Universal for a day worth it?

[DisneyLore]

Oh my God! Butter Beer!!!!! It is sooooo good!

 

[Squirlz]

I don't think one day would be worth it. We go for 8 days and it still isn't enough.

 

[luvsJack]

Definitely if you are HP fans. But I would do 2 days.

I find some of the comments funny "it just doesn't have the magic" "its not themed as well" and such. Not sure what anyone is looking for but it is totally immersive in every section. And the magic is definitely in Hogsmead and Diagon Alley.

We were there when it was crowded and hot. Had a blast and didn't have a single wait like we have experienced at WDW. They seem to move people around pretty well. Now if you are in Diagon Alley during the busiest time, its crowded because the streets are narrow, like Diagon Alley is supposed to be. If you find it like that, just go back later.

We didn't go for a long time because we thought we wouldn't want to leave WDW. Now we think we shouldn't go WDW because we don't want to leave Universal!!

 

[Summer2018]

Ill premise the question by saying my fiance and I are huge Disney fans and specifically love going to WDW because of the so called "Disney Bubble." The thought of leaving WDW property even for part of a day has always seemed like a waste of time to us or like we might miss out on something on property. We love visiting WDW so much that we have never even looked into or thought of visiting another part or area of Florida (with the exception of the Keys) because we would know that we are in FLA and that to us means Disney. We do have many friends who are fans of WDW as well but keep telling us to visit Universal for a day.

Some side notes that might sway some opinions here: My fiance and I are both late twenties and have no kids, our typical WDW vacation is 100% on property - we stay at a WDW hotel, essentially remove ourselves from our typical lives (social media, cell phone use, etc at a minimum and really only if needed), simply put we love how WDW immerses us in another world that is magical. We typically do 8 days (minus 2 for travel gives us 6 full days) and in that we take 4 days for parks and 2 for other activities (Disney Springs, resort hopping, massages, relaxing, etc). We do enjoy the adult side of Disney as well - meaning going out at night for drinks at Disney Springs or if in a park like Epcot, drinking around the world.

That brings me to the question or I guess in this case more of a poll/opinion of others that love WDW as we do.... Is it worth taking a day out of a WDW vacation to visit Universal?

If we were to take one of our days would we really be able to do a whole lot at Universal? Is the cost to get to Universal from WDW plus the cost of Universal (tickets, food etc) justifiable when compared to what we could do if we stay on property? WDW has that magic we love to be surrounded by and from what I know of Universal it leads me to believe we would be going for a day just to compare it to WDW - do a couple of rides, have some drinks and food, walk around a bit to take in the scenery. I feel like I am not giving Universal a chance but in my mind I'm almost 100% sure that after an hour or so in Universal we will be silently counting down until we get back to the magic of WDW.

A few years ago, we went to Universal after our WDW vacation. We stayed at an Orlando hotel...big mistake...we should have stayed in a Universal resort so that we could have entered the park early. Anyway we were there for the rope drop for the general public, and that was too late. The crowds were like nothing I have ever seen at WDW except at Christmastime. We did the Harry Potter area and some other rides. By lunchtime we were done, bored, and ready to go, wishing we were at WDW. It was depressing to be honest. The Disney bubble had popped and we had stopped having fun. We decided that if we ever returned to Universal, we would stay at one of their onsite hotels. My daughter and husband could go to the park and I would relax by the pool. There’s nothing at Universal that interests me enough to go back. It was a one and done. We haven’t gone back and have no plans to do so in the future.

 

[leebee]

We've been to Universal Orlando once, to see the Harry Potter wizarding world. It was INCREDIBLE, but we are big Potter fans. This was at a time when there was Potter was only in one park, so we had one-day, one-park tickets. We explored some of the rest of the park, and DD rode a couple of the thrill rides (including Hulk three times!). Universal does have amazing rides and lots of well-themed exhibits/areas. We enjoyed ourselves, but it wasn't the immersive experience that we have at Disney. Perhaps it's because we don't see many movies or watch many of the shows the Universal themes around? While we were there, I felt like there was so much I couldn't relate to because I didn't really know what the themes were about. I don't know. We want to go back so we can do BOTH Potter venues. Not sure if we'll get 2-day/2-park tickets and really explore Universal, or if we'll just do the one-day experience and focus on Harry Potter.

