Really need help, WDW or Universal?

[PRINCESS VIJA]

I am posting this here, because I am hoping for lots of opinions and not posting on either the theme park board or universal board so I can get spontaneous answeres.

I can not decide what to do with my days next year, and I need HELP! WDW or Universal? We are doing a 7 night Disney cruise. We will be in Orlando for 3 days before and the Saturday after. Before the cruise we are going to do 1 day at Discovery Cove. So it leaves me 2 days. My friend just came back from Universal and said she had a great time, but she was at Universal for 5 days staying on site. If I stay onsite and use the express pass for rides, can I get a good experience from Universal? We will be there at the end of June. I was considering also going the Saturday we leave the cruise ship. But it will be super busy because it is the Saturday before July 4th. I would love to go to WDW as well, but I know it will be super busy those days and we are spoiled with going non peak times. So.... what would you do? 2 days at Universal, 2 days at Disney Parks? What would you do on that Saturday we come back? It really in only a choice between those 2.


Background info...
we've been to wdw 2 times, never to universal
We may go down to WDW in jan of 2007 but don't know yet how many days because I hopefully will have my first teaching job.
We don't like the BIG roller coasters too much, so I don't know how much we can do at universal

HELP!

 

[2BigKIdz]

I vote for Universal! We love both parks. There is really only 3 BIG roller coasters there Hulk and Dueling Dragons, so you will be able to ride most everything, the Mummy coaster section is comparable to Space Mountain. Spiderman is an incredible ride! I think Popeye's bilge rat barges is the best water ride ever. You will definitely need FOTL, which comes with your on-site stay or if not staying on-site you can purchage express passes, we were there last July and the lines were horrible. IOA is wonderfully themed. I know a lot of devoted WDW fans don't like Universal but we think it is wonderful. The shows are not Disney quality but some are still very good. We love the Horror Make-up show (really more of a comedy show with horror make up) and the Animal planet show is really cute. I'm not a big show person so haven't seen them all. Since you've never been to Universal I definitely say give it a shot!

You also get a ticket good for 7 days to Sea World with your Discovey Cove admission (atleast you used to) so you could do that 1 day.

 

[tinaluis]

If you'll be staying onsite at Universal it really doesn't matter what time of year you go -- you'll have front of the line privileges at both parks. Our family loves Universal/Islands of Adventure and a trip to Orlando wouldn't be the same if we didn't visit both WDW and US/IOA. IOA has more coasters than US, but has other non-coaster attractions that are really neat (Spiderman, Dr. Doom, Bilge Rat Barges, the Cat in the Hat, Jurassic Park River Adventure). There's plenty to do at both parks even if you don't ride the coasters. Good luck with your decision.

 

[TimeforMe]

My vote goes for Universal, too. If you're staying onsite, it will definitely be worth it for the 2 days. There are some really great rides/attractions there and since you've never been, I think you'd find them very enjoyable. Spiderman is probably one of the best rides I've ever been on and we really liked Terminator2, Shrek, Men In Black and a ton of others. The onsite hotels are awesome.

One thing you may want to consider: when we went on the Disney cruise a few years back, we schedule 2 days at Disney on our return, but we were so exhausted that we really didn't enjoy and ended up getting an earlier return flight home.

 

[Planogirl]

Universal is my vote too. Stay onsite and you can pool hop and of course FOL can't be beat. There's a lot of great places to eat at both Citywalk and in the hotels too.

A Disney cruise and a Universal visit sounds like a great combination.

 

[Aimeedyan]

Universal is very fun! Plus their resorts are gorgeous, have great locations, and great perks! We had a wonderful time at Royal Pacific! Front of the line is awesome, you'll be much more relaxed and will be able to afford time off in the afternoon to relax at the pools if you want.

There is lots to do without the big roller coasters, and when we went for 2 days (staying onsite) we were able to everything and then some.

 

[Dan Murphy]

You're doing the cruise, Vija, mix it up a bit, Universal.

 

[SherryNC]

I would go ahead and try Universal since you've not been. You will have fun for sure.

 

[Goobergal99]

I can't believe all the blasphemy I am seeing here

How can anyone suggest going anywhere except WDW paired with a disney cruise vacation. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves

 

[LvsTnk]

I think with the cruise you find that U/IOA will be much more relaxing than trying to do WDW. Staying onsite you will be able to wake up a bit later and still get plenty of rides done. We did WDW over the 4th of July( Beach Club) and just got back from Universal(PFB/HI Nickelodeon Family Suites) and we definately went at a slower pace at Universal.

Have Fun!

 

[SherryNC]

I can't believe all the blasphemy I am seeing here

How can anyone suggest going anywhere except WDW paired with a disney cruise vacation. You guys should be ashamed of yourselves

Ok, it would not have been my choice. I was just trying to keep in perspective that not everyone else is as Disney obsessed as yours truly.

 

[SPAM]

i like both. universal is really fun (i stayed at the hard rock). i def. prefer at universal the studios as opposed to IoA. i like roller caosters but i lvoeee the shows at US.
But then again, i LOVE wdw. so take your pick. both are great.

 

[powellrj]

we love staying on-site at universal. FOTL is wonderful and the resorts are really nice! Its much more laid back than Disney because you can take your time and you don't have to worry about fastpasses and lines!

 

[N.Bailey]

Just adding another vote for Universal. You've done Disney, you're more than likely going back shortly. Go for a new experience. You'll be able to see and do all at US and IOA with the front of the line privileges.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Have you ever been to Sea World? It's such a nice park and you can easily fill 2 days there. Possibly more. We didn't like Universal at all. We're not big roller coaster people. We LOVE Sea World. I think I like it just as much as I like Disney. That would be another consideration. We really weren't overly impressed with Universal, even not taking the roller coasters into consideration.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Thanks for your help! I think I would like to try universal for the 2 days before we go. What would you do with that one day when we come back from the ship? DH really wants to go to Epcot, I wonder if we should go to epcot when we come back. I know it will be crazy busy, and I just wonder if it would be worth it? Hmmm, have to think on it.

 

[magicfan]

Go to Universal and Islands of Adventure---really fun, and different. It's nice to try something new now and then. Our kids love those places (they love Disney, too!).

 

[Planogirl]

Epcot might be nice for that one day. It shouldn't be as wacky crowded as MK at least.

As for Universal, if you like guidebooks then look for Kelly Monaghan's excellent book. He posts on the Universal boards here sometimes and he definitely knows his stuff.