Do you like Disney World or Universal more? And why?

[cleopenn]

Both have wonderful qualities but for me it is Universal. I don't have any younger kids anymore and my style of vacation is much more laid back. Also I am a huge Harry Potter fan!

Our last trip to Universal was wonderful. We stayed at Royal Pacific and had the express passes. Wow was that a game changer! Loved not having to queue up and it was nice to get into the shows and have better seats. I also loved that we could walk to everything and not have to wait for a shuttle to get us around. We could do one park in the morning, go to Citywalk for lunch and then head over to the other park. If one park seemed crowded we could just walk over to the other one.

We were beyond delighted with the express pass.

Concerning City Walk and the other dining options, Universal has really good restaurants AND they make it easy to spend money at them! Even when the restaurants were full, we rarely had to wait more than 20 minutes for a table. It was always "yes, give us a few minutes" unlike Disney were we walked up to half-full restaurants that were turning away people because they didn't have an ADR.

I prefer Universal for many of the same reasons other posters have mentioned. Staying on-site with EP is so much easier than trying to plan out 3 FPs each day. Not to mention being able to walk to the parks for half of the price for the privilege of doing that at Disney (Does that make sense? I have read it three times and I'm not sure how to reword it! Staying at Cont. cost twice as much as RPR, yet I can walk to TWO parks from the RPR)! Being able to make last -minute ADRs is a blessing too. Because we refuse to go to Florida in the summer or over holiday breaks, our trips are short. At Disney, I feel like I have to pick and choose what I want to do and then miss out on so much. I don't feel this way at US. I can do two parks in two days and feel like I've done all I wanted. Overall, US is just a more relaxed vacation.

If you asked this question over on the TPAS board, you would get a whole lot more people who prefer Disney. I bet I could guess their reasons too.

It makes sense to me! I grossly underestimated the amount of transit/commuting time a Disney vacation requires if you want to park hop or just go to the parks if your resort is far away. My husband NEVER asks about price or complains about cost when we do a family vacation as long as he is relaxed and having a good time. Cost came up a few times at Disney in relation to cost vs. enjoyment.

I don't mean to dump on Disney and people's love of Disney, they are two very different experiences both in the style of park and food and lodging options. We just happen to prefer Universal more.

 

[bumbershoot]

That being said I was only at Universal once in the 90s

That was my cousin's situation and she couldn't understand our love for Uni. Our first trip to Orlando was 6 years ago when DS was 6.5 and we went to Uni "for harry potter" (though we did give it a solid 3 night onsite stay chance, because if you're gonna do it, do it right) and absolutely fell in love with the place.

She finally went and dropped their FL resident APs to make room for Uni APs.

Two areas that I think Disney trumps Universal is the magic bands and the picture services. We far preferred to use the magic bands to the universal tickets and LOVED our Disney photo pass pictures. We barely got any pics at Universal and when we did find a photographer, they acted like we were bothering them.

Ah now see I despise MBs.

And since we do not seek pictures, we are constantly being hounded at Uni to take pictures. I dislike photopass as well. Got it three times and have never looked at them after editing.

 

[Tattylou]

That was my cousin's situation and she couldn't understand our love for Uni. Our first trip to Orlando was 6 years ago when DS was 6.5 and we went to Uni "for harry potter" (though we did give it a solid 3 night onsite stay chance, because if you're gonna do it, do it right) and absolutely fell in love with the place.

She finally went and dropped their FL resident APs to make


I'm excited to give Universal another shot. We will be there in April, but just for one night bc we are going to St Petersburg to a beach condo. I dirt of just decided to throw an overnight at Universal in the mix to feel it out and see the HP stuff.

 

[havoc315]

I am making my first trip to Disney in 3 months and I am ecstatic to go but I am currently more excited to go back to Universal because that was my park growing up. I bet this question has been asked before but which do you prefer and why is that. From an outside perspective it looks like Disney has better themeing and more of everything but Universal and IOA have a lot of quality rides and less wait times.

What a controversial question.

I like them both, for different reasons.

