HELP? Getting cold feet about Universal vs WDW Thanksgiving week?

[scooffer]

My family has been to Disney 4 times, and I have always wanted to do Universal, for a couple days. I have been there without kids as an adult over 10 years ago and I recall it had more of an amusement park feel than WDW is a destination. The opportunity presented itself this year for two/three days Sunday - Tuesday the week of Thanksgiving. We have two boys 6 and 8, with the 8 year old on the ASD spectrum and has difficulty with change, waiting, and over stimulation. He has wanted to see Harry Potter (as they have the same birthday), was excited to go but recently he has mentioned he would rather go to Disney.

We are on-site club level at Portofino for 2 nights... so we have FOL, and we could get an additional pass for his ASD if necessary for the HP things not on FOL...

I have always wanted to see the MK at the holidays... but I know the crowds will be crazy the week of Thanksgiving, and at this point. I thought MVMCP could be a compromise but they are either not having it that week or they are sold out.

I have been so excited about not having and planning to do for this trip, not ADRs, not FP+, no which park which day...WWYD? Sell me on all things Universal, please

 

[HM]

My family has been to Disney 4 times, and I have always wanted to do Universal, for a couple days. I have been there without kids as an adult over 10 years ago and I recall it had more of an amusement park feel than WDW is a destination. The opportunity presented itself this year for two/three days Sunday - Tuesday the week of Thanksgiving. We have two boys 6 and 8, with the 8 year old on the ASD spectrum and has difficulty with change, waiting, and over stimulation. He has wanted to see Harry Potter (as they have the same birthday), was excited to go but recently he has mentioned he would rather go to Disney.

We are on-site club level at Portofino for 2 nights... so we have FOL, and we could get an additional pass for his ASD if necessary for the HP things not on FOL...

I have always wanted to see the MK at the holidays... but I know the crowds will be crazy the week of Thanksgiving, and at this point. I thought MVMCP could be a compromise but they are either not having it that week or they are sold out.

I have been so excited about not having and planning to do for this trip, not ADRs, not FP+, no which park which day...WWYD? Sell me on all things Universal, please

Do it. You've already made your plans and they sound like good ones. Disney will be there for another trip. We don't mix Disney and US/IOA when we travel and find we like it that way. I've done my last two US/IOA trips from offsite with no FOL and have had a great time. But, I am so looking forward to being able to use is again after more than 10 years. I works really really well. You'll be so in love with it.

 

[momto3pirates]

We did just US/IOA last Thanksgiving and are going back this year. It was a much more relaxed vacation. You will be spoiled with the FOL passes. The WWoHP is amazing. My boys like superheros and love the rides at US/IOA. It is so nice to not have to deal with transportation to and from the parks. Just a short walk and you are there. It is very easy to go back to the resort and rest during the day. Have fun!

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I have heard that crowds are not that bad the days leading up to Thanksgiving.

 

[griffindesign]

You could also go to Disney property for a few hours and visit the monorail resorts. They will be decorated for Christmas! The Grand Floridian has a life size gingerbread house, and the contemporary will have one that incorporates chocolate this year. Riding the monorail, seeing the decor, riding past the magic kingdom, and maybe even eating at a character meal might satisfy your son's disney cravings until next time. We are doing the very same thing Thanksgiving week this year. We are Disney fanatics, but also like Harry Potter, so we're doing Universal with a day to visit the Disney resorts. Enjoy your trip!

 

[cvjw]

No Christmas parties the week of Thanksgiving - just too many people there for them to close the MK early.

At this point, I would stick with Universal. Trying to switch to Disney now would mean no good FP+ reservations or restaurant ADR's. Plus the crowds will be crazy that week.

On-site at Universal will give you FOTL on most everything except Harry Potter. Just an FYI, but FOTL can still be a bit of a wait at holiday periods - I know the lines were still very long with the on-site FOTL privilege Memorial day of 2013.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Sounds like a great trip! I would stick with those plans. You will be so happy being onsite at UOR, especially since it's a shorter trip. Express Passes. Portofino is a great hotel. UOR is definitely a destination now. Because of the size, I think it feels more like a "bubble" than WDW does IMO when you stay onsite.

The character breakfast at Universal Studios is fun...maybe you guys could do that too. Sort of a "Disney-ish" activity Would be cute for your kids at their ages. I think there is character dining different nights at the resorts too.

I think with Universal, sometimes you just have to take the leap of faith, know what I mean? Sounds like a perfect opportunity to me!

 

[scooffer]

No Christmas parties the week of Thanksgiving - just too many people there for them to close the MK early.

At this point, I would stick with Universal. Trying to switch to Disney now would mean no good FP+ reservations or restaurant ADR's. Plus the crowds will be crazy that week.

On-site at Universal will give you FOTL on most everything except Harry Potter. Just an FYI, but FOTL can still be a bit of a wait at holiday periods - I know the lines were still very long with the on-site FOTL privilege Memorial day of 2013.

Thank you all, feeling a smidge better We are at RPH Club, hope that does not affect the positive remarks.

