How many days for Epcot/Hollywood & then Universal?

[jetengines]

We are a family of 6 (15,13,10,9) traveling to Orlando for Thanksgiving. This is only our second trip and the last one was so-so. We did the MK on a free pass from Give a Day, Get a Day prior to a Carnival cruise. To preface, we did have both sets of in-laws (his and mine ) and that created some issues.

We will be there from Sunday to Saturday of Thanksgiving week and will not be staying on property. I am thinking that we will do Epcot and Hollywood Studios and then hit Universal.

1. I know a lot depends on our family but in your experience is one day at Epcot and then one day at Hollywood enough to sufficiently see most of what you want to do? I know the crowds will be more d/t the holiday but we will maximize the FP+ (once I figure it out ) and really try to go with it and enjoy.

2. Same for Universal…I think we will do both parks (still need to do some research, but definitely HP). Is a day at each sufficient?

I certainly appreciate all the help thus far.

Thank you,
Kimberly

 

[HM]

We are a family of 6 (15,13,10,9) traveling to Orlando for Thanksgiving. This is only our second trip and the last one was so-so. We did the MK on a free pass from Give a Day, Get a Day prior to a Carnival cruise. To preface, we did have both sets of in-laws (his and mine ) and that created some issues.

We will be there from Sunday to Saturday of Thanksgiving week and will not be staying on property. I am thinking that we will do Epcot and Hollywood Studios and then hit Universal.

1. I know a lot depends on our family but in your experience is one day at Epcot and then one day at Hollywood enough to sufficiently see most of what you want to do? I know the crowds will be more d/t the holiday but we will maximize the FP+ (once I figure it out ) and really try to go with it and enjoy.

2. Same for Universal…I think we will do both parks (still need to do some research, but definitely HP). Is a day at each sufficient?

I certainly appreciate all the help thus far.

Thank you,
Kimberly

I'd suggest two days at Epcot, one at DHS, and at least two days to do US/IOA.

 

[Mikie]

I'd suggest two days at Epcot, one at DHS, and at least two days to do US/IOA.

I agree with this, but I'd say do look at Epcot's attractions list and think about what your family likes - we take at least 2 days to do *most* of Epcot, but I know people who don't like the types of things they have there and are bored after 3/4 day. It has lots of shopping, food, shows and fewer rides than the other parks.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

On our last trip without our little guy it was just my wife and I and we were able to do Epcot, HS and both US/IOA in one day each. I am a thrill seeker and didn't miss any attractions I wanted to do and was even able to ride my favorite coaster at US 3x on the day we were there. You have to be a commando, but it's doable.

 

[butterfly71076]

We are a family of 6 (15,13,10,9) traveling to Orlando for Thanksgiving. This is only our second trip and the last one was so-so. We did the MK on a free pass from Give a Day, Get a Day prior to a Carnival cruise. To preface, we did have both sets of in-laws (his and mine ) and that created some issues.

We will be there from Sunday to Saturday of Thanksgiving week and will not be staying on property. I am thinking that we will do Epcot and Hollywood Studios and then hit Universal.

1. I know a lot depends on our family but in your experience is one day at Epcot and then one day at Hollywood enough to sufficiently see most of what you want to do? I know the crowds will be more d/t the holiday but we will maximize the FP+ (once I figure it out ) and really try to go with it and enjoy.

2. Same for Universal…I think we will do both parks (still need to do some research, but definitely HP). Is a day at each sufficient?

I certainly appreciate all the help thus far.

Thank you,
Kimberly

I would say 1 day for Epcot and 1 day at HS. I would allow, at least, 2 days at US/IOA.

The crowds are going to be higher, but if you do RD at each park and utilize FP+, I really don't see how you would need anymore time there.

 

[cleophus12]

I agree with the time frame at the parks you have mentioned. I know you said you are staying off site, but if it is at all doable, I'd suggest one of those nights at a Universal hotel in order to get their Front of the Line pass. That will make your days there go so much more smoothly, and you get the benefit on the day of your stay as well as your check out day. Don't know if that's even an option for you, but it might be worth looking into.

 

[DisUniversal]

We are a family of 6 (15,13,10,9) traveling to Orlando for Thanksgiving. This is only our second trip and the last one was so-so. We did the MK on a free pass from Give a Day, Get a Day prior to a Carnival cruise. To preface, we did have both sets of in-laws (his and mine ) and that created some issues.

We will be there from Sunday to Saturday of Thanksgiving week and will not be staying on property. I am thinking that we will do Epcot and Hollywood Studios and then hit Universal.

