Question from a heartbroken Disney fan

[ProudSoccerMom]

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, we scheduled what was to be a joyous, return to Disney trip for this summer. For a variety of reasons, we made the painful decision to cancel the trip. We remain hopeful to return someday, but for now we are a sad no way.

Anyway, I haven’t been to Universal in about 25 years. I went there several times with friends during our single days, but after I got married and started having kids, trips over the past 15 years have been to Disney only, not Universal. No matter what other vacation was scheduled, we always managed to visit the mouse once a year.

Anyway, about Universal, I remember how much I loved the ET ride, and the King Kong ride (which I think is different now). Another favorite was Back to the Future, which I know is gone, and Jaws, which may also be gone. Not sure. Also loved the sets, for lack of a better word, like Fisherman’s Wharf, Beverly Hills etc. And the Psycho house, which I know is long gone.

We’ve talked about visiting Universal and now seems like it might be a good time. I guess my question is for those of you who’ve visited both parks (Universal and WDW) more recently than I.

Would a family like ours that until very recently were diehard Disney fans enjoy the present day Universal? We aren’t huge Harry Potter fans, if this helps. We like rollercoasters, but prefer experiences over upside down loops and crazy spinning. For example, to us, Splash Mountain is a perfect combination of story and thrill. My husband and boys love Rock-n-Rollercoaster and Expedition Everest. But anything much beyond this they can take or leave. We love good food, shows and atmosphere. And we do appreciate any and all magical experiences.

Anyway, any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening.

Nina

 

[CynBeth]

We are adults who are huge Disney fans had not visited Universal in a long time but did a few days there stayed at Portofino before Disney in November and loved it! We are ride wimps no roller coasters or anything with a drop but are fine with motion simulators. We got to go on almost every ride we wanted and saw some shows. We really liked that we did not have to do much planning other than booking the hotel and 2 day park to park tickets through them and a perk of the hotel was express passes so got to go in the special lines without much of a wait. We ate at mostly CS and were glad that they could accommodate DH’s food allergies but did do one TS at Finnegan’s. I don’t think you have to be fans of HP to enjoy both areas the theming is amazing.

 

[zillayen]

Absolutely! We had never been to Universal before but we did 3 days there before we went to WDW last month and had so much fun that we turned our tickets into Annual Passes and already have two return trips booked. Half of my family are roller coaster fanatics and the other half enjoy more of the simulator rides. None of us are huge HP fans. We loved the ease of staying on-site (MUCH closer and easier to come and go and park-hop compared to WDW if you stay premier) and the absolute minimal stress and planning involved when you have the Express Pass. We went during Mardi Gras when there were tons of unique food offerings and nightly entertainment.

We were at Universal M-W and WDW from W-F. To give you an idea of how much my kids loved it, on Friday after we spent the morning at DHS, my kids asked if we could drive BACK over to Universal and spend the evening there, even though we didn't have the Express pass anymore and we could have hopped to any WDW park. We stayed until park close and had a blast. For us it was just more FUN than being at WDW, which my husband just hated because of all the reservations and having to cris-cross the park to get to a LL time. We are more last minute planners and go-with-the-flow people and Universal seems to fit us better right now.

 

[UGA03]

Ha, see the post I just posted in this forum. We have been Disney folks and finally decided to do Universal (so much cheaper) and loved it.

 

[bchbetha]

We just got back from Disney and part of the group had a day at Universal too (we didn't- we didn't want to just do one crazy busy spring break day and opted to have a lazy bonus Disney day). The folks that went to Universal were major Disney snobs (sorry, but some of you probably know you are ) and they enjoyed it but had complaints about how it wasn't as "magical." Seeing how I don't really think Disney is "magical" I couldn't really explain what they meant. They did think it was too crowded but, again, they did 1 day during spring break where Disney was all sold out that same day so I can assume everything was just crazy slammed. It's not the fairest of comparison- a multi day, onsite Disney day with a really busy day at Universal with no early entry...
I enjoy both! There's plenty of room in life to enjoy both! We don't have to divide ourselves into camps.