Is there a difference in the FOTL entrance and an entrance they may make available to my son? I was hoping not to get the ADA pass for him this trip, as I think he can do without it. Especially with the FOTL.

 

[People Mover]

We went 2013 Thanksgiving week to Universal. It was a great time. Cold! We ate at MOES in the simpson land for Thanksgiving. I got the waffle/chicken sandwich! What a glorious time. We had a ball. Low lines, and average waits (20-30 mins for large attractions).....we rode mummy 5 times in a row (no wait) the end of Thanksgiving night!

 

[bumbershoot]

I have always wanted to do Universal, for a couple days.

Go with that. Keep that feeling!

I personally think that Universal does intense theming just as well (if not better, with IOA) as Disney. As you approach IOA, stop. Listen to the music. It's so cool, especially if you get the part that sounds a lot like an Imagine Dragons song intro (though they had that music before ID did). Look around at how pretty it is. Enter. Take your time as you go through the Port of Entry, looking at the signs high on the walls. Some are funny, some are just theme. It's an intense way to enter a themepark, and if you take the time to notice your surroundings as you enter, it might help you see the parks in a whole different way.

And that part of IOA was there, then California Adventure copied some of it for their redone entry, and then the whole new Fantasyland just looks to me like IOA all over again.

Do it. You've already made your plans and they sound like good ones. Disney will be there for another trip.

Agreed!

We are on-site club level at Portofino for 2 nights...

We are at RPH Club, hope that does not affect the positive remarks.

Are you at Portofino (PBH) or Royal Pacific (RPR)? Portofino is our personal fave, but Royal is second on our list. No difference in positive remarks from me. But worth making sure of where you're staying!

 

[bumbershoot]

Is there a difference in the FOTL entrance and an entrance they may make available to my son?

From what I know, the way they do it at Universal is the way they NOW do it at WDW. It's not a separate entrance right off the bat, but it's a "come back at this time" sort of thing. You're waiting elsewhere, not in the line. I'm not sure where they have you actually enter when you come back, though. As long as you have unlimited Express Pass (I really dislike calling it front of the line, as there still CAN be a line in front of you, depending on how many others with EP got there first!) for a ride I would use that.

And for the HP attractions, EP does work for Flight of the Hippogriff and Dragon Challenge.



Change is scary, but remind yourselves that the Potter stuff is something WDW simply does not have. It's the draw, it's the reason (though you might find other neat things in there...if dinosaurs aren't too scary, I really recommend checking out the Discovery Center in the Jurassic Park area, for instance), so just focus on that.

 

[SAHMKC]

I think you should stick with your original plans. Thanksgiving at Universal is going to be less crowded than WDW especially early in the week. I would be very worried about being able to get reservations for Restaurants or Fast Pass at WDW if you switched this late. We stayed at RPR last Thanksgiving and my family had the best vacation. We had such a good time that we booked a trip again for this Thanksgiving at HRH. The thing my family loved the best was not waiting in lines because of the Express Pass! Oddly enough my teens loved the Jurassic Park Discovery Center too. We got to sit for almost 30 minutes while they explored it.

You mentioned that your son has a hard time with change. It might help to familiarize your son with the Characters that he will see and maybe show him the interactive maps of the parks. Then it might not seem to be as much of a change if he knows what to expect.

 

[scooffer]

I think you should stick with your original plans. Thanksgiving at Universal is going to be less crowded than WDW especially early in the week. I would be very worried about being able to get reservations for Restaurants or Fast Pass at WDW if you switched this late. We stayed at RPR last Thanksgiving and my family had the best vacation. We had such a good time that we booked a trip again for this Thanksgiving at HRH. The thing my family loved the best was not waiting in lines because of the Express Pass! Oddly enough my teens loved the Jurassic Park Discovery Center too. We got to sit for almost 30 minutes while they explored it.

You mentioned that your son has a hard time with change. It might help to familiarize your son with the Characters that he will see and maybe show him the interactive maps of the parks. Then it might not seem to be as much of a change if he knows what to expect.

you are all so awesome!! Thank you! Feeling much better today. and I just received an email from my AAA rep that she was able to upgrade my 2 day park to park to the 2 day park to park 3rd day free, at no additional charge! This will allow us to go in the day we arrive (plane lands at 10:30am) and just stroll to get a feel for the parks. Then all day Monday and go back Tuesday for what we missed on the to do list we created Sunday. That will take some of the pressure off us and our son.

I am going to do a character search, never even thought of that, thank you! I am not even sure what characters are there

We watched Beetlejuice the movie last night (oops the F bomb was dropped by my son this morning) tsk tsk Beetlejuice. Queing up Men in Black and The Simpsons this weekend. I think they have seen the rest!

