HP FANS- Universal Day during a week at Disney... worth it?

[sahm2two]

We have a family of 5 planning a week long trip to Disney in the fall of 2016 (we've got a while!), my husband and I are big HP fans, and while our kids are young (5, 5, and 7) they all enjoy HP too even though they can't keep all the characters straight. They've seen all the movies and are reading the books with DH. So... I'm here to ask, is one day at Islands of Adventure worth it with a 6, 7, and 8 year old? We'd have 2 days at MK, 1 day at EP, AK, HS, and 1 day at Universal.

My main issue is the cost. To add another park day to Disney is about $50 for a family of 5. To go to Universal instead is $500! I understand the idea is to get people to get more days at the park, but with our kids that age, Disney is our main draw.... but.... Harry Potter!!!

What do y'all think? Any Potter fans have some words of wisdom? Worth it? Or wait till the kids are older and do a Universal trip?

 

[CPanther95]

If you can stand putting it off, I'd wait until you can do a Universal trip. Skimming the highlights in a mad 1 day rush won't do Universal or your HP experience any justice.

 

[buckeev]

It's a tough decision for sure...We have a tough time going to Orlando without hitting both WDW and USO...but it does depend on your budget. As you mentioned...$500+ for one day hurts. If you can swing two days, you get more bang-for-your-hard-earned-bucks! Keep in mind, If you stay on-site at Universal's Deluxe resorts, you get the Express Pass included free for everyone in your room. And then there are Annual Pass discounts for the rooms...(only one person has to have the AP to get the discount if they become available closer to your trip.) Ask here if you have any questions. There will be answers!

 

[RunnerMommyof4]

We are going in June 2016 with 4 kids similar in age range but our kids love HP vs Mickey (me insert sad face). I'm trying to plan which parks to add at WDW since we are doing 3 days at US. Good luck!

 

[NJlauren]

Personally I loved HP world (haven't seen the new park yet). But I think for $500 it's not worth it. And I love love love Harry. It's a lot for one day, and you might not see everything with just 1 day. Either do 2 days as someone suggested or do another trip in the future.

 

[glocon]

I would add a night on to the end of the trip and stay at a Universal resort, do two days with a park to park ticket and unlimited express passes from staying at resort. You will have a much better experience and see both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

You really will have a better time!

 

[HM]

We never do Disney and US/IOA in the same trip because of the length of stay tickets being a better deal at each.
Go back another time and do Universal for a few days.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We have a family of 5 planning a week long trip to Disney in the fall of 2016 (we've got a while!), my husband and I are big HP fans, and while our kids are young (5, 5, and 7) they all enjoy HP too even though they can't keep all the characters straight. They've seen all the movies and are reading the books with DH. So... I'm here to ask, is one day at Islands of Adventure worth it with a 6, 7, and 8 year old? We'd have 2 days at MK, 1 day at EP, AK, HS, and 1 day at Universal.

My main issue is the cost. To add another park day to Disney is about $50 for a family of 5. To go to Universal instead is $500! I understand the idea is to get people to get more days at the park, but with our kids that age, Disney is our main draw.... but.... Harry Potter!!!

What do y'all think? Any Potter fans have some words of wisdom? Worth it? Or wait till the kids are older and do a Universal trip?

During our vacation last year -- which focused primarily On our cruise, contemplated for all of two seconds to not do Uni.

Then we came to our senses and splurged. $600 for our family of 6 for 1 day at IOA. 2 big fans of HP, 2 okay about it and me and little one really not. All of us were very impressed and it was well with it.

Keep in mind you will need a 2 park pass to ride the train and see the new area on the Uni side. And yes, my family would have done that had it been open.

Also of note, we are not a USO family as this park is not a good repeat place for us due to height limitations and what not. (That may change as folks get taller.). But we still felt it was well with a visit. (Just so you know--I rode that Cat in the Hat ride A LOT with my then 3yo. Lol.)

You really cannot compare it to Disney.

 

[anniebean]

No. Plan a separate Universal trip. We hopped over for a day years ago, and it was ok, but this was pre-HP. Did it again post HP, and even during slow time, it just wasn't enough time, and we really missed out on Express Pass you get when you stay onsite. We've stayed onsite several times at Universal, and it's well worth a trip of its own.

 

[Zim]

As much as I hate to say it, I agree about skipping it this time. Over the course of our visits we went from all Disney, to half and half to mostly Universal with a day at Hollywood Studios! Of course my kid is a teenager now. But you are going to be exhausted running park to park to park... Also, adding just another year of age and height requirements could open up a lot more rides to you, as Universal has a lot more thrill rides for older kids. They also have all the transformer and super hero meet and greets that take up a lot of time if you like meeting characters. This time around the only thing I'd split up is maybe adding a morning at one of Disney's water parks or something like that just to give your legs a break! Save Universal maybe for a late September trip when it's all Universal with a side trip to MNSSHP.

 

[nkereina]

I would add a night on to the end of the trip and stay at a Universal resort, do two days with a park to park ticket and unlimited express passes from staying at resort. You will have a much better experience and see both Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

You really will have a better time!

Gotta agree with this. We added a night at Universal at the end of our WDW trip last year, and we were hooked! We're doing the same this year. I'd either cut your WDW trip short by one night and move over to Uni, or tack on an extra night at Uni if you can swing the cost.

