Universal / Disneyworld split stay

[HairyChest]

Just got back from a disneyworld/universal split stay

It was my first time at universal, and 4th at disney. 2 adults no kids. Dislike rollercoasters (space mountain is fun but we wont ride anything more intense then that)

We went from august 27th to september 4th.

Weather was hot but not unbearable. Crowds were low at both parks, will do again.


PORTOFINO BAY: We started off 2 nights at the portofino bay hotel. WOW. Absolutely in love with it. Beds were the most comfortable ive ever slept in , including the pillows which was great because i forgot to bring my pillow as i always do on trips. The themeing is spectacular including the pool. Pictures dont do it justice. The room and bathroom is spacious. Ask for the west wing which is close to the boat and beach pool. We watched harry potter on a projector from the pool at night. Only problem was the pools close and lock up at 11pm and we are lateswimmers. Service was great. 15 min walking distance to the parks but we did the 5 minute boat ride which was very relaxing. Food from sals which was pizza and fries to go was great. Really transported you to another world. We are also disney polynesian lovers so we stopped by the royal pacific hotel to checkout the ambiance and were sooo glad we picked the portofino. So much more spectacular! It now beats our favorite hotel, the grand floridian (mostly because of the pool, theming and going to harry potter. Oh. My. Gawd! (More on that later)






GRAND FLORIDIAN: luxurious as always. We had planned to stay here six night but by night 4, we missed the portofino bay and harry potter so we left early and did the last 2 nights back at the portofino bay. Before the trip i wass tressing about missing the disney magic so i opted to do disney last and longer but i now wished i did universal last and longer. Tons to do fyi. Anyhoo, We got a free upgrade to lagoon view because our drains werent working in our original room. View, service, theming, pools were all great, never crowded. Bed wasnt as comfy as universal. Park access was a hop and skip away via the monorail. And the room service pasta: GREATEST PASTA I EVER HAD. It was a multi cheese with mushrooms and garlic pasta (without shrimp or chicken since we ordered vegetarin) it was only $16 huge, and tasted like heaven. All in all a fabulous stay, but portofino bay wins by a small margin.





More to come...

 

[ixmnrs]

Curious to follow along as we did the same thing, except we ventured to Universal PBH in the middle of our Disney weeklong stay around the same time. I agree totally with your assessment of PBH room vs Disney rooms. Better bed, pillows, linens, towels and the service (Non CL) at PBH was also excellent, even compared against Disney CL. Did you try Mama's at PBH. We really enjoyed that restaurant.

 

[HairyChest]

Curious to follow along as we did the same thing, except we ventured to Universal PBH in the middle of our Disney weeklong stay around the same time. I agree totally with your assessment of PBH room vs Disney rooms. Better bed, pillows, linens, towels and the service (Non CL) at PBH was also excellent, even compared against Disney CL. Did you try Mama's at PBH. We really enjoyed that restaurant.

I had reservations at mamas every night but didnt get to go because we were at the parks till closing and then wanted to swim so we could never make mamas before their last seating :/

 

[HairyChest]

Universal: so i had read that there isnt much to do there, you can do everything in a couple days, if you dont like roller coasters it stinks, there is no themeing. Etc...BULLSHLACHA!

There is alot to do, great theming, and yes you can do everything in about 3 days but they are soooo cool that youll want to do them again and again and that doesnt even include spending time at your hotel, the pool, and citywalk.

Parkhoppers is a must especially with the 2 harry potter lands and the hogwarts express that connects the 2. Which brings me to...

HARRY POTTER: OH. MY. GAWD. Unbelievable. Ive watched all the movies but not a huge fan. My mom saw a couple of the movies, not a big fan either. After going to universal we are huuuuuge harry potter fans now. Its THAT good. diagon Alley is detailed and themed unlike anything youve seen including disney. It transports you in a way i only thought disney could. The fire breathing dragon is huge, shakes the floor, and makes your jaw drop. Butterbeer ice cream will addict you. Kings Cross station will wow you, its the size of a whole land in Disney. Using a wand to create magic is sooo satisfying and fun. ESCAPE FROM GRINGOTTS from entering the line to exiting the ride is a whole land unto itself and engrosses you in epic wizardry. The journey into platform 9 and 3/4 onto the hogwarts express to hogsmeade and back will make you squeel, and its no half grassed effort, it will make u tear up in joy and sensory overload. The fact that you go aboard from london, and on the train it shows you going from london to hogsmead, then you step out and your actually in hogsmeade, is such an amazing expirience. I wanted to ride the train again and again. Once you enter the world of harry potter you wont want to leave, you just want to hang out there. IT IS WORTH THE TRIP TO FLORIDA ALONE. We bought wands, i bought all this various schwag and now we are watching the movies every night since we came back. THE FORBIDDEN JOURNEY is worthy of its reputation as the best dark ride ever! On a side note, it is not intense, it is smoooooth and not roller coastery. Its like soarin but with real props and alil extra kick to the movements. On a side note, all the places include such beautiful music while you are in the lands that add so much to the world, i loved it.






