Is Universal worth it?

[cornishfrogboy]

I would put up the counter viewpoint. Is Disney worth it?

I have been 8 times in 12 years and obviously the dynamics and expectations of my family have changed now that my boys are nearly 15 and 11.

In our mind the options are as follows (prices as at our Easter 2017 vacation)
1. Disney 14 ultimate priced at around £315 after the hasty £100 pp discount that suggests they were struggling to sell them.
2. Discovery Cove Ultimate non swims at £163pp that gave us a day of meals plus Busch, Aquatica, SEaworld for 14 and also free parking at all.
3. Universal at £215pp for 14 (plus a remarkably expensive £410 for 1 night in the Hardrock on 11 April)

My boys wrote Disney out of the options in the blink of an eye, detesting the New FP system as it ties you to certain days and certain times, rating even the bigger rides as childish and having grown out of the cast dressing up. Both said that it was a very, very easy decision, although both like BB and TL.

Discovery Cove was equally a simple decision for them. It is always their favourite day and in addition, they love the big rides in the other parks.

We had only 9 days in Orlando, having visited Pensacola and Destin for the first part of the break and therefore didn't bother with Universal, although it was most certainly have been the purchased ticket, had we had more time.

It is a fact that Disney no longer figures in our Orlando planning. It never was a 'must do' after our first vacation and I do not anticipate that changing. There are simply many, many other things in Florida that we would rather do!

[DoubleDisney]

Originally Posted by macjaddie

We really like universal. When I asked the kids after the last trip they said their choice would be universal only next time!

I love the Disney parks and agree that there is a special atmosphere, but Universal has some great rides and is a really fun couple of days. The Harry Potter stuff is fab, there are some really decent coasters too. The theming is generally excellent too.

Maybe just hire a car and drive over from where ever you are staying, we don't buy the express passss and only waited in one or two long lines, they weren't horrendous either. We went in the summer holiday for reference.

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That is good to know, thank you. I presumed the queues would be horrendous in the holidays.

[Moorlandman]

Originally Posted by DoubleDisney

That is good to know, thank you. I presumed the queues would be horrendous in the holidays.

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They are horrendous in US school holidays! Gets better from 15th August

[Bozza]

Originally Posted by cornishfrogboy

My boys wrote Disney out of the options in the blink of an eye, detesting the New FP system as it ties you to certain days and certain times,

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That's a bit of a myth, I think.

I've done two Disney trips this year.

#1 (May): Booked flight at 8:15am, left home at 9:00am, flew at 1:00pm (booking Coronado Springs at the airport before I flew) and on Disney property around 7:00pm for a 9 day stay.

#2 (Last week): Booked Beach Club at 1am, travelling there later that day. As such we had no tickets and no Fastpasses. We made it up as we went along on our 7 night stay at the Beach Club and got on all the rides we wanted to, including the new Pandora rides, generally making FP+s on the night before or the day itself. The only challenge was Seven Dwarfs but we did that with a minimal wait by riding when the fireworks were on (we'd already seen them earlier in the stay).

Like others, I also enjoy the long-term planning - ADRs and FPs etc, but it's really not necessary for most of the things you may want to do. Winging it based on what you fancy won't have you missing out.

[YLL]

In previous trips I always did both Disney and Universal. After a long gap I went back to Orlando in 2014 and did both again. This time I'm doing only Disney. Of course the increased price is part of that decision but also I really thought something was missing at Universal. The atmosphere, the cast members, the immersion (apart from Harry Potter) were underwhelming. Too many screen based rides, after a while they feel like they're all the same. I much prefer animatronics and sets. They do have other good rides but after 1.5 days I realised I had a much better time at Disney so went "home" early. Instead I'm going to Discovery Cove this year.

[DoubleDisney]

Originally Posted by Bozza

That's a bit of a myth, I think.

I've done two Disney trips this year.

#1 (May): Booked flight at 8:15am, left home at 9:00am, flew at 1:00pm (booking Coronado Springs at the airport before I flew) and on Disney property around 7:00pm for a 9 day stay.

#2 (Last week): Booked Beach Club at 1am, travelling there later that day. As such we had no tickets and no Fastpasses. We made it up as we went along on our 7 night stay at the Beach Club and got on all the rides we wanted to, including the new Pandora rides, generally making FP+s on the night before or the day itself. The only challenge was Seven Dwarfs but we did that with a minimal wait by riding when the fireworks were on (we'd already seen them earlier in the stay).

Like others, I also enjoy the long-term planning - ADRs and FPs etc, but it's really not necessary for most of the things you may want to do. Winging it based on what you fancy won't have you missing out.

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Wow! That sounds like a very exciting way to do a holiday. Might give it a try some time! Out of interest, was this in school holidays?

[Moorlandman]

Fast Pass at Disney is great. You are guaranteed 3 star attractions and it's FREE!

Cost us over £400 for 2 days of Express Passes at Universal ( stayed at RPR) plus the cost of not using our villa!

[cornishfrogboy]

Originally Posted by Bozza

That's a bit of a myth, I think.

I've done two Disney trips this year.

#1 (May): Booked flight at 8:15am, left home at 9:00am, flew at 1:00pm (booking Coronado Springs at the airport before I flew) and on Disney property around 7:00pm for a 9 day stay.

#2 (Last week): Booked Beach Club at 1am, travelling there later that day. As such we had no tickets and no Fastpasses. We made it up as we went along on our 7 night stay at the Beach Club and got on all the rides we wanted to, including the new Pandora rides, generally making FP+s on the night before or the day itself. The only challenge was Seven Dwarfs but we did that with a minimal wait by riding when the fireworks were on (we'd already seen them earlier in the stay).

I

Like others, I also enjoy the long-term planning - ADRs and FPs etc, but it's really not necessary for most of the things you may want to do. Winging it based on what you fancy won't have you missing out.

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It certainly wasn't a myth on 09 April 2017 when I paid £400 for the 4 of us to visit Animal Kingdom at my wife's request for the day as we had not even entered a Disney Park on our last 3 vacations.
It was an absolute nightmare and whilst we got on the Safari having entered at ropedrop., we were faced with a 2.5 hr to go on Everest. The non fastpass wait for the River Rapids was 180 minutes and we didn't bother.
The good lady commented that she will not be asking to return and I am comfortable with that. I had no wish to go in the first place.

[Crazydragon]

I think it is subjective, that last time we went my boys enjoyed both but next year are more excited about universal. The only reason they want to go to Disney is because of Star Wars, however DW loves Disney so we will still go but Universal is where we will spend most of our time

Rich

[klr15]

As others have said, it's subjective and mainly based upon what you like. For me and the other half we are huge Harry Potter fans so seeing the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for us was beyond amazing and probably one of the best experiences of the holiday. The other half loves superheroes/transformers too so those rides were great were for him. Also both big simpsons fans so again another amazing experience.

I found it to be totally different to Disney. I love both Disney and universal but for different reasons. I find with Universal it allows me to experience a lot of my film favourites whereas Disney had a great atmosphere and had some really great theming too.