Updated November 3, 2018

With the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter, many guests staying at the Disney Hotels or Orlando area hotels want to spend a day at Universal Orlando Resort. Disney does not provide transportation to Universal Studios from the Disney Hotels, so how do you get from Disney to Universal Studios? There are several ways to get from the Disney Hotels and the Orlando area hotels to Universal Studios.

Tickets with Transfers Combo

Destinations in Florida Travel offers a ticket called the 1-Day/2-Park Pass or 2-Day/2-Park Pass and they include shuttle transfers from the Disney Hotels and Orlando Area Hotels. The shuttle transfers are on board Mears Transportation. It is an easy process. Once you book your ticket, you call Mears about 24 hours before you are visiting Universal Studios to schedule your pickup time. Then you are picked up outside your hotel for your day at Universal Studios.

Once you are done playing at Universal Studios, you call the same number to schedule your pickup time to head back to your Disney Hotel. In the afternoon, the shuttle runs every hour (quarter after) from 3 PM-2 AM. This means you can stay and play at CityWalk after your day at Universal Studios and then take the shuttle back to your resort.

The shuttle transfers saves you from $90 on transportation from Disney to Universal Studios. Plus, this ticket is also saving you $10 per person off the regular gates prices.  One more HUGE perk, you do not have to wait in line at the ticket windows.  You walk right up to the electronic kiosks to pick up your tickets.  This can easily save you 30 minutes!  To book your tickets, call Destinations in Florida at 877-918-8941.

Renting a Car

Another transportation option is renting a car. Disney World has an Alamo Office right in the middle of the resort at the Walt Disney World Car Care Center. You can rent a car for the day and head to Universal Studios. Be sure to take parking at Universal Studios into your budget, since this is an additional cost when renting a car. Alamo will pick you up at your Disney Resort and take you to their office. After your day, they will also take you back to your Disney Resort. So, you don’t have to worry about transportation from your Disney Hotel to the Alamo Office.  Keep in mind you will have to pay for parking at Universal Orlando Resort!

Take a Taxi

If you are not a planner, you may just want to take a taxi for your transportation. You can always catch a taxi outside your Disney Hotel or you can call 407-699-9999 to get a taxi. The price is right around $45 each way plus tip for a taxi from the Disney Hotels to Universal Studios.

These are three ways to get from the Disney World & Orlando area hotels to Universal Orlando Resort.

As travel agents based in Florida, we are lucky enough to experience the newest attractions, rides, parades, and restaurants at the Walt Disney World Resort.  This week, the newest restaurant opened at Downtown Disney Marketplace.  Our entire office took the afternoon off to experience T-Rex to share with our customers.  I took my family, including my son who is 4 and daughter who is 2, to this new restaurant.  With the name, T-Rex, I am sure you can tell it is themed after dinosaurs.  The first glimpse of dinosaurs happens as you walk through the entrance of T-Rex with the huge dinosaur fossil.  As you walk to the hostess stand, you see a huge animiatronic T-Rex, to welcome you to the restaurant.  This dinosaur is amazing to watch as he moves.  His eyes look so real as they scan the restaurant (for his next meal.)

The restaurant has animatronic dinosaurs, everywhere you look.  T-Rex is themed after fire, water, and ice.  The water section you will immediately see as you walk to your seat with bright blue colors and sealife floating from the ceiling.  The water section features a huge octopus, lots of jellyfish, and several aquariums with fish.  I loved this section with all of the vibrant colors and sealife.  For those hidden Mickey fans, there is a Mickey Mouse hidden on the octupus. Here is a picture (above) of the water section with the huge octupus and jellyfish.

The next section as you walk through the restaurant is fire.  This section features the huge fire pit, where they cook your meals.  This is where you will also experience the meteor shower as part of the “show” during your meals.  The last section is ice, which is almost breathtaking.  This whole section of the restaurant is a huge glacier with a wooly mammoth and even a t-rex frozen in the ice.  The ice changes colors during your meal, making it an even more amazing experience.

As we sat in our seats, we were just mesmerized by all of the dinosaur animatronics, colors, and sounds.  Both of my kids were wide-eyed and actually quiet (for a change).  I think we were in the restaurant for over 30 minutes just looking at everything, before we even thought about eating.

The menu is very similar to Rain Forest Cafe, with lots and lots of options.  They featured great appetizers, sandwiches, salads, pasta, seafood entrees, and incredible desserts.  Our server was excellent!  He was a recent Orlando local and very excited about his new job at T-Rex.  He did an incredible job, especially for a brand new restaurant.  The food and desserts were incredible.

After enjoying dinner and this pre-historic experience, stop by the gift shop.  They have lots of fun souvenirs for the whole family, including some activities for the kids.  Build a Bear has the Build a Dino store, where your child can build a dinosaur and even dress them in the most fashionable modern attire.  You can even let the preschoolers play in the Discovery Dig Site outside and discover fossils and dinosaur bones.  This activity is free for all guests.

We spent several hours at T-Rex during our meal and then in the gift shop area.  Our kids are already talking about another visit to T-Rex!  This brand new restaurant is a must see for kids of all ages during a Disney World vacation.  They are not taking any reservations until after New Years.  They are taking walkups only.  To avoid the longer waits, plan on having lunch or dine during off hours (like 2-4).  This is an incredible restaurant and we recommend this for any family visiting Disney World.

Review from Allison Jones – Disney Specialist at Destinations in Florida Travel