How to Get To Universal From Disney World - Universal to Disney World Transportation Guide (2023)

FAQs

Can you get transportation from Universal to Disney World? ›

Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando offer free shuttle services between their resorts and affiliated theme parks, but you may have to transfer from one to the other. Usually, routes run every 20 to 30 minutes, departing from the entrance of every Disney and Universal property.

Stay a few days at a Disney resort and visit those parks, and then move to a Universal resort for the rest of your stay. This will give you the full experience of both destinations. And if you stay at a Premier Universal resort, you will receive the Unlimited Express Pass for free!

The distance from Disney World to Universal Studios is 9.2 miles. The majority of the trip is on the I-4 highway with a travel time of around 20 minutes with minimum traffic. It takes longer during rush hour, early morning, weekends, holidays and when the parks close.

Since the two theme parks are competitors there is no shared transportation between the Universal parks and the Disney World parks. You can, however, take an independent shuttle to Universal if you're staying at a Disney-owned hotel, and you can get to Disney from a Universal hotel in the same way.

Highlights of I-RIDE Trolley Orlando

The I-RIDE Trolley is exclusive to the International Drive Resort Area, stopping at many Orlando theme parks, including Universal Studios.

Uber Universal to Disney World

The average cost of Uber from Universal Studios to Disney World is generally between $15-$35 each way, depending on the time, day, and season. It's helpful to check the app throughout the day, and plan your travel for a less busy time of day.

Universal and Disney are two completely different resorts and owned by different companies. As such, the two theme park resorts are direct competitors. They are only separated by roughly 10 miles, so it makes sense that many guests will go to both parks during their vacation.

It'll be more crowded as the month progresses. I suggest you do Disney first. They just opened up the Fantasyland redo, so it'll be busy if you go there first but it'll be really bad if you go later. Although you can take a whole week at Disney, Universal can be done in easily in 2-3 days max even if it's very busy.

The simple answer is stay for three days if you can afford to and plan around that! No matter how long you stay at Universal Orlando if you plan your trip the right way you will have a great time. Ideal Length – 3-4 days is the best length if you are looking to visit all three Universal Orlando theme parks.

How many days is enough for Universal Studios Orlando? ›

Three days is ideal, particularly with a park-to-park pass, as it will allow you to fully explore each park and revisit your favorite attractions. A highlights tour of both parks can be done in one long day, but it would be tiring and you would miss many delightful smaller attractions.

Spend At Least Two Days At Universal Studios Florida

The very minimal amount of time visitors should spend at Universal Studios Orlando is two days. They can spend one day at Islands of Adventure and the other at Universal Studios.

Another very popular question we receive is, is Disney or Universal Cheaper? And as a general rule of thumb, Universal is cheaper than Disney in almost every category, from tickets to theme park food, and the most noticeable being hotel rooms.

Park Tickets

The experience is different each way.) Unlike at Walt Disney World, where park hopping has time restrictions, a two-park ticket at Universal enables you to visit both parks at any time from park open to close.

You can go to Universal in the middle of your vacation to break up your Disney days; you get to enjoy the “Disney Bubble” every night of your vacation; and, depending on where you stay, it may be cheaper to stay at a Disney World hotel than to stay at Universal.

The Mears shuttle service from Disney to Universal charges by the number of guests in your party. Round trip charges are $27 per person (Adult or child) and $13.50 each if you only need one-way transportation.

In fact, Disney World is only about 9 miles away from Universal Studios, which means, if you are driving the most direct route in good traffic, the journey time is only approximately 15 minutes. Universal Studios is located closest to Orlando, found towards the Southwest of the city.

Mears Connect is a shared bus service, which means it's cheaper than Uber or Lyft. In fact, on average, an Uber or Lyft ride will cost about the same one-way as it does for a round-trip ride on Mears Connect or Sunshine Flyer!

Shuttles usually rotate every 15 minutes, and operate around Universal Studios Hollywood's park hours. Hours of operation for the shuttle are also posted near the queue on small LED ticker boards for your convenience.

Guests sit on multi-car trams for the duration of the ride. The tour lasts about 45–60 minutes and the tour is led by a prerecorded video guide by Jimmy Fallon. It travels through the Front Lot, Backlot and various attractions, passing sets and properties from movies along the way.

Where does the train at Universal take you? ›

The train travels between Hogsmeade™ in Universal's Islands of Adventure and Diagon Alley™ in Universal Studios Florida.

Ubers are significantly cheaper than using a taxi and much more practical than renting an entire car. You won't need to pay for packing and you really have no need for a rental car because Disney Transportation is free and readily available throughout the park.

If you're in a rush, Uber is no guarantee that you'll get to your destination faster than a Disney bus route directly between your two points. But really, Disney transportation is only going to beat Uber if they pickup at the same time and something goes wrong on your Uber ride.

Yes, Uber is able to drop you off at two different locations within Universal Studios Hollywood. Either at the entrance of the theme park or at the back of CityWalk.

As of right now Disney does not give free admission on your birthday though they will help you celebrate it. Be sure to stop by Guest Relations and pick up a free birthday button. You're sure to receive lots of birthday wishes from Cast Members and guests alike.

It truly depends on your goal of the trip! If you want to ride bigger rides, drink a bit, walk onto rides, Universal Studios is your park. Disney is better suited for people who appreciate the details, don't mind the kids, want to try different foods, and have more park options.

Universal typically has fewer crowds, so you'll see shorter wait times for most rides. There are plenty of things to do in Orlando besides theme parks that locals love, but if you ask an Orlando native where prefer to go, you'll probably hear Universal Orlando Resort more often than Walt Disney World.

As a general rule of thumb, Tuesday and Wednesday tend to be the best days to visit any of the three Universal Orlando parks. With that being said, there is more that can go into picking the best day to visit each of the individual Universal parks, which we will cover below.

