Universal?

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

We have been on many Disney trips and now that my 11yo is into Harry Potter we are considering a combo Disney/Universal vacation. We have 10 Disney nights booked in late May into early June and I’m hesitant to spend the $ for another hotel night at Universal. Have you ever woke up in your Disney resort early, headed to universal, spent the day at the two universal parks then came back to DVC resort at night? Is one day enough time to explore all things potter at universal? We aren’t huge thrill ride people so I’m struggling with justifying the cost to stay at a deluxe hotel in Universal to get the express pass. Is it needed?

 

[Brett Wyman]

IMO I would book two nights at a Universal hotel at either the beginning or end of your trip. Express pass and early Harry Potter entry can be very useful. If you're not including Volcano Bay, AND if you have an Express Pass, you can do it all in two days.

 

[AARCLUKSCH]

We too had many trips to Disney. When my kids were in their early teens, we finally added Universal to our planning. LOVED IT!! If your son goes on rollercoasters and thrill rides, and ESP likes Harry Potter, I highly recommend including it in a 10 day trip. The WWWHP is unlike anything in Disney. It is fantastic. We split our trips and spend 2 days and nights at Universal. This gives you plenty of time to enjoy both parks. Plus when staying at their hotels (some may exclude this), you get their automatic "fastpass" which is golden and well worth staying there.

 

[oshun]

If you go mid week you might be able to do everything in 2 days without express. I guarantee your 11 year old would love Hard Rock Hotel, if you can afford to spend the 2 night prior to Disney or 2 night after. With this hotel you automatically get the express pass with it by showing your room card. They have movie nights at the pool. Our favorite with or without children. The water park there is amazing, also.

 

[Brett Wyman]

If you go mid week you might be able to do everything in 2 days without express. I guarantee your 11 year old would love Hard Rock Hotel, if you can afford to spend the 2 night prior to Disney or 2 night after. With this hotel you automatically get the express pass with it by showing your room card. They have movie nights at the pool. Our favorite with or without children. The water park there is amazing, also.

Just to be clear three of their hotels give you Express Pass.

On-site hotels at Universal Orlando Resort that offer Universal Express Passes include: Loews Portofino Bay Hotel. Loews Hard Rock Hotel. Loews Royal Pacific Hotel.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

maybe I cancel two of the Disney nights and add in two universal nights. Very helpful tips! Thank you.

 

[Pirate Granny]

We’ve gone numerous times just to go to the HP stuff...one day tickets, 2 parks. Took an uber both ways. If you’re doing more than HP then stay on Universal site for the FP access

 

[Stargellstars]

We just did this on Saturday October 5th. We stayed at the Grand Floridian and took a taxi to & from Universal. This was the last day of our four night stay at Disney. Our kids are 13 & 16 and had never been to Universal. We went to both parks that day. We knew we had to sacrifice something so we did not ride the new Hagrid's ride. We were able to actually do basically everything else in both parks. IOA was open until 8:00 pm that day and the Hagrid's ride was posting a 120 minute wait at 6:00 pm but we opted not to attempt it due to being so tired. We did purchase the Express Pass for both parks and were glad we did! It was well worth every penny.

Here was our touring plan:

​

8:00 am – Entered Universal Studios Florida

Despicable Me Minion Mayhem (Walk on)
Revenge of the Mummy (5 Minute Wait)
Fast & Furious Supercharged (Express Pass)
Wizarding World of Harry Potter:
Diagon Alley
Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts (Express Pass)
Interactive Wand Spots
Butter Beer @ Fountain of Fortune
Butter Beer Ice Cream @ Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour

MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack (Express Pass)
The Simpson’s Ride (5 Minute Wait)
Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl (Walk on)

11:00 am – Lunch at Krusty Burger & Moe’s Tavern

The Simpson’s Ride (Express Pass)
E.T. Adventure (Express Pass)
TRANSFORMERS The Ride 3-D (Express Pass)
Shrek 4-D (Express Pass)
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit (Express Pass)
Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon (Express Pass)
Revenge of the Mummy (Express Pass)
Universal’s Superstar Parade
Knight Bus

2:30 pm – Hogwarts Express-Kings Cross Station (Express Pass)

3:00 pm – Entered Universal’s Islands of Adventure

Wizarding World of Harry Potter:
Arrive at Hogsmeade Station

The Incredible Hulk Coaster (Express Pass)

The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (Express Pass)

Skull Island: Reign of Kong (Express Pass)

Jurassic Park River Adventure (Express Pass)

Wizarding World of Harry Potter:
Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey (Express Pass)
Flight of the Hippogriff (Express Pass)

6:30 pm – Left Universal’s Islands of Adventure

6:30-6:45 pm – Universal CityWalk

6:45 pm – Return to Grand Floridian Resort & Spa

 

[RachaelA]

We did 1 night at Royal Pacific at the end of a 8 night dvc stay last year. 2 day universal 2 park to park tickets. We were back at Disney by 5pm on the second day because my kids missed it, but they did love all the universal HP stuff (and minions) and we spent 75% of our time in Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley.

 

[McCrae]

I think it’s a good idea to try Universal.... we have and didn’t like it. Thought the quality of rides was poor compared to Disney and thought the rides in HP were a disappointment.

