Univeral/IOA vs WDW

[bubba's mom]

In our group we have 2 coaster junkies, one who will get on some, but prefers tamer ones, and the last one who will only do little rides.

Note: Your room key gets you Express unlimited...it does NOT however give you the front seat of the coasters. If you want the front seat of the coasters, get to the turnstiles 1/2 hour before opening or AT opening....(point is to get there EARLY)...then you'll get front seat with minimal wait

Even the fastpass lines were a long wait on some of the more popular attraction.

A client of mine owns DVC and went at Thanksgiving.... He said the longest line he waited in was FOR a Fastpass That is just too crowded for me.... (& MY DH who also hates standing in line....)

 

[Timmy Boy]

That sounds like my dad and me! We rode space mountain until it broke down on our last trip!

Space Mountain is at Disney. So, you're saying it was a walk on? Or maybe you just have the rides confused?

Anywho, enjoy yourselves!

 

[disgirl52]

Space Mountain is at Disney. So, you're saying it was a walk on? Or maybe you just have the rides confused?

Anywho, enjoy yourselves!

Yeah, it was a walk on. and we went on it like 8 or 9 times, and as we were about to get back on it broke down. Sorry for the confusion

 

[bubba's mom]

i understood disgirl....we went to Epcot the end of January last year.....everything was walk-on...there were absolutley NO lines

 

[disgirl52]

Sounds exactly like our trip BubbasMom! Only we went in early may

 

[JonS99]

JMO, but if you are planning on spending 5 days at Universal, you are going to run out of things to do.. We had plans of doing the same thing for 6 days a few years ago, by day 2 we were done and spent the last 4 days of our trip at Disney.

 

[bubba's mom]

JMO, but if you are planning on spending 5 days at Universal, you are going to run out of things to do.. We had plans of doing the same thing for 6 days a few years ago, by day 2 we were done and spent the last 4 days of our trip at Disney.

Wow...sorry to hear you planned so many days and finished everything you wanted to in a couple days. We usually go for 5 days and strangely enough, never run out of things to do It's easy to spend a whole day just at the pool..... or riding wet rides (for us) Believe it or not, there are actually a lot of regulars who post here who don't spend any less than 4 days at UO every year....but, to each his own opinion

 

[FireandIce]

JMO, but if you are planning on spending 5 days at Universal, you are going to run out of things to do.. We had plans of doing the same thing for 6 days a few years ago, by day 2 we were done and spent the last 4 days of our trip at Disney.

I have gone twice a year for the last eight years, and never run out of things to do. Staying onsite gives you the chance to enjoy all three pools,take in the atmosphere at city walk, and basically enjoy your vacation. IMO it is impossible to enjoy all that the Universal resort has to offer in two days.

On the other hand, although I LOVE Disney, you spend two days out of five waiting in line, Just not my idea of a relaxing vacation.

 

[JonS99]

To us, the rides and attractions are great, but they don't hold the magic that Disney brings.. Sort of a "been there, done that"..

We are doing 13 nights (AKL)in June and we might spend a day at Universal if the budget allows it.. With the MYW tickets, we can get 14 days of things to do for $903, why spend $200 for one day at Universal?

 

[FireandIce]

To us, the rides and attractions are great, but they don't hold the magic that Disney brings.. Sort of a "been there, done that"..

We are doing 13 nights (AKL)in June and we might spend a day at Universal if the budget allows it.. With the MYW tickets, we can get 14 days of things to do for $903, why spend $200 for one day at Universal?

I looked for the Magic, but the wait was too long.

 

[JonS99]

I guess it goes back to the theory that one should never dine at a place that isn't busy, there is a reason its not as busy..

That said, we have never waited in a line thats more than 20 minutes, but again we are very organized and planned to avoid it.

 

[FireandIce]

I guess it goes back to the theory that one should never dine at a place that isn't busy, there is a reason its not as busy..

That said, we have never waited in a line thats more than 20 minutes, but again we are very organized and planned to avoid it.

That's my point. At Universal you don't have to spend time and energy planning your every move. It's a vacation.

 

[JonS99]

When I have gone to Universal we have waited in lines, so lets not act like Disney is the only place people wait...

And if we truly wanted to go on a relaxation vacation, we would go to the beach, not Disney or Universal...

 

[FireandIce]

When I have gone to Universal we have waited in lines, so lets not act like Disney is the only place people wait...

And if we truly wanted to go on a relaxation vacation, we would go to the beach, not Disney or Universal...

I don't wait at Universal, I stay onsite.

I am always relaxed at Universal.

