First trip to Disney and universal December 2015

we are planning our first trip to Disney and universal for December 29, 2015 - January 4, 2016. Our children are 13 and 19 years old so we are thinking of staying in universal, maybe at the Royal pacific. I was thinking because they are older, the kids would prefer universal. I know the crowds are at their worst this time of year, but it is the only time we are all off together and I thought what an awesome New Year's Eve that would be! Does anyone have any suggestions for us? Should we try to get over to Disney as well as we have never been to either? Are we making a mistake going over the holidays? Any advice is GREATLY appreciated! Thank you!

If you stay at royal pacific you will be able to use express pass and not wait in real lines (not including potter). This would be a great trip. Disneys lines will be horrible. We will be at Disney 12/21-12/28 in the horrible lines. Will try FP+ for first time.

I agree with spending extra and staying on-site at UO. Just letting you know that you have to pay for parking at the on-site hotels at UO, so consider that when you book at the Royal Pacific. It's definitely going to be busy, so just try to be patient and stay calm. New Year's is always fun at any of the parks.

When staying onsite at Universal, the front-of-the-line pass is an awesome perk. Your waits on every ride are much shorter, and you get early admission to the Harry Potter areas. Highly recommended to stay on site, although I'm guessing it's more expensive. We stayed there last year, did three park days, which was more than enough time to see everything. Teenagers might enjoy the more intense rides at Universal. I have not been during the holidays, but I'm assuming Universal does something.

Disney World between Christmas and New Years is an absolute zoo. The parks have been known to close because they are at capacity. Needless to say, you don't want to be inside the parks then anyway because you can't do anything. Crowd levels at Disney World might drop a little bit starting Jan 1, but maybe not a lot since it's a weekend? Disney has new Fastpass reservation system where you can book ride reservations up to 60 days in advance. Crowds will be heavy, but if you get to the parks early, you can get a lot done the first few hours of the day. The parks will also be open late into the night, popular touring plan would be to go early, take a break during the day, then go back late. With Fastpasses, you could also sleep late, then go to the parks and stay until closing.

If I was going on those days, and wanted to get a taste of everything, I would do 3 days Universal and then 4 days Disney. Check in Dec 29 Universal, you'll have 2 1/2 park days there. On morning of Jan 1, check out and move to Disney World. 4 days you can visit all 4 parks Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom.

I've only gone in August so I can't speak to crowds over the holidays but we stayed at the Royal Pacific last summer for the first time and I highly recommend it. In fact we are staying there this summer again for two nights before six days at Disney. My favorite things about it were the short pathway you can walk to the parks & the unlimited express pass. You definitely get your $$ worth. We rode a TON of rides with little to no wait. Even though that excludes the Harry Potter rides.. You can also take advantage of early admission (an hour) to IoA Wizarding World of HP. In the summer (keep in mind it was only one month after Diagon Alley was open) we waited 2 hours and 45 mins for the Gringotts ride. And it broke down three times in the two days we were there. Hoping they work out the kinks by the time we go again this August! Good luck And have fun!

If you want to be at Disney for NYE, make sure you get there early in the day and plan on staying until you plan to leave. Parks at Disney will close to guest periodically during the day because of the crowds.

Personally, I would avoid Disney for a first trip during this time and plan on making another trip during a less busy time to really enjoy the parks.

But if you really want to do Disney, book a stay there for the days you want to do Disney. It will just make your life easier.

We have done the Disney/Uni split at Christmas for the past two years. If you have never done Disney I agree with the PP about skipping it this time. There is just too much to see and do to squish in a few days (during a VERY busy time).
In 2013 (12/27-12/29) I didn't think the crowds were too bad at Uni. Last year (12/26-12/28) I thought it "felt" more crowded than my one previous data point. It was warmer and just more packed.
We stayed at Royal Pacific and really did enjoy the walkway, pool, and closeness to the parks. The hotel is lovely and the rooms felt quite spacious. Didn't enjoy paying the inflated holiday rates but whatevs. It is what it is.
The only thing I would throw out to consider is that you probably don't need so much time at Universal. We would check in crazy early and head over to the park and then spend another two full days (so two nights= three full days). That was plenty of time for us to see and do everything. If you are going to go for such a long time maybe look into doing some of the other things that Orlando has to offer?
Have a great trip!! Your kids are the perfect Universal age and Hogsmeade/Diagon Alley are AMAZING!!

Thanks to everyone for th valuable advice! We were thinking of staying the 6 nights so we can be there for NYE and then have extra days to just relax and maybe take Some day trips. From listening to you all, we will plan another trip just to Disney for next summer!