How many days at Universal vs. Disney

My boys are 12 and 15 and have been to both Universal and Disney many times. If I told them we were going for a 3 day trip and they could pick however they wanted to spend the days, they would choose to spend 2 days at Universal and 1 day at Hollywood Studios. Given a 4th day, they would probably pick Animal Kingdom. Magic Kingdom wouldn't enter the conversation until we got to day 10+.
 
chekhovgirl said:
Thanks, everyone! I think my mom will get over not going to MK. We'll do one day at HS and I think we may go for the special that Universal is doing right now to get five days so we can space out our time there if we want. If she really wants to go to MK, she can spring for tickets for all of us. :) We will not rush Universal, thanks for talking me down!
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That seems fair.
 
chekhovgirl said:
Going to poly for Dole Whips and fireworks.
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It’s a lovely resort:cloud9:we enjoyed staying there yet again last September.

However, was shocked how many more people were waterside this time. lined up from the shore to the side walk sort of thing in the prime viewing area. most with that dole whip in hand. I’m talking at nearly a full hour pre show. Never saw it to that point in the past. :confused3 security guard we chatted up indicated it had been that way since the spring.

be aware they will not permit you to park there unless you are a guest of the resort or have confirmed ADR for dining; same as at all the monorail resorts.
 
If you have express passes you can do a lot at Universal in one day as long as you understand you'll need to pick and choose. Without express pass - I don't think 1 day be worth it at those prices. But if you're trying to get just a handful of highlights, that may be fine for you. We used to always do 1 day at Universal during our Disney trips (of course that was back when we had several non-expiring tickets so going for one day was fine to ride the 6-7 things we wanted). 1 day park-to-park is really expensive. I'd frankly suggest a single night at one of the resorts where you get the express pass for free which gives you the pass for two park days.

I do agree I could almost never go to Disney without MK but if you've been a bunch and will go again just choose what you want to do with your limited time. There's no wrong answer. But I definitely think if you want 2 days at Universal, stay there for the one night to get the two days of the pass - it will make a HUGE difference in what you can get done in April.
 
I personally would not spend one day at Universal if you want to do both parks. You need at least one full day for each park.

I have two teen daughters and we always do five day. We spend two full days at each park and hop between the two on the fifth day. We prefer relaxing and enjoying the park and our girls love riding their favorite rides multiple times. We also use Express Passes.

All that being said, I say definitely two full days minimum, with or without EPs.

Enjoy!!!
 
Long time Disney Family here! We just booked our first ever UO trip for this July. We typically stay 14 nights at Disney with 10 day park hoppers. We just booked 11 nights at Aventura with the 14-day 3 park ticket. Came out to about $3800. Very happy with the cost. With being there for that long, we weren't too worried about Express Pass. Figure that many days will be plenty of time to really explore both the parks and VB. Also, really nice that we can walk to the parks in about 20 minutes and VB in about 5!!
 
chad_1138 said:
Long time Disney Family here! We just booked our first ever UO trip for this July. We typically stay 14 nights at Disney with 10 day park hoppers. We just booked 11 nights at Aventura with the 14-day 3 park ticket. Came out to about $3800. Very happy with the cost. With being there for that long, we weren't too worried about Express Pass. Figure that many days will be plenty of time to really explore both the parks and VB. Also, really nice that we can walk to the parks in about 20 minutes and VB in about 5!!
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Personally, I don't feel you need that much time to experience everything at Universal Orlando. You could easily take a few of those days for other attractions.
 
Davey Jones II said:
Personally, I don't feel you need that much time to experience everything at Universal Orlando. You could easily take a few of those days for other attractions.
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We are also going to have a few down days in there. Disney Springs, pool hop and relax a couple of days. This will probably be our only trip to UO.
 
chad_1138 said:
Long time Disney Family here! We just booked our first ever UO trip for this July. We typically stay 14 nights at Disney with 10 day park hoppers. We just booked 11 nights at Aventura with the 14-day 3 park ticket. Came out to about $3800. Very happy with the cost. With being there for that long, we weren't too worried about Express Pass. Figure that many days will be plenty of time to really explore both the parks and VB. Also, really nice that we can walk to the parks in about 20 minutes and VB in about 5!!
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We're a 10-day Park Hopper family too!

