Disney and Universal

[samandryanmom]

We are travelling Monday, May 23rd to Monday, May 30th. Both arrival and departure days, we will not be doing any parks but I'm trying to arrange the week. I know that towards the weekend, it will be busier at both Disney and Universal but would you rather do Universal on Saturday and Sunday while doing Disney Tuesday through Thursday or vice versa doing Universal early in the week and leaving Disney for the end of the week and weekend? I'm going to post this on the Universal thread as well.

We're staying offsite.
Thanks for the help!

 

[Parker Clan]

I would do Universal on Sat and Sun, then Disney Tues-Thurs.
When we go in August we always do Universal on the weekend, at least in August we waited 15 mins for Gringotts and rode it four times. No clue what it's like in May though

 

[Virtucomp]

I would definitely visit Universal on the weekend. The crowds there are so much lower than WDW. Use the same advice as for the Disney parks, get to the park early and you will be done with everything sooner than you think.

 

[agavegirl1]

I agree, Universal parks on Sat and Sun will be no where near as crowded as the WDW parks those same days. Do be there at park opening and have a touring plan though, they won't be empty.

 

[samandryanmom]

You guys are awesome! I knew I could count on great advice. Our last several visits to Disney have been over July 4th, so I know crowds!

 

[hamilkm]

We will be there almost the exact same days. May23- May 31. We are staying onsite at Disney the first 6 nights and Universal the last 2. This will put us at Universal for most of Memorial Day weekend too. I'm hoping we have the right idea!

 

[samandryanmom]

We will be there almost the exact same days. May23- May 31. We are staying onsite at Disney the first 6 nights and Universal the last 2. This will put us at Universal for most of Memorial Day weekend too. I'm hoping we have the right idea!

I hope so too!! We have done onsite at Disney and offsite. We love both. This trip my father in law is with me and my daughter so I figured one hotel room wasn't going to cut it so we're renting a condo. I debated about onsite at Universal for one night but I just couldn't make myself pay for it. We got such a great deal on the condo. Hopefully I won't be kicking myself!

 

[hamilkm]

I hope so too!! We have done onsite at Disney and offsite. We love both. This trip my father in law is with me and my daughter so I figured one hotel room wasn't going to cut it so we're renting a condo. I debated about onsite at Universal for one night but I just couldn't make myself pay for it. We got such a great deal on the condo. Hopefully I won't be kicking myself!

It's just me and my 2 teenage cousins, so the one room was fine. If we had needed 2 rooms it would have been off site for us! Also, I'm the only one old enough to drive the rental car and I hate driving places I'm unfamiliar. On site at Universal was a last minute add on splurge. We have never been and they are so excited about it!

 

[AshleeH]

We've always done Universal on a weekend and it's always been lower weekend crowds than a comparable Disney park. Just get there at opening, since Universal hotels get in the parks early, they're already a little crowded by the time the general public gets through the gates.

 

[Alice777]

We were at IOA on Sunday (4/10) and first 2 hours was not bad at all. It really got crowded around 11 am but mostly at Harry Potter land. Rest of the park was not bad. We also did Universal/IOA on Wednesday (4/13) and again, only HP land got crowded after 11 am and rest of the park was okay. For both days, we did everything we wanted to do and was able to ride couple of popular rides twice. We did not have express pass.

Just make sure to arrive at least half hour before to go through the security. When were were there at 8:15 am to 8:30 am, it only took couple of minutes to go through the secuirty.