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Old 26 Aug 17, 10:25 PM  
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DoubleDisney
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Mobile Is Universal worth it?

Love Disney and thinking about returning for 3rd year on the trot. Is it worth paying the thousands extra for Universal once hotel/tickets taken into account? I like my luxuries so was thinking of Four Seasons for next visit. Would a split stay with maybe a Lowes be worthwhile? I'd want the front of line passes. Plus, would City Walk live up to Disney Springs? Thanks in advance for all input. I'm curious to know how Universal lives up as I wouldn't want to feel I was wasting time (and money) at a lesser Disney World.
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Old 26 Aug 17, 10:32 PM  
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loldis
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Worth is going to be subjective on this. For me, absolutely not as nothing in that park appeals. But I go more for ambience than rides, and can't do simulator rides anyway which rules out the majority there. Other people would say Disney is the waste of money, and spend all their time at Universal. And others again love both equally.

ETA: We will go once Super Nintendo Land is open though.
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Old 26 Aug 17, 10:36 PM  
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Dr.JumbaJookiba
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We enjoy both Universal and WDW and like you enjoy deluxe hotels. We usually stay at HRH when over at Universal. City Walk is OK but not as relaxing and no where near as many shops as Disney Springs. Do Universal the first part of the stay though then move to Four Seasons as I think it's best to leave best till last. The Four Seasons IMHO is better than the GF.
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Old 26 Aug 17, 10:44 PM  
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Scaffers
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YES

We prefer it to Disney.
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Old 26 Aug 17, 10:54 PM  
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berniegroves
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Before we had kids Universal and IoA were our favourite parks.
Since we have had kids Disney holds more magic for us as a family, but IoA was still one of the big hits for us last time.
And now both my kids like Harry Potter i'm sure we will enjoy it even more next time.

CityWalk is nice, it is nowhere near as big as Disney Springs so can't really be compared, but we have always had good meals there and we like the cinema too.

We don't bother staying onsite as we have never felt the need for FOLP, so I can't comment on that.

It is subjective, some people prefer Disney, others Universal. We love both.
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Old 26 Aug 17, 11:02 PM  
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Bozza
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We re-visited Universal last week for the first time in, we think, about 5 years. We stayed 4 nights at the Royal Pacific so could do the parks, including Volcano Bay, in quite a laid back fashion as well as enjoying the resort itself.

Universal have some fantastic attractions and the Harry Potter stuff, across both parks, is incredible and I say that as someone who has neither read the books nor seen the films.

All three FOTL-qualifying hotels are lovely resorts in their own right too. You have to spend a fair bit on Disney property to get the same quality.

However, despite all this, it doesn't have the magic of Disney World for us. After the Royal Pacific we made a very last minute decision to go to WDW for a week, staying at our favourite Beach Club, and on our very first evening, strolling around World Showcase we said that we felt at home. WDW just feels special for us in a way that Universal just doesn't.
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Old 26 Aug 17, 11:16 PM  
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DisneyDaffodil
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We love Disney and did not think Universal would be anywhere near as good so did not yearn to go there. However a change of plan this year left us with 5 nights in Orlando so we decided to use the time to visit Universal.

We LOVED it, my DH (who isn't a big ride fan so I didn't think he would enjoy Universal) preferred it to Disney and my 16 year old Disney crazy DD and myself loved it as much as Disney. Rides particularly are better at Universal.

I would add we stayed off site at Universal and did not have FOLP but did not queue for longer than 30 minutes for anything. We used the app for ride times and made a rule not to join a line with over 30 minute wait. The only ride we didn't manage to ride was Minions (which we weren't too keen to anyway). Also, for us, we couldn't justify paying for both Disney and Universal tickets in one trip. I feel it is too expensive plus, unless you are in Orlando for over 2 weeks, you wouldn't get enough time to do both Disney and Universal. But that is just how I see it, and I know many can and do visit both in 2 weeks or less.

Edited at 11:17 PM.
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Old 26 Aug 17, 11:21 PM  
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I am a bit ambivalent really. We always do 2-3 days as we stay over so come back feeling a bit over parked. I don't know if that is the universal parks or the fact that we wouldn't do 2 consecutive Disney days.

A couple in our party don't like/cope well with simulator rides and there seems to be an ever increasing amount of them at universal.

We may not go back for a while.
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Old 26 Aug 17, 11:50 PM  
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Lee2112
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I much prefer it to Disney but if you're already expecting a sub-standard Disney you're going fairly negatively so you're bound to be disappointed, might be best to skip it.
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Old 27 Aug 17, 12:10 AM  
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Go^uk
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Great question...

I have been a Disney World fan since 1985! Multiple trips (40+) and universal has always been a side trip.

Plus, it is more expensive - for us. Out of curiosity I worked out Disney costs us about £12 per person, per hour and Universal works out nearer to £14! (Yes, I fully realise I have some weird form of mathematical OCD! )

Harry Potter as a theme, was a game changer. Maybe balanced out by Pandora - I shall find out in a few weeks.

City walk feels more 'adult' and less of a shopping mall.

Hotel rooms; deluxe vs deluxe - again universal wins (in our opinion).

HHN is, for us, a fantastic experience and makes universal a go to destination.

BUT, Disney is so special to me. It's the centrepiece for my memories. Saying that, when I think about DisneyWorld I remember Boardwalk and Baseball, Church Street Station, Ybor City, Kennedy Space Center, St Pete's Pier, Fort De'soto, Wet n Wild, Seaworld...

Sorry for the rambling post... I think what I am trying to say is Disney is great, but there is more. Universal allows you an opportunity to create different (not better or worse) memories. So just book it. But book other stuff too!

I keep booking on-site hotels. I keep going for 'the luxuries'. But, the more I think about it, by doing so I am missing out on so much!
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