How bad is it to piecemeal an Orlando trip?

[mkm1998]

It's been over 10 years since my last Orlando trip, so forgive me if I'm getting something wrong. Last time I was there, we were in the 'beta' test for fastpass+. I know tons have changed, so I've been researching as much as I can to get the best return on our money. I almost cried when I saw how 'cheap' that 8-day trip was back in 2014 compare to what it's going to cost now.

Our rough plan so far is as follows:

Flying out Sat 9/20, staying at a AirBnB for 8 nights. 1 Park a day (4 Disney + 3 Universal).
First 4 days will be Disney. The best deal I can find is to by my son's ticket under the 50% off sale, then also buy the 3-day no hop and no Magic Kingdom pass for myself and my wife, and then also buy a 1-day Magic Kingdom ticket for the two of us as well. That came in cheaper than a 4-day 4-park ticket. Is that a huge deal? Figured I could just load everything onto the app so it would be find, but am I missing much in terms of LL pre-booking/restaurant reservations? I'm hoping it's going to be slow enough that I can still score a shot at some good reservations over the on-site hotel guests.

For Universal, we're going with basically a 3-Day hopper ticket. So for 2 days we can hop from Islands to Studios, and then the 3rd day will be all Epic. We're gonna get Express tickets for all 3 days. Last time we went to Universal, we stayed at Portifino so had those Express passes. We were always going to splurge on Express passes for Epic, and it doesn't seem too bad to add the other parks in on it.

So that's the plan. No rest days. Wife only wanted us to miss a week worth of school/work so that was all we could do. We could with express try and do Islands/Studios all in one day, but I feel like that's pushing it with a 6-year-old.

Anyways, I just want to see if there's something glaring I'm missing by this plan. Thanks!

 

[bopper]

You are going to need 1 to 2 days to rest unless you don't spend all day in the park. Your kid will also want to go to the pool.
My adult daughter and I did 4 disney park days in a row and we were DED

 

[mkm1998]

You are going to need 1 to 2 days to rest unless you don't spend all day in the park. Your kid will also want to go to the pool.
My adult daughter and I did 4 disney park days in a row and we were DED

I know. My original plan was to do 2 disney days, 1 rest, the next 2 disney days, and then another rest, and then the last 3 days at Universal. I know with express Islands and Studios will both be shorter days. But yeah, EPIC and the Disney parks are going to be hard. Since we live in SoCal, we talked about maybe just skipping stuff we can do out here, so that means no to Galaxy Edge, Midway Mania. Will make Hollywood Studios a little easier if we need to. Animal Kingdom...well again we have the San Diego Zoo right near us. (It's funny everytime we travel somewhere we always here 'Your family HAS to check out the zoo. It just doesn't mean as much when we have the San Diego Zoo and Safari park around the corner). EPCOT I'm thinking our 6-year-old is going to be bored out of his mind with the World Showcase, so we'll probably just try to hit the rides and get out of there. Would love to stay and watch the nighttime show. Magic Kingdom....yeah that will be a long day.

So yeah, I know there should be breaks. But as we tell our son 'You get what you get, and you don't throw a fit'.

 

[Rory607]

So we have done a similar trip, but stayed on property at both places. We switched resorts halfway through the trip. No rest days, although I guess the day we switched from Universal to Disney was a shorter park day. I was dead by the end of the trip. Halfway through my legs were killing me and not because I’m out of shape. I work out everyday. But I think I was wearing the wrong shoes and it really made me miserable. So make sure everyone has shoes that work for them.

Our kids were probably 7 and 11 at the time. They did really well. We should have rested more, but they’re park junkies and wanted to keep going. If your son has had too much and needs a break, listen to him. Be realistic about how much a kid can take in an overstimulating park. We also typically take an afternoon break since we stay on property, which helps a lot.

My kids have always loved Epcot and I personally find it a more relaxing park. We like strolling WS. I would at least try it since you don’t have it in California.

