Disney hotels with skyliner, is it worth it?

[Katnic1]

We are booked for this October (hopefully) and are flying into Tampa. We have the first 3 nights booked in Clearwater and the last 7 nights are planned to stay in an apartment, leaving us with the middle 4 nights to sort.
We always have at least a couple of nights at universal in one of the 3 hotels that gives you front of lines passes, so was planning on spending the 4 nights there. However my son is desperate to see the new Star Wars attractions at Hollywood studios so we are now thinking of 2 nights universal and 2 nights Disney at one of the hotels with the skyliner. Is it worth 2 nights at a Disney hotel? Are pop Or AOA worth staying at? I’m aware that unlike universal, you are not guaranteed entry into Disney even when staying onsite. Can’t make up our minds if to keep with the 4 nights at universal and then visit Disney on the week when we are in the apartment? It a long time since we stayed onsite at Disney, is there any advantage? I should add that I’m not planning on buying any tickets until nearer the time, so can’t pre-book my days in the parks now. Thanks all.

[Tinks2014]

Have you thought about staying at the swan/dolphin ? Close to Hollywood studios and Epcot and in a good location ..

[JAF]

We stayed for a couple of nights at Pop in a preferred room and the room and location was fine for a short stay. We stayed there specifically to try out the skyliner and found it very useful as it is more frequent than the buses and you get some good views on the way.

[Floridadreams]

When we were there last February the advice then was not to rely on the Disney transport to get you to HS on time to get boarding passes for Rise of Resistance. We stayed offsite anyway, but got Ubers to be at the park well in advance of opening. It took us three visits before we got on the ride!
I’m not sure what their process is now but I wouldn’t stay at a Disney hotel purely in the hopes you could get on that ride unless there is priority access for onsite guests. I’d stick with your four nights at Universal and do Star Wars when offsite

[YorkshireT]

I’m a big Skyliner fan, it’s fantastic, but regularly stops, be it for weather, wheelchair issue, breakdown etc.
By way of example, we were at Beach Club last time we were there (Xmas 2019). It was drizzling. Mrs YT decided she needed her waterproof and went back for it. We usually walk to HWS but decided to get on the Skyliner. It stopped for about half an hour, just as we were leaving the Epcot station. Mrs YT had gone back, got her waterproof, and walked it and arrived before us. Luckily we had already been on ROTR by that time (this was when you had to get the boarding pass in the park, you can now get it outside I understand).
I would agree with the above advices, either stay in Boardwalk (actually the best for walking to HWS), Beach Club or Swan Dolphin and walk it. Maybe consider renting DVC points for a few nights at Boardwalk, or Swan Dolphin often has very good priced rooms on Hotels.com fully cancellable.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Floridadreams

When we were there last February the advice then was not to rely on the Disney transport to get you to HS on time to get boarding passes for Rise of Resistance. We stayed offsite anyway, but got Ubers to be at the park well in advance of opening. It took us three visits before we got on the ride!

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Sorry to sidetrack this thread, but with Disney changing the rules so that onsite guests will be able to get into the parks 30 minutes early every day, do people think that will make it very difficult for offsite guests to book RotR?

[catki11]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

Sorry to sidetrack this thread, but with Disney changing the rules so that onsite guests will be able to get into the parks 30 minutes early every day, do people think that will make it very difficult for offsite guests to book RotR?

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I *think* I read that you can now get a boarding group without actually being in HS. Just “nearby” is good enough. I don’t know if this is just for when the parks are at limited capacity or a permanent change.

[Merryweather17]

You don't have to stay at a disney resort to go on the skyliner, stay where you want and you can access the skyliner from Hollywood studios and ride all the different routes. Is Pop/AoA worth it, yes they are nice (but not fancy) resorts, clean and conveniently located in terms of HS and Epcot in particular. We have stayed at both and really enjoy Pop in particular - though we travel as an adult only party and the extra cost of AoA is not really worth it for us.

[aqualiv]

Originally Posted by Nimbus

Sorry to sidetrack this thread, but with Disney changing the rules so that onsite guests will be able to get into the parks 30 minutes early every day, do people think that will make it very difficult for offsite guests to book RotR?

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Do you know when this starts?

[Katnic1]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

I’m a big Skyliner fan, it’s fantastic, but regularly stops, be it for weather, wheelchair issue, breakdown etc.
I would agree with the above advices, either stay in Boardwalk (actually the best for walking to HWS), Beach Club or Swan Dolphin and walk it. Maybe consider renting DVC points for a few nights at Boardwalk, or Swan Dolphin often has very good priced rooms on Hotels.com fully cancellable.

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Just looking at the swan and Dolphin now. Which is better? The swan is slightly more expensive.