So torn! Is it worth taking a day away from WDW to go over to Universal?

[CampbellzSoup]

You might be reading all the different opinions, however trust me its a 100% yes. Just to get out of the Disney bubble and get the feel of another park.

 

[Skywise]

If you're not "thrill ride" people you most likely aren't going to be riding either ride at the 2 Harry Potter lands (the $750 if for the univeral park hoppers for both islands of adventure and Universal right?)

Diagon alley in Universal is nice along with Hogsmead but the only ride you'll be able (and want) to do it the train between the worlds which requires the park hopper. Otherwise the Wizardring world, while beautifully detailed and fun to explore, will take you no more than half a day to go through (and probably less...) There ARE other rides you could try in Universal, Simpsons and the Minions which are motion capture rides or Shrek 4D. But most of the other Universal Rides (Spider Man, Jurassic Park, etc) are also thrill rides of a sort.

I'm all for jumping over to Universal for a day (done it several trips) but in your case I'm leaning towards no...

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

I love Universal almost as much as I love Disney, and the HP-themed lands are the best themed lands in Orlando, by far. But I wouldn't take a day out of a Disney trip any more than I would take a day from Universal to go to Disney - that is the most expensive way to enjoy both worlds. We either do Disney or Universal on a single trip, and we always stay at a place with front of the line access at Universal.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Is HP amazing? Yes! Even if you don't ride the big rides? YES! But $750? OUCH!

We did a 4 night WDW/3 night Uni split last year (stayed at Hard Rock - fantastic!) and it was GREAT! My DS also would not ride the big rides, but it was fantastic. You can still walk through Hogwart's and not ride, buy a wand, ride Hogwart's Express, etc. The HP quick service restaurants were also a lot of fun. We did enjoy staying at the resort, too! There are a lot of good restaurants there and we enjoyed other aspects of the Uni parks.

If I were you, I think I would wait until you had a longer trip planned and could stay at a Uni resort for at least 2 nights to really enjoy all that it has to offer.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

There are 3 resorts that offer he free Express Pass and a couple of less expensive ones which do not. All offer early admission and transportation. There is so much more to do than thrill rides. I love Terminator 3D, spider Man, Transformers, Pyteradon Flyers, Jurrassic Park, and now they gave a great encounter with raptors. I can't wait for Kng Kong Island to open and they have the mother of all log flume rides. The kids like the Minions and Shreck and my little ones lived ET and the playground. One of the most underrated (imo) is the Monster Makeup Show. I also enjoy Posidons Fury especially on a hot day. I have motion sickness and have no problem going on rides such as Spider Man. The Mummy can be tricky as it goes backwards but I've ridden it a couple of times.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I have to say yes, but I am a biased HP fanatic.

I haven't decided whether or not to ride the big rides and won't until I get there. I just want to walk down Diagon Alley. For me that is worth it, but it depends on your level of fandom I think.

 

[Magpie]

I wouldn't.

I love Universal, but I wouldn't love popping over for just one extremely overpriced day. When we do Universal, we stay for a week. Onsite, so we can have the Express pass included with our resort room. We kick back and really relax, riding our favourite rides over and over, checking out all the shows, seeing a movie at Citywalk, enjoying the ability to walk back to our rooms, eating at a different restaurant every night, etc.

There's a lot at Universal, even for folks who don't like thrill rides (I won't ride anything that goes upside down, though I do love simulators).

 

[Starclassic]

We've done it twice and I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. Yes, it makes for a very expensive day, but as huge HP fans, it's absolutely worth it to us. I also couldn't ride any of the big rides the 2nd time we went because I was pregnant, but I still had a fantastic time!

 

[Planogirl]

We often visit Universal and schedule a few days for Disney (and WDW is worth it ). So my vote would be yes.

 

[wallskm]

We did it as a split stay once and had the best of both worlds! We love thrill rides though so we had lots to do that day. I would wait until you could do it and stay at one of their on site hotels...we got our room at Loews Royal Pacific for the price of a Disney Moderate and it was far nicer than the Disney deluxe we stayed in on the second half of our trip.

 

[disneyAndi14]

It is really fun and worth it, the cost sure is steep, but we love going to US at least 1x/year!

