Has anyone booked a Universal night during a Disney resort reservation?

[klacey1]

Hi all! I was wondering if anyone has ever booked a night a Universal while you were staying at Disney? I have book a DVC room for 12 nights and did not want to pack up and then unpack. I compared prices and it is cheaper and beneficial to stay on Universal property for one night instead of just going over for the day. I could just leave my room empty for the night at Disney right? Has anyone done this?

We did this during our trip in 2014 to get into US side of Harry Potter early - just packed a change of clothes, had dinner at BOG, drove to the Royal Pacific and checked in. Were back at our Disney resort by 4pm the next day, in time for our PM fast passes at DHS.

We stayed at the RPR in 1 room with another couple, so it worked out to about $50/pp which was cheaper & better than their stand alone express pass offering, which is why we did it. Plus, we were able to hit the ground running since we got the US gate at like 6am to be first in line to ride Gringott's & check out Diagon Alley before all the crowds got there.

Yep! We've done this twice, once almost exactly what @snayak did! Dinner at BoG, back to WL to grab an overnight bag, cab to RPR around 8 pm. Early entry at the parks and all-day express pass meant we hit everything we wanted and were back at WDW early evening. We didn't let anyone at WL (or POR, where we did similar the year before) know. It was super convenient to do this in the middle of our trip. I guess technically we "wasted" money on a hotel we didn't sleep in one night, but we didn't view it that way.

 

[eyor44]

We did this in November. I was able to get a great rate at a Portofino and it was well worth it for the 5 Express Passes as we spent two days out of eight at Universal.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Thank you for all of the info!! I'm glad to hear that the Chocolate Emporium is still there. I heard about it opening and that was it. Any suggestions??

We had a range of entrees at Emporium + liked them all. Entrée prices were reasonable, and staff was very good. Most of menu desserts are over-the-top. Not anything I'd want to eat; intended more for photo posting, and they are BIG. Instead, the choclate desserts in the gift shop looked super. Every time we've gone there, we opted for the chocolates and pralines, which are super.

(We have a crazy tradition of getting chocolate rocks at Universal, usually at the Suessland candy shop. So we were thrilled to find very unique chocolate rocks at the Emporium in self-serve.)

First or last part of your trip isn't as important, IMO, as avoiding peak crowds. I think Thurs-Fri-Sat are the general days to avoid US, though Saturday is busy at ALL theme parks. Folks tend to spend X days at WDW, then go to US near end of the week. I'd generally aim to go to US on Sun, Mon Tues, or Wed. Though with Express Pass, you won't have trouble seeing everything.

We usually hit Minions first or just one HP ride, then see rest of both parks, and return to HP later. The US wet rides are very wet, so we usually skip those unless we're dressed to get WET. The Jurassic Park ride isn't that great anyways. Kong/Minions the two rides where you'll likely hit a bit of a wait even with EP. Fun to ride MiB multiple times for highest score.

Incidentally, we love Club Level at US! Of the 3, RP is our favorite CL. Every night has a theme; our favorite is Asian night. The Napa Cabbage/tangerine/ginger salad is super! Food at Portofino is also great. HRH food is good. HRH is all about Hard Rock theme, so their CL has a little extra focus on adult beverages. HRH also has daily live music at the pool, and lots going on at their Velvet Lounge. There's also a crazy option at HR to borrow a guitar and do lessons in room using tv! It looked tempting!

 

[nkereina]

Just because you book the Universal room, it doesn't mean you need to stay there. You can check-in, not spend the night there, and you'll still get the express pass benefits. If you plan on spending two days in Universal, you'll have to weigh which is more of a hassle - packing bags to stay the night at Universal for one night, or driving to and from Universal two days in a row.

 

[Polyonmymind]

Go to Universal at the end of your WDW trip. Staying at a resort with the EP included will spoil you rotten. Universal is not as "hectic" as WDW, more relaxed approach to the parks. Use this to wind down your vacation.

 

[luvmy2boyzz]

We did this last August. I Booked 7 days at Disney and one overnight at Universal to take advantage of the express pass. We just brought essentials in a carry on and left everything else at Disney. Worked out great! You get express pass for check in day and check out day so we had two days at Universal. Fun!

 

[retlaw_yensid]

Ok, what logic am I missing here? Even though you're saving on Universal passes, aren't you essentially still throwing $200+ away for a night in a Disney hotel that you're not using? Seems like a wash to me. Please clue me in on what I'm missing.

 

[MusicalAstronaut]

Ok, what logic am I missing here? Even though you're saving on Universal passes, aren't you essentially still throwing $200+ away for a night in a Disney hotel that you're not using? Seems like a wash to me. Please clue me in on what I'm missing.

I think it depends on your family size. I'm a solo traveler, so I'm going to be in the US hotel when I book it. But I think if you have, for example, a family of 5, it's still cheaper to have both hotels than just have the Disney hotel and buy the express passes. And again, for people with kids, packing up to move hotels for one night is NOT worth the effort. So if stay in your Disney hotel ($200) but you book the US hotel for one night ($200) to get the express passes, your total cost of 2 days of express passes for a family of 5 is $400 (because you get the express passes for the day you check in & the day you check out). If you stay in your Disney hotel and buy two days worth of passes for 5 people (the price ranges from $40-$150 depending on the level of pass you buy), even if you buy the cheapest option you're paying $600 for those two days. If you buy the most expensive one (unlimited express pass, park to park, in peak season), you're paying $1700 for two days. I've rounding on numbers and taxes and stuff, but basically if you want the express passes and you're going in a time of year when you need them, it's generally cheaper & easier to stay in your Disney hotel instead of moving one night and thinking of the price of the US hotel as the price of express passes for 2 days. ETA if this wrong someone please correct me! But that seems to be what I'm seeing online.