 

[ProudSoccerMom]

Thank you, everyone! This is just what I needed to hear/read. If I can ask another question, how many days should we plan for? We cancelled an 8 day WDW trip, so we have time. I feel better now.

 

[ProudSoccerMom]

Ha, see the post I just posted in this forum. We have been Disney folks and finally decided to do Universal (so much cheaper) and loved it.

I did! I am reading it intently. Lol

 

[zillayen]

Thank you, everyone! This is just what I needed to hear/read. If I can ask another question, how many days should we plan for? We cancelled an 8 day WDW trip, so we have time. I feel better now.

We spent 3 days with Express and did a ton but there’s still stuff we didn’t see. We didn’t wait for Hagrids, Mummy was closed, etc. But, we didn’t rope drop, we would roll in around 10 am and ride some rides then head to the pool around 1-2 and come back to the parks after dinner. You could probably knock out everything in 2-3 days if you tour more purposefully than we did with Express but I think you could also find a lot to do in 5 days if you take your time or aren’t using Express. We’re going back for Fall Break and staying 5 nights.

 

[Brett Wyman]

Counting the days until the kids are old(tall enough) to make the Universal trip!

 

[Krisshay13]

Thank you, everyone! This is just what I needed to hear/read. If I can ask another question, how many days should we plan for? We cancelled an 8 day WDW trip, so we have time. I feel better now.

My Disney obsession started after I had grandkids. Had moved up to going 2x a year......until recently. Covid slowed us down & other reasons have made me cancel planned trips.

My oldest Granddaughter is 13 now & a huge Harry Potter fan so, last November, I took her for our 1st Universal Trip. We did a full week & also attended the after hours Orlando Informer Meetup for 2 nights. We completely loved Universal.......actually have 3 trips booked this year!!

As for the "magic" of Disney.......tears down my face every time I saw Tink fly.,,,,just watching my grandkids faces while waving at Mickey......my granddaughter jumping with Tigger. Those were memories I will never forget. So many "magic" moments over the years.
But, they are growing up........and Universal is more exciting now.

Now for the "magic" at Universal. I may have started high & I hope I'm not disappointed when we return. But, we had total "magic" moments last November.......during Christmas....just so much fun. The Grinch was 1 of the best character meetings we have ever had. We actually met him 2x & both were so fun!!
And even though I'm not big into Harry Potter.......watching the cast member helping my granddaughter find "her 1st wand"......and watching her use her wand was priceless.

As for how many days? I would not do the 2 parks in less than 3 days (we don't do the water parks) We are booked a full week again for our next trip. And have 2 nights of Orlando Informer booked!!! Can't wait!!!

Hope you have a wonderful "more relaxed" trip, like we did!!!

 

[Minnie1222]

Counting the days until the kids are old(tall enough) to make the Universal trip!

Universal has this magical ride called Pteranodon Flyers, where you need a kid between 36 to 56 inches in order to go on it. I was broken-hearted the day my kids became too tall for this ride.

 

[dclDream2018]

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, we scheduled what was to be a joyous, return to Disney trip for this summer. For a variety of reasons, we made the painful decision to cancel the trip. We remain hopeful to return someday, but for now we are a sad no way.

Anyway, I haven’t been to Universal in about 25 years. I went there several times with friends during our single days, but after I got married and started having kids, trips over the past 15 years have been to Disney only, not Universal. No matter what other vacation was scheduled, we always managed to visit the mouse once a year.

Anyway, about Universal, I remember how much I loved the ET ride, and the King Kong ride (which I think is different now). Another favorite was Back to the Future, which I know is gone, and Jaws, which may also be gone. Not sure. Also loved the sets, for lack of a better word, like Fisherman’s Wharf, Beverly Hills etc. And the Psycho house, which I know is long gone.

