Hollywood Studios with Star Wars or Universal with Harry Potter????

[joyerbides]

My family is going to Florida the week after Easter to visit my son and his wife who just moved there. Since we will be an hour away from Orlando, we wanted to do a park for one day. I know that is CRAZY, but it's all I can afford. We were at Disney in 2007 and we went to The Magic Kingdom in 2019. We have never been to Universal. So.... here is the problem. I have a grown man who is dying to go to Star Wars in Disney, but the rest of us (mom, teens and grown son) want to go to Harry Potter. I also have a 9 year old daughter.... WHAT TO DO???? Either way, we will have a blast. But, its only one day and we have to do what's going to be easiest. Plus have the little one. Help!!!!

 

[lockets]

First of all please never apologize for what you can afford. Disney is very expensive especially right now and no one should feel bad about not going all out. Hugs!

Second. Is the “grown man” your son that just moved down there or someone that’s in the visiting group?

 

[joyerbides]

First of all please never apologize for what you can afford. Disney is very expensive especially right now and no one should feel bad about not going all out. Hugs!

Second. Is the “grown man” your son that just moved down there or someone that’s in the visiting group?

Awww, thank you!!! Ahh, the grown man is my husband. LOL He's with me. LOL

 

[lockets]

Oh wait. I re read your post and understand better now. Would the grown man split off from the group to do his own thing? If that’s cool then let him go where he wants and maybe one other person decides to join him if he really doesn’t want to be by himself. But If not I think Universal sounds like it has majority vote!?

 

[joyerbides]

He loves Harry Potter too. He would be okay with either park, he would just prefer Galaxy's Edge over Hogwarts. I guess my question is, aside from that, which park will cater more to my 9 year old daughter? We will all have fun no matter where we go, I just don't know which park would be easier with a one day pass.

 

[springtime]

Went to Disney last summer and HP this past week. My husband and kids are both HP and Star Wars fans. They all agree that HP was better than Star Wars. I could personally spend an entire day or two devoted to HP. My daughter (8) was in heaven at HP.

Not sure on the prices of a day at Hollywood Studios, but to see all of HP you really need tickets to both parks. That might be a consideration.

Both are very immersive experiences, and you can’t go wrong.

 

[joyerbides]

Went to Disney last summer and HP this summer. My husband and kids are both HP and Star Wars fans. They all agree that HP was better than Star Wars. I could personally spend an entire day or two devoted to HP. My daughter (8) was in heaven at HP.

Not sure on the prices of a day at Hollywood Studios, but to see all of HP you really need tickets to both parks. That might be a consideration.

Both are very immersive experiences, and you can’t go wrong.

Awesome! Thank you! I think we will do the HP and do both parks same day. I think it'll be worth it.

 

[mom2rtk]

Your husband will be a Star Wars fan adult probably for the rest of his life. Your nine-year-old daughter will only be nine for a short time. You definitely should do Harry Potter while she’s this age.

 

[lockets]

My 6 year old neice likes universal better than Hollywood studios. Only caveat would be if your daughter is a huge toy story fan? Other than that universal especially doing spells at Harry Potter is fun for kids.

 

[HopperFan]

Just know that if you go one day to Universal to see Harry Potter, if you don't buy the 2 Park 1 Day ticket you will be limited by which attractions you can do. Studios will be 1 ride but Diagon Alley is so cool and with TONS more to explore. Islands gives you 2 rides and Hogsmeade, much more limited in things to see, much smaller. Of course you would have all the other attractions at each park so look at which of those are of interest. I personally think in your situation the park to park will be worth it and make your major focus HP, and that adds the train ride between them.

Now Star Wars is artistically impressive ... Rise is great but it will likely be hours of waiting for you since you are offsite and ILL sells out fast. MF is a fun ride and waits not too bad. Dining is meh, shops are okay but wouldn't take long to explore. Unless your DD is SW fan, I think HP would win her over with all the interactive stuff, the cool shops etc.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Rise is great but it will likely be hours of waiting for you since you are offsite and ILL sells out fast. MF is a fun ride and waits not too bad.

