I think most Brits do as much as they can, I don’t know many U.K. liners who only do Disney, though there are a couple!
I want to go to Universal but we can fill our next trip at WDW and save Universal for when DD is older and finds things like Dementors and firebreathing dragons cool rather than terrifying (I hope).
Universal comes down to staying at one of the big three resorts. You do that and you’ll have a great experience. Without those line skippers (that come with the rooms) I can not imagine the park being great as the immersion and atmosphere are not up to Disney standards. The rides are tremendous though and overall better then WDW so not waiting on long lines is a must.
We went in February, didn’t stay on property, and didn’t have the express passes, but our waiting wasn’t bad other than Thursday. (We went four days). We only stayed about half the day (starting from when gates opened to the general public) each day and got through everything.
Thursday, for some reason, the wait times were significantly longer…it appeared there were several school groups there, which probably contributed to it.
I adore Disney and I adore Universal. They are two different things for me, though. Disney is my “okay, this is a marathon vacation I can only do once every five years and we need to go, go, go from sunup until sundown or I will feel like I wasted my money” vacation. Universal is my relaxed “there is less to do so I can relax and really just get lost in it all and truly enjoy myself” vacation. I find the Wizarding World to be WAY more immersive than anything Disney has to offer (though I haven’t yet been to Pandora) and I don’t find it more expensive for my family of five than comparable days at Disney. I can also justify a “sister and me” trip to Universal. I could never go to Disney without my kids, so Universal is more feasible for me more frequently.
Also, I have gone both with and without Express Pass and, as @ryan1 said, I waited very little both ways. I always use a TP as a guide.
3 Likes
I honestly couldn’t disagree more. I’ve spent 12 days at UOR in the height of summer, only had ExP for 2 of those days, and never waited in long lines. Using a touring plan makes it easy.
1 Like
We’ve done one family trip to each so far, and we loved both. Funny, but our experience was in some ways the opposite of @rebeecky (who was a huge help before our UO trip – thanks again! 
). Our WDW trip, when our twins were almost 6, was the full week, once every four years trip – but it was also a stretch it out and relax trip. And we are eyeballing an end of summer 2019 WDW trip of the same type. While our UO trip, when our twins were now 8 and huge Harry Potter fans, was a shorter long-weekend trip – but it was the “go, go, go” to get everything done trip.
I used TP and the forums extensively for both, and it was a great help for both as a first time visitor. But I admit that while I will definitely need TP and the forums for a return WDW visit, I’m not sure I will for UO, now that I know the lay of the land.
1 Like
Universal is one of our cheap let’s go small vacations and we usually put no effort into planning and just wing it.
I love Universal, and have been going during the spring for the last few years. Each time, we’ve haven’t had Express Pass, and it’s been a less than 25 min wait without using a touring plan. It was so relaxing and stress free. We’ve gone twice during July, staying off site, and no EP, but WITH a touring plan, and it was great! We went on everything, and it wasn’t bad even for 10 CL days.
When we go to WDW, we HAVE to go in the summer because we can have a longer vacation there, to see a lot more (even if we don’t see everything, the hours are longer), and we’ve never stayed onsite.
When I want a quick dose of Disney (three or four days), or spring break, I head to DL.
Your probably right. I have never done it without staying at one of the big 3. I see lines for despicable me and rip saw falls and I figure hours ruining days there. But in truth, Hulk, spider man and others seem to always be moving well.
Despicable Me has awful lines! Luckily we’ve got no interest.
I’ve been looking into to UOR to tag onto our quick early Dec WDW trip and the problem that is presenting itself is the ticket pricing. At UOR especially all of the money is upfront meaning it almost costs the same to go for 1 or 2 days as it does for 5! ( especially with the promotions I’m seeing on UT and OTC). So now I am in a dilemma of rearranging our plans to get more bang for our buck. I haven’t been to UOR yet, but 2 days seems like it would be just right for us and 5d would be overkill. So I may just keep our current plans…
I think 2 Days is enough there if doing WDW also. We are not water park people so that could change things
Exactly this! We can’t justify the cost.
I’m planning the UOR trip because the kids want to go. I think it will be neat too but a one and done. Last year when I was planning our first WDW trip it also initially started off to be “for the kids” but even before we got there I was already looking forward to a second trip! I don’t know what it is about Disney World. Maybe the ADRs? I love planning them! So far at UOR I’m not looking forward to any of the meals! I keep hearing about how the food is not that great.
When I plan the WDW section of my vacation, I’m all about the ADRs. They determine the overall structure of the days, and which parks are on which days. The rides are almost secondary.
When I “plan” the UOR section of my vacation, I barely think about eating. I’d like to somehow fit in Voodoo Donuts, Toothsomes, Mythos and the Simpson’s mall, but I don’t know how that’ll fit into the rides — and at UOR, they are the priority.
Last year I ate at the two HP restaurants. I thought the theming at the Leaky Cauldron was good, but the food was poor. I thought the theming at the Three Broomsticks was OK, and the food was OK. I don’t really want to go to them again, but I’ll probably be in the areas where they are at the time I’m likely to be hungry. So I guess I may do so. But it’s more “I’m hungry. This is food. Ish. So I guess I’ll eat it.”
Do you think one day would not be enough time at UOR? We would have EP and EE. Still probably would be too much for one day? We are not planning on water park because it will be early Dec. maybe not even great pool weather…
Yes it can certainly be done with the express passes and a hop over from the train between potters.
I think you could do the whole lot in a day if you are selective. Some of the rides are basically copies of each other. Minions is basically The Simpsons is basically Jimmy Fallon. Do all three in a day and you become a bit motion sick slash bored.
Hmmm. Maybe I will consider it. When I hear about the food choices I want to cut our trip back! Then I can book a few more ADRs in WDW!!