Off site hotel suite with best shuttles

[Hombody1976]

Hi all. In the planning and saving stages for an Orlando trip 2022. Budget wise WDW resorts are already out the question. Universal Cabana bay was a strong contender but we won't have a car, are reluctant to Uber and are concerned about getting around. 10yrs ago we stayed on idrive with free theme park shuttles. As discussed in most forums the issues were limited times, many pick ups and drop offs, huge queues at park closing, long journey times etc. So, does anyone know of a hotel, preferably with suites which offers dedicated shuttles to their property only, direct to all the theme parks? Or any hotel where the shuttle system worked well bearing in mind it will be August school holidays when we go. Probably many more questions to come over the next few years!

Update-just had this reply from Universal:

Thank you for contacting Universal Orlando Resort Guest Services.

I am happy to confirm that Guests staying with Universal or at a Universal Partner Hotel can get round trip transportation from their hotel to Walt Disney World® Resort. Transportation must be arranged in advance by contacting our Universal Parks & Resorts Vacations Department for a fee of $26.00 tax inclusive for Guests ages three (3) and up. Upon receipt of your E-Travel Documents, please call Quick Transportation at 888-784-2522 or 407-354-2456 to arrange pick-up times. Reservations must be made 48 hours in advance.

I hope this information is helpful!

Best Regards,

Brianna
Coordinator | Guest Communication
Universal Orlando Resort

407.224.4233 Option 4
universalorlando.com

[Beddy666]

Look at the doubletree by seaworld we stayed there before and it had shuttles to Disney and universal etc. Dedicated to that hotel, we can let you know as we are using this for our second week of this years trip.

[lam]

Mears transportation do a return service per person.
We did it the other way around, ie from Animal kingdom Lodge -jambo to universal and return.
You had to choose your times though and on return, notify them at least 2hrs beforehand of any changes.

It was $20 return.
My friends stayed in clarion suites maingate,kissimee. They used the shuttle and Uber.
After using Uber, they said they wouldn't use a shared shuttle again.

They ubered to Animal Kingdom-Jambo house and just use the disney buses to get around.
There were 6 of them.

I stayed at Double tree seaworld some time back and their bus service to universal and seaworld was fairly frequent but they never told me there was a bus to disney! Maybe thats a new service.Nice hotel though, but watch the air conditioning which was very old in some buildings. I heard the tower rooms were better!

We dont have a car, but we stay onsite and use the mears transportation to universal for a day OR the lynx bus to get to seaworld but i'm not as agile as i was 10 years ago, so its mears to seaworld too for me!

good luck

[lam]

That $20 is per person and it is a shared shuttle(not dedicated), so $26 nowadays sounds about right. |Still think uber would be better for you though

[jim jehosofat]

Hombody1976, how many of you are there? $26 per person will soon add up to a costly sum.

[mskitty]

If you want to do mainly Disney then look at the partner hotels on Hotel Plaza Boulevard. They have shuttles every 30 mins that run all day and are very reliable. There are about 8 hotels and there is a Doubletree for suites. You could then just get taxis to Universal on the days you want them.

[cartoonp]

Look at celebration. Suites in old town stayed there and loved it .it had transfers to all the parks but we just used the linx bus as that stopped outside the hotel.

[landandword17]

$26 per person 😱 and no doubt fixed departure and return times. A coworker stayed on I drive last summer and the shuttle returned every night before the fireworks. What’s your concern with Uber/Lyft. Those services will give you freedom to come and go as you please and will save you hundreds over the course of the holiday.

[Hombody1976]

Thanks all. We're family of 3 and have never done the uber thing. Safety and cost conversion (unexpected bills when we get home) is of most concern.

[Tweety1]

Originally Posted by Hombody1976

Thanks all. We're family of 3 and have never done the uber thing. Safety and cost conversion (unexpected bills when we get home) is of most concern.

See more...

I will see if I can help with your concerns. I too was a little unsure as what if the cost wasn’t what was quoted ect. So last year we used Lyft a couple of times (I was very apprehensive) but had good experiences. So in Florida this time and we didn’t have a car until our second week so had to use one from the airport to hotel and then out and about. Here is the costs of some of our trips (we stayed on sand lake rd at the top of I drive). The airport cost was an XL to fit luggage and the others just normal Lyft
Airport to hotel $33.26
Hotel to Disney boardwalk (Epcot hotel) $13.18
Disney springs to hotel $12.30

We only encountered one issue where we were at the pick up spot and the driver pulled in and drove off. We were charged a $5 cancellation fee so just ordered another explained to our new driver what happened he said to conract Lyft on the app and 8n about 2 mins they returned the money. If I’m perfectly honest we prob won’t hire a car unless travelling a far distance as when you take into account cost to hire, fuel,parking charges(let alone the stress of some of those roads) it’s not worth it for us. Really don’t be put off it tells you the price before you accept as well. To pay $26x3 every time you want to go to Disney when it will be around $26 return total.
I hope this helps and anyone else out there