 

[_19disnA]

Even if your family is the go-go-go type, trying to do a park every day for 7 consecutive days will be exhausting with the heat/crowds/waiting in lines and miles of walking, doubt anyone will find that an enjoyable way to vacation. It had also been over 10 yrs since our last trip to Disney and the main thing we noticed was that the parks were far more crowded than in the past and obviously everything was more expensive. No amount of advance planning is going to make any park less crowded. Expect everything to take a lot longer than when you were there 10 yrs ago.

We were at Universal years ago, so I don't have any recent knowledge of how their parks work. We did have park hoppers for Disney since if one park is overly crowded it gives you the option to try a different park. AK was so crowded on one of the weekdays we were there you couldn't even move around. We gave up and went to Epcot instead and found it wasn't nearly as crowded.

We have always liked to do rides/shows in one part of a park and then move to the next area. Never found that zig/zagging from one end of the park to another for some ride with a supposedly a shorter wait time accomplishes much. Just adds to the miles you will already be walking.

 

[fla4fun]

Have you considered doing only three Disney days? One day at MK, one morning at DHS hopping to Epcot for World Showcase in the late afternoon/evening, and one morning at AK hopping to Epcot for the front of the park in the late afternoon/evening. Then you could have a rest day before your three Universal days. You might have to do the math on the tickets again to see how that works for you.

Alternatively, plan on doing AK on the fourth day, leaving in the afternoon to spend a half day relaxing with some down time before your Universal days. It wouldn’t be as restful as a full day off, but it would be better than nothing.

 

[TOBS2010]

I just bought piece mail tickets for WDW like you are thinking of doing. Got all the ticket confirmation numbers sent to me minutes within buying and then added them to My Disney Experience. Disney is so expensive, so trying to save every dollar I could. Typically, I would book a vacation package or at least buy all my tickets together--but this worked out cheaper and I saved money that I can put towards other trip costs like food.

We ended up getting a great deal on airfare and planned a trip under 30 days. I was shocked how many dining reservations were available. Typically when we have done Disney I am planning 6 months out and am unable to get dining reservations when they open in popular locations without stalking and getting lucky or using paid services to help me get those reservations.

 

[Headless]

Yeah if you can add the days I would add at least 2 rest days.... Between 2 Disney parks and then between Disney and universal.

Another thing to consider is the 'tired' you will get from travel back and forth. Staying off site like you are I assume you are renting a car which means getting to/from and then parking and doing all that jazz which can add time to the day you aren't thinking about. I stayed off site last august and for someone who has always stayed on site it was a noticeable (but still very doable) addition to the day. Something to the magic of walking from your room to a bus stop or the skyliner or a boat and going right to the park. just for giggles did you look at say pop and the low tier universal to compare to your airbnb?

 

[gottalovepluto]

… am I missing much in terms of LL pre-booking/restaurant reservations? I'm hoping it's going to be slow enough that I can still score a shot at some good reservations over the on-site hotel guests.

For Universal, we're going with basically a 3-Day hopper ticket. So for 2 days we can hop from Islands to Studios, and then the 3rd day will be all Epic. We're gonna get Express tickets for all 3 days. Last time we went to Universal, we stayed at Portifino so had those Express passes. We were always going to splurge on Express passes for Epic, and it doesn't seem too bad to add the other parks in on it.

You won’t score anything over hotel guests, the 3 day LL window + length of ticket is a real disadvantage over the 7 day LL window + length of ticket hotel guests get. Every extra day you can get by the length of your ticket will help your options. I do not think this is the place to be saving money on your trip if you plan to buy LL. Since you can’t rope drop anything, LL is gonna be important.

Going in with the assumption it will be a slow time is usually fool’s folly aside from a couple very specific times. Crowds start picking up again by 2nd week of Sept from the Labor Day lull.

Express for 2 days at IoA, US is overkill. Those parks can be done in one day, especially with Express.


I think you’re cramming too much in here. Specially because of the accommodations you’ve chosen. You will spend a lot of time in transit every day and you have no early morning advantages which will leave parks feeling busier to you, increasing stress levels. You or the kid will need real rest time. I would cut AK since you already expressed bias against it because of SD Zoo. (I’ve been to both and love both. I find them different experiences. But if seeing tigers, lions, gorillas, elephants, etc is dull since you’re so used to it AK is a waste of your time unless you’re the worlds biggest Avatar fan.)

