Itinerary questions - short trip

[KrisM]

We are planning a Disney and Universal trip for mid-June. We all went to Disney in 2014 and my oldest DS and I have been to Universal. The other 2 really want to go to Universal and Pandora at AK, so we are focusing on those this trip. My oldest wants to do waterparks and Universal.

We are driving and staying at the Dolphin for 3 nights for the Disney part and then moving to Portofino Bay for the Universal part for 4 nights.

We are deciding between 1 and 2 day Park Hopper Plus tickets for Disney and 3 or 4 day tickets for Universal. I know we can upgrade tickets once we are there, but for Disney, I’d like to have FP+ made. Kids will be 10, 12, and 14. Last time, we did not have hoppers, so this is new to me.

Day 1: leave by 7am and drive 12-14 hours (Saturday)
Day 2: arrive early to mid afternoon at Dolphin, swim, relax
Day 3: Disney waterpark at opening, maybe a park later? DHS or Epcot
Day 4: Animal Kingdom rope drop, maybe DHS or Epcot for evening? (Epcot has EMH 9-11pm)
Day 5: check out and spend afternoon at Universal
Day 6: Universal all day
Day 7: Disney waterpark at opening, Universal or time at the resort afternoon/evening
Day 8: Universal all day
Day 9: check out and drive to beach area

How long should I plan to spend at the waterparks? I’m sure not the entire day, but I know the kids really like them! I am thinking we’d stay until either the lines made it not worthwhile or until time to leave for dinner. We could change there and go to DHS or Epcot and eat there, I think.

Day 3, AK has EMH in the morning – should we be trying to do that instead of waiting a day?

Which is better for Day 3 – DHS or Epcot? We’d be able to make FP+ reservations here. The other one would be after AK, so trying to add the FP. My kids are about even on which they’d like to go to, DHS or Epcot. I’m leaning towards DHS after the waterpark and Epcot after AK since it’s open later, but maybe it’ll be super busy for EMH? We can sleep in on Day 5 before checking out. I think there is more we’d like to do at Epcot, so more hours there would be good. But no FP unless we can add it.

Any other thoughts on my itinerary in general?
Thanks!

 

[georgina]

Have you considered Volcano Bay at Universal? A couple of partial days there might be fun instead of going back to a Disney water park day 7.

 

[disneylover102]

This is your choice, but I personally wouldn't spend that much time at Universal. From our experience when we go for a week and go to Universal 1 or 2 days, and Universal is always one of the worst days. You should also definitely go to the Magic Kingdom. I've never been to the water parks, but as far as theme parks go, MK is way better than both Universal parks and all the other Disney parks. I also wouldn't do a water park at opening. Like I said, I've never been to the water parks but I've heard they don't get too busy. I imagine they would feel better in the middle of the day anyway, and the morning at the theme parks is when you can do the most rides- In the first 2 hours of park opening, you could probably do more than you could do in an entire day. So, maybe add a day or 2 to Disney, DEFINITELY go to MK, plan to go more theme parks in the morning, and maybe don't go to Universal quite as much- my experience at Universal is they are overpriced, the employees aren't nearly as friendly as they are at Disney, and Disney just in general has a better atmosphere. But that's just my opinion and obviously you've been there so you know how much you like it.

 

[KrisM]

We did consider Volcano Bay. I don't remember why we were only doing Disney! But looking at it again, it seems like adding Volcano Bay would be good. Great idea.

As for MK...none of the kids expressed any desire to go there, so we will skip it. I realize most people like MK the best, but I guess not us . So, we are skipping it in favor of the parks they would like to go to.

When we were at Universal last time, it was in late April and there were no crowds. We spent 2.5 days there and had a great time. I think that with crowds in June, even with Express Passes, we will need at least 2.5 days there this time. I don't know how we'd drop that much lower.

 

[BlueSuitDonald]

We spent 5 nights at just a Universal last year and loved it. It definitely has more intense rides. We went to Volcano Bay one day. Lines were really long but they are always are at a water park. They do have wrist bands that act like virtual line holders so that you can go hang out at the wave pool or lazy river while you are waiting. It will alert you when it is time to ride. They have an aqua coaster that is really fun too. This year we are doing all Disney! Disney will always have my heart.