Universal for a day worth it?

During your week vacation to WDW, would you take a day to go to Universal?

  • Yes, I always try to do a day at Universal or other non-WDW park/attraction.

    Votes: 31 45.6%
  • Possibly. If time and budget permitting I would consider another non-WDW Attraction.

    Votes: 29 42.6%
  • No. I love WDW and would not leave property.

    Votes: 8 11.8%

  • Total voters
    68
As someone who is going on my first time to both Universal and WDW this summer this topic is very enlightening of such a wide range of opions. Been to Universal Hollywood many years ago plus 2 trips to Disneyland but this is our first trip to Orlando We will be spending 4 nights at Universal ( Portofino Bay) and then moving to WDW (POR) for 7 nights. I am looking forward to both parks and can’t wait to visit both of them. Been watching many videos and like that we will experience both “bubbles” and forming my own option but right now I am super excited for both.

Can’t wait to see Harry Potter World in person!!!
You are very smart staying onsite at Universal. You will be able to enter the parks before the general public. I highly recommend that you do whatever is most important to you before it gets crazy crowded.

It was very important for my DD to go to the wand shop and have the wand choose her. We were among the large crowds who did not stay onsite and she was unable to have that experience. We couldn’t even get near the wands on the shelves because the shop was body to body. Ultimately we had to shout over the sea of humanity to some random woman who picked out my daughter’s wand and passed it to us via the crowd.

Everything we did at HP was crowded with lines and endless waiting.

As a teacher, I enjoyed the Dr. Seuss area. My family obliged me, but didn’t enjoy it themselves. We aren’t thrill riders, so all in all, there wasn’t much else for us except the overcrowded HP. We ate at Margaritaville since we are huge Jimmy Buffet fans. After lunch we were done.

If you love thrill rides, you will have a blast. And staying onsite will make everything run more smoothly. Enjoy!
 
My husband promised my son when he was 6 that he would take him to Harry Potter. Our son is now 16 and has not been (parenting fail) so we decided to go for spring break. Well, I was all, "Let's stay at WDW. We've never been to Epcot or AK either so let's check them out too." I am sneaky. Then my younger son got upset that we weren't going to MK so we are doing that too. So it is now 3 days at WDW and 1 at Universal. I love Harry Potter but I hate crowds so I am dreading it. We bought just the boys the one time jump the line passes that don't work in Harry Potter. They cost a fortune but we don't plan to go again. So our objective is to immediately head for Harry Potter and endure the crowds and lines. Head over to The Simpsons after since my kid is a big fan. Look for Minions and then find a shady spot while the lads ride what they want one time. I made an ADR for The Wave that night so I can hurry them out of there. Low expectations. Just putting my head down and getting through it.
 
And you can stop trying to silence anyone who doesn’t enjoy Universal. You beat that dead horse on a regular basis. Readers are entitled to hear both sides on any thread that comes up on the issue of weather Universal is worth one’s time and money.

The poster I responded to was asking if two days at Universal was worth a potential expenditure of potentially upwards of $1200! That’s a lot of money and I simply offered an opinion. One counter to yours, but an opinion nonetheless.

The worst money I ever spent at Disney was a character meal at Hollywood and Dine. Whenever a thread pops up asking if it’s worth going, worth the money, I always chime in with an answer about how poor a value it is. The whole point of these threads is to hear a variety of perspectives.
Well said.
 
My husband promised my son when he was 6 that he would take him to Harry Potter. Our son is now 16 and has not been (parenting fail) so we decided to go for spring break. Well, I was all, "Let's stay at WDW. We've never been to Epcot or AK either so let's check them out too." I am sneaky. Then my younger son got upset that we weren't going to MK so we are doing that too. So it is now 3 days at WDW and 1 at Universal. I love Harry Potter but I hate crowds so I am dreading it. We bought just the boys the one time jump the line passes that don't work in Harry Potter. They cost a fortune but we don't plan to go again. So our objective is to immediately head for Harry Potter and endure the crowds and lines. Head over to The Simpsons after since my kid is a big fan. Look for Minions and then find a shady spot while the lads ride what they want one time. I made an ADR for The Wave that night so I can hurry them out of there. Low expectations. Just putting my head down and getting through it.
Express pass works for Harry Potter now too.
 


