1 day at Universal??

[TXStormtrooper]

This is my first post and I hope I am posting to the correct board. My family has a sort of family reunion at Disney World scheduled for this fall. We've all been before and are excited to go back. The family member who is planning the reunion really wants to spend a day at Universal. We will be in Orlando for 6 nights, which will include 2 days of travel, so 5 full park days. There are lots of little kids and only 1/2 of the group really cares about Universal, but we will need to all go if anyone does. My question is this, is it worth it to go to Universal for 1 day (and miss that whole day at Disney)? I know what my personal thoughts are, but I am trying to put those aside and think of the group as a whole. I know Universal has a few things for littler guests, but it seems most of it is geared toward older kids and adults. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[mesaboy2]

This is my first post and I hope I am posting to the correct board. My family has a sort of family reunion at Disney World scheduled for this fall. We've all been before and are excited to go back. The family member who is planning the reunion really wants to spend a day at Universal. We will be in Orlando for 6 nights, which will include 2 days of travel, so 5 full park days. There are lots of little kids and only 1/2 of the group really cares about Universal, but we will need to all go if anyone does. My question is this, is it worth it to go to Universal for 1 day (and miss that whole day at Disney)? I know what my personal thoughts are, but I am trying to put those aside and think of the group as a whole. I know Universal has a few things for littler guests, but it seems most of it is geared toward older kids and adults. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Depends--"worth" is a very subjective term. See this forum for help from the Universal experts: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=30

 

[maddiebee]

As a huge Harry Potter fan, I think it's totally worth the one day. We had the park wide fast passes and were able to hit everything we wanted to. It was super duper hot and busy, so we didn't get as much time in HP Land as I wanted, but it was still a ton of fun and a great day.

 

[mm1971]

This is my first post and I hope I am posting to the correct board. My family has a sort of family reunion at Disney World scheduled for this fall. We've all been before and are excited to go back. The family member who is planning the reunion really wants to spend a day at Universal. We will be in Orlando for 6 nights, which will include 2 days of travel, so 5 full park days. There are lots of little kids and only 1/2 of the group really cares about Universal, but we will need to all go if anyone does. My question is this, is it worth it to go to Universal for 1 day (and miss that whole day at Disney)? I know what my personal thoughts are, but I am trying to put those aside and think of the group as a whole. I know Universal has a few things for littler guests, but it seems most of it is geared toward older kids and adults. Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Between the two parks at Universal they have something for everyone. Seuss landing for the little ones, thrill rides for those daredevils, motion rides and some shows......and the Harry Potter area is themed just like the movies. It's awesome to see and we had a lot of fun there.

Whether it's worth missing a day at Disney is really a personal decision. We sometimes hit Universal or one of the SeaWorld attractions. We have also gone to the Kennedy Space Center, Daytona Beach and some other activities. Head over to the Universal threads and take a look. Go to the Universal site and see what it is offering. Then decide if what it has to offer is worth it to your family.

 

[Safari Queen]

Agree with previous posters. There's a lot of fun to be had at Universal for all ages, but it requires a two-park pass and the Express option, I think. I don't understand why everyone has to go, though. Can't one group use Disney transportation or be dropped off at Universal?

 

[Sparkly]

Universal is well worth it! IOA is awesome for all ages. So is Universal Studios. You should book a 1 night stay at a onsite resort so you get a express pass free!

 

[Fivemuggles]

As a huge Harry Potter fan, I think it's totally worth the one day. We had the park wide fast passes and were able to hit everything we wanted to. It was super duper hot and busy, so we didn't get as much time in HP Land as I wanted, but it was still a ton of fun and a great day.

This!

I went last year to Universal, and it was a COMPLETE blast - but I am a HUGE HP fan and like thrill rides, so there was a ton of stuff that I loved there! Definitely worth it IMO!

 

[PrincessTaylorsMom]

We spent one day at Universal during our last trip and loved it. That being said,there was only 4 of us, and we all really wanted to go. If there are people in your group that are really not that into it, it may create friction, especially if they feel they are missing out on a Disney day. That's not the way you want to spend a family reunion vacation.

We did a family reunion vacation at Disney a few years ago and it was a lot of fun. However, we didn't do all the same things. So the time that we spent together was magical because we all really wanted to be there and didn't feel like we were missing out on anything else that we wanted to do.

Good luck!

 

[TXStormtrooper]

Agree with previous posters. There's a lot of fun to be had at Universal for all ages, but it requires a two-park pass and the Express option, I think. I don't understand why everyone has to go, though. Can't one group use Disney transportation or be dropped off at Universal?