We’ve talked about visiting Universal and now seems like it might be a good time. I guess my question is for those of you who’ve visited both parks (Universal and WDW) more recently than I.

Would a family like ours that until very recently were diehard Disney fans enjoy the present day Universal? We aren’t huge Harry Potter fans, if this helps. We like rollercoasters, but prefer experiences over upside down loops and crazy spinning. For example, to us, Splash Mountain is a perfect combination of story and thrill. My husband and boys love Rock-n-Rollercoaster and Expedition Everest. But anything much beyond this they can take or leave. We love good food, shows and atmosphere. And we do appreciate any and all magical experiences.

Anyway, any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening.

Nina

I am with you! I am on the edge of cancelling a Disney trip planned for later this year, and going to Universal instead. Universal seems like a better value, even factoring the extra cost for the express pass.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

The majority of Universal's rides are what I would characterize as "story" rides - as in, more than just themed shapes and colors and queues, but actually a story line while you are on the ride itself. The only ones not in this category are the fairly obvious (the few carnival style rides, Hulk/Rip Ride Rocket, kiddie coasters Hippogriff & Woody Woodpecker, and Dr. Doom). Almost everything else is a solid several minute experience, and most are fairly immersive. Like nothing you can do at Six Flags, for example, where the name and some notes in the queue are about as far as theme goes.

The team members wear outfits specific to the individual ride, napkins and drink cups are themed to the section of park, sidewalks and background music and even foliage changes in each section. Though Harry Potter areas are the most immersive, there is no mistaking the other themed areas either.

This is why I'm good after a day at Six Flags, but I will do a week at Universal & still can't wait to go back.

 

[wdwrule]

After a two-year pandemic hiatus, we scheduled what was to be a joyous, return to Disney trip for this summer. For a variety of reasons, we made the painful decision to cancel the trip. We remain hopeful to return someday, but for now we are a sad no way.

Anyway, I haven’t been to Universal in about 25 years. I went there several times with friends during our single days, but after I got married and started having kids, trips over the past 15 years have been to Disney only, not Universal. No matter what other vacation was scheduled, we always managed to visit the mouse once a year.

Anyway, about Universal, I remember how much I loved the ET ride, and the King Kong ride (which I think is different now). Another favorite was Back to the Future, which I know is gone, and Jaws, which may also be gone. Not sure. Also loved the sets, for lack of a better word, like Fisherman’s Wharf, Beverly Hills etc. And the Psycho house, which I know is long gone.

We’ve talked about visiting Universal and now seems like it might be a good time. I guess my question is for those of you who’ve visited both parks (Universal and WDW) more recently than I.

Would a family like ours that until very recently were diehard Disney fans enjoy the present day Universal? We aren’t huge Harry Potter fans, if this helps. We like rollercoasters, but prefer experiences over upside down loops and crazy spinning. For example, to us, Splash Mountain is a perfect combination of story and thrill. My husband and boys love Rock-n-Rollercoaster and Expedition Everest. But anything much beyond this they can take or leave. We love good food, shows and atmosphere. And we do appreciate any and all magical experiences.

Anyway, any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for listening.

Nina

We have taken our kids to Disney once per year as well, for roughly about the past 14 years. Wow those memories are precious!! We’ve always considered doing a day or two at UO during our Disney trips but didn’t want to take away from our Disney vacation. Fast forward to this past August and I will just say… we are addicted to UO!! Granted our kids are now 18 and 20, but we absolutely LOVE Universal! We are also all a huge thrill ride family. As soon as the kids met each height requirement at any park, they wanted to do every ride, and they did.