For Disney World:
-In terms of overall theming over the entire property, you can't beat Disney. Everything is clean, there is attention to detail in every nook and cranny of every hotel, every ride. And everything always feels "Disney"
-In terms of customer service, hard to beat Disney. "Cast members" are always helpful and smiling. While that's generally true at Universal as well, it's less universally true, lol. I recall being on the Jurassic Park ride, and they kept interrupting the ride to tell people to put down their cameras.
-In terms of dining, for the most part Disney is better with some caveats below. Disney just has more diverse in-park dining options, with far more in-park sit-down dining.
-In terms of sentimental value, you can't beat Disney. Riding Small World is far more sentimental than riding ET or Shrek.
-In terms of total volume of attractions, between 4 parks, Disney just has far more than Universal has in 2.
-In terms of character of attractions and unique attractions, Disney has a bit more diversity. Disney has far better dark rides. Most of the rides are better themed than the corresponding Universal rides. For example, Splash Mountain is MUCH better themed than Dudley Do Right Falls.
-The magic bands create a rather seamless on property experience.
-With fireworks and parades, Disney has far superior entertainment at night. Disney really gives you a reason to stay at the park until closing time.

Now for Universal:
-The property is more compact -- If you stay onsite, you can easily get between the theme parks, the hotels, the "downtown" area. You can walk between the parks. No 30 minute bus to get back to your hotel. Easy water taxis connecting everything.
-The rides are more "thrilling" at Universal. They may be better themed at Disney, but the Hulk Coaster, etc.. are much bigger coasters than the Disney coasters. Jurassic Park is much like Jungle Cruise, but there is no big drop in the Jungle Cruise. So if you want to get your heart pounding, Universal is better than Disney.
-Universal is EASIER than Disney. No booking fastpasses 60 days out. You can typically walk-in to the best restaurants for dining without reservations 6 months in advance.
-Universal Express Pass -- Paying extra or staying at the deluxe hotel, to basically get unlimited fastpass.
-While Disney may win for overall theming, Harry Potter theming is a league above anything offered by Disney. Daigon Alley especially, and the train... the whole Harry Potter world is so so well done, it leave everything else at Universal far behind, and leaves everything at Disney behind. Hopefully Disney can match the quality with Avatar and Star Wars. But for now, Harry Potter is an INCREDIBLE experience.
-Can experience everything in 2-3 days.
-Moderately cheaper than Disney. If staying at comparable onsite hotels, one would find Universal *slightly* cheaper than Disney overall.

 

[Tattylou]

I'm excited to give Universal another shot after reading these. I was only there once when it was pretty new and underwhelming.

 

[phillymummer]

I grossly underestimated the amount of transit/commuting time a Disney vacation requires if you want to park hop or just go to the parks if your resort is far away. My husband NEVER asks about price or complains about cost when we do a family vacation as long as he is relaxed and having a good time. Cost came up a few times at Disney in relation to cost vs. enjoyment.

When I told my hubby how much we were paying a night at RPR (I opted for a garden view) his eyes popped out of his head (at Disney we've only stayed at POR or FQ). After our trip, he said the price was absolutely worth it and he would not hesitate to stay there again.

My DD and I have endurance when it comes to amusement parks (we once were at Hershey Park for 13 hours!) but hubby does not. Uni was so relaxed for him and it was so easy for him to take a mid-day break and join us later, whereas at Disney.... middays breaks.... not so much.....

I think there is something special about Disney. We have some great memories from our trips. As much as I hate to admit it, the MBs did make things very easy. I will give that one to Disney. I understand the "disney bubble" but I don't enjoy having to live by a schedule on a vacation, which is why Uni wins out for me.

 

[cleopenn]

Oh the magic bands!

My husband hates anything like a bracket or necklace and barely tolerated the magic bands (mouse arrest bracelets as he called them) but loved the ease of charging everything to the room. We all ordered special ones. I was fine with wearing it, my son LOVED it as he had a brand new Star Wars one that got him several compliments.

 

[DeezKnee]

-In terms of sentimental value, you can't beat Disney. Riding Small World is far more sentimental than riding ET or Shrek.

That could be seen as a slight positive for Universal since they don't have much sentimental value in any attraction (other than probably ET) they are ready to knock anything down if they think they have an idea that's better than what is currently filling the space.

 

[gotomu212]

I like Disney (for the memories and sentimentality) but we prefer Universal. I'll just echo everyone
- the lack of uber planning- I just can't commit to meal schedules months in advance or plan ride orders
-ease of transportation and transferring between parks- I feel like we get so much more done
- express pass (this is probably #1) and goes along with lower crowds
- we feel like it's a much better. Alive for our money (hotel level, park tickets, food quality is all superior to us)
- as my son gets older he really doesn't find Disney all that exciting but the superhero and HP branding at Universal are right up his alley

 

[havoc315]

That could be seen as a slight positive for Universal since they don't have much sentimental value in any attraction (other than probably ET) they are ready to knock anything down if they think they have an idea that's better than what is currently filling the space.