ETA- you’re from SoCal? The FL weather in Sept will definitely wreck you. You NEED rest.

 

[bookbabe626]

Have you looked into doing the three park Disney ticket plus a MK Halloween party?

The other thing I would suggest is, unless you have relatives letting you use their timeshare for free, looking into staying onsite, even if it’s at a value resort, and doing a split stay between WDW and US. Or you could rent DVC points for the WDW portion. When you only have a short amount of time, and it’s a once a decade kind of trip, the onsite advantages plus the ease of transportation would be a big bonus.

 

[Disnsyncey]

well again we have the San Diego Zoo right near us. (It's funny everytime we travel somewhere we always here 'Your family HAS to check out the zoo. It just doesn't mean as much when we have the San Diego Zoo and Safari park around the corner).

but AK is "Nahtazu!" as the ads from LONG ago said! hahahahah

AK is not a zoo, it has a safari ride in it, but the rest of the shows and rides are MILES beyond what I would find in a normal zoo....

but in general, unless you are going labor day through the next weekend, there's not a ton of "slow" as pp said....

 

[disneydreamer1980]

Sounds exhausting! You’ll wa t to take off days or breaks during the day. If I only had a week I’d concentrate on just Disney or Universal. Do 4-5 days at parks and have some off/pool days. If you stay on sight you get a free water park ticket your first night, just fyi. And AK is worth visiting imo, especially if you have a kid, and MKnis really a 2 day park. Or if you’re definitely wanting to do US maybe only do 2 days, one US/IOA combined and one epic. Definitely possible with express passes. That’ll give you an off day. Also depending on how many are in your group it may be cheaper to stay onsite for the free express passes (wont work with Epic though). However you do it, have fun!

 

[elvispursley]

Did a similar trip several years back for my oldest DS graduation present. We stayed at an AirBnB-type place offsite and I will NEVER do that again. Despite being 3 miles from WDW, the traffic getting to WDW had us in the road for 30-45 minutes. We did 7-days at WDW and 2 at USO. Getting out of the MK at the end of the night was beyond a nightmare such that my kids had no desire to go back to the MK.

 

[CharissaOKC]

Will your six year old ride most of the rides at Universal? Seems like that is an age where they may not be ready for everything Universal has to offer. I have a 10 and 5 year old and I just can’t justify a multi day trip there yet. Maybe just do 1 day at Epic and with the savings move on site at Disney?

Disney has so much to offer outside of the parks as well. Not to mention free waterpark on check-in day and free parking for on site guests.

Not sure how great of a deal you got on an AirBnB but if it’s just 3 of you it might be closer in price than you would think to stay on site.

 

[Best Aunt]

ETA- you’re from SoCal? The FL weather in Sept will definitely wreck you. You NEED rest.

I was at Disney in mid-September last year. It was so hot. So humid. So rainy. Like ruined-my-sneakers rainy. I have been there in July and August, but this was the hardest for me, weather-wise. I did multiple park days in a row, but there is no way I would have been able to stay in a park all day. Some days, I didn't even last until lunch time. I would go back to the hotel for a break, and then head back out later. Since I was staying at Beach Club, it was easy to break up the day like that. If you are staying at an AirBnB, your commute time might make it impractical to go back to your room for a mid-day break.

I think Universal is designed for people who like exciting rides. I get motion sick easily, so I won't do most of them. Disney has been more fun for people who don't do big rides. As PP said, you should think about what your kid will want to ride. But also think about what you and wife will want to ride.

 

[Mle8308]

You may want to think about the express pass for Epic. It's pricey and doesn't include Dragon Racer's Rally, the Harry Potter attraction, or Mine Cart Madness. And it's still the rainy season in FL, not quite as much at the end of September, but it is still rain and hurricane season. A lot of Epic closes when the rain starts. Just something to consider. You pay a lot for the express pass, you want to be able to get your moneys worth! And your 6 year old may not want to ride the attractions that are eligible for the express pass. Maybe use that $900 for the pass and upgrade to a Disney or Universal hotel instead of staying offsite (and save the parking charges, too - probably about an additional $125).

