Split with Universal and Disney - stay at Universal and drive?

left210

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 26, 2005
We will be there for the week of Oct. 8. We will be at Universal for 3 days but also have two day tickets to Disney. Does it make sense to just stay at Universal the whole time and drive to Disney or to switch hotels once done with Universal? We are looking at Cabana Bay or HRH depending on whether we want to get express pass. If he staty at HRH we would most likely move due to cost for the Disney part of it but if stay at Cabana Bay the cost is similar to a value at Disney. Any help or advice is appreciated. Thanks.
 
We always do a split stay between our Disney and Universal portions. You can't beat the convenience of staying on-site at either place, so IMO, its worth it to move from a Universal hotel to a Disney hotel. If you commuted, you may run into traffic and you may be subject to parking fees. Or you'd have to arrange a car service if not driving yourself. To me, its just easier to take the Uber once to the new hotel and then you have a whole new experience to look forward to as well.
 
We drove back and forth from Cabana Bay last year to Disney for 4 days of our stay then stayed one night at the Contemporary. Not too bad if you are used to driving interstates. I have read though there is construction this year on the route we used. I know if we did it again we would try and stay at a Disney Property for our Disney days. I think parking at the parks is still free if you stay on site although you pay to park at the resorts. Driving into the parks would be easier than driving from Cabana Bay and lets you avoid the bus waits and lines.
If you are thinking of doing MNSSHP then it is nice to stay at a Disney property since you are in MK late. We chose to stay at the Contemporary for just one night so we could walk over to MK and back. Great choice. Staying at any of the Disney Properties lets you have extra magic hours in one of the parks- usually a different park each day. Last year we went to MK on Wednesday night the 25th until 1 AM! Best night ever. So extra magic hours are something to watch for and check when you are ready to leave for your trip because they often extend the hours.
 


It’s definitely worth doing deluxe at UO. My vote is for a split stay too!
 
Split stay. It can be a pain to drive back and forth, especially depending on time of day. After walking all day it can be awful to have to drive back that far.
 


I’m in the opposite camp to most people here. It looks like you have a pretty short vacation for visiting both UO and WDW. When you do a split stay, you lose so much time, packing and unpacking. When you stay at one hotel, you can just get up and go in the morning, even if you have to drive a little further. And staying on site at WDW doesn’t mean that your hotel will be close to the park you want to go to either. If you stay at AKL and want to go to MK, that’s already a 20 minute ride. Last Christmas I stayed 10 days at HRH and drove to WDW two days and it worked out really nice. I got up early and left HRH for rope drop both days. Just to give you some background, I visit Orlando several times a year and stay for About two weeks each visit.
 
When you do a split stay, you lose so much time, packing and unpacking. When you stay at one hotel, you can just get up and go in the morning, even if you have to drive a little further.

I get what you're saying, but the 20-30 minutes you spend packing/unpacking is considerably shorter than the 20-30 minutes you will spend commuting to and from Disney each way every day. IMO, you're losing a lot more time commuting by not doing a split stay. Plus, morning rush hour traffic and construction in Orlando can be pretty crazy and that's not how I'd want to start my morning. And the final nail for me was that OP would be able to stay at HRH if they did a split stay which means they'd have EPs for the Universal portion of their trip, which is worth any hassle and time spent packing/unpacking.
 
I’d also vote for split stay with HRH. EP and convenience of HRH can’t be beat. Also, do not underestimate the construction going on in Orlando right now! It’s a real mess.
 
I'm of the minority who would stay at 1 location. In my opinion, if in the same situation, moving for just 2 days would not be worth it. But I don't like to pack and repack. Also, depending on where you plan to stay on Disney property the room at Universal are typically a bit more luxurious. Especially, if you are looking at staying at HRH.
 
I'm of the minority who would stay at 1 location. In my opinion, if in the same situation, moving for just 2 days would not be worth it. But I don't like to pack and repack. Also, depending on where you plan to stay on Disney property the room at Universal are typically a bit more luxurious. Especially, if you are looking at staying at HRH.

They would only be able to stay at HRH if they do a split stay due to the cost. If they stayed at Universal the whole time, it would be Cabana Bay.
 
I vote split stay! and staying at HRH is amazing!! It's our favorite- you will accomplish so much with the unlimited express pass, be steps from the parks, and enjoy a fabulous truly deluxe resort with a stellar staff!:thumbsup2
 
I would split - this way you get the "in park resort" perks of both destinations. EMH and 60 day FP+ booking and complimentary airport transfer at WDW and EE and EP at Universal. Just pack accordingly and make the drive once - more time for parks and relaxing.

We usually do Universal first (also HrH@) and use a town car transfer from the airport, if you book Airport to Universal and then Universal to Disney as a round trip you get the rt cost savings as well as the complimentary grocery stop on the way to Universal. Then we take DME back to the airport from the Disney resort.
 
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I do this several times a year and pretty much always do a split stay. I agree that the time spent moving is more than made up by the time you save commuting each Disney day, especially if you plan to visit the Magic Kingdom.

I love, love, love unlimited Express at UO!
 
Another vote for split stay.

Universal can be done without EP, but it is so much more enjoyable and relaxing with. I’ve stayed at both Cabana Bay and HRH, and while CB is nice for a value, I’d choose less days at HRH over more at CB. You can’t beat the convenience of HRH for how close it is to the parks.

I also second that the drive between the two can be long and not fun at all. If there is a wreck or something, it can be a nightmare.

Another consideration, not sure if you guys are driving or flying. But if flying, then ending at Disney means you don’t have to worry about getting to the airport or luggage or anything. Disney will take care of it all for you which is another bonus.
 
We are here now and did a split stay. Disney first and then our first trip to universal for one night. I’d do the split stay again in a heartbeat.
 
Another vote for split stay here too. We didnt for our first trip in 2010 and it was fine (no EP either but very low crowds). However we started staying onsite for our second trip in 2014 and loved it. We stay at the HRH which is so awesomely close plus EP just makes everything easier. This year we’re only staying one night at WDW so we can go to MNSSHP then spending the rest of our time at the HRH. Can’t wait!
 
We did split stay last year, three nights at RP (for the included espresso pass) followed by four nights at Pop Century. We drove so used the middle day for the move and some afternoon pool time and Disney Springs. Worked out great!
 
Split stay. You don't have to completely unpack if it's a hassle to pack up again when you move hotels. I basically only unpack my toiletries.
 

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