The problem with that is the rides aren't timeless.... so they can start to feel old. ET feels very stale. Shrek feels a bit over ripe. Even DespicableMe feels like it's a day late. Dudley Do Right falls -- who remembers Dudley Do Right? (On the other hand, splash mountain theming is great even if you never heard of Song of the South)
Some of their attractions age better -- whether MIB is relevant or not, can have fun shooting alien monsters. Jurassic Park -- dinosaurs will always be dinosaurs. But overall, Disney attractions are better built to stand the rest of time.

 

[damo]

The problem with that is the rides aren't timeless.... so they can start to feel old. ET feels very stale. Shrek feels a bit over ripe. Even DespicableMe feels like it's a day late. Dudley Do Right falls -- who remembers Dudley Do Right? (On the other hand, splash mountain theming is great even if you never heard of Song of the South)
Some of their attractions age better -- whether MIB is relevant or not, can have fun shooting alien monsters. Jurassic Park -- dinosaurs will always be dinosaurs. But overall, Disney attractions are better built to stand the rest of time.

There are many, many rides that lots of people would say are stale at WDW. It is all personal opinion. I'll be quite sad if ET gets removed.

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh the magic bands!

My husband hates anything like a bracket or necklace and barely tolerated the magic bands (mouse arrest bracelets as he called them) but loved the ease of charging everything to the room. We all ordered special ones. I was fine with wearing it, my son LOVED it as he had a brand new Star Wars one that got him several compliments.

How was room charging any easier with bands on the wrist and a PIN vs handing over a card?

ET feels very stale. Shrek feels a bit over ripe.

Disagree completely. Love shrek. ET is fine and fun. Take a break from it perhaps. Watch the movie again and maybenwith kids who haven't seen it. Then ride again.

Even DespicableMe feels like it's a day late. Dudley Do Right falls --

Wowie do we disagree!

On the other hand, splash mountain theming is great even if you never heard of Song of the South)

Not even a little bit. I don't comprehend the ride,
especially since I can barely hear what the characters are saying. The water creates such a white noise effect, and the rabbits voice is so high, I can't understand him. So I still don't understand the ride, so the dusty animatronics are lost on me.

 

[Tattylou]

Those of you who like the Disney magic, but not the over scheduled, lots of fillers, lots of travel to get from park to park, etc that is WDW need to go to Disneyland!! It's so much easier and smaller, but has all the classic rides, new ones too, and Cars land is so cool. The hotels are right there too-onsite hotels and off site hotels all in walking distance of the parks. It's a great option for those who love Disney, but not how crazy it can be at wdw.

 

[kohlby]

My husband - then boyfriend - and I started going to Universal and Disney together in 1998. At that time, I liked both equally. (Though US/IOA new year's eve in 1999/2000 wasn't something Disney could have topped). They offered different things. I really didn't like one better than the other. We got married, had kids, and brought them to both. And still, we liked both equally for different reasons. That is no longer the case. I like Universal better. I find there are more rides my family likes in a smaller area. We have some favorites at Disney but it's one favorite in one park, another favorite in another park, etc. The other issue, a bigger one, is the planning needed. Once Fastpass changed to Fastpass Plus, the level of planning needed greatly increased. I will still go to Disney - and do still have fun there, but Universal is now more enjoyable for us.

I'm local now but am holding off buying Disney AP's as they cost so much more and we get less out of them. We will likely end up with them at some point but just for one year as my kids easily get tired of Disney. (And we would have to do the Disney AP with a lot of blockout dates due to cost).

 

[kohlby]

Magic Bands weren't loved either. I hate wearing things on my wrists and had to wear two as my youngest son hates it more than me. At least my ticket is flat and can fit nicely in my pocket. (I don't like lanyards either). Also, they make everyone do fingerprints now at Disney - even kids under 10 with sensory quirks who struggle to do the fingerprint. After us holding up the line far too many times due to this - and them having to reset it for him a couple times - they finally told me I could use my fingerprint for him, so I did. Though, that meant he couldn't go into the park without me.

On that sensory kid note, I hate Disney's child swap. They wouldn't let my youngest do child swap when he was tall enough - even when he was 3 years old. This has happened multiple times - so not an isolated incident. He has some sensory issues but I was told they can give us assistance to make it easier for him to do a ride, not so we could use child swap since he couldn't handle a ride. Universal doesn't care how tall a kid is. He's now 51" and can't handle Gringotts which has a low height minimum. He can't handle Spider-Man or transformers or even MIB. UNiversal has always let us use childswap and has never even made us explain why he can't handle those rides.

 

[kohlby]

There are many, many rides that lots of people would say are stale at WDW. It is all personal opinion. I'll be quite sad if ET gets removed.