RIDES/SHOWS:
harry potter and the forbidden journey: greatest ride ever, amazing theming waiting in line just going through the castle, rivals my deep true love of the pirates of the carribean.
Escape from gringotts: the ride itself is a tad short on itself but its not a ride its a journey that starts in the begining of the queue as you enter gringotts bank. The most beautiful single first room of any queue, jaw dropping. Then going to different rooms and elevator transports you. Also, BUY THE LITTLE GRINGOTTS ID PICTURE AT THE END OF THE RIDE! Its 20$ and includes a high quality lanyard and gringotts parchment that is an amazing value and one of the best souveneers offered.
Hogwarts express: wooooow
SPIDERMAN : so much fun and high-tech
ET: universals answer to peter pan and suuuuuch a wonderful classic feeling it gives you. A must
DISASTER: waste of 40 min
T2 3D: best 3d movie! Great action
The mummy: short and sweet. Fast but after the second ride i was able to keep my eyes open and enjoy sooo much. Went on this constantly
Men in black- buzz lightyear for teenagers. Very cool new york streets.
Poseidons fury: best show there, went twice. Awsome effects. Great theming
Sinbad- stinks
Simpsons- fun, great themed land, get the chicken and waffles sandwich, so good(pic below)

Despicable me- funny! Fun ride
Transformers- like spiderman, very cool,a must do, but spidermans story and theme i personally like better.
Rip saw falls and popeys tube ride: we wore our swimsuits and went on these and got dreeeenched, very fun, popeyes is the better one.

Unlimited express passes were free with our hotel stay and is now a must do! Even on slow days. Spoiled us. And im a guy who thought "not a big deal for me to wait in lines". Now i wont go without it. Really is worth it no matter the crowds.

 

[jcano]

Following. Heading down in November. First 2 days at Universal them on to WDW.

 

[ixmnrs]

Wow, I thought you disliked roller coasters...you appeared to hit most of them!!! A lot more than me (motion sickness)...I'm more of a tour guide / bag carrier for my kids at Universal. Missed the Gringott's ID though, they just scanned my star card, but didn't offer me the option for the ID though.

 

[jcano]

I'm not a coaster fan. I can do BTMR, but that's pretty close to my limit. I have done EE a couple times, but I'm pushing it there big time. How are the new rides at US for a coaster chicken?

 

[jcano]

Should add that I love the rides like Star Tours and the old Back to the Future at US on our last trip there. Yes. It's been that long.

 

[ixmnrs]

Should add that I love the rides like Star Tours and the old Back to the Future at US on our last trip there. Yes. It's been that long.

You should enjoy the two HP rides and a majority of the other rides at Universal then. On the other hand ,The Incredible Hulk and Rip-It Rockit Roller Coaster, those are pretty heavy duty roller coasters...I didn't even dare to try those, EE nearly killed me!

 

[jcano]

You should enjoy the two HP rides and a majority of the other rides at Universal then. On the other hand ,The Incredible Hulk and Rip-It Rockit Roller Coaster, those are pretty heavy duty roller coasters...I didn't even dare to try those, EE nearly killed me!

Good to hear! I can agree on EE. Not sure if I can talk myself into it again this trip. DH and DD are looking forward to the coasters at US. Think I'll enjoy a little shopping or snack while they hit those.

Thx for the info.

 

[HairyChest]

I'm not a coaster fan. I can do BTMR, but that's pretty close to my limit. I have done EE a couple times, but I'm pushing it there big time. How are the new rides at US for a coaster chicken?

Epedition Everest is more extreme then all the rides i went on at universal. Skip the hulk, dr. Doom and rip ride rockit. Everything else you will love. Dont be afraid of the mummy. Its no more intense then space mountain and shorter. Plus you see the tracks.