1. I know a lot depends on our family but in your experience is one day at Epcot and then one day at Hollywood enough to sufficiently see most of what you want to do? I know the crowds will be more d/t the holiday but we will maximize the FP+ (once I figure it out ) and really try to go with it and enjoy.

2. Same for Universal…I think we will do both parks (still need to do some research, but definitely HP). Is a day at each sufficient?

I certainly appreciate all the help thus far.

Thank you,
Kimberly

One day for Epcot is about right, especially with children who would probably be going a bit crazy after two days there.

One day for the DHS is probably more than you need, but given that it's a peak time of the year and FP+ is restricted there due to the "Select one from this group" BS, you may need a whole day.

Two days at Universal should be good, however if you're not staying on site and have Harry Potter fans in the family, you might want to consider making that three days as the new Diagon Alley expansion is likely to be super busy. Part of that also depends on if the family likes thrill rides...if not, then two days should be ample even with HP.

 

[siskaren]

The day after Thanksgiving is when Epcot starts their Holidays Around the World celebration. I don't know if you or your kids would have any interest in that, but that would easily make Epcot a two day park.

 

[libertybelle08]

Given the ages of your kids, they might need more time in HS and less in EP. My family is the opposite. One nice thing, if you've got Park Hopper tickets, you can get between HS and EP really easily using the ferry or the walkway between the parks. Either way takes about 30 minutes.

 

[nkereina]

I think one day at each park is sufficient. The parks at Universal tend to close earlier than WDW parks, so I'd recommend getting park-to-park tickets there so you can jump from one to the next if one doesn't take you too long. You'll also need park-to-park tix to ride the Hogwarts Express.

 

[jetengines]

Everyone - Thank you so much for the information. This is exactly what I was looking for. Now the planning beginnings.

Kimberly

 

[Planogirl]

I would suggest being ready to add another day if needed. Sometimes you find that you want to go back to a favorite so we always leave an extra unplanned day.

Happy planning!

 

[CFioren317]

Something to research is to possibly stay one overnight at one of the three deluxe US hotels. The advantage is that you get two full days of Front of the line passes so you can do US one day then IoA the other day. This is what we did just last week and I have to say it is the best deal around. For around $800, Me, my wife, and my 6 YO daughter stayed in a really nice hotel, Royal Pacific Resort, took a boat to and from the City Walk area, had great time in the pool open until 11pm, and oh by the way, got on every single ride we wanted within 5 minutes. Spiderman was so great we did it 3 times within 40 minutes. Got soaked at the Ripsaw falls and the Barges over the course of 2 hours we went on each 3 times. Did Jurassic Park twice in a row. Harry Potter didn't count, but we could have got to the park an hour early to do that, but we really aren't HP fans. If we were to try to actually purchase those unlimited FOL passes, it would have cost almost $1000 so we saved money and got a hotel room out of it too.

As far as EPCOT and HS, we did each of those for a day each. We aren't the type to worry about what we "didn't" do, and we aren't commandos at Disney. We did Soarin (not TT) at EPCOT and we did TSMM (not RnRR or TOT) at HS. We did the Fantasmic package on our dining plan and it was well worth it. 10 rows up and center stage. Perfect viewing. But don't pay any attention to the ticket...get their as early as possible. The ticket states "8:25 to 8:45" and we got there at 8:25 and had to squeeze into our seats. So obviously, there were plenty of people there much earlier than 8:25.

Have fun!!!

 

[johde]

I would suggest being ready to add another day if needed. Sometimes you find that you want to go back to a favorite so we always leave an extra unplanned day.

Happy planning!

I was thinking the same thing. I'm thing 5 days at a minimum. What I would do is probably buy 3 day park to park tickets at Universal and 2 days at Disney in advance. I would do the 2 days at Universal, then the two days at Disney. At that point, (before leaving the park that 4th day), you could decide what to do with your 5th day. You could

1) Use you're third Universal day (it was only $10 so not a huge loss if not used but adding it later would be more expensive because Universal doesn't bridge so at a minimum it would be $30. difference between 2 days in advance and 3 days at the gate)
2) Buy a 3rd day for Disney to use for a second day at either Epcot or DHS, or to go to either the MK or AK.
3) Buy Water Parks and More tickets to go a water park (and possibly Disney Quest)
4) Buy a one day ticket and go to Sea World.

This would give you the maximum flexibility with the smallest potential opportunity cost.