Yes! I wouldnt want ET to leave Universal. I wouldn't want Figment to leave Epcot either though. I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority with that one.

 

[Momto2minniemice]

Disney!
Transportation is a lot better. They pick you up at the airport and the transportation system is over all much better than at US.
Hotels the quality you have at Disney is much higher. The staff is friend and care for the guest. At US when we stayed on property the problems were endless! Even the kids were like this would not happen at Disney!
Dining- Either dining plan or not the food is better, more options too. It seemed at US it was a lot about the nightlife. We are not the party type so that just did. It fit in with our family.
The refillable mug was nice in the parks but trying to find water was tasking. Water was taken out of the freestyle machines sunc "they caused lines". And then if you ask for water it is a small Dixie cup. This is a risk to your health in the summer with the heat. Disney has water everywhere you look.
Fast passes vs express pass. EP is such a rip off if you are a family! $400 extra a day and then it does not cover headliners like HP rides. FP yes they take a little planning but they are included in the cost of the ticket for EVeRYONE! You can change them on your phone so it is really not bad.
Lastly Tickets! We are a family of 4 we stayed for 3 days and used EP! So 4 reg paper tickets to keep track of plus the other 12 EP for each day for each person. That is 16 tickets to keep track of. And the making sure the right ticket is with the right person at the right time etc! It was a Pain in the butt to say the least!
Disney is simple. Magic Band and you are done! Want to pay scan the MB. Want to use a FP scan the MB. Go to the pool no key needed to carry scan the MB!
So yep I love Disney for the simple way they do things! The website is easy to navigate too! Disney is not just for kids try the flower and garden or Food and wine festivals at Epcot!

 

[havoc315]

How was room charging any easier with bands on the wrist and a PIN vs handing over a card?



Disagree completely. Love shrek. ET is fine and fun. Take a break from it perhaps. Watch the movie again and maybenwith kids who haven't seen it. Then ride again.



Wowie do we disagree!



Not even a little bit. I don't comprehend the ride,
especially since I can barely hear what the characters are saying. The water creates such a white noise effect, and the rabbits voice is so high, I can't understand him. So I still don't understand the ride, so the dusty animatronics are lost on me.

A bear and fox chasing a rabbit through a playful colorful scene with fun music... Not much more you need to understand. On the other hand, nothing sticks in my memory about Dudley Do Right falls, except the big fall.

Anyway, we will just agree to disagree.

 

[Seeker615]

Hotels - I had no issues at all with Universal's hotels. Royal Pacific was beautiful and they even upgraded our room when we arrived. I think the quality is much better overall at Universal. Plus you can't beat the proximity to the parks and Citywalk.

Express Passes - If you stay at one of the deluxe resorts you get them included. We put ours in a lanyard along with our other tickets and had no issues. I would imagine they would be expensive if you are staying offsite. I do not like Fastpass plus. It's nice that everyone has the option but if you stay offsite your options are more limited as onsite guests have earlier access. I just do not like trying to plan out my rides and then travelling all over the park to get to my reservation.

I found I loved all the food choices at Citywalk and a few in the parks too. I only had one bad meal at IOA and it was some salad we got at a place near Jurassic Park. It was terrible.

 

[cleopenn]

If we go back to Disney, we will try the Grand Floridian or Contemporary. The Polynesian shocked me and I immediately learned deluxe in Disney terms is different than deluxe in the rest of the resort industry. We stayed in the CL building (can't remember the name) and it was dirty (trash laying in the hallway for 18 hrs, hallways not vacuumed for days) and in need of repairs (broken exterior door hardware, chipped paint everywhere). At that price point, those things are not acceptable.

Disney has a odd business model. For example, we arrived prior to check-in and our room wasn't ready and that was totally fine and perfectly understandable. The concierge asked if he could arrange anything for us and my husband said we would love to have lunch, a sit down lunch. The answer was not without an ADR. What resort say no to a guest wanting to spend money on food and drink?

It was about 1:30pm, not peak lunch time and not soon enough for a normal restaurant to stop serving lunch so we were baffled by the "no". Got the manager involved, who eventually saw the logic in letting us eat lunch and wrote us out a reservation on some sort of note pad ticket. We walked to the Café and the hostess didn't to seat us, we told her to call the manager and then we were seated. Did she think we somehow obtained the managers magic note pad and wrote out our own reservation? The most bizarre thing was the restaurant was about half-full, its not like they were slammed with tons of people waiting.

Goodness, it was lunch! It wasn't like we weren't asking to be upgraded to a more expensive room. We had a couple of other instances of restaurant and management weirdness throughout the week. Its appears to be Disney's way and it works for Disney but not for us.