Keep it 100% Disney or pony up $$$ for 1 universal/Harry Potter day?

[MrVargas]

I have a 10 day trip planned for July 2019 with Park Hopper Plus, Memory Maker and the meal plan for myself, my wife and our two kids (ages 6 and 8). We are big Disney fans and love all-inclusive type vacations so I was looking forward to having food, pictures and entertainment mostly taken care of. I have never really experienced Disney World so I was planning on exploring every nook and cranny in our 10 days.

However we just marathoned the Harry Potter movies which we all loved and am now I'm wondering if we should do a Universal/Harry Potter day. On one hand it looks awesome and who knows when we'll back to Orlando but on the other hand doing this will increase the cost of trip by quite a bit because we'd have to pay for transportation, park tickets and food (which otherwise would be included in our meal plan at Disney). This will easily add $1000 to the price of the trip. Is it worth it? Should I leave Universal for a shorter Universal trip a few years down the line?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Two. Two Universal days. One if you can't afford two.

 

[tink2]

This will easily add $1000 to the price of the trip. Is it worth it? Should I leave Universal for a shorter Universal trip a few years down the line?

We have not done Universal for this reason. The cost difference just doesn't make sense to us. My son would love Harry Potter I know- but that is the major draw of the park for us and honestly- I just can't make ourselves do it. lol We see it as- adding a day to Disney would equal about $100- 200 MAX (add another day to tickets, food, etc) vs. at least $1,000 for a day at universal.
We might bite the bullet and do it one day- but so far we have done straight Disney.

 

[The Pho]

If you're big Harry Potter fans then yes a day at Universal is very much worth it. More than that depends on how big fans you are of their park in general. It's quite easy to do every ride in both Universal parks in a single day, especially if you get express passes. And really if you don't go down often, it's certainly a better option to bite the bullet and see everything you wanted rather than regretting missing out. But not leaving Disney for 10 days will also give you plenty to see and do.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Here are some thoughts to ponder:

Universal and HP have a totally different vibe than WDW.
The HP sections are absolutely done to the highest standards. They are very impressive.
If you do it in one day, you will want the park to park ticket to take in all of HP.
If you arrive at rope drop your waits should not be terrible.
Consider the age of your kids and their present interest in HP.
Will they benefit from being older in the future?
Will they appreciate it more.....or less in a few years?
If you all wind up moving in the future, will it make it harder to travel back to FL (think change of jobs)

If you want to save a chunk of change, drop the meal plan. Pay out of pocket. Put the savings towards HP.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

Is your 6 year old tall enough for the main HP rides? I remember DD just being tall enough for Forbidden Journey when she was 8. That would weigh into my decision, even though Universal (particularly the HP areas) is my happy place.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Given that the price for both parks comes down drastically for longer stays vs one/two day visits, I'd say it doesn't make sense to do one day at Universal this trip. The caveat would be if you live so far away that transportation would make a future visit prohibitively expensive.

We did Disney for five days this year, and Universal for 4 days last year (with a buy two days get two days ticket promotion). For me, the cost of tickets for one day is not worth it. Also, if you're only going to be there for one day, you'll probably want to pony up the additional money for the express pass, or you're going to spend a lot of your time there waiting in lines, and probably won't get to do as much as you'd like. I realize I'm speaking for myself, but I would't find that kind of a short trip to be worth it.

Universal has one small kiddie land in each of the two parks, and quite a few true thrill rides in addition to several screen-based rides. The Harry Potter is fantastic, and well worth a visit. But I feel like the parks themselves are more geared towards older kids/teens and thrill-seekers. There is still a lot to do for the whole family and younger kids, but Disney seems more focused on rides and shows that everyone can enjoy. I think your family will enjoy Universal more as your kids get a bit older, and the price will be more affordable if you do it as its own vacation rather than as an add-on to an already expensive Disney trip.

 

[rwdavis2]

I would recommend starting or ending your trip with a night at one of the 3 Universal hotels that give you free Express Pass. It's good for both check in and check out days. I agree that 1 day Universal tickets are "not worth it" as they are expensive.

Or make a separate trip to Universal. We did Universal more often when the kids hit tween/teen years. They loved Harry Potter and Universal does not need more than 2-3 days to do everything at both parks. We always stayed at the Hard Rock and could walk or boat to the parks.

 

[Surr]

If you have never been to WDW, and have 10 Day Park Hopper Plus tickets I would skip Universal unless you think you will never be back to Orlando. This is coming from a big Harry Potter fan. You won't be able to explore every "nook and cranny" in 10 Days. I have been to WDW many times and am still discovering new things.

