If you have $1200 to spend would you...

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

some back story- We are DVC members and have been to Disney a bunch, but never to Universal. My daughter and I LOVE Harry Potter and would really like to get to universal at some point, as we have never been but I am struggling with the added cost. I have a 11 and 14 year old who aren't huge roller coaster fans, but do enjoy rides like Flight of Passage at Disney. We have a planned week long Disney trip first week of June 2020 using our DVC points and are considering the following, and would appreciate any and all advice!! All options are roughly around $1200

1) Add a night at Hard Rock beginning of the trip and one day park to park passes at Universal. (Saturday we fly in, head to Hard Rock and enjoy the resort/City Walk. Sunday- all day at universal then uber to Disney hotel for remaining 7 nights

2) Go to universal mid Disney trip- take uber or lyft to Universal and back to Disney same day, buy one day park to park tickets but NOT express pass and not stay overnight. with this option we could get the tickets around $800 and then add an extra night to our disney trip so 8 nights instead of 7

3) Skip Universal this trip and add 4 more nights to Disney stay- so 11 nights at Disney (our longes trip has been 14 and we loved it)

 

[CPanther95]

Wait until you can do Universal at the end of a trip. Doing it first will make your Disney trip much less enjoyable.

 

[christophfam]

Don’t sell Universal short. One day isn’t enough especially if you’re HP fans. If you’re going to go, two days minimum with three being ideal. I’d Uber over at the end of your Disney trip first thing in the morning. Check into a hotel that offers express just before park opening and enjoy a stress free day. Enjoy your hotel and great dining options at Citywalk that evening. Then you have another entire day of express the next day. You get two days of express with one night hotel stay. Take full advantage of two full days. Fly out the next day. Your kids are at the perfect age to really enjoy Universal, coaster fans or not!

 

[disneyseniors]

I can't agree more with christophfam. We started out going to Universal for one day the first time. We went in the middle of the trip which works for us. However, the cost of one day tickets with EP was very expensive. That's not even a 2 park hopper, just one side of the parks.
We loved Universal and decided to stay at one of the deluxes that have free EP's. The cost wasn't much more than a nice moderate at disney and it was a Real Deluxe ! It was nice to be onsite and take advantage of early opening, EP's, all the other things besides HP, which was awesome! I think 2 days is great for us, but we are only 2 adults. With a family of 4 it would be pretty expensive for those 2 park tickets for one day, let alone with EP's. I don't know, but I would stay at one of the resorts as I feel it is a much better value.

 

[Wild4Walt]

My husband and I have done Universal mid-trip the last 2 trips into Orlando. ( our trips were 8 days and 11 days ) Trip 1, my husband caught a cold and I know he was fairly miserable but he wanted to see the Harry Potter areas as he had never seen them. Trip 2, we spent all day at both parks ( we did park to park passes so we could see both sides ). It was enjoyable and if you aren't doing coasters then it will most likely be enough time to see and do the highlights.

Our next trip though, we are planning the 1st 3 days of our trip at Universal at Sapphire Falls so we can enjoy everything else Universal has to offer and talk a more leisurely pace.

 

[Minnie1222]

One day at Universal is definitely not enough for me. I typically add 3 days Universal, once a year, at the end of my Disney trip.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

If staying at Hard Rock, I'd at least do 2 days of tickets since you have Express Passes for 2 days anyways with that 1 night stay. When do you arrive Sat?


How often do you get to Orlando?

Doing a separate trip is much cheaper per day than just adding a single day ticket.

It might be worth considering doing a Universal trip the next year instead - price out a week or even 3-4 days just Universal, and the costs are very reasonable. It's just those one day tickets that kill a budget.

 

[starry_solo]

I considered this but decided nah.

 

[familyman123]

My wife and I have had this conversation. For us, we have four kids (so increase the financial trade off). for us, we would rather have four extra days of vacation then one. It’s more cost effective to do a Disney only trip and then. Universal only trip, rather than splitting. Four days at Disney gives you more relaxed touring, more resort time, etc.

 

[GamingBuck]

I agree with others. One day is going to make you think Universal isn't all that because you'll be rushed and skip over too much. If you stay at Hard Rock be sure to get 2 day tickets and check in early in the morning to make the most of both days' worth of express passes. At the end of the second day upgrade to seasonal passes for a modest upcharge so you can go back the next year.

 

[SG131]

I voted for option one, but if at all possible I would try to come in early and do two days of tickets for universal. The biggest benefit to staying onsite at universal is express pass and you’re only taking advantage of half of it. I generally prefer Disney to universal, however, I am a huge Harry Potter fan and glad I did universal last December to see it. I could take or leave pretty much the entire rest of the parks, but the Harry Potter area is so well done it’s 100% worth it.

