Split Vacation....I've made up my mind, what about you?

[Suvadoo]

This April will be my first visit to Universal and it will be a split stay. So, I can only comment on planning at this point. As another poster said, Universal feels more like a vacation. I am more excited for the Universal part of the trip than WDW. Planning for the WDW portion of the trip feels more like a job than a vacation. I don't like making ride reservations. To me, it's ridiculous.
April may be our last visit to Orland, because, I can still get my Disney fix at DLR without all of the FP+ silliness. I know this may change in the future, but for now DLR will be my place.

 

[arcticdisneylovers]

We took DD to US last year for the first and we loved it. We stayed at the HRH and the location was amazing and we loved the front of the line access. We don't know if we'll have a chance visit this trip as we are doing 6 nights at WDW and also a Disney Cruise. We're Disney first but US may begun a bigger part of our trips as DD gets older.

 

[fairyprincess88]

I used to be a Disney first or actually a Disney only girl. However, I am also one of the Potter generation(Ok I'm a full out crazy Potter nerd) so as soon as Universal got the rights to Potter they also got the rights to my wallet. I had been to Universal a couple times for a day before but had never done an extended stay until WWoHP opened. We did a split stay, starting at Uni for 3 days and then over to Poly for 7. That trip was a real game changer as far as my vacationing goes.

I loved Universal, and of course I was enthralled with WWoHP. Where I had always adored the "Disney Magic" it could not even begin to compare to the magic I felt when I crossed into Hogsmeade and saw Hogwarts that first time. I actually cried as pathetic as that sounds. When it came time to transfer over to the Poly I didn't want to, which I never expected. From that trip on I started doing Universal only trips and have been there far more than Disney since. Now with Diagon Alley, it even made me more so a Universal girl.

I still love Disney, but it's just so stressful in comparison. With Universal there is no mega planning, no crazy scheduling, no buses. It's fun but relaxing. The TMs at Universal are amazing, the parks are gorgeous and so well themed and there always seems to be something new opening in comparison to Disney lately. Plus a lot of attractions are based on things from my generation, not my dad's or grandpa's or for a 4 year old girl. I still feel the awe of Cinderella's Castle and Wishes but walking through Diagon Alley or Hogwarts or even Springfield to get a Krusty Burger is just magical.

So for me, my first split stay actually pulled me away from Disney more than I ever expected. Then again, Universal has Potter and nothing the mouse does from here on will beat that for me so maybe it should have been expected.

 

[Laketravis]

This April will be my first visit to Universal and it will be a split stay. So, I can only comment on planning at this point. As another poster said, Universal feels more like a vacation.

This was our first visit as well - and over New Year's. We had absolutely no plan whatsoever other than to show up at RPR and check in. In fact, we didn't even plan on going to the parks on our arrival day because we figured we'd need some time to develop a strategy first after seeing what all was there.

We couldn't have been more wrong. We checked in at noon, walked over to the parks from the hotel, and got more done that first day with no plan than we ever thought would be possible.

It was...........................................nice.

 

[bumbershoot]

Having just gotten back from a split stay, I still prefer Disney. While the rides at Universal are good, a lot of them were rather same-y (motion simulators, you are newbies to the world being dragged along by the characters). Also I really prefer the Magic Band system at the world. We had Universal Express but on our last night I lost my pass and couldn't get a new one, so I couldn't go on some of our favorite rides. As for the employees, while I'm sure some find Disney to be a grind, in my stay, the employees were just as nice at Universal as they were in the World.

Why couldn't you get a replacement?

 

[Planogirl]

I'll admit it. I prefer Universal and have for several years. I've been to WDW a zillion times and I don't know if it's a combination of both me and the resort changing or I'm just burnt out but I'm not as enthused as I once was. However I will always adore certain things about WDW and likely won't ever give it up completely. Universal is definitely a better fit for me now though.

In fact, I'm planning a trip right now and trying to work in a little Disney time. This is quite a reversal from the way it used to be.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

We had a terrible time at IoA this year.
We went with DS, DDIL and DGD (17 mo). There was pretty much nothing for her to do.
We ended up spending all that money to walk around the parks.
We did ride the train and she did get to go on the carousel.
DS is a big guy and couldn't fit in any of the coasters.
DDIL and DS went back the next day (we had 2 day tickets). DH and I opted to toss our tickets and take DGD to MK for the day. So much better.
Disney is our home. We will just go there.
We have been to USF/IOA many times and always find them to be a 1/2 day park for us.
The Harry Potter areas are themed great......but still not that much to do.

I went this past December with my DS and family, and 2 SILs. We have been to both Uni and WDW many, many times. Since we had 2 DGDs (ages 2 and 4) we opted not to do UNI (me, DDIL, 1 SIL) while DH, DS, and 1 SIL did Uni. We know there isn't much for them to do, and DGD aged 4 is tiny for her age and isn't able to ride most of the rides. Later, when they are 5 and up we will introduce them to Uni.

