That's a long trip. I would plan a few non park days to break it up.
MG
Which would mean a 7 day Disney pass.
You can always upgrade once you're there if it benefits you.
MG
I may have missed if you are staying on site??? If not, and have a car, AP's include parking which is huge.
If on site, it's taken care of regardless.
MG
It is indeed a long trip! We figured that since we're spending the money and the time to travel all the way to Orlando, we might as well linger there for quite a while. Plus, the last time we visited WDW was a good 7 years ago. I'm planning to really make up for lost time.
We're actually not that interested in visiting other locations other than Universal and Disney. We'll probably weave Disney Springs and the Orlando Premium Outlets in somewhere, and perhaps spend some time exploring the WDW resorts. 7 days at Disney is probably a little too little; the minimum we'd consider is 10 days, with perhaps a shopping / rest day inserted somewhere in the middle of the trip.
We aren't staying on-site, but we haven't decided if we're going to rent a car yet; so for the moment, I'm not including the free parking in my decision making process. I can see how that would really tip the scales though.
Thanks for your advice!
What kind of Universal trip to do you want?
Actually, what sort of *honeymoon* do you want? Do you want it to be go go go so you need a vacation to get over your honeymoon? Or do you want a relaxing time, with some go go go but then opportunities to relax.
An onsite Universal trip can be a true resort, relaxing vacation; far more than WDW IMO. 8 days, if you're just thinking about the parks, can sound wild, but if you recognize how lovely the resorts are and plan to spend time there, then it doesn't seem so crazy. Our plans were thwarted by fairly extreme illness, but we had an 8 night stay in January of 2014. Alas, we got sick on day 2 of WDW, continued being ill a week later in Daytona for about 4 days, continued being sick but sort of rallying at Uni the following week for the 8 nights. Sigh. Thankfully by then DH had come to help me with my sickness and DS's, and we had Club level at Portofino, which gave me and my son food (our appetites were nearly at nothing) and gave me wine, sweet glorious wine, each evening. And cookies.
We'll do that again someday, only without the illness, and it will be a fabulously relaxing vacation full of swimming (the onsite resorts at Uni encourage pool hopping) and relaxing and time in the parks and butterbeer, etc. So I don't think it's too out there, to think of that long at Uni. Just depends on what you want out of the whole trip.
As for the WDW AP...
That way of thinking about it doesn't make sense to me.
I would look at the difference. Which, per person, is about 223. So...are those extra days at WDW worth that? Can you recoup that (per person remember) in discounts on food and merchandise?
Although actually you should subtract Memory Maker from that, because you would get it otherwise. It's worth something.
Good question! I probably should have stated from the start that we're looking for a more relaxed pace for our honeymoon. So while we'll plan our itinerary with the crowd levels and Fast Pass+ in mind, we also won't sweat it if we decide to hit the parks a little later and sleep in instead.
To me, Disney is more about the overall atmosphere, whereas Universal is mostly about the rides. Disney holds a lot of sentimentality for me because I basically grew up with my Disney princesses. On my very first trip to
Disneyland (I think I was 12 years old), I promised myself that I would return to Disney once I've found my true love. I do worry that I've outgrown some of the Disney attractions (like Jungle Cruise), but I think the Disney magic is something that we definitely want to spend a lot of time immersing ourselves in.
Universal, on the other hand, speaks to the thrill ride junkies in us. We're totally going to spam the fluff out of The Hulk, Dragon Challenge (oh, be still my heart), The Mummy and Jurassic Park while we're there. We've never been to either of the Harry Potter lands, so that's definitely going to be exciting as well. Other than the Harry Potter areas though, I feel like Universal doesn't have the same "magic" that Disney has.
I'm sorry that your vacation was plagued with illness! That can really suck, but it sounds like you guys made the best out of a bad situation. We're not really pool people though (my fiance only floats very tentatively and is highly suspicious of the water), but lounging around with butter beer definitely sounds highly appealing.
Heh, you're right! I'm horrid with math and logic. $223 does seem like a big difference, but the fact that we get an additional 2 (or maybe 3) days out of it is really more of the draw. The discounts are like a nice little tempting bonus.
Thanks for taking the time to respond! You definitely gave me a lot to think about.
We are going to WDW for 16 days but we have purchased 21 day ultimate ticket (21 days WDW park hopper, including water parks and memory maker available to British guests) as even on a non park day we enjoy the water parks in the day and then dining out in one of the parks in the evening. Every day doesn't have to be a full day in the parks, we usually arrive for EMH in the morning, then spend an afternoon or two visiting other WDW resorts, especially as we always visit in December they are dressed beautifully for the season. Having options with the freedom to move about is the key for us.
