Convince me

[pandapants77]

you can buy a fast pass for 20 bucks and you use the fast pass on all the rides once. if you have one of them you should be able to go on all the rides in both parks for one day. If you are between the age of 10 and 18 you are going to like like universal more than disney because teen don't care about a good story in a ride they care more about the thills

 

[macraven]

you can buy a fast pass for 20 bucks and you use the fast pass on all the rides once. if you have one of them you should be able to go on all the rides in both parks for one day. If you are between the age of 10 and 18 you are going to like like universal more than disney because teen don't care about a good story in a ride they care more about the thills

disney has the fast pass system.
they do not charge for them.

 

[damo]

Well, with Disney, you have 4 parks to choose from, and I haven't ever had a problem for getting most of the fastpasses I want.

Last year we went to US/IOA in July and did without Express. We could probably do it again. I don't know if it's worth $320 for the two of us to not have to stand in long lines.

With the number of people that visit Disney at their 4 parks, their prices should be a heck of a lot cheaper than Universal's prices.

I really don't find any more rides at the 4 parks that I like than at the two at Universal so to me, Disney is very expensive.

Unfortunately, nobody is going to be able to make this decision for you about what to do. To some people, their time is more important than their money. To others, it isn't.

 

[damo]

you can buy a fast pass for 20 bucks and you use the fast pass on all the rides once. if you have one of them you should be able to go on all the rides in both parks for one day. If you are between the age of 10 and 18 you are going to like like universal more than disney because teen don't care about a good story in a ride they care more about the thills

Express pass prices vary depending on the expected crowds. If you can buy an express pass for $20, then you probably don't need it. However, if the price is $59.99, then the lines are very, very, very long and riding all rides in both parks for one day would be impossible.

 

[torinsmom]

With the number of people that visit Disney at their 4 parks, their prices should be a heck of a lot cheaper than Universal's prices.

I really don't find any more rides at the 4 parks that I like than at the two at Universal so to me, Disney is very expensive.

Unfortunately, nobody is going to be able to make this decision for you about what to do. To some people, their time is more important than their money. To others, it isn't.

They should be, but they aren't. I think Universal should have more moderately priced hotels, but they don't.

I like Disney and I like Universal. I enjoy the rides at Disney like Soarin, BTMRR, Kilamanjaro Safaris and Testtrack. There really aren't rides like these at Universal. Now, MIB is better than Toy Story Mania or Buzz Lightyear, and Spiderman is better than Star Tours. That's why we're doing both this year!

 

[mom0299]

Thank you for all of the responses. I am learning a lot. I'm liking the idea of the 3BR Marriott timeshare. We like to stay at Marriott and it would be a good way to use or get Marriott points. We are AAA members so I know we can get discounts there. I am leaning towards 5 days at the Disney parks, one day at Universal and one day at SeaWorld. We always drive to Orlando so we will have our car. If we got a one day pass to Universal can we park hop that day? We really just want to go to IOA because of the Harry Potter island, but I'm sure we'd enjoy it all.

 

[Metro West]

Last year we went to US/IOA in July and did without Express. We could probably do it again. I don't know if it's worth $320 for the two of us to not have to stand in long lines.

Keep in mind that Harry Potter is opening in the spring and I have a strong feeling the lines will be very long for quite a while so you'll have to decide if it's worth the money for you or not. And just remember...with the VIP Express passes, your park admission is included in the ticket price...it's not separate.

 

[damo]

They should be, but they aren't. I think Universal should have more moderately priced hotels, but they don't.

I like Disney and I like Universal. I enjoy the rides at Disney like Soarin, BTMRR, Kilamanjaro Safaris and Testtrack. There really aren't rides like these at Universal. Now, MIB is better than Toy Story Mania or Buzz Lightyear, and Spiderman is better than Star Tours. That's why we're doing both this year!

I get the feeling (just my feeling from your posts) that you think that Disney is worth more than Universal. That may be what is holding you back from spending money at Universal and making your decisions.

Disney's inflated prices seem to give people the impression that they are getting more for their money. That makes it really tough to spend on Disney and then justify spending much on Universal. It is all part of Disney's plan It makes for such an expensive vacation no matter how you try to rearrange it! I feel for you! Sounds like you can wait a bit before making any decisions though. Perhaps once the Wizarding World comes out, you will feel better about spending money at Universal.

 

[torinsmom]

Keep in mind that Harry Potter is opening in the spring and I have a strong feeling the lines will be very long for quite a while so you'll have to decide if it's worth the money for you or not. And just remember...with the VIP Express passes, your park admission is included in the ticket price...it's not separate.

From what I hear, HP will probably not have FOTL for awhile after opening. If that is so, FOTL won't help me with that ride. Besides, neither DS or I are HP fans.I haven't decided against VIP Express yet; we aren't going until July, so we have time to weigh the pros and cons. Last summer, we just got there early and left when it started getting really crowded. Some days we came back after 6 and rode some more. We used the single rider lines a lot on rides that had them.

I get the feeling (just my feeling from your posts) that you think that Disney is worth more than Universal. That may be what is holding you back from spending money at Universal and making your decisions.

Disney's inflated prices seem to give people the impression that they are getting more for their money. That makes it really tough to spend on Disney and then justify spending much on Universal. It is all part of Disney's plan It makes for such an expensive vacation no matter how you try to rearrange it! I feel for you! Sounds like you can wait a bit before making any decisions though. Perhaps once the Wizarding World comes out, you will feel better about spending money at Universal.

