Universal visit

[Ademello192]

We are planning a trip in April with my three adult kids 20, 22, 23. They would like to go to Universal for a day or two. We have never gone off site. Would you recommend day tripping to Universal or staying in a hotel by Universal for a 2 days? How easy is the shuttle from a resort to Universal?

 

[ParentsOf4]

Universal onsite hotels are priced somewhere between WDW's Moderate and Deluxe Resorts. The Hard Rock and Royal Pacific are within walking distance of the parks but all 3 hotels offer a boat service as well.

The 3 onsite hotels have the best onsite perk offered at any theme park: unlimited Fast Passes. The exceptions are Harry Potter's Forbidden Journey and the Rip, Ride, Rockit roller coaster. For FJ, you'll get a one-hour early admission into WWOHP.

You also get preferred seating at the restaurants, meaning they'll seat you ahead of other walk-ins.

The 3 onsite Universal hotels are really nice, as good as WDW's Deluxe Resorts. For the onsite perks alone, and the convenience of being able to walk to the parks, I suggest you stay 2 nights (or longer if you want to) at a Universal hotel.

 

[Zummi Gummi]

I would also recommend staying offsite for a night or two. The Universal resorts, particularly Portofino, are fabulous, and you get great perks being a guest of their hotels.

 

[UPbeekeeper]

We normally just remain at one hotel and take a taxi for the couple of days we visit Universal.

 

[luv]

You should stay in a Uni hotel. Bigger rooms and better service than you get at Disney, plus the whole FOTL thing. Can't beat that.

The Uni transportation is not only MUCH, MUCH faster than driving yourself, it is also a very pretty ride.

I like PBH and RPH a lot. I don't really care for the HRH, but that is a thematic thing and no reflection of the staff.

You can have some relaxation with your fun at Uni.

 

[Ademello192]

Thanks! We will stay on site for a couple days as a special treat.

 

[atterris]

I was thinking of going to Universal for one day to do the Islands of Adventure to go to Harry Potter Land. I was thinking that one day should be enough. Is this a good idea since I'm not a huge ride person? What is the price to go to Universal from Wdw as I will be staying on property. Would you go or just spend another day at Wdw?

 

[ShookieJones]

Last year we decided to take a couple of days to visit Uni.
I priced out staying at one of the Uni onsite hotels and it was about 300 - 400 dollars more expensive for just the hotel stay.
We rent a car for our week at WDW so we decided to just keep at WDW and scoot over to Uni for the two days.

I read about a trick of getting a package deal for tickets including a night at one of Uni's cheaper sister hotels and get the hour extra in the morning for IoA to guarnatee you'll avoid major crowds and ride WWoHP at least a couple of times. It ended up being extra 70 bucks on top of the park tickets. We never check into the room. So we essentially pay 70 dollars total for 2 days of park early park entry. Worth it to us to enjoy the HP end of IoA and avoid the crowds.
The sister hotels unfortunately don't include the 'express pass' for the rest of the rides at the parks that the onsites include which is definitely an added value.
But the set up we use fits our budget and allows us to see the part of Universal we enjoy the most.

 

[luv]

I was thinking of going to Universal for one day to do the Islands of Adventure to go to Harry Potter Land. I was thinking that one day should be enough. Is this a good idea since I'm not a huge ride person? What is the price to go to Universal from Wdw as I will be staying on property. Would you go or just spend another day at Wdw?

I would go to all the theme parks I could squeeze in and do the best things at each one.

If all you want to see is Harry Potter, one day is much more than enough. However, without a FOTL thing, you will likely not be able to do everything there is to do in any park in one day. It's possible, but not likely. A day is enought to get a lot done, though.

Means runs a shuttle from Disney to Uni. I don't know what they charge, but it's probably less than a cab ride!

 

[Gojira ゴジラ]

We are planning a trip in April with my three adult kids 20, 22, 23. They would like to go to Universal for a day or two. We have never gone off site. Would you recommend day tripping to Universal or staying in a hotel by Universal for a 2 days? How easy is the shuttle from a resort to Universal?

There's a cheaper option than taxi. The unofficial shuttle (which I forgot the name) will pick you up at the resort and drive you back to the hotel. Taxi -if I remember correctly- will cost you around $60-70 round trip.

I stayed at the Lowes Hotel for 2 days once, while it was a great experience I don't think it's really worth the money. Plus I like the option to be able to go back to WDW for my dining needs.