Staying onsite- split vacation with Disney?

[mom2morgan]

Does this make sense - we are going for about 12 days and want to try out two different Disney resorts anyway - so I was thinking a few days at Disney, then a few days at Universal, then back to the second resort at Disney. I'm thinking that means I can still use Magical express to and from airport, and then with being onsite and the free shuttles to SeaWorld, I'm only paying cab fair to and from the Universal area once. Does that make sense? Will Disney let me do it that way? And which hotel at Universal would you recommend for a family of 4, with older teens?

[Kairi_7378]

That sounds like a fantastic trip! I can't advise on the Universal Resorts but I know that you can do a one-way Magical Express trip to your first resort and from your second resort.

[BrerGnat]

You can definitely do that. Disney won't care. It will be up to you to get yourself back and forth. When you book your Magical Express, just book it one way on each hotel reservation.

[MizMissy]

Sounds like a great trip. For the Universal hotels, I would definitely pick one with express pass included (Portofino, Hard Rock or Port Royal). Out of those three, our family prefers Hard Rock. Not sure anything specific, but I just liked the brighter room and arrangement of the room at Hard Rock. It was the easiest walk to the parks (closest to Studios). Hard Rock pool is very nice (has a slide that Port Royal does not). We haven't tried Portofino (supposedly the nicest of the hotels) because we prefer walking to and from parks instead of relying on the boats. Port Royal common areas were very nice and I liked the theme, but for some reason it just felt too big (I have no idea actual size comparison, just a feeling when we were there). The entire time we were there, my kids kept saying they wanted to return to Hard Rock on the next trip.

[ThanxForNoticin]

I agree - this sounds like an excellent trip. I agree with other posters - if you're going to do something like this, stay at one of the original 3 resorts at Universal and take advantage of the Express Pass. We've stayed at Hard Rock and Portofino - both are very nice, but we prefer the location of the Hard Rock - really nice to just walk to the parks and City Walk. Very nice resort. My teen-agers really liked it there, too....

Just one thing that comes to mind about your trip plans.... Make sure any Disney passes you buy for the trip can be used at the beginning and the end of your trip. I don't think that's going to be a problem - but if you have a 7-day expiring pass, for example, make sure it's valid the first day and last day of your Disney trip! Have fun!

[LVT]

Just a side note. We kept our disney mugs and used them in the second resort until expired.
When you purchase the mugs you need to let them know the last day.