Universal/Disney split trip advice

[Mike Wilson]

I have a question about our upcoming Thanksgiving week trip to Orlando.

We (my wife, kids aged 14, 14, and 11, and I) are starting off at Universal, and currently have four nights planned at Portofino Bay in a club room. I was thinking three full days at the Universal parks (we arrive late the first night, so won't have time to do anything that day), then we are heading to Disney the morning of the last day to begin four nights there.

Since the room at Portofino is quite a bit more expensive than the room at Disney (Port Orleans), I thought about maybe shortening our stay at Universal to three nights, and extending Disney by a night.

My question, really, is are we better off taking a night off and enjoying the Universal non-park "stuff" (after already having three nights on site) or heading to Disney so we can get a good start that next morning.

Advantages to staying at Universal: better hotel, with more space; club room amenities for one more morning; one last chance to soak in the Universal atmosphere; I think the overall vibe at Universal will be more relaxing than the crowds and "hecticness" of Disney.

Disadvantages to staying at Universal: We will have to check our bags with the POR bell staff; we won't be able to get cold items during our grocery stop on the way to the hotel, since the groceries will sit out most of the day; We will miss out on a less-crowded part of that first day.

Advantages to heading to Disney: much cheaper room and then we could use that extra money for food; we could be ready to hit a Disney park with a rope drop that next morning; We could start exploring Disney a bit sooner; we could check right in to the room and not have to check our bags; we may be able to get more value out of our 5-day hopper and more ticket.

Disadvantages to heading to Disney: We probably wouldn't relax as much/get as much rest; we would have to check out of Portofino on the way to the park for the last day (and check our bags there); the room is much smaller.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

All the Disney resorts I have been to are able to store perishable items in a refrigerated area. (But they were mostly DVC resorts)

 

[Mike Wilson]

All the Disney resorts I have been to are able to store perishable items in a refrigerated area. (But they were mostly DVC resorts)

Thanks! That is a bit surprising, but could be much appreciated. I'm sure a quick call to the hotel will verify for me!

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Just make sure you are calling the hotel itself and not the reservation line (1-800-W-DISNEY) because they won't really have any idea whether an individual resort can or cannot do this.

DVC villas have cooking facilities that regular resorts don't have, so I'm not sure about the non-DVC resorts doing this.

 

[Pesky]

Okay, I will share my plan and thinking for our trip as I wrestled with a similar dilemma. As you can see, our 2 are younger (7 and 9) so that factors in. DD - well, and DH and I, who are we kidding, are big Potterphiles. DH and I also are Simpsons fans (as are the kids who try to sneak watching it -- thanks, DH), DS is a big dinosaur fan, so as you can see, lots for us to do at Universal. Knowing the crowds at WDW and knowing that we will probably be doing mid-day breaks, as that is how the kids roll, I opted to do this. Arrival day, might hit Gatorland (for DS), might not, definitely hit a grocery store. Stay at PBR for 3 nights. Then on that last day, we'll check our bags and refrigerated items with the bell services, go and enjoy the parks for the last day and then mosey over to our Disney resort when everyone is tired of park time. Dinner that night is at the resort so easy enough. Then we're there the next day to do RD at the chosen park. Long story short, that really gives us a full 3 days if we want it, 1 night to do Citywalk or what we might want (arrival night) and still gets us to WDW in time to the RD. I will say if my kids were older and liked the Universal stuff more, I'd do a longer stay at USO versus WDW. But knowing mine and that they will take a mid-day break, makes it easier to schedule the way I did.

BTW, re the groceries, this FAQ was useful. https://www.orlandogroceryexpress.com/faqs.php

 

[ELSA711]

Can I ask how those who do split US/WDW obtain affordable Universal tickets? They are unbelievably high compared to WDW, no?

 

[phillymummer]

US tickets are not any higher than Disney... they are comparable. I think the problem becomes you want to buy 1 or 2 day tickets. It is more expensive to add on a day at US than to add another day at Disney (if you are already have 3-4 days at Disney).

