Disney & Universal Studios
Jul 10th, 2015, 06:02 AM
#1
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Disney & Universal Studios
Hello All,
We are planning a five day vacation to Orlando at the end of September. My son is ten years old and it will be his first time. My boss surprised me with four days worth of tickets for the three of us to Universal. We would hate to not see Disney though, so we are trying to decide which parks would be worth seeing by using a two day park hopper pass. I was thinking of doing 2 days at Disney, 2 days at Universal and 1 day at SeaWorld. He loves big rides and animals so I am leaning toward Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom at Disney. With the park hoppers, we are hoping to be able to briefly visit the other parks if we have time to spare. I know he will love everything at Universal but we plan to go to a different place each year so I doubt we will be going back to Disney until he's older. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
We are planning a five day vacation to Orlando at the end of September. My son is ten years old and it will be his first time. My boss surprised me with four days worth of tickets for the three of us to Universal. We would hate to not see Disney though, so we are trying to decide which parks would be worth seeing by using a two day park hopper pass. I was thinking of doing 2 days at Disney, 2 days at Universal and 1 day at SeaWorld. He loves big rides and animals so I am leaning toward Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom at Disney. With the park hoppers, we are hoping to be able to briefly visit the other parks if we have time to spare. I know he will love everything at Universal but we plan to go to a different place each year so I doubt we will be going back to Disney until he's older. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Jul 10th, 2015, 07:18 AM
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Does he want atmosphere or thrill rides? Disney is VERY light on the latter. And if he's a Harry Potter fan or whatever other Universal properties there are, he may want more time there than 2 days in Disney. Check with him - at 10, Disney can be a bit "babyish." At 30+, there's more nostalgia.
Jul 10th, 2015, 07:38 AM
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Agree that you should have a look at the activities/rides at each place - and determine which you want to see most.
Magic Kingdom has a few things for older kids and adults but there are a lot for little ones - and princesses - that he may not be interested in. the only part that I like is EPCOT - but it;s not thrill rides and he may be too young for a lot of this.
Magic Kingdom has a few things for older kids and adults but there are a lot for little ones - and princesses - that he may not be interested in. the only part that I like is EPCOT - but it;s not thrill rides and he may be too young for a lot of this.
Jul 10th, 2015, 01:38 PM
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Just went to Universal with an 8 year old girl and she loved it. She had a look at what was on offer in Disney and thought it was too babyish (not a fan of princesses and Disney seemed heavy on the princesses...). Sea world was a highlight particularly the dolphin encounter which was a bit extra but well worth it. We also all enjoyed Kennedy Space Center for something different.
We stayed in the Hard Rock Hotel for the time while we were in Universal and can highly recommend it as a place to stay with a child if it fits your budget.
The theme parks are tough going and long days.
We had 2 packed days in Universal/Islands of Adventure. I would like to have spent 3 days there and done them in a more leisurely fashion.
Do your Universal tickets also give you access to Wet n Wild waterpark? If so I would prefer a day there + 3 universal days to 2 at universal, 2 at disney (and it would be miles cheaper!).
We stayed in the Hard Rock Hotel for the time while we were in Universal and can highly recommend it as a place to stay with a child if it fits your budget.
The theme parks are tough going and long days.
We had 2 packed days in Universal/Islands of Adventure. I would like to have spent 3 days there and done them in a more leisurely fashion.
Do your Universal tickets also give you access to Wet n Wild waterpark? If so I would prefer a day there + 3 universal days to 2 at universal, 2 at disney (and it would be miles cheaper!).
Jul 10th, 2015, 04:54 PM
#6
I would skip Sea World and add a day at Universal...especially since you already have the tickets.
If you stay on site at Universal at either the Hard Rock Hotel, Royal Pacific Resort, or Portofino Bay Hotel you get express access on most of the attractions which cuts way down on wait times. It is also easy to just walk from the hotels to the parks and from park to park at Universal.
If you stay on site at Universal at either the Hard Rock Hotel, Royal Pacific Resort, or Portofino Bay Hotel you get express access on most of the attractions which cuts way down on wait times. It is also easy to just walk from the hotels to the parks and from park to park at Universal.
