If you only had one day in one park...

[Disney Stine]

Trying to plan a quick trip to Orlando. My fiance and I decided to go to Universal for the first time. Since I'm a huge Disney World fan, I always win and get to take week long trips. This time it's (sadly) not the case, and Universal ended up winning. Because I cannot fathom being so close and not going at all, we have decided to give ourselves one full day in Disney.

The trip : Three full days in Universal Studios and one full day in Disney World.
The possibilities: 1-Full day in Magic Kingdom, 2- Half day in Magic Kingdom and half day in EPCOT (Magic Kingdom at night for fireworks), or 3 - Full day in Magic Kingdom and springing for Keys to the Kingdom tour (something I've always wanted to do and being a seasoned Disney traveler, it's about time).
Other: We are on a budget which means to be able to swing option 2 or 3 we will not be eating at any table service restaurants and we are staying off property- most likely close to Universal since we're spending more time in that area.

Which would you pick and why?
Also tips for doing both Universal and Disney at the same time would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Hakunamatata]

Honestly. Id spend the day split between Disney Springs and resort hopping the monorail resorts.

 

[Minnie Mum]

When is this trip? For me, if it was this summer or later, I'd spend the day at AK to check out Pandora (and hopefully ROL would FINALLY have opened).

Barring that, and keeping in mind that you said this was supposed to be budget conscious, I'd just go to MK for the day. Save the PHs and tours for a longer visit in the future.

 

[Disney Stine]

Honestly. Id spend the day split between Disney Springs and resort hopping the monorail resorts.

Disney Springs is a definite during this trip! We have one extra day that is park free - so this will be our Disney Springs and maybe resort hopping day (not huge fans of resort hopping, personally).

When is this trip? For me, if it was this summer or later, I'd spend the day at AK to check out Pandora (and hopefully ROL would FINALLY have opened).

Barring that, and keeping in mind that you said this was supposed to be budget conscious, I'd just go to MK for the day. Save the PHs and tours for a longer visit in the future.

This trip is in the beginning of March (I think a week before official spring break starts). Otherwise, we'd be planning for Pandora!

 

[Courtney6682]

Such a tough call. Normally I'd say full day at MK...but my fave park is Epcot. I like the idea of half days at both if u can swing it

 

[JIMINYCR]

Three full days at Uni seems a bit much to me. But if you have to..... I'd definitely want to get the most Disney magic feeling and time I could fit in, so spending time in both MK & EP would be my preference. Target MK with those must do things first, then have a more relaxing evening at EP. The Keys to the Kingdom tour is good, but I'd save it for a longer trip and do it on a trip when I had more time. Seasoned Disney travelers dont learn that much new and exciting stuff that you dont already know.

 

[Disney Stine]

Three full days at Uni seems a bit much to me. But if you have to..... I'd definitely want to get the most Disney magic feeling and time I could fit in, so spending time in both MK & EP would be my preference. Target MK with those must do things first, then have a more relaxing evening at EP. The Keys to the Kingdom tour is good, but I'd save it for a longer trip and do it on a trip when I had more time. Seasoned Disney travelers dont learn that much new and exciting stuff that you dont already know.

Why do you think three days is too much for Universal? We were not planning on buying the express passes and staying onsite is way out of our budget to be able to get that perk too. Three days seemed like a good enough time to make sure we went on rides we may have skipped because of lack of time. Is three days in the parks still too much time knowing we don't have any express passes?

 

[KBLovedDisney]

What about 2 days Uni and 2 days Disney with single park per day, that way you get the most out of the parks? Like maybe do first day Uni, second day MK, 3rd Uni, and last Epcot?
OR
2 days Uni, 1 day MK or Epcot and 1 day Disney Springs and just mix up the days

It being a short trip though, I would skip out on a tour. It would eat up the entire day in the park.

 

[ICE11720]

I have to agree with the people above, 2 Days in Uni seems sufficient to me. To me you have to do the Magic Kingdom, maybe a second day to bounce around.

 

[drcasey]

We did 3.5 days at universal last year while staying at the Portofino so we had the express passes and early entry. We never got bored! We are huge HP fans and spent a lot of time in those areas riding the rides, doing all the wand activities, eating, drinking, and exploring. Plus we explored all other areas of the parks. There is plenty to do and see there!

 

[JIMINYCR]

Why do you think three days is too much for Universal?

