Where to stay

[gigi]

I am in the planning stages of trip for this August .Our last trip to Disney was 2008! I have two teenagers who want to go to Universal for two days, Sea World, then Disney. So, do we stay on Disney property (we have never stayed anywhere else) or do we split our time since only part of our visit will be at Disney.

[ginny57]

I always vote Disney all the way....but if you are doing Universal and can spend the $$ to stay on site, the free express pass privilege is great. Otherwise you either wait....or pay for the express pass.

[j2k]

I'm also planning a trip for August and I think we've decided to stay at one of the hotels at Downtown Disney. There's 7 hotels. The Hilton gives you EMH priveleges. I haven't decided yet but we might stay there. That might be a good choice for your family since you're visiting Universal and Seaworld. I haven't been able to justify the cost of an on-property Resort.

Good luck making a decision! I know it's not easy because you want to plan a perfect vacation.

[Aurora]

I am in the planning stages of trip for this August .Our last trip to Disney was 2008! I have two teenagers who want to go to Universal for two days, Sea World, then Disney. So, do we stay on Disney property (we have never stayed anywhere else) or do we split our time since only part of our visit will be at Disney.

With three whole days planned at other parks, I'd definitely split my stay, and I'd stay at the Royal Pacific Hotel again in a SECOND! It's a beautiful, deluxe Universal hotel with one of the best pools (including all of Disney's), and it's within walking distance of the parks (there's also a boat). It has fantastic restaurants and it's also not far from SeaWorld.

Also, staying at the Universal hotels gives you free Express Passes. If you're familiar with Disney's FastPass, Universal's version is sort of an enhanced FP, because you go to the front of the line for most attractions as many times as you want, with no limits.

We got a good rate from AAA when we went last June.

You can read my trip report with a more detailed description of the hotel here. (http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=183072)

[buzznwoodysmom]

Definitely try to stay at one of the Universal resorts for the Universal part of your trip. We've done Universal twice on trips to WDW while staying at a Disney resort, but this past December we stayed 2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel. I wouldn't do it any other way now that I've done Universal while staying in one of their resorts.

We were there Christmas week and Express Pass was running around $80 a person, at least that's what the sign stated. We are a family of 4 so that would have run us $320 per day just for the express pass. We paid just $250 a night for the room, which more than paid for itself given the fact that we were able to enter Wizarding World of Harry Potter an hour before the general public, and we had Express Pass for the duration of our stay. It made visiting Universal such an easy part of our trip, we can't wait to do it again!

[gigi]

Thanks for all your help. Aurora just read your trip report. Thanks I did not know that AAA gave a discount. I think Royal Pacific it will be for the first leg of our journey. Now hoping Disney has some deals for August.:mickey: