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

[buzzrelly]

I really like Universal, but I LOVE Walt Disney World I could have fun at both, but if I absolutely had to choose to only ever go to one again, I would choose WDW, without question. Good thing I don't have to choose though, and I can go and enjoy what both have to offer

 

[Parker Clan]

This is an impossible question! I like them both equally for different reasons. In fact we do both Universal & Disney on every trip.

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

Universal! One simple reason - planning (or lack thereof). We will be spending 7 days at Universal in December, then heading over to Fairfield Inn and Suites Sea World for 4 days (Discovery Cove on Christmas). We are going with some who have never been to Disney, so we compromised and will go the Mickey Christmas Party after lunch at Disney Springs. I will spend triple the amount of time to plan 12 hours at Disney than 11 days at Universal/Sea World.

I keep saying that we will do one more full-immersion Disney vacation when some of the new stuff opens, but every year I leave Universal rested and happy, so who knows.

 

[quandrea]

I'll preface this with the fact that I've been to WDW several times and Uni only once. Plus, I like planning.

While both are fine, I prefer WDW by a mile. First and foremost, I appreciate that WDW is a truly family-friendly vacation. There's plenty for everybody to do, even with a range of ages and sizes. True, there aren't any mega-coasters, but there are at least some thrill-adjacent rides. And you can spend a lot of time at WDW without running out of new things to do.

I like the food at WDW. I like that there's a huge variety available at most parks and that most hotels also have good options. Granted that we only had a few meals at Universal, but I wasn't impressed. We had one table-service meal (Mama Something or other at PBR) and it was stupidly expensive, for food that wasn't good. It was hot and crowded while we were there, so we really didn't eat any meals inside the parks; just grabbed snacks when we ran across a kiosk with a reasonable line.

I like Disney's insane attention to detail. The theming is great, and there's something cool to look at pretty much anywhere you turn your head. Universal does a good job in some parts of their parks, but it's not as immersive as Disney.

And finally (and most important), I just don't like the rides at Universal as much as the ones at WDW. I concede that it's a far superior park for coaster-heads. But I wasn't fond of the repetitive motion simulator rides. There's so much going on that it's nearly impossble to take in what's happening, but at they same time they feel oddly flat, and even though they have different themes, one feels very similar to the next. Plus, Universal's rides are literally tailored to a fairly narrow segment of the population -- only people within a certain range of body types and sizes can experience them. Forbidden journey may be the best ride in the entire world; I'll never know. Same with Gringotts. In 8 years of regular trips to WDW, I never once even had to think about whether I could get onto a ride. At Universal, it's a constant concern.

I'm locked into Universal for this year, because my kids are all about Harry Potter. And I'm sure it'll be just fine. But I'd rather be at Disney.

I just got home today from three days at Universal. You succinctly summed up my feelings exactly. I know I wasn't a fan of Universal beyond the Harry Potter areas but couldn't say exactly why. When people ask I spoke about the experience falling flat. Something is just missing for me. I really felt much of the time that I was at my local amusement park, not a supposed world class theme park. To me there is such a glaring gap in quality between the Harry Potter areas and the rest of the parks. I think they need to close that gap.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

I have to agree with that as well. The gap is rather enormous between Potter and the rest of the parks. I like the Jurassic area as well, but it doesn't come close to how absolutely incredible Potter is.

It's not like I dislike Disney. I am DVC. But we're choosing Universal for the second year in a row because Disney just doesn't have enough new stuff to draw me back yet. That will change once Toy Story land opens but whatever date that is in the future, it isn't close enough. Disney has let way too much become stale in their parks and they are playing catch up now.

