MNSSHP or Wizaring World of Harry Potter?

[Twice_as_Nice]

If you had to choose one to do on your trip between Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party or Wizarding World of Harry Potter which would you pick.

I can't decide if our kids would like the party or not, our daughter scares easily but she LOVES Harry Potter. They are 7 & 8 (will be just turned 9 on the trip) and they read the Harry Potter books when they were 6 & 5.

The baby has never gone trick or treating so it would be his first time.

 

[bledsoedoc]

That is such a hard decision because they are both wonderful in their own right.
The MNSSHP is not scary at all. Has one of the best parades. Has wonderful fireworks. Trick or treating can be as much or as little as you want. We love the character dances. Tons of interaction. Tons of fun. Free snacks in the park. Every one dresses up. Our ds was peter pan. I was the evil queen and hubby was a yip yip from sesame street. Too funny.
Harry Potter will cost you a full days admission. But the experience is wonderful. And they are expanding. You feel like you are there. The wand buying experience was a delight. The treats were right out of the books. The rides are fun.
But don't expect disney magic at universal. The people who work there arent part of the experience like disney. The park tends to be dirtier but not filthy. Its just not the whole package. Its a place for rides.
That is such a tough choice. Goodluck!

 

[ChitownFamily]

If you had to choose one to do on your trip between Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party or Wizarding World of Harry Potter which would you pick.

I can't decide if our kids would like the party or not, our daughter scares easily but she LOVES Harry Potter. They are 7 & 8 (will be just turned 9 on the trip) and they read the Harry Potter books when they were 6 & 5.

The baby has never gone trick or treating so it would be his first time.

here are some thing i would take into consideration when making this decision.
Ultimately, If i knew i was coming back to the orlando area- i would choose MNSHP for this year & HP another trip.

1. Cost- MNSSHP separate ticket price but you can get in (usually) starting around 4pm until close of party. HP- the 2nd installment of the HP world will be open by this fall. however, in order to experience both Diagon Alley, the ride on the Hogwarts Express & Hogwarts- you will need to buy a park to park ticket. (until Univeral releases a different plan, this is what many are speculating)
2. Scary. MNSSHP is not scary at all. That's the whole point. HP is scary in 2 ways- 1. Thrill rides & 2. scary/dark attractions. plus there is the whole height requirement https://www.universalorlando.com/Resort-Information/Ride-Height-Requirements.aspx
My then 7 year old loves thrill rides. BUT was way too scared to ride the main attraction ride at HP. The forbidden journey. Truth be told- this ride was scary. it was incredible & cutting edge but scary. Maybe youtube it to help make a decision.
My 7 year old was too short to ride the Dragon Challenge, but we did enjoy the Flight of the Hipogriff ride.
3. the new attractions are supposed to be even more cutting edge & high tech. The train is supposed to involved the Dementors
4. if a family was just going to Islands of adventure just for HP, they might be disappointed. b/c of the above reasons listed. HOWEVER, if you wanted to see what else was at Islands, I think you would have a blast! (does that make sense?)

 

[ErinTwinmom]

Based on the age of your children I would do MNSSHP no matter how much they love HP unless they are tall for there ages. Why pay allthat money just to hear you are to short.

 

[bledsoedoc]

I forgot about universals october fright events. It can get truly scary in the parks. We have seen men with chain saws chasing people during 1 of their halloween events. They also have monsters, ghosts, zombies running amuck during all of october. If your daughters easily scare be careful to not go to universal during one of their halloween events.
My personal top 2 favorites at disney are the Halloween party and the Christmas party. Love them both. Wonderful atmosphere.

 

[ChitownFamily]

I forgot about universals october fright events. It can get truly scary in the parks. We have seen men with chain saws chasing people during 1 of their halloween events. They also have monsters, ghosts, zombies running amuck during all of october. If your daughters easily scare be careful to not go to universal during one of their halloween events.
My personal top 2 favorites at disney are the Halloween party and the Christmas party. Love them both. Wonderful atmosphere.