My husband promised my son when he was 6 that he would take him to Harry Potter. Our son is now 16 and has not been (parenting fail) so we decided to go for spring break. Well, I was all, "Let's stay at WDW. We've never been to Epcot or AK either so let's check them out too." I am sneaky. Then my younger son got upset that we weren't going to MK so we are doing that too. So it is now 3 days at WDW and 1 at Universal. I love Harry Potter but I hate crowds so I am dreading it. We bought just the boys the one time jump the line passes that don't work in Harry Potter. They cost a fortune but we don't plan to go again. So our objective is to immediately head for Harry Potter and endure the crowds and lines. Head over to The Simpsons after since my kid is a big fan. Look for Minions and then find a shady spot while the lads ride what they want one time. I made an ADR for The Wave that night so I can hurry them out of there. Low expectations. Just putting my head down and getting through it.


I agree - you'll be exhausted, but if you stick to Harry Potter, and then just hit the highlights in the rest of the parks, you should at least survive. lol

Definitely download the app - you get a map, wait times, you can reserve your seating on Jimmy Fallon if you want (kinda like Soarin), find restaurants, bathrooms, etc.

And, good news - the express passes DO work at Forbidden Journey and Gringotts now, so yay! :) My advice for Forbidden Journey - if the queue is less than 30 mins, it IS a walk-on - do the general queue first, then have the boys hop back in with their express passes. Express skips most of the castle, and it is a beautifully themed ride. For Gringotts, eh -- it's pretty, and if you want the picture, I believe you need to go through the regular line, but aside from the lobby, you're walking through the basement of a bank... lol I suppose, you do get to do the cool elevator thing, though.
 
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And what’s wrong with state fairs?! I love them! They don’t need no stinkin’ theme. They’re real!

State Fairs DO have a theme!! The theme is loud tacky gritty fun and they hit a Grand Slam with it!!!

You can't get a Texas Fried Frito Pie at Disney!!

636122964086278930-Arizona-State-Fair-20.jpg
 
Express pass works for Harry Potter now too.
Oh my goodness! Thank you for telling me. I am on the phone right now upgrading my husband and my tickets. You just really helped me. My fb friends had told me it didn't and I just believed them. Thank you!
 


Absolutely! DD wanted to go to Universal for her graduation a couple of years ago. We stayed at the RPR hotel and were blown away. The lobby is stunning, with tons of fresh orchids. We got express passes with the hotel stay. The pool and restaurants were so much better than WDW. Since it was just one day, we did the original Universal Park, not both parks. Great rides, and express pass was a huge help. We went in June, so a bit crowded.

We have DVC, and we have season passes to Busch Gardens back home here, so we get into Sea World and Aquatica for free. So it is hard to justify spending money on Universal. However, we all have fond memories of that trip, and would highly recommend Univ to anyone.
 
And you can stop trying to silence anyone who doesn’t enjoy Universal. You beat that dead horse on a regular basis. Readers are entitled to hear both sides on any thread that comes up on the issue of whether Universal is worth one’s time and money.

The poster I responded to was asking if two days at Universal was worth a potential expenditure of upwards of $1200! That’s a lot of money and I simply offered an opinion. One counter to yours, but an opinion nonetheless.

The worst money I ever spent at Disney was a character meal at Hollywood and Dine. Whenever a thread pops up asking if it’s worth going, worth the money, I always chime in with an answer about how poor a value it is. The whole point of these threads is to hear a variety of perspectives.

The difference is you seem to seek out these kinds of threads to let people know how much you think Universal sucks. I don't go to numerous Disney threads to say I think the parks are overpriced and boring, even though I think exactly that. Think what you want though. I think the ignore feature would be a good thing for me right now.
 