Hoping we can convince the planner that it's okay if only those who want to go to Universal do. We certainly don't all stay together at the Disney parks the whole time. It's iffy, though, as the whole trip is a gift.

 

[scrapquitler]

Hoping we can convince the "planner" that it's okay if only those who want to go to Universal do. We certainly don't all stay together at the Disney parks the whole time. It's iffy, though, as the whole trip is a gift.

I think it's silly to expect everyone to go to Universal even if they don't want to. But if you are "forced" to go, I'm sure everyone can find something to do, especially if you aren't all staying together all day. Even the park haters could sit in one of the bars or movie theaters at City Walk all day and be "at universal" lol

 

[jalpert]

I think it's worth it. Get to the Harry Potter side 30 minutes before rope drop. You could probably ride that a couple times right off the bat. You can Easily spend 3 hours in that park.

After lunch I'd hop to the other side. Get the express pass if you have to. I think The Mummy, Simpsons, and MIB are all very much worth doing.

 

[Jetta8300]

We did both Islands of Advenutre and Universal Studios in one day with the Express Pass, and had a BLAST! The best part of our vacation!

 

[cvjw]

With only 5 days at Disney, I would not do Universal. I would also not take small kids to Universal - my kids did not enjoy Universal until they were big enough to ride the "big" rides. Universal is great - we have gone 3 times this past year, but with such a short trip to Disney, I would hold off for a different trip. If you still want to go, I would try to split up. Keep the smaller kids at Disney where they will be much happier.

 

[BlackMagicWoman]

We are doing it one day but we are splitting the group up. 6 will go to Universal and 6 will remain in WDW.

I enjoy Universal but wouldn't spend more than a day there.

 

[sephorachick]

I normally love IOA & Universal. We went one day in our Orlando week in Oct & it was AWFUL. It seemed like we were the only ones w/ manners. People elbowing,cutting you off & the walkways were a lot smaller than WDW. I had a bad day that day HAHA My hubby was convinced it was cause Mickey wasnt there. HAHA LOVE the hulk

 

[g-dad66]

Tickets for one day at Universal will cost 10 times what a 5th day at WDW will cost.

If Harry Potter is the main calling card, it will save a bit of money to go to only Islands of Adventure and not the other park (Universal Studios).

Islands of Adventure does have a park section devoted to kiddie rides, so the young ones will have stuff to do.

We did both Universal and Islands of Adventure for only one day last week, and it was worth the cost to us, but our youngest was age 15.

 

[goofy78]

Anyone have any experience going one day in November? Just wondering how the crowd level will be. Planning on one day to do both parks but I would rather not have to buy the express pass. Adds on over 200 to the regular two park one day ticket.

 

[mesaboy2]

Anyone have any experience going one day in November? Just wondering how the crowd level will be. Planning on one day to do both parks but I would rather not have to buy the express pass. Adds on over 200 to the regular two park one day ticket.

The first half of November should be quiet. Know that you can wait to buy the Express Pass until you are there and have seen the crowds for yourself.

 

[disneydee6]

Tickets for one day at Universal will cost 10 times what a 5th day at WDW will cost.

If Harry Potter is the main calling card, it will save a bit of money to go to only Islands of Adventure and not the other park (Universal Studios).

Islands of Adventure does have a park section devoted to kiddie rides, so the young ones will have stuff to do.

We did both Universal and Islands of Adventure for only one day last week, and it was worth the cost to us, but our youngest was age 15.

I had considered going to IoA for a day during my trip because I love HP! However, I couldn't seem to justify the cost. A few days in Universal/IoA is significantly cheaper than a one day ticket there. $90 for IoA is a lot (which I had done the opening week of WWoHP) and for that one time it was, but not again (esp during my only day off from the parks)

I say that if there are some that want to go to IoA, and some that don't, just split up the party for the day and save yourself some money.

 

[g-dad66]

The first half of November should be quiet. Know that you can wait to buy the Express Pass until you are there and have seen the crowds for yourself.

We followed this excellent advice -- especially since Express Passes are good ONLY for the date they are purchased for (price varies by date). And what if we wanted to change our day?

I figured that mid-March would be so busy that we would need the Express Passes, but we went on a Tuesday (reportedly the least busy day of the week, along with Wednesday), and we didn't need to buy them. (However, we didn't ride anything more than once, except for the Hulk and Dragon Challenge. I say "we" but actually only the teenagers did those.)