Universal Disney Split Stay??

[Princess Merida]

I currently have 4 nights Royal Pacific Resort and 4 nights Pop Century with free dining booked for end of August. It's me DH DD7 and DD12. We love everything Disney, but want to revisit Harry Potter attractions and try Volcano Bay. I've been considering switching over to an all Disney stay for the free dining for the week. My hold up is that we've never stayed on site at Universal so I can't judge the convenience or hotel. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[bchbetha]

It'll be so, so much more convenient to do the split stay!!! Don't switch to Disney. Most of your savings on food will disappear due to transportation/ parking so its just not a worthwhile option.
Royal Pacific is so close to the parks. You'll love the convenience. And Express Passes? Absolutely worth it. The way big step up in hotel quality will be really nice too.
So much better than driving back and forth to a small value room at Disney each day!

 

[mernin]

The stay at RPR will give you Unlimited Express pass, which is nice. You can also walk from the hotel to the parks, it's not far at all. The free dining would be QS, right. So I would look at the difference in the cost of the rooms, take into account the express pass and dining and weigh the options. If you are planning to drive to Universal for the days and just stay at Disney, I'd wonder if you'd use the credits on those days if you were eating at Universal. If I were in your shoes, I would figure how many days I would be at Universal, book those nights there and do the rest at Disney.

I have no experience with Volcano Bay so can't comment on that part.

 

[gotomu212]

I absolutely would keep it split. You mentioned you weren’t sure about the hotels- Royal Pacific is similar to a Disney Deluxe. Very nice hotel and pool, 15 minute walk or boat to thpark parks, big rooms, and you get early entry and express pass (express pass is an unlimited fast pass for every ride just in case you aren’t familiar). Pop Century just can’t compare at all.

If you were planning on still traveling over to UO if you did a full stay at Disney I think the free dining would be less than the parking and transportation at UO plus you’d still need to eat at UO.

Your kids are perfect ages fo UO so I think the Express Passes will be very useful.

 

[Sue M]

I do a split. Universal resorts blow WDW resorts out of the water imo. So start with WDW and end with the 4 Universal days. You won’t want to have 4 days at Royal Pacific then move into Pop.
As for DDP we never find it a great deal. You’d prob do better taking the room discount and paying oop for food. You’d have to look at menus and decide how much you’d spend in food and do the Disney math.

 

[wendlle]

Pop Century is a ZOO, keep the split stay and enjoy Royal Pacific for a bit. The free food isn't worth it.

 

[OKC Disney Fan]

We're doing a split stay in a few weeks. (First time to Universal-yay!). 4 nights Pop Century w/ free dining plan and then 3 nights RPR. So excited! My travel agent said that RPR was her favorite resort on site.
We like to experience the restaurants and snacks at the parks (and we don't drink much alcohol) so I don't feel club level would be worth it for us but it's a nice feature.

 

[Nsaudra]

I'm not sure how many days you planned at unaversal... but one stay at the lowes hotel gets you two days of express pass day before and after. Your key is your pass. It's so worth it. When they are busy.

 

[billlaurie]

Definitely split your stay! The only problem is you will be so spoiled by RPR that you won't want to go back to a Disney value ever again! It is a gorgeous resort and the rooms are huge compared to POP.

 

[glocon]

We’ve been doing split stays for a while now.... and while we plan plan plan all our Disney days, UO is just our light at the end of the trip to relax. We don’t plan anything at all for UO. We will have 5 nights at wdw followed by 3 nights at UO- can’t wait!

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

I’d do the split but stay CL at RPR, the small price difference per night can save even more money on out of pocket expenses like drinks and food.

 

[zebsterama]

Keep the split you won’t regret it. We’re doing another one the upcoming summer.

 

[Princess Merida]

Thank you all for your replies. We decided on a split stay 3 nights RPR and then 6 night Pop w/free dining upgraded to regular plan. I'm excited to try RPR and absolutely want the express passes. I am prepared for the hotel downgrade as we have DVC at BWV and we still take the step down to a value when traveling with my daughters dance team. I'm excited to see the new Pop rooms though! Thanks again to all.

 

[SA mom]

Glad you decided to split the stay. I love Disney, but it is not a vacation but an event. RPR is so calm and relaxing and then going through the parks without messing with fast passes is just luxurious.