universal/ioa before disney?

[dolce]

would it be a good idea to do this?

 

[damo]

Are you staying onsite? If yes, then it isn't a good idea to do Universal first because you don't have to wait in line and it makes you very impatient at Disney.

 

[CPanther95]

Agreed. Always do Universal last, especially if you stay onsite and get FOTL. If not, you won't want to leave.

 

[ky07]

Damo and cpanther are right if your are staying onsite then do universal last cause trust them when you have the fotl you will be able to relax and enjoy yourself more and won't have to rush from park to park like Disney

 

[rpbert1]

My first year i had Universal onsite booked first then Disney, i was advised on here to change it round but did not listen to them, my how i hated the queues at Disney, and DD going on about how she wished she was back at Universal.

 

[EverythingDisney]

We are doing WDW and US in December and decided to would be best to do Disney 1st. We will use Magical Express from the airport to our Disney hotel.
We are then taking a towncar from WDW to our onsite hotel in US.
We will take another towncar from US back to the airport at the end of our trip.

 

[coastermom]

I did not listen to everyone who told me to change my reservations when I had USF/IOA booked before WDW. I was so unhappy to leave USF/IOA and go to WDW with no FOTL there . If you are on site stay at USF/IOA last and do WDW first. Or in my case this year go back twice . I only get to go twice because DD is going to be sweet 16 so we are going to USF/IOA for her and WDW is our family trip. .

 

[Darcy03231]

Definitely do WDW before US/IOA. If you don't you'll regret it later.

 

[laxcdn]

We did the second day of 10 at IOA and then my son thought all the rides at Disney were lame compared to IOA so I left US to the last day.

 

[msr709]

I can't reiterate this enough, do WDW before US. I took the entire family in 2004 to US first then WDW, and now my SIL despises WDW, won't go back even if I pay for it!! The kids are small so they loved both places, (what did they care they were in strollers!) but the grown-ups that went were not happy at all at WDW and I regretted it immensely since I can't convince any of them to come to WDW with me anymore! But this does not stop me from going, I'm taking the kids this year and we are doing it proper, WDW 1st and US last. (I convinced my DSis to come along since they are her grandkids and I do have a bad back and knees so she knows I need help with them but if it was up to her our whole vacation would be at US!).

 

[mill4023]

I'm not sure how all you Universal die-hards do Disney, but we never wait longer than 15 minutes for anything at WDW. Yes, it requires more planning, but if you arrive early and use Fastpasses, you can avoid long waits at Disney.
On our first visit to Orlando, we stayed at RPR and visited Universal first, then went over to Disney. Yes, we missed having FOTL, but it certainly wasn't a bad experience. We had a great time at both places.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea to do Universal last. I just don't think it's a requirement for a good vacation. But you have to consider that most of the people posting on this area of the forums enjoy Universal more than Disney, so of course, they would want to save the best for last.

 

[coastermom]

I'm not sure how all you Universal die-hards do Disney, but we never wait longer than 15 minutes for anything at WDW. Yes, it requires more planning, but if you arrive early and use Fastpasses, you can avoid long waits at Disney.
On our first visit to Orlando, we stayed at RPR and visited Universal first, then went over to Disney. Yes, we missed having FOTL, but it certainly wasn't a bad experience. We had a great time at both places.

I'm not saying it's a bad idea to do Universal last. I just don't think it's a requirement for a good vacation. But you have to consider that most of the people posting on this area of the forums enjoy Universal more than Disney, so of course, they would want to save the best for last.

We do Disney in the summer and have NEVER had a 15 min wait for anything . So I guess it all depends on when you go. We usually have to wait at lest 45 min. This is why I suggest that people do USF/IOA after WDW to me it is just more relaxing then WDW at the times I can go . Also after not waiting in line you really do get spoiled and don't wait to wait for anything .

 

[dolce]

well im doing a 9day/8night at disney, so decided to do universal/IOA in between...thiking of doing the 4th and 5thday

 

[mill4023]

We do Disney in the summer and have NEVER had a 15 min wait for anything . So I guess it all depends on when you go. We usually have to wait at lest 45 min. This is why I suggest that people do USF/IOA after WDW to me it is just more relaxing then WDW at the times I can go . Also after not waiting in line you really do get spoiled and don't wait to wait for anything .

We've accomplished this during peak season in the last week of March when it was very crowded (though it wasn't during Easter week). Like I said, it definitely requires more planning. But if you arrive before the park opens, hit the big rides in the first hour or two, then use FP for the rest of the day, it can be done even during very crowded times of year. Although if you were there between Christmas and New Year's or during Easter week, it may not be possible to avoid the lines, no matter what you do.