 

[iujen94]

We are doing a split Universal/Disney trip in February. We've done it before and enjoyed it, but I hesitated to do it again because it is SOOOO expensive. As someone mentioned above, tickets to either park become so cheap (relatively speaking!) when you start adding on extra days, versus starting over with park tickets at a second park. If you've already got everything booked for Disney (and it sounds like you probably do), I'd wait. IMHO, it would be a huge pain to go from a Disney resort to spend 1 or even 2 days at Universal. I like convenience like you like all-inclusive. I like staying at a Universal resort (preferably one of the "big 3" where you can get the Express Pass included) so I can walk to the parks. So we are doing 2 nights at the Hard Rock Hotel at the beginning of our trip, then moving over to Contemporary for 5 nights for the Disney portion. Universal hotels tend to be cheaper than Disney hotels (and are actually a relatively good deal, when you consider that the big 3 include the Express Pass), so you can "save some money" there, and justify spending the extra on Universal tickets. If/when you do decide to go to Universal, definitely shop around and DON'T just buy a package from Universal. You don't save a penny versus booking hotel plus buying tickets, and you can find discount tickets lots of places (AAA, Undercover Tourist, Tickets at Work, etc.). Also, shop carefully when looking at tickets. We bought a 4-day ticket (buy 2 days, get 2 days free), even though we only needed a 2-day ticket, because that ticket was cheaper than the regular 2-day ticket. Also, check out the Universal boards here on Dis - there are lots of great threads about resort discounts. I'm paying $319 a night at HRH, and I believe the Universal rack rate was well over $500 a night. All of that said, the Harry Potter part of Universal is AMAZING, and well worth a visit for any HP fan!

ETA: I just noticed your kids' ages. Definitely look at the height requirements at HP and for the other Universal rides. There aren't a ton of rides with low/no height requirements like at Disney, so you might find yourself lacking in ride options.

 

[epcotty]

It's always good to also go to Universal if possible. We always like it there

 

[CarolynFH]

I’d save Universal & HP for a few years from now, when your kids are older and bigger and able to enjoy all the rides (not just HP) and you can stay at least a couple of nights in one of their hotels so you get express pass. I love HP and think that UO did a wonderful job on it, but it’s very expensive to go for only one day, and you’ll want to ride things more than once.

 

[DavidNYC]

Agreeing with those who say only consider this if they're 48". If Harry Potter is your main draw - then not being able to do one of the two main rides is a big drawback. I'd wait until they're that height.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

HP at Universal is awesome, but, no, it's not worth spending $1000 for one day. As you put it, I would explore every nook and cranny of WDW on your trip and save HP in Orlando or California, for another time. We've down WDW/Uni splits where we've spent 4 night in WDW and 3 in Uni (if your main focus is HP, you could really get that done in 1 or 2 days). Staying onsite at Uni is also beneficial as you get the express pass with your stay. Or, if you really want to see HP, I would consider shortening your WDW stay by 2 -3 nights and tacking Uni on at the beginning or end, though that still won't save you any money on tickets!

 

[Toulouse]

We are ponying, LOL.



We have been to Disney several times before, and believe me... 10 days is a LONG time if you don't need to do absolutely everything and have a good plan for what you really want to see. We've got a 7 dayer coming up and we're taking one day at Universal. As far as the food plan goes, we're on one too - but on the Universal day we're eating breakfast prior using one meal, and for the other meal we're putting that credit toward a signature meal on another "Disney" day so they don't go to waste. There are some pretty decent priced meals to be had at Universal (especially at CityWalk which is super easy to get to vs having to go all the way to Disney Springs etc). Grab a pizza on the way home from RedOven, and take Uber to get there

If you love Harry Potter that much, I'd totally do it!

 

[tony67]

The price for one day is a bit high - I agree - and I cant say I would do it
The same can be said for Disney - If I am staying at universal the cost of 1 day at Disney is pretty high too - a one day park hopper is around 170 per person
This is why Disney and Universal price things so that more than 4 or 5 days cost next to nothing and you dont go off property
It makes sense for them - but not for us - that's why I keep skipping Disney

 

[skylock]

I would skip UO this time, for some of the same reasons listed by others.

Just the thought of 10 days with disney dinning plan getting what I paid for it out of it is making my stomach feel bad.

But honestly, at this time and since disney will be new to you anyway, I would skip UO this time. Esp if you were planning only one day and without express pass.

 

[bchbetha]

10 days at Disney would be too much for me. I’d want to switch it up and do 2 Universal days.

 

[princessebird]

If you really don't know when you will be back, I'd suggest looking at UO seriously, given that transportation costs to MCO can be high. I've never met anyone who has been disappointed in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. They are really quite special and amazingly well done.

 

[crazylady]

I have a 10 day trip planned for July 2019 with Park Hopper Plus, Memory Maker and the meal plan for myself, my wife and our two kids (ages 6 and 8). We are big Disney fans and love all-inclusive type vacations so I was looking forward to having food, pictures and entertainment mostly taken care of. I have never really experienced Disney World so I was planning on exploring every nook and cranny in our 10 days.

However we just marathoned the Harry Potter movies which we all loved and am now I'm wondering if we should do a Universal/Harry Potter day. On one hand it looks awesome and who knows when we'll back to Orlando but on the other hand doing this will increase the cost of trip by quite a bit because we'd have to pay for transportation, park tickets and food (which otherwise would be included in our meal plan at Disney). This will easily add $1000 to the price of the trip. Is it worth it? Should I leave Universal for a shorter Universal trip a few years down the line?

10 days at Disney is too long for me. I might do 7 nights followed by 2/3 nights at Universal. Two days is enough for us but we've not tried the water parks. You could always day trip back to Disney on one of your last days if you wanted to end the trip with a little Disney time.

I think if the kids love HP, the time so right now.