Need some honest advice :)

[YorkshireT]

Some people are not bothered about Disney and prefer Universal. For us, Disney in itself, leaving aside the rides, is the holiday, but that’s staying on site. You definitely have a different Disney experience staying off site and just visiting the park.

[Shooby doo]

First thing I'll say is that I/we haven't done it but I'd drop DC&SW, it's a lot of money & possibly something I would do "next" trip. I love Universal, Studios is my No.1 park but I couldn't see myself doing more than 3-4 Days between the 2, Disney is so busy these days that 3 of the 4 parks are 2 dayers with only HS currently being a 1 day visit. FOP is hands down one of the best rides I've done & for us eclipses anything that Universal currently has. That all being said I couldn't stomach the 1 day prices that Disney charge so it would either be a multi-day pass or not at all.
SD

[Mexy02]

Originally Posted by Kevybaby

Hi everyone, I'm pretty new to this so be nice We are a family of 4, 2 daughters who will be 13 and 10 when we make our first trip to Orlando in june 2019. I have booked 2 weeks universal tickets with an overnight stay in a universal hotel for a couple of days with fast passes. I have also booked discovery cove with sea world and busch gardens and was planning an overnight stay in Clearwater when visiting Busch gardens. My huge dilemma is, is it ok to give Disney a miss? We did Euro Disney a couple of years ago and did all the character dining etc. Will I regret it though and is there a relatively cheap way of doing magic kingdom for a day? Thanks in advance

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Our friends did this and loved it , next trip planned will be pure Disney . Gives them something to look forward to , a more semi relaxed holiday and best value for money for tickets. Have a great time

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Kevybaby

My huge dilemma is, is it ok to give Disney a miss?

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Yes, of course it's ok. There's no rule that says you must visit Disney when in Florida.

However, for us, the main reason why we visit is because of Disney World. We have always visited Disney when in Florida.

Originally Posted by Kevybaby

We did Euro Disney a couple of years ago and did all the character dining etc.

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I would say that Disneyland Paris (DLP) and Walt Disney World (WDW) are quite different to one another. The two parks at Paris are somewhat similar to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in Orlando (well, sort of) but the whole feel of WDW is very different to DLP. WDW is much bigger for starters! Plus WDW has two extra parks - Animal Kingdom and Epcot - that are very different to anything at DLP.

We much prefer WDW to DLP, which is why we've only visited the closer DLP once whereas we've visited WDW 8 times.

Originally Posted by Kevybaby

is there a relatively cheap way of doing magic kingdom for a day?

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You can get a 1 day Magic Your Way ticket - either from Disney's US website, from UndercoverTourist, or at the entrance to the parks.

I'm not sure I'd call them "cheap" though. The price of a 1-day ticket is between $109 to $129 (+tax) depending on when you visit.

[ChoppyGirl]

Personally, I couldn't do Orlando without doing Disney, especially the first time. Yes Universal has some great rides but both parks can easily be done over 2-3 days.

I would see if you could use the deposit paid for Universal tickets to change to 14 day Ultimate WDW (usually 14 days for the price of 7). I think you get much more value for money with these than Universal tickets as you get 4 parks plus water parks plus crazy golf.

You can always do Universal next time

[Stitch & Smudge]

I’d stick with what you have. We tried to do Disney and Universal in a fortnight and it’s exhausting. If you’re there for 3 weeks it’s doable but it’s best to try and enjoy yourself, not try to do everything. There’s always next time. Our once in a lifetime trip to Florida is up to number 11.

[derenstar]

We did Orlando many times without touching Disney for several years before we had kids. Back then, the Orlando Flex tickets were excellent value as they included Universal, Seaworld and Busch Gardens and we enjoyed our trips immensely - always had more than enough to keep us busy. We started doing Disney when we had kids and I caught the Disney bug but, as the children have gotten older, they seem to be preferring the Universal to the Disney parks, much to my dismay, but hey ho! My girls are 11 & 8 and are both huge Harry Potter fans so perhaps this is why.

I think it is absolutely fine to do Orlando without Disney, your kids won’t miss what they’ve never experienced so don’t beat yourself up about it. Having said that, if this going to be your one and ONLY trip to Orlando, it would be a bit of a shame not to experience at least Magic Kingdom, it is very different to DLP (not better or worse, just different).