 

[mkm1998]

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone. My responses are below:

1.) Our son is more on the thrill side than most kids, lucky for us. When we took him to Disneyland/California Adventure last, the only ride he said 'no' to was Incredicoaster. He went on Thunder Mountain, LOVED Space Mountain (had to go on it twice). Even went on Guardians of the Galaxy Breakout. He said he wouldn't go on Guardians again, but he didn't cry. In fact the day of he said he enjoyed it! It was only after he said that he wouldn't want to go on it again because 'I didn't like when my butt came out of my seat'. So we know where the line is for him in terms of rides.
2.) He's right around 43 inches currently. Anything that has a height requirement more than 44 we would never put him on. Seems all of those involve the dreaded 'butt lifting' thing he hates. However, both my wife and I love coasters, so we're thinking we would child swap for the coasters. I know the cost for Express is high, but we're justifying it by both realizing lines will be long at Epic (and Probably Studios as well due to Horror Nights), so anything that can help that works for us. Also we can take turns using the extra express on rides he can't go on.
3.) Thank you all for the heads up on the weather. I'm definitely nervous about that. We came back from a week at Playa Del Carmen last month, and wow! My last trips to Orlando were always in January. I know it's gonna be different. Drink as much water as possible, and move from outdoor rides to indoor attractions as much as possible.
4.) I am starting to look more into on-site hotels. It really depends on how many people are coming on the trip. Should know within a week, but if it's just the 3 of us, then yeah I'm thinking of trying to on-site. I'm starting to see some deals there where the price isn't too much higher. However, there's a chance another family might be coming with us (2 adults, 2 kids). If that happens, it's much more economical to go with an AirBnB. Even started looking at DVC rental as an option if it's just us. Even if staying on property, I would probably end up renting a car. I tried the bus system one time, and it just felt so slow. Driving and parking seemed so much more efficient. I know if we stay on property, it's free parking the entire time.
5.) If the other family comes along, there's talk about 1-2 adults leaving early with the kids that are tiring out, while the others stick around and try and finish off some of the extreme rides. Being all the way from the West Coast, there's a feeling of trying to get it al done, since we can't go back as easy as others. That being said, if it's a copy of something in SoCal (Galaxy's Edge, Mario Kart, Toy Story Mania) we are okay skipping that.
6.) Is buying the 3-day 1-park per day (no MK) ticket, and then a 1-day MK ticket for the adults, and then getting the 4-day 1-park per day ticket for the kids a bad idea? It's way cheaper than getting 4-day 1-park per day tickets for the adults.

 

[CharissaOKC]

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone. My responses are below:

1.) Our son is more on the thrill side than most kids, lucky for us. When we took him to Disneyland/California Adventure last, the only ride he said 'no' to was Incredicoaster. He went on Thunder Mountain, LOVED Space Mountain (had to go on it twice). Even went on Guardians of the Galaxy Breakout. He said he wouldn't go on Guardians again, but he didn't cry. In fact the day of he said he enjoyed it! It was only after he said that he wouldn't want to go on it again because 'I didn't like when my butt came out of my seat'. So we know where the line is for him in terms of rides.
2.) He's right around 43 inches currently. Anything that has a height requirement more than 44 we would never put him on. Seems all of those involve the dreaded 'butt lifting' thing he hates. However, both my wife and I love coasters, so we're thinking we would child swap for the coasters. I know the cost for Express is high, but we're justifying it by both realizing lines will be long at Epic (and Probably Studios as well due to Horror Nights), so anything that can help that works for us. Also we can take turns using the extra express on rides he can't go on.
3.) Thank you all for the heads up on the weather. I'm definitely nervous about that. We came back from a week at Playa Del Carmen last month, and wow! My last trips to Orlando were always in January. I know it's gonna be different. Drink as much water as possible, and move from outdoor rides to indoor attractions as much as possible.
4.) I am starting to look more into on-site hotels. It really depends on how many people are coming on the trip. Should know within a week, but if it's just the 3 of us, then yeah I'm thinking of trying to on-site. I'm starting to see some deals there where the price isn't too much higher. However, there's a chance another family might be coming with us (2 adults, 2 kids). If that happens, it's much more economical to go with an AirBnB. Even started looking at DVC rental as an option if it's just us. Even if staying on property, I would probably end up renting a car. I tried the bus system one time, and it just felt so slow. Driving and parking seemed so much more efficient. I know if we stay on property, it's free parking the entire time.
5.) If the other family comes along, there's talk about 1-2 adults leaving early with the kids that are tiring out, while the others stick around and try and finish off some of the extreme rides. Being all the way from the West Coast, there's a feeling of trying to get it al done, since we can't go back as easy as others. That being said, if it's a copy of something in SoCal (Galaxy's Edge, Mario Kart, Toy Story Mania) we are okay skipping that.
6.) Is buying the 3-day 1-park per day (no MK) ticket, and then a 1-day MK ticket for the adults, and then getting the 4-day 1-park per day ticket for the kids a bad idea? It's way cheaper than getting 4-day 1-park per day tickets for the adults.

