Going in either Feb or April with 2 kids ages 13 and 10 (so some stamina). Want to make the most of our stay in a short time.
Could have a car if deemed necessary but thinking about staying in WDW hotel (close in on transportation line–do not want 3 or 4 stops between hotel and park) then switching to hotel closer to Universal or in Orlando for that day trip (major draw for us is Harry Potter). If no car, heard we can take taxi for relatively affordable rate (cheaper than a rental!)
Or should we just stay centrally located outside of resorts and drive in each day?
We went the Universal for the day in the middle of an October Disney trip. We did have a rental car so we drove from BLT to Universal. We focused on Harry Potter stuff and bought park-to-park tickets. We felt like we saw everything we really wanted to see and had time to explore outside the HP stuff. It was just my husband and I. We did not purchase wands so if you plan to do that, things could take more time.
If you thought the extra time of early park admission would benefit you I would consider booking a Universal hotel.