Stay at Disney or combine a day or two at Universal?

have2getaway

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 5, 2005
We are planning a return Disney trip next January, 2019, and plan to stay again at the Polynesian. It will be me, DH, and our triplet boys who are 8. On our trip last year, we thought the boys were still a bit young for Universal and, since they had never been to Disney, we wanted to focus on that. We paid a lot of money for the deluxe dining, resort and park hopper tickets, and doing Universal for a day would have added $700-$800. This time, I started out excited to try both, but am finding I have reservations again, but for different reasons. Our Disney trip felt so easy and relaxed and we had pretty much paid for everything up front. We really want a repeat of that experience, and we’re looking forward to doing things we didn’t do on our last trip—like enjoy our resort more, visit the Boardwalk, etc. If we try to add a day or two at Universal, it will be hard to repeat that relaxed experience. We will be paying for a dining plan we won’t use for 1-2 days. Also, we are not the split stay type. We prefer to get where we are going and stay there, and, I don’t know, it’s starting to feel like we are just trying to cram too much into one trip. Does anyone else struggle with this? Just looking for thoughts and suggestions? For those who did both in a week, which is how long we will be there, did you find it was too much?
 
Just do WDW.
There is a great deal to do and see at USF. I would plan a separate trip in the future just for USF (including Volcano Bay). Stay at a USF resort to experience that and to get the Front of Line perks.

We have done many WDW trips, several USF trips, a couple combined. We generally find the added cost of the USF park tickets are not worth it to combine trips, when for just a few more dollars per day, you can extend the WDW hopper tickets.
 
If the kids are in to HP, sure, do Universal. If they aren't, I'd wait until they were tall enough/old enough to want to do the big coasters, to get your money's worth. We do two half days at Universal, but we only go for the HP areas.
 
I'd skip Universal unless you are up for a split stay. As a PP mentioned, if you stay at some of the Universal resorts, you get their Express Pass for free (I think it's something like $80-100 per person to add it to your ticket separately - it's like a FP for almost every attraction) and you also get entry into one park an hour early. Going to Universal for a day or two is SO expensive, because tickets get cheaper the more days that you add on. That said, 2 days at Universal is plenty for us - 3 tops.
 


I echo @wdw&sonny ... Plan a separate trip in the future to just do UO. It is expensive to add on those additional days of tickets at a different park (make no mistake, it costs just as much to add a few Disney days to a Universal vacation... :-)), and I think you're definitely right about it taking away the relaxed feel of the vacation. In order to make the most of your time at UO, you'd want to be up early for transportation over there, and if you weren't purchasing the EP you might end up spending a bunch of time in lines.... and then you've got to take transportation back to your Disney resort at night....

That being said, I lovelovelove UO and HIGHLY suggest planning a trip there in the future!!!!
 
I had full intention of including Universal our last trip. The family we were traveling with did two days there but my children didn't want to. We ended up doing one of the days in Disney and one of their Universal days at Seaworld. They were able to use their dining credits without too much issue even though they went to Universal for those days. They just made sure to have a couple days where they had two TS instead of one (they were on the one TS, one CS, one snack a day plan). I left our decision to my children who were 13 at the time. We don't regret skipping it...our Seaworld day was actually one of our favorites!
 


That's why I haven't been to Universal in probably 15 years. Disney makes it way too easy and convenient to just stay in the bubble.
You owe it to yourself to try the Harry Potter sections. They're really well done.

I'll echo the posters above and say you should do Universal only if split-staying. If you're staying at the Disney hotel the whole time just stay at Disney.
 
Consider too how many days you have planned for each park. We made our 3rd trip in 3 years this past November with our two boys, 7 &4. The first two years we spent 5 days in the parks, but planned the most recent to be a bit longer (8 days) for some of the same reasons you mention - doing things we missed the previous two times, more time for non-park activities, not feeling rushed.

