Crowd level drop at Universal vs. Disney?

[theme_park_mom]

Pete mentioned on the Daily Fix today that Disney crowd levels are continuing to go down. Has this also been the case at Universal? How have the crowd levels been?

 

[kohlby]

I haven't been recently but had read they were down this summer at Disney but the same at Universal. Universal crowds have always been more manageable IMO though.

 

[tinkerone]

I keep reading about people 'moving' from WDW to Universal. I'm one of those people. Where we used to spend a week or two at WDW we are now planning to split the stay between the two parks. Disney is just getting to expensive and there is to much being worked on, the value is just not there. Doing a split stay, going off property, is just something we would never have considered before.

The reason I mention this is because I could see where Universal gets busier and WDW gets less crowded just from people such as myself getting tired of Disneys 'tricks'. I guess time will tell.

 

[HappyGrape]

i have been looking at waiting times at UA & IOA and they are higher than what we experienced in 2014 (comparing this September to October 2014). I am not sure US is usually busier in September than October

 

[Carrol]

I keep reading about people 'moving' from WDW to Universal. I'm one of those people. Where we used to spend a week or two at WDW we are now planning to split the stay between the two parks. Disney is just getting to expensive and there is to much being worked on, the value is just not there. Doing a split stay, going off property, is just something we would never have considered before.

The reason I mention this is because I could see where Universal gets busier and WDW gets less crowded just from people such as myself getting tired of Disneys 'tricks'. I guess time will tell.

I'm one of those people. We usually went at least once a year to WDW, once we even went 4 times. I hate the changes Disney is making and all the new added costs so I have been doing Universal for the last couple of years, but the huge increase in the AP has me rethinking. We will be going in November so I will make my decision whether to renew my AP after this trip.

 

[tinkerone]

I'm one of those people. We usually went at least once a year to WDW, once we even went 4 times. I hate the changes Disney is making and all the new added costs so I have been doing Universal for the last couple of years, but the huge increase in the AP has me rethinking. We will be going in November so I will make my decision whether to renew my AP after this trip.

I just bought us AP's for Universal and thought it was a GREAT deal. We are got the AP's at a price a lot less than Disney AP's, we are getting a room discount for our upcoming trip, we will use it for the discounts at stores and restaurants. We have a second trip planed next summer with my son and his daughter so we will use it again for AP room discounts for both rooms, discounts at the stores and restaruants plus discounts on sons and Granddaughters Universal tickets. It will pay for itself in no time.
I will say I bought the AP's before the prices went up however had I not then I would have bought the lower priced ticked for DH and would have saved money there so it would really be a wash.

 

[kbelle8995]

I keep reading about people 'moving' from WDW to Universal. I'm one of those people. Where we used to spend a week or two at WDW we are now planning to split the stay between the two parks. Disney is just getting to expensive and there is to much being worked on, the value is just not there. Doing a split stay, going off property, is just something we would never have considered before.

The reason I mention this is because I could see where Universal gets busier and WDW gets less crowded just from people such as myself getting tired of Disneys 'tricks'. I guess time will tell.

Me too. I managed to renew mine before the increase. Next year I will revaulate the situation regarding AP. Hate to see them going in a "Disney" direction.

 

[Carrol]

I just bought us AP's for Universal and thought it was a GREAT deal. We are got the AP's at a price a lot less than Disney AP's, we are getting a room discount for our upcoming trip, we will use it for the discounts at stores and restaurants. We have a second trip planed next summer with my son and his daughter so we will use it again for AP room discounts for both rooms, discounts at the stores and restaruants plus discounts on sons and Granddaughters Universal tickets. It will pay for itself in no time.
I will say I bought the AP's before the prices went up however had I not then I would have bought the lower priced ticked for DH and would have saved money there so it would really be a wash.

I agree, it was a great price before the increase. We did buy ours before the price increase (last January). It's only my husband and I that go so the discounts don't add up all that much for us. I keep looking for discounts for our November trip but so far nothing.

 

[tinkerone]

I agree, it was a great price before the increase. We did buy ours before the price increase (last January). It's only my husband and I that go so the discounts don't add up all that much for us. I keep looking for discounts for our November trip but so far nothing.

I got AP rates for Cabana Bay yesterday. Check again and maybe yours will be there as well.

 

[keishashadow]

Pete mentioned on the Daily Fix today that Disney crowd levels are continuing to go down. Has this also been the case at Universal? How have the crowd levels been?

I can't say I have noticed any decline in fellow park attendees my trips so far this year either @ WDW or U.

Will say that even when it is crazy busy, onsite FOTL perk is beyond helpful.

 

[babyruth]

SO we are one of those families who typically would just do Disney - but now we are splitting the trip. Which I thought was a good idea until I read about the express passes and all that. Now I'm not even sure it's worth going since I wasn't budgeting for those. Or maybe I'll stay at the resort with the toddler to save that ticket money and get the boys passes. We don't usually split up on vacations like that. We are going over Easter so I know it's going to be busy no matter what the crowd trends are.