And you can stop trying to silence anyone who doesn’t enjoy Universal. You beat that dead horse on a regular basis. Readers are entitled to hear both sides on any thread that comes up on the issue of whether Universal is worth one’s time and money.

The poster I responded to was asking if two days at Universal was worth a potential expenditure of upwards of $1200! That’s a lot of money and I simply offered an opinion. One counter to yours, but an opinion nonetheless.

The worst money I ever spent at Disney was a character meal at Hollywood and Dine. Whenever a thread pops up asking if it’s worth going, worth the money, I always chime in with an answer about how poor a value it is. The whole point of these threads is to hear a variety of perspectives.

Exactly, and to be fair you get this with WDW as well. People for some reason lack the ability to be objective about their favourite theme park which is kind of silly. For the record, I love both Disney and Universal- haven't been to the latter for a good couple of years but am eager to go back and see all the new stuff that's arrived!

I don't know if I would pay the extremely high price for just two days if you already have Disney tickets. I don't know how people would even afford to visit both resorts now as one day tickets to both are well over the $100 mark!!
 
I made an ADR for The Wave that night so I can hurry them out of there. Low expectations. Just putting my head down and getting through it.

I really hope you enjoy Universal. Please try and enjoy the day; all the parks are going to be busy during spring break- Epcot and AK will be no different. If I were you, I’d honestly cancel the ADR and just get the most out of your day at Universal since you’re already paying a lot of money for it. There are some awesome restaurants at CityWalk and the Universal hotels.
 
We never do an all Disney trip. We always go to SeaWorld, if we are in Orlando we go to Busch Gardens.
Legoland has been on our list for awhile. We also depending on whether we are at land or world hit the beach, Hollywood, cape Canaveral etc. and shopping (way more choice and a lot cheaper than home, we arrive with 1 suitcase and leave with 4)
We used to go to Universal every trip too. But for us Universal wasn’t worth the cost.
We are a family of 5, 3 young kids. No one is a Harry Potter fan. We found the lines too long without the front of the line pass, and the cost too high to be worth it with one. In LA particularly, there is just not enough to do for young kids (and in Orlando it’s all at IOA), the rider swap system is no fun for the kids at all.

I know the kids issue isn’t relevant to you. In your case-I would go and try it so you know. Before kids we loved IOA.
 
This question comes up from time to time. Both Disney and Universal give you quite a few multi day incentives. Going to one or the other for one day isn't the most economical use of your money. So I am going to say no unless you just really want to see Harry Potter. Not worth it just for a day. You're better off doing something at Disney. If you have 2 or 3 days to spend over there, I'd say try it out for yourself.

How you will like Universal is probably going to depend to how well you take to some of Universal's bigger more intense rides. If you take to them well, you'll probably come away thinking it's a good trip. If not, you probably won't.
Universal in general is not nearly as well themed as Disney with the exception of Harry Potter. However, it is light years ahead of say a Six Flags. The one key difference is we find the whole family rides most everything at Disney. But at Universal, though there are rides for everyone, we have noticed that one or more family members sit out at Universal more often.
 
You mentioned that you like adult time at Disney Springs. Universal's City walk is great! If you like roller coasters, Universal is the bomb. I love Disney, but I love Universal, as well. Two different experiences. Both amazing!
 
An opinion is an opinion. I felt like every time I turned around someone at Universal was walking towards me with a lit cigarette in their hand... I found the themes (other than HP) to be lackluster.... However, the employees were very nice. I am really not sure why people take this so personally. I will say I don't think I prepared well enough for the day trip to Universal. I know Disney like the back of my hand- getting around is a breeze and at Universal I was the proverbial fish out of water.

Well I know I don’t really take it personal but just see things posted that really aren’t completely true. You didn’t say it was dirty, but I have seen it said. And maybe it was for some reason on that day the person went but it’s certainly not normal.

I am surprised about the cigerettes. The smoking areas there are well marked, convienent, in the shade, and on their own path or down an alley so folks aren’t walking through them. Maybe there were just a large number of rule breakers on your day, who knows. But they certainly have no excuse for breaking them.