That 21 WDW park hopper sounds amazing! I doubt that it's available to us though, otherwise we would totally spring for it. We'd probably skip the water parks, but you're right that the freedom to move about without feeling like a day has been squandered is pretty great. My worry about getting the 10 days ticket is that we'd constantly be trying to squeeze the most out of every Disney day.
When will you be going to WDW?
If you would even consider going back to WDW anytime during the year, I would recommend getting the AP. I have traveled to WDW 4 times already this year and planning a 5th in December which has made the AP worth it for my Dad and I. The memory maker is one of my favorite features of the AP, and also now with the benefits that have come out for the AP for the 45th anniversary. I would also like to point out that if you buy an AP anytime between now and I think January, you will get an extra month on your AP. That's a 45th anniversary offer for buying the annual pass. If you are staying offsite, the parking is also free which is a huge expense. If you are onsite, the parking is taken care of, but I still find it worth it with the benefits of having the AP with memory maker and discounts. Keep in mind that if you make reservations at restaurants, make sure they are on the discount list, because not every restaurant is on the list.
I feel like the possibility of going back to WDW would be a lot higher if we got the AP because the cost of the next vacation would be significantly lowered. The only limitation, of course, is whether or not we'd have enough vacation days for another long trip. Although the extra month bonus does make it a little more possible since we'd have more time.
We're mostly looking at reservations for BOG, Crystal Palace, Akershus and Tusker House; I'm not sure about Crystal Palace and Tusker House but I think I recall seeing a 10% discount for BOG and Akershus. I'll have to check that out!
Thanks so much for the advice! ♥
Are you American? If not, there may be longer tickets available to you.
I would think you're going to lose money on the AP (unless you factor in parking, which may be the tipping point.) I'd look at how many days past ten you'll like to do Disney (12?) and how much that ticket would cost (around $200, I think, for a 2-day - and then more if you're adding PH.) If the 10+2 tix are more than AP, get AP. If they're very close ($20-50, depending on which discounts you'd use,) get the AP. If there's several hundred dollars difference, get the 10+2.
I find with an AP I have a more relaxed attitude. And with APs to both parks, you could hit Uni in the AM on a day when it closes early - but go to MK in the evening because it's open late, etc.
We're not American, but I haven't come across any longer ticket options.
Hmm! You're right, let me do some calculations.
10 day ticket (with park hopper) : $499.50 (inc tax)
2 day ticket (with park hopper) : $274 (inc tax)
Memory Maker: $149
Total: $922.50
Platinum Pass Annual Pass : $797.70 (inc tax)
Yikes. It seems that if we do decide on 12 days at Disney, we'd have to go the AP route. We just have to decide if those extra 2 days are worth it. Then again, if we got the AP, I think we'd be way more inclined to drop in at Disney every once in a while. Like you said, we'd have the freedom to just stop by to catch a meal and watch the fireworks.
Another thing about the AP is that we honestly don't know how many days we'd want to spend at Universal. My estimation is 6, but it could drop to 5. The AP would allow us to change our minds more readily as a fail-safe. The 10 days ticket would be more economical but it definitely has a little more room for regret. There is the option of topping up tickets at the end of our trip, but that would mean that we paid the extra $149 for Memory Maker for nothing.
Thanks for helping me look at things another way! I have to admit, after doing the calculations, I do feel a little more inclined towards the AP.
My two-cents:
Your math gets you very close to break even.
Apply AP discounts to your likely purchases and you will get a different result.
We haven't really decided on what we're going to buy yet, but I do know that we'll be buying stuff.
I have to admit: the AP discounts for merchandise is a nice and tempting bonus.
First, congratulations in advance and have a magical honeymoon!
A couple of items to factor into your AP analysis.
First is parking. If you are staying offsite it is $20/day to park. That makes the a big difference in your per day cost analysis.
Second, note that the 20% meal discount only applies to some table service and quick service restaurants. It is reasonable list but not all. So don't plan for the full 20% reduction in your onsite food budget.
Thank you so much for the well wishes!
You're right, I definitely need to check out which restaurants are applicable for the discounts. I feel like if we do decide to rent a car, the AP would be a done deal. As of now though, we're still undecided because driving would be a little tougher given that we're utterly unfamiliar with the territory. Plus, my fiance is a skittish driver to begin with and the switch from left-hand to right-hand driving is rather unappealing to him.
That's the first batch of replies! Going to start on the next. c:
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