 

[cfoxga]

Voted for other. I agree with the 2 days being needed to appreciate the parks. You can do a lot in one day with EP, but you will feel rushed to see everything. I also agree with doing this at the end of the trip. Universal tends to be a more relaxing trip for us than Disney. At the end of every Disney trip or cruise, we'd all joke that we really need a vacation

 

[lovin'fl]

We've done Universal 3 times. Our first trip, stayed off site, and thought it was a once in a lifetime trip so we did WDW, US and Seaworld. Kids were little and didn't really like US all that much so it went on the back burner until...Harry Potter. We also, in meantime, bought DVC. In 2012 we did 4 nights at Vero with our DVC points and then drove over to US and did 2 nights at Hard Rock. Loved it! Then in 2015, we had 9 nights at WDW booked with DVC but some friends of ours were down there and wanted us to do US with them. So we were initially going to just get a 1 day park to park pass. But worked out to be best deal to book hotel for 1 night to get Xpress pass and extra hour included. We booked mid trip and just left our BWV room empty for the night. Booked Portifino that time. Like Hard Rock better. It's a smidge closer to everything. If we were to do it again, we'd do it as an add on night (or 2) at beginning or end of trip and not have to leave DVC unoccupied and take overnight bag. Might even do the Vero and US split again. That was nice!

 

[nkereina]

My initial inclination was to vote for option 1, but what time of year are you going? You may not need express pass if its not a busy time of year, BUT express pass will allow you to do more if you only have one day there.

I tend to agree with PPs that one day won't do either park justice. Two days is better, three days is best. Also, we LOVE Hard Rock Hotel, probably more than any Disney resort, so I would recommend even cutting Disney short by a day or two to add another night or two at HRH. We also prefer to do Universal at the end of our trip so that we can end in a nice resort, and tour the parks at a more relaxed pace with express pass. We can also sleep in with express pass, rather than rush for rope drop. But, doing Universal at the start is better than not doing it at all!

 

[Disxuni]

The roller coaster attractions while there are more than Disney are a fraction of the attractions compared to what is all there.

Also, you'd need at least two days, three you wanted to focus on covering everything (minus roller coasters), explore, not feel rushed, have time to do all, or most of the shows and/or do re-rides. Only one day for both parks would be acceptable if you wanted to cover all of HP, had a certain amount of rides you want to focus on, or was just doing one park, not two.

Besides, if you add one night at the HRH you get unlimited EP for two days anyway, as you get hotel benefits on check in and check out date. Of course, it means buying another day for a ticket, but something to think about as the unlimited EP is technically for two days, not one, when you stay for a night.

 

[Alexsandra]

We are not a huge roller coster family but we love simulation rides like FoP. There are a ton of rides at Universal that you will be able to enjoy. We are Disney people but loved our experience at Universal last year and bought an Annual Pass to save on costs (might be worth looking into to get AP discount on room and food). We are going back this March and splitting our vacation: half Disney, half Universal.

This is what I recommend. I would eliminate a day at Disney and spend at least 2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel (It's a great hotel by the way!) Try to visit Universal at least 2 days, so grab a 2 day, park-to-park ticket. You'll need at least two full days to really enjoy it. There is so much to see in the WWoHP it is worth it. Plus you"ll get the free express pass for each family member so you'll be able to see quite a lot in those 2 days.

Hope that helps!

 

[Jedimom33]

We are also DVC since 2011 (home is BWV.) but we also LOVE Universal/IoA. Most recently, we've not combined our Disney trips w Universal, mostly due to cost. IE, the year we take off from Disney, is generally when we'll do Universal. Did that last Thanksgiving for a few days. Loved it. We've also never done Universal without staying at either Hard Rock or Royal Pacific (if you can swing Portofino, it's supposed to be wonderful. just a farther walk. RPH and HR are SO close to walk to the parks). You'll definitely want a minimum of 2 days/park to park, and express pass. . Just imagine Fastpass for everything all day. can do repeat rides on favorites without too much wait. So many great rdes too: MiB, Spiderman, all the HP rides (IMO Forbidden Journey is just a hair above FoP….although FJ makes me incredibly nauseous,, FoP does not) Gringotts, plus just hanging out in Diagon Alley is SO incredible. If you think Pandora or Batuu are immersive, this is that times 100. You'll really want to take the Hogwarts Express back and forth, and you'll need park to park tickets for that. There are several HP themed shows throughout the day, so that can take some time. If you do like simulator rides, Simpsons, Minions, Transformers , etc. will be great fun. If you can only add it a Disney trip, Do it ! I also suggest eating on City walk. Great restaurants, EASY to walk to (we even leave parks for lunch and go back in) pools at Universal are great. Good luck with the logistics, but I think it's worth it.
We'll also be at Disney next June! probably at CCV that week, after a week at BCV.