We usually do 5 Park days (9 night stay) at Universal with EPs and find it gives us plenty of time for the rides, but we would do longer too if we weren't taking our girls out of school for it.

We once did two weeks at Disney and five days at Universal and it was an amazing trip. Unfortunately our girls are in high school now and can't be out from school that long.

Anyway, what I really wanted to ask you is if you priced Annual Passes in comparison to the 14-day tickets... I didn't know you could even do 14-day tickets.

Edited to add: 5 Park days (9 night stay) in case it wasn't clear. We like a day at Citywalk and a couple of pool days...
 
DisneyMom93 said:
We're a 10-day Park Hopper family too!

We usually do 5 Park days (9 night stay) at Universal with EPs and find it gives us plenty of time for the rides, but we would do longer too if we weren't taking our girls out of school for it.

We once did two weeks at Disney and five days at Universal and it was an amazing trip. Unfortunately our girls are in high school now and can't be out from school that long.

Anyway, what I really wanted to ask you is if you priced Annual Passes in comparison to the 14-day tickets... I didn't know you could even do 14-day tickets.

Edited to add: 5 Park days (9 night stay) in case it wasn't clear. We like a day at Citywalk and a couple of pool days...
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When I booked the package through Universal, the 14-day (unlimited) ticket option popped up. I had never seen that either. We did think about AP's, but we most likely won't make another trip, and the only way to get VB without blockout before 4 was to go top tier, which was like $850 per person. The 14-day tickets were about $480 per person.

We are looking forward to our first UO experience!! Especially with our boys being 16 and 13. Going to miss Disney, but not the price tag!!!!!

Thanks for the post!!!!
 
chad_1138 said:
Long time Disney Family here! We just booked our first ever UO trip for this July. We typically stay 14 nights at Disney with 10 day park hoppers. We just booked 11 nights at Aventura with the 14-day 3 park ticket. Came out to about $3800. Very happy with the cost. With being there for that long, we weren't too worried about Express Pass. Figure that many days will be plenty of time to really explore both the parks and VB. Also, really nice that we can walk to the parks in about 20 minutes and VB in about 5!!
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Aventura is a wondeful hotel. You can also go to other things in the area. Universal is very central.
 
DavidNYC said:
If you have express passes you can do a lot at Universal in one day as long as you understand you'll need to pick and choose. Without express pass - I don't think 1 day be worth it at those prices. But if you're trying to get just a handful of highlights, that may be fine for you. We used to always do 1 day at Universal during our Disney trips (of course that was back when we had several non-expiring tickets so going for one day was fine to ride the 6-7 things we wanted). 1 day park-to-park is really expensive. I'd frankly suggest a single night at one of the resorts where you get the express pass for free which gives you the pass for two park days.

I do agree I could almost never go to Disney without MK but if you've been a bunch and will go again just choose what you want to do with your limited time. There's no wrong answer. But I definitely think if you want 2 days at Universal, stay there for the one night to get the two days of the pass - it will make a HUGE difference in what you can get done in April.
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In reference to the bolded above...so you get the express pass for your check in day AND your check out day?
 
Davey Jones II said:
In reference to the bolded above...so you get the express pass for your check in day AND your check out day?
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CAPSLOCK said:
Yes. It's quite a good deal.
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We tried it once. It makes for 2 long days.

You want to get to your hotel around 7 am so you can check in and pick up your room key (which also is your Express Pass). The room probably won’t be ready, so you’ll need to leave your luggage with bell services or in your car.

You then head to the park for early opening (typically 8 am). Then, when you are finished, you have to pick up your luggage and head to your room. (They text your room number to you.)

Then next morning, you have to pack up and drop off your luggage before heading to the park.

Most of the time, we stay 2 or 3 nights. It makes for a more relaxing trip.
 
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