Some bonuses we’ve found at UO compared to Disney (still absolutely love WDW by the way):

• cheaper, including more reasonable to get annual passes… and thankfully they continue to sell annual passes for all who want them
• Parks are easily walkable from the majority of on-site hotels, convenient, easy walk/boat ride from some hotels (can also take Hogwarts Express train to transport from park to park with park-to-park/or AP tickets and can ‘park hop’ to your heart’s content without time restrictions)
• Customer service (at least from our experiences), they really want to make things right for you and go out of their way in certain incidences
• Minimal wait time when calling hotel/guest sevices on phone (I’ve waited almost 2 hours with WDW in the past)… I’m still floored when a human answers within 2 minutes when I call a UO hotel
• Flexible planning (can typically reserve dining one month out or some incidences day of) and feeling of carefree, stress free planning
• No park reservations (hope it stays this way). Great freedom!
• Parks (IoA & Studios) and Citywalk close proximity… we often hit all three everyday of our trip via walking
• The 3 premiere resorts include unlimited Express Pass: no reservations to be made or scrolling on phone… just go when you want as many times as you want
• Top tier AP includes limited Express Pass
• No more Magical Express at WDW, so either way, you’ll need to book transports from MCO to hotel if flying

Also, whether you’re a Harry Potter fan or not, there is magic felt with the immersive feeling of these areas in both parks. There’s probably more, but these are the highlights off the top of my head. I will say, I think our first stay at UO at Portofino helped ease the transition from Disney to UO because 1.) it kind of felt like Epcot in the Italy section and 2.) unlimited Express Pass so we could leisurely explore UO for the first time (not necessary but it helped us).

Hope this helps!

 

[Kit Jackson]

Thank you, everyone! This is just what I needed to hear/read. If I can ask another question, how many days should we plan for? We cancelled an 8 day WDW trip, so we have time. I feel better now.

If you are not rope drop to close everyday, want to go at a relaxed pace, and do all the shows/rides/food/shopping you want plus some downtime at the hotel to enjoy the pool, I would say 4-5 days.

I am with you! I am on the edge of cancelling a Disney trip planned for later this year, and going to Universal instead. Universal seems like a better value, even factoring the extra cost for the express pass.

If you stay at one of the three premire resort hotels, ExpressPass is included with the cost of the hotel room. Depending on your budget and how many people are in your group, it is often less expensive to get a hotel room that includes ExpressPass instead of paying for it everyday for each person in your group.

Universal has some great shows. Some of them may be one and done, but they are still worth seeing.

Universal has a ton of motion simulators, some of which are better than others. I'm bringing this up because some people have issues with 3D rides/motion simulators. For me, how much I enjoy a ride tends to be based on whether or not I am a fan of the movie/franchise the ride is based on. For example, I didn't enjoy the Spiderman and the Transformers ride, but I'm also not a fan of Transformers or Spiderman. You could skip the Harry Potter sections and still have plenty to do.

 

[Prince John Robin Hood]

I prefer WDW over Universal but I feel like Universal is superior to WDW right now. We visited Disney in December and March and it's not how it was pre-covid. Our park days at Universal were way more relaxed and we were able to enjoy ourselves a lot more. Hopefully Disney will get a lot better this year but right now Universal is better imo.

If you stay at a premier Universal hotel you'll get the express pass for free. It's not really necessary if you are visiting multiple days but it's still a fantastic perk. If you stay even one night at a premier hotel you get the express pass on the day or check-in and check-out.

 

[ProudSoccerMom]

My Disney obsession started after I had grandkids. Had moved up to going 2x a year......until recently. Covid slowed us down & other reasons have made me cancel planned trips.

My oldest Granddaughter is 13 now & a huge Harry Potter fan so, last November, I took her for our 1st Universal Trip. We did a full week & also attended the after hours Orlando Informer Meetup for 2 nights. We completely loved Universal.......actually have 3 trips booked this year!!

As for the "magic" of Disney.......tears down my face every time I saw Tink fly.,,,,just watching my grandkids faces while waving at Mickey......my granddaughter jumping with Tigger. Those were memories I will never forget. So many "magic" moments over the years.
But, they are growing up........and Universal is more exciting now.

