Universal/Disney

[lovely1m]

Not this year, but next year, we are planning a trip to Universal and Disney. I have been to Disney a few times, but only Epcot repeatedly and once to Magic Kingdom and Universal. It will be myself, my boyfriend and my son who will be 11. We know we want to hit up the Harry Potter world at Universal. My question is how long would you go for? What areas would you go to? Help my start the early planning, experience Florida people.

[renatasluis]

Are you doing a split stay ? When u stay at the 3 luxe resorts at universal you get free expresspasses, to skip lines.en when you have hoppertickets you can use the hogwartsexpress between the 2 universalparcs.
When u want to see it all you need 2 or 3 days at universal.

[lovely1m]

I am thinking a split stay would be ideal. I know staying on resort gets a lot of bonuses. We had the express passes at LEGOLAND this year and realized how much they are worth, probably a good idea to stay at the luxe resorts then. Thanks for the info so far.

[staciahall]

You might want two days at Universal/IOA so that you can really see and enjoy both parks there.

[kendallt]

Are you wanting to do all four Disney parks or just certain ones?

[lovely1m]

I am not sure if I would do all of them, maybe. I have never been to any of them with kids.

[NeverendingJen]

Honestly, I'd do them all, especially if this is a rare trip. I'd plan 4-5 days at disney, 2 for universal. Definitely stay at a disney resort, so worth it.

[mariewilcox]

Originally Posted by NeverendingJen

Honestly, I'd do them all, especially if this is a rare trip. I'd plan 4-5 days at disney, 2 for universal. Definitely stay at a disney resort, so worth it.

I totally agree - Love all 4 parks and it's so hard to choose when you don't have time for all of them

[Julie Billingsley]

We are planning a Universal/Disney trip also! We are going in March. I have us at Disney for 4 days (1 park a day) and Universal 2.5 days. We are only doing a half day at Epcot. When we were there several years ago, we weren't big fans so a half day is plenty. When are you going?

[renatasluis]

We are going next month.
and go to universal 2 days.staying onsite.then leave for wdw onsite.11 nights.doing each park 2 days at least.1 day typhoon lagoon.
we are you from?.
We had the uk free dining package with 14 daytickets for price of 7 days.free memorymaker.and free 200 $ gift card.
usa has different offers then europe.

[kendallt]

Originally Posted by NeverendingJen

Honestly, I'd do them all, especially if this is a rare trip. I'd plan 4-5 days at disney, 2 for universal. Definitely stay at a disney resort, so worth it.

I agree with Jen! Or stay even longer if you can. I've never been to Universal, but there is sooo much to do at WDW! The longest amount of time I've ever spent there was 8 days, and that still wasn't enough time to do everything we wanted.

[lovely1m]

Originally Posted by Julie Billingsley

When are you going?

Nicholas turns 11 next year in September, so the plan is to give him a Hogwarts letter for his birthday and go sometime between October and December.

Sounds like a bare minimum of 6 days then. Is Magic Kingdom good for his age? When I was there years ago, it seemed very young.

[kendallt]

Originally Posted by lovely1m

Nicholas turns 11 next year in September, so the plan is to give him a Hogwarts letter for his birthday and go sometime between October and December.

Sounds like a bare minimum of 6 days then. Is Magic Kingdom good for his age? When I was there years ago, it seemed very young.

They've added a new coaster (Seven Dwarves Mine Train), which is supposed to be really fun. There's also Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain, and Space Mountain, which he'd probably like. You can't go to Disney and not go to the MK!

[scrap2day]

If you can afford it you might want to add Park Hopper to your Disney tickets. That way if you aren't having as much fun at one park or even if you prefer the food options at another park (i.e. especially the different countries in EPCOT) you can go back and forth. Don't add the extra expense, though, if you don't think you will really use it.

[mariewilcox]

Originally Posted by scrap2day

If you can afford it you might want to add Park Hopper to your Disney tickets. That way if you aren't having as much fun at one park or even if you prefer the food options at another park (i.e. especially the different countries in EPCOT) you can go back and forth. Don't add the extra expense, though, if you don't think you will really use it.

I was just going to mention the park hopper - for us it's a definite must so we can hop around for meals/shows/and spend time in more than one park each day depending on our mood

[farrijc]

As far as Universal goes - I agree that 2 days is good. If you are going at a peak time, express passes are definitely worth it. You also need Park to park tickets if you want to ride the Hogwarts Express. We stayed at one of the Universal Studios resorts because it ended up being cheaper than buying the express passes separately - that was for a family of 5, though. We went the week before Christmas. I have friends that went without express passes (I believe in September) and had no long waits... it really depends on how busy it is when you go!

I definitely think MK is a must. All ages enjoy it... just know going in it's not going to be the park with the biggest thrill rides. There are more of those at Universal, and a couple big ones like Everest (Animal Kingdom) or Rock n Roller Coaster & Tower of Terror (hollywood studios). We went to MK in Anaheim and Orlando last year - my kids were 7,9,12. Most are family rides but they are still fun I think a day at each park is a good guideline.

If you have the luxury of a day of rest in the middle, that would be awesome! These kind of trips are so fun, but exhausting!!

[LynnZant]

I also agree with Jen with a day per park. But, what about a water park? Does your son like that sort of thing? I've never been to Disney's water park because I live relatively close to two in my area, but I bet it's fun.

[lovely1m]

He loves waterparks, but I figured that time of year wouldn't work well with a waterpark.

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

[kim21673]

We spent 3 days at Universal and it was perfect! We were able to go from park to park as we pleased and saw everything.

When we went to Disney World the first time (for the boys), we were at Magic Kingdom for 3 days, and the other parks for a day each. MK was by far our favorite park with Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom tying for second. The boys least favorite was Epcot. In fact, we didn't even spend a whole day there. Some went back to the condo and swam, a few of us went back to MK and closed down the park. I would recommend at least a day at each park and maybe an extra day if there is something you want to go back and see again. When we go again, we will have at least a 6 day hopper pass.