To Universal or not to Universal?

[ArwenMarie]

The cost issue can go both ways...We are going to UOR in February, and we had a brief thought of going to Animal Kingdom for one day...And then we remembered the price for one-day tickets and well, that was the end of that.

Anyway, yeah, so I would do it, but only if you are ok with the cost!

 

[2012DisneyWorldBride]

I like universal but we like Harry Potter... But Universal doesnt give me the Disney magic feeling. So we prefer Disney

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think the problem is that a lot of "Disney" folks don't do Universal right.

Imagine if you were staying onsite at Universal, happily walking or taking a boat to the parks each morning, jumping to the front of every queue (a perk of staying onsite), and having yourself a wonderfully relaxed vacation.

Then you decide, "Gee, I've never been to Disney! Maybe I should go check it out."

So, you either rent a car or hop on a shuttle to the Magic Kingdom. You get there in the middle of a crush of people. You pay the incredibly high price for one day in the parks, and you head on in.

Now you're waiting in line. Or waiting for your Fastpass to come due. Everything's busy and crowded, you're hardly getting anything done, and you're just not feeling the "magic". There's no superhero themed rides! No randomly roaming characters! If you want a picture with a princess, you have to get in line.

At the end of the day, you're hot and tired and more than ready to get back to your pretty Universal resort. And you're thinking, wow, Disney's really not worth the money!

The fact is, Universal and Disney are pretty much on par with each other, in terms of vacation experience. But you need to give them your full attention to really enjoy what they have to offer.

If you're going to Universal, book yourself a room onsite. Even one night's stay will get you free, unlimited Express passes for two whole days (check in and check out). Personally, I can quite happily spend an entire week at Universal without running out of things to do. The "Team Members" are just as wonderfully helpful as Disney's "Cast Members". In fact, they're often the same people! I can't count how many folks I ran into who told me they've worked in both parks.

Just like with a Disney vacation, do your research. Have a plan. The more you know, the more you'll enjoy yourself.

Universal is not "just thrill rides" any more than Animal Kingdom is "just a half-day park".

Good points!

 

[mrsclark]

I would also check out the park hours before making the decision. We always go to Orlando in September or October. When I first checked Universal park hours for the month it was showing the parks would be open later-ish. I think one was until 800 or 830 and the other until 10:00. Fast forward a month or two, park hours were changed to 9:00-6:00 at US and 9:00-7:00 at IOA (even a brochure that was in our rooms for September 2013 showed the later hours, but they had changed!). We stayed on property so we had unlimited Express Pass to bypass all the lines (not that the lines were that long anyway), that did help us get more done in the day (we are not super early risers and prefer to go to the parks later which was so great with the early closing times). But if you are "trying to see it all" and going for only one day in January early closing could cramp your style.

 

[CarolinaGirlTiss]

We went as a family in 2009. We did two days at Disney, two days at Universal, and one day at Sea World. This was my children's graduation present so they were 18 and 19 (we waited till the second one graduated to go). The LOVED Universal. That being said, I think with the ages of your children you would be much better off to stay at Disney and let them experience the other later in life when they are grown and will have a better appreciation for what Universal has to offer.

 

[tndisneyfan]

I like Universal, but I think it's too much for just one day. Just like I think WDW is too expensive for just one day.

 

[Chelley00]

I love Universal, but I wouldn't spend the money to take a 9 and 4 year old. We went 5 years ago our younger kids were bored (but our then teens loved it) We went again this year with the younger ones who were 11 and 8 and they had a much better time.

 

[1000HappyWishes]

I find Disney and Universal hard to compare. They are both two very different parks with two very different "mindsets" if you will. I really don't like comparing them because they were never built with the same standards. I hold each park up to their own.

With that being said, I say go for it. I found Universal to be an excellent part of my last trip, one of my favourite days. Yes, it is hard to jump, especially with that price, but I say go for it.

 

[AliceandAriel]

Hi All! Going in January to WDW for 8 nights...me, DH, DS9, DS4. It is DH and my first trip since 1997 and both DS9 and DS4's very first trip ever and it is a surprise for them. We were going to do one day at Universal, but are now reconsidering since it will be like $400 more just for the tickets and transportation there from WDW. Neither son is a big thrill ride lover so no worries missing that, but I know there are nice things there for the younger set too. Should we cough up the money and go for a day or just maybe try it next trip and stick around WDW? We do have 9 day park hoppers and I am sure we will have plenty to do. What do you all think?

Normally I'd advocate going for WWOHP, but you have 9 day hoppers for WDW, and the $400 to do Universal could so be used for additional items in WDW, or other things. Go with WDW only.

