Booking Universal

[jeffann6]

Been going to WDW since 2002 including cruising but after comparing prices between Disney World and Universal Disney is just getting too expensive. I compared a trip in Oct 2024 staying at Universal Royal Pacific Club Level against Disney’s Animal Kingdom Club Level with tickets and Disney is $3.5k higher. I just can‘t justify the cost of go to WDW any more. DISNEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING????
Okay I’m ready for the shaming!!!

 

[reddog21]

Been going to WDW since 2002 including cruising but after comparing prices between Disney World and Universal Disney is just getting too expensive. I compared a trip in Oct 2024 staying at Universal Royal Pacific Club Level against Disney’s Animal Kingdom Club Level with tickets and Disney is $3.5k higher. I just can‘t justify the cost of go to WDW any more. DISNEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING????
Okay I’m ready for the shaming!!!

Universal raises prices on there hotels and tickets just as fast as Disney. When epic universal opens that gap is going to narrow considerably. The same $300 a night room I used to consistently book is now closer to $550.

We just did a split stay and our Universal trip cost about 800 more than last year(ticket/hotel the same). We love Universal but we feel it's just a different experience than Disney and don't think they really compare other than there Theme parks.

 

[Poohbear80]

Yea done both universal and Disney club level stays. Universal club level (in my opinion) is nowhere near as good. Having done Disney I couldn’t go back and do universal because I would always be comparing. However, I know you pay a lot more for Disney CL.

 

[hildarumpole]

No shaming from me. Universal is a much more relaxed vacation, especially with free Unlimited Express Pass. No need to get up early months in advance for ADRs or on vacation to fire up Genie+ and be glued to your phone most of the day trying to get a decent ride. Easy walk to parks and City Walk let's you sleep in and go back and forth without hassle. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Skywalker3]

We LOVE Universal, been going to both WDW and Universal since 2000. 2 totally different vibes, and that's ok. we got Universal APs in 2021, and made 4 trips with those, got new APs for this year, added Universal to our Disney trip in June, and doing a couple days w/in our Disney trip, there in Oct, mostly for HHN. Universal have raised their premier hotel prices quite a bit over the last couple years, but tickets are still much cheaper, especially if one can find a special, like buy 3 get 2 days free, or getting APs,
Happy planning. THere is a wealth of information on the Universal threads here.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Definitely no shaming at all, lol, that's an insane amount of money. I have no idea what RP CL is like so I don't know if one CL is more bougie than another. I'd be more interested to know if you compared standard room types/views if they're similar in pricing and if CL is just the outlier. UO is usually not much cheaper than WDW generally speaking. Most of our disney trips are only more $ since we stay longer but all things considered, they're usually fairly close in price between lodging and food expenses, tickets not as much but UO isn't far behind. And WDW is a much larger draw, on average, double the visitors a year, so Disney knows they can charge more and still get the attendance.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

No shaming from me. Universal is a much more relaxed vacation, especially with free Unlimited Express Pass. No need to get up early months in advance for ADRs or on vacation to fire up Genie+ and be glued to your phone most of the day trying to get a decent ride. Easy walk to parks and City Walk let's you sleep in and go back and forth without hassle. Enjoy your trip!

My thoughts exactly.

Nothing to be ashamed of. My family has switched from visiting WDW several times a year to UO. Unlimited Express Pass and the more relaxed dining reservation situation makes for a more fun, spontaneous trip IMHO.

Also, if you want to stay in a suite (in my household everyone sleeps better if the kids and adults are in different rooms), UO is the better option. We usually do Cabana Bay or Royal Pacific.

WDW suites for an October 3 night long weekend:
Old Key West 2 br suite - $1126/night
Coronado 1 br suite - $1146/night
AOA Cars suite - $556/night
AOA Nemo suite - $584/night
All Stars Music suite - $418/night
Maybe you could find a good deal for a resold villa, but there's not much available direct from Disney.

UO suites for the same weekend:
Endless Summer suite - $248/night
Cabana Bay suite - $292/night
Sapphire Falls suite - $853/night
My go to Royal Pacific suites are sold out, but generally I think the pattern is you can get more for your money at UO hotels.

 

[reddog21]

I don't find a universal trip anymore or less stressful than going to Disney. People make Disney way more difficult than it needs to be.

 

[miked1978]

That Pacific hotel is very nice we stayed their once. But yes Universal is much cheaper and they do the "fast passes" a lot better than Disney. Disney has got too complicated for the family who just goes every few years. Some of us want a vacation away from our phones where we aren't constantly looking at them to get on the next ride etc.

Universal does lack customer service. I once asked the bellman at the hotel where the dock was to ride the boat to the park and they said they didnt know and didnt try to find out. You would think the bellman at the hotel would know this and if not find out for you. Also asked a waiter about the dining plan we bought and they couldnt answer a question you'd think they would know.

Also you can do Universal in 2 days so that helps with the cost!!!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Agree - no shaming. The plans, finances, experiences all belong to YOU! If Universal makes more sense right now than a Disney trip, you should go for it and enjoy it completely! We're a family that does Disney 98% of the time, but Universal has a great product, too, especially IOA. In fact, we're going back for a couple days in December! Hope you have a great trip!

 

[rwdavis2]

We have always liked Universal. It’s hotels are just as nice or nicer. Many of the rides are better than Disney’s.

