Stay at WDW resort or split with Universal?

[Valera]

I have posted this on the Universal board but I wanted to get your opinions also:

We have spent the last two trips entirely in the WDW area (stayed on-site). We are now considering a split stay (July 2005) with a few days at WDW and then 4 days at Universal (the resort special with tickets included).

My question is this my traveling party includes my DS (11) and my DM. None of enjoy thrill rides in the slightest (will not step foot on a roller coaster). The only thrill ride we even like is Test Track at Epcot. Therefore is there enough at Universal/IOA for us to do for 4 days or should we stay at WDW the entire trip?

Our other thought was to stay on-site at WDW during the entire trip and make a trip to SeaWorld and a day trip to Universal. We will have a rental car during the trip so we can drive back and forth if necessary.

Any advice? Thank you!

 

[manticore]

We have also considered staying at Universal, however my son (7) is not into roller coasters or most thrill rides. We have gone to Universal Movie Park last year and my son loved it as well as Sea World. We find there is more to do staying at Disney and making the extra days trips as needed, it has worked well for us.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Last time we went we stayed at WDW the whole time and then went over to Universal for the day. I would think that IOA would not be of interest for all of you but Universal Studios may be.
I would not stay over there for that long though.
We are not big into the thrill rides either but we liked many things at US... not as many thrill rides in that one. Good for a day.

 

[Aimeedyan]

USO should have plenty to do without thrill rides, though IOA will be more limited. I would not stay 4 days there - we did every single thing at both parks in less than 2 days - actually, more like 1 day since I retreated back to the pool both afternoons =) With FOTL, you can knock out the attractions very quickly. Now, I think US hotels are GORGEOUS and was a real treat, esp after coming from POP - it was a true deluxe exp, and a nice way to pamper ourselves. That and FOTL were worth our trip over there. So I don't want to discourage you from staying on property there the days you will be visiting, it's a wonderful area to stay in.

Lots of choices I know! Good luck!

 

[java]

I am going against the group here. If you stay onsite at unversal you get that fantastic no line perk. Worth the price of the any package IMHO. You will be easily able to spend two days at the theme parks there- then you could do a day at Seaworld from there and then spend a day around CityWalk shopping and hanging by the pool. What hotel are you considering? We have stayed at both the Portofino(LOVED IT!) and the Royal Pacific(Loved that one too!) The rooms are larger than Disney rooms- the bathrooms will be a pleasant surprise. Whenever we are considering IOA or US or Seaworld we chose to stay at Universal. US has plenty for your non thrill seakers to do. IOA is a fun park to walk around. There are several water rides(some slightly thrilly like the falls) You will all feel like kids in Seuss landings(Cat in the Hat ride and the carousel are must dos.) The beauty of staying on site is that you will not be waiting on lines- so you will be able to breeze through the parks. You may want to spend a day and a half at US and half day at IO. There are shows at US that you will all enjoy. Check out their website but I think it is nice for a change. But I stll love Disney...

 

[minijeanie]

I totally agree with JAVA.....The hotels at US are extremely large and FOTL is to die for.

My suggestion would be to do WDW first then go to US for 2 nights. For some strange reason we always do US first and the kids go crazy when we have to wait on lines at WDW

Citywalk is a great place to walk around with nice restaurants. My favorite is Jimmy Buffets Margaritivile.
US has lots to do with technically limited thrill rides. There is even the Nickelodeon studios. You can easily spend a day and 1/2 there and do IOA for 1/2 day. There are few shows to see there and the best restaurant iMHO in all Orlando which is called Mythos. Great, great food,......

good luck whatever you decide

 

[webray]

There is definately enough to do at both Universal and IOA...even if you don't do coasters. Both parks are fantastic, the shows are great, characters are great. If you go, definately stay at a universal resort so you can have front of the line access. The Universal resorts are wonderful.

 

[estnh]

I agree with the last poster--the no line feature for resort guests is a tremendous program at Universal. The lines at Unversal can be awful.

We are annual Disney visitors, but go to Universal only every third year. Next year is our Universal year, and we will book WDW for five nights and a Universal resort for two. For us, two days at the Universal parks is plenty, but I think you will find that you need two full days, especially for a first time visitor.

 

[zdad]

6D/7N @ WL
2 Day in Daytona (Vacation from the vacation)
4N/5D at Hard Rock (with one day planned for Sea World)

Disney is the core. It must be. The Daytona days are relaxing with a book, maybe a Speedway tour or the Space Center, but only if the spirit strikes. 4 nights at the Hard Rock will be more than enough time (especially with FOTL) to do it all, with a day for the boys to burn themselves out on rides while mom & dad have a day at the pool & spa.

The way we figure, these trips don't come along very often. Soak it all in !!!

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Last year we stayed 3 nights at HRH and could have easily stayed another night and still had plenty to do. My kids are really too small for the big thrill rides, yet we had a wonderful time. I wouldn't go to Universal if I wasn't staying onsite though. FOTL is the best thing going for Universal especially during busy season.

 

[SB in KY]

Is there such a thing as a Universal board like this one?? Sure would like some info for this summer....but don't know where to look. Thanks

 

[MrsJ Henry]

Yes, the Dis also has Universal boards.