How many days at Universal vs. Disney

[GatorChris]

I wouldn't do Universal in 2 days, much less 1. And really, 3+ is my minimum. Especially while taking time to hit Volcano Bay, which might be my favorite park in Orlando.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Oh we all do. We are Gold Passholders at Kings Island. Go once a week at least. Super excited for Velocicoaster!!

It's not just the coasters. Most of the dark rides are more thrilling and intense than the ones at Disney.

 

[chad_1138]

It's not just the coasters. Most of the dark rides are more thrilling and intense than the ones at Disney.

Can't wait!!!! Just hoping that The Mummy is back up while we are there. We check out July 27, so fingers crossed!!!

 

[ClapYourHands]

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+.

This sounds about right! My boys are 12 and 13. We are UOAP, and it’s perfect for them at this age. They have said they’d like to go back to HS to see GE, but I think their favorite WDW park overall is AK. They’d probably do MK before day 10, but it definitely wouldn’t be the driving force behind a trip to FL.

 

[Davey Jones II]

Can't wait!!!! Just hoping that The Mummy is back up while we are there. We check out July 27, so fingers crossed!!!

Love Revenge of the Mummy, including the ominous queue. In fact, if you have Express Passes but the posted wait time is pretty short, I would recommend not using your EPs, to experience the full queue.

 

[kathy884]

We usually just do one park to park day at Universal/IOA and for example for the busy spring break time also get the express pass. With that for us we can do everything we want to do at both parks in one day. It's not inexpensive to do that though. In March for example our park to park day with one time express pass is coming out to $345 pp for just that one day. DS 26 like your mom cannot go to Orlando without going to the MK, despite having been there many many times before.

Obviously from posts most others have different opinions, but if I were in your shoes I'd do one park to park day at Universal with the one time express pass, a day at Hollywood Studios, and a day at the Magic Kingdom.

I also cater to parents. You guys probably are all much younger than us (so that might make things a little different in who you cater too), but for example, in March I'll have my 85 year old dad with me and am being sure to include his favorite parks (that's number one to me, even before catering to my kids). Dad's favorite parks are SeaWorld and Epcot for Flower and Garden, so those are number one for me on the next trip. Life is short and you never know how much time you'll have left to have a great time in the parks with your parents when they are in good health (especially when they are in their 80s).

If you are into waterparks FYI (as many other posters have mentioned), I have heard that Volcano Bay is incredible. My nephew who lives in Orlando who has been to all the waterparks there and many in other places too says Volcano Bay is the best waterpark he's ever been too.

 

[disneyseniors]

OP, congrats on your trip to Universal
We love Universal. It is a more relaxing type of touring than WDW.
We went for one day the first time with no hopper, to Studios side. We had a ball but felt we missed out on alot of things due to just one side and one day.
We have since gone for 2 days, park hopper, but would like to do more.
As for the teens only wanting to do thrill rides? Ours loved it all, even had a blast at the Make up Horror Show. Not to be missed IMO.
Also we are retired and Love Universal and all their rides. So it is not just for teens, LOL.
I don't know your situation, but would definitely do 2 days at Universal (or more) especially if you are doing Volcano Bay. You could keep the one day for HS too. But I wonder if you will be able to get any ILL's at all? I have read on here that most are gone by onsite guests within minutes? It's something to think about if you are doing stand by lines only.
I know you will love the vibe at Universal - being able to walk around and ride what you want when you want - just like disney used to be. Have fun!

 

[bclittle]

For those of you who have gone to Universal before, would you recommend going for 3-4 days without express passes or doing the 1 night hotel stay to do 2 days with express passes? I want to try a Universal/Disney trip this summer and am not sure how many days to plan for Universal.

 

[bchbetha]

3-4 without express would be better for me than 2 days with. Enough time for lines as well as really exploring and experiencing the parks (shows, HP stuff, play areas…).

 

[ClapYourHands]

For those of you who have gone to Universal before, would you recommend going for 3-4 days without express passes or doing the 1 night hotel stay to do 2 days with express passes? I want to try a Universal/Disney trip this summer and am not sure how many days to plan for Universal.

I think 3-4 days would work better. The express pass doesn't work on all rides (Hagrid's and Velocicoaster are the most popular and don't take EP). At peak times, the waits can be long even with EP because it only knocks off about half the posted wait time. We did a 2-day trip earlier this month with EP, and there were still a few rides we didn't do because our time was limited and we didn't want to wait 45-60 minutes when the posted time was 120. We saw Beat Builders and the Triwizard Tournament, but no other shows. It was a good trip, but kids were cranky and breaking down by the second night. Our 4-day trips were more enjoyable.

Personally, I think it's nice to be able to slow down and see the shows and take pool breaks. When you're doing 2 days with EP, you're trying really hard to pack those two days full so you can see/do it all. It's absolutely possible to get through all the rides, but at least for us, there's an urge to keep going to get our money's worth, when in reality it would be more enjoyable to take a break and chill by the pool for a few hours. To me, 2 days with EP feels like a marathon, but 4 days feels like a vacation. Hopefully that makes sense.