Typhoon Lagoon or Universal?

[01Sweetpea]

I am ready to shoot my DH! We are going to Disney 11/18 – 11/25 with our kids, 13, 11, 11, staying at the Poly. Itinerary is done, ADRS made, and LAST NIGHT he suggests we go to Universal for a day. I really have NO DESIRE to go to Universal, but he wants me to “look into it.”

So here is my itinerary:
11/18 – arrive, hope to be @ Poly by 1pm and in MK by 2pm.
11/19 – MK day
11/20 - TL until mid-afternoon, then Epcot at night
11/21 – MK day
11/22 – MGM day
11/23 – Thanksgiving Day – AK then HDDR
11/24 – Epcot day with CP @ night.
11/25 – leave the Poly by 4pm the latest, not sure which park, maybe MK.

The ONLY day I see possible is 11/20, and give up TL. We have never done a water park before and I know my kids would love to do this. I do not want to add another day to this vacation just to go to Universal.

So, is it worth it to go to Universal for a day over TL?

Thanks!

 

[wdjk4]

....enjoy the water parks as much as the other disney parks (girls, 13 and 10). We prefer BB over TL.....if your going to do Universal, you'll need to plan for a full day.....the family enjoys Universal, but Disney is our preference.

That said, I assume you have the 8 day park hopper with water parks. If so, skip Universal....I feel that once you go to the water park Monday morning....you'll hit them/it a time or two before you leave that Saturday!

 

[magicaldisney]

You don't mention if you will have a car for your stay. If not, you'll need to get one or pay for transportation to Universal. Are your kids HUGE ride lovers, to enjoy another park with thrill rides? Do your kids like swimming and water? Maybe wait to see how the weather will be as you get closer. Will it be warm enough or sunny enough to enjoy the water park.

With those questions asked (and answered on your part), we love the water parks and we prefer to stay at WDW.

 

[01Sweetpea]

Still haven't fully decided on tickets. Yes to the 8 day park hoppers, nor sure about the water n more option. We'll go to TL once, and that's about it...so we may just pay cash for TL.

If we decide on Universal, I'll get 7 day park hoppers.

 

[Happy vacationer]

I was dead set against going to Universal our first trip to Orlando with the kids. The 2nd trip we went there for a day and our children who were 11 and 12 at the time absolutely loved it. Islands of Adventure was their favorite because of all the rides. We were there at the end of November and luckily we went to the water park right away because it turned cold and we couldn't have went if we had waited another day. Every trip/season is different. I'm sure you'll enjoy whatever you decide on.

 

[01Sweetpea]

You don't mention if you will have a car for your stay. If not, you'll need to get one or pay for transportation to Universal. Are your kids HUGE ride lovers, to enjoy another park with thrill rides? Do your kids like swimming and water? Maybe wait to see how the weather will be as you get closer. Will it be warm enough or sunny enough to enjoy the water park.

With those questions asked (and answered on your part), we love the water parks and we prefer to stay at WDW.

Sorry, should have mentioned we will NOT have a car with us. Looking into towncar since there are 5 of us.

Kids are thrill ride lovers, me not so much but will struggle thru, DH WILL NOT ride them. I would much prefer the water park.

Since it will be November, and we will be leaving a presumably cold NY, I thought swimming would be a nice change.

I think the wait and see approach is going to be the best bet.

 

[MScott1851]

I don't know... your kids would probably love Universal.

I can't imagine a trip to Orlando without a couple of days there!

 

[rlovew]

Will you have a vehicle available to travel to Universal? I enjoy the water parks alot but never really enjoyed universal on my 2 times going for a day. Do you already have a dinner reservation for the night at epcot after TL? We will be arriving on the Nov 22nd for my birthday.

 

[01Sweetpea]

We already have an ADR that night for Coral Reef. And while I would like to eat there, if we don't its no big deal.

 

[KelnRon]

Have you ever been to Universal? Our family loves it! I prefer Universal Studios over Islands of Adventures! We enjoy Universal Studios over MGM!

 

[savs]

We just returned from our 15 day vacation in florida (10 at Disney and 5 at Universal).

I think your children would love Islands of Adventure if they are thrill seekers. My whole family loved that park and could spend several days just going to that one park alone

I noticed on your itinerary, that you have 3 days that you will be doing the MK. Which I can understand since it is so big...but with your children being older they may not want to spend that much time there. Don't get me wrong, I love Magic Kingdom...it's my favorite park! But with listening to my 9 and 6 yr old this trip, that was not a park they wanted to spend much time at. I made them since they have a 23 month old brother. It's just a thought....I personly could spend every day there

 

[matt&jakesmom]

I see you have 2 days listing for MK. You could go to Mk just 1 day and then Universal another and not have to give up TL.

