Stay at Disney or Universal? (Orlando, Villas: hotels, price, bus) - Florida (FL) - City-Data Forum

painter62 · 05-07-2010, 06:27 PM

It is my daughter's 10th birthday. We have decided to take her to Disney/Universal for 4 days. She wants to visit both parks. Which would be the better experience: Portofino Bay Resort at Universal or Boardwalk Villas at Disney? I can't decide if the magic hours outweigh the universal fast pass.
We have never stayed "on-resort" before. The last time we came to Orlando we did the Nickelodeon. Any advice would be great! (Oh, and BTW, it will be the memorial day weekend, unfortunately!)

05-07-2010, 06:37 PM

Universal. The pass benefits are far superior.

Just be forewarned you will be charged about $10 or so a day for parking at Universal's hotels.

Granny Sue · 05-07-2010, 06:51 PM

While you'll get some good answers here, take a gander at Hotels and Vacation Reviews - TripAdvisor also.
It's a wealth of information for the tourist area.

Have fun!

DrewNYJ · 05-07-2010, 06:55 PM

I'd stay at Universal.

The Universal Express is certainly worth it. Extra Magic Hours is a nice perk, but from my experience it is just as crowded, if not more then during the day. All of the Resort guests usually end up at that park and it can get a bit crazy.

Universal Express however, is fantastic. I don't think I've ever waited longer than 10minutes for a ride. If it's during a weekend and Mardi Gras is going on at Universal, it is most certainly worth it.

luvyalots249 · 05-07-2010, 08:13 PM

Both parks have fast passes too. You take your ticket, put it in a kiosk, and it shoots out a fast pass that tells you a time to come back to the ride that you're wanting to go to. The time the pass works usually is an hour or two after you get it. Helpful tip when it comes to going to the parks: start from the back and work your way towards the front! Rides like The Hulk get really long likes early because it is right up front. Best bet would be to go to the ride, get the fast pass, and then go to another ride in the back. Then a couple hours later, you can use your fast pass and be up at the front!

doom1001 · 05-07-2010, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvyalots249

Both parks have fast passes too. You take your ticket, put it in a kiosk, and it shoots out a fast pass that tells you a time to come back to the ride that you're wanting to go to. The time the pass works usually is an hour or two after you get it. Helpful tip when it comes to going to the parks: start from the back and work your way towards the front! Rides like The Hulk get really long likes early because it is right up front. Best bet would be to go to the ride, get the fast pass, and then go to another ride in the back. Then a couple hours later, you can use your fast pass and be up at the front!

Universal hasn't had a free Fastpass style of ticket for years now!They either have the Express tickets that you purchase,I can't tell you the price as I've never bought them and I've heard the price varies depending on how busy that particular day is.Also if you stay at one of their hotels you also get unlimited express for all the rides that offer it,but their hotels are not exactly cheap.

tricky1 · 05-08-2010, 01:31 PM

I would choose Universal , the hotels are great
and the unlimted express is priceless going on a holiday weekend.
As had been stated disney has free fastpasses.

whynot66 · 05-08-2010, 01:36 PM

We always stayed at DW resorts. They are heaven on earth! Going to their bus stops and riding the bus was fun in itself! Our favorite is the "Caribbean Beach". The whole "Atmosphere of the DW resorts is fun and happy.