Split Stays with Universal

Walt Disney World
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We’re thinking of staying at a Universal property while hitting Universal, doing a split with Disney.
We’d be hitting the parks on the days when we’re changing hotels so storing bags might be an issue.

I’m leaning towards:
Beach Club - Uni - Poly

But DW thinks it’s logistically better to do either:
Uni - Beach Club - Poly
OR
Beach Club - Poly - Uni

So what’s the collective wisdom on this?

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I have always done one then another. That way I am only paying transportation once.

I don’t know why I always do Universal first, even if I am only adding one night at Disney for a party or event.

At both Disney and Universal, bell services will hold your luggage.

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I would recommend UOR followed by Disney.
It’s hard to type why (I’ve typed a reply and deleted it already), but I hope this makes sense…
I adore UOR, but the one time we had it at the end of our trip, it felt like our trip was over when we finished with Disney. UOR seems to be easier to say goodbye to for some reason.

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Is there a free shuttle/transport to Universal hotels from MCO?
(Since we know that DME is going the way of the dodo.)

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Yeah. For “reasons” I am sticking to the idea of ending the trip with MK and Poly.

I also think ride-skittish DD7 would see MK as a highpoint v UOR.

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In August, we did UOR first, and then Disney. I think if you have younger kids, this makes sense. But the truth is, we found ourselves (with older kids…one DS10, but the rest were 17 and older) comparing Disney to UOR more than I expected, with UOR winning out more often than I would have guessed. I think with an older bunch, it might be better to do Disney first and then UOR. But ultimately either works. I don’t think I’d put UOR in the middle, though…that means two transition days instead of one.

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Since we’re planning on doing a split stay with multiple Disney resorts, would the transition from BCV to UOR be any more difficult than BCV to Poly?

Or did you mean transition in terms of switching in and out of Disney bubble?
Something other than shifting luggage etc.

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The shift of luggage from one resort to another at Disney would be easier. Drop it off, go about your Disney day, and it magically appears at the next resort.

The same isn’t as easy when changing from UOR to Disney or vice versa.

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That was what I was trying to say too. It is easy to hop on a Lyft from Universal to Disney and then be done with the multi step transfers.

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hahaha… we just went to AK for a few hours yesterday… stayed until my knee timed out :wink: and as we were driving away… I kept pointing to things… oh there! oh there! my DH asked what I was trying to get at!? “I don’t want to leave!!!”

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To illustrate this point, think about going from BC to Poly. You wake up, get your luggage ready and handed off to Bell Services. You head out to, say, HS or whatever. End of your day at HS, you take the bus to Poly. No need to return to BC.

But when going from Uni to BC, for example, you can do it one of two ways:

  1. Gather your luggage and bring it to bell services, then head to UOR for the day. At the end of your day, you have to head back to the UOR hotel, then get your ride, carrying your luggage with you, to BC.

or

  1. Gather your luggage, get a Lyft to BC, carrying your luggage with you, and drop it off at BC Bell Services. Then, head to your Disney park for the day and then come back to BC to actually check in, grabbing your luggage.
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Many great points made in the responses so far - here are my contributions:

  • If you feel Disney is more your style than UOR, I recommend doing Disney last so that you end with the magic. If you think UOR is more your speed, finish your trip there
  • By pure happenstance, we are doing a WDW-UOR-WDW split stay in May/June 2021. (Originally the UOR days were going to be a Disney Cruise, so we already had pre- and post-cruise WDW reservations.)
  • While the two-split stay will add some complexity to logistics, I’m kinda looking forward to doing it this way so we can get some Disney immediately upon arrival, take a small break, then come back. Since we will be in Orlando for 2 full weeks, the additional transfer time isn’t as much of an issue.
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Exactly!! :rofl:

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I always do Universal in the middle because I use DME at both ends. We have the Disney room for 2 weeks and so we just leave our bags there.

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OK hold on

So you don’t go to a Universal hotel at all?

Or are you saying that you leave your bags at the Disney property while you’re staying at a Universal hotel and then return to the same Disney property, retrieving your bags for the second part of your stay?

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I think she’s saying she actually pays for two hotel rooms over the same days while at UOR. So she can leave her bags in her room at the Disney hotel, and just take a small bag for the days at the UOR hotel.

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Now that’s an interesting option…

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We’ve done the same as @missoverexcited, but with a villa. We have it booked for the full trip, then take a small bag to each hotel for the night.

In the future I wish I could stay at RPR for more than 1 night… :crossed_fingers:t2::crossed_fingers:t2::crossed_fingers:t2:

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(1) I would not put Universal sandwiched between the 2 Disney hotels … more traveling and 2 more complicated luggage transfers instead of 1.

(2) If I had a ride skittish 7 year old, I would do Disney before Universal to get her used to rides and build up. She may get so scared at Universal that she doesn’t try stuff at Disney that she would otherwise try.

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What @Jeff_AZ said @GreyingMouser. It would be different for you since it’s a split stay and I’m not sure I’d pay for deluxe at both, but we have a 2 week stay at POFQ, leave most of our stuff there, and take a small bag to HRH for a couple of nights.

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