Debating on Disney or Universal....what would you do?

[daleswife]

So Im debating on where to go for vacation next year.......DH has given me full planning authority...LOL. We have done WDW for the past two years straight...We were thinking of going to Universal this year, however.....WE have a 5 yr old and a 2 yr old. I think my 5 yr old would like universal but I don't think my 2 yr old would have a good time. I dont like the fact that they would have to wait while we rode all the big rides...but I know that would happen in Disney too.... Ive been there before and I dont recall much for younger children to do. I know there is sussvile or what ever its called, but thats it. He LOVES mickey mouse so I was thinking we could do disney world one more year so he could have a good time too. Its practically the same price for the week we want to go....here are some pros and cons

Disney world is only $132 more for a week. (unless we get the dining plan, which i think we would). BUT we will be staying at Pop and get to use the buses and the early entry. If we go to Universal we would have to stay off site cause the on site hotels are way out of our budget and we would have to drive every day and pay for parking......AND buy food.

I personally think that Disney would be a better choice for my 2 yr old, but will my 5 year old like Universal better????

any advise would be welcomed.....TIA!!!

 

[ilandrazdsw]

WDW all the way!!! We debated just WDW or to fit in US and SW, but after factoring in our children's ages (3 & 5), cost, and fun factor WDW was a no brainer. We will eventually do US when the kids can ride at least the majority of rides and become thrill seekers.

 

[kremenos]

So Im debating on where to go for vacation next year.......DH has given me full planning authority...LOL. We have done WDW for the past two years straight...We were thinking of going to Universal this year, however.....WE have a 5 yr old and a 2 yr old. I think my 5 yr old would like universal but I don't think my 2 yr old would have a good time. I dont like the fact that they would have to wait while we rode all the big rides...but I know that would happen in Disney too.... Ive been there before and I dont recall much for younger children to do. I know there is sussvile or what ever its called, but thats it. He LOVES mickey mouse so I was thinking we could do disney world one more year so he could have a good time too. Its practically the same price for the week we want to go....here are some pros and cons

Disney world is only $132 more for a week. (unless we get the dining plan, which i think we would). BUT we will be staying at Pop and get to use the buses and the early entry. If we go to Universal we would have to stay off site cause the on site hotels are way out of our budget and we would have to drive every day and pay for parking......AND buy food.

I personally think that Disney would be a better choice for my 2 yr old, but will my 5 year old like Universal better????

any advise would be welcomed.....TIA!!!

good idea

 

[MNFootballMommy]

We went to US/IOA this past Sept. with DD3.5 and there REALLY was not much for her to do and the few things that she could do, she really wasn't interested in. The Seuss Landing is fabulous and we spent 3 hours there, but it in no way shape or form should take 3 hours. We were giving her time to enjoy since she didn't have much to do the rest of the time. At US, she did Jimmy Neutron (non moving seats), Shrek, ET and could do the Barney/Curious George play area, but it didn't open until almost lunchtime and by then she was too tired to care.

From my personal experience, I would stick with WDW for now. US/IOA is definitely for the older kids--older than your 5 year old even. JMHO.

 

[daleswife]

From my personal experience, I would stick with WDW for now. US/IOA is definitely for the older kids--older than your 5 year old even. JMHO.

I agree. I just had the discussion with my DH and I kinda think he agrees.....LOL. He said...I think US is too old for the kids, we should stick with WDW for now......but I really dont care, you plan it and I'll go.....LOL.....What a good hubby!!!!

 

[toystorymom]

I have to agree, with 2 & 5 year olds I think Disney is the much better choice. We went to US/IOA when our boys were 9, 7, and 5. We split the week between there and Disney. We had fun but there is definitely more to do for the older kids & adults. Even my oldest was a fraction of an inch too short for the big coasters and still talks about that! After 2 days, we felt like we had done everything we could do. We've been to Disney 5 times and still haven't seen and done everything!

 

[cruiserkaren]

We went to USO in Oct with our dd5 and dd1. There is no way I would've picked it but it was a trip I didn't plan or pay for so I was along for the ride!

There was nothing for our dd1 to do. She played in the Barney area and that was it. There was some things our dd5 did and liked. She loved ET and Jimmy Neutron. I have zero desire to return! None.

ETA: I forgot our dd1 rode Cat in the Hat and the merry go round. so I guess there were 2 things she could do.

 

[allyphoe]

We did US/IOA with DD5 last summer - I was on a business trip, so we stayed on-property and had front-of-the-line access. We didn't have a good touring plan (having believed the "oh, you don't need to plan for Universal like you do for WDW" hype) and spent a lot of time wandering aimlessly. The rides seemed a lot scarier and not geared towards little kids, so many of the rides we picked had DD lying down on the seat with her head buried in my side. And she drags me on TOT, rode Dinosaur twice in a row, likes Splash, loves BTMRR, etc. A big part of that was that I had no clue what the rides were like, so couldn't give her an accurate description before we went on. If you have kids who like to know what to expect, I'd stick with the familiar.

She loved Cat in the Hat, Pteranadon Flyers (however you spell it), and the Flying Unicorn kiddie coaster at US, and pretty much refused to ride anything else a second time. At IOA, she liked ET and the Simpsons Movie Ride. She also really enjoyed meeting Shrek and Donkey, but hated the Shrek attraction.

