Need help with planning please!

[Teresa Ray-Pishner]

I would start the trip with a 1 night stay at a deluxe universal resort and do 2 days at US. The rest of the trip I'd stay at a Disney resort. Are you flying or driving? What time will you arrive in Orlando?

We are flying from Columbus, OH. We haven't booked our flights yet (keep hoping they'll add another flight, I don't like my choices at this point) so not sure when we'll arrive. We've always taken the 12:30pm - 2:30pm flight (2 hr nonstop) but I can't find that time slotted flight at this point so sorta hoping they'll add that time'd flight, sometimes they don't add flights till closer to time...

 

[Teresa Ray-Pishner]

I think you'll find the quality of the Universal attractions and parks to be very similar to the Disney parks. That is the main point I'd make.
either the first 2 days of the last 2 days of your trip makes sense then to cut down on travel. We did the first 2 days of our 6 day Dec/January trip at universal recently as we thought the crowds would be even worse at disney those particular days. In looking at different days than we did, I'd look to minimize the crowds as best i could.
If King kong is open at islands , I'd go there first as its new. then harry potter. If KK is not open yet, I'd do harry first. At Univ. I'd do Harry first there too. Have a butterbeer- its non alcoholic. Check out the many restaurants on City walk and not just the ones in the 2 parks. And Universal has some rough coasters too if your daughter is really feeling adventerous.
But after you have spent those 2 days at the Univ, parks, I would think you'll no longer think that there is anything lesser or inferior about them.

This is GREAT info! Thanks and totally agree about the crowd avoidance, that's exactly why we love going in Sept. Not much time in lines.... I've heard about the butterbeer, ha ha! Sounds good! Butter and beer (even if non-alcoholic), what's NOT to like about that combination? I didn't even know about King Kong, sounds cool!

 

[Baptist]

If at all possible, stay onsite at Universal. With most Universal resorts, you get a free express pass. This is a huge benefit because it's a separate cost at Universal (unlike Disney). Depending on when you go, it's worth about $40-$60 per person per day. Plus, you get early entry into Diagon Alley. With these benefits, you can do most of both parks in one day.

I'm sure you will love Universal. The Harry Potter world's are awesome.

Have a great trip!

 

[Teresa Ray-Pishner]

We're taking our 4th WDW trip in Sept this year too!
Teresa, how old are the girls and are they Harry potter fans? This will help us better assist you in planning.

We went to US/IOA on our trip last May. First thing I would do is consult park calendars for "most recommended" park days. Undercover tourist and Orlando informer both have them for free. Touring plans also has them. That way you can see predicted crowd levels and chose what park looks best based on that. I think in general US/IOA is better to visit during the week. You might find doing a mix of WDW and Universal days to be the best scenario crowd wise. We found that one day at each Universal park was enough for us. We got the one park per day tickets. We rope dropped both parks and by 4-5pm felt we had done most of the highlights. We did NOT purchase Express passes (like FP at Disney but with a fee). Like at Disney if you get there early you can get a lot done. The Express Passes are free if you stay at one of Universal's deluxe resorts (1 night stay will get you 2 days worth of express passes) But we did it without and didn't find the lines to be that long except at midday. I personally wouldn't switch from WDW to Universal hotel just for the express passes. Like you said, too much of a hassle. I know a lot of people mention using Mears or Uber for traveling back and forth. It is about 30 mins from WDW. You might want park to park tickets (think Park Hoppers) that way you can hop between parks on the Hogwarts Express. Having Park to park tickets is the only way to ride it. We did not have hoppers so we missed that but will get on our next visit

Universal was really fun and a totally different experience than Disney. The Harry Potter sections have theming unlike anything at Disney. If your girls are HP fans they will want to spend a lot of time just looking around in those areas. Start following the Universal forum on the Disboards for tips/tricks. I learned a lot there!

Hello!

My daughter will be 10 and she's taking her BFF which is also 10. We are not Harry Potter fans, just never got into it, we don't dislike Harry Potter, just not familiar with that whole deal (we've not seen any of the movies, I know, GASP!). Great idea about park calendars, will look for that online. All great info... Thank you so much! I'm sorta leaning towards just staying at our WDW resort (CB). I've seen a few people mention some "Ed Korgan" for transporation to US, do you know anything about that?
Thanks again!

