Is one day at the parks too short?

[mala55]

We are going to Disney for a week in April. This will be our 3rd trip (over 7yrs). I thought it would be fun to include Universal this trip. My DD (11) is now a big HP fan, so this was a motivating reason. She also loves the Minions and Marvel characters...Spider-Man.

When I did my planning, I thought two nights and one full day would be enough at Universal. We fly in on a Monday evening. We probably wouldn't be settled and ready to do anything until about 8pm, so I'm thinking maybe a late dinner over at Cirywalk or just hang at the pool.

The following day we will get to the parks at opening. I'm sure DD will want to spend a lot of time at both parks at HP. With that and meals, I'm starting to think we will miss much of the parks. Will we?

We leave the following day to Disney and have a lunch ADR at Chef Mickey's to kick off the Disney part of our vacation.


I'm thinking maybe I should try to change our flight to a day earlier (not sure if possible without a big fee) and add another Universal day. Thoughts?

 

[bchbetha]

A Harry Potter fan will love having a 2nd day. Chef Mickey is worth missing too- I bet the HP themed restaurants will make up for that if you might want to think about just changing your existing itinerary vs changing flights.
There are so many cool rides, play areas and amazing HP themes to explore.
You’ve had lots of Disney trips but now you have a kiddo the perfect age for Universal and a HP fan too boot. You might find that your Disney to Universal ratio should change.

 

[bobbie68]

We are going to Disney for a week in April. This will be our 3rd trip (over 7yrs). I thought it would be fun to include Universal this trip. My DD (11) is now a big HP fan, so this was a motivating reason. She also loves the Minions and Marvel characters...Spider-Man.

When I did my planning, I thought two nights and one full day would be enough at Universal. We fly in on a Monday evening. We probably wouldn't be settled and ready to do anything until about 8pm, so I'm thinking maybe a late dinner over at Cirywalk or just hang at the pool.

The following day we will get to the parks at opening. I'm sure DD will want to spend a lot of time at both parks at HP. With that and meals, I'm starting to think we will miss much of the parks. Will we?

We leave the following day to Disney and have a lunch ADR at Chef Mickey's to kick off the Disney part of our vacation.


I'm thinking maybe I should try to change our flight to a day earlier (not sure if possible without a big fee) and add another Universal day. Thoughts?

Hi I think adding another day to Universal if you can is a great idea. With your daughter being a HP fan she is going to want to spend a lot of time in both HP worlds. To be honest with the other things she enjoys you mentioned there is a lot for her to see. She will be one happy girl. We always went to Disney when our DD was younger, then did split trips with UO now all she wants to do is go back to Universal. If you can't change your flight I agree with pp about Chef Mickey's maybe worth skipping especially if you eat in one of the HP restaurants.

Where are you staying? If you are in one of the deluxe on-site with EP you would get it check in day and check out day. Two days of EP to use is nice.

Good luck!

 

[ForMyBoys]

Hi There! Like the awesome theming of Disney the Harry Potter areas of Universal are meant to be enjoyed. They have shows, excellent theming, shops and alleys to explore, and magic spells to cast. You can easily spend an entire day at just the two HP sections. If you do decide to do just one day my advice is to just not rush and be comfortable that you won't see it all. Either way you will have a nice time, but you are right that you may want one more day. However, I don't see a problem testing the waters for a day and then deciding if you'd like to spend more time there on the next trip.

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

My thoughts are consistent with the others - add a day at Uni over a meal at Disney. It seems she is prime and ready for Uni.

Or, spend some time at HP, a few other major rides, and be ready to book another trip to go back!

 

[pattyw]

I agree with PP's- two days is preferred to leisurely see it all. Are you staying deluxe with unlimited EP? That would make touring a lot easier as well. Now, the HP rides are included in the express passes. Enjoy!

 

[mala55]

Thank you all for replies!!

We are staying at Hard Rock with 2 day park to park passes and EPs. Unfortunately, I just called and their is no availability a day earlier at Hard Rock...ugh! I'm now looking into changing our flight out to earlier so we would be ready to get to the parks by 12-1pm on arrival day, but that would potentially cost another $400 and we would have to leave home to the airiport at 3am...not sure I can handle that.
In the end, I think we will skip Chef Mickey's and spend at least a half day or longer on our departure to Disney day.

 

[macraven]

For your first time at the parks, two days would be great

For someone that is into Potter, it will eat up a lot of your day
With two days, you will be able to do both parks with less rush with having the unlimited ep

Not sure when in April is your uo portion of the trip
Some dates will be busy


Hope you have a super time !

 

[pattyw]

I just called and their is no availability a day earlier at Hard Rock...ugh

Keep trying as sometimes rooms become available due to cancellations. I've had that happen before.

 

[brave321]

I would try to keep checking for cancellationes, but one day will be fine especially with EP. However, if it’s your first time, I recommend using the standby line for the HP rides. There are so many details that the EP line can’t see or people rush past because there isn’t a line. As a big HP fan myself, I loved seeing all the extras and details even though it meant waiting in line longer.

 

[cadawson]

I think you would be ok to have 1 1/2 days at Universal. Use your first evening to enjoy your resort, then wake up early and hit all of your highlights with EP at the two parks. Go early the 2nd morning, then return to your hotel to check out. You might be able to request a little bit later for checkout. I would choose the extra time at Universal over Chef Mickey, especially if you have already done a Disney character meal in the past. You can get Mickey and pals at Tusker House at Animal Kingdom, which is often an easier reservation to get than Chef Mickey. We like the character meals at Ohana or Grand Floridian also. Hard Rock will give you easy access to Universal also. You'll be glad to spend that extra time and not be rushed. Enjoy your trip!

 

[Catvondita]

2 days is ideal but you can still see a lot in one day.

 

[crazylady]

I think 2 is ideal but you could play it by ear. If she loves the first day and wants more, upgrade your tickets to add a day and cancel the CM reservation.

 

[nkereina]

Thank you all for replies!!

We are staying at Hard Rock with 2 day park to park passes and EPs. Unfortunately, I just called and their is no availability a day earlier at Hard Rock...ugh! I'm now looking into changing our flight out to earlier so we would be ready to get to the parks by 12-1pm on arrival day, but that would potentially cost another $400 and we would have to leave home to the airiport at 3am...not sure I can handle that.
In the end, I think we will skip Chef Mickey's and spend at least a half day or longer on our departure to Disney day.

If the best option for you is to go a day earlier and there is no Hard Rock availability, while it wouldn't be ideal, you could book one of the other onsite resorts for that night and then move to Hard Rock the next day. We almost had to do this on our last trip when I moved up our arrival day, but luckily availability opened up at Hard Rock about three weeks out. But if you stay elsewhere on property, they will move your luggage for you so all you would have to do is just return to Hard Rock instead of your first hotel at the end of the day.