 

[Mermaid02]

We went to Universal in December for a day- I hated it.

 

[Planogirl]

I'm just the opposite now. I plan my Universal vacation and then decide how many days to add for Disney. To each their own.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

We love Disney.

We had never been to Universal so went for two days in November. We had park-to-park and did the whole Harry Potter which was great. Really, the Harry Potter was great. Harry Potter sections were so great and so well done that it made the non Harry Potter sections look that much worse. Dated. Unkept.

Other than that, we didn’t really care for Universal. It is SO not on par with Disney. Also, it’s mostly thrill rides which I don’t do but we had front of the line passes from our hotel.

I would not spend the time or the money to go but that’s just one persons opinion.

 

[EveDallas]

I definitely agree that I find myself already leaning heavily towards not doing Universal during our WDW vacations. To be honest though I don't dislike Universal so much as I haven't been able to justify the cost for a day at Universal during our WDW vacation. If we were able to do a two week WDW vacation and our budget allowed it, I would probably research and try to plan more seriously a day at Universal. I visited Universal once for a couple days when I was a kid, I can remember very little about it (only a couple rides actually) and part of me does want to go back sometime. Part of me is hoping that there will be a response here that convinces me otherwise to do a day at Uni - although I am having a tough time with that like I said because of costs but also because I am not a big Harry Potter fan and from what it looks like that is a huge part of why people do love Uni.

I understand

I'm just the opposite now. I plan my Universal vacation and then decide how many days to add for Disney. To each their own.

Every year when I'm planning my Universal trip, I debate taking a day at Disney. I always decide against it because in the end, I just want to be at Universal. I hate threads like this because all of the Universal haters come out of the woodwork, but then I realize that means less people in the parks for me to deal with.

 

[mousefan73]

I am in the same situation trying to decide if we add Universal on this year.

We fly in from overseas staying disney
Our trip is already very expensive. think we will hit the 10 G mark. We are doing 5 or 7 nights WDW, 4 nights DCL and then 1 night again WDW before we fly back.
My kids are now into HP and I was thinking well since we are in Orlando anyways lets fly in 2 days earlier and start at Universal.. THEN I checked park prices out! OMG you think Disney is expensive?? Take a look at a 2 park pass for one day! as HP fans it make no sense to pick only one and also you dont get the Hogwarts Express. So if our reason is HP we do at least the one day 2 park.. that is 170 per person!!!!! We are 4 people.....

2 Day park to park is 319 as the 2 day with out park to park does not include the train. This also does not include hotels etc....

Math. cheaperst option tix only 680 ( one day park to park)
or 2 day park to park 1276!!!!!

I could take that money and add tons more days and nights to WDW or have nice deposit for another DCL cruise.....
The only questions is, is HP worth that much money????

 

[mousefan73]

Off side note: we did get out of the disney bubble last year... but really out.. Our trip started in DC and we drove down and spent 4 nights in Dollywood and then Orlando. Now that was nice. Dollywood was great!!! My kids would totally go back. When I look at Universial price tickets. we could almost fly out to knoxville, do DW and come back down!

 

[JaxDad]

Every year when I'm planning my Universal trip, I debate taking a day at Disney. I always decide against it because in the end, I just want to be at Universal. I hate threads like this because all of the Universal haters come out of the woodwork, but then I realize that means less people in the parks for me to deal with.

Yep

 

[Planogirl]

I understand


Every year when I'm planning my Universal trip, I debate taking a day at Disney. I always decide against it because in the end, I just want to be at Universal. I hate threads like this because all of the Universal haters come out of the woodwork, but then I realize that means less people in the parks for me to deal with.

I wouldn't mind the haters if only there weren't some comments that just aren't true. But again, to each their own.

 

[luvsJack]

OP go to the site for Universal and look at what all is in the parks. And then decide for yourself.