 

[Teresa Ray-Pishner]

We always do Universal and stay at WDW. We have never stayed at Universal. We start with WDW, then do Universal in the middle, and end with WDW, always MK as watching the fireworks on our last night is our thing. I rent a car as I like to have a car the whole trip. If it is a short trip, we will just do Islands of Adventure at Universal. If it is a longer trip, we do both Universal Parks and do MK twice..first and last days.

Note that we went in September one time over labor day weekend and stayed a few days after. We only did IOA and Harry Potter had opened that year. It did not take us the whole day to do IOA as it was not that crowded. (we have yet to do the second part of HP at Studios). In fact, we have actually done IOA in 4 hours pre-Harry Potter(..but then we have gone a lot before and are familiar with the park) Possibly you could do MK the first day at WDW, then do universal at the end, leaving universal and heading to MK to finish out the night on your last night. It would depend on the crowds and park hours at both locations.

Interesting... Thanks! Lots to think about...

 

[Teresa Ray-Pishner]

If at all possible, stay onsite at Universal. With most Universal resorts, you get a free express pass. This is a huge benefit because it's a separate cost at Universal (unlike Disney). Depending on when you go, it's worth about $40-$60 per person per day. Plus, you get early entry into Diagon Alley. With these benefits, you can do most of both parks in one day.

I'm sure you will love Universal. The Harry Potter world's are awesome.

Have a great trip!

Thanks bunches! I'm excited about going to US, as none of us has ever been there yet!

 

[SnipsNSnails]

I would put it either at the beginning or end of the trip and stay one or two nights at one of the USO deluxe resorts to get the express pass for two days and early entry. You will need at least two days and you need the park to park option to ride Hogwarts Express.

 

[Teresa Ray-Pishner]

I would put it either at the beginning or end of the trip and stay one or two nights at one of the USO deluxe resorts to get the express pass for two days and early entry. You will need at least two days and you need the park to park option to ride Hogwarts Express.

Thank you! Will DEFINITELY get the Park to Park option.

 

[Baptist]

If you don't stay onsite at Universal, start with Hogsmeade/Hogwarts. Early entry for onsite Universal stays is only for Diagon Alley. All "on-siters" will start at Diagon Alley.

Be sure to eat at the Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron. They have different menus. The butterbeer is a must. I really liked it!

 

[GaryDis]

Early entry for onsite Universal stays is only for Diagon Alley.

My understanding is that early entry varies from day to day and time of year. Here's the early admission calendar, which shows both parks open for early admission at 7am starting today, but it will vary in April. They're not showing any early admission in May or later, but I expect that will change over time.

In the lighter seasons, it's typically just USF that opens early. Thus the April calendar shows either both open early or only USF. But I believe during the summer they'll alternate, and in Sept go back to just USF.

 

[Teresa Ray-Pishner]

If you don't stay onsite at Universal, start with Hogsmeade/Hogwarts. Early entry for onsite Universal stays is only for Diagon Alley. All "on-siters" will start at Diagon Alley.

Be sure to eat at the Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron. They have different menus. The butterbeer is a must. I really liked it!

Thank you! Will take your advice! And definitely must try the butterbeer. My daughter was just squealing with excitement over the trip last night. We go to WDW every other year but we both feel like it's been a LONG time in between trips this year for some reason, we are READY to go back! Sept. feels like a long way away... But summers always go fast.

 

[Teresa Ray-Pishner]

My understanding is that early entry varies from day to day and time of year. Here's the early admission calendar, which shows both parks open for early admission at 7am starting today, but it will vary in April. They're not showing any early admission in May or later, but I expect that will change over time.

In the lighter seasons, it's typically just USF that opens early. Thus the April calendar shows either both open early or only USF. But I believe during the summer they'll alternate, and in Sept go back to just USF.

You're awesome! Thanks! I'll keep that link and look at the hours as time grows near.