 

[SillySallySews]

My husband and I did this last summer. We went to Disney with our kids for three days and then my parents took the kids for the day and hubby and I went to Universal alone, specifically for the HP lands. He's military so we got the military rate on tickets and I still thought they were insanely priced compared to Disney. Parking was also crazy expensive, but now that Disney has raised their parking rates the cost is comparable (assuming Universal has not raised their parking rates since last summer). We are not thrill ride people either. My husband couldn't handle the broomstick ride inside Hogwarts. He didn't get sick but we had to sit and rest for awhile after that one, and he said no to the dragon coaster. We did ride Gringotts twice, the Hogwarts Express twice, saw the show/bought wands at Olivander's, ran around doing magic with the wands (there are interactive wands you can use in the parks), exchanged our muggle money for wizard money, watched the shows, met Stan and saw the knight bus, and mostly just shopped, ate (try ALL the different kinds of butterbeer if you go!), and walked around just taking it all in. We did ride the Jurassic Park ride towards the end of the day and did the raptor meet thing. That was fun. In the end we were happy we went and saw it, but it was definitely a once and done for us. It is very very expensive IMO, but if you are a HP fan I think you should go! I tell people who have asked that I don't really think it was worth it (money wise), but at the same time I'm glad went, if that even makes sense.

 

[Kate'sDad]

The answer is ... maybe. We went to WDW last year for 9 nights and at the last minute decided to throw 2 days of Universal in the middle because our older (11) is a huge Harry Potter fan. It was a big hit and we had a really good time. Even my 6 year old really enjoyed the Harry Potter rides. We spent about $1000 on tickets and food. The maybe comes down to what you plan to do. Both my girls love thrill rides so enjoyed things like Mummy, Rip Ride Rockit, Hulk, and Forbidden Journey and Escape from Gringotts (my favorite). Plus my younger one liked the Dr. Seuss area and a few of the other rides. If you are not planning on riding Forbidden Journey and Escape from Gringotts then I think it is too much money just to see the amazing theming of the Harry Potter worls, ride the train, and see the wand store.

Forgot to add that we are going back in December and this time we decided instead of staying at the Swan the entire time and spending a few days at Universal we are starting at Universal and staying in Royal Pacific for 2 nights so we also get the benefit of the Unlimited Express Pass and will spend 2 full days plus our arrival day before we head to WDW for 7 nights.

 

[Kelly014]

It's worth it to us, but when we go (in 2017) it will be a 9 day Disney trip with one day of Harry Potter world, and it's only me and DH. DD is six and won't be tall enough for the main rides, and DS is one so not into Harry Potter obviously. But if the kids were older and into it I would pay for four tickets just for one day at Universal to see Harry Potter stuff. We are huge HP nerds though. We have been once but before the second part of it wasn't open. I can't wait to see the second part and have a full day (with no kids as my parents will be there to babysit ) to explore! If it's in your budget and you'd enjoy it (even if you don't ride the big rides, though they're pretty neat) then go for it! Disney beats Universal for me hands down, but Harry Potter world...it's definitely magical in its own way.

 

[mel&me]

We average going to universal every other trip. I say go, but ultimately its your choice.

 

[skoi]

Our Oldest Daughter is a huge Harry Potter fan-- she did online role plays and all sorts of things. But she's not a thrill ride fan (her limit is Everest), so when we offered Universal for HP-- she said no because she thought it would be a waste of money since she had no interest in the rest of the parks. I personally wouldn't spend that amount unless you were planning to really do the parks. We're making our first trip to Universal this fall, because our youngest two are HP fans, and youngest dd is a thrill ride lover. She watches extreme coaster videos online so she can find new parks to go to.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Is HP amazing? Yes! Even if you don't ride the big rides? YES! But $750? OUCH!

I love Universal almost as much as I love Disney, and the HP-themed lands are the best themed lands in Orlando, by far. But I wouldn't take a day out of a Disney trip any more than I would take a day from Universal to go to Disney - that is the most expensive way to enjoy both worlds. We either do Disney or Universal on a single trip, and we always stay at a place with front of the line access at Universal.

Exactly. HP is amazing, and if it was going to be your only chance, I might say to do it. (Though that price tag does scare me!) But if you're going back anyway, I'd wait and do just Universal (and maybe some local stuff) another time rather than both major parks at once. The cost per day is less when you stay longer, the Express Pass is nice, and my family actually loves all of Universal. (We tend to alternate trips between Disney and Universal.)

 

[Blue32]

I would also wait for a trip to do more Uni. There is more there than just the potter areas. I would also want my kids to be open to doing some of the thrill rides. Doing HP and not riding Forbidden Jouney would be a bit of a waste IMO.

 

[bizeemom4]

Not to my family. We stayed at Portofino Bay for 3 nights and had park to park passes. We had our 2 teen sons. We could not wait to leave and ran back to wdw and stayed at pop. The newer (in scary, loud, violent for no reason) stuff wasn't fun enough to counter the lame, older stuff.

 

[Planogirl]

Not to my family. We stayed at Portofino Bay for 3 nights and had park to park passes. We had our 2 teen sons. We could not wait to leave and ran back to wdw and stayed at pop. The newer (in scary, loud, violent for no reason) stuff wasn't fun enough to counter the lame, older stuff.

Has it been a while since you all went? They've replaced so much and I don't remember much being violent. (?)