Disney v Universal

[petit-pois]

If you can’t do both sets of parks then taking their age into account I’d do Disney again while they’re still young enough to experience it through little kid eyes.
Ideally though with your sons love of Harry Potter I’d try to make savings elsewhere such as accommodation and stretch to universal 2 day 2 park tickets also at around £150 each.

[cornishfrogboy]

The general opinion of some seems to be that there is a kind of cut off date between growing out of Disney and growing into Universal.

I reckon that with one child, you may well pick up on that moment. With a 7 year old daughter and 10 year old lad, it may become more problematic to make a decision that covers both bases. Petit Poi’s may have hit on a good compromise.

I appreciate in saying ‘grow out of Disney’, many then return to it in later years..

[bilbous]

Our family really wasn't keen on Disney but they love Universal/Seaworld/Busch.
However I will say a lot depends on what your kids want from a theme park. If it is just rides I think the Universal/Seaworld combo tickets would be best suited but if they want to be immersed in the rides and the theming of the parks then Disney would be your better option.

[moosha]

Originally Posted by jas72

Agree with Ahoy

Personally I think 7 is the limit really for character interactions and by 10-12 they are definitely over them unless they really like Disney. At 7-10 I'd try them again with Disney one last time the theming is second to none. Then you might be able to get both on all the rides at the other theme parks in 1-2 years time.

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My girls were still loving character interactions at Disney on our last trip age 12 and 11, especially as they’d started taking selfies with them and having so much fun doing that. I don’t think growing out of the characters is a set age for everyone…I think my DDs would still do it now at 15 and 13 (especially for selfies.)

There are a few character interactions at Universal too unless that has all stopped because of the pandemic but my two loved getting a photo with King Julien from Madagascar in 2020 age 13 and 12.

Besides characters, we love both Disney and Universal but they are very different experiences. For theming and magic Disney has the edge (although the Harry Potter areas are comparable on this) but the atmosphere at Universal is more cool and edgy / exciting (great for older kids) but also it feels more chilled and relaxed imo without having to rush to pre-booked ADRs / FPs (or new equivalent.)

When we first took the girls to Universal they were 5 and 4 and didn’t get a lot out of it but as they’ve got older they now love it as much as Disney.

We did a Universal only trip right before the pandemic and loved it. I think with thrill seekers and a Harry Potter fan yours would definitely love it at this age but there’s still an awful lot to enjoy at Disney for this age group too.

A tough one, the only thing that would push me towards Disney over Universal if I was you is the height restriction as it might put some of the rides your DD wants to ride out of reach and that can be a big disappointment plus you wouldn’t be able to get full value for money if she can’t ride everything she wants to. As Jas says above another year or two could make all the difference.

[Floridarules]

7 and 10, personally I would do Disney.

Plenty of time for a repeat visit in the years to come.😁

[Holiday Junkie]

My Kids always want to go too Universal.
Although they then say they love a ride and it's usually in Disney.

[Wishuponastar]

I can’t imagine doing an Orlando holiday without Disney. We are splitting our holiday between the both next time. Why not do universal but maybe get a 1/2 day pass for Disney or even see if there is a Disney after hours party you can do nearer the time?