Well, I spent plenty of money at Universal last year. Other than DTD, we didn't set foot on Disney property for the 7 days we were there. We really enjoyed Universal. If we didn't, we wouldn't be going back there. I like some things about Universal and I like some things about Disney. DS15 doesn't care much for HP, so I don't think that will affect our decision. He likes MIB, ROTM, Spiderman, and most of the other rides.

I am def. not under the impression that Disney gives me a lot for the money. The ticket prices are ridiculous, especially if you don't want to spend a week there. But there is a great variety of rides and I like the atmosphere. I am cheap, so I don't spend a lot in the parks once I get in(we share a CS meal, bring in snacks and get free ice water)

We are doing the Give a day, Get a day for a free day at Disney and will buy 2 day tickets. I believe those will cost $159 each, so close to $320. I don't want to pay more for the Universal tickets than I do for the Disney ones, and with the express passes, it will be $520. If we do the regular 7 day passes, it is only $200. I'm just trying to decide if our time is worth that extra $320.

 

[hanutedmansionmomma]

I need convincing too...prices and "fastpasses" aside, what's the theming like at Universal? I have a vision of it being like any other theme park we've been to (Cedar Point, Holiday World, Wolds of Fun...). What I like about WDW is the landscaping, cleanliness, cast members, themed cueing lines, the feeling of it all. Is Universal like that in any way too?

TIA

 

[Rip]

I need convincing too...prices and "fastpasses" aside, what's the theming like at Universal? I have a vision of it being like any other theme park we've been to (Cedar Point, Holiday World, Wolds of Fun...). What I like about WDW is the landscaping, cleanliness, cast members, themed cueing lines, the feeling of it all. Is Universal like that in any way too?

TIA

www.universalorlando.com

 

[torinsmom]

I need convincing too...prices and "fastpasses" aside, what's the theming like at Universal? I have a vision of it being like any other theme park we've been to (Cedar Point, Holiday World, Wolds of Fun...). What I like about WDW is the landscaping, cleanliness, cast members, themed cueing lines, the feeling of it all. Is Universal like that in any way too?

TIA

As a Disney veteran, I found Universal to be very well themed. The queues were entertaining and the park was clean. All the CMs we had contact with were helpful and always smiling. I was pleasantly surprised and we are definitely going back this summer!

 

[formill]

We went to Universal and IOA for the first time this past December. We loved it. Walking into Seuss Land or whatever it is called was amazing. The whole place looked as good as any Disney park to me. There were characters everywhere with no line ups......some were known ones (Dora, Shaggy,Simpsons) others were costumes of pie,cookies, people on stilts etc. that just looked so neat walking all around. Longest ride wait was 2 hours for Rip Ride Rocket......I LOVED the Simpsons ride it was amazing. The only thing I would have skipped was their 360 fireworks show and the terminator one scared the 7 year olds when there were real people running in the aisles right next to seat. We had 7 day passes and ended up there 4 days- or part days. Still did not see everything. We thought it was really good value for the money . Teens favourite ride was Mummy and they went on it over and over and over......no lines.

 

[damo]

For those not sure about theming, go to googlemaps and do the street view. You get right into the parks and can walk through them with the street view. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the theming.

 

[Rip]

For those not sure about theming, go to googlemaps and do the street view. You get right into the parks and can walk through them with the street view. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the theming.

 

[Darcy03231]

My children were close the same ages of your children when we did our first trip to US/IOA. We did it as an add on to our WDW vacation (and we'd done WDW multiple times). We spent the 2 days at US/IOA and the next 7 at WDW. After having 2 days at US/IOA with the unlimited express pass (we stayed one night on site) my children were not happy to go to WDW at all! They did nothing buy complain that the rides at WDW were "lame" and the lines were long (they weren't - longest was about 20 minutes).

The next trip we stayed off-site in a rental home and concentrated on seeing other things than WDW. We did US/IOA, Busch Gardens, Sea World, Wet n' Wild, Kennedy Space Center, Ripley's Believe it or Not, played mini-golf, went to the beach (on both coasts). We did sneak one night in at MK for Pirates and Princesses. To date its been my kids favorite vacation.

I think if you go with an open mind you'll have just as good a time at US/IOA as you do at WDW. As you're only planning one day at US/IOA I would do it at the end of your trip. If you do it at the beginning and your children love it as much as mine do, you'll be in for a long week at WDW.

 

[mom0299]

My children were close the same ages of your children when we did our first trip to US/IOA. We did it as an add on to our WDW vacation (and we'd done WDW multiple times). We spent the 2 days at US/IOA and the next 7 at WDW. After having 2 days at US/IOA with the unlimited express pass (we stayed one night on site) my children were not happy to go to WDW at all! They did nothing buy complain that the rides at WDW were "lame" and the lines were long (they weren't - longest was about 20 minutes).

The next trip we stayed off-site in a rental home and concentrated on seeing other things than WDW. We did US/IOA, Busch Gardens, Sea World, Wet n' Wild, Kennedy Space Center, Ripley's Believe it or Not, played mini-golf, went to the beach (on both coasts). We did sneak one night in at MK for Pirates and Princesses. To date its been my kids favorite vacation.

I think if you go with an open mind you'll have just as good a time at US/IOA as you do at WDW. As you're only planning one day at US/IOA I would do it at the end of your trip. If you do it at the beginning and your children love it as much as mine do, you'll be in for a long week at WDW.

This was very helpful. Thank you. We have decided to stay in a rental house. After showing my kids pictures of some of them it didn't take much convincing that it would be as good or better than the Polynesian Resort. I like the idea of doing several different things. We would like to go to Kennedy Space Center. There are so many things to do in Central Florida.