How many does...advice please!

[Dpint43]

My family and I are going to Orlando this upcoming Holiday (Christmas) Season. We will be arriving the day after Thanksgiving and staying the week.

There are 11 of us. We are big fans of Disney and Universal (and Harry Potter!) and are going to a park each day of our seven day trip. Our original plan is to not visit Universal until Sunday (we figure Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving will be extra crazy).

My main question is, do we need three or four full days at the park? We haven't been to Orlando in about 10 years, and probably won't be able to make another trip for a good many years after so we want to maximize our vacation.

As I said, we are big all big Harry Potter fans, but I just want to make sure there is enough for us to do for four whole park days. We are also big fans of Disney World and could easily spend another day at one of the four WDW parks.

We plan on doing two days of Universal during the first week of December (which from I hear is a low crowd week) so hopefully we can get a lot done in those two days.

Anyways, long question short...should we get tickets for three or four days? Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

 

[Master Yoda]

US and IOA can easily be done in a day each providing you get there at rope drop as can AK and DHS. Epcot is about 1 to 1.5 days depending what you want to do. MK is still a good solid 1.5-2 day park.

 

[TubaGeek]

I'd anticipate three days will be sufficient. If you want to experience EVERYTHING, it may take four days, given the crowds that will probably still be there for Potter, but if you're okay skipping the Barney show and Storm's Tea Cup clone and things like that, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[fosse76]

You won't really need more than three days to experience everything. If you arrive at park open, you should actually be able to get a lot done in that first park. Universal crowds seem to arrive later in the morning. Everyone heads mostly to Harry Potter first thing in the morning, so I'd save it until later in the day.

 

[StageFrenzy]

You won't really need more than three days to experience everything. If you arrive at park open, you should actually be able to get a lot done in that first park. Universal crowds seem to arrive later in the morning. Everyone heads mostly to Harry Potter first thing in the morning, so I'd save it until later in the day.

There will be two Harry potters then, who knows what the crowd dynamic will be.

 

[marni1971]

3 days. One full day at each and a third mopping up both.

 

[marni1971]

If you arrive at park open, you should actually be able to get a lot done in that first park..

Simpsons is regularly above 30 minutes by 930 and Minion Mayhem is often an hour by 10am.

 

[Dpint43]

Thanks for the answers guys!

 

[Nick Wilde]

Go to US for 1 day and don't go to Potter. Go to IOA for 1 day and don't go to Potter. Spend one entire day at both Potter lands.

 

[KingdomofDreams]

My family and I are going to Orlando this upcoming Holiday (Christmas) Season. We will be arriving the day after Thanksgiving and staying the week.

There are 11 of us. We are big fans of Disney and Universal (and Harry Potter!) and are going to a park each day of our seven day trip. Our original plan is to not visit Universal until Sunday (we figure Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving will be extra crazy).

My main question is, do we need three or four full days at the park? We haven't been to Orlando in about 10 years, and probably won't be able to make another trip for a good many years after so we want to maximize our vacation.

As I said, we are big all big Harry Potter fans, but I just want to make sure there is enough for us to do for four whole park days. We are also big fans of Disney World and could easily spend another day at one of the four WDW parks.

We plan on doing two days of Universal during the first week of December (which from I hear is a low crowd week) so hopefully we can get a lot done in those two days.

Anyways, long question short...should we get tickets for three or four days? Any advice is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!

Are you staying onsite at Universal (not Cabana Bay)? Just my personal opinion, but if you have Express Pass, you should be able to experience everything in two days. If you like to take it at a more relaxed pace or will be without EP, you may need that 3rd day to see/do everything, especially considering how new (and popular) Diagon Alley will be.

We usually don't have more than a week, so we always allow four full days for Disney (one day at each of the parks with some extra time on arrival/departure days) and then head over to Uni for 2 days and stay onsite there to take advantage of Express Pass. We go in summer and it's hot and crowded, but it works for us.

 

[Dpint43]

Are you staying onsite at Universal (not Cabana Bay)? Just my personal opinion, but if you have Express Pass, you should be able to experience everything in two days. If you like to take it at a more relaxed pace or will be without EP, you may need that 3rd day to see/do everything, especially considering how new (and popular) Diagon Alley will be.

We usually don't have more than a week, so we always allow four full days for Disney (one day at each of the parks with some extra time on arrival/departure days) and then head over to Uni for 2 days and stay onsite there to take advantage of Express Pass. We go in summer and it's hot and crowded, but it works for us.

Thanks for the response! We are not staying onsite at Universal (nor WDW)...I think we've decided to do the four full parks at WDW and have 3 days at USO/IOA

 

[fosse76]

Simpsons is regularly above 30 minutes by 930 and Minion Mayhem is often an hour by 10am.

That doesn't change my statement. Thoguh I am by myself when I go, and the OP has 12 people going so that changes the dynamics. However, I am no novice to Universal, and while what you say about Minion Mayhem is true, I don't find that to be true about the Simpsons, whose wait time fluctuates throughout the day. Spider-Man at IOA can build a long line real fast at opening too. I'd arrive at opening, get on Spider-Man, then backtrack to the Hulk. Waiting should still be minimal.