 

[agavegirl1]

Oh so sorry I say this somewhat late.

My last trip to Orlando was a combination of Disney and Universal. Prior to that, I had taken my two children (age 14 and 16) on a Universal only vacation. Now that I have been back as an "empty nester", they are so jealous and it inspires them to become more successful.

I will no longer go to Orlando without visiting UO/IOA. I did separate trips once and this is not an option.

So...Statistics lie. I wish there was a way to track theme park defections.

 

[wen8jr]

We think Universal is awesome. We always do split trips now if we go to Disney or just Universal w/ Sea World or Discovery Cove thrown in and skip Disney.

In our opinion Universal is more adult in many ways than Disney is.. with City Walk right there at the entrance to the parks. We like a more "adult" vibe sometimes but our child is a young adult.

Overall we like Universal Studios better than IOA even though Potter is at IOA. They have plenty of attractions that are not thrill rides (Simpsons, ET, Despicable ME, Shrek, Terminator, Twister, Transformers and more). They have a very well theme children's area. Most of the rides are state of the art. Harry Potter and Spiderman at IOA are amazing even if you are not a fan. The characters around the parks are from very popular movies and childhood cartoons - such as Scooby and I Love Lucy.

As far as being as good as Disney - their resorts are wonderful (Deluxe) and everything is right there. You can't bet the express pass, nothing like it. Sure, it is not Disney themed but it holds its own appeal to us that Disney doesn't deliver. Disney appeals to us in other ways. We love them both and we plan for both to get the best value for our money.

However I wouldn't go to Uni for just one day. I would only do it by staying onsite for at least one night and getting the express pass.

 

[Seeker615]

I think the problem is that a lot of "Disney" folks don't do Universal right.

Imagine if you were staying onsite at Universal, happily walking or taking a boat to the parks each morning, jumping to the front of every queue (a perk of staying onsite), and having yourself a wonderfully relaxed vacation.

Then you decide, "Gee, I've never been to Disney! Maybe I should go check it out."

So, you either rent a car or hop on a shuttle to the Magic Kingdom. You get there in the middle of a crush of people. You pay the incredibly high price for one day in the parks, and you head on in.

Now you're waiting in line. Or waiting for your Fastpass to come due. Everything's busy and crowded, you're hardly getting anything done, and you're just not feeling the "magic". There's no superhero themed rides! No randomly roaming characters! If you want a picture with a princess, you have to get in line.

At the end of the day, you're hot and tired and more than ready to get back to your pretty Universal resort. And you're thinking, wow, Disney's really not worth the money!

The fact is, Universal and Disney are pretty much on par with each other, in terms of vacation experience. But you need to give them your full attention to really enjoy what they have to offer.

If you're going to Universal, book yourself a room onsite. Even one night's stay will get you free, unlimited Express passes for two whole days (check in and check out). Personally, I can quite happily spend an entire week at Universal without running out of things to do. The "Team Members" are just as wonderfully helpful as Disney's "Cast Members". In fact, they're often the same people! I can't count how many folks I ran into who told me they've worked in both parks.

Just like with a Disney vacation, do your research. Have a plan. The more you know, the more you'll enjoy yourself.

Universal is not "just thrill rides" any more than Animal Kingdom is "just a half-day park".

My thoughts exactly. My husband and I are doing a 5 night trip to Universal. We are staying onsite and also taking advantage of City Walk and the Blue Man Group show.

we are doing MVMCP as I want to see MK lit up for the holidays and I never experienced Disney at Christmas.

Comparing the two are just silly. The detail at Universal is amazing! Of course it is not Disney. I would not want it to be Disney nor would I want Disney to be Universal. They are both amazing in their own way.

To the op....I took my kids when they were younger to Disney and Universal. My youngest was 4. They all loved it. There are some great shows like Animal actors on stage, Barney stage show and Beetlejuice. There are kid themed areas in both parks and Seuss Landing is awesome. Meeting characters is so much easier as well. Over at IOA in the comic section there are so many cool photo ops and the Jurassic discovery area is a hit with kids as well.

If you go with an open mind you will have a blast!

 

[RMulieri]

I think the problem is that a lot of "Disney" folks don't do Universal right.

Imagine if you were staying onsite at Universal, happily walking or taking a boat to the parks each morning, jumping to the front of every queue (a perk of staying onsite), and having yourself a wonderfully relaxed vacation.

Then you decide, "Gee, I've never been to Disney! Maybe I should go check it out."