 

[greeneyedchick]

If you haven't already done so, look into buying one annual pass for Universal. They usually offer hotel discounts. Universal allows you to book a room for the AP discount rate before you buy the annual pass. It may make sense to buy 1 person a pass for the discount. The great thing about Royal Pacific is the free express passes. I haven't stayed there bute I have stayed at Portofino. They had housekeeping every day (even during covid) and they have a great text system where you can text the hotel to make any requests or ask questions. Universal responded almost immediately each time. We had amazing customer service while we were there. Enjoy your trip!

 

[oceanmarina]

We had our first stay at universal last year (did a split stay At Portifino/ Swan)

We loved Universe- food was much better at Universal (we were so disappointed with the food at Disney last summer, we found it to be terrible compared to pre-Covid trips)

We also loved the customer service text option another poster mentioned that Universal offers - much better that the “call centers “ you get when staying on site at Disney when you call from your room - they either don’t know the information or give you misinformation.

Cost wise I think Universal is a little less expensive. Costco offers deals, Expedia has rooms, I just booked Universal directly. They had a promotion going (I had signed up to get promotional emails).

Since I love both places , they are close enough to do a “split stay”. But you need less time at Universal since it’s smaller. So for a 5 night stay I would do 2 at Universal and 3 at Disney.

Hope this helps !

 

[wilderness-girl]

WOW that's a huge difference!! Absolutely makes sense to make that decision. We have never stayed club level, but have stayed at Portofino Bay a few years ago. Beautiful hotel, spacious rooms, felt luxurious. The express pass was awesome - we nearly accomplished all the rides in both parks in a single day. We can't afford to stay in the Deluxe hotels at Disney unless we rent DVC points. They are simply extortionate if booking via the Disney website.

 

[Grumpy92]

Hey we switched to Universals a long time ago. We just cant justify the cost of the hotels anymore. So we stay at the Universal ones we just feel we get more bang for our buck. No shame. We still do WDW as it is 15 mins away for us.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

We enjoy both parks, with the edge for parks going to WDW, but we really like the US resorts a bit better. As for touring the parks, US parks is definitely easier then WDW, that's a given, just based on that you do not have to get up early to buy G+ and then be on your phone every 2 hours to grab another G+ ride, or the fact that you cannot really pick your G+ ride time... I will also say that for a family of 5+, you cannot beat the Endless summer resort suites at their prices, having 3 queens beds with a separate bedroom.

 

[disny_luvr]

I hear you! We went to Universal for the the first time in June after a few days at Disney. We booked the buy 3 days, get 2 days free deal. We stayed at Sapphire Falls and it was so, so nice. The cost was about $1700 less for us to visit Universal than it was for us to visit Disney, and that was with booking a ghost room for one night at Royal Pacific for the Express Pass. The two things we loved the most about Universal is the minimal planning that's involved. Literally the only thing I planned beforehand was which day we were visiting Volcano Bay. The other thing we really loved about Universal was how close everything is. We could leave any park and be back to Sapphire Falls in 10 minutes. No waiting for buses for 20 or 30 minutes or even longer. It was fantastic! I think Guardians is awesome, but then I rode Hagrid's, and oh my gosh, it was better than awesome! All that to say, I am still a Disney girl at heart. My Disney trips are by no way over. I'll go back to Universal again, but I don't long for it like I do for Disney. To all the Disney diehards, give Universal a try. You will probably like it more than you think you will. I know I did.

 

[tony67]

I've been done with Disney for several years now - its been going down hill for quite a while IMO.
Epcot and Food & Wine is a shadow of what it once was.
When Germany started making the beers smaller only during F&W and still charged the same price I was pretty surprised at the price gouging.
I cant see the value in going to Epcot - paying to get in and then buying ridiculously overpriced tiny beers that really are nothing special you cant get elsewhere.
The restaurants at Epcot used to be very good and reasonable - I had some amazing meals there - DDP ruined that.

I've stayed club level at several of the Disney hotels and was very disappointed. Yacht club was a total rip off, Polynesian was decent, Animal Kingdom was pretty good, Contemporary was disgusting.

I was very happy with the times I've stayed Club Level at Universal - several times at RPR - and have no complaints.

Every few years I do go back to Disney mostly for nostalgia reasons, but they are destroying that as fast as they can, so less and less reason to go. I will never stay at the Disney hotels again - I typically stay at the Swan or Dolphin since like Universal they are run by an actual hotel management company and typically know how to treat guests.

In the end I like the freedom and lack of planning for Universal - just show up and go.
I don't have to plan my days months in advance and make park reservations, I dont have to book my meals and rides months in advance. I don't have to get up at (before) 7AM on my vacation to book rides.
On top of that the 2PM park hopping - many times I am at my second park by 11AM now I am stick till 2PM and I have to pay extra for the privilege.

Any enjoyment I once got out of my many Disney vacations (and cruises) is long gone and now it is just a PITA to go to Disney. I plan to go for two nights this year and really am not that interested - odds are most of the rides I want to do will be down. I am most looking forward to staying at the Signia and going over to Trader Sam's.

 

[Monykalyn]

For those saying “universal in 2 days” do you go to any shows? Stop and enjoy the street characters and interactions (that Disney no longer has)? Ask to any of the free tours (mummy, Men In black, Jimmy Fallon, hulk, hogwarts)? Universal is soooooo much more than “Harry Potter” -although those lands are fantastic and a lot of folks miss Knockturn alley altogether! No it’s not Disney but it’s not a hyped up 6Flags either

OP enjoy your trip. You’ll love RPR.

 

[Monykalyn]

Cabana Bay suite - $292/night

And for that price you get a pool with a slide, AND another pool PLUS a lazy river. Where is that at a Disney resort for that price? Oh and both have pool bars with food, and the resort has a bowling alley! Love Cabana Bay!