 

[Deb & Bill]

In 22 years of owning DVC and going to WDW, we may be trying Universal next year. They have some pretty decent Florida resident ticket offers.

 

[Jenniebee]

If your child liked HP then it is worth going. We did a Uni trip last year, we stayed at Hard Rock, it was amazing. You can walk or take a boat to the entrance from Hard Rock. Express Pass is worth getting because if you do not have it you cannot ride the train that connects Diagon Alley (Universal Studios park) to Hogsmeade (IOA park). My kids loved it, even the shops like Honeydukes and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the Nocturn Alley, it's all awesome.

 

[JoeA]

We’re DVC so stay at Disney and Uber to Universal. Make sure you have the Uber or Lyft app - way cheaper than a taxi.

if your 11 is really into Potter I’d recommend you do the multi park pass so you can take the train between parks. That’s a big part of the experience IMO.

 

[paults]

we also could be doing US/IOA next Oct . Only been there once in 2000

 

[CarolynFH]

We’re DVC so stay at Disney and Uber to Universal. Make sure you have the Uber or Lyft app - way cheaper than a taxi.

if your 11 is really into Potter I’d recommend you do the multi park pass so you can take the train between parks. That’s a big part of the experience IMO.

This - be sure to get the park to park (or 2-park) pass so you can ride the Hogwarts Express. And be sure to ride both ways - it’s different!

If you’re not sure whether the Express Pass would be worth it in terms of crowds, look at the Universal website for the prices on the dates you expect to be there. The less expensive the pass is, the lower the expected crowds. That said, in a couple of weeks we’ll be checking in to one of the Universal hotels just to get the EP for 2 days (and also pay for only one night to park the car at the hotel instead of 2 days in the general garage). For three adults, one night at the hotel was cheaper than the cost of EPs for all three. YMMV.

For Harry Potter fans the Universal lands are amazing, whether you ride the thrill ride or not. I would definitely recommend that you take your son. Two days with EP should be enough to see everything.

Finally, check out the Universal boards here on the DIS - very helpful!

https://www.disboards.com/forums/universal-studios-islands-of-adventure-forums.30/
https://www.disboards.com/forums/universal-orlando-resorts-hotels.75/

 

[Best Aunt]

OP, I suggest doing enough research about the Universal theme parks to be able to make a list of the attractions which would be of interest to your family. That would help you decide whether or not express pass would be useful.

You said that you aren't huge thrill ride people. I don't know if your group doesn't like thrill rides or can't do thrill rides. I get motion sick and I can't do any of the Potter rides, including the train. If your group is not going to do the Potter rides, that would cut back on the amount of time you need in the Potter sections of the parks because you would be reducing your experience to shops, restaurants and a few performances.

You also should look at the restaurant menus. If you have picky eaters, there might be a limited amount which seems appealing in the Potter restaurants.

As a Harry Potter fan I can tell you that Diagon Alley (in the Universal Studios Florida park) is amazingly immersive. Hogsmeade (in the Islands of Adventure park) - not so much.

 

[bumbershoot]

maybe I cancel two of the Disney nights and add in two universal nights. Very helpful tips! Thank you.

FYI one night at a deluxe resort gives you unlimited express pass for two days. checkin day and checkout day. Just like at Disney you can do the checkin process at ~6am and get full benefits, and it lasts through parks closing time on checkout fah.

You can walk or take a boat to the entrance from Hard Rock.

You can walk or take a boat from any of the three deluxes.

The boats dock on the other side of the river from the entrances. So if you take a boat you make your way to one of the bridges, cross, and then go into the chosen park. If you walk from Royal Pacific you have to cross a bridge. If you walk from HRH or Portofino you are walking on the same side as the park entrances.

Express Pass is worth getting because if you do not have it you cannot ride the train

You need the “park to park” (aka hopper) ticket for the train, not EP.

 

[luvthatdisney]

We just got back from a WDW/US trip. My kids (who are in their 20's) preferred US. We stayed at OKW and rented a car so we just drove. Granted we had to pay to park, but it was not bad. We all liked the express pass system way better than WDW even though we had to pay for it, it was way worth it and we got through most rides we wanted in one day. Even stayed that night for HHN which I did not care for, but my kids liked. MNSSHP is more my speed. Our next trip we plan on staying one night in a US resort to get the express pass for free and to experience their resorts.

I have to say I am a huge HP fan and absolutely love what US/IOA have created and even though the Hagrid ride was down during our visit I will ride it someday!!!

 

[murphy7573]

Been to Universal several times from VWL and BCV. But we normally rent a vehicle. My daughter also loves eating at UNO's on I-drive. Honestly we love a lot of the rides at Universal better (Shhhhhhhh don't tell) Between, Spider-Man, Transformers, The Simpson's, Minion Mayhem, Hulk Coaster and oh yeah Harry Potter...that's why I like Universal. Forced Disney to step up their game. We'll be at Boardwalk the first week in December and have two days scheduled at Universal with one with my daughter and I at Volcano Bay. VB looks pretty sick, they give you "fastpass/Tapu Tapu" bracelets for the rides, for food open your lockers. Believe me we like Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach, haven't done VB yet though.

 

[com_op_2000]

We have done the stay at SSR or OKW and US/IoA trip many times. It is not hard to do.