Tui hotel for Disney and Universal

[DoingItForTheKid]

Thinking of changing my Tui holiday to Florida.

Definitely not interested in self-catering and we're not taking a car so can you recommend a 4or 5 hotel near the parks which I can book with Tui?

Should I book one near Disney or Universal?

Our 13 year old daughter will be with us and is very interested in the Space Centre too.

I’d book 2 hotels. Well, that’s what we do.

Any of the Disney hotels will give you free onsite transport. The Universal Studios hotels such as Hard Rock, Lowes, Endless Summer etc will also give you transport to Universal Studios and Volcano Bay. Last trip we did 12 nights Disney and 5 nights Universal. Next trip will be 5 and 5 and then 4 in New York.

You’ve said you aren’t interested in Self Catering. Florida generally is unless you get a free dining package with Disney. That’s not currently on offer.

Transport wise, we never drive. We just use Uber or Lyft. Cheaper than a car and never waited more than a few minutes for one. My husband and son did a day trip to Kennedy. It was a long day but thoroughly enjoyed. Plenty of organised bus trips to Kennedy leaving you the day to explore on your own before coming back.

Are you going for 2 weeks?
If so, I would book one week in a Disney hotel to get the perks (such as early fast pass and early dining booking) and the second week at a Universal hotel (one of the more expensive ones will give you perks such as fast passes and early entry to the parks).
It might seem like a faff to change hotels mid holiday, but it’s the best way to get the perks for both resorts.
The Kennedy Space Center is an amazing day out but is about an hours drive from Orlando, so it doesn’t matter where you stay. You can book an excursion if you don’t have a car.

That's so interesting you both suggest 2 hotels for the perks.

How long does it take to get from a Disney hotel to say the Universal Harry Potter bit?

We stayed at Saratoga Springs for Disney and then moved to Hard Rock for Universal. Journey was no more than 30 minutes from memory.

If doing Universal and budget allows Hard Rock or the two main Lowes Hotels are worthwhile as you get fast passes for Universal. Even if you do one night that will give you two days worth of fast passes. You can then move again to another hotel to save some cash if needed.

I’ve just run those two locations I gave though google maps. 16-23 minutes drive.

Thanks so much for this.

I'm used to doing deluxe AI resorts and am just realising these costs don't include food or tickets.

Do you know why the free dining plan is currently discontinued???

From memory they start it in April and it runs as a promo until September or October time. If you join some of the Facebook groups or the forum on TripAdvisor they will have more up to date information on free dining. The more stars a hotel has, the bigger dining plan you have.

This should help

I did read briefly that free dining has possibly been suspended this year because they have so many holidays to transfer for COVID. That’s why wer aren’t going back until 2023. I did want to go this year as I have a big birthday.

Tickets are a big expense. Disney is about £430 per person for a 14 day ticket and Universal is about £269 per person. Also remember that a child is classed as an adult aged 10.

I hope you don’t mind me saying but you don’t sound hugely experienced in all things Disney if you do decide to go, it takes a lot of planning. If you do go and just turn up, you will be disappointed. You need to research rides, fast passes and the booking system. Ditto restaurant bookings, particularly for WDW. Universal not so much.

I've actually done Disney Florida and California in the 90's and Paris last decade too.

But I'm finding researching online tricky...I'd rather shortlist through a hard copy brochure.

I'm looking at 2 weeks late July 2022 so hopefully lots of time for me to get up to speed.

Thanks for the dining plan info.

I quite fancy Disney in California. May be one day! The Facebook pages are really helpful if you are on Facebook.

Definitely a universal premium hotel for the perks and then move to closer to Disney. Swan and dolphin hotels are in the Epcot area and get Disney perks but aren’t Disney hotels and are 4* but much cheaper than Disney deluxe resorts.

There seem to be a lots of changes recently due to Covid, having to pre-book park entry for example.

I would read a few websites, like <a class="break-all" href="https://touringplans.com/touringplans.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">touringplans.com/touringplans.com/ and the park sites to make sure you have up to date information.

Last time we did 10 nights at Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside with free dining, and 5 nights at Universal’s Portofino Bay (club level for the free breakfast and supper) for the unlimited front of line passes.

Lots of people book one night at the Universal hotel to get two days FOL passes.

We stayed at swan and dolphin for the 4 nights we were at Disney. The room was fine, we ate either at the Boardwalk or at the parks.it was nice to be able to 2k to Epcot and we got the free shuttle bus to the others.

I actually disagree that if you just turn up you'd be disappointed, but if there's something you MUST do, then yes, a bit of planning wouldn't go amiss. I've been going to Disney for over 40 years (I grew up in Florida), and have never planned it in the same way some suggest here. However, I never go for that long (5 days Max), only choose either Disney OR Universal, never both.

If doing Disney, we always stay offsite at a villa with our own pool, and we always drive (it's really easy to drive around in the US), if Universal, we would always look at the hotel deals to get the free passes and early entry and weigh up against buying separately.

There's always something for everyone, but it's also a holiday, I can't be doing with planning our every meal and every day 9 months in advance - doesn't give much leeway for weather or just wanting a down day!

I actually disagree that if you just turn up you'd be disappointed, but if there's something you MUST do, then yes, a bit of planning wouldn't go amiss.

I agree. I hate having a whole holiday pre-planned, and much prefer to be spontaneous. I worked out what we wanted to do beforehand, and then we played it by ear. I just checked online every day to see which places to avoid at busy times, and which places to go to at quieter times. Having a car helped TBH.

We stayed at the Universal Cabana Bay resort, which was OK. One thing I didn't like was the sheer size of the hotel. We tend to holiday in small family run hotels, and the hotels in Orlando are anything but.. However, it was clean, and the beds were comfortable.