These parks are themed amazingly, just like WDW. There is lots to do, just like WDW. Everyone has their opinion of the rides, certain sections, the food or whatever else, just like WDW. If you don’t think you can get past “but it’s not Disney!” Don’t go because you probably won’t enjoy it.

You don’t say if you like thrill rides or what it is you enjoy most at WDW so it’s hard to say what you will or won’t like.

I will tell you this, I don’t do thrill rides at all. And one of the reasons I always thought twice about going is thinking I would be spending money on my ticket to sit around and wait for dh and dd to get off a ride. Not so. There is so much more. There are attractions that aren’t true thrill rides. There are lots of shows that are so entertaining. And lots of themeing to enjoy.

They are beautiful, well maintained parks. The CMs are helpful and beyond friendly. The food is good and the place is immaculate. Character meet and greets are fun and entertaining. So in many ways, a lot like WDW, but different too.

 

[Darcy03231]

I am in the same situation trying to decide if we add Universal on this year.

We fly in from overseas staying disney
Our trip is already very expensive. think we will hit the 10 G mark. We are doing 5 or 7 nights WDW, 4 nights DCL and then 1 night again WDW before we fly back.
My kids are now into HP and I was thinking well since we are in Orlando anyways lets fly in 2 days earlier and start at Universal.. THEN I checked park prices out! OMG you think Disney is expensive?? Take a look at a 2 park pass for one day! as HP fans it make no sense to pick only one and also you dont get the Hogwarts Express. So if our reason is HP we do at least the one day 2 park.. that is 170 per person!!!!! We are 4 people.....

2 Day park to park is 319 as the 2 day with out park to park does not include the train. This also does not include hotels etc....

Math. cheaperst option tix only 680 ( one day park to park)
or 2 day park to park 1276!!!!!

I could take that money and add tons more days and nights to WDW or have nice deposit for another DCL cruise.....
The only questions is, is HP worth that much money????

Neither Disney nor Universal is inexpensive to do as an add-on to an existing trip to one park or the other.

US/IOA 2 day park to park adult price is $282.22
WWW 2 day park hopper is $291.81

If you add the water park to US/IOA it jumps to $340.80
Add the water park to WDW it jumps to $318.44

So if I'm planning a WDW trip and just want to take two days for US/IOA, the least expensive option for tickets is going to run $1,128.88 just in tickets for four adults.
If I'm planning a US/IOA visit and want to take two days for WDW, the least expensive option is going to run $1,167.24.

Pricing is pretty comparable for the two. Both parks really get expensive if you're only doing a day or two and reward you for staying longer in their parks.

Overall, I've found the best strategy is to plan different trips. One year we'll do just WDW and another we'll do US/IOA, and then add in either SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and/or Discovery Cove and/or some smaller attractions and skip WDW. I think it's just too expensive to try to do both parks in one vacation.

OP, have you thought about maybe taking a separate vacation to US/IOA over a long weekend? That's completely doable. First trip there that's how we did it. I found super cheap airfare and we bought annual passes (least expensive option). We liked it so much we ended up using the annual passes twice more before the end of the year.

 

[mousefan73]

Neither Disney nor Universal is inexpensive to do as an add-on to an existing trip to one park or the other.

US/IOA 2 day park to park adult price is $282.22
WWW 2 day park hopper is $291.81

If you add the water park to US/IOA it jumps to $340.80
Add the water park to WDW it jumps to $318.44

So if I'm planning a WDW trip and just want to take two days for US/IOA, the least expensive option for tickets is going to run $1,128.88 just in tickets for four adults.
If I'm planning a US/IOA visit and want to take two days for WDW, the least expensive option is going to run $1,167.24.

Pricing is pretty comparable for the two. Both parks really get expensive if you're only doing a day or two and reward you for staying longer in their parks.

Overall, I've found the best strategy is to plan different trips. One year we'll do just WDW and another we'll do US/IOA, and then add in either SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and/or Discovery Cove and/or some smaller attractions and skip WDW. I think it's just too expensive to try to do both parks in one vacation.