Its just that in all the trips weve done where weve gone both to Disney & Uni, we havent needed more than 2 days at Uni to do it all. If you plan those 3 days and can find enough to fill those days with fun then go for it. Being more Dis fans than Uni, we're biased for sure and that may also cause me to say 3 days seems too much... yeah just our bias.

 

[BraveGirl]

I think option 3 sounds fun - otherwise you'd be too rushed trying to cram it all in in one day. Or I'd just do a full day at Epcot and spend lots of time in the countries.

 

[rob0519]

For us, it's a no brainer. As many hours in that one day in the MK.

 

[Schneewittchen]

Option 1. I've done it before, it's awesome and you get the most bang for your buck.

There's no need to do any table service meals, just get there at rope drop and rides, rides, rides til your feet hurt.

 

[Disney Stine]

Universal just came out with a buy two day get two days free pass. We decided to use this option for Universal (still slightly cheaper than buying the originally planned 3 day pass, even if we don't use the fourth day). Since I just got a second part time job, I decided to throw in an extra $100 to add on two days in Disney World. I won't feel rushed and can enjoy both a full day in Magic Kingdom and a full day in EPCOT. We found amazing deals on hotels ($50 a night with theme park shuttle included). With all of this and even using Undercover Tourist, we're able to have a full five day park trip with a half day on the day we leave, and I think the price changed about $80 each.
Our goal for vacationing is to have a good time with a small budget. We don't need to stay in 5 star hotels or eat at table service restaurants every night. We love to simply walk around the parks, take it all in, ride our favorite rides, and snack! This vacation is an early graduation present (to myself).

 

[Disney Stine]

Okay guys, I need a little more help!
We do have our two days and Magic Kingdom is a definite. I originally wanted Epcot for the fireworks and walking around the countries, but now the fiance wants Hollywood Studios for the rides. Unfortunately I know the rides will have us in and out in four hours with fastpasses (but it has the thrills rides he likes). Then there's Animal Kingdom with the new Rivers of Light show and the park closes the same time as Hollywood Studios and just an hour earlier than Epcot - would love to wonder around, see the new show, and ride Everest in the dark.
I just can't decide what my second park should be!

 

[mousehockey37]

You guys could be test subjects for us with another thread. Magic Kingdom has that new tour now where they take you on the 10 rides and you get a treat with a CM tour guide. You guys could go do that and see how it makes the most of those rides.

 

[kaitertot5249]

I know that you are already expanding your budget for this trip but it sounds like a park hopper would make your decision a little easier if your budget will allow it. You could do morning at DHS and afternoon/evening at AK on your second WDW day and get the best of both worlds. You definitely have a tough decision ahead of you! Good luck and have fun no matter what you choose!

 

[mousehockey37]

Okay guys, I need a little more help!
We do have our two days and Magic Kingdom is a definite. I originally wanted Epcot for the fireworks and walking around the countries, but now the fiance wants Hollywood Studios for the rides. Unfortunately I know the rides will have us in and out in four hours with fastpasses (but it has the thrills rides he likes). Then there's Animal Kingdom with the new Rivers of Light show and the park closes the same time as Hollywood Studios and just an hour earlier than Epcot - would love to wonder around, see the new show, and ride Everest in the dark.
I just can't decide what my second park should be!

It's sounding more and more like you almost need to plan a separate Disney trip. It's great you're gonna get to Disney, but with all the "must do's" that you guys have, it's not all gonna happen in 2 days. So, is it too far fetched to possibly scrap the Disney end of this trip and make it into a full Disney only trip a little later this year?

If not, the 2 of you will have to sit down and basically figure it out what Disney you have to get done.

 

[SAV]

We spent 3 days at Universal in late July with the park to park option, no Express passes and we were able to get on everything we wanted, most rides multiple times. We did stay at Cabana Bay and had the extra hour in the morning which was worth it. We got on a lot of things in that time. The 3rd day was spent going back to the things we wanted to do again and just taking another walk through the HP lands.

What about this, You do days 1 & 2 at the 2 Uni parks. Start the 3rd day at Uni to get on anything you missed or want to do again. Then spend the remainder of the day/night at Disney Springs. Then you can use that "park free" day and turn it into a go to a park day. Spend the morning at DHS, then hop to Epcot for the World Showcase at night. Then you have your full MK day and then another full day for AK. Use the $$ from sit down meals/tours toward your 3rd park ticket day.

That would check off all of the boxes on your list...but may cost a little bit more overall since it is a 3rd park ticket.