Universal Studios follow Cruise.. Help with Logistics??

[momtoty2001]

We are cruising on a Royal Caribbean cruise which arrives back to Port Canaveral on a Sunday.

 

We are not flying back home until Tuesday afternoon and are thinking of doing a 1 day pass to Universal Studios..

 

My thoughts are to rent a car in Port Canaveral and drive to Universal Studios of which we would turn in the car. (Is this possible to return to a nearby rental place?)

 

We have a free room at a Hilton property so since we are getting to Universal so late on the 1st day and not going into the park we thought of just staying at the Doubletree across the street for Sunday..

 

On Monday early morning we would move over to a room on-site of Universal at one of the deluxe rooms in order to take advantage of the Express pass options.

 

Tuesday we would take a cab or rent another car to go back to the airport for our afternoon flight..

 

I am looking for help and opinions on the logistics of this. We are trying to save as much money as possible in order to be able to take our kids to Universal on top of the 7 day cruise.. It seems car rentals are quite expensive.. Does anyone know how much to expect to pay for a cab from Universal to MCO airport?

 

I'm trying to figure out if we would be better off in renting a car in Port Canaveral and keeping it (and paying for parking) until we leave and return back to airport. It seems this would cost us at least $150 more for the 2 days..

 

THank you for any help you can provide!! :)

[JohninDC]

I would keep the car for both days and skip the taxi/second rental car to get you to the airport -- renting PC to MCO should be easy; renting PC to a local office near Universal will not be easy.

 

You have time to do both days at the park and the 2-day pass is not much more than the one-day ticket; we did PC as a port stop and were off the ship just before 8:00 and were in a rental by 8:30 and at the park by 9:30-9:45. Stay until the afternoon on your first day, check into your hotel and then maybe head back for some evening hours; get up and do it again the next day. :)

[Orlando Vic]

It seems car rentals are quite expensive.. Does anyone know how much to expect to pay for a cab from Universal to MCO airport?

 

Actually, car rentals are quite reasonable, but you must do your research. Start here: http://www.autoslash.com/ and http://www.carrentalsavers.com/

Of course, rates are dependent on supply & demand and can vary widely.

 

Cab fares can be estimated here: http://www.mearstransportation.com/taxi-services/taxi-fare-estimator/

[BlueHerons]

If you are doing this in the summer, absolutely get the two day pass. Parks are open until 11PM.

 

I think your plan sounds great!

[TampaJules]

Agreed that you should probably just keep the car and drive back to the airport. Orlando is a place you need your own vehicle. Also allows you to go other places if you get your fill of Universal and the hotel, like for dinner.

[momtoty2001]

Thank you everyone for your recommendations.

 

We are planning to rent a car in Port Canaveral and keep it until we fly out on Tues. Oct 7..

 

 

Thoughts on if spending 1 day at Universal is worth it as we will be staying at Hard Rock on site in order to get the early access as well as the skip the line access?

 

or should we skip Universal this time and try to find something else to do for 2 days in Orlando or Cocoa Beach? My kids are 11 and 12 so looking for something geared towards that age..

 

Thank you so much!