Are you talking about the Halloween horror nights? A separate hard ticket event. During the day time at both parks, there is supposed to be very little of the horror nights

Eta: here is some info for other people thinking of visiting universal during the fall

Will my kids get scared visiting Universal during the day?
This is the other popular question asked by parents with young kids. Because many of the decorations for Halloween Horror Nights are elaborate and large, it is not possible for Universal to remove everything HHN-related during the regular daytime hours. This means, when touring Universal Studios Florida in September and October, you’ll occasionally come across stuff that looks like this:



The good news is that Universal doesn’t do a single thing during the day like they do during Halloween Horror Nights — not one scareactor, not one siren effect blaring, no sudden air bursts, nothing. So aside from the oversized props spaced out in a few spots around the park, there is absolutely nothing to fear visiting Universal Studios Florida during the day. Honestly, most of the HHN props look more silly than scary in the bright sunlight.

And remember, you’re at a working production studio after all, so just tell the kids that a movie with a pickup truck is being filmed at the USF entrance!

*********************************/universal/halloween-horror-nights-2014/
From a blocked universal fan site. The above pic shows a pick up truck with a gun on it

 

[Redarrow5150]

Harry Potter without question. This area is breathtaking and much like watching the Castle during the holiday season, I could just sit in this area and just absorb the atmosphere. They did a great of recreating the movie set.

 

[lucyem]

If this is your only trip for years then WWOHP would be my vote since your daughter is a Harry potter Fan.

But a reason to wait would be the height restrictions for rides, though right now it sounds like they would be too much anyway. Also they are opening a new section soon - would you be there before or after?

MNSSHP is fun. And like the name suggests is "not so scary". The parade and fireworks are cool.

 

[Twice_as_Nice]

For sure we would visit the other areas of Islands of Adventure also. The kids would love the Dr Suess stuff, our 7 year old LOVES the Simpsons and Jurassic Park. Of course the Minions and Dora also would be hits.

As well as Scooby Doo and others.

This would likely be our only chance to go to Universal as we don't expect to make another trip to Orlando after this. We are doing a 10/11 day trip so we are trying to make the most of it.

 

[ChitownFamily]

Is it an option to do both?
We took a 11 day trip in 2012, and did the Christmas party & 2 days at universal /islands?
I know budget wise might be tricky, it help off set - we did a split stay between Disney's art of animation & a hotels.com deal. It was $99 a night for a condo style room.

 

[Disneylover99]

Based on the age of your children I would do MNSSHP no matter how much they love HP unless they are tall for there ages. Why pay allthat money just to hear you are to short.

This exactly!

Both my kids (7 and 10) are HUGE Harry Potter fans. But we are waiting for my 7 year old to be tall enough for everything because we know she'll be so disappointed if she can't ride something because of her height.

 

[roliepolieoliefan]

But don't expect disney magic at universal. The people who work there arent part of the experience like disney. The park tends to be dirtier but not filthy. Its just not the whole package. Its a place for rides.
That is such a tough choice. Goodluck!

Disney Magic no but Universal has its own charm.
We visited Universal 2 years ago when my kids were 8 and 13.

The 8 yo was too short for the Dragon Challenge but could ride everything else.
Shes pretty daring so being scared wasnt an issue. None of us have a clue about Harry Potter. Never read the books or seen any of the movies but we loved it.

We have been to many Disney Halloween parties over the years.
When DS was young they used to be a whole lot better. They were alot cheaper with more perks.
Over the years the price has gone significantly up , perks have gone away and the attendance is through the roof.
Its said there are a limited number of tickets sold, but the limit must have rose because when we started going 11 years ago, the park was never as crowded during the Halloween party as it is now.

Just be aware depending on when you go the Halloween party , it could be very crowded. There are characters out that you usually dont see but its impossible to see the characters, ride rides and trick or treat in the allotted time. There are just too many people.

Im sure whichever you choose, the kids will have a great time.

 

[amym2]

I agree that if you only have one day, I'd go with MNSSHP this time. We did IOA when DD was 7 and she was still too short for a couple of rides. And as others mentioned, they are opening a new HP section at US, so I would wait until all of that is open and you have time to visit both US and IOA.