staying on disney property vs universal property

[Dulcee]

I'm going to keep fighting for a split stay. While my in laws are a few hours in the parks then back to the pool kind of travelers DH and I really like getting going early, breaking mid day then back out most of the evening.

Staying onsite for both resorts seems to make the most sense to me.

NJGIRL do you prefer one universal resort above the others?

[NJGIRL]

That's a hard question because all three are so nice, but I favor the Hard Rock. I can't tell you exactly why. It might be because it was the first one we stayed in or because it is the closet to the Studio, which is the park I enjoy more.

Make your decision by looking at the map of the entire resort. Royal Pacific is the closest to IOA. Also take a look at the theming and pricing. You can't go wrong with any of them.

We enjoy the Universal theme parks as much as Disneys. I think if you can stop your self from expecting Universal to mirror Disney, which it doesn't even try to, you will be able to enjoy Universal as much as we do.

[greengeen]

I wouldn't say that Universal resorts are priced like moderates - holy cow! They're priced like deluxe resorts at WDW. They're nice, but the rooms are small. And they nickle and dime you to death at Universal. They charge for parking, charge for internet access, charge for health club access, charge for an empty arcade card to load with money; they charge extra for EVERY LITTLE THING. We hated that. The last time we did Universal, we did ONE night only there, to get FOTL access to Harry Potter. The rest of our vacation we spent at a DVC resort at Disney. We had very little interest in the rides/attractions at Universal other than WWoHP, because we're not teenagers and don't like roller coasters and "thrill" rides. Epcot is much more our speed. I would do a split stay if I were you, with as little time at the Universal resort as possible.

[kcrc]

We just returned from our first ever stay at a Universal hotel (Portofino).
The good:
It was a beautiful hotel.
The cost of the room itself was not as much as what we normally pay at the Poly.
The hotels (and Portofino was the farthest away) are all located much closer to the parks. The boats ran efficiently and got us there quickly.
The Express Pass was great!
The room itself was very clean and pretty.

The "not as good":
Everything does seem to cost more as others have mentioned - parking fees, food, drinks. The places to eat were CRAZY expensive!
In our case, there was LOTS of construction going on. Tarps were up for painting in several places.
Our room, while very pretty, had really odd windows. They started about "chest high" and went up from there. So, my son really could not see out! And they don't open - they were fixed position. All of the rooms (on the top floor anyway) had varying window layouts. We just happened to get that one. Strange!
Probably the biggest thing I noticed was the energy - if that makes sense. When we stay at the Poly, there are always lots of people milling about in the lobby. Pool area has lots of families. It just has a more active feel. At the Portofino, it just seemed "colder". We ate at one of the restaurants at the hotel. At 5:30, we were the ABSOLUTELY ONLY ONES in the restaurant!! It was so strange. Everything just echoed! Can you imagine that at the Poly? Or any of the Disney restaurants actually? And, we did the "movie by the pool" one night. There were perhaps 3 families. They start at 8:00 (when it's still semi-light and hard to see), so that the movie will be done by 10 when the pool closes up tight. I'm used to the Poly movies, where there are lots of folks watching, lots of playing in the pool, pauses for the Water Pageant and Wishes. Just so different.

That is just my 2 cents... but, I still lean Disney's way.

[NJGIRL]

Portofino is a more low key resort. I see more couples and families with older children there. That is one of the things I like about Universal, there does seem to be less commotion in their resorts, which I find more relaxing.

Movie nights at the Royal Pacific & Hard Rock have always been packed when we have been there. I like that a waiter comes around the beach to take food and drink orders.

I do not find the food prices at the hotels to be any higher than at Disney Resorts, if you compare apples to apples. Disney's signature restaurants are just as pricey as Universals. Breakfast buffets aren't anymore expensive either.

[TheVBs]

We've never done Universal, so I'll be really interested in hearing how your trip goes! A split stay seems to make the most sense, but if you stay at only one place then Disney makes sense if you're spending more of your time there.

[GoBlueLacheta]

The Hotels are close. It is all about feel and what you enjoy. Neither property is "cheap" but the Hard Rock or PB is definitely quieter than most of the properties at DW.

The food is much better on Disney property simply because of the greater variety and more opportunity for successes.

Downtown Disney has a better vibe than City Walk for sure.

The "Studios" as they have both dramatically changed since inception. Are really on par, and if you are talking about sheer attraction/ride appeal Universal Studios probably wins by a hair for anyone over the age of 10 and can enjoy all of the rides at US.

Rip Ride Rocket and The Mummy are two of the better attractions in all of Orlando

Now IOA is a bit of a tougher comparison. It is fairly spread out and it seems like youre just going from ride to ride. One headliner every quarter mile in a big circle.

Hulk/Spiderman/Jurassic Park/Forbidden Journey and the old Dueling Dragons...the end. There are no really enjoyable non E-ticket attractions. The two water rides there besides Jurassic Park are fun, but you get COMPLETELY drenched on both, unlike Splash which seems to be the perfect amount depending on the time of year.

If Harry Potter World continues it's expansion and adds another E-ticket it will definitely make it still worth attending.

With the proposed Cars and Star Wars expansion at Studios hopefully DW can keep up.

[disneynarula]

I don't either party is "wrong". Since you all have different ideas about what the better parks are you could stay off property. You could rent a big house or a few small condos near each other. That is what we plan to do for our family reunion. That way each person can decide what ticket packages to purchase.

You could decide on a few key events to do together and what to do on your own.