I find that dubious at best. We did a split vacation in October, only option we could get at Disney was Coronado Springs and the only one at Universal was Cabana Bay... Well the per night cost was cheaper at Cabana Bay and there we were in a suite versus a regular room at Coronado Springs... The OP was correct in the walking is an issue and from Cobana Bay you really can't walk because of where the hotel is located so you have to use a bus, which puts you right at the edge of the parking garage for Universal. So walking is a pain but only because their layout forces you to walk through the Universal version of Downtown Disney before you actually get to the parks.
If you were to compare the high end Universal hotel to the deluxe Disney hotels the Disney hotels would be higher... So I just don't understand the rant about Universal hotels costing more than Disney, I don't see that as real.