This right here. Rise of the Resistance was great but I waited only about 20 minutes to ride it with the old Virtual Line system. If you're offsite, you won't get a ILL even if you're willing to pay for one for each person in your party, so you're looking at likely a multi-hour wait that time of year. Likewise, Slinky will go quickly for Genie+ even if you're willing to pay for it. For only one day, Universal is going to be a lot less stress, and ultimately less money around Easter or any busy time of year. At HS, you'll feel like you paid a ton of money just to wait in line all day.

 

[Kit Jackson]

No question/contest. Universal with Harry Potter. Galaxy's Edge is okay, but the Harry Potter sections of Universal Orlando are next level amazing. They captured all of the details and even the new stuff that they created for the parks that isn't specifically in the books feels like it belongs/fits right into the space. The themeing is incredible. The shows are enjoyable too. The line/queue for Forbidden Journey is worth the wait alone. You get to walk through Hogwarts castle. You will need Park to Park passes to do everything Harry Potter related (including riding the Hogwarts Express in each direction), while Galaxy's Edge is all in one park. Compare the prices and see which fits into your budget.

Harry Potter is a total, complete immersive experience. Universal brought the world of Harry Potter to life. Galaxy's Edge has two fantastic rides (the queue for Smuggler's Run made feel like I was on the Falcon.), but the atmosphere/overall section when you are not on a ride or in line for one is only okay. Galaxy's Edge doesn't have the wow factory of "I am in the world of the story" that Harry Potter has.

 

[mitsukoshi samurai]

 

[Ngiza Buyabo]

Definitely Universal! Their HP stuff is great, especially watching people “do magic” with the interactive wands.

 

[kbelle8995]

I have been to both. Love Star Wars and HP. Galaxy Edge can be quite crowded as HP can be. Rise has very long lines but it is an incredible ride. MF is okay but it really depends on your pilot. (If you can't pilot, get some video game smart kids/teens) You can't just sit there and watch. I like Docking Bay 7 for food.

Much as I love Star Wars, it's really hard to hang out in Galaxy Edge. Hogsmeade is like that but Diagon Alley is so nice to hang out at. Good entertainment. As someone says you can watch people do spells or you can purchase a wand and do it yourself. Are they pricey? Yes but not as much as a lightsaber or a droid. You will see lots of kids and adults doing this. I also highly recommend Celestina Warbeck and her Banshees. Gringotts is my favorite ride. But FJ is also good as is the train between Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley. Make sure that you have a park hopper to do the train.

 

[mom2rtk]

If you choose Universal, try to see a couple of the shows. It's so nice to have live entertainment in the parks. Our favorite was The Tales of Beedle the Bard in Diagon Alley. Also loved the frog choir in Hogsmeade.

 

[mom2rtk]

Definitely Universal! Their HP stuff is great, especially watching people “do magic” with the interactive wands.

It's maddening the way the spells clog up the paths. But dang, it adds such a fun kinetic energy to the area. We didn't have a wand in June when we visited, but got one in January and really enjoyed it.

 

[maverik85]

Awesome! Thank you! I think we will do the HP and do both parks same day. I think it'll be worth it.

I would vote for this option as well. There is a lot more to do with HP than Star Wars. Galaxy's Edge only has 2 attractions. RotR has been called one of the best attractions ever, but Smuggler's Run I've heard as an advanced Star Tours, good but not amazing. Whereas if you can hit both parks at Universal you have 3 amazing attractions, a family coaster, and the Hogwarts Express. Plus the interactive wands can be tons of fun for the kids and are much cheaper than the lightsabers. Outside of the HP areas (which if you haven't been you could spend most of your day at just them) there is more to do compared to Hollywood Studios. Hollywood Studios has some of the best rides, but not that many overall. There is only about 10 rides and a handful of shows. Just the HP areas alone have 5 rides along with other smaller shows and experiences like Ollivanders. Along with all of the others rides in the parks. If you're thrill seekers Velocicoaster is right next to the Harry Potter areas and is one of the greatest coasters built and definitely worth a ride. I'd say there's about equal rides for kids at both.

 

[joyerbides]

Thank you so much everyone!!! I am very excited to go to Hogwarts!!!!

 

[mom2rtk]

Here's your invite!