Why Universal after Disney?

[Lisa3]

I have been reading these threads in preparation for our August trip in which we will do Universal for the 1st time. I had planned to do Universal for 3 days in the beginning of the trip and Disney 6 days at the end of the trip. From what I am reading most of you say, "Do Disney first!" I figured that we would be more tired after Universal since we have never been there before. We have been to Disney 4 times and now do a more relaxed vacation of our favorites plus new things, also spending time relaxing at the pool. I really don't anticipate much pool relaxing at Universal since we will want to see as much as possible. Can you tell me why everyone is saying do Disney first?

 

[AllieKat]

If you're staying onsite at Universal, then I'd suggest doing Disney first as well. When you stay onsite, you receive FOTL (front of the line) access, which is like Disney's Fast Pass, only you get to use it as often as you'd like. Your room key serves as your "pass". I'd do Disney first just to get all of the "standing in line" business done & over with. I feel like I'd enjoy Disney more at the beginning of the trip before I get used to FOTL over at Universal. Not having to stand in line for 90 minutes is a really, really great thing.

 

[Candice30]

i second that! after just 1 day of FOTL at universal, i am spoiled and get used to the 5 minute or less wait on most rides. i couldn't imagine standing in line for even 30 minutes at disney after doing that. definitely do disney first. and as for having a more relaxining trip, FOTL takes care of that. you will find yourself relaxing at universal even though this is your first trip. FOTL takes away the need to rush. i can easily hit all the attractions at universal in 1 day without running around when staying onsite. have fun!

 

[georgina]

People have their own opinions; it really doesn't matter which you do first. We've done it both ways. We have never stood in line for 90 minutes for anything at Disney, even in August.

 

[Joan S.]

HI,Disney is still my FAVORITE,(but I do enjoy Universal)so we do Universal 1st. Disney is where I RELAX and I will wait up to about 20 min.in line,after that I will catch the ride/attraction another time! So it really is a personal preference. Joan

 

[Sylvester McBean]

splash mountain was a 90 minute wait monday, space mountain 70 minutes. at one point, the return line for fastpass on splash mountain reached the briar patch store. tower of terror was a 90 minute wait sunday, rock n roller coaster hit 75 minutes, the first show of Fantasmic 'sold out', it was a living hell. all I kept thinking about was sneaking out and running to UO. but we had friends down, so we were screwed. don't get me wrong, we love WDW, but do it first and get the stress out of the way. finish your vacation on a relaxing note.

 

[Fan2CSkr]

The Universal Resorts are very deluxe. We prefer them to Disneys lodging. That alone is a great reason for me to end in Universal. I like the smaller scale of being able to get where I need to without walking forever.

Universal feels like a real vacation so much so that I dont need to take a vacation after my vacation cause we feel so beat up. A little park to ride a few rides then head to the pool and relax by the pool bar,have some lunch. Its just SO easy to go back and forth including CityWalk.

Once it was august and we did Disney first, it was a hot hot day. I had a grumpy family due to the heat and long lines. After riding a few my DH had had it. he looked shot. His energy was sapped from the heat. He wanted to head to USO a little early but the kids and I wouldnt let him. He tried bribery too but I needed a better bribe

So after my ranting I'll just say that Me, my family we all love Disney First(if at all)and just have to end in paradise, Universal. In my fluffy super comfy dont ever wanna get outta Portofino Bed.

 

[Sleepy]

We always did Universal first, because it was always the shortest of stays. However, you get used to the FOTL and when you have 3 or more days of FOTL and then move on to WDW where you have a week or more of standing in line and dealing with the fastpass times......we have decided this time we will be doing WDW first.

 

[Disneydreamer315]

I am in the same boat as you Lisa. Three trips to Disney under my belt, and this August we are going to do Universal for the first time.

I have been lurking in these boards for a while now, and have gotten so much great information (Thanks to all the Universal Vets that seem to answer everyones questions! This is a very friendly forum!)

I have been debating what to do, disney or Universal first. I think I have come to the decision to do Disney first. I too will tour Disney at a more relaxed pace because this is our third trip there. But, the kids are comfortable with the attractions there, and by the time we are done Disney, the eight year old will have built up her confidence to try some of the bigger rides at Universal. If I brought her in cold - I dont think she would enjoy spidy or MIB, she would be too aprehensive. Last year we started off slow at Disney but by the end of the trip, she was trying to see how many times she could do R&R in a row!

