I can't decide - Universal or Disney

[DOOM1001]

If you're staying a full 9 days then you have enough time to do pretty much everything.2 days at Universal/IOA,1 each at Busch Gardens,Sea World and Wet n Wild and 4 at Disney.The thing of course is by doing that then you have to get the Flex pass and Disney tickets which add up pretty good $$. If you're going in December however it might be a bit cold for a waterpark.My main question is have you done Disney before and if you have has it been recently.If you haven't I would say do Disney,It's always great but during Christmas it's even more special.If you have gone before in the last couple of years then do the other parks in the flex pass.Do your kids like coasters? The Universal parks and Busch Gardens and Sea World have great ones.If you're going late in the month then it will be crowded so I suggest looking into on site Universal hotels so you can avoid lines.

 

[Chris]

We have done both the past 2 trips and will again this year.
My boys, who are 9 and 13 LOVE Universal for the Roller Coasters!!!

 

[Amber74]

My boys are 11 and 12 pretty much the same as yours. I have smaller ones too so we all love going to Disneyworld. But my older ones much prefer Universal because of the theming and rides(Marvel especially). Very geared toward boys your sons age. They also were not thrilled with Sea World(I loved it) it might of been the heat though. Hope this helps a little.

 

[Darcy03231]

Thanks for the info Johde. If I wasn't going for two weeks I would probably consider skipping WNW and buying the $85 tickets, but with being there for two weeks (acutually we're there for 16 days) the flex pass will work better for us. We really wanted a water park as we'll be there in August and wanted the flexability to go to whichever park we want for the full two weeks. We plan to do some hopping around too, ie US or IOA in the morning and go back at night to SW to see a night show or WNW during the day and then US/IOA at night. Its only a difference of about $60 per ticket more to get the 5 park flex pass and we figured it was worth it to add the water park and the flexibility.

 

[Tinks1984]

When I've been previously with my family, we've done both Disney & Universal all in the same trip.

As someone above said though, my heart lies with Disney, I can't get enough of the place, but I still don't think I could go to Florida and not do Universal also...that's why I've gone and booked my Universal tickets today in fact

 

[queen_bee]

Thanks again everyone. You've been most helpful. I've reserved our condo. We are staying at Windsor Hills Resort. Apparently you can see the Disney fireworks display from our balcony. We've booked it for 7 nights.

Now for tickets.....I have decided that we are going to do the US/IOA tickets and the SW/BG tickets. It is cheaper doing it that way than buying the Flex ticket which includes WNW. I am thinking that in January, we probably aren't going to want to do a waterpark. And should it be very hot when we are there, the condo we are staying at has a pool with a water slide, so that will have to do. The tickets are good for 7 days, so we'll have enough time to visit some of them twice.

I wish that money were no object, but unfortunately I am not blessed with an unlimited supply, so I do have to choose one or the other. But, maybe like I said, we'll have to come back another time for Disney.

One more question. When do the prices usually change for tickets? I am wondering if I need to buy them now or can I wait. My husband is worried if we buy them now and something happens, and we can't go, we'll have tickets we can't use.

 

[macraven]

for UO, buy the 7 day promo special now.
no one knows when the promo will stop.

it is one of the best deals in some years.


the only price that has increased this month is the pap. it went up $10.
all other tickets stayed the same.


hope you have a great time!

 

[FayeW]

.

One more question. When do the prices usually change for tickets? I am wondering if I need to buy them now or can I wait. My husband is worried if we buy them now and something happens, and we can't go, we'll have tickets we can't use.

I don't know if there is a typical time of the year for price increases, but I don't think the tickets themselves expire until after the first use anyway, so if you had to postpone your trip for some reason you would be able to use them later. Think of it this way...if you already have the tickets and something horrible happens, you will be more likely to postpone and reschedule the trip, rather than cancel it altogether. Sort of like having insurance that at some point you will take the trip (and your kids are considered adult for admission prices anyway, so no worries about them "outgrowing" the tickets you've bought!)

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Thanks again everyone. You've been most helpful. I've reserved our condo. We are staying at Windsor Hills Resort. Apparently you can see the Disney fireworks display from our balcony. We've booked it for 7 nights.

Now for tickets.....I have decided that we are going to do the US/IOA tickets and the SW/BG tickets. It is cheaper doing it that way than buying the Flex ticket which includes WNW. I am thinking that in January, we probably aren't going to want to do a waterpark. And should it be very hot when we are there, the condo we are staying at has a pool with a water slide, so that will have to do. The tickets are good for 7 days, so we'll have enough time to visit some of them twice.

I wish that money were no object, but unfortunately I am not blessed with an unlimited supply, so I do have to choose one or the other. But, maybe like I said, we'll have to come back another time for Disney.

One more question. When do the prices usually change for tickets? I am wondering if I need to buy them now or can I wait. My husband is worried if we buy them now and something happens, and we can't go, we'll have tickets we can't use.

Good choice! You're kids will love the parks you've chosen. BG will be practically dead in January. They'll be riding coasters till their head spins. (literally ) There's a lot of non-coaster rides too though. They also have some pretty good shows. Be sure to get there fairly early, because they close early in the off season. You may not want to make the drive more than once, & want to see it all the 1st time. Now for the big question...... Are you ready for Sheikra?

This board covers the other parks pretty well, so I won't go into more detail on those. If you have questions on any of them, feel free to ask away. There's plenty of people more than willing to help out. As you can see, many of us are addicted to UO.
I read on here a few days ago that some AAAs are saying they'll have the $85 UO ticket all year. You may want to call your local AAA & inquire about that, if you're a member.