Give up a day of Disney for Universal?

[Shelly]

After reading this I'm not surewhat to do. I have three children 13,9,7. the seven year old is a chicken, we have to baby swap him often at disney. so I can't imagine US. My oldest would like to go to see shrek(not sure which park that is) and a couple others she has heard about, I was hoping to only take one day. I'm not sure it will be worth it now though. And we will be going during our spring break(first week of April), will this make it an even worse idea.
Plus I promised to get a day in at Blizzard beach. should I do BB instead of US?
And if we do US which of the two parks would be best for our family, not huge coaster fans, prefer Thunder mountain and space mountain type coaster.

 

[eeyore0062]

Shrek is in the Studios part of the Universal parks... so in your case, not liking the coasters, you may be happier there.

Really, it sounds like, for you, sticking with Disney may be your best bet this time, until you don't have to baby swap.

As for the person who doesn't get why people stick with Disney..... that is some people's preference. Maybe they don't like what the other parks have to offer, of they like the convenience of not having to deal with going off property once they are in Disney World. There could be any number of reasons. I am glad that you like the other parks, but some guests are happy just to stay at Disney. I know that I am!

 

[Linda/MA]

I really don't understand this negativity toward US/IOA. I'm a huge WDW fan, but really enjoy going to US/IOA. The first time we went to the Studios my girls were 5 and 8 and really enjoyed it. My youngest got scared on Jaws but that was about it. They really enjoyed Nickelodeon Studios at that age. We went again when they were 11 and 14 and did both US and IOA. They loved all the rides at IOA and I was really impressed with that park. This past June we had a short trip to WDW for business and stayed at the GF. From there we spent 2 nites at the HRH and visited IOA. After experiencing an on-site stay at US, I don't think my family wants to go back to WDW.

 

[sters]

It's not a matter of being close minded if you love Disney and the way they theme. I've been to plenty of "other" theme parks and, while I have a good time, it's just not the same. With only 7 days, I'd stick to Disney. Just my opinion.

 

[FloridaCat]

Living here I can go when I want and where I want. US is a must every year.

 

[strawberryblonde]

My DH can only get a week off of work at a time. I would love to visit orlando for a couple of weeks so that we could take "down" days and shopping days inbetween park days. I think a two week spread would be ideal so that you could visit US/IOA, SeaWorld as well as WDW, water parks, Disney quest ect. In the last 10 years we have gone for 4 trips (a week at a time) to WDW. We stay on site and have never made it off. So much to do at WDW alone, plus we want to make sure to relax and smell the roses.
During the planning stage of each trip, we would talk about fitting in a day at SeaWorld or trying out WetnWild or US. but by the time we had our plans made for the week at WDW, there wasn't any spare time to leave WDW. This fall, we are planning on a unique (for us!) trip. We will be staying offsite in a two bedroom timeshare. We will have 5 day passes to US/IOA and 1 day tickets to SeaWorld. We have one plus left on our WDW tickets that we plan on using for a day at Blizzard Beach and we will attend the MNSSHP one night so the kids will get a chance to see Mickey, a parade, fireworks and get their MK fix. Such a strange/different way to plan a trip for me, no PS's to make. We plan on eating breakfast and dinner at our timeshare because US parks will be closing by 5:30-7pm every night. This is a "budget" trip because it is "extra". Our "real" WDW trip will be in the first week of Dec. when we will focus on disney, the christmas decorations and hopefully/finally make it to Disney Quest!
Perhaps you could stay for the week at WDW and then add on an extra night (or two!) onsite at US/IOA. With the FOTL access you should be able to see everything in two days. You don't want to shortchange your WDW vacation but from what I have read, US/IOA has alot to offer that you don't want to miss either. Happy planning.

 

[goofyernmost]

With such a diversity of opinion I guess the only thing to do is go and decide for yourself, especially if you are not planning another trip for a long time.

If you are going to go again in the not to distant future then skip it this time and see it another but don't let everyone else tell you what you will like. Go and find out. I am a die-hard Disney fan but I really enjoy a day at Universal. They do a great job.

 

[tkldisney]

Treeof life, I actually happen to work at a Disney Store. I too get free admission into WDW! (My family has to pay) This however has nothing to do with my loyalty to Disney! I haved loved Disney since I was a little one. I visit other parks just have never been to US. I guess I have such a great time in WDW I don't see the reason to leave!
I know a lot of people really like going to Universal. Some Disney employees included. So I think it's great, I'm just not a big thrill ride person so maybe that's why I havent' been there!

 

[Metallicat]

I go to WDW about every three months and stay with Disney but I would never miss out on at least a couple of days at US and IOA. I have their annual pass and get free parking and 20% off food and shopping. the Universal parks are really fun. where else can you ride the movies such as earthquake, et, jurassic park, spiderman, men in black, back to the future, shrek, etc..
and also the nickelodeon studios, the worlds largest hard rock cafe, margaritaville are there too. the place is great and not to be missed and they have the best and scariest halloween horror nights with many different themed haunted houses that will scare you to death. IMO, not for kids under 13 (it is that scarey)
If you get there at 9am when the gates open you can ride with little or no wait. if you do IOA, go straight to spiderman then the hulk. you will not need an express pass if you do these first thing in the mornings. I used to stay on property for the front of the line access but they changed it to one front of the line access per ride per hour which IMO isn't woth staying on property when you can get express passes. I've been to US probably a hundred times or more and the key to riding the big ones is TO GET THERE EARLY. then when it starts getting crowded head back to Disney. I will always stay with Disney in their hotels because of early entry and e ride nights and transportation and I love everything mickey but I'm not married to mickey mouse and can go to Universal without feeling guilty of cheating. I'm not that devoted for goodness sakes! heck, I even go to seaworld when I can find the time.

 

[TreeOfLife]

With such a diversity of opinion I guess the only thing to do is go and decide for yourself

That's the bottomline. You may be surprised to enjoy the novelty and diversity of amusement themes and styles. After all, US made a heck of a bunch of top rated movies turn into rides too!

 

[iman]

Ah, YAH! I would love to see Universal, and your kids are the perfect age for 'amusement park rides'.