universal parks compared to disney parks

[racquetball2012]

This will be our 1st visit to Universal Parks. We have always gone to Disney.
We are trying to figure out the size difference between them. Which park would you compare IOA to at Disney as far as how much time you need.
We are huge park people and can stay at one Disney Park for a couple days. I know that each park at Disney differ in size so any help with comparisions would be great. So if we could spend 2 days at Hollywood Studios in Disney would that be comparable to 2 days at IOA or US, or are they much smaller than Disney Parks?
Thanks for any info you may have on this! !:cool1

 

[Metro West]

If you're visiting Universal for the first time, you should allow one full day for each park instead of running around trying to see everything commando.

Relax and enjoy a few days away from Disney.

 

[It'sWDW4me]

I'd have to agree with Metro. We're also 2 days per Disney park people so it sounds like we have similar Disney touring styles. The last time we were at Universal was 2008 (going again this summer ). We spent one whole day in IOA, one whole day in US, and then another whole day doing our favorites from both parks. Three days was perfect for us for US/IOA.

 

[racquetball2012]

Coud you tell me the size comparsion of the parks compared to Disney Parks?

 

[damo]

Coud you tell me the size comparsion of the parks compared to Disney Parks?

Islands of Adventure is 110 acres, Universal Studios Florida is 125 acres (compared to 135 for DHS, 300 for Epcot, 142 for MK, 500 for AK)

 

[mark290]

Islands of Adventure is 110 acres, Universal Studios Florida is 125 acres (compared to 135 for DHS, 300 for Epcot, 142 for MK, 500 for AK)

I never would have guessed IOA or US was almost as big as MK.
Very interesting.

 

[DCTooTall]

But it's also worth noting that the size comparisons aren' really a good judge of the time it takes to do the parks.

Perfect Example is AK... 500 Acres, a HUGE chunk of that is the Safari ride. MGM also has a very complicated layout which doesn't make for efficient touring.

Both parks at Universal have a very simple loop w/ a center lagoon layout. They don't require the same level of planning/commando type touring that a Disney park does. Pretty much, your biggest decision when entering the parks is "Do I go Left, Or right" when you first enter.

You can usually get everything done in the park in a single day per park without feeling rushed.

 

[CPA_ESQ.]

hmmm.. Magic Kingdom feels so small. IOA seems much bigger than US.

Don't take this the wrong way but:

2 days per park? - are you traveling with little kids, go during peak season with long lines, take advantage of fast pass, extended hours, zig zag around the park from ride to ride, slow walkers?

I could see spending 2 days in Epcot - if you wanted to explore every nook and cranny of the world showcase, and I could see having to go back to a park to see a certain show that you missed.

I tend to be more like Clark Grizwald - try to do as much as I can as quickly and efficiently as possible

 

[racquetball2012]

We have traveled with 2 families with kids ranging from 3-13 in the past. We love amusment parks and basically do almost everything there, eat, shop etc. we are in no hurry to rush through it. We are the type that if our kids love a ride they may ride it 6,7,8 times in a day! Call us crazy I guess, but we get our money's worth at each park. We were hoping to visit each park 2 day's each like we do Disney but didn't know if they were comparable with how much there was to do there. We usually spread it out over the trip and don't go to the same park two days in a row. We are going to do other things in between park visits.

 

[hydrotony]

Coud you tell me the size comparsion of the parks compared to Disney Parks?

Have you tried Google Earth? It's free and you see everything. Combine that with attraction info from the Universal website. A great planning tool.

 

[Pembo]

I had similar questions before our trip last year. Someone here said that IOA and US feel similar in size to Disney Studios and I found that to be pretty accurate.

We had 2 1/2 days on site. We spent day one all at IOA (Harry Potter was our main focus), day 2 we started at IOA for HP and hopped to US around 11 and spent the rest of the day there. We didn't see everything but quite a bit. Day 3 (our 1/2 day) we went back to IOA for HP ee.

If you're onsite and use your express pass, I think you can easily do one park a day. Enjoy!

 

[CentralFloridian99]

I'd spend a day at each park.

 

[SanFranciscan]

If a co-worker at Universal, who is retired from Disney, knows what he is talking about, there are more attractions inside the Magic Kingdom than there are inside both parks at Universal. The question is whether Universal has more of the kinds of things that you like, in which case fewer attractions in actual number would make no difference to you personally.

