Should we stick with WDW which we love or try out US? There's dd 10, ds 9, dh and myself.
We will be in Fort Lauderdale for a RCCL cruise in March 2012. Last weekend, I was moaning about not being able to do WDW next yr because we are cruising instead. DH shocked me by suggesting we go a few days earlier and spend 2-3 days in WDW!
But...because it's such a short time, I'm not sure if WDW is worth it, kwim? Our plan is to arrive in Orlando Thursday night, spend Fri and Sat at a park and then drive out to Fort Lauderdale late afternoon on Sunday for our cruise on Monday. 2 day tix are about $160 for WDW or $100 for US (per person) so $640 vs $400. This would be during the 2nd weekend of March when it's starting to get close to peak season.
We all LOVE WDW. We went for the first time in Oct for a quick weekend with 2 park days and got so hooked we headed back again in January for a 10 day trip which was perfect.
DS is 48 inches but does not do thrill rides. Big Thunder is his speed. DD enjoys thrill rides and adored EE and RnRC. DH gets dizzy easy and doesn't do well on any kind of coaster or motion simulator (well..he was only a little shaken by Goofy's Barnstormer and rerode it a few times but Mission Space left him dizzy) but enjoys all the other rides and shows (Buzz and TSM, Soarin', Test Track, etc). I like everything
We all love the parades, the fireworks, and the incredible shows and productions. We really prefer doing as many rides together as possible but do expect to separate for several rides.
Based on our preferences above, do you think there is enough for my family at US to enjoy 2 days there? Would we be able to do enough together? Would we find ourselves missing the "Disney magic"? I should add that none of us are major Harry Potter fans. I `ve read one books and seen bits and pieces of one or two movies. My kids have seen bits and pieces of the various movies. We can take it or leave it. If we went to IoA, we would do Harry Potter just to say we did it and enjoy the theming on its own merit.
I was on the US site and lots of the rides and attractions sounded fun. I just wonder if we would find ourselves missing the Disney "experience". We're spending this summer doing our local theme parks. We've gone/will be going to Cedar Point, Canada's Wonderland, and King's Island multiple times over the summer. So if US is like those, I can pass on it, kwim? While we are enjoying those parks, it's nothing like Disney. I miss Fastpass. I miss knowing how long load times are and how to efficiently tour the park. I miss thinking a half hour is a crazy long wait. (at Wonderland in particular - pretty much everything is a 30-45 min or more wait - even on a slow school day! We just practice being patient).
Plus most of the time at these parks, DH spends his time sitting by the ride or taking DS on antique cars or wandering around the arcade. Or he heads out of the park by himself to do whatever leaving me with the kids (we have season passes so we pop in and out). I get nervous because I read of people saying that they prefer Disney because they can ride together as a family whereas they split up more at Universal.
Even dh keeps saying how much better our time at Disney was. I was shocked considering he`s very laidback and low key about these trips we take.
Still, I can't help thinking this is a good opportunity to experience US - which we are unlikely to do if we take longer trips to Orlando. Disney tix are so affordable when doing longer trips. I just want to make sure my DH has a good time and can do most rides instead of just sitting around waiting.
We will be in Fort Lauderdale for a RCCL cruise in March 2012. Last weekend, I was moaning about not being able to do WDW next yr because we are cruising instead. DH shocked me by suggesting we go a few days earlier and spend 2-3 days in WDW!
But...because it's such a short time, I'm not sure if WDW is worth it, kwim? Our plan is to arrive in Orlando Thursday night, spend Fri and Sat at a park and then drive out to Fort Lauderdale late afternoon on Sunday for our cruise on Monday. 2 day tix are about $160 for WDW or $100 for US (per person) so $640 vs $400. This would be during the 2nd weekend of March when it's starting to get close to peak season.
We all LOVE WDW. We went for the first time in Oct for a quick weekend with 2 park days and got so hooked we headed back again in January for a 10 day trip which was perfect.
DS is 48 inches but does not do thrill rides. Big Thunder is his speed. DD enjoys thrill rides and adored EE and RnRC. DH gets dizzy easy and doesn't do well on any kind of coaster or motion simulator (well..he was only a little shaken by Goofy's Barnstormer and rerode it a few times but Mission Space left him dizzy) but enjoys all the other rides and shows (Buzz and TSM, Soarin', Test Track, etc). I like everything
We all love the parades, the fireworks, and the incredible shows and productions. We really prefer doing as many rides together as possible but do expect to separate for several rides.Based on our preferences above, do you think there is enough for my family at US to enjoy 2 days there? Would we be able to do enough together? Would we find ourselves missing the "Disney magic"? I should add that none of us are major Harry Potter fans. I `ve read one books and seen bits and pieces of one or two movies. My kids have seen bits and pieces of the various movies. We can take it or leave it. If we went to IoA, we would do Harry Potter just to say we did it and enjoy the theming on its own merit.
I was on the US site and lots of the rides and attractions sounded fun. I just wonder if we would find ourselves missing the Disney "experience". We're spending this summer doing our local theme parks. We've gone/will be going to Cedar Point, Canada's Wonderland, and King's Island multiple times over the summer. So if US is like those, I can pass on it, kwim? While we are enjoying those parks, it's nothing like Disney. I miss Fastpass. I miss knowing how long load times are and how to efficiently tour the park. I miss thinking a half hour is a crazy long wait. (at Wonderland in particular - pretty much everything is a 30-45 min or more wait - even on a slow school day! We just practice being patient).
Plus most of the time at these parks, DH spends his time sitting by the ride or taking DS on antique cars or wandering around the arcade. Or he heads out of the park by himself to do whatever leaving me with the kids (we have season passes so we pop in and out). I get nervous because I read of people saying that they prefer Disney because they can ride together as a family whereas they split up more at Universal.
Even dh keeps saying how much better our time at Disney was. I was shocked considering he`s very laidback and low key about these trips we take.
Still, I can't help thinking this is a good opportunity to experience US - which we are unlikely to do if we take longer trips to Orlando. Disney tix are so affordable when doing longer trips. I just want to make sure my DH has a good time and can do most rides instead of just sitting around waiting.
. To us, while Disney is still fun and we do plan on going back, we do not see the point in spending the same amount of money (or more sometimes at Disney) to have to wait in lines that could be an hour or more. Our family LOVES Men In Black just like we LOVE the Buzz Lightyear ride at MK. However, at Universal we can ride MIB between 5-7 times in ONE hour during the busy summer months, but could only ride Buzz Lightyear twice in ONE hour at MK. The rides are about the same (shoot objects to get a score), but at Universal we can enjoy it more (get more for our money) than we can at Disney. I don't want this post to turn into another Disney vs. Universal debate in the fastpass and waiting areas, so I will just stop there. 