 

[peel]

I keep looking for discounts for our November trip but so far nothing.

AP hotel rates are currently available through December 22. You can keep tabs on the release dates--here is a thread that might be helpful:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/ap...ough-read-first-post-updated-9-13-16.3301532/

There is also a sticky thread where people report their Dates & Rates--you might be able to find someone who has already booked for the dates you're going, and you can see where they're staying and what they paid.

Good luck!

 

[tinkerone]

SO we are one of those families who typically would just do Disney - but now we are splitting the trip. Which I thought was a good idea until I read about the express passes and all that. Now I'm not even sure it's worth going since I wasn't budgeting for those. Or maybe I'll stay at the resort with the toddler to save that ticket money and get the boys passes. We don't usually split up on vacations like that. We are going over Easter so I know it's going to be busy no matter what the crowd trends are.

I'm not purchasing express passes. We are staying at Cabana Bay so they are not included either. I figure, what could be the worst case scenario? Its going to be lined up over Easter at Disney or US so its kind of a wash. If the line up for the ride you want is to long then move on to the next one.
I'm excited about this split stay, its a new adventure and I have seen Disney a hundred times (no exaggeration). Again......NEW STUFF!

Have a great trip what ever you decide.

 

[babyruth]

welllll the one difference is no charge for fastpass+. So I can book those in advance with no fees on top of my ticket price. It's probably the only aspect of Disney that isn't priced up (yet, I'm sure it's coming eventually...) If the FAQ info here is still true though we would be OK just getting there early? (to US)

 

[tinkerone]

welllll the one difference is no charge for fastpass+. So I can book those in advance with no fees on top of my ticket price. It's probably the only aspect of Disney that isn't priced up (yet, I'm sure it's coming eventually...) If the FAQ info here is still true though we would be OK just getting there early? (to US)

I don't thing fastpass is so great. You can only book three with only one being a major attraction and then you have to run around the park to be at the right ride at the right time. Don't get me wrong, I book them, but I can't say I always use them. If I am doing Adventure land, for example, I don't want to run over to tomorrow land to get on space mountain just because my Fastpass says so. Its just not all its cut out to be. Better than nothing but not the end all. Hope I explained this right.

Not all rides in US are express pass either so express pass only gets you so far. Yes, I would say the extra hour is a bonus and use it to your advantage.

 

[babyruth]

I don't thing fastpass is so great. You can only book three with only one being a major attraction and then you have to run around the park to be at the right ride at the right time. Don't get me wrong, I book them, but I can't say I always use them. If I am doing Adventure land, for example, I don't want to run over to tomorrow land to get on space mountain just because my Fastpass says so. Its just not all its cut out to be. Better than nothing but not the end all. Hope I explained this right.

Not all rides in US are express pass either so express pass only gets you so far. Yes, I would say the extra hour is a bonus and use it to your advantage.

good points!

 

[Robo56]

The express pass is included with your stay at Royal Pacific, Hardrock and Portofino Bay. This is a sweet deal.
It's not included at Cabana Bay or Sapphire Falls. All resorts have one hour early entry.

There are only a few rides that don't use Express Pass. You can go to the website and see the rides that have express pass.

We always stay at Portofino Bay and we love the express pass.

We had done split stays until 3 years ago then we made Universal our exclusive vacation destination for our trips in May since then and absolutely love it.

 

[damo]

welllll the one difference is no charge for fastpass+. So I can book those in advance with no fees on top of my ticket price. It's probably the only aspect of Disney that isn't priced up (yet, I'm sure it's coming eventually...) If the FAQ info here is still true though we would be OK just getting there early? (to US)

WDW 4 day park to park pass...$394
Universal 4 day park to park bundled with unlimited express ...$414-$424

For $20 more you can get unlimited express passes with your ticket compared to the couple you get at WDW. https://tickets2.universalorlando.c...wer-ptpueu/item-4day/combo-tickets/index.html

 

[avic77]

We went with Annual passes. I was considering them and then i saw the leaked info on AP price increases. I bought the night before the new prices went into effect. Had I missed that opportunity we would have not gotten Annual passes. we are looking forward to new experiances and a more laid back vacation experiance.
I don't plan to compare the two. I went to USF several years ago and we enjoyed it. It was nice to leave feeling like we got to do everything. We always leave Disney feeling like we missed something. And usually have had several meltdowns.
I hope for less crowds but I don't count on it.

 

[tinkerone]

Yes, our AP's will pay out for us. So far I have saved over $100 on AP room discounts for our upcoming 3 night stay. Add to that the restaurant discounts and general purchases discounts and I will estimate easily $200/$225 savings on just this stay. As I mentioned earlier we will be going next August and will be getting two rooms with 4 people staying, not just the two of us, so with an AP room discount for both rooms and all the other discounts (including discounts for the tickets for the other two who will be with us) I would say that will be at a minimum $350/$400. All in all I would not be surprised if the discounts did not cover the majority of the AP cost.
Bonus and bonus!