Just for fun, what would you choose to do?

[MeganMango]

I have an 8 day vacation planned.

June 24-July 1. (Landing at 7:30am on the 24th and flying out very late on the 1).

I have two days where I'm not doing WDW. The first day I'm going to Discovery Cove to swim with the dolphin and relax, but going to the park that evening for dinner. The second day I was going to go to Universal. But is it worth it? I'm very interested in seeing Harry Potter World but it seems like to get the full experience, I'd need a park to park ticket to ride the Hogwarts Express. I have no interest in waiting in a line any longer than an hour (I'll be there solo) but I LOVE thrilling rides.


If you were me, would you spend the day at the resort pool (Pop Century)/relax/hangout or do universal?

Last time I went to WDW I tired myself out! I like to go go go but I don't break enough. This time I planned on taking some days and going to the water parks for some relaxing time. (Are water park rides as long of waits as standard rides in the other parks?)

 

[niffer5150]

for universal if you wanna avoid lines, go before the park opens. be front and center at diagon alley so when they let you finally go, you can get in line at gringotts. then train it on over to hogsmead for forbidden journey and dueling dragons. both are really awesome. if you wanna do ollivanders, you can do it in either park i believe. the lines are the least before noon. after that, the whole area gets pretty congested. although, i have to say, the line for forbidden journey is pretty awesome really. you can do single rider, but it skips much of the castle tour. you can fix that by just doing the castle tour option. the line for gringotts is just unpleasant so hit it before it gets long. take the train back to diagon alley for the other train show, it's different each way. you can then hang out and catch shows at your leisure, having nailed down the biggest rides before the crowds show up.

 

[MeganMango]

for universal if you wanna avoid lines, go before the park opens. be front and center at diagon alley so when they let you finally go, you can get in line at gringotts. then train it on over to hogsmead for forbidden journey and dueling dragons. both are really awesome. if you wanna do ollivanders, you can do it in either park i believe. the lines are the least before noon. after that, the whole area gets pretty congested. although, i have to say, the line for forbidden journey is pretty awesome really. you can do single rider, but it skips much of the castle tour. you can fix that by just doing the castle tour option. the line for gringotts is just unpleasant so hit it before it gets long. take the train back to diagon alley for the other train show, it's different each way. you can then hang out and catch shows at your leisure, having nailed down the biggest rides before the crowds show up.

Thank you for your suggestions!

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I was not a fan of shuttling back and forth on Hogwarts Express. If you want to go to Universal I would recommend going to Studios for Diagon Alley and staying there for the day. It is very well themed -maybe better than most of Disney World. I'm not a big Harry Potter fan, so seeing this once was enough for me

 

[Dismom18]

I primarily go to Universal for Harry Potter and it's fantastic! Definitely worth it if your a HP fan

 

[RedOne3781]

I would absolutely go to Universal for the day. And I would get the park to park ticket option. As long as you are willing to get there super early in the morning and do some serious crisscrossing between the parks. Here's why:

My friend and I did the one day park to park ticket option last summer (late August) for a day at Universal mid way through our Disney trip.

We got there incredibly early (I mean like an hour before the park opened), did the walk through City Walk, etc and were in line by the park enterance a half hour before rope drop. Made a bee line straight back to Diagon Alley, did all the stuff there. Took Hogwarts over to IOA, did all the Harry Potter stuff there, took the train back to the other park AGAIN, knocked out some non-Potter rides and shows. Next we walked back to Diagon Alley for lunch, took yet another journey on Hogwarts to IOA, did some of the non-Harry Potter stuff there and left the parks around 7 during a massive downpour.

Longest line of the day for us: the Jarassic Park water ride, mid day, 45 mins. Because it was super hot out and also because it loads slow.
Shortest line for us: HP Forbidden Journey, walked on around 10am.

It sounds daunting and like a lot of crisscrossing/back and forth but almost a year later I am still amazed at how much we got to see and do at both parks (while still having Harry Potter related things be the focus) and how much fun we had. We managed to squeeze in time for two meals, a snack, a few breaks and some shopping too.

Basically: get there early, hit both sides of Harry Potter things right away, then go back and do other things the parks offer that catch your eye.

Hope you have a great time!

 

[YawningDodo]

I think the Harry Potter areas at Universal are absolutely worth seeing, but I also think eight days of go-go-go in a row is a lot. We did six full park days in a row (four at WDW with two Universal days interspersed) on our last trip and were exhausted and sore by the time we hit the halfway point. It was doable, but if I had an eight day trip planned I think I would probably collapse at some point if there wasn't at least one solid rest day in the middle.