I guess we see the theming differently. Not sure what you mean by lackluster. I found all of them pretty amazing. No nothing compares to HP but it doesn’t at Disney either. I did like Islands if Adventure more for the theming except for Diagon Alley.
 
You are very smart staying onsite at Universal. You will be able to enter the parks before the general public. I highly recommend that you do whatever is most important to you before it gets crazy crowded.

It was very important for my DD to go to the wand shop and have the wand choose her. We were among the large crowds who did not stay onsite and she was unable to have that experience. We couldn’t even get near the wands on the shelves because the shop was body to body. Ultimately we had to shout over the sea of humanity to some random woman who picked out my daughter’s wand and passed it to us via the crowd.

Everything we did at HP was crowded with lines and endless waiting.

As a teacher, I enjoyed the Dr. Seuss area. My family obliged me, but didn’t enjoy it themselves. We aren’t thrill riders, so all in all, there wasn’t much else for us except the overcrowded HP. We ate at Margaritaville since we are huge Jimmy Buffet fans. After lunch we were done.

If you love thrill rides, you will have a blast. And staying onsite will make everything run more smoothly. Enjoy!

Which shop did you try? We noticed the shop in Diagon Alley stayed packed all the first half of the day. The one in Hogsmeade was pretty much empty all day. I mean I know going to the one in Diagon Alley is more sticking with the story but better no crowd than crazy crowded!
 
Your point is well taken. I have never compared Universal to a six flags or state fair. My biggest beef has always been their ability to move people (in my experience, again only mine, it’s poor) and overall perceived value. I’ve praised the Universal resorts and acknowledged that the Harry Potter areas are well done. However, the thread is about whether adding a day or two at Universal is worth the money. When a person is looking at shelling out upwards of $1200 to do so, I stand by my opinion that it is not.

I’ll add that if someone was asking if adding a day or two at Disney was a good value after a Universal trip, I’d probably say no. Pricing for a day or two at either resort is outrageous. Both resorts reward longer stays.

I don’t know what you mean about moving people?

When we were there last it was very crowded. And people moved just fine? It did get a bit tight in Diagon Alley right at dusk when everyone was trying to get that picture of the dragon bit the streets are narrow as they should be and there was really no where to move to. You just go in and around and keep on going or stop and watch the dragon.

I was commenting about the general comments about how “awful” the place is compared to WDW.

As for the dollars, I wouldn’t add just a day to either park on a trip for the other park. If anything I would cut it in half and move to the other park’s resort in the middle.
 
Which shop did you try? We noticed the shop in Diagon Alley stayed packed all the first half of the day. The one in Hogsmeade was pretty much empty all day. I mean I know going to the one in Diagon Alley is more sticking with the story but better no crowd than crazy crowded!
Diagon Alley
 
I don’t know what you mean about moving people?

When we were there last it was very crowded. And people moved just fine? It did get a bit tight in Diagon Alley right at dusk when everyone was trying to get that picture of the dragon bit the streets are narrow as they should be and there was really no where to move to. You just go in and around and keep on going or stop and watch the dragon.

I was commenting about the general comments about how “awful” the place is compared to WDW.

As for the dollars, I wouldn’t add just a day to either park on a trip for the other park. If anything I would cut it in half and move to the other park’s resort in the middle.
I think our second visit was fantastically unlucky. Thirty minutes to gain park access, 45 min express pass wait for Gringott’s, 30 min Express Pass wait for Minions, 30 min wait for a pizza. Granted, this was first week of January, but I visited Animal Kingdom the same day and had no such challenges. Universal just didn’t seem equipped to handle a busy day by getting people through lines.

My first visit was late January 2017, and we toured effortlessly, as the park was empty. We were literally the only people in Ollivander’s and on Men in Black. I’m glad we had that first visit with our annual passes. Had January 2018 been our only visit, I would have been quite upset with the ticket cost.
 

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