If you go in just at IOA, you're going to be itching to see Diagon Alley at US which IMO is even better. I don't think a seperate trip to Orlando just for Universal is necessary, but I'm a huge proponent of a split WDW/Uni trip now - just doing a shorter time at WDW. Park hoppers at both places will help to maximize your time as well.

 

[RMulieri]

I would skip it for now.Given the ages of your kids and the height requirements/scare factors of the rides and the cost of one day.We do separate Universal trips.Well worth it to stay onsite and experience Universal that way

 

[mab2012]

Remember that if you (or your kids) want to ride the Hogwarts Express, you'll need a park-to-park ticket. Which, for your family of five, brings you closer to $700. For one day. Ouch.

I wouldn't do it, but then, I refuse to play Disney/Universal/Seaworld's pricing game, just out of principle. They capitalize massively off people who want to do all the parks on each visit, and are willing to pay a premium to do so. When my 9-year-old (who is a massive Harry Potter fan) informed me that she really, desperately wanted to go to Universal on our upcoming trip, I gave my kids the choice: Disney or Universal, not both. They chose Universal, so that's what we're doing, even though I think that at their ages (6 and 9) we'd be better off at Disney (they're not particularly adventurous sorts). For the sake of comparison, week-long park-to-park tickets for our family of four were about $800, and that includes admission to Wet-and-Wild.

Good luck deciding! In the end, it's your money, and only you can decide if it's worth it for your family!

 

[Princess Jes]

I just want to throw one more thing at you regarding Universal and staying on site.
Express pass isn't good for Gringott's or Forbidden Journey. It is good for most everything else, but I'd advise a park to park ticket, hit up Gringott's and then head over to IOA (or vice versa, depending on early entry if you're staying on site) and come back to look around DA (or Hogsmede) later in the afternoon (NOTE: I haven't been since Diagon Alley opened, but this is just what I have heard both on the boards and from my sister who went in Oct last year)

I'm a HUGE HP fan and I LOVE roller coasters (not the tame ones at WDW like Everest, Space Mountain and BTMRR) so I couldn't possibly go to Orlando and NOT go to Universal and IOA. But it's just me and DH so the cost is lower.

 

[Darcy03231]

If this is the only foreseeable time you'll be in the Orlando area over the next 5 years I would do at least one day, but try to push it to two with a one night on-site stay.

If you're a family like ours and are in the Orlando area pretty much once a year (and sometimes 2-3x), I would skip it for this trip and do it another year when your children are older (and who knows, maybe they'll have added in more HP stuff).

We've found its better for our family to concentrate on one park, especially given the price of the tickets. When the kids were younger we stuck pretty much to WDW. As they got older we started doing Universal/SeaWorld/Busch Gardens trips (Flex Pass is great for these trips).

It's impossible to do "everything" in one 7 day trip. There's just way too much to see/do in the Orlando area for that.

 

[macraven]

it's always expensive when you add a day on to your vacation to hit another park.

prices for both the motherland and the darkside are costly to do just a one day ticket.

if orlando is a place you seldom go to, might as well bite the bullet and do both parks.
you never know what will happen in your life that will prevent you from returning.

most here feel doing universal the next time would be better.


i can't imagine going to orlando and not hitting both parks.
i do it yearly but do split stays so it is more than just a park that I'm enjoying.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

I would say no, mostly based on the ages and presumed heights of your kids. I took two older ride chickens with me, and they could only ride a few things in IOA. If we had not had the two park pass, they would not have enjoyed the parks that much. They rode a lot more stuff in the USF side, plus we saw several shows. They did very little on the IOA side (it was cool and dreary, and we had grandma instead of dh, so we skipped the wet rides).

At 5, there is a good chance the younger kids will not be able to ride FJ, and might be limited to Suess and the water areas in TL. To me, that is not a good use od $500. Wait a couple of years, and then go for 2-3 days with a two park pass and you will all have a lot more fun.

 

[Imagineer22]

While the Wizarding World is very impressive (this coming from a non uber Harry Potter fan, I like the franchise but don't 'love' it) a single day really is not enough time to enjoy it. Universal and IOA have some very impressive attractions outside of the Wizarding World. In fact the Wizarding World doesn't even make up a quarter of the parks. I would suggest a minimum of 2 days to visit Universal. As mentioned above, to see all of Harry Potter you need a park to park ticket. Finally, your kids ages may be a bit young for Universal. Most of the attractions are more 'thrill oriented' than Disney and even some of the subject matter on some rides is more adult. T2 3D, Transformers, and Mummy are pretty violent for theme park attractions. Universal Orlando is a fantastic resort and in some ways better than Disney on multiple levels. However, I would suggest waiting until the kids are 10+ and/or you can spend more than 1 day there.

With all that said...IF you decide to go for 1 day and don't get the park to park ticket, I would suggest going to the Studios over IOA. Gringotts is more of a family ride that your kids are more likely to enjoy. Diagon Alley seemed more emmersive than Hogsmead. While Hogsmead has more HP rides, the rides are definitely a higher thrill level that have higher height requirements. Also the other rides at the Studios are more kid friendly than IOA.