]

Thanks, all. Keep 'em coming.

After reading everyone's comments, I'm thinking of starting at UO with two days at Hard Rock, then heading over to Disney with 7 days at a deluxe to be named later.

 

[mom2rtk]

We just returned to UO in June after 17 years away. LOL. We did UO first, then Disney. My thinking was that I wanted to have fresh legs and brain cells to soak it all in and to deal with unknown things. I like how it flowed. We're doing the same thing in January.

 

[Renarr]

Last time we went, we did eight days at Disney and three at Universal, in that order. Highly recommend staying at one of the Universal resorts with the Express Passes. The Universal hotels are also cheaper than or comparable to most of the Disney Deluxe hotels, and you'll save yourself the Uber back-and-forth.

 

[GatorChris]

If you do Universal, you definitely want one of their resorts. Because everything is so close, their bus service is AMAZING. We did Cabana Bay, because we're a family of 5, and it was really awesome. Yes, it means packing and moving. But you won't regret it.

 

[Renaissancerocks]

After reading everyone's comments, I'm thinking of starting at UO with two days at Hard Rock, then heading over to Disney with 7 days at a deluxe to be named later.

We often do split stays. You will love how close Hard Rock is to the parks…no need for buses or boats or anything, just a couple minute walk and it is closer if you exit from the pool area. The express passes that are included are great. Enjoy your trip.

 

[BrotherCraig]

We are doing a split resort stay as well in November. 5 nights at Disney CBR (3 days of parks) and then 4 nights at Universal Royal Pacific (2 days of parks). Great thread full of info. Thanks.

 

[CarolynFH]

In terms of sequence, I'll just say that if anyone in your party is an adrenaline junky like my sister, Disney will be a letdown after UOR. UOR is known for thrill rides, WDW not so much.

I'll also say that for our two most recent visits to UOR, we were staying for a week in an offsite timeshare but found it cheaper to pay for a night at one of the UOR deluxe hotels to get the EPs, even though we didn't sleep there, when we added up the cost of parking (charged per night at the hotel, thus 2 days) and EPs for our parties of 5 and 3 adults, respectively. We also got Early Entry privileges as well with the hotel reservation.