Combining Disney with Universal - split stay between Disney and Universal hotels or stick with Disney resort?

[EMouse81]

Hi we have a 14 night stay booked at Beach Club during the last two weeks of August. We booked the holiday early 2023 when the UK packages were launched and it’s finally getting close! We plan to go to Universal Studios, IOA and Volcano Bay during our trip. We were planning to do Volcano Bay towards the start of the trip and Universal Studios / IOA on two consecutive days roughly in the middle of the trip. We thought that staying in the one place and getting Ubers on these days would be more relaxing than changing hotels. However I’m beginning to second guess the plan. While my sons (6 & 8) do not like “big” rides I think they will want to spend a lot of time in the two Harry Potter worlds. My eldest son is autistic and finds long days at the parks hard. On our last trip we mainly did half days with longer days towards the end (Disney only, we did not go to Universal). I’m increasingly unsure that two days at Universal and IOA will be enough because of this. So we are looking at whether we can change our booking (which is via a travel agent) to do 10 nights at beach club and then 4 nights at one of the deluxe Universal hotels (probably royal pacific as hard rock looks too busy for us and think Portofino has works right now). That way we would get the benefit of express passes and early entry but would also give us flexibility to break each day in the middle for a rest and return in the evening. Assuming our travel agent can accommodate this, would appreciate any views as to whether splitting the stay this would be better than our original plan or whether I am overthinking all this?

 

[DutchJoyce]

I would certainly try to stay at an Universal Hotel when you are visiting Universal. We have done this several times in the past and we love the Universal Hotels. It is a big advantage to be able to go to your hotelroom when you want to, especially with an autistic child. The traveltime between Disney World and Universal can easily add up to an hour since the traffic can be very busy. My son is autistic as well and many times our group splits up when he is too overwhelmed. It is very nice to have a quiet hotelroom nearby when needed.

 

[Mango7100]

100% would stay at Universal for your Universal portion. We just did this last month (4 nights at Universal and 3 at Disney). We get express pass after 4 as a perk of our annual pass for Universal. If your son may get overwhelmed, having the express pass will be so helpful. There is no planning with it—you just show up to the attraction whenever you want. And having the hotel right there is so convenient. Universal is much more compact than Disney so if you are at Royal Pacific you have maybe a 10 minute walk from hotel room to park—easy to pop back to the room for even an hour break.

Our first trip in Feb we were going to do 3 days universal for Wizarding World and one at Epcot. We ended up not going to Epcot because DD wanted to stay in Wizarding World and now we have annual passes. Getting the interactive wand at Ollivanders and going around to all the spell casting stations alone can take up a whole day for the kids.

 

[Skippyboo]

August is hot and sticky and when that afternoon thunderstorms roll in it will be nice to go back to your hotel before they hit instead of waiting for a rideshare, dealing with i4 traffic.

 

[CarolynFH]

Here’s another vote for moving to UOR and taking advantage of Express Pass. You’ll have much more flexibility when visiting those parks.

 

[francie57]

We did a split stay at both last trip. Definitely stay at one of the Universal Resorts that gives you unlimited express pass - Portofino Bay, Hard Rock or Royal Pacific.

 

[nighttowll]

I think that would be a good idea. It's such a different trip being on property at Universal verses off property.

Personally, I enjoy being on property at Universal way more than at Disney. Everything is in walking distance right together. It is super convenient to go back and forth from the parks to City Walk (Universal's smaller version of Disney Springs) or the hotels, so we tend to leave and return to the parks multiple times each day because that's 10 minutes, not 1 to 2 hours like it would be at Disney. We've eaten lunch at Citywalk and had one person run leftovers back to Hard Rock and that person was able to meet us back at a ride within 15 minutes. Disney cannot compare to that.

As far as different hotels:

Walk Times:

• Hard Rock - 5 minutes.
• Royal Pacific - 10 minutes.
• Portofino Bay - 20 minutes.

If you are looking for quite, though the farthest away, I find Portofino to be the mot peaceful and least crowded because it is so spread out. It's always been very quiet when I have been there. I actually think Royal Pacific has been the loudest and most crowded on my trips, but nothing too bad.

Also, keep in mind at Universal, you can pool hop, and CB has a lazy river.

 

[Mango7100]

Also if you are going for 4 days you may want to look at getting an annual pass for at least one member in your group to see if there are any pass holder discounts on hotels. And the top 2 tiers of passes give discounts on merchandise and food (including quick service and snacks unlike Disney pass holders only getting table service discounts). It doesn’t take many days to pay for the annual pass. Last trip we saved over $100 a night at Cabana Bay with a pass holder discount.

 

[cruising spud]

If you are going to Universal just so the kids can see Harry Potter Land, then I think that one night, in a deluxe-you have easy walk times to the hotel and the Express Pass (make sure you can ride the Hogwarts train from park-to-park) would be enough. Get to Universal on Day 1, before the parks open, and leave whenever you want the next day. You will have plenty of time to explore and take an afternoon hotel break.