Also, we are the value/moderate types, -- but decided to stay on site at Universal because of the FOTL factor, and the reviews of these hotels. I have booked 4 nights at HRH (used AAA and got my Loew's first member card -- waiting to see if its worth it to purchase an AP if the rates drop closer to our trip -- thanks guys for all the tips and info on how to do this!)
Anyways, this looks to be very nice hotel, and I plan to make it more of a 'vacation/relax' time at the end of the trip. With 4 nights and 5 days, I think we will able to really enjoy the resort at HRH, and the pool, which is a huge draw for the kids. We are going at low season (end of August) and coupled with the FOTL I think we should easily do Universal at a relaxed pace.

Other factor -- my two oldest kids are thrill riders. I was worried they would not enjoy Disney as much if we did Universal first. I love Disney, but I think my kids may end up enjoying Universal more. Just looking at the Hulk and Duelling Dragons gets them excited.

Anyways, that is how I decided. And I just wanted an opportunity to say how great this forum is for Universal Newbies -- great information and very helpful people.

Oh- one last point, When I started using the search function on this forum, I would only get a few threads to pull up on topics like Cabanas or such,, it was because my setting was set for I think only two weeks automatically. So I wonder if newbies are out there trying to search and not coming up with answers, maybe its because the setting on the search function is only for a short period of time.

Thanks

 

[rie'smom]

We go to both every year and we always stay at Universal first. It's a very relaxing start to the trip because of the FOTL access. I think it builds our stamina for the rest of the trip. Also, we use TGM, so we never have long waits @ WDW. A trip to the water park is usually scheduled for our next to last day-kind of a breather.
Just go and have a great time!

 

[jim and meesie]

People have their own opinions; it really doesn't matter which you do first. We've done it both ways. We have never stood in line for 90 minutes for anything at Disney, even in August.

I never stood in line 90 minutes for anything UNTIL YESTERDAY!! We pulled fastpasses which were for Mission Space for 12:15-1:15. Since it was 11:30 and the estimated wait was 40 minutes we hopped in line to get in an extra ride before the fastpass. Well we waited, and waited. After waiting about an hour we were in site of the boarding area and they made an announcement "technical dificulties are creating longer than average waits". Since we were within sight and it would have been awkward to hop out of line and into the fastpass line at this point we figured we would wait it out. What happened next was that they let only 10 people from the regular line every ten minutes, but let the whole fastpass and standby line right on through!!! It took another hour to get on the ride, 2 hour total wait (and then my daughter's screen didn't work (was blank) disappointing. After the ride I asked to speak to a supervisor. What a rude little twit! Very politely I told him I didn't want anything but that I thought they were seriously mismanaging the line making the regular line move at a snail's pace and creating a 2 hour wait for us. Get this, he said that's exactly what they were supposed to do, only 10 people every 10 minutes from the regular line vs. the whole fastpass and standby line????? Tough luck!! What??? I couldn't believe what I was hearing?? I looked at him and said "you are very rude, I would think you would appreciate knowing about the ridiculous (unnneccesary) frustration". He turned and walked away, couldn't care less.

Just as a comparison, I was at Universal and Hard Rock Hotel 2 weeks ago (President's Day week) for 4 days. Never a wait longer than 10 minutes! The only thing that has made this Disney trip worthwhile was last night'sextra hours at Animal Kingdom and Expedition Everest!! Go to Disney first, or not at all!! Universal was far more relaxing, but you really need to enjoy rollercoasters.

 

[Lisa3]

DisneyDreamer315 - Your family sounds very similar to mine. My kids are 12, 11, and 9. Oldest is definately a thrill seeker from early on. Middle DD is borderline although she rode the Kraken 7 times at Sea World two years ago. Youngest is scared of everything (I think I did this to him when we took him on Dinosaur at age 4 - I have scared him for life!). We have not booked a hotel yet because we can't decide where to stay. The kids would love HRH but with 5 those deluxe rooms are a little pricey. Also, the kid's free thing doesn't help us, according to Universal I only have 1 kid. What type of room did you reserve at HRH?

Thanks to everyone for your input. I think I will ask the kids what they prefer to do.

 

[Disneydreamer315]

Yes, the HRH is pricey. But its only for 4 nights. We were thinking about doing 6 nights at WL and then 4 nights off site to visit Universal, and maybe Sea World... but after lurking and reading in this forums for about a month, I decided to go to POR and upgrade to HRH for those four nights. (See I was ready to try a deluxe this year, and have been saving money every week to put in the vacation fund-- so I was ready to try one) It still has an ouch factor, but I am hoping that the prices will go down in the upcoming months to get an even better deal (paying 239 plus tax a night for deluxe room with the AAA rate) Even if the price does not go down, I will stay there (it was the same price I was willing to pay for WL- and I think I will get more out of the stay at HRH. We have stayed at POR before and its great so I have no concerns there) I picked HRH because of the pool slide, and I really like the themeing - I think themeing is just a very personal choice. Either a theme does it for you or not. The portfino looks nice, but I dont get excited when I look at it. (I am sure it is very nice) The Royal Pacific looks gorgeous, and I was torn,, but I think the kids would enjoy HRH the most, so thats how I went with it.

