Universal before or after Disney?

[NJlauren]

We are planning a trip for November 2022, most likely thanksgiving week, but maybe Jersey week.

Would you do Universal before or after Disney, I was leaning before since we want to be at MK for Thanksgiving, but I could possibly be convinced that’s not the best option.

I’m debating between staying at the Hard Rock or just buying express passes, thinking I would like to do volcano bay one day. We haven’t done universal since we had kids, so any other tips or advice welcome.

Any suggestions?

2 adults and 2 kids (4 and 8).

 

[wdwrule]

We are planning a trip for November 2022, most likely thanksgiving week, but maybe Jersey week.

Would you do Universal before or after Disney, I was leaning before since we want to be at MK for Thanksgiving, but I could possibly be convinced that’s not the best option.

I’m debating between staying at the Hard Rock or just buying express passes, thinking I would like to do volcano bay one day. We haven’t done universal since we had kids, so any other tips or advice welcome.

Any suggestions?

2 adults and 2 kids (4 and 8).

I’m a complete newbie to universal as we’ve always done Disney but headed to universal next month for the first time. Just wanted to note something I’ve learned here is to price out your universal trip with annual passes. We’re a family of four who recently got APs for everyone but if you get at least one AP, you’ll get great AP discounts on hotel rooms among other perks. This also made it easier for us to stay at one of the top three hotels that include unlimited express passes for everyone in the room.

ETA: I was thinking you were going this November… not sure when prices are released for APs closer to the time you are going. Lol, again, newbie here.

 

[JaxDad]

Pre-COVID, most posters discussing combined trips recommended going to Disney first. Universal, especially with express passes, was much more relaxed, compared to the hard core planning and sticking to plan approach that many Disney visitors took. Many posters said Universal was a nice change after getting their Disney fix in, and a good way to finish their vacations. I haven’t followed Disney strategies since COVID, so I’m not sure this is still the case.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

Universal is the relaxing, no planning needed holiday that you take after WDW. As said above, price out one AP and an hotel with ‘free’ EPs.

 

[disneyseniors]

We have always gone to Universal in the Middle of our vacations. It worked for us. We would do 4 days at WDW enabling us to do the 4 parks, then 2 days at Universal (one overnight), then back to disney to redo our favorites or to take it easier while touring. We always found Universal to be relaxing and alot of fun. The EP's with the deluxe hotel paid for itself. It was great to Not have to plan every move and do what we wanted, when we wanted. We also could ride one attraction back to back as many times as we wanted.
That was precovid.
Now we would do mostly Universal with maybe a day or 2 at WDW.

 

[Rory607]

I asked this question here and most people said WDW, then Universal. And the reasoning makes complete sense. However, we are not taking that advice, lol! It will be our first US trip and our kids are beyond excited for it. We’ve done WDW many times, so we are tacking on a few days there at the end of our trip.

I know my kids and if we did it the other way, I know they would be spending the whole time at Disney in anticipation of US and everything new. It would not be as much fun because they would sort of be wishing the Disney days away (yes, I realize how entitled that sounds). So for this trip, US is the main event and whatever we accomplish at Disney afterwards is icing on the cake.

 

[mom2rtk]

We're doing Universal before Disney on our next trip because we want to be freshest for the Universal Days.

 

[henry72]

We are looking at going next May or June. We will do US first and then WDW. US is new for us so we want to do it first.

 

[CarolynFH]

I think that if you have a party of adrenaline rush-seekers who love roller coasters and other thrill rides, Disney will be a letdown after UOR.

 

[cfoxga]

Having been to UO three times at Thanksgiving, I can say that things get more crowded as the week goes on. My guess is that Disney would be the same way. At a very full park, I would definitely prefer to have EPs, so we would probably do UO last.

As for the UO hotel, with an APH rate at a deluxe resort, you will probably save a ton of money vs buying express passes for 4 (even for 1 night). So I'd definitely go with HRH...

 

[Pooh's World]

Disney - Universal - Disney is the way to go IMO.

 

[NJlauren]

Disney - Universal - Disney is the way to go IMO.

I was starting to think this….

 

[Trip planner]

On the other hand… (I have never been to Universal Orlando, just Hollywood) On a trip to LA a few years ago my family went to Disneyland for a few days and then Universal Hollywood and my HUSBAND remarked that he thought Disney felt more magical because they did a better job with theming in all places and lines (Harry Potter excluded from the statement) not just attractions. We are headed to Universal Orlando for the first time next week, then the beach, then WDW. I can give you a better opinion after this trip.

 

[cfoxga]

On the other hand… (I have never been to Universal Orlando, just Hollywood) On a trip to LA a few years ago my family went to Disneyland for a few days and then Universal Hollywood and my HUSBAND remarked that he thought Disney felt more magical because they did a better job with theming in all places and lines (Harry Potter excluded from the statement) not just attractions. We are headed to Universal Orlando for the first time next week, then the beach, then WDW. I can give you a better opinion after this trip.

DL is definitely a different beast than WDW. I find UO and DL to be very comparable in feel, due mainly to their small "bubble". WDW feels like an entire city in comparison, with everything spread out so much it is no longer walkable.

The tie-breakers for us are EPs and restaurant access. Aside from a very expensive VIP tour, Disney doesn't really have anything that compares. And I love not having to make any meal reservations at UO, though it sounds like things have taken a turn for the worse recently. Whenever we've gone to Disney Springs without a reservation, we end up spending half our time finding somewhere without a 30+ minute wait.

 

[jennb529]

We're doing Universal before Disney on our next trip because we want to be freshest for the Universal Days.

This is our philosophy for this trip as well. Last time we did Disney first and then two days at Universal. We were tired of spending money, tired of sleeping in a different bed and just really kind of ready to get home after our nearly two week trip. This time we're doing Universal first so we have the energy to explore all we want before heading over to Disney. And we're also leavng my husband at home, lol. That might solve some of the issues right there!

 

[MamaJessie]

We have done our Uni days in the beginning when we do both. This next trip is our first stay on property at Uni and we will again be doing Uni first. We have cancelled Uni standalones for Disney more than once so for us, Disney is the headliner.

 

[limace]

We did Universal first two years ago and decided we’d switch the order this year and were glad we did. Universal is a much easier vacation and a good way to relax-especially if you have EPs.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

While we have taken days in the middle of a Disney trip to do Universal, we are doing a split stay for the first time ever on our upcoming trip. We are starting with Universal!

 

[PixieT78]

We switched to Universal last because we don't stay deluxe at Disney but we do stay in the premium hotels at Universal so going back to Disney was disappointing. That said, when we go to both next year, we'll be doing Disney-Universal-Disney. Part of that will be to maximize our Universal AP's so we can use them right up until the end.

 

[iona]

We also consider what days of the week we’ll be where - we prefer Universal midweek whereas for Disney it doesn’t bother us if we’re there during the week or at the weekend. We’ve done Universal at the beginning a few times and in the middle twice, and next trip we’ll be doing it at the end.