Tips on doing both Disney and Universal?

[sersee05]

Ooh good info. Thanks@

We tend not to commando through.. We have been to Disney enough that we know where we want to go..but I agree on taking it easy. I like to just wander through Mk.

I especially love the nights.

What is UA like at night?

 

[RMulieri]

Ooh good info. Thanks@

We tend not to commando through.. We have been to Disney enough that we know where we want to go..but I agree on taking it easy. I like to just wander through Mk.

I especially love the nights.

What is UA like at night?

Universal closes ALOT earlier than Disney most of the year, so we are pretty much hanging at Citywalk or at the resort.When the parks are open later,it is magical

 

[keahgirl8]

I will be staying at WDW in February. I only want to visit Harry Potter at Universal. Is it possible to do this in one day? How complicated and expensive would this be?

 

[macraven]

what date next february?

 

[keahgirl8]

Sometime during the week after the Princess Half, which is Sunday the 22nd.

 

[Deanie1]

I come from British Columbia, Canada so we travel a long ways to go to WDW. We only visit eevery 2-4 yrs as the airfare is so high so we always do Universal and WDW and often spend one day at Seaworld. Now that UO has two parks, we generally go for two full days. We go commando mode but usually in May, Oct or Nov. Two days is plenty for us. I have never had an express pass but will definately stay one night at RPR next trip.

 

[RMulieri]

I will be staying at WDW in February. I only want to visit Harry Potter at Universal. Is it possible to do this in one day? How complicated and expensive would this be?

it isn't going to be cheap.One day park tickets are rarely discounted.You will need a Park to Park ticket ( not a one park ticket) if you want to ride the Hogwarts express and see BOTH Harry Potter areas.That is about $136 a person.If you dont have a car you will need to factor in cost of getting there.If you do have a car you will need to factor in parking for the day.

 

[FreddyGlove]

Like many others in this thread, I choose to conquer all of Disney and Universal when I make a trip to Orlando as well. I’m in Eastern Canada (and a new Dad, too), so my wife and I are making our 2nd trip to Disney/Universal this October. I’m a bit of an obsessive planner (if you’re not willing to do it efficiently, why bother, right?) which can drive people crazy, but here’s my two cents.

I think if you’re going to try to do both parks, you should go during off-season. Last time (Sept 2011), I don’t think we waited longer than 10-15 minutes for anything (outside of HHN, which is always busy). We used the “Unofficial Guide” book and their accompanying touring plans (which if you take no other advice from me, do your very best to check this out- in my opinion, essential) to get tips for the trip. For instance, I personally don’t park-hop as we tend to designate one day to one park to see all that’s in it.
There wasn’t one park we didn’t see all of in a day. With that being said, they were LONG days, and we were really exhausted by the end of the trip. I’m not saying our way’s the best way, because I’m sure many people here would tell you that stretching visits out longer in the parks would help, and that’s a totally valid opinion. If you’re going to set out to crush and conquer, make sure you build in days of rest- we didn’t last time and it was a fool’s mistake.

With all of that being said, I absolutely can’t imagine doing one park and not the others, because we’re so far away and our trips are fewer and further in between. I’m of the opinion that Universal and IOA can easily be “one day” parks, depending on your love for Harry Potter (we’re huge fans but still got through WWOHP in a day). As we head to the parks in September, we’re staying onsite at the RPR for the first time for a few days- that Unlimited Express was just too much to pass up. After that we’re off to the Tuscany Village on I-Drive (we’re lucky to have relatives who can donate timeshare property to us).

Just keep in mind that if you don’t rent a car, transportation is super expensive. In fact, the whole trip can be pretty expensive and it’s not generally the kind of trip you want to skimp on, right?

So, if you’ve got the cash and don’t mind a bit of trip planning (depending on how much you want to see), I’d totally say that USO and Disney parks in one visit are totally doable. With that said, there’s way more “thrill” rides at Universal, but by no means is the difference night and day. It’s a bit of a tough call. Either way, I’m absolutely certain you’ll have a blast

 

[housemouse]

Yea...I know its probably designed that way . But I don't see spending a week at universal. Isn't it more of a 2-3 day park? I guess they got me....haha. The hotels are @$300 per night. So I. Don't know if I can justify that for express.. ugh.

Before our trip last year I was kind of the same mind. I hadn't been to the studios since 2000(and it was my least favorite park back then) and hadn't been to IOA since 2003. We've been doing Disney only since then. But....we wanted to do HHN last year and since we were going anyway decided to make it a 6 day trip (with 1 day at Seaworld). I made that decision based on the proliferation of comments from people on this board reporting how much fun it was, how much there was to do, etc.

They weren't wrong. Not by a long shot. I was absolutely blown away by the Studios. They've really upped their game since the year 2000.

I extended my trip this fall to 9 days because I remember how badly I didn't want to leave last year. So if you haven't been in a long time prepare for some pleasant surprises. It certainly surprised me.