Disney and Universal hotel
 

My family is planning a trip to Orlando for Disney/Universal in the beginning of December and need some help with an economic hotel with access to parks. What would be our best choice if we plan to visit Magic Kingdom 1 day and Universal 2-3 days? We have 3 kids aged 4, 8 and 10.

If I were taking that trip, I would rent a car. Perhaps the new Cabana Bay Hotel at Universal would be in your budget. With a car, you can easily drive to the Magic Kingdom for a day.

I always rent a car when doing Disney and/or Universal, so I don't really know how to advise you otherwise. Obviously, you could take a taxi to get from one area to another, but I don't know how easy or economical that would be.

I am sure others will chime in.

You want one hotel for both parks? If economy is indeed important, we very recently stayed at the Holiday Inn & Suites Across from Universal - it is literally across the street from the main entrance and is probably only 5-10 minutes of extra walking time than from the Universal parking decks. We had a nice, fairly large 2-room suite for around $120/night with free parking. A great bargain IMO.

Rental cars are often very cheap in Orlando. On our trip it was cheaper to rent a car for 3 days than for cab fare to/from the airport.

If you stay at an on site hotel at Universal you get express access on most attractions. With three children it would be a blessing to not have to stand in the long lines. The most reasonably priced on site hotel is usually the Royal Pacific Resort. Cabana Bay is an on site resort but it does NOT offer the express access just early entry.
You could take Mears shuttle to Magic Kingdom if you stay at Universal the whole time. By the way...a one night stay at the Royal Pacific gives you TWO full days of express access at the parks. You could always stay one night and then move to an off site less expensive hotel.

Great! Thanks for everyone's comments:)

Beginning of December there are usually some great deals. StaSky suites have nice family rooms and breakfast is included @ around $85 per night.
Coco Key Resort with WaterPark would be fun with kids that age and is only $75 per night, do check wherever you stay to make sure the pools are open as some do their annual maintenance in early December.

If you're going to be spending most of your time at Universal, it makes sense to stay closer to those parks. Cabana Bay is a great choice, but there are definitely cheaper places nearby.

For just one day, a car will give you more flexibility, but you have to pay for parking. Just arrive at Disney early because you'll have to take a boat or monorail from the transportation center to the Magic Kingdom, and that alone takes 30 to 40 minutes just to get you to the gates. Non-resort guests are not guaranteed entry, and the Magic Kingdom does occasionally sell out (though not that often and usually only during especially busy periods like Christmas).

If you decide to do this the other way around (staying in Disney and leaving to visit Universal) I recommend the Art of Animation at Disney. It is on property and offers the extra magic hours and other on-property benefits. Our family has 5 travelers also, and we found the TWO BATHROOMS (!!!) to be a huge benefit to our family at the AoA! (There were also 3 beds.) We have stayed at Universal many times. We recently had horrible service at Royal Pacific; the Hard Rock is my choice at Universal. (Still onsite, much better service!) With children, it is SO worth the extra benefits to stay on property at either place.

Bookmarking