Splitting days between Universal and Disney

[WanderlustNZ]

Hi everyone,

With only 5 1/2 theme park days for my trip at the end of the year (week before Xmas week), I’m currently a bit torn about how to divide up my theme park days.
We will definitely have 2 1/2 days Universal and 2 days Disney, but it is which company to give the remaining sixth day to, that has me torn. This will be the day we move resorts - from Royal Pacific to Wilderness Lodge.

My family’s first and only trip to Orlando was about 5 years ago and we then spent 2 days at Universal (which felt way too short) and 10 days Disney, which was a lovely amount of time (especially since we travelled at a quiet time when crowds were low).

While I loved both companies equally, with less days this trip and much higher crowds, Universal just seems more appealing, particularly due to the Express Passes we’ll get with our 3 night Resort booking. Plus adding a 4th day to our Universal ticket is much cheaper than adding a day to Disney.

The benefit of adding that day to Disney is that we’ll be able to go to 3 parks instead of 2, and right now, narrowing my choice to two parks is proving to be really difficult.

I guess what I’m wondering from the Universal fans out there, is how they have found Disney lately by comparison? I’ve read so many posts lately from people who’ve said Disney crowds are getting bigger and bigger, and I worry that the only rides we’ll end up doing are the ones I can get Fastpasses to. Other than that, we’ll forgo all the others with their massive queues given that about 45mins is our absolute waiting limit. (In fact anything over half an hour and my husband stops feeling like he’s on holiday).

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[prairiesarah]

Are there kids travelling with you? What ages? That would probably have a bearing on which would be a preferred option. I would lean towards the extra day at Universal given the express pass. That said, my family is pretty Disney’ed out. Last trip down we did 2 park days at Disney and got everything in we wanted - rope drop one am at Animal Kingdom until early afternoon. Back to the house for the afternoon for a swim, then Magic Kingdom late afternoon till late. Same thing with Hollywood Studios and Epcot another day.

 

[macraven]

Since you are starting with rpr, I would do 3 full park days there and then move over to to WL in the evening

Leave rpr at 5:30 pm and be at WL before 6:10 pm

Disney parks stay open later than UO
You could still hit some rides that evening
Set up your fast passes for WDW and hit the first park once you check in to the hotel

How ever you decide, hope you have a fab time at both hotels and parks

 

[cadawson]

I personally would choose 2 1/2 Universal and 3 Disney, but as stated above, it will depend on your party. Did you have Express Pass that last time you visited Universal? That will make a big difference. I assume the 1/2 day is your arrival day - I'd suggest you spend the evening seeing the Harry Potter Christmas evening and the Christmas parade when you arrive. There could even be a concert - we saw Mannheim Steamroller this past December. Then, 2 full days between the two parks at Universal with EP - I really think that will allow you to ride and see everything.
At Disney, you will not have seen several things which are new since your last visit - Pandora at Animal Kingdom, the new Frozen stuff at Epcot, AND Toy Story Land which will be newly opened at Hollywood Studios. Plus, Disney and Disney Springs are nice for the holidays. Another option would be to do a Mickey's Christmas party rather than adding the 3rd day to your ticket - that would allow you to go to Magic Kingdom in the evening if the dates work.
Yes, it is much cheaper to add onto your Universal ticket. In fact, you might consider upgrading to Season passes (but blacked out starting Dec 22) or Annual passes if the cost doesn't add too much over your 3 day ticket. Doing that may allow you to get an AP rate at RPR and save some $.
So, if the cost really is prohibitive, then stick with going to Universal for the extra day. I just found that we had experienced all we wanted after 2 or 2 1/2 days (I have a 13 yr old and 6 yr old). We're mainly going for Harry Potter and Dr. Seuss.
If it makes it easier, you should be able to upgrade your tickets at the ticket windows before they expire for either Disney or Universal.
I hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Thank you so much everyone. Your thoughts are really appreciated.

It will be myself, my husband, and my 11 year old son. None of us are big, scary coaster fans, but there are rides we loved so much at Universal (eg Transformers) that during our last visit, we did them multiple times.
It was quite quiet when we last visited, but staying at Hard Rock, we had Express passes anyway and loved that we never waited more than about 5 mins for a ride.
Now that Diagon Alley is open, I can see myself happily spending half a day just in wandering around HP land with an interactive wand.

I will definitely check out the cost of an AP. Thanks for the suggestion cadawson. And, yes, the half day is arrival day.

