Downtown Disney or Universal City Walk??

[Bincent]

Ok, I don't know where to post this, but I suppose this is the best place as any.

 

My cruise is from the Monday to Friday and ports at Port Canaveral. I would like to fly down on the Saturday and visit Islands of Adventure on the Sunday. I'll have a rental car, so getting around won't be an issue.

 

I've got a few questions:

- Where should I stay?

- I've heard a little about Downtown Disney and City Walk - I'm assuming that these are good locations to do something on the Saturday evening, but which is better?

- Is there an entrance fee to get into either?

- If I get a hotel in either location, do I still need to pay an entrance fee or is it included in the room rate?

- Are room rates that incredibly high in these locations? If so, should I just get a hotel offsite and pay for the entrance to go in?

 

Thanks for all your help :)

[gunnywife]

I don't know anything about Universal, but lots about the Disney area. We belong to the Disney Vacation Club and since we're Floridians we spend lots of time over there. There are good restaurants at the Disney Village and lots of stores to shop around in. You can walk thru Pleasure Island in the evening but if you want to drink or go into any of the shows or entertainment there is a charge.

As far as hotels are concerned, there are plenty. But I would suggest you make reservations well in advance. Right on Disney proper there are a couple of hotels that aren't too expensive, but most are pretty expensive. Check the websites for the hotels you're familiar with and like and see what that have in the Orlando, Lake Buena Vista, or Kissimmee area. If you want info on a particular hotel right around Disney or on Disney property, just ask and I'll help if I can.

Lynn

[paylady]

You won't pay for parking at Downtown Disney but you will pay at Citywalk. The walk from the parking lot to Citywalk can be a killer. DH and I did it once and only once. We're too spoiled by the Disney experience.

[swiss]

I would do Downtown Disney. Part of downtown Disney is free at night, then they have Pleasure Island which is the nightclub, comedy club area. Pleasure Island you pay a cover charge as you enter the area, then you can go into any of the clubs. They have lots of different venues playing and it is a lot of fun. Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island are right next to each other so you could walk between them. There are a lot of hotels around that area, we love the Disney hotels but they will not quite as reasonably priced as the hotels off Disney property, but the Disney hotels are worth the extra cost.

 

We have stayed at the Universal hotels and they are very expensive for what you get. I don't like City Walk near as much as Downtown Disney.

[4merlurker]

Do City Walk!!! Stay onsite at Universal and you will get 2 days of Front of the line privledges on all the rides (check in day AND check out day). NO WAITING on line!!!! Since your only doing the park for one day you'll get on alot more rides and really be able to enjoy the park!!! Plus you can walk or take a water taxi to the park/citywalk. It is soooooo worth it to stay onsite!!!

[dgballer39]

i agree with 4merlurker..........i stayed in the universal hotel and being able to "cut the line" was great. We never had to wait more then a few mins and some of the lines would have been like an hour. It is great to have and you can get more rides in this way. City walk at night is great there is lots of places to eat and it is so much fun.

[juliew]

I love them both - I'm a huge Disney fan - but I teeter a little towards City Walk and the venues there - great clubs, Margaritaville, Pat Obriens, great food, great entertainment. It's the same at either, some clubs at City Walk require a cover and pleasure island requires a cover to get in.

 

It's a flip of a coin - you'll be happy with either.

[TrqoisWtrs]

I stayed here while visiting Downtown Disney and it was great. Decent price and really nice hotel. Less than 5 minute walk to Downtown Disney and for an evening activity, you could check out the Cirque du Soleil show there - it was awesome!

[tarheelmjfan]

I'm with those who say, stay at Universal. We live an hour to 1 hr. 15 min. from both, so we go often. If we're going to one of the special events at WDW, we stay there. If we're going to the Universal parks, that's a no brainer. The on-site perks are so much better than anything WDW has to offer. The hotels are fairly expensive, but they are all deluxe properties. IMHO, the perks far outweigh the added cost. Also, there's discounts out there for the Universal hotels. Check disboards.com & go to the Universal board. You'll find lots of helpful tips. Enjoy your trip. BTW, Spiderman is amazing!!! :D

[tarheelmjfan]

Just thought I'd add that we have stayed in all 3 of the Universal Resorts. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. :)

[Bincent]

Thanks everyone for the responses. :)

[suznf]

Just thought I'd add that we have stayed in all 3 of the Universal Resorts. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. :)

 

Which of the properties would you recommend for teens (16, 19)? We are thinking about the Hard Rock. Have you used any of the club levels? If so were they worth the extra $$? We will have only one night then we are going to cocoa beach so DH can fish and DS can surf.

 

What are your thoughts on the parks? We can only do one, Adventure Island looks like the best bet...? We live in Southern CA so we are kind of Disney/Theme park jaded- and we have Universal Studios here...

 

Thanks!

[Bequia]

If you do downtown Disney, the Cirq de Soleil La Nouba is a must do. ;)

 

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/CirqueDuSoleil/en/showstickets/lanouba/intro/intro.htm

[tessie40]

Stayed at Hard Rock on 4th of July Weekend. Was a 3-5 minute walk to Universal Studio's and City Walk. Walking is faster than the water taxis. We loved it. Standard rooms have stereo's and were fine for us becasue we were hardly in the room. Getting the express pass w/the hotel stay was great! It's worth staying on property for that. Unlike Disney, the hotel guests get it for free and anyone else has to pay $40.00 a day per person. 4th of July Weekend and we did not have to wait in line for a ride longer than 5 minutes if that. Would do it again!

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

Stayed at Hard Rock on 4th of July Weekend. Was a 3-5 minute walk to Universal Studio's and City Walk. Walking is faster than the water taxis. We loved it. Standard rooms have stereo's and were fine for us becasue we were hardly in the room. Getting the express pass w/the hotel stay was great! It's worth staying on property for that. Unlike Disney, the hotel guests get it for free and anyone else has to pay $40.00 a day per person. 4th of July Weekend and we did not have to wait in line for a ride longer than 5 minutes if that. Would do it again!

 

Definitely agree.

We cruised into PC last week and only had one day there. We decided to pay the extra and purchase the Express Pass. We were able to bypass the line and with having only seven hours in park, it was the only way to go, they don't bother cancelling your Express pass on most rides so you can ride again.

If we we to stay in Orlando I would definitely consider staying in a Universal Hotel to get the Express pass included it made the experience so much more enjoyable.