So, you either rent a car or hop on a shuttle to the Magic Kingdom. You get there in the middle of a crush of people. You pay the incredibly high price for one day in the parks, and you head on in.

Now you're waiting in line. Or waiting for your Fastpass to come due. Everything's busy and crowded, you're hardly getting anything done, and you're just not feeling the "magic". There's no superhero themed rides! No randomly roaming characters! If you want a picture with a princess, you have to get in line.

At the end of the day, you're hot and tired and more than ready to get back to your pretty Universal resort. And you're thinking, wow, Disney's really not worth the money!

The fact is, Universal and Disney are pretty much on par with each other, in terms of vacation experience. But you need to give them your full attention to really enjoy what they have to offer.

If you're going to Universal, book yourself a room onsite. Even one night's stay will get you free, unlimited Express passes for two whole days (check in and check out). Personally, I can quite happily spend an entire week at Universal without running out of things to do. The "Team Members" are just as wonderfully helpful as Disney's "Cast Members". In fact, they're often the same people! I can't count how many folks I ran into who told me they've worked in both parks.

Just like with a Disney vacation, do your research. Have a plan. The more you know, the more you'll enjoy yourself.

Universal is not "just thrill rides" any more than Animal Kingdom is "just a half-day park".

AMEN
It drives me batty when people try to squeeze both Universal parks into one day touring as an aside to a Disney trip and than complain how much they hated Universal and how it is nothing like Disney..It is not Disney..But it is not JUST rides, it is not a rollercoaster park..There are attractions, themed areas and great shows..whenever people do this and complain I always ask DO YOU cram both MK and DHS into one day ?? ..the answer is always no.
Also YES it is expensive for one day..But try doing any Disney park for one day and it isn't cheap either..

We are Disney defectors as of late..we love Disney, and we will continue to visit..But we found we love Universal JUST as much these days..Beautiful resorts( priced well below what I pay for Disney Deluxes) , great parks,good food and the express pass is phenomenal.Employees are great..Alot of them work at both DISNEY and Universal or have worked at both, so I always laugh when people complain how nasty Uni employees are.

 

[dmccarty]

Hi All! Going in January to WDW for 8 nights...me, DH, DS9, DS4. It is DH and my first trip since 1997 and both DS9 and DS4's very first trip ever and it is a surprise for them. We were going to do one day at Universal, but are now reconsidering since it will be like $400 more just for the tickets and transportation there from WDW. Neither son is a big thrill ride lover so no worries missing that, but I know there are nice things there for the younger set too. Should we cough up the money and go for a day or just maybe try it next trip and stick around WDW? We do have 9 day park hoppers and I am sure we will have plenty to do. What do you all think?

I would skip Universal. You have plenty to do at WDW and you bought 9 day passes. We have struggled with trying to slow down at WDW since we are always tempted to go to the parks. We have figured out that an eight, or better yet, nine day trip is best. Eight days gives you two days in each park and nine days gives you time off. Trying to go to a water park makes things more complicated. One trip we got rained on for the last two days, which stunk for some people, but for us it forced us to hang out at the resort, wehich we have been trying to do, and gave us more time to be together as a family without the distractions of the park.

We would like to go to Universal to see WWoHP but we cannot justify the cost in money and time. The wifey and I are not movie people. We NEVER went to a movie when we were dating. Not one. We have only seen one movie together and that was one of the HP movies which was the first visit to a movie theater we had had in well over a decade. I won't be going to a movie theater again if I have a choice.

Only one of us is a big thrill ride rider and two of us will NOT ride SM, EE, RRRC or ToT. I can take it or leave the rides. Before we had kids, the DW and I loved to got to WDW and just walked around literally smelling the roses. If we wanted to get on a ride, we rode, if not, it was no big deal. This is a great way to see WDW by the way but impossible to do with kids. Since Universal's rides are movie or comic book themed it just not for us. When WWoHP actually is more than a few rides maybe we would go to Universal. Maybe.

I would "save" Universal for another trip and maybe a trip where you only go to Universal.

Later,
Dan

 

[Catrinabeach]

We love both WDW and Universal. But we love all the rides. We like the coasters and the calmer ones. We went last year for a day to see HP and it was worth it to us because we have been before and knew what we were going there for. But we also get a room onsite to get FOTL so we have no wait for rides. We are going again this Jan and we are doing 7 days WDW, 4 days Universal and 4 days cruise Again we will stay on site to get the FOTL.

If your not into the thrill rides there isn't alot for you to do at Universal. My DD was 8 last year and was not happy with how many rides she was too short for. At Disney she can ride every ride. She does have a few favorites but it is more for the older kids and adults at Universal.