Prairesarah, park hopping over 2 days might work. There are aspects we love of all 4 parks, so that might be a way of squishing them all in.

 

[cadawson]

It will be myself, my husband, and my 11 year old son. None of us are big, scary coaster fans, but there are rides we loved so much at Universal (eg Transformers) that during our last visit, we did them multiple times.

At 11 years old, your DS is a great age for HP - that's the age Harry received his letter to Hogwarts! It will be a magical time of the year, and there truly is a lot to see in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. Make sure he sends a letter by Owl Post. And check out the thread 'A Perfect Day in the Wizarding World' on disboards.
There is also the new Marvel area which is fun. My DD (13) loved the Simpsons land. And DS (6) loved the Minions attraction. I don't think you can go wrong either way - spending extra time at Universal or extra time in the Disney parks.
We travel like you do - love to have Express Pass or FastPass+ for the attractions, but happy to spend time getting immersed in the scenery! And definitely prefer smaller crowds...
Since you're staying at WL, MK is your easiest park to visit - the other parks will take longer travel time. I'd take a look at what's new at Disney and ask your 11 yr old what looks interesting. You could do 1/2 days at AK, HS, and Epcot if you just hit new stuff. Don't forget to save some time to hang out at WL. I hear it's beautiful during the holidays!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Thanks cadawson . More great suggestions. I will definitely check out the HP post you are referring to, and sending a letter by owl post sounds a great idea. I think my gut instinct is leaning towards the extra day at Unversal.

I definitely want to leave a free few hours to check out the WL (and hopefully the decorations in a few other resorts such as the Grand Floridian). Plus as boring as it sounds, I also need to allow a few hours to do some laundry. It’ll be our last access to a self-service washer and dryer for a few weeks.

There is actually a part of me considering just buying MK Xmas party tickets and then spending a whole other day Resort hopping, checking out the Xmas decorations at Disney Springs and just relaxing at the resort. It would certainly be the cheapest option and I do need to make some budget cutbacks for this trip. But right when I think that’s what I’ll definitely do, I get a serious case of FOMO and I start trying to figure out if I’ll be able to see all 4 parks.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

If I were going at a busy time, I would definitely do more Uni than WDW. EP takes so much of the bite out of crowds that it really doesn’t feel nearly as bad as a similarly crowded day at Disney. We went Thanksgiving last year and I think we had such a better time at Uni than we would have had at Disney.

That said, we have only gone to one or the other, not both in one trip. I think I would find it quite hard to only go to 2 Dis parks. Since you’re planning on both resorts, I guess I would hit a 3rd day at Disney. I would try to get less busy weekdays at Dis and do Uni on the busier days though.

 

[KrisM]

Well, we are doing 2 days at Disney and 3 at Universal, plus 2 waterpark days (June). For Disney, the main reason for going is to see Pandora. So, we are going one day to Epcot and then hopping to Animal Kingdom in the late afternoon to see pandora at night and to get into the FOP line late. Another day we are starting at Animal Kingdom and hopping to Hollywood Studios later just to hit a few rides. Hopefully it works well! We went with PH+ tickets because it made it pretty inexpensive to add a waterpark day.

We're doing Disney first and on our move day, we are sleeping in and then moving to Universal and will hit the parks that afternoon/evening.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Thanks PrincesswithABlaster. Your thoughts are very helpful.
It does feel a bit of a disappointment to visit Disney and not see all 4 parks, but unfortunately it’s that or nothing for the foreseeable future. I’d say it’ll be at least another 4+ years before we get back.
I am wondering though why I booked Disney accommodation for the busier end of the week and Universal for the quieter start. I’m sure there was a method to my madness at the time, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it was.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

KrisM enjoy your trip. It sounds great.

Would love to visit Pandora and I feel like AK is possibly Disney’s most beautiful park. I’m just worried that my tall DH, with his big feet and big calves, won’t fit on FOP. I’d be gutted if we got turned away after that being our main driver for picking the park.
We do so love Expedition Everest though.

 

[Tksolomom]

I would do the extra time at Universal. If it was up to me, I would try to book FOP in AK for one day, and then either do HS if you are into Star Wars and the new Toy Story land, or MK. Park hoppers are a lot so I don’t think I would do that even though you might be able to see more Disney parks

 

[cadawson]

There is actually a part of me considering just buying MK Xmas party tickets and then spending a whole other day Resort hopping, checking out the Xmas decorations at Disney Springs and just relaxing at the resort. It would certainly be the cheapest option and I do need to make some budget cutbacks for this trip. But right when I think that’s what I’ll definitely do, I get a serious case of FOMO and I start trying to figure out if I’ll be able to see all 4 parks.

