Decisions-US before or after Disney

[cantwaittoseemickey]

I wasn't sure where to put this exactly. But we are spending one day at US and so far I have planned to leave Disney and head over for an offsite hotel at US for 2 nights. Now I'm wondering if it would be better to do US at the beginning of the trip instead. I'm thinking it would be better to just go there first and end our trip on a Disney high. What do you think?

 

[pitpat]

Now I'm wondering if it would be better to do US at the beginning of the trip instead. I'm thinking it would be better to just go there first and end our trip on a Disney high. What do you think?

I agree with this.

 

[jwolfpack]

We tacked on a day US on the front end of our Disney trip last week because my daughter wanted to do the Harry Potter stuff. It was so refreshing to get to Disney after experiencing US!

 

[kniquy]

I was faced with the same exact decision. My family will be doing 7 day WDW and 3 days US. After getting some feed back from people on this board and my husband we decided to do WDW first then US. The reason being is that the rides at US are going to be much more thrilling, so we didn't want to do it in reverse and do the thrill rides first then move on to the more low key rides of WDW. I think US will be a nice way to end the vacation because it will not be as regimented. I have felt that i am doing something wrong with the US portion of the trip, but so far i have only booked our room at RPR to get the express pass, other than that we will maybe make one dining reservation a month before the trip. You can easily enjoy US with limited planning (is what i am finding out). I am the planner for the family so i see the US portion as a great way to end our trip and not have to stress about where we are going to be at what time of day.

 

[SaintsManiac]

We are doing 2 nights at US before heading to WDW for Thanksgiving. I also questioned it, but I do want to finish the trip with MK.

 

[CJN]

We do Universal at the end. Always. Once we get over there we have no worries about schedule, ADRs, FPs, etc. After all the structured time at WDW, we think we come home more relaxed that way.

 

[sandam1]

I've done a Universal first, Disney second trip and wouldn't recommend it. It was hard to go from the "we can do whatever we want to, whenever we want to" at Universal to the "here's our first FP and we have 45 minutes to get to this restaurant ADR" at Disney.

Tackle Disney when you are fresh and on the "vacation high" and then ease into Universal at the end. Universal is so much more conducive to switching things up on the fly if you are tired or just need a break.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

Ok my next question. Which would be better. US on a Sunday or Disney parks on a weekend in June? And traffic on I4 coming in on a Monday vs traffic on I4 coming home on a Monday? We don't do much meal planning. As of right now we don't have any dining plans. Typicaly the only planning we do is te FP's as I don't like plan down to the wire of everything we are going tod. The FP's are bad enough as I would much rather plan the days at what parks when we get there.

 

[kniquy]

The other thing we really enjoy (and this is only if you are going from MCO to WDW resort via magical express is the magical express bus ride to the resort -- we always look forward to the ride and video and feel that it is a great way to jump into WDW mode right from the airport.

 

[heidijanesmith]

We really like going to WDW 1st and then to US to end the trip. We a hire a towncar to take us from MCO-WDW and WDW-US and then US-WDW. It's not that expensive and easy to go from place to place.

I love WDW and the planning, but it is really nice to end our trip at US. We stay at HHR, so walking to US takes 3-5min. The unlimited express pass is fabulous, we are able to plan our HP AM touring and then just wander and go on what ever rides suits us at the time.

 

[kniquy]

hire a towncar to take us from MCO-WDW and WDW-US and then US-WDW

Who do you use for your town car? We are going to need probably 2 town cars or a van to go from WDW-US then US-MCO. How far in advance do you typically book? We are not going until April of 2018, but will need to add on the list of things to do

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

We prefer going to US first. Once I'm in the Disney Bubble, I like to stay in it, and I want to end my trip at Disney.

 

[sandam1]

Who do you use for your town car? We are going to need probably 2 town cars or a van to go from WDW-US then US-MCO. How far in advance do you typically book?

I use Tony Hinds 407-406-9093 or aobh607@gmail.com. He has large van. I don't know how far ahead he will book.

 

[Roxyfire]

I liked going to Universal second. I can use DME to get to disney and get luggage delivered, then uber to universal resort and back to airport. It's less expensive/restrictive to use uber to arrive than it is to depart. We are just 2 or 3 tops so it may differ for larger groups.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Who do you use for your town car? We are going to need probably 2 town cars or a van to go from WDW-US then US-MCO. How far in advance do you typically book? We are not going until April of 2018, but will need to add on the list of things to do

We always use quicksilver, they have towncars/SUV/vans and limo's. I usually book 3MO prior.

 

[disneyygirrl]

I have done it both ways, and strongly prefer to end in WDW, where it's much more magical, IMO. It was somewhat depressing, as a major Disney fan, to leave and go to US, knowing I wouldn't be back to WDW. I've also done US in the middle of the trip, which was fine. I just don't recommend doing US last.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

We are likely driving. It's a two day trip to get there for us. I will look at flights but since we have quite a bit of medical things and a wheelchair I'm not sure I want to fly.

 

[erinch]

Are you staying in a US hotel that offers Front of the Line (FOTL)? If not, then US will be really stressful in June due to waiting in lines in direct sunlight. We always do US first, but then we move into the Vistana, and can combine WDW and relaxation.

 

[cantwaittoseemickey]

We are staying offsite at one of the preferred offsite hotels of US. I don't think we will have FOTL.

 

[erinch]

Honestly, if you do not have FOTL, then US in the summer will be long waits in brutal sunlight. If you cannot switch to a FOTL hotel, then the "do what you want, when you want" evaporates, if the attractions matter to you. I personally would put US first, since you can at least obtain FPs for the Disney side.