OP, have you thought about maybe taking a separate vacation to US/IOA over a long weekend? That's completely doable. First trip there that's how we did it. I found super cheap airfare and we bought annual passes (least expensive option). We liked it so much we ended up using the annual passes twice more before the end of the year.

though were US gets you is with HP.... they were smart to split this up into 2 parks and then have a joining train that is another upgrade for park to park. It would be like Disney saying all princesses in this park and all Starwars/cars or MIckey in this park forcing you to hop. If there was the option to pay for a one day park for 120 or so and see all of HP ,then I wouldnt even think about it.

 

[luvsJack]

though were US gets you is with HP.... they were smart to split this up into 2 parks and then have a joining train that is another upgrade for park to park. It would be like Disney saying all princesses in this park and all Starwars/cars or MIckey in this park forcing you to hop. If there was the option to pay for a one day park for 120 or so and see all of HP ,then I wouldnt even think about it.

If you were only doing one day at Disney, as the OP is talking about doing at Universal and you wanted to see Pandora and Cinderella, Belle, etc; you would have to hop. I mean I do get what you are saying that you have to have hoppers to ride that attraction but I think not only were they smart in doing it that way $$ wise, but it helps to hold true to the themeing of the HP areas.

 

[Summer2018]

I am in the same situation trying to decide if we add Universal on this year.

We fly in from overseas staying disney
Our trip is already very expensive. think we will hit the 10 G mark. We are doing 5 or 7 nights WDW, 4 nights DCL and then 1 night again WDW before we fly back.
My kids are now into HP and I was thinking well since we are in Orlando anyways lets fly in 2 days earlier and start at Universal.. THEN I checked park prices out! OMG you think Disney is expensive?? Take a look at a 2 park pass for one day! as HP fans it make no sense to pick only one and also you dont get the Hogwarts Express. So if our reason is HP we do at least the one day 2 park.. that is 170 per person!!!!! We are 4 people.....

2 Day park to park is 319 as the 2 day with out park to park does not include the train. This also does not include hotels etc....

Math. cheaperst option tix only 680 ( one day park to park)
or 2 day park to park 1276!!!!!

I could take that money and add tons more days and nights to WDW or have nice deposit for another DCL cruise.....
The only questions is, is HP worth that much money????

It wasn’t in my case. That’s money we will never get back. The sad thing is that the regret began within an hour of being in Universal. It’s been 10 years, and it still leaves a bad feeling in my stomach. Never again.

 

[quandrea]

I am in the same situation trying to decide if we add Universal on this year.

We fly in from overseas staying disney
Our trip is already very expensive. think we will hit the 10 G mark. We are doing 5 or 7 nights WDW, 4 nights DCL and then 1 night again WDW before we fly back.
My kids are now into HP and I was thinking well since we are in Orlando anyways lets fly in 2 days earlier and start at Universal.. THEN I checked park prices out! OMG you think Disney is expensive?? Take a look at a 2 park pass for one day! as HP fans it make no sense to pick only one and also you dont get the Hogwarts Express. So if our reason is HP we do at least the one day 2 park.. that is 170 per person!!!!! We are 4 people.....

2 Day park to park is 319 as the 2 day with out park to park does not include the train. This also does not include hotels etc....

Math. cheaperst option tix only 680 ( one day park to park)
or 2 day park to park 1276!!!!!

I could take that money and add tons more days and nights to WDW or have nice deposit for another DCL cruise.....
The only questions is, is HP worth that much money????

I’d say, absolutely not worth the money.

 

[RedAngie]

I'm just the opposite now. I plan my Universal vacation and then decide how many days to add for Disney. To each their own.

Same. Our last three Orlando trips were Universal-heavy (twice at deluxe hotels, once at Cabana Bay). On one trip we added a day at Animal Kingdom, on another the Halloween party at Magic Kingdom, the third no Disney parks (we spent a few hours at Disney Springs). Just a little bit of Disney seems to work better for us these days. It's too complicated for me to deal with planning a Disney-heavy vacation anymore.

I was never one for staying totally in the Disney bubble. Even when we stayed onsite at Disney, there were at least two days when we needed to "escape."