Orlando vacation spliters: do you do WDW first or last?

[loriandmatt]

A quesiton came to me while reading a post from profdsny about spliting their trip between WDW and US/IOA.....

Of those out there who have or do regularly spilt their orlando vacation time between WDW and US or IOA or SW.....Do you prefer to do WDW at the begining of your trip, at the end of your trip or flit from one to the other and back again?

I am asking because we have AP's that will expire mid August next year. Like all good AP holders we want to squeeze the most out of them and plan on taking a trip to Orlando next Aug. We also have been thinking about checking out some or all of US/IOA and SW. We are debating if we should make our trip earlier in August so we can do those other things first and end up at WDW OR Spend some time at WDW before our passes expire and then after the 15th spend the last few days of our vacation at some of the "other" location.
The last scenario seems to have the most logic behind it as we found the later in August you visit, the less crowded it is. I just keep feeling that i will miss that "last day of my vacation swing around MK to soak up all the Disney i can before i return to reality."

- lori

 

[nativetxn]

I do WDW last.

I love thrill rides and Islands of Adventure can't be beat when it comes to thrill rides.

I like to end my trip with magic, though, and WDW has lots and lots of <b>magic</b>. So I tour WDW last and USF/IofA first.

What is neat, to me is that USF/IofA and WDW are so different that I don't try to make comparisons. That would be like trying to compare apples and oranges. Each is special in it's own way to me

Katholyn

 

[brendaroo]

We did US/IOA 1st. we also did 1 day at seaworld. We stayed at an inexpensive hotel, drove to the other parks, and ate at inexpensive restaraunts. We then went to WDW and stayed on site. My DH very much enjoyed relaxing more and letting WDW do the driving. I enjoyed WDW the best so it was nice that we saved the best for last. I may have not enjoyed US/IOA as much if we had toured them last. I do have to say that IOA was my favorite outside park and we both loved it!
Enjoy your planning.
6 days left!!!!

 

[Lori of the Lodge]

Go to US/IOA First! Otherwise you will have the tendency to compare the experience to Disney, and IMHO Universal simply isn't in the same league.

Go to Universal to enjoy their wonderful rides and colorful parks, then go to WDW and experience the magic.

 

[Twigs]

We always stay the week at WDW, then drive to US or SW somewhere in the middle of the week. We always rent a car so our options are always open, next Feb we are thinking of going to Kennedy Space Center, we did that 5 years ago and the kids loved it.

 

[Robinette]

We really enjoy IOA/US, we even stayed at one of their resorts for 2 nights the last time we went before switching to VWL. But as much as we love IOA/US, we must always end our vacation with Disney.

 

[Prince Eric1]

We always make the last park on a trip our favorite to end strong. When at Disney, we do MK on the last day even if we visited it before because the kids love it, so if you like WDW better than the dark "other" then save it for last or vice versa.

 

[SusieJane]

We usually do something like this: Disney Day, Disney Day, US, Disney Day, IOA, Disney Day, Shopping Day, Disney Day. We always start and end our vacation at the Magic Kingdom.

 

[packy]

In Aug '01 we did US then WDW (both on-site). In Aug '03 we did WDW then US. Definitely prefer the latter. US is just less stressful. You can walk to the parks from the HRH or RP and they are smaller than Disney parks. Staying on-site you have FOTL access which means you have a lot less standing in line. We had a much better time doing Disney first when we were fresh then finishing at US. If we do a split trip again, Disney will be first.

 

[georgina]

I agree. We do Disney first, then IOA/US. We spend more time at Disney, usually a week, then about 3 days at universal. The kids are still young enough that they want Disney first, but the oldest is starting to prefer Universal.

 

[crs7568]

I have to agree with packy. While I love Disney, you definitely get spoiled by front of the line access at US/IOA. I can't imagine waiting in lines at Disney after virtually no waiting at Universal. Do Disney first.

 

[Planogirl]

We did just the opposite of some of the others. I decided that for our first visit to Universal, we would visit the Universal parks first and then move over to WDW. I originally planned to visit Universal for two days and then leave early the next morning to transfer to WDW. We ended up having so much fun at Universal that we stayed in the parks for three full days and then we went over to WDW late that evening. The problem was that we ran ourselves ragged in Universal and I ended up exhausted! It was nice to rest at WDW which for us is easy since we know the parks so well.

By the way, my son and I ended up enjoying Universal Park the most but IOA is fun too and it has beautiful theming.

 

[TreeOfLife]

I guess the answer depends on whether you are staying onsite or offsite.

We are doing both this year, and both are onsite visits. We are obligated to spend more time at Disney because they do not make it any easier for their resort guests, like USF/IOA do. We will do Disney first because all the pampering will make us resent what Disney does not offer their resort guests.

Right on the holidays, when the parks are filled to the top, we'll go through the rides at USF and IOA like a breeze...

 

[disneynutsss]

I love to start my trip with magic and end it with magic... I do US and IOA in between!!!

 

[nataliesdaddy]

We do the full trip there or the first half of the trip there and then finish it off with dolphin swims and snorkeling at discovery cove and maybe go over to seaworld