Universal Studios and Disney question?

[Family24]

Hi - We will be heading back to Disney next January with our family. Our kids will be 15 and 11. A couple questions. First, we have been to Disney and stayed at Wilderness Lodge and Polynesian twice. I have also stayed at Contemporary when we were kids.


1)Thinking about doing a day at Universal Studios is it worth it? I have done no research just heard it is really fun. Our son is into wild rides daughter not so much.

2)Up in the air where we want to stay Poly again or try Beach or Yacht. Also, thought maybe split stay is that too much? Will stay from a Thursday night till the following Sat or Sunday.

3)Will use Tiffany Car Rental have used them in past and love them. Would it be worth it to stay the first night just to sleep and then do Universal the next day? Also, we like to stay Concierge and love the Poly but have heard the Beach Club is not that great. Any input would be appreciated. This will probably be our last trip to Disney and we want to try some other places with our kids even though we love Disney. Thanks

 

[MissionMouse]

1)I think it is worth it, but not sure I would do just one day. Consider an evening show at US like Blue Man Group.

2)Personally, if you are thinking about doing time at Universal Studios I would recommend staying on-site and getting the perks that go along with staying at a US resort. This is what we did and also stayed club. Our room/bathroom were superior to the club/castle room we went to after our stay at the PR.

3)We stayed two night at US Portofino Club - Deluxe Room and then started early to start our stay at Disney PR Club-Castle. Each day at US we started early using their transportation and later our rental car to move over to Disney

 

[CampbellScot]

We did a day at Islands of Adventure last summer before heading to Disney World. The kids LOVED it. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was SO worth it. We did one night at Portofino Bay Resort so we could take advantage of early entry into the parks and the Front of the Line pass for the two days we were there. Definitely very fun and we are going back to Islands of Adventure and adding a day at Universal Studios this summer before we head to Disney.

As the kids get older it's fun to go to parks with bigger rides. My step son is such a daredevil. He loved Hulk!!!

go for it!

 

[akl-fan]

I think your family will like US as there is plenty for everyone. I would check out staying over there on you first or last day as you get priority line privileges as part of you stay. This will enable you skip most of the queues and see both parks. The Universal hotels are all of a very high standard and for the most part are considerably cheaper than Disney hotels.

 

[Redarrow5150]

The rooms rates to stay at Universal on site are quite high and give no where near the options like WDW does. I would also recommend (2) days but the Dreams Package on this site gives you (1) hr early park entrance with Mears.

 

[Pats Dragon]

We really love Islands of Adventure. Most of the rides are wild but Harry Potter and spider man are not and are worth going to the park to see. The down side to Universal is that a long stay would not be as much fun as DW because the variety of things to do is not nearly as good.

 

[TinkerbellinLouisian]

My Advice is to take at least one day and do US/IoA.

We have done it in a day... it helps that your kids are somewhat close in age...

we've driven in and stayed near US/IoA, spend one day there ...did all rides...then headed to WDW the next day.
Although I am interested in exploring the on site's at US/IoA but I've heard they no longer provide FOTL Passes...
?

Anyway ... we stayed at Poly in '02, then tried Beach Club in '04 and were hooked on BC... stayed again at BC for '06, '08, '10....

We'll try another this time... but point is for your kids ages... if they like Pool Play.. there's nothing like Storm along Bay at BeachClub...

Have a magical visit !

Mary

 

[padawans]

The rooms rates to stay at Universal on site are quite high and give no where near the options like WDW does. I would also recommend (2) days but the Dreams Package on this site gives you (1) hr early park entrance with Mears.

They are cheaper than the disney deluxes, and I find them to be a cut above. You cannot underestimate the value of express pass. Its so worth staying onsite at Universal.

 

[RMulieri]

They are cheaper than the disney deluxes, and I find them to be a cut above. You cannot underestimate the value of express pass. Its so worth staying onsite at Universal.

2nd this...I paid FAR LESS than what I pay to stay at a Disney Deluxe and from all I have been told , the Universal resorts are more True to the deluxe category..PLus they do not need to offer all that many discounts anymore..HArry Potter is bringing in the crowds and the perks that come with staying at the Universal resorts are worth it.

 

[AJA]

They are cheaper than the disney deluxes, and I find them to be a cut above. You cannot underestimate the value of express pass. Its so worth staying onsite at Universal.

This!!

