Should we do extra days at WDW or switch to Universal?

[lp199]

Hi there!

We are planning a first family trip to Disney June 2020. Our kids will be 14, 11 and 9. I have one week booked in a one bedroom villa at AKL. My original thought was to then switch to a hotel at Universal for two nights so we could go to Harry Potter world (the only thing we are really interested in doing there). But now I am having second thoughts because I don’t want to have a rushed exhausting vacation particularly since DH is feeling lukewarm about Disney as it is.

I’m thinking about maybe switching to a studio at BR for two nights after our week at AKL with the added benefits of spreading out park days and/or having the flexibility to not feeling pressured to spend all day in the parks. A smaller consideration would be getting Magical Express to go home. But I do think we would love Harry Potter so I’m not sure what to do.

Thanks all!

 

[Ben E N]

Having just finished a trip at Universal, a two day, one night visit should be perfect for you. Get an evening at a deluxe resort, check in before park opening, and use the express pass to do all you want on the first day. Then you can round it out on the second (or deal with the line for Hagrid's, which is sure to still be a mess then.)
Because you have the express pass, you can then use the start of your days to enjoy the nuances of the Harry Potter areas at each park. If your kids are fans, they will love it more than an extra couple of days at Disney, even though it will cost you a bunch more.

 

[tinkerjo]

This is your first family Disney trip, I say skip universal. I would add a couple days to your Disney stay, take it slower and have a resort day or 2. We have learned over the years to do this. Makes my DH a much happier person. He wasn’t just lukewarm our first trip, he was dreading it ( and now he would go every single year if we could) He does, however, like to be done by 2-3 in the afternoon to relax and watch TV and drink a couple of beers. If me and the kids want to go back we do, or we swim, do resort stuff, whatever. We also take about every 3rd day and do a resort day or go to Disney springs. You will do tons of walking during the day and will be tired. We paired universal with a cruise once and thought it was too much. BTW, my kids did not like universal at all. We did the entire 2 parks in 2 days and just was not impressed. This was pre Harry Potter, but the boys don’t like Harry Potter either so There is no drawl.

 

[Klayfish]

This will be 100% a personal decision based on what your family is interested in. I'd only go to Universal if someone gave me free tickets, and even then I'd be in and out quickly. Not really interested in it, but that's just me.

 

[loves to dive]

We have tried Universal twice through the years, in all fairness both times were long before Harry Potter, but each time it was for a day and each time we said never again. We actually just had the conversation of adding a day to the front of a WDW trip, stay at one of the Universal resorts just to do Harry Potter. I just can't justify the cost of having to pay for tickets for both parks at Universal just to see both parts of Harry Potter. We have no desire to do any of the coasters - my son has nerve damage in in spine and can't. I think it really depends on your family make up. A week at WDW is plenty of time, even taking a few rest days or half days mixed in so I'm not sure if you would need to add more time to WDW. Although, for us, 2 weeks wouldn't be enough time.

 

[AgentMama]

My boys love HP at Universal, if it is something your family enjoys, I would go and stay onsite. We enjoy Universal and if you haven't done it, we think it's worth seeing.

 

[lp199]

Thanks everyone! So I think we’re going to look at adding on a couple of days at a different Disney resort. Dh and I looked at some of the YouTube videos of the rides at Harry Potter and as amazing as the world looks, the rides look way too intense for some of my kids so I think it’s a pass for now. Still, it’s all good because two of my kids are huge Star Wars fans

I’m hoping that maybe a few days at the Poly would be good after AKL to have more convenient access to MK but maybe I’ll start another thread