I've always been tempted by the MK parties (Halloween and Christmas) also! Yes, do check out Disney Springs. They had a beautiful display of themed Christmas trees, and the shops and restaurants are really improved since we'd been there a few years ago - it was under construction then. My DD and I were there in early Dec for a short trip - we did UO parks but spent the evenings at DS for restaurants and shops bc we were staying off-site nearby with a group.
Decisions, decisions! I guess that's what makes it fun!

 

[ruthies12]

Your plan isn't a bad one, I've done it before on a trip that was 3 days at Universal but then we wanted to add some Disney so did a xmas party for our MK day as that was cheaper than regular tickets. We got there at 4 and just did rides, no characters or anything, and we made it through the entire park and got to ride every ride from 4 to midnight and also watched the fireworks. Most people are there for the special characters and the ride lines are so much shorter than usual.

We also managed to get one day park hoppers cheap at a school fundraiser, they weren't upgradable so we used them to do Hollywood studios rope drop then hopped over to epcot and used or fastpasses there. It was a great trip!

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Thank you so much to everyone who has commented. Plenty of food for thought.

I’ve pretty much decided to spend most of that extra at Universal, change resorts mid-late afternoon and use that evening to check out Wilderness Lodge and perhaps Fort Wilderness Campground (the way people decorate their campsites look great).

When it comes to deciding how to spend the remaining 2 Disney days, I’m changing my mind every day. I think in the end, it will come down to budget.

 

[shanew21]

Personally, if we had the EPs we'd do 2 days Universal and the remainder at Disney. You can accomplish quite a bit in 2 days with the Express Passes at Universal. Disney takes a lot more time since everything is so spread out.

 

[schumigirl]

Thank you so much to everyone who has commented. Plenty of food for thought.

I’ve pretty much decided to spend most of that extra at Universal, change resorts mid-late afternoon and use that evening to check out Wilderness Lodge and perhaps Fort Wilderness Campground (the way people decorate their campsites look great).

When it comes to deciding how to spend the remaining 2 Disney days, I’m changing my mind every day. I think in the end, it will come down to budget.

Sounds like a good plan to do more at Universal........

There is so much to see and do and you’ll be able to do it at a relaxed pace........EP cannot be beaten

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Personally, if we had the EPs we'd do 2 days Universal and the remainder at Disney. You can accomplish quite a bit in 2 days with the Express Passes at Universal. Disney takes a lot more time since everything is so spread out.

I agree that you can definitely do Universal in 2 days with an express pass. It is what we did last time. The only problem is that we felt rushed and I kept wishing that we had at least 1 day more.

I loved that all parts of Universal, including Citiwalk, were within walking distance, and we found ourselves wishing that we had a bit more time to just wander around and ‘smell the roses’ so to speak.

I think that either way we will feel like we’re missing out on something, so I just need to resign myself to the fact that I can’t do it all.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

Quick query: I see that Royal Pacific Hotel guests get priority dining at some locations.
I don’t remember this from my last stay, so are not sure exactly what this entails.

Am I correct that it simply means that you tell a restaurant on arrival that you’re a hotel guest and you might get a quicker seat?

Does anyone know where I can find an up to date list of restaurants included. I found one from early 2017, but am not sure if that has changed.

 

[schumigirl]

Quick query: I see that Royal Pacific Hotel guests get priority dining at some locations.
I don’t remember this from my last stay, so are not sure exactly what this entails.

Am I correct that it simply means that you tell a restaurant on arrival that you’re a hotel guest and you might get a quicker seat?

Does anyone know where I can find an up to date list of restaurants included. I found one from early 2017, but am not sure if that has changed.

If there is a long wait you simply show your hotel room key and you get the next available table........of course there may be other hotel guests before you.

It took a 90 minute wait down to just over 10 for us on a really busy night.

If the wait is quite short they don’t always operate this perk. I’m not sure if it’s less than 30 minutes.......been so long since I was told what it was.

Bubba Gump don’t use it. If you have a Landry’s card that will get you ahead in the wait list.

Toothsome and Cowfish recently added this to their restaurants.

It is worth it when it’s busy.........