There isn't an advantage to starting your day with one park over the other. However, it comes down to the rides that you want to do the most. Our favorite ride is the VelociCoaster, so if we were visiting the park, we'd go to Islands of Adventure first.

what did we find? Well, our readers were overwhelmingly in favor of spending half a day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. In fact, 55% of you voted for this park. There aren't too many attractions here, and wait times are usually low (with the exception of Flight of Passage!), so we totally get why this may be your pick.

Which Disney World park needs 2 days? ›

As a general rule, you should plan two full days when trying to decide how many days to spend at Magic Kingdom park. And the main reason is the Magic Kingdom is by far the most popular theme park at Walt Disney World and has the most amount of rides out of all four parks as well.

So yes, it's entirely possible to visit four Disney parks in one day, even with kids in tow. All you need is a hopper ticket and a lot of enthusiasm.

The only way to see all of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in one day is to have the park to park pass. If you don't, you're going to miss one of the parks, it's that simple. You will need a park to park ticket to ride the train between Hogsmeade Station and Kings Cross Station.

Is the Wizarding World of Harry Potter worth it? Yes, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is worth it. The rides are very impressive and fun, and the atmosphere of both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are extremely immersive and magical.

Yes, you can do Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in one day. With the right planning, you can check out the Revenge of the Mummy, soar through the Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, tour the Hogwarts Express, and ride the Jurassic World VelociCoaster.

Yes! But you need a ticket for each park. The Hogwart's Express will take you between parks. You can buy a Park-to-Park ticket, which will get you into both parks on the same day.

If you have more than 2 days to spend at the parks then you don't have to worry about a complex itinerary. Two days is enough time to experience all the popular attractions and anything more will give you some breathing room.

With five days of access, you can stretch out your time and really be able to soak up all that the parks have to offer without feeling rushed to do everything at one time. Another big tip we offer for anyone doing a Universal vacation is to stay on property.

Disney has far more table-service dining (with or without characters – we don't judge), but Universal's can be more affordable; you will be paying a lot more for a family of four to eat at the high-end Tiffins restaurant at Animal Kingdom than you will at Mythos in Islands of Adventure.

Just like there are more expensive times, there are also times of the year when it is cheaper to go to Disney World. As a rule, January, February, August, and September are the cheapest seasons, as long as you avoid any holidays in those months.

Which is more popular Disney or Universal? ›

Running the numbers. In fact, in 2021 Universal Studios Florida and Universal's Islands of Adventure had higher attendance numbers than three of Walt Disney World's parks. The only exception was Disney World's Magic Kingdom, which is the most visited theme park in the world.

You cannot walk out of one entrance, across a courtyard, and then enter the other theme park. Thankfully, the two parks are not located far apart from each other, unlike all of Walt Disney World's theme parks which require a bus, boat, or a monorail to get to.

Hit The Most Popular Rides Early In The Day

Even on its busiest days, Universal doesn't start to get crowded until around 11:30 a.m. If you arrive when the gate opens, you usually stand a good chance of getting on at least one (if not two) of the busiest rides relatively quickly.

Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando offer free shuttle services between their resorts and affiliated theme parks, but you may have to transfer from one to the other. Usually, routes run every 20 to 30 minutes, departing from the entrance of every Disney and Universal property.

One of the questions I get asked most is “how much time do I need at Universal?” Several factors do come into play here, but I generally recommend 3:1. For people doing three days at Disney, add 1 day at Universal and for six days at Disney, add 2 days at Universal.

People should go to both! Unless the shirt says something like “I am currently standing in Disneyland right now!” it's fair game.

The best part about hiring a cab is that you can go directly to your destination – Disneyland Park or Universal Studios and not waste time on the way. Expect to pay around US$ 60- US$ 100 each way for Uber or Lyft.

Ride Share

Expect to pay around $60-$100 each way for Uber or Lyft. However, keep in mind that costs depend on demand and traffic, so it is possible that the rate could be much more than this, or even less.

Drivers arrive pretty quick at Walt Disney World and Universal, so request your ride when you are standing in the pick up zone. If you are requesting a ride from Magic Kingdom Park, first take the monorail or ferry to the Ticket at Transportation Center (TTC), then request your ride.

Is Uber expensive in Disney World? ›

Ubers around Walt Disney World typically cost $10 to $20. During regular surge pricing, these fares can double.

Uber and Lyft are a great way to get around Walt Disney World property if saving time is at the top of your list. Plus it's a super easy and sometimes affordable way to get from point A to point B during your vacation, especially if taking buses or driving your car isn't your thing.

Universal Prices. Another very popular question we receive is, is Disney or Universal Cheaper? And as a general rule of thumb, Universal is cheaper than Disney in almost every category, from tickets to theme park food, and the most noticeable being hotel rooms.

Each resort has multiple theme parks

Universal has one water park, Volcano Bay. Both resorts have a studio-themed park. Otherwise, the themes of each park are quite different. Overall, Walt Disney World is much more expansive with many more attractions, restaurants, and hotels to choose from.

All guests visiting Walt Disney World and Disneyland are able to use Disney's complimentary resort transportation. You do not have to be staying at a Disney owned or operated Resort hotel in order to take advantage of any of the transportation that is available including buses, monorails, boats, and ferries.

The Floridays Resort Orlando provides a free Disney World shuttle service to and from all the theme parks. Departures: 9:15 AM to Magic Kingdom (Transportation & Ticket Center) 12:10 PM to Epcot.

This time is usually 3-4 hours before your flight departure time. If your scheduled flight changes and it's more than 24 hours before your trip they will email you an update – however, if it is delayed day-of Mears Connect will not adjust your pick-up time.