By the end of the trip the boys definitely had some Disney fatigue, especially the older one. The second day in a park (or 3rd for MK) lost some of its shine - everyone had fun but it was Disneyworld!, not DISNEYWORLD!!! by the end. Again, that was a 3rd trip, maybe a 2nd trip wouldn't have that effect.

If we end up making a return to Florida for our next trip we'll be splitting off to Universal for a couple of days. But you're right on the cost of that being a little hard to swallow.
 
We included Universal in our 10 day trip in November. We actually split the Universal days and we really enjoyed doing it that way. However, we had our own vehicle. We also stayed at Cabana Bay for 3 nights before moving to Disney.

We had a blast, but it was definitely tough on us physically. We had to take almost a whole day of rest in the middle of the trip. I'm glad we did it the way we did, but I would not split one trip like that again.
 
Do Universal when your kids are older. They have many rides with high height restrictions; even the raft rides and log flumes are pretty high. Wait until they are taller and have read the Harry Potter books.
 
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Consider too how many days you have planned for each park. We made our 3rd trip in 3 years this past November with our two boys, 7 &4. The first two years we spent 5 days in the parks, but planned the most recent to be a bit longer (8 days) for some of the same reasons you mention - doing things we missed the previous two times, more time for non-park activities, not feeling rushed.

By the end of the trip the boys definitely had some Disney fatigue, especially the older one. The second day in a park (or 3rd for MK) lost some of its shine - everyone had fun but it was Disneyworld!, not DISNEYWORLD!!! by the end. Again, that was a 3rd trip, maybe a 2nd trip wouldn't have that effect.

If we end up making a return to Florida for our next trip we'll be splitting off to Universal for a couple of days. But you're right on the cost of that being a little hard to swallow.

Are you saying that they were sick of the Disney stay towards the end of the trip and would have enjoyed a change by going to Universal, because this was your 3rd trip there? Or, are you saying that we should try to limit time at the parks in general and opt for more downtime?
 
If your kids are into HP, then US is worth doing at least once. The HP areas are done very well. We just did a split stay with Disney & Universal & I would highly recommend changing resorts if you decide to add US. It is very expensive as an “add on” day though.
 
I agree with all the PP that say to do a trip as a split stay. That's what we had always done previous to our last trip. I've stayed at the Royal Pacific and Portofino Bay. Both were amazing, but the express pass really is the clincher. On our last trip we didn't stay at a universal hotel and not having the express pass really impacted the ease of touring the parks.

Also, I don't know if this is a popular opinion, but I feel like US is going down hill. The theming of both Harry Potter areas are fantastic (as a huge potter fan), but all the new rides they put in are using the same 3D and motion simulation technology. It feels like you're riding the same ride over and over and over again, just with a different video playing. I felt sick all day and I never struggled with motion sickness before. It was a breath of fresh air to return to Disney and go on an actual ride again.

With all that said, we've decided to skip US for our upcoming Sept trip. I will bring my DSs when they begin to read the Harry Potter books (age 9 or 10 depending on their maturity) and then one a year, growing with Harry! And books first then movies! Lol.
 
We started our trip at Universal (staying onsite at Royal Pacific Resort which includes Express Pass) for two days and then transferred over to WDW for the remainder of the trip. I actually wish we had done three days instead of two. My 7 year old daughter was able to do almost everything and transferring went very well, i was really worried about timing and storage but it was seamless. Next time I will split it more evenly and spend more time at Universal, I love WDW but we are also big Harry Potter fans and with Disney crowds, Universal edged out ahead for us.
 
We have loved our Universal/WDW split stays. They have felt like two vacations-in-one, which is kind of neat.

That being said..

I think a week is short for any split stay, whether within WDW or Universal/WDW. Especially with kids. We've found being able to add even one or two more days helps so much. It makes both parts of the split long enough.

If you think you'll be back in the next couple of years, your boys might be at a slightly better age to enjoy everything at Universal.