I'm not really disagreeing with any of you. I do think it's probably more relaxing and less stressful to save Universal for the end of the trip (assuming you are staying on-site). It really is great to be able to just walk on whatever rides you want without worrying about when you can get your next FP. All I was saying is that if you put some planning and strategy into your Disney time, it doesn't have to be a lot worse as far as waiting in lines is concerned.

And if you aren't staying on-site at Universal, then I'd highly recommend you do Universal first, because free Faspasses at Disney will be really nice after either waiting in longer lines at Universal or spending all the extra money on Express Passes.

I know what you mean about getting spoiled by not waiting in lines though. That's very true for FOTL. For me, it was also true after I used Tour Guide Mike for our first Disney visit. Since then, I pretty much refuse to wait longer than 15 minutes for anything because I don't have to.

 

[Metro West]

I'm not really disagreeing with any of you. I do think it's probably more relaxing and less stressful to save Universal for the end of the trip (assuming you are staying on-site). It really is great to be able to just walk on whatever rides you want without worrying about when you can get your next FP. All I was saying is that if you put some planning and strategy into your Disney time, it doesn't have to be a lot worse as far as waiting in lines is concerned.

I think that's key here. I'm amazed how many people plan every little detail when going to Disney. I don't think my family ever planned anything other than the hotel reservations at the Contemporary for the trips we made in the 70's and 80's...of course there wasn't as much to do either. I just don't see how planning everything down to ADR's and going commando through the parks is the least bit relaxing...even though I know a lot of times it's necessary. Since Univeral is smaller and everything is located within walking distance, it's much easier to relax and really enjoy yourselves. Disney is just too big to really relax and enjoy yourselves and since I live here, I've done every touring plan I can think of...just to do it.

Universal is a great ending to a nice vacation to our area and we hope people continue to come down in droves...I don't want to have to start paying state income taxes!

 

[tlinus]

Universal is a great ending to a nice vacation to our area and we hope people continue to come down in droves...I don't want to have to start paying state income taxes!

You can count on our family to help you out with that Todd

 

[Ileana]

I think that's key here. I'm amazed how many people plan every little detail when going to Disney. I don't think my family ever planned anything other than the hotel reservations at the Contemporary for the trips we made in the 70's and 80's...of course there wasn't as much to do either. I just don't see how planning everything down to ADR's and going commando through the parks is the least bit relaxing...even though I know a lot of times it's necessary. Since Univeral is smaller and everything is located within walking distance, it's much easier to relax and really enjoy yourselves. Disney is just too big to really relax and enjoy yourselves and since I live here, I've done every touring plan I can think of...just to do it.

Universal is a great ending to a nice vacation to our area and we hope people continue to come down in droves...I don't want to have to start paying state income taxes!

Let me tell you - all that planning is NOT relaxing

We didn't keep even half of our ADR's - seriously who knows what type of food they're going to be in the mood for 180 days in advance

We took WDW VERY slow - yes we showed up half an hour before the parks opened, but we also didn't RUN to anything. If we walked by a ride we wanted to go on & the wait was more than 20 minutes, we got a fast pass and moved on.

We took a TON of pictures in the parks, strolled around, ate lunch & left by 3pm all while doing everything we wanted!!

Then the week were at Universal - oh man!!! We didn't wake up until 9am every day - took our time getting ready, slowly walked to the boat - got to the parks around 11pm - sometimes ate lunch first, then used our resort key to act like royalty

The more of a plan you have, I think the more stressful it is. That's just me though - some people need stricter guidelines than I do

 

[digskat]

we are staying at Sheraton Vistana resort then OKW last. we are planning on going to US and IOA when we are staying off site at WDW. What are the lines like in Oct? ThanksKath

 

[Metro West]

we are staying at Sheraton Vistana resort then OKW last. we are planning on going to US and IOA when we are staying off site at WDW. What are the lines like in Oct? ThanksKath

The lines in October are pretty light so you shouldn't have any problems.

BTW...My parents stayed at the Sheraton Vistana last year.

 

[Candice30]

definitely do disney 1st. i'm not usually one for getting up real early to hit the park openings and being able to lay back and not rush to the parks for fear of waiting in line is something i love at universal. FOTL changes your mood and i could not imagine being able to bear the disney lines after having FOTL. and i am one who doesn't mind lines. when i am at disney, lines do not bother me. but after the benefit of FOTL at universal, forget it. standing in line for 15 minutes is a chore after that.