As for water parks, I don't know how they are in summer -- in fall my impression was that the lines generally weren't as long as they were for rides in the regular parks, but at peak season it may be long waits. Also, while I suppose you could take it easy at a water park depending on what you did there, I generally find that swimming wears me out just as much or more than walking around the regular parks.

 

[rg35]

All those days of park touring is asking for burnout, but ultimately you know your limits and how much you will want to push yourself.

With a single day at Universal, maybe it makes sense to upgrade to the unlimited express ticket so you have less waiting? We haven't been to Univsersal since 2005 though, so I'm totally out of the loop on those parks now.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you go to Universal and you are a Harry Potter fan, a park-to-park ticket is a must. Hogwart's Express is unbelievable. One of the best themed and best executed rides I have ever seen. If it's in your budget, yes, I would go to Universal.

The water park rides can get very long. Unfortunately, there is no FP+ at the WDW water parks. If you go, go as soon as the water park opens and hit the big slides. Lines will start to build around 11:30 am. We love BB, so we typically go at RD, ride our favorite slides, have lunch and then play Winter/Summerland mini-golf. Head back to the resort to relax, dinner and then another park or DS for the evening.

 

[Shanti]

This time I planned on taking some days and going to the water parks for some relaxing time. (Are water park rides as long of waits as standard rides in the other parks?)

No, the water park waits aren't as long as "dry" park waits for rides of similar popularity. That doesn't mean they are always walk-on, though. I recommend arriving at the water parks 15-30 minutes before open, so you'll be ready right at 10am opening time to begin. When we went last July (near July 4th, so WDW was mega-crowded all around), the lines were shortest first thing, then built up into the afternoon. Obviously, do the "biggest", most popular rides first, then move onto minor rides. They do post anticipated wait times for rides.

It's similar to dry park touring, but a lot more relaxed, with no FastPass slowing line movement down, no ADR's to keep, and rope drop is at 10am. It's an easier experience all around.

(Except for the bus transportation, but never mind about that...)

 

[glassslippergirl]

What if you did a "wait and see"? If you find that you're feeling run down that day, hang out at the resort. If you're feeling up to it, get up early, buy tickets at the gate, and spend the day at Universal. I agree with PP, if you go, pay for front of the line access to maximize your park time.

 

[mshanson3121]

I have an 8 day vacation planned.

June 24-July 1. (Landing at 7:30am on the 24th and flying out very late on the 1).

I have two days where I'm not doing WDW. The first day I'm going to Discovery Cove to swim with the dolphin and relax, but going to the park that evening for dinner. The second day I was going to go to Universal. But is it worth it? I'm very interested in seeing Harry Potter World but it seems like to get the full experience, I'd need a park to park ticket to ride the Hogwarts Express. I have no interest in waiting in a line any longer than an hour (I'll be there solo) but I LOVE thrilling rides.


If you were me, would you spend the day at the resort pool (Pop Century)/relax/hangout or do universal?

Last time I went to WDW I tired myself out! I like to go go go but I don't break enough. This time I planned on taking some days and going to the water parks for some relaxing time. (Are water park rides as long of waits as standard rides in the other parks?)

Myself, I'd plan on an R&R day. Have you ever been at that time before? It's extremely hot and crowded. I would plan on taking the day as a break, and then if you really feel like you want to do something, myself I'd probably visit Aquatica or Sea World since it's included with your Discovery Cove ticket. But that's just me, I'd never spend that much money for one day at a theme park.

 

[DarkPaw]

I would not have been able to go to a park in the evening after doing a day at Discovery Cove...

 

[Gradeadork]

I would plan a rest and relax day poolside with an ice cold drink and a book. I am a huge Harry Potter fan but I like to unwind from my vacation as well!

 

[pa. dad]

i'd go to universal. there's much more than harry potter too.

 

[mindeola]

The POP century pools are boring. I would probably spend some time resort hopping, maybe some Disney Springs.

 

[csjordan]

I would do an R&R day at the resort and/or do some resort hopping, and save HP for another trip. The Hogwart's Express is cool, but after riding it once each way, the family agreed it was a waste of money (we were there for 2 days and would not have gotten a park to park if not for Hogwart's Express). We were not blown away. The line to ride each way was around 45 minutes long. This was mid-August.