 

[Csaks]

I hate to say it but Universal. The word I've seen here that fits our Universal trips to a T. Relaxed.
When I'm at U.S. I am relaxed. I can do what I want, when I want and not have to plan it months in advance. The whole thought of deciding the night before what park to go to and not worry about fastpasses is freedom. The way I can just walk up to whatever ride I feel like, flash my pass and walk in (Other than Potter Stuff), ride, turn around and do it all again if I enjoyed it. Priceless. Try that at Disney.
Strolling along CityWalk hungry, reading the signs above the doors to the establishments and deciding right there and then what I feel like eating and not guessing months out what kind of food and what time I'll likely be hungry. Try that at Disney.
I'm tied to my phone most days in real life and at U.S. I really don't need to use it, Disney not so much.
Our first trips to Disney were way more relaxed than the last few. Way too much planning. Reading this thread, it sounds like we need to get to Disneyland to recapture that lost Disney love. I miss my Epcot big time but it's not worth planning a trip for just that.

 

[shanew21]

I prefer Disney. Food is better and overall variety/magic is better.

However, the Harry Potter stuff is better than anything Disney has to offer. I wish I could say the same about the rest of the park, but it's rather bland to me.

 

[macraven]

Since 1993 I have done Disney first then moved over to universal for vacations

Once the onsite hotels were up, stayed on site at UO
Start with motherland hotels then moved to darkside hotels

Would do at least two trips a year with this pattern

Just returned late last night for a short trip of 8 nights 9 days

I always said I could not do orlando without staying at both park hotels

But, encountered quite a bit of frustration at wdw this time
Because of that, cancelled out Disney plans for October and increased my hotel nights to 13 at UO for my October vacation

Maybe a few years break would be good for me
Had zero issues at UO
Food, hotel, line waits, etc was flawless at UO

We all will have a different experience and opinion on the parks

What is important to me may be a hill of beans for you

( I'm not a potter fan but do hit the two major rides they have)

 

[cruiser21]

Since cruising is our first choice in vacationing when we do cruise out of Florida I like to visit a theme park and spending a few days at Universal is just more affordable. I'm taking my son to WDW for 9 days and its going to cost more then our 10 day European cruise we went on last Summer and that was for the four of us. I just don't find WDW to be that great of a value anymore. I know many people will disagree because they do it several times a year, but I have to go with Universal on this one. I just feel like I'm getting more for my money at Universal.

 

[clawmachine]

I am a "ride person" and so are my husband and kids, so for us, IOA is hands down the best park in all of Florida.

 

[skier_pete]

I am finding it funny how many people are saying that Universal is more relaxing than Disney. I guess I don't get that - while i would agree that for a first-time guest Disney could be very stressful, I find now that we are DVC regulars at Disney going every year the past 10 years, I find that our Disney trips have become very relaxed. Sure we plan our FP+ and a few meals, but I find at this stage very easy to work around those. We go to the parks in the morning, hang at our resort in the afternoon, and be very spontaneous in the evening as to what we do. We feel no pressure to see everything - and therefore if we miss something, or something is closed, we shrug and say "next time". I find it all very relaxing...

We are heading to Universal in 2 weeks for the first time in 17 years, and the first time with DD13. We only stayed away from Universal so long because our DD would not go on thrill rides. Though we are going at her behest because of Harry Potter - she still won't ride thrill rides, she hates Everest, Dinosaur, Space Mountain and won't try RnRC and ToT at Disney. She says she'll try things at Universal, but we shall see. She definitely won't go on any of the roller coasters. DW gets motion sickness easy, and though she rode most everything 17 years ago, I get the feeling she will HATE all the screen rides. I am going to have her take dramamine just as a precaution. We are also bringing my 70 year old MIL, who I already know won't ride anything. Basically, I am expecting us be spending a whole lot of money for Harry Potter land and not much else. I will come back after the trip and tell you which one our family currently prefers. (We aren't staying on Universal property, so won't exactly be apples to apples.)

One thing I REALLY dislike about Universal already is how they force to you buy a park-to-park ticket if you want to have the full Harry Potter experience. We rarely hop at Disney, but I am being forced to a Universal, which annoys the heck out of me.

My memory of Universal is some amazing rides, but not real memorable from an overall experience. Disney is short on thrills, but much better at immersion. It also has IMO a lot of different experiences. Each park is unique. We love Animal Kingdom because it is so thematically immersive. We love Epcot WS because each country gives you a little peak into that nation. And especially we love what we call the "Disney bubble". Entering Disney at the start of the trip and sealing out the "real" world. A place where everything you do is set to music.

 

[perditax]

I am finding it funny how many people are saying that Universal is more relaxing than Disney. I guess I don't get that - while i would agree that for a first-time guest Disney could be very stressful, I find now that we are DVC regulars at Disney going every year the past 10 years ...

But that's the thing, isn't it? Most people are trying to plan rarer, even once-in-a-lifetime trips--which they want to be 'perfect'--and on top of that they come to the forums and they absorb all this pressure to score the high-demand ADRs and ride appointments. Then it's multiplied by four parks, and a gazillion resorts to choose from, and all the travel time between resorts and the parks, etc ... And they do want to see and do everything. With WDW, you have to plan for that or you can't have it.

(I just got done reading a thread that involved someone's carefully detailed trip schedule/spreadsheet that was going to be affected by unexpected guests. Usually don't see that kind of thread in the UO forums.)

 

[skier_pete]

But that's the thing, isn't it? Most people are trying to plan rarer, even once-in-a-lifetime trips--which they want to be 'perfect'--and on top of that they come to the forums and they absorb all this pressure to score the high-demand ADRs and ride appointments. Then it's multiplied by four parks, and a gazillion resorts to choose from, and all the travel time between resorts and the parks, etc ... And they do want to see and do everything. With WDW, you have to plan for that or you can't have it.

(I just got done reading a thread that involved someone's carefully detailed trip schedule/spreadsheet that was going to be affected by unexpected guests. Usually don't see that kind of thread in the UO forums.)

Yeah - I do get it. I used to be "that guy' that had to have the schedule all planned out. And I understand the feeling completely - I even mentioned the pressure of a first-time guest. What I was saying that I like Disney even more now that I realize none of that is necessary for us... And even though I like FP+, when they rolled it out, I thought "this is great for a guy like me, but there's lots of people that HATE the idea of planning a trip down to the hour."

But I've always LIKED the planning. We NEVER wait in line at Disney, between rope drop and FP+, if we wait in line more than 20 minutes, it usually isn't more than 2 or 3 times a trip. Since we aren't staying on-site at Universal, I am finding the LACK of a plan and the inability to work a system to prevent standing in lines to be a bit annoying. We are giving 3 days to the trip simply because we don't know how much time we will be standing in line. (I expect to stand in line more these 3 days than I normally do in a 10 day Disney trip.) I mean yes we are using rope drop, and I have my usual list of "what to do first" but by mid-day it seems like long lines are inevitable. Again, I will come back with an actual opinion for this thread in a few weeks.

 

[macraven]

Pete, use the single rider lines at UO where they are offered

Many times you could be on the same vehicle

This will help cut wait time in the regular lines

The only deep planning you need to do is look at the UO site for how both parks are laid out

Take note on locations for the basics such as restrooms, first aide, ride locations and times for parades, character meets, street shows...

Eateries inside the parks stop taking orders 30 minutes prior to park closing

Depending on your trip dates, potter areas could have less congestion in them the last few hours of the park day

Only problem with saving FJ or gringotts to late evening is if the ride goes down
They usually don't go back up if it's only one more hour til park closes

Hope you enjoy your time at the darkside
If your daughter is a potter fan, she will be pleased with this new experience

 

[skier_pete]

Pete, use the single rider lines at UO where they are offered

Hope you enjoy your time at the darkside
If your daughter is a potter fan, she will be pleased with this new experience

Not to Hijack the thread - but while i'm aware of the single rider line, I think the first time we ride we will want to ride together. I was planning on using single rider if I have time to ride the coasters, as I am the only one in our party that is a coaster rider. We are all Potter fans so are definitely looking forward to all that stuff. I don't want to come off against Universal - I love the place, and have been there before - just think for a family of non-thrill seekers it is unlikely to be considered "better than Disney".

 

[damo]

Not to Hijack the thread - but while i'm aware of the single rider line, I think the first time we ride we will want to ride together. I was planning on using single rider if I have time to ride the coasters, as I am the only one in our party that is a coaster rider. We are all Potter fans so are definitely looking forward to all that stuff. I don't want to come off against Universal - I love the place, and have been there before - just think for a family of non-thrill seekers it is unlikely to be considered "better than Disney".

That's why it is so fortunate that we have both Universal and WDW. Really great for mix and matching.

 

[J-Dog]

I posted a few pages back in this thread that I prefer Disney, but probably only by a little bit.

My biggest con is the planning. Not so much the pre-planning of FP+'s and ADR's, but the planning required once you are actually there in the park to make sure you meet the requirements of that planning.

Although I really do prefer Disney, I don't think I will ever reserve another ADR again after we had a little incident the other day:

Our ADR at Chefs de France was in about 60 minutes, so we decided to go hit Soarin'. So we stood in the line, which wasn't very long, and thought we would have plenty of time. But, for some reason, there was a long delay after we were seated of at least 10-15 minutes. I REALLY didn't want to pay the "no-show" fee, so after waiting in line, then waiting on the seat on the ride, for a total of probably 40 minutes, we had to ask to be let off the ride, right before it finally started, and then had to run to make the ADR.

I don't know what we should have done in that situation - I guess our options were 1) Skip Soarin' before dinner (but then, again, we would have missed-out on park-time/ride-time due to ADR's), 2) Skip the ADR and waste $10, or 3) not have made the ADR in the first place and got counter service after Soarin' was over. In retrospect, rather than getting off the ride and running for our ADR, I should have done Option 3 - which is what we'll do from now on.

After that experience, I canceled our other ADR's, because I was there to see Disney World, not sit at a restaurant and try to fit things in around sitting at a restaurant.

Now, we were off-site and split time between Disney world and Universal, so between Universal, CityWalk, and International Drive, we still had plenty of sit-down/table-service dinners, so this might be a different story if we had stayed on-site at Disney.

In short, I will probably not worry about ADR's again. Fastpasses are bad enough.

Again, I still prefer WDW, but if the strict planning gets even worse (somehow), then we will consider skipping it altogether and just going to UO.

 

[perditax]

@J-Dog, I had similar thoughts the last time I was at MK. It was during the first peak of BoG lunch insanity and I let myself get sucked in. After a week or two of trying I scored that coveted lunch reservation. Then I had to make sure my ride appointments matched up. Then I had to make sure we had enough time to get there. Then we got there and we weren't actually hungry yet. Really underscores how silly it is to let the restaurant reservations drive the trip.

 

[Csaks]

(I just got done reading a thread that involved someone's carefully detailed trip schedule/spreadsheet that was going to be affected by unexpected guests. Usually don't see that kind of thread in the UO forums.)

When you need to carefully plan, make a detailed trip and schedule and put it on a spreadsheet. Then an unexpected guest throws it for a loop. That has gone way past the vacation mode for me. Maybe the vacationer can't really get away from work in their mind and need to plan to the 'tee' to feel better about taking time off?

 

[perditax]

When you need to carefully plan, make a detailed trip and schedule and put it on a spreadsheet. Then an unexpected guest throws it for a loop. That has gone way past the vacation mode for me. Maybe the vacationer can't really get away from work in their mind and need to plan to the 'tee' to feel better about taking time off?

I agree with you in principle, but lots of "planning" threads for WDW look exactly like that, with stuff scheduled to the hour.

There's a whole subforum for such plans ...

http://www.disboards.com/forums/pre-trip-reports-and-plans.144/

(When I first registered here I clearly remember someone's spreadsheet that was broken down into five-minute increments. They had carefully blocked off hours that were allotted to sleeping. Yes an extreme example, but again--an example you're unlikely to see anywhere but WDW.)