We went to Universal 2 years ago when my DS's were 7 & 5. We pretty much stayed in the Nick Jr area. We went ventured over to where the Men in Black, Jaws, etc attractions were and the wait times were 50 min. +. There were no fast passes like in WDW unless you stayed on property. My DH and I both agreed that if we do go back to Universal it was going to be when the kids were older. However, we are so spoiled by WDW that I could care less if I do go back. It was not as clean and there weren't CM's walking around for assistance. By the way we, we did not have a car so we had the Mears Transportation take us over. I believe it was $11 a person roundtrip.
If you go eat at Marguiteville (sp?). The food was AWESOME!!

Whatever you decide have a great time.

 

[01Sweetpea]

We've never been to US/IOA, so this would be a first for us. Can you do both in one day?

I guess I could give up my 11/21 MK day and my ADR at WC for Universal. Then on 11/25 finish up our trip at MK for a few hours. This way I wouldn't have to give up TL.

Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[disneyfan551]

100% Typhoon Lagoon.

 

[LennyAaronRoxx]

Go to Universal, it's a lot better than the waterparks.

 

[missminniemouse]

Sorry, should have mentioned we will NOT have a car with us. Looking into towncar since there are 5 of us.

Kids are thrill ride lovers, me not so much but will struggle thru, DH WILL NOT ride them. I would much prefer the water park.

Since it will be November, and we will be leaving a presumably cold NY, I thought swimming would be a nice change.

I think the wait and see approach is going to be the best bet.

The weather will definately be a factor. We'll be there about that same time and the kids would also love to do a water park, but the weather situation can't be predicted in advance. Also, since you won't have a car, I'd pretty much plan on staying at Disney...plenty of other things to do even if the weather keeps you away from the water park. Universal is not our cup of tea. We've been there a couple of times and haven't been impressed. Whatever you decide, have a great time!

 

[mouseRD]

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a wonderful time! My DH & I just returned from a WDW/UO trip (first time at UO) & we really loved it! the theming of both US & IOA was really fun. It really made a difference that we stayed at one of the UO hotels (Portifino Bay) because we were able to use our hotel room key for front of the line (FOTL) access to many rides - essentially a separate line - which decreased wait times to < 10 minutes usually.

Here is my thought (don't know if it is feasible for you). The Wednesday before & Sunday after Thanksgiving are very busy travel days. What if you extended your trip by one day (if you hadn't already booked your flights & the kids can miss one more day of school), book a room at one of the 3 UO hotels for one night, arrange for a later flight back to NY. Then you could have 2 days to explore US & IOA & a less hectic return travel. You might also then decide to take 1/2 or one day of just relaxing at the Poly. Have fun!

 

[01Sweetpea]

Here is my thought (don't know if it is feasible for you). The Wednesday before & Sunday after Thanksgiving are very busy travel days. What if you extended your trip by one day (if you hadn't already booked your flights & the kids can miss one more day of school), book a room at one of the 3 UO hotels for one night, arrange for a later flight back to NY. Then you could have 2 days to explore US & IOA & a less hectic return travel. You might also then decide to take 1/2 or one day of just relaxing at the Poly. Have fun!

Thanks for the great idea...however won't work for us. One of the 11yos traveling with us is my step-daughter, and she HAS to be back to her mom's on Sunday, no way around it.

 

[01Sweetpea]

Problem quickly solved....we AREN'T going to Universal!

I ran the numbers...which I should have immediately done when DH mentioned it, and when I told him how much extra it would cost...it was a big NO!

So, for the 5 of us to go to Universal for 1 day would have cost $650 just for tickets & transportation!

Here's how:

Town car for the 5 of us from the Poly to Universal and back - $70 + tax + tip
Tickets - since we'd want to do both parks I had to price the 2 day/2 park tickets (I didn't see any 1 day/2 park tickets) - $500 + tax. (and that's WITH the AAA disc).

Now add in the cost of meals, if we wanted to get the express pass added onto our tickets, and souvenirs and we're looking at a $1000 day!

So we are staying at Disney for the FULL vacation.

Now we are looking at adding the water n more option onto our park hoppers instead of paying for 1 water park day. Difference is $5 per person!

 

[Harmony]

I don't know... your kids would probably love Universal.

I can't imagine a trip to Orlando without a couple of days there!

We are the same way! We loved Universal and the Hard Rock Hotel. (esp the FOTL pass) My family and I are already thinking of doing Universal after our next Disney trip! I say 3-4 days should do it!