Now for the "magic" at Universal. I may have started high & I hope I'm not disappointed when we return. But, we had total "magic" moments last November.......during Christmas....just so much fun. The Grinch was 1 of the best character meetings we have ever had. We actually met him 2x & both were so fun!!
And even though I'm not big into Harry Potter.......watching the cast member helping my granddaughter find "her 1st wand"......and watching her use her wand was priceless.

As for how many days? I would not do the 2 parks in less than 3 days (we don't do the water parks) We are booked a full week again for our next trip. And have 2 nights of Orlando Informer booked!!! Can't wait!!!

Hope you have a wonderful "more relaxed" trip, like we did!!!

I have tears remembering those wonderful moments, too. I always thought Disney would be with us forever. But, time to move on. Thank you for the info and good wishes! I hope your upcoming trips are wonderful, too.

 

[ProudSoccerMom]

We have taken our kids to Disney once per year as well, for roughly about the past 14 years. Wow those memories are precious!! We’ve always considered doing a day or two at UO during our Disney trips but didn’t want to take away from our Disney vacation. Fast forward to this past August and I will just say… we are addicted to UO!! Granted our kids are now 18 and 20, but we absolutely LOVE Universal! We are also all a huge thrill ride family. As soon as the kids met each height requirement at any park, they wanted to do every ride, and they did.

Some bonuses we’ve found at UO compared to Disney (still absolutely love WDW by the way):

• cheaper, including more reasonable to get annual passes… and thankfully they continue to sell annual passes for all who want them
• Parks are easily walkable from the majority of on-site hotels, convenient, easy walk/boat ride from some hotels (can also take Hogwarts Express train to transport from park to park with park-to-park/or AP tickets and can ‘park hop’ to your heart’s content without time restrictions)
• Customer service (at least from our experiences), they really want to make things right for you and go out of their way in certain incidences
• Minimal wait time when calling hotel/guest sevices on phone (I’ve waited almost 2 hours with WDW in the past)… I’m still floored when a human answers within 2 minutes when I call a UO hotel
• Flexible planning (can typically reserve dining one month out or some incidences day of) and feeling of carefree, stress free planning
• No park reservations (hope it stays this way). Great freedom!
• Parks (IoA & Studios) and Citywalk close proximity… we often hit all three everyday of our trip via walking
• The 3 premiere resorts include unlimited Express Pass: no reservations to be made or scrolling on phone… just go when you want as many times as you want
• Top tier AP includes limited Express Pass
• No more Magical Express at WDW, so either way, you’ll need to book transports from MCO to hotel if flying

Also, whether you’re a Harry Potter fan or not, there is magic felt with the immersive feeling of these areas in both parks. There’s probably more, but these are the highlights off the top of my head. I will say, I think our first stay at UO at Portofino helped ease the transition from Disney to UO because 1.) it kind of felt like Epcot in the Italy section and 2.) unlimited Express Pass so we could leisurely explore UO for the first time (not necessary but it helped us).

Hope this helps!

Yes, very helpful. Thank you!

 

[cfoxga]

I prefer WDW over Universal but I feel like Universal is superior to WDW right now. We visited Disney in December and March and it's not how it was pre-covid. Our park days at Universal were way more relaxed and we were able to enjoy ourselves a lot more. Hopefully Disney will get a lot better this year but right now Universal is better imo.

If you stay at a premier Universal hotel you'll get the express pass for free. It's not really necessary if you are visiting multiple days but it's still a fantastic perk. If you stay even one night at a premier hotel you get the express pass on the day or check-in and check-out.

The sad thing is, UO was even better pre-Covid. Getting an Annual Pass and cheap Deluxe resort rooms (i.e. $250-300 APH rate during peak season) made it an absolute steal in Orlando.

Seems like there are quite a few Disney folks heading over and prices have been increasing rapidly. We just got back from 3 nights at HRH at $520 per night on the APH rate! We love it there, but those prices are tough to swallow...

 

[TikiRob]

Its like kids… You can love both, but sometimes you’ve had enough of one of them. It’s cyclical.