We are a family of five, so I have already purchased two adult tickets with the free kids tickets and the extra three days deal. That covers DH and the three kids. (this was the ticket special, not the one tied up with the hotel room-- if you read what the Universal Vets say, packages almost never save you money, best to price it out seperately. I did-- and went through all our different scenarios, and sure enough, for what we wanted, it was cheaper to buy tickets seperately) We still need one adult ticket so I am holding out on buying that to see if AP rates come out for late august that would make it worth our while.

Def NOT doing the Universal dinner thing -- I would have a hard time stuffing the kids full of counter service food and come out ahead. (two younger kids split counter service meals at Disney and still would not finish everything! )Also, we like to do one nice sit down meal a day, and it looks like there are some great choices out there at Universal. We wouldnt do that if we had the kids dinner thing. After looking at the pictures of Mythos, I really must go!

Use the search function to look up Annual Passes, budget threads and saving money on your hotel room. Thats what I did, and after reading them, felt confident I had a pretty good idea on how to save money on those deluxes at Universal.

Edited to add, the ages of my kids are 12, 9 and 8. 12 and 9 year old are die hard coaster kids, the eight year old is pretty brave but starts out cautious. She needs to work up to the coasters slowly.. she wont do it first thing in the morning -)

 

[webray]

Universal parks are fantastic, and if you are staying on site, definately do universal last, as you will get so spoiled over at universal. The resorts are wonderful, the food is wonderful and the front of the line access can't be beat.

 

[Joan S.]

DisneyDreamer315 - Your family sounds very similar to mine. My kids are 12, 11, and 9. Oldest is definately a thrill seeker from early on. Middle DD is borderline although she rode the Kraken 7 times at Sea World two years ago. Youngest is scared of everything (I think I did this to him when we took him on Dinosaur at age 4 - I have scared him for life!). We have not booked a hotel yet because we can't decide where to stay. The kids would love HRH but with 5 those deluxe rooms are a little pricey. Also, the kid's free thing doesn't help us, according to Universal I only have 1 kid. What type of room did you reserve at HRH?

Thanks to everyone for your input. I think I will ask the kids what they prefer to do.

Hi, You can book a Standard Room with a Garden or Theme Park View that sleeps up to 5. This room has 2 Queen Beds and is 375 square feet. You then will need to request a cot.Now I have read (on these Boards) that they DO charge for a cot and that they DO NOT charge for a cot. Joan

 

[Robinrs]

A few years back I stayed at the Hard Rock for 2 days then 3 days at a deluxe suite at the Dolphin. I wish I had reversed my times because I was just SPOILED by Fotl. Our first day in Disney we had to use our fast passes and wait FOUR HOURS for Test Track!! It soured me for Disney till this day!

 

[AllieKat]

People have their own opinions; it really doesn't matter which you do first. We've done it both ways. We have never stood in line for 90 minutes for anything at Disney, even in August.

You're smart to not stand in line for 90 minutes. We stood in line for 90 minutes for Winnie the Pooh. This was Memorial Day weekend 2002. The posted time was 60 minutes or so but there had been some sort of problem while we were waiting that slowed things down a bit. The only reason we did it was because we pretty much knew it'd be our first & last trip to MK. We figured out rather quickly that we prefer Disneyland over MK. Although, it was great to have the opportunity to check out MK.

 

[Buzz2001]

I'll be doing Universal for the first time as well and we are doing it first.

 

[goofy!]

Another vote to do Disney first. FOTL does spoil you.

But another reason is that Disney is your kids familiar place. They already know and love it. If you do Universal first, the kids may not appreciate it as much. They will still be anxious to get to Disney.

This happened to us the first time we did Universal. At the time, our kids were Disney fanatics. We did Universal first. They kept asking us "when are we going to get to go to Disney." Not until we got to Disney, did they appreciate Universal. Then they wanted to go back. Of course now, they are Universal addicts and don't even really want to go to Disney anymore.

So, I would do Disney first so the kids can get their fill of it and then are ready to move on to try something new.

 

[minijeanie]

People have their own opinions; it really doesn't matter which you do first. We've done it both ways. We have never stood in line for 90 minutes for anything at Disney, even in August.

Your lucky! There was an 2 1/2 hour wait last November for Soaring and Test Track had no Fast Passes after 12:00 pm....

Last year or so WDW has been off the map with tourists...I think crowds are twofold and it seems there is really no great time to go without lines..

with the exception of probably January