Stay at Portofino Bay club level, the price is not bad at all when you compare it to a Disney deluxe at club level and the Universal hotel is so much better! Portofino is a luxury resort, you're not just paying for nice amenities and location.

 

[iheartpeterpan]

They are cheaper than the disney deluxes, and I find them to be a cut above. You cannot underestimate the value of express pass. Its so worth staying onsite at Universal.

I agree too. The Express pass alone makes it worth it. Like a fast pass, with a return window of right now, for almost every ride. We stay at Hard Rock and love it.

If you have a daredevil older kid they will LOVE it. I'd probably try to get a couple of days of my trip over there before moving to Disney. There's 2 parks and loads to do.

 

[Family24]

Thanks everyone. We would definitely stay onsite to get the perks. If we get their at park opening do you think that both parks can be done in a day. I know we will not see everything but that is ok. Thanks.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Family24:

Both parks in one day? Anything's possible. Of course the answer to how much you can do in each park in a half/day varies greatly by time of year, crowds and hours the park(s) are open.

Take a look and decide what attractions you would *really* like to enjoy at each park and take a guess on how much time you'd like to dedicate to each. Some areas and attractions .. like Wizarding World -- there's LOTS to see without ever stepping in a line.

You can take your research further by finding out the rough wait times at a number of different sites online and that may help you understand that you might spend 2 hours waiting for the different attractions in WWoHP alone.. for example.

(visit the Universal Florida board here on the DIS for more info)

 

[Redarrow5150]

That's fine but the majority of people stay at Mods or Values at Disney and not in Deluxes. We had a driver from Mears tell us not to buy the express passes at the park because they weren't worth the money being spent.

They are cheaper than the disney deluxes, and I find them to be a cut above. You cannot underestimate the value of express pass. Its so worth staying onsite at Universal.

 

[AshleeH]

With older kids I would recommend US: Islands of Adventure. We spent a day there last year and my children loved it, but they loved it for all the superheroes (I loved it for Harry Potter!).

On our 2010 trip, we went to Universal Studios and they loved that as well. I enjoyed it because it brought back memories of childhood, but this year we won't be going to either park. We'll do it again in a few years when we have teenagers who like the wilder rides. I once saw where US is aptly described as being the park for speed - they know they can't compete with the magic of Disney, so they cornered the market on thrill rides.

It was fun on both trips and I'm glad we went each time, but I won't miss it this year.

 

[RMulieri]

That's fine but the majority of people stay at Mods or Values at Disney and not in Deluxes. We had a driver from Mears tell us not to buy the express passes at the park because they weren't worth the money being spent.

THAT depends on how busy it is and how much you value your time.Unlike Disney, There is NO free version of express pass.If you are going at a slower time of year, then express pass probably isn't neccessary.IF you are going over busier times, it is absolutely worth it.Just need to be aware that the price of the pass goes up with the projected crowds.Over christmas week wait times were 180 minutes or more for certain things, not to mention the parks closed to capacity..Express pass would have come in handy, however it did cost $99 a person for that feature those days .If you have more than one person in your party, it would have been cheaper to stay onsite and get the perk free( and one night on site at Universal gives you 2 days of express pass).The only attractions it is not good on are Rip Ride Rocket, Pteranodon Flyers, Ollivanders and Forbidden Journey..It is good on all other rides.The onsite resorts get unlimited express pass good for as many times on the attractions as they want, whereas the purchase version only gives you ONE ride per eligible attraction.

 

[UndercoverMama]

Thanks everyone. We would definitely stay onsite to get the perks. If we get their at park opening do you think that both parks can be done in a day. I know we will not see everything but that is ok. Thanks.

I think so, but if you think this is your last Orlando trip, two days would be twice as much fun Have fun!

 

[RMulieri]

Thanks everyone. We would definitely stay onsite to get the perks. If we get their at park opening do you think that both parks can be done in a day. I know we will not see everything but that is ok. Thanks.

as others have mentioned ..It depends...HOWEVER, since Harry Potter arrived at IOA, seeing both parks in one day is ALOT harder.Even when the parks are dead, HP is not and requires some planning to avoid lengthy waits.You can probably hit the hilights in both parks in one day.But you will also miss alot.I recommend getting the book Universal Orlando By Kelly Monaghan and Seth kubersky , going to the Universal boards here, or going to Orlandoinformer.com to see what appeals to you and then you might have a better idea how many days you might need.