 

[bubba's mom]

We are doing 13 nights (AKL)in June and we might spend a day at Universal if the budget allows it.. With the MYW tickets, we can get 14 days of things to do for $903, why spend $200 for one day at Universal?

What exactly costs you $200 for a day at UO...the tickets??

I looked for the Magic, but the wait was too long.

That's my point. At Universal you don't have to spend time and energy planning your every move. It's a vacation.

The most time consuming thing for planning our annual trips is watching the rates come out/down for the hotels.

When I have gone to Universal we have waited in lines, so lets not act like Disney is the only place people wait...

And if we truly wanted to go on a relaxation vacation, we would go to the beach, not Disney or Universal...

I can honestly say that I've never waited even 20 minutes at any attraction at UO..... the only time I waited less than that at Disney was in off season...which, we can't do anymore.

I don't wait at Universal, I stay onsite.

I am always relaxed at Universal.

ditto

and ya know...I think that's where a lot of people go wrong. They see the prices of the hotels for a night, and don't want to spend that money. Whereas, they'll stay offsite and buy Express Passes....if you are a family of 5 or less, it's actually cheaper to stay onsite (esp. during peak season). I PAY for the privledge of NOT standing in line....and relaxing....

 

[JonS99]

We are always relaxed at Disney..

This trip we are spending 13 nights at AKV , for us to spend the day at Universal is going to cost us about $230 for 3 tickets and to park.. So basically, it comes down to whether we went want to go from a 9 day MYW to a 10 day for an additional $6 or spend that day at Universal for $230...

 

[keishashadow]

We are always relaxed at Disney..

This trip we are spending 13 nights at AKV , for us to spend the day at Universal is going to cost us about $230 for 3 tickets and to park.. So basically, it comes down to whether we went want to go from a 9 day MYW to a 10 day for an additional $6 or spend that day at Universal for $230...

and that is the mouse's strategy to keep you (& all your vacation $s) onsite

honestly, unless it's your first trip to WDW; 10 days in the parks is a whole lotta time to breed familiarity .

You say you are staying @ AKV, if you are DVC the AP discount is surely cheaper than a 10 day MYW PH tix and you could easily get another trip out of it before the 12 months is up.

If you truly want to experience both parks, why not go with UT's 4 day (6 day promo) base tix = was somewhere in the area of $215 last time i checked; perhaps add on the WP feature & pick up the U tickets that are good for 7 days ; should just about even out .

btw, we currently have U APs but are fresh out of WDW APs & MYW tix....we are squeezing the BOGO year free APs until they scream and are just using event tix & the other discounted types (after 2 pm etc.) and a couple i picked up via promo from FL hospital to use @ Disney.

we'll buy Disney APs again, just exploring other vacation opportunities (including Disneyland & DCL)...there's a whole big wide "world" out there just waiting for you.

 

[FireandIce]

We are always relaxed at Disney..

This trip we are spending 13 nights at AKV , for us to spend the day at Universal is going to cost us about $230 for 3 tickets and to park.. So basically, it comes down to whether we went want to go from a 9 day MYW to a 10 day for an additional $6 or spend that day at Universal for $230...

Your always relaxed at Disney ?

 

[Metro West]

We are always relaxed at Disney..

This trip we are spending 13 nights at AKV , for us to spend the day at Universal is going to cost us about $230 for 3 tickets and to park.. So basically, it comes down to whether we went want to go from a 9 day MYW to a 10 day for an additional $6 or spend that day at Universal for $230...

If you get bored and have done everything at Universal in two days, what can you possibly do for 13 days at Disney? You wouldn't get bored after all that time? I have an AP to both and go whenever I want but I could never spend 13 days in a row at Disney. On the other hand, I doubt I could spend more than five days at Universal without starting to get bored. There's only so many shows, attractions and restaurants you can do at both Disney and Universal but I can't imagine spending 13 days at Disney and not getting bored...but that's me.

 

[maggieb9975]

I have done both and love both for different reasons. My DD and I are going in October to both parks...WDW first for 6 days then Universal for 4. I have been planning strategy, signing up with torguides, reading books, planning and making ADR's etc for MONTHS for WDW!! .....

Universal..... I booked the hotel and bought the tickets.....that is it...I am going there to rest after WDW...I can sleep in, eat where and when I want, spend time at the pool and still see everything I want with very little waits.....

So, yes Disney is Disney with all the neat stuff we grew up on BUT it can be very stressful.

I love both places but Universal is MUCH more laid back...IF you stay on-site which to me is PRICELESS.