1 day base ticket at US- $105
1 day base ticket at Disney- $105 for MK during value season, or $97 for the other parks.

 

[kelmcg]

I've had groceries delivered (from Garden Grocer) to POFQ and POR and they were always kept in a refrigerator for us until we checked in. We will also be at UO and WDW Thanksgiving week but we are doing WDW first. Our thought process was that it will get more crowded towards the end of the week so we will spend that time at UO, staying at one of their hotels and taking advantage of the Express pass.

 

[Mike Wilson]

I've had groceries delivered (from Garden Grocer) to POFQ and POR and they were always kept in a refrigerator for us until we checked in. We will also be at UO and WDW Thanksgiving week but we are doing WDW first. Our thought process was that it will get more crowded towards the end of the week so we will spend that time at UO, staying at one of their hotels and taking advantage of the Express pass.

In hindsight, I wish we would have done that to....not sure we can make the switch now. We really thought it would be neat to be at Epcot on Thanksgiving, so that kind of dictated our plans...

 

[Canuck16]

We did 3 nights at USO staying at the HRH and then headed to WDW POR it was perfect for us.

With the Express Pass and early entry into Harry Potter we found we were able to experience everything we wanted to and did not feel rushed at all. By the 3rd day we were all anxious to get to WDW.

Have a great trip!

 

[crazylady]

I have a question about our upcoming Thanksgiving week trip to Orlando.

We (my wife, kids aged 14, 14, and 11, and I) are starting off at Universal, and currently have four nights planned at Portofino Bay in a club room. I was thinking three full days at the Universal parks (we arrive late the first night, so won't have time to do anything that day), then we are heading to Disney the morning of the last day to begin four nights there.

Since the room at Portofino is quite a bit more expensive than the room at Disney (Port Orleans), I thought about maybe shortening our stay at Universal to three nights, and extending Disney by a night.

My question, really, is are we better off taking a night off and enjoying the Universal non-park "stuff" (after already having three nights on site) or heading to Disney so we can get a good start that next morning.

Advantages to staying at Universal: better hotel, with more space; club room amenities for one more morning; one last chance to soak in the Universal atmosphere; I think the overall vibe at Universal will be more relaxing than the crowds and "hecticness" of Disney.

Disadvantages to staying at Universal: We will have to check our bags with the POR bell staff; we won't be able to get cold items during our grocery stop on the way to the hotel, since the groceries will sit out most of the day; We will miss out on a less-crowded part of that first day.

Advantages to heading to Disney: much cheaper room and then we could use that extra money for food; we could be ready to hit a Disney park with a rope drop that next morning; We could start exploring Disney a bit sooner; we could check right in to the room and not have to check our bags; we may be able to get more value out of our 5-day hopper and more ticket.

Disadvantages to heading to Disney: We probably wouldn't relax as much/get as much rest; we would have to check out of Portofino on the way to the park for the last day (and check our bags there); the room is much smaller.

 

[crazylady]

Personally, I would stay three nights/three days at Universal. Check your bags with guest services and enjoy as must of Universal as you would like that day. Your CL privileges are good until the end of the day so you can go to the parks or use the pools, hit Happy Hour and head over to your Disney resort to get settled in for the next day. That way you can enjoy the resort without paying to sleep an extra night. By the third day, you won't feel so rushed to get to the park so checking your bags at Univ before the park shouldn't be a big deal.

 

[crazylady]

Just to add, we really liked the CL food. We were able to have it be dinner a couple of nights which was a big savings.

 

[RoadTripFanatic]

Personally, I would stay three nights/three days at Universal. Check your bags with guest services and enjoy as must of Universal as you would like that day. Your CL privileges are good until the end of the day so you can go to the parks or use the pools, hit Happy Hour and head over to your Disney resort to get settled in for the next day. That way you can enjoy the resort without paying to sleep an extra night. By the third day, you won't feel so rushed to get to the park so checking your bags at Univ before the park shouldn't be a big deal.

I agree!