If you and your husband want to explore the parks and ride some thrill rides, then I would say, stay longer.

Why do I say this-my husband and I went to Universal for the first time this past February. We are not big thrill ride people either. We had Express Pass. Very glad for it. But, other than exploring Harry Potter Land, we did very little in the way of rides. Most of the adult rides were big and crazy and wild. Not our cup of tea. However, there is a lot to see and do in the Harry Potter area. I suggest you read up on the secret, little things you can do (example, ring a doorbell at one of the houses and you see a house elf at the window).

You mentioned Volcano Bay, which I hear is way better than Disney's water parks. But, I believe that Disney now offers guests staying on site a free day at a water park on their arrival day. You could arrive in the US, go to Univeral (stay two nights), leave early your day last, and get to Disney before the water parks open and go to a water park for free.

If this was my trip (which it's not) I would just go to Disney and have a relaxing vacation. Fourteen days at Disney gives you a truly relaxing vacation.

 

[mitsukoshi samurai]

Here’s another vote for moving to UOR and taking advantage of Express Pass. You’ll have much more flexibility when visiting those parks.

did you consider aap?

 

[EMouse81]

did you consider aap?

Hi thank you, yes I have applied

did you consider aap?

thank you yes I have registered my son for an IAC and await a call back from Universal - we are not going until August so don’t expect to hear until closer to the time. The problem we might have is if my younger son wants to go on rides that my elder son does not. On our last trip we stuck together as much as possible but we had a couple of days at the Disney parks where my elder son was too anxious to ride most things and we did have to split the group in fairness to my younger son. Express passes would take the pressure off my elder son having to ride if he is feeling more anxious that day - he will be happy watching shows, casting spells and playing in the Jurassic playground.

 

[nighttowll]

You may be interested in this post as well that outlines non-thrill ride activities to do in the park.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/favorite-non-thrill-ride-activities.3942187/#post-65389123

 

[halfpintpeggy]

Dreamworks Land is scheduled to open this summer at Universal. This may be another area your son will enjoy.

 

[kbelle8995]

I would split my visit. I find the Universal hotels to be so relaxing and you can hop on a bus or a boat be at the parks pretty quickly. There is a definite plus to be able to go back to the hotel when you need a break. And Disney's are a distance from Universal. Plus the Universal Hotels can be less expensive then Disney so you might find this a way to save some money.

The deluxe ones have express pass included (Royal Pacific, Portofino and Hard Rock). The other Universal hotels include early entry to a section of the Harry Potter. So either Diagon Alley or Hogmeade, this will give you an advantage on the day guests.

 

[EMouse81]

Dreamworks Land is scheduled to open this summer at Universal. This may be another area your son will xx

We may need to factor in another day! Dreamworks will be all their favourite things in one area. X

 

[nouvellefleur]

Hi we have a 14 night stay booked at Beach Club during the last two weeks of August. We booked the holiday early 2023 when the UK packages were launched and it’s finally getting close! We plan to go to Universal Studios, IOA and Volcano Bay during our trip. We were planning to do Volcano Bay towards the start of the trip and Universal Studios / IOA on two consecutive days roughly in the middle of the trip. We thought that staying in the one place and getting Ubers on these days would be more relaxing than changing hotels. However I’m beginning to second guess the plan. While my sons (6 & 8) do not like “big” rides I think they will want to spend a lot of time in the two Harry Potter worlds. My eldest son is autistic and finds long days at the parks hard. On our last trip we mainly did half days with longer days towards the end (Disney only, we did not go to Universal). I’m increasingly unsure that two days at Universal and IOA will be enough because of this. So we are looking at whether we can change our booking (which is via a travel agent) to do 10 nights at beach club and then 4 nights at one of the deluxe Universal hotels (probably royal pacific as hard rock looks too busy for us and think Portofino has works right now). That way we would get the benefit of express passes and early entry but would also give us flexibility to break each day in the middle for a rest and return in the evening. Assuming our travel agent can accommodate this, would appreciate any views as to whether splitting the stay this would be better than our original plan or whether I am overthinking all this?

I haven't seen anyone mention this in here yet, but do be aware that Portofino is currently under extensive construction/renovation which is expected to last until summer 2025, so it may not actually be very peaceful or quiet this August.

Also due to the construction, Portofino's walking path is currently closed (according to several commenters on reddit), and I'm not sure if there's a timeline for it to reopen.

 

[wdwrule]

I haven't seen anyone mention this in here yet, but do be aware that Portofino is currently under extensive construction/renovation which is expected to last until summer 2025, so it may not actually be very peaceful or quiet this August.

Also due to the construction, Portofino's walking path is currently closed (according to several commenters on reddit), and I'm not sure if there's a timeline for it to reopen.

Agree! As much as I love Portofino it’s a bit of a mess currently. I just responded on this thread if it helps anyone https://www.disboards.com/threads/portofino-bay-current-construction.3944504/