We've also done a Universal-only trip where we took one day to go over to WDW. That worked really well too. Maybe something to keep in mind for the future.

We have found that an onsite Universal stay manages to feel even more like a bubble than WDW (that's staying at one of the three deluxes, I haven't stayed at the others)

Anyway, just a bunch of random thoughts! :)
 
We have loved our Universal/WDW split stays. They have felt like two vacations-in-one, which is kind of neat.

That being said..

I think a week is short for any split stay, whether within WDW or Universal/WDW. Especially with kids. We've found being able to add even one or two more days helps so much. It makes both parts of the split long enough.

If you think you'll be back in the next couple of years, your boys might be at a slightly better age to enjoy everything at Universal.

We've also done a Universal-only trip where we took one day to go over to WDW. That worked really well too. Maybe something to keep in mind for the future.

We have found that an onsite Universal stay manages to feel even more like a bubble than WDW (that's staying at one of the three deluxes, I haven't stayed at the others)

Anyway, just a bunch of random thoughts! :)

Thanks so much! We thought that perhaps adding a day or two might help. The biggest issue we encounter is what to do about the Magical Express? We absolutely loved that on our last trip. I know that we would have to sort out transport to and from the parks if we opt to stay at Disney. We really want to do the Portofino Bay Hotel, but it seemed so challenging to figure out how to get from Disney to Universal to the airport. That’s when I start to question if it’s just easier to check it out for a day or two or do it on a trip when they are more ready?

They’ve all watched the Harry Potter movies and love them. Two of our boys are really ready for thrill rides, and one is not ready to give up Mickey or Disney at all, and really doesn’t like anything scary, loud or dark. He started to cry waiting to get on the milder version at Mission Space. His brothers (they are triplets) went with my husband and loved the extreme version. We YouTubed some of the rides and the Mummy and Jurassic Park were not big hits with him.
 
Thanks so much! We thought that perhaps adding a day or two might help. The biggest issue we encounter is what to do about the Magical Express? We absolutely loved that on our last trip. I know that we would have to sort out transport to and from the parks if we opt to stay at Disney. We really want to do the Portofino Bay Hotel, but it seemed so challenging to figure out how to get from Disney to Universal to the airport. That’s when I start to question if it’s just easier to check it out for a day or two or do it on a trip when they are more ready?

They’ve all watched the Harry Potter movies and love them. Two of our boys are really ready for thrill rides, and one is not ready to give up Mickey or Disney at all, and really doesn’t like anything scary, loud or dark. He started to cry waiting to get on the milder version at Mission Space. His brothers (they are triplets) went with my husband and loved the extreme version. We YouTubed some of the rides and the Mummy and Jurassic Park were not big hits with him.

We used Tony Hinds, he is often referred on the Universal forums. He picked us up at the airport and then from Universal to Disney. Then we took the ME to the airport. Actually we took an Uber and just used Disney to transport our luggage to the airport. He has booster seats available and fit all of us (6 adults, 2 kids) our luggage and my MIL scooter.
 
We used Tony Hinds, he is often referred on the Universal forums. He picked us up at the airport and then from Universal to Disney. Then we took the ME to the airport. Actually we took an Uber and just used Disney to transport our luggage to the airport. He has booster seats available and fit all of us (6 adults, 2 kids) our luggage and my MIL scooter.

Oh, I didn’t realize that you could take Magical Express one way? I thought you had to use it to be picked up and brought home, unless you just give up the option to be picked up since you were going to Universal first? Is it better to start at Universal or Disney?
 
I highly recommend staying on property if you do Universal. The express pass is fantastic. As much as my family loves WDW, we find Universal more relaxing. You can walk to both parks from the hotels so no buses. There is no getting up early 6 months out to try to get ADRs. No getting up early to schedule FPs. We did a split trip the first time but it is so expensive to do tickets. Now we just alternate years.
 

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