Shhh! Don't tell the others that my kids had...

[Mkaz]

Don't tell the others that my kids had more fun at Universal Studios/IOA than they did at Disney. We made a last minute decision to go to Universal and IOA, and we are so glad that we did. They had a blast. They loved everything about it. Disney was just okay for them.

I just want shout a little thank you to everyone here for planting the idea in our heads. I'm not so sure we would have considered it without these boards.

 

[damo]

Your secret is safe with me!!!

 

[robvia]

Glad to hear it. Disney is great, but some parents over do it by going there year after year and completely ignoring the other attractions. I call it the "brainwashing" effect where they have an allegiance like no other. When the kids reach the age of 8 or 9, they outgrow Disney, and want thrill rides. You can still enjoy Disney, but mix things up and split your vacation between the parks. The thing with Disney, is many think they need an entire week there, and refuse to give up any days for other parks.
For your next trip, you can add in Sea World (SWF), Discovery Cove (DC), Busch Gardens (BGT), and Wet N' Wild (WnW).

 

[JohnnySharp2]

It's great that more people are seeing Universal has plenty to keep the kid's happy.

 

[Mkaz]

Glad to hear it. Disney is great, but some parents over do it by going there year after year and completely ignoring the other attractions. I call it the "brainwashing" effect where they have an allegiance like no other. When the kids reach the age of 8 or 9, they outgrow Disney, and want thrill rides. You can still enjoy Disney, but mix things up and split your vacation between the parks. The thing with Disney, is many think they need an entire week there, and refuse to give up any days for other parks.
For your next trip, you can add in Sea World (SWF), Discovery Cove (DC), Busch Gardens (BGT), and Wet N' Wild (WnW).

We went to quite a few attractions during our short trip. WnW, Disney, airboat rides, US/IOA, and Typhoon Lagoon. We slated one day for MK knowing that we wouldn't even come close to seeing everything. For some reason our kids (DD13, DS6) just weren't into it. We left the park around 3pm and went back that evening. They did have a better time during the evening hours. They loved WnW and Typhoon Lagoon too.

We may try Disney again in a couple of years, but I don't know if I will be able to convince DH. His comment while standing on line (one that doesn't have FP) was; "If this is the Happiest Celebration on Earth, then why are all of these kids so miserable?"

 

[calena]

My kids loved Universal too! There is an appeal to both parks. I think Disney still has that magic appeal, especially Magic Kindgom, but Universal, especially IOA has wonderful theming and great rides. The other plus was there were hardly any wait times at Universal when we went. My son went on Cat in the Hat 13 times! Yes, 13 times. We also went on ET about six times. Only made it on Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh once!

 

[djm99]

I understand your kid’s feelings. Although I am a "true" Disney fan now, I hated both parks as a child (both WDW and DL). It wasn't until I was grown and began to watch Disney films with my DD that I grew to love Disney and understand "the magic" that "my family and I" bring to the table. Universal was always fun to me - even as an adult. The parks have two totally different atmospheres. Disney is sooo big it can be overwhelming. It’s so much to do in (often) a short period of time. The average family that visits Disney doesn’t make time to relax and see Disney - they are running from Sun up to Sun down.

Universal (IMO) has a slower more laid back feel to it. Its a more relaxing vacation (as relaxing as a theme park can be). I also love that many of the attractions are inside - which helps in that summer heat. When we visit US/IOA we do things we never have time to do at Disney - like having the artist draw my family in those cartoon-like characters. We actually have time to people watch – while eating ice cream. We walked thru Lucy Tribute, do a little shopping and soooo much more. At Disney our down consist of us looking for the front entrance to get on a bus/tram to go to the next park. It’s just overwhelming sometimes.

And lastly my DH hates Disney, he tolerates it because of DD and myself. He doesn’t always “get” the magic. But what 30 something male didn’t grow up reading Spiderman comic strips? What 30 something male didn’t love Superman? Heck, even I watch “The Hulk”. It’s more fun for everyone (in my family) at Universal. Everybody’s happy at Universal. Besides, between WDW and DL over the last 4 years - all my pictures look that same, it was time to mix it up a bit - so Universal see ya in a few weeks. I'll see Disney 2 days as well.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

My kids have preferred Universal/Ioa over Disney for years. I finally realized it when we were standing in the middle of Magic Kingdom one day and my son asked if we could go to Universal.

 

[DonnaLeah]

I realized my DS7 was old enough when he reached the 54 inch requirement this spring!! Yeah!!. It gets too tiring at WDW hopping from park to park to get that child on the thrill rides. The Universal parks will be the perfect mix of thrill rides for him in a more compact location (for Mom & Dad)!!!

 

[ksdave]

Welcome to "the dark side" .

 

[cjtorres]

Welcome to "the dark side" .

true lol

 

[LuvTheMagic985]

I've gotta admit too....as much as we love Disney, we totally enjoy IOA. My daughters 2 favorite parks in the world are Magic Kingdom and IOA. Guess we'll continue the tug of war...lol

 

[twid]

One of the joys of being British is that we folks normally spend at least two weeks in Orlando (Due to the high air fares) when we're over so most Brits get to do both every vacation there. I'm going in a month and my family have 2 week tickets for Disney and Flextickets so we get to compare every time. We have formed the opinion that BOTH sets of parks have plusses and minuses and we love them for different reasons. IOA has by far the best theming and atmosphere of any park and that seems to be the stumbling block in most pro Disney arguments. IOA feels more magical; but it's not "pixie dust magic"

Confused ????????

 

[SteinsLaFemme]

If you or your kids like thrill rides, Universal beats Disney. Also FOTL access when your staying at the resorts is great. When I went this year during President's week, I didn't have any idea how crowded Universal was because of FOTL access, we walked on every single ride. Disney was packed. The resorts at Universal are really nice. I think you get more for your money from the Universal resorts than the Disney resorts. Also, young boys who are super hero fans will think Universal is definitely cooler than Disney.

If your not a big thrill ride fan or you have motion sickness, Disney is better. There are more attractions to see and the parks themselves offer more.

My family likes Disney better but I could see why many people would like Universal more.