Staying at a Disney hotel - visiting Universal? About This Page:

[Martinvols]

Here is a dilemna ---

We can stay at a moderate Disney resort next June (assuming we get a non-AP code) for about $100/night (including tax) for 10 nights - total $1,000.
The other option is to stay on-site at Universal for about $160/night for 10 nights - total $1,600.
I just don't think it is worth the extra money for us to stay on-site at Universal even though our trip is going to be a Universal trip. We will only visit Univerisal and IOA for 4 days and spend the remaining 6 days relaxing at Port Orleans.
I have read that Universal gets very busy on Friday and Saturdays and it is definitely worth staying on-site if you are visiting the Universal parks on these days. My question (for those that have been to Universal) is that if we visit during the week - (MON - Thurs) - will the waits be acceptable for the rides? I know that they have something similar to fass passes. However, if you stay on-site at Universal, I think you avoid all the waits. I just think that with two sons (age 4 and age 10), we will have a better vacation if we stay on-site at Disney and drive over to Universal for 4 days and deal with the waits in line. I like staying at the Disney resorts and I feel the moderates (Port Orleans Riverside and Caribbean Beach Resort) are a better value than the Universal resorts. The Universal resorts have discounts; however, I think the cheapest rate is about $160/night. I think that we can get the POR or the CBR for about $90/night next June when the non-AP rates are announced. This fits our budget better. What are your thoughts for those that have stayed off-site from Universal and experienced the Universal parks during the week when they are the least busy. Please keep in mind that we will be visiting Universal in the month of June. Thanks!

[paradox]

Universal has two things siilar to fastpass. One you get just like a fastpass, and everybody can get one. The second one is exclusive to Universal guests and you "don't" wait in line. You can pay $25 at the gate for what I think is called e-pass. This takes you straight to the front of all of the lines, not a guarantee time like fast pass.

[Pris]

Have you thought of splitting your stay and spending 4 nights at a Universal site for the front of line rights, etc. and then 6 nights at Port Orleans?

[LisaJ]

I think that I would stay at Universal for the 4 nights, and enjoy the "front-of-the-line" access, and then move on over to a moderate at WDW. I think, especially in June, that it will cause the least amount of headache for all.

Speaking of "front-of-the-line" access for resort guests, I was under the impression that this was a free perk for guests, not one that costs $25, as someone has mentioned. You might want to double check this.

With the above plan (4 nights, then 6 nights), you would be spending about $1240 this way, a nice compromise.

[SoccerMom]

We just did that exact thing June 16 - 23rd. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal (using the Entertainment Card discount...I think it came to $174 with tax) and then moved over to POFQ for the other 6 days. First, when you stay at a Universal Hotel you get FRONT OF THE LINE access for no additional charge. We stayed just one night, but had the perk for two complete days. They will give each member of your party a hotel room key with the date on it and that is your ticket to the front of the lines. We walked on EVERYTHING....waited at the most 5 minutes...and this was in June. The average wait for others we noticed was as much as 90 minutes for some attractions. Secondly, two days was more than enough to do both parks and ride every ride we wanted to as many times as we wanted to with this perk. Also realize that these parks are a bit more intense ride wise both height and scare factor. My son is 8, tall for his age, and was unable to ride The Hulk and Dueling Dragons. Also, Jaws, The Mummy, and something else freaked him out. This has been our favorite vacation so far, and will split between the two again. Any questions, you can e-mail me.

[Aimee W]

We stayed at Universal for 2 nights just to get the front of the line access...Wow it was worth it....never had to wait for anything!!!! Then we stayed 3 nights at POR...we had to wait ....at MK it was so crowded we couldn't go anything!!!

The only way I would do Universal is during the week or if I was staying at the hotel...

let me know if you have any specific questions...

for us it was worth it to change rooms and we had a Deluxe room at Hard Rock!!

[Martinvols]

Aimee -

I am a little stubborn. We don't like changing rooms (packing up and leaving) during our trip, especially with a 4 year old. Here is a thought - Universal Power annual passes cost just a little more than a 2 day pass - they are only $117 (including tax). For our 2005 vacation, what if we spent the 10 nights at POR and went to Universal 4 out of the 5 days - (Sun, Mon, Tues, Wed or Thurs). I have read that Fridays and Saturdays are horrendous. Having not been to US or IOA during the week (in the month of June), I just don't know what to expect. I am hoping that weekday crowds will be O.K. because I prefer to spent all 10 nights at POR. I seem to be in the minority on this preference from reading other posters comments. Since we have the annual passes to US and IOA - I like having the flexibility of choosing the days during the week that we will go to the parks. Does anyone have any experience with US and IOA weekday crowds?

[Aimee W]

We were able to see everything in about 2 1/2 days and ride some things twice with the FOTLpass....well worth it...but I did not like were the restaurant options...only had a few snacks at Hard Rock I just didn't feel comfortable with my 4 and 8 yr olds ...next time we will stay Royal Pacific...only dinner options were the City Walk and very expensive...and I thought Disney was high...but you had more options at WDW

we did the 5 days for 2...

[dejavu]

We were just at Universal on a Thursday (6/17) and had no problems riding what we wanted. We stayed across from the entrance at the Doubletree Hilton. It was a great hotel, nice pool, etc. There is an Italian restaurant called Carraba's within a block or two. It had great food. They seem to have a fast-pass system at Universal but we never used it. Have fun!