You shouldn’t have an issue buying your tickets like that. You will need to have a plan of the dates you want to use them. For the adult MK single day tickets you will need to pick the specific date you will be visiting at time of purchase. I would just make sure everything is linked and correct in MDE well before your trip just to make sure!

 

[cruising spud]

Now that our children are older, our family tends to do Disney once every seven or so years. So, when we do go, we want to make sure we do everything we want to. We also want to make sure that we all have a good time. No sense in going, spending a lot of money, and having issues.

Although my husband and I are retired, our children are not, so we spend about a week at Disney. We take a day to fly in and relax, a day to fly out, and five days in the parks. We spend one day at each of the four parks and then we have a "pick your own park day." Most of us opt to go to MK.

We have been to Disney during all seasons of the year.

My opinion of your plans/and just my opinion:

Get a Disney hotel room. This gives you early entry, which is a game changer. You will get so much more done, provided you get to the parks early. Get LLMP at least for MK and HS and LLSP for Flights of Passage and for the Star Wars Ride that has the LLSP. Waiting in lines for a long time really eats into your park time. I know they cost additional money, but no sense spending the money you are already spending and then not going on the rides you want to.

It is most probably going to be hot and humid. If you arrive at the parks for rope drop and get LLMP and LLSP, you should be able to either take an afternoon break and swim and nap and go back to the park at night or get done with the park at an early enough time to get a good night's sleep.
If you're looking to save money, have a grocery order delivered or stop and get food on the way from the airport. Not spending money on breakfast and snacks and maybe another meal or two is a financial game changer.

Go to Animal Kingdom. It is so much more than a zoo.

Universal: I was at Universal two years ago. The Harry Potter World was by far (again my opinion) the best thing about the parks. You could spend a full day in both of the Harry Potter areas just doing some rides and looking around. Truly the high point of the parks. I am not a thrill ride person, so I didn't like any of the rides.

If I were doing your trip-I would not do Universal and Disney in a week's time. It would be too exhausting for our family. Too exhausting means more chance of not having a good time.

I think that if you want to enjoy your trip, you need to cut back a bit on what you do. Universal tends to have a lot more fast, scary-type rides. Maybe you do Disney this trip and save Universal for another time.

Again, just my two cents. Best wishes.

 

[Headless]

When it comes to options for staying on site your best bet (in my opinion) is renting DVC or going through a travel agent and talking through your needs to have them guide you.

As for transportation I've felt at times the buses have been slow at times and other times they have been lightning fast. Having done both (parking lots in a car and Disney transportation) my personal feeling is to always lean to Disney travel. unless you go via monorail to Epcot you don't deal with the TTC and if you are at a skyliner or boat shuttle resort those are much better (normally) then the bus system. art of animation/ Pop Century/ CBR/ Riviera are my go to's normally.

if the other family comes if might help to do the dvc point rental and split a 2/3 bedroom suite. it's a good price normally for what you are getting and the amenities in those size can be a huge help (washer/dryer/full kitchen) I know my wife and I have used the kitchen more and more each trip we go to help at least with breakfasts