[CynStar307]

If so, sorry! As my lame excuse: I'm new here.

Anyhow, on to the topic. I'm going to be in WDW the week after Thanksgiving, and I want to spend at least one of those days at Islands of Adventure since I haven't been there since my first Orlando trip.

The thing is, we're staying at Disney's All-Star Music resort and are not renting a car. I've hired a town car to transport me and my group from the airport to our hotel, but now I'm stumped as to what's the best way to get from Disney to Universal w/o a car of our own. Does anyone have any suggestions for simple, cost-efficient ways to get between the two? THANK YOU!

[Dana]

WElcome to DC!! Glad to have you here! You could inquire with your towncar service on rates to and from Islands of Adventure, get a cab or even rent a car for the day. I highly suggest getting prices on all three and going from there.

[MerlinMatt]

I agree with Dana. What do you consider cost effective? Honestly, if I were in that situation, $100 for a towncar round trip would be a good solution for me. It's a little pricey maybe, but probably the same cost as a cab and certainly more comfortable. And it would be a great deal more convenient than having to worry about picking up/dropping off a rental.

Contact the folks at http://www.quicksilver-tours.com. They have great rates, great policies AND they are sponsors of DisneyCentral.

Oh, and Welcome to DC!!!

[tigger]

Welcome to DC CynStar307! I have to go with what Dana is saying

[Pooh Fan]

Welcome to DC. You will love IOA especially if you like roller coasters. Personally, I like having a car so I would lean towards renting a car for the day. This would also allow you to see anything else in Orlando you might want to see. Just my opinion though. If the car seems too high, then look into a towncar or cab. For us, it is actually cheaper to rent a car for the entire trip (except during major holidays) since we also spend a few days at IOA and Universal Studios than it is to pay a towncar service to get from the airport to hotel and hotel to theme parks. Just a suggestion though. If you choose this route, look at Hotwire, Travelocity, and the other discoutn brokers as well as teh rental car companies themselves. On our last trip, we had the car 11 days and paid a little over $200 total for a midsize through Hertz from Hotwire.

[rlander]

I may be wrong, but I swore I saw a tour bus with Universal logos pull up at the All Star's hotel. It was picking people up and dropping some off. I don't know if this is a service you must pay for, but it seemed like a good way to get to Universal.

[MrDisneyfan1]

keep in mind, no parking fee with a taxi or town car. We once took a taxi, and it was'nt alot. About $25.00 but this some years back.

Either way, it's worth the $$ to get there. If you drive, I always recommend paying the $5.00 more for valet parking. You leave your car right at the front of Universal walk, and within minutes you are at the main gate, saving upwards to an hour if crowded.
Den

[karliebug]

You could do a one day car rental, we did that when we wanted to go to Sea World for the day.

[MrDisneyfan1]

you can even rent from some of the WDW resorts. You can check to see what companies are located at the resorts and where. I believe it is Hertz?? I know the Swan and Dolphin have a rental desk...
Den

[CynStar307]

Thanks so much for the great responses and the warm welcome, everyone! For anyone else who was wondering about this, from all your suggestions, I found out the following:

1. It's $60 roundtrip for my group of four 20-somethings to get from the All-Star Music resort to IOA via towncar.

2. It's $14/person for us to take a shared shuttle from the All-Star Music to IOA. The shuttles depart hourly in the morning, and return hourly in the evening until 2 a.m.

3. A rental car would run me $40/day (at least that's what expedia.com says, including taxes and insurance) plus $10 IOA parking (I figure?), any gas or tolls, and half hour of my time to return to the airport to get the car. But now that I know there's on-property car rentals, that may not be a problem. I'd hate to give up 30 extra minutes I could spend on Tower of Terror or sleeping to prepare to ride Tower of Terror the next day...

4. There's no Universal-commissioned bus that goes to Disney, nor vice versa. Or at least the guy at Universal guest relations didn't know of one.

5. It's a 15 minute (by highway) bus ride, according to Mr. Universal Guest Relations, so a public bus might be just a tad inconvenient.

So... yeah. Thanks so much again, everyone! I'm so glad I joined here. It's VERY addicting...

[MerlinMatt]

Sounds to me like the towncar is the way to go.

I especially like it because I jumped on that bandwagon first. :

[cinderbella]

i'd go with the towncar too....you dont have to worry about getting to the rental place or trying to catch a taxi after a long day at IOA....just that comfort alone would be enough for me......