 

[2girlsmom]

I agree with the group, I think you and your children are going to find Universal very much well worth it. And as the parent of a child on the ASD, I would encourage you to get the guest assistance pass, even if you do not think you will need it (and for the most part I agree you won't). The Universal GAP works largely like Disney's current program, in that if the line is less than usually 30 minutes, they will have you enter the Express line, otherwise it normally has a return time. This won't be an issue for you since you have the unlimited express on almost everything. But you mention Harry Potter specifically, and for Gringotts at Diagon Alley and Forbidden Journey at IOA, the waits may be longer than your son could handle (these rides do not have express at this point). We were recently at Diagon Alley and the wait time was 90 minutes, which is not an amount of time my ASD kid could manage in a line, so we did use her pass for that, they gave us a return time and we walked around in the shops, etc while waiting for the time to roll around. When the return time came, they sent us through the line that is not currently in use but will eventually be the express line at some point years from now, which still goes through the bank, etc, time in the line became about 15 minutes total (actual combined time was 1 hr 45 minutes, as the return time was 1-1/2 after we initially got there on our card, sometimes they will give a return time that is 15 minutes or so less than the posted standby time but in this case they did not).

 

[ArwenMarie]

you are all so awesome!! Thank you! Feeling much better today. and I just received an email from my AAA rep that she was able to upgrade my 2 day park to park to the 2 day park to park 3rd day free, at no additional charge! This will allow us to go in the day we arrive (plane lands at 10:30am) and just stroll to get a feel for the parks. Then all day Monday and go back Tuesday for what we missed on the to do list we created Sunday. That will take some of the pressure off us and our son.

I am going to do a character search, never even thought of that, thank you! I am not even sure what characters are there

We watched Beetlejuice the movie last night (oops the F bomb was dropped by my son this morning) tsk tsk Beetlejuice. Queing up Men in Black and The Simpsons this weekend. I think they have seen the rest!

Great, nice to get that third day free! I think three days is perfect, like you said, it gives you enough time to go back and catch things you missed or that you want to do again without feeling rushed.

Have a great trip!

One last tip...just remember, UOR is not Disney. It's wonderful in its own way.

 

[kelleybean]

Another ASD parent here ... like others have said, the disability pass works similar to Disney where you will get a return time. And obviously you won't need it with the express pass that comes from the deluxe hotels. It does work for the Harry Potter rides in that there is a shorter line once you hit your return time, but it can still be quite a wait, especially for Gringotts. I will say that I have had consistently better experiences with my son's disability with Universal staff. I think because they have always used this system with the return times where Disney's was so open to abuse that I frequently felt like Disney staff was thinking that I wasn't being honest.

I think you should stick with Universal, especially since you have access to the express pass. I know that with our kiddos things don't always go as planned and I think there is so much more flexibility with this vs fast pass at Disney. And also the ability to ride things over and over. It is also easier to go back to your hotel for a break if he gets overwhelmed (my son is only good for a few hours in the park and then he is DONE. So we go in the morning and stay till it gets crowded, take a break, and go back in afternoon). Is your son gluten free? I will say that in our experience Disney has been a little easier to accommodate our son's diet. We bring bread, pb&J, and cereal so we can have something for him if we need it. If your son is overwhelmed by noise (my son is not), then I have seen some parents use noise canceling headphones for their kids. I'm assuming though that they'd make you put it in the locker for several of the rides.

I also find it helpful to wear one of my million autism awareness shirts when I'm at the parks. It shouldn't matter but I've found that people are a lot more understanding when my son does something unexpected when they can immediately see there is a "reason."

Have fun!

 

[cgattis]

I have zero first-hand knowledge in this area, but just wanted to second how easy it is to pop back to the onsite hotels if you need to get away from all the stimulation for a bit.

And I did see a family with a teen son getting on Gringott's with his headphones. Obviously I'm just assuming (as it certainly was jone if my business to ask!) that they were for noise, not music. But my point is just that he was allowed on with them. Maybe not on some of the wilder rides, but just thought someone here might want to know that.

 

[quantumottle]

I have been so excited about not having and planning to do for this trip, not ADRs, not FP+, no which park which day...WWYD? Sell me on all things Universal, please

If you have not been to WDW since FastPass+ was rolled out, that alone would be reason to go to Universal over Disney this year.

Hopefully Disney gets the FP+ thing sorted out, but for now, it's an absolute nightmare. If you think planning your trip was tough before, try predicting what time of day you'll be standing in front of which ride two months in advance.

I'd stick with Universal this year and use those Express Passes.

Best of Luck.

 

[Seeker615]

You will love Universal!

Some of the characters that you can meet are Scooby and Shaggy, Spongebob and Patrick, Dora and Diego, The Simpsons, Bullwinkle, Woody Woodypecker (who is a riot!) and also the minions! Shrek and Donkey are there as well.
Oh i almost forgot about spiderman and the X-Men characters. Most lines are very short to meet the characters.

 

[ArwenMarie]

You will love Universal!

Some of the characters that you can meet are Scooby and Shaggy, Spongebob and Patrick, Dora and Diego, The Simpsons, Bullwinkle, Woody Woodypecker (who is a riot!) and also the minions! Shrek and Donkey are there as well.
Oh i almost forgot about spiderman and the X-Men characters. Most lines are very short to meet the characters.

Shrek and Donkey are such a great character meet!

The Seuss characters are cute too.