Best way to do MK and Universal in same day?

[nervous1sttimer]

We are going to be at Wyndham Bonnet Creek in January. We will have a car and be there for 8 days. Our plan was do get 6-day Disney tickets and 2-day Universal tickets, but UCT had their 3rd-day-free tickets, so we ended up with 6-day Disney and 3-day Universal tickets.

What is the best way to do both Disney and Universal in one day? Or is it better to just let the third Universal day expire? I am thinking about doing a half-day at AK and then heading to Universal in the afternoon/evening early in the week. Or maybe taking our last day (the flight leaves at 5pm) and going to hit three quick FP+ at MK and then zipping over to Universal to ride Hogwarts Express one last time?

If it makes a difference, we have never been to Universal and we are going with friends who have never been to Universal or Disney before. I am trying to do a bit of everything without running us all ragged.

 

[nervous1sttimer]

Looking at park hours, I don't think it is going to make sense to do a Disney-then-Universal day while we are down there. But on the last night of our trip, Universal closes at 7pm but Magic Kingdom is open until 11pm. I think we could leave Universal after dinner and make it back in time for MSEP and a couple other FP+ quickly?! MK isn't recommended that day, but we will be arriving late, using our FP+ and probably leaving before close.

 

[ibob52]

I would take a more laid back style

Decide after you visit Universal .. how many more days you want to go.

 

[nacho113]

If you want to enjoy yourself, drop one (or more) of the days (either a Disney day or a Universal day or both)
You have a very packed vacation already without trying to squeeze a Disney day and a Universal day together (not to mention the travel time between parks).
Your last day is already going to be a short day because of the 5pm flight. If I was doing a park this day it would only be an easy park like AK or your third day at Universal to revisit your favorites.

If we are doing all the Disney parks, we usually book a 5 day pass for a 7-9 vacation
2 MK days, 1 Epcot, 1 DHS, 0.5-1 AK anything beyond a 5 day pass is usually just partial days (morning or evening) to revisit something we really like
We also like to have a day off mid week so we don't get theme park burnout.

Lastly, it's Florida in January so the weather can be unpredictable. You need some flexibility in your schedule in case of a cold and/or rainy day.

 

[nacho113]

My wife and I visit Florida 2 or 3 times per year.
We take a couple of weeks vacation in January or February.
Cruising has become a favorite of ours followed by some theme park therapy.
On these winter vacations we find that crowds are light in the parks and a marathon Disney day with a 1 day hopper pass allows us to hit the highlights in 3 parks and have our Disney fix until summer.
We love the Harry Potter stuff over at Universal so we have Power Passes and will visit 2 or 3 days.
Universal has added a lot of new stuff over the past few years so we keep coming back for more.
Unfortunately the cool new stuff for the grown-ups isn't coming to Disney for a few years but when it does our vacation planning may become more Disney-centric.

 

[Spanky]

I think it is nice to hit the Magic Kingdom on the day you arrive. Maybe go for the evening parade and fireworks and let the new family get their bearings on the Magic Kingdom. This is especially true in January when the fireworks may not be shown every night. Yes, you are blowing a day ticket for just a few hours but you appear to have plenty of tickets.

 

[DisDadDVC]

I would not bother trying to do WDW and Universal in the same day. Drop either one of the days. They were basically "free" anyway.

 

[Planogirl]

We've done both from time to time but we don't push it. Universal tends to close earlier so we have spent some time at Uni in the morning and then we might head to a Disney park at night. You can schedule FP+ for that night in case the park is jammed and you can just plan to dine and maybe see the parade and fireworks. We had a ton of fun when we did this.

 

[pampam]

I can't see it being done without you being run ragged. However, since you don't want to waste your ticket, I think you should give it a try. I like your idea of going when MK is open till 11p.m. The only change I would make is eatting dinner in the car, perhaps a drive through, something like that. You are going to want to shave time where ever you can.