 

[dsdeleon]

Over the years our family has migrated from wdw only, to 1-2 days at Uni, to total split stays and our next trip. is onsite Uni and 1-2 days at Disney. Universal only trips isn't too far away. While nothing will ever, ever compare to MK, the two Uni parks beat the other 3 any day. I also prefer the other guests (no huge touring groups) and onsite convienience & coziness of being onsite there. They just need later park hours!!

 

[Marthasor]

OP - thanks so much for posting about your experience! We are doing our first WDW/Universal split in February. I am a die-hard Disney fan and probably wouldn't have even considered going to Universal, but my sister is coming on our trip and really wanted to see Harry Potter. I have to say, after doing all of our Universal research and planning out our stay, I'm really excited! We are doing a 4 night WDW, 3 night Universal split, which sounds like plenty of time to see Uni and hopefully have time to enjoy HRH as well. I'm glad you enjoyed your trip!

 

[nkereina]

We did a similar trip back in November - we did 6 days/5 nights at CBR in Disney followed by 4 days/3 nights at Royal Pacific in Universal. Overall, we still like Disney best but had a great stay at RPR and really enjoyed Universal. In fact, we'll probably do split trips going forward.

At RPR/Universal, we liked that we could move at a slower and more relaxed pace than Disney. We did Universal second on our trip and I was glad, because I needed time to relax after the go-go-go mentality I always have at WDW. We felt the Royal Pacific Resort was really nice and we loved being able to walk to and from the parks at our leisure. One afternoon we were lounging in the room, and were trying to decide if we should order in or venture out to City Walk for dinner. The quick and easy commute to City Walk made us decide to head over there. If we had been at WDW trying to decide to go to DTD, we probably would have stayed in thinking about how much more time consuming the commute would have been.

All this being said, we DID think 3 days/2 nights at Universal would have been just perfect. By night 3/day 4, we had done and seen all there was to do at both parks and City Walk. On our last day, we sat around and killed time and even considered moving our flight time up. That's one thing we like about Disney - no opportunity for boredom. Always something we feel like doing there.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

...
So for me, my first split stay actually pulled me away from Disney more than I ever expected. Then again, Universal has Potter and nothing the mouse does from here on will beat that for me so maybe it should have been expected.

Harry Potter first came out when I was in law school, so I didn't feel like I had the free time to dedicate to reading it, and I didn't want to see the films without reading the books first (I'm old fashioned that way). From what little I knew about HP, it sounded like it would be a good experience to share with my kids, so I decided to wait. I put myself on a total Harry Potter blackout until September of this past year--no books, no movies, nothing. I knew absolutely nothing about the series, other than Harry was a boy wizard, and I knew a couple of the other main characters' names. That was it. We spent the last 5 months devouring the books and the movies with our kids (reading aloud takes a LONG time) and we are all obsessed. On our last Disney trip in December, we finished reading the Half Blood Prince (but hadn't yet seen the movie) and the kids were begging to go to Universal. Your statement that I bolded is how I feel...Harry Potter is so much more beloved to all of us than anything Disney has produced, and I'm sure that once we venture there, nothing Disney will ever offer will compare. Our first split stay is planned for October, and I truly wonder if the kids will have any desire to venture over to the House of Mouse once they see Hogwarts.

 

[mellyf]

I love Disney, but early on in my planning for Universal, my husband had to remind me more than once that we weren't really going to Hogwarts, we were going to a theme park.

 

[RAPstar]

I almost always do split trips. I've been going every year since 08 (not counting 2012) and this year will be only the 2nd time I will be doing Disney only.

 

[soniam]

And even though I've had my own frustrations with the "next generation" of labor market that doesn't seem to share much of a work ethic or devotion/dedication/ambition/take-your-pick-of-adjective, I will say that in some regards I don't blame them. I can see how it would be hard to embrace any employer who's primary intent seems to be to figure out a way to reduce the cost of your employment or even eliminate your position from the moment you were hired. So while they may seem disillusioned from the outside, they may very well have reason to be.

I understand what you are saying, unfortunately too well. It seems that most tech companies want something for nothing if they aren't making as much money as Apple. Most of the companies that I have worked for have ended up like this. Even the place I work now, which is making money hand over fist, wants to squeeze the blood out of you until there's no more.

Luckily, for me, this has always been my expectation. I work hard and do a good job for me and my family, because in the end, that's all you really have. Most employers could care less. My family was/is in the oil business. Some of them lost their jobs and careers in the 80s. I have always understood that despite having a degree, or even multiple, that you are just a resource to the big company. So yes, it does suck for them, but they are going to have to suck it up and get used to the way things work now. It's all the more reason to be sure you really love what you do.

On a happier note, I'm very excited about going to Universal for the first time and revisiting WDW. We chose to stay at RPR for Uni, because of the perks and the cheaper price. We are getting a water view room for cheaper than a garden view room at POR. I'm looking forward to just walking over to the park or just walking to City Walk for dinner. However, my heart lies with Disney, and I probably won't stop going.