Oh, and she didn't like the food at Universal, but she doesn't like food anywhere. She'd eat pizza, but said their macaroni and cheese was gross (and I tasted it, and she was correct). At WDW, she prefers mac-n-cheese, but will happily eat the pizza.

We've done WDW 6 or 7 times in the last 3 years, and would definitely choose WDW over Universal for the next trip.

 

[DawnM]

US is not for little ones. I personally don't care for it as an adult, but I am a Disney lover. My older boys now like US, but they still prefer Disney.

Costco has 3 month passes for US for $89 each.

Dawn

 

[mjkacmom]

My gf went to Universal last year at the same time we were in WDW. Her kids are 10 and 13, and she said it was the perfect age, but wouldn't recommend it for our family, since we still had 5 year olds.

 

[Chelley00]

We were at US/IOA the first week of November. My bigger kids (DS15 and DS12) LOVED it.

DD6 and DS3 had their moments where it was fun for them, but most of the time it was waiting for the big kids/parents to get off rides. They liked seeing different characters (Spongebob, Dora etc) but there are not a lot of rides geared towards their age. However, there are playground areas that can keep them occupied for hours (Barney, Fievel, Suess Landing etc) We were there for 2 1/2 days, and had a great time, but we couldn't have done a whole week with the little ones.

DD6 is 50" tall, too short for the big rides (Hulk, Dueling Dragons) DD3 is 41" and too short for many things, including Jurassic Park and the water rides (Popeye and Dudley). He could ride Simpsons, Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, Spiderman (which scared him to death!) ET, Woody Woodpecker and everything at Suess Landing. That's pretty much it.

You could read the last few pages of our trip report. There are pictures and descriptions of rides and what the kids could ride and couldn't ride which may help?

 

[snookiedoodles]

My husband.....gasp!!!....likes Universal better. It is for "older" kids.

I have not taken my two boys ages 8 & 9 there, maybe next year.
maybe not....we are already going to Disney!!!!

 

[tinkerlisa]

GO TO DISNEY!!!
Last Spring we took all our kids: 16, 6 and 8 months to Universal and IOA. It was so bad!!! Our youngest could only go on the Caro suess el at IOA and my 6 year old wasn't big enough for any of the rides except for a few! Afterwards we were on the plane home and everyone kept saying how they wished we went to Disney instead! Maybe when our younger kids are alot bigger(like when my youngest is 10) we will do universal again. But until then, Disney all the way! They cater to people with small children whereas Universal doesn't. When we go next year my youngest will be 2 and he can go on alot of rides and my 6 year old(will be 7) can go on EVERY ride!(not counting water parks)

 

[mejkjj97]

Disney All the Way!!

I love Universal but there is only 1 section that little kids would even enjoy. 95% of the parks are geared toward big Thrill Rides.

I agree with most of the posts here; Universal is great when your kids are around the age of 10.

 

[Crystal824]

I would go to Disney. Universal really is geared more to older children. With that being said, if you want to check it out, how renting a car for one day and doing Universal on that day and doing Disney the rest of the time. If you don't want to rent a car, I believe you can arrange bus transportation to US...just a thought.

 

[daleswife]

I would go to Disney. Universal really is geared more to older children. With that being said, if you want to check it out, how renting a car for one day and doing Universal on that day and doing Disney the rest of the time. If you don't want to rent a car, I believe you can arrange bus transportation to US...just a thought.

We'd be driving down. So the car thing isnt the problem. I just hate to spend almost $300 for tickets for one day. I think we are Disney bound!!!!!

 

[Zoesmama03]

Disney. BAsed on my trips to both I'd say Disney is more geared for sure to those ages than Universal. Universal definitely seems geared more towards teens and up mabye preteens/tweens but if they are brave.

 

[WantToGoNow]

Two trips back we went to US and IA as well as Disney. My kids (3.5 and 1 at the time) and dh basically walked around all day and did nothing - well there were 3-4 rides/attractions in each park that ds3.5 liked but that was it - they were either too small or it was too frightening.

I liked the parks myself - the theming at Islands of Adventure was great - I hate to say this, but I thought that Disney could take a lesson on the theming of this park. We will go back - in several years when my children are older.

 

[Darcy03231]

I would do WDW given your children's ages. I have teens and they love US/IOA (and I do too) but both parks are really geared more to the preteen/teen/adult group. The last time we went we had my nieces with us (12, 9 and 3.5 at the time). The 12 y.o. could ride everything, the 9 y.o. could ride everything but Hulk, Dueling Dragons and Dr. Doom. The 3.5 y.o. loved Suess' Landing and the Curious George play area but there really wasn't a lot for her there. Since there were 4 adults we just took turns with her in the areas she would enjoy.

I just took her to WDW for week in October (just me and her) for her first trip. She was two week shy of her 5th birthday. She loved it! There was so much more for her to do and see.

Until you children get a bit older I would stick to WDW.

 

[daleswife]

Ok so I have come up with another question.....WE have been to Disney for the past two years. This would make our third year in a row. How do I keep it from getting boring for them??? My 2 yr old DS isnt the problem, I know he'd love it. but my 5 yr old (6 at time of travel) Im not so sure.....