Are there any "must-dos" on your list for Universal? This would give us a better idea what kind of time span you would want to commit to your Universal visit.

 

[Darcy03231]

Well, I must be the exception because I've spent a full seven days between US/IOA and my kids and I found plenty to do, and this was before HP.

I really liked the relaxed pace. We didn't feel like we had to be there at rope drop and go commando through the parks in order to "see and do everything."

We re-rode our favorite rides, saw our favorite shows several times (I still think the Hollywood Horror Make-Up show is one of the best in Orlando), enjoyed our resort and pool time, and generally had a great vacation.

 

[anorman]

Don't take this the wrong way but:

2 days per park? - are you traveling with little kids, go during peak season with long lines, take advantage of fast pass, extended hours, zig zag around the park from ride to ride, slow walkers?

I could see spending 2 days in Epcot - if you wanted to explore every nook and cranny of the world showcase, and I could see having to go back to a park to see a certain show that you missed.

I tend to be more like Clark Grizwald - try to do as much as I can as quickly and efficiently as possible

Love the Griswald comment!

I too will spend at least 2, if not 3, days at each WDW park and we repeat rides over and over if our kids want to. At Universal last year, we stayed onsite for 4 nights and felt we could have happily stayed longer. We did 2 days in each park with the onsite express perk and still didn't have enough of Universal. We redid some favourites and went to WWoHP twice. I think we rode FJ 4 or 5 times! Everybody has different ways of doing the parks. Mine is to make my way around the park and then repeat any favourites if we are up to it.

IOA is definitely a 2 day park to do it justice....almost half a day alone can be spent in WWoHP to really experience the ambiance and attractions. US has a lot of shows so although you could do the park in 1 day you may miss a couple of things due to scheduling of the shows. I truly love all things Disney, but Universal has a level of excitement to it that I can't wait to get back to. The express pass perk of staying onsite can't be beaten!

 

[Bluer101]

Well, I must be the exception because I've spent a full seven days between US/IOA and my kids and I found plenty to do, and this was before HP.

I really liked the relaxed pace. We didn't feel like we had to be there at rope drop and go commando through the parks in order to "see and do everything."

We re-rode our favorite rides, saw our favorite shows several times (I still think the Hollywood Horror Make-Up show is one of the best in Orlando), enjoyed our resort and pool time, and generally had a great vacation.

Nope, we are the same way even before Potter. We leave in 22 days for 9 days this trip all onsite. There is a possibility that we are getting comp Disney tickets so we might go down there 2 days in the beginning. Then the last 7 days we can relax. Ever since staying onsite you look at things differently, it turns it into a real vacation. I don't feel like I need another vacation when we return.

 

[Planogirl]

MK feels a lot bigger to me but I think that this is because there is a lot packed in that space. The time spent in Epcot feels like mostly walking by comparison.

We easily spend three days at the Universal parks. I'm concerned because we only have two days scheduled this year.

 

[A Mickeyfan]

You cannot compare Disney to Universal. Each is its own entity.. they each have their own unique themes and attractions.

I go often to each so I cannot say how much time to allow for any of the parks. I do my favorite attractions at each park.. both Disney & Universl. In Universal I do single rider lines where I can to save time, some I cannot. I have never purchased their Express Pass, and never plan to. I have stayed onsite for their FOLT and did enjoy that.

As far as comparison in size, that is not a good way to judge a park. Just because on is larger in land size doesn't mean it is a "bigger" park.. AK has the most land and to me, that park takes the least amount of time to do... The only way to judge time needed is to base it on what attractions you will be doing, what day of the week you will be going and the time frame needed waiting in line...

 

[Bullseye]

Just went for the first time last Sun-Mon.

I would say HS would be comparable in size.
IOA seems bigger than US.
Both parks seems easier to navigate that WDW parks. Like a PP mentioned, head left or head right.
We got a lot done in 2 days but I could easily fill three days there.

Visiting there put all the negative things I've heard in "WDW vs US" threads to rest. They are fun, clean parks with a ton of things to do. The landscaping and themeing every bit as good as WDW if not better! There were a ton of good eating options there also, both CS, TS, and snack!