Universal before or after Disney?

[Surfside]

We are headed to Orlando in January and want to add an Universal Day or 2 to our Disney trip. We will have 4 full days at Disney parks. Should we do Universal at the beginning or end? We have never been to Universal before and will have a car. Also is Universal and Disney too much at one time? We love WDW and just wanted to check out Universal.

 

[WDW_Emily]

In June we flew in on a Tuesday. Did Disney springs that night, Wednesday did mk, Thursday Epcot, Friday dak, and Saturday universal/islands. We didn't rent a car so we had a taxi to take us from pop to universal. We stayed open to close and got pretty much everything done in both parks with the exception of transformers, hulk, and Kong because they were all down. We liked it at the end of our trip.

 

[Tif]

Honestly, I think it is completely up to your preference. I know we are on a Disney forum, so many would suggest ending there, but my husband and I, as well as my entire family prefer Universal hands down. When we went last year, it was an absolute blast and a peaceful way to end our trip, as the lines were so much shorter and much more shaded. It also was very magical and immersive, just in a different way than Disney. Universal really makes you feel like you are in the movies or in another world!! All that to say, I still love Disney as it is nostalgic and has more food choices. We just personally prefer Universal. But we honestly do the parks based on when each is suggested to visit on the crowd calenders. So if its better to visit Disney last based on crowds, we will. Either would be a good option though, as they both are great parks. But like I said, it's all up to your preference as far as rides and the overall experience goes (also check the crowd calenders out if you havent ). We just love the thrills and the overall feel of Universal most

Doing both parks is definitely not too much. We always do both and love it!! It's wonderful getting to experience them both as they are so different from eachother. We have even done this on a 3 day trip before (1 day at each) and it was an absolute blast! Universal requires little to no planning, so it's an easy one to do in a day or 2.

 

[packfan79]

We did both WDW and US on our 2015 trip and we are doing both again in 2017. We started at Disney and ended with US. We love both places for different reasons and like to experience both. Hope you have a great trip!

 

[Disneyhead'71]

2 nights at a deluxe Unversal resort at the end of the vacation. Get there before rope drop, check in, have the bell hop stow your luggage until your room is ready, get your express passes and tickets at the hotel and hit the parks. Around 3 head back to the resort and get your room key, swim and then eat at one of the Signature restaurants for dinner and hit CityWalk for a dessert and a drink. Rinse repeat for day 2 without all the checking in stuff.

 

[LAKid53]

We've done the 4 days at WDW and then 2 days at US. Always stay on property at both parks. We always found Universal to be more relaxing than WDW, mainly because of crowd levels, which made the end of our trip more chill. Other than some of the HP rides... and probably Kong...the Universal express pass makes ride access easy. Our last visit was 4th of July last year and even with the holiday crowds, our wait with express pass on the popular rides was no more than 15 minutes. So for us, Uni after WDW is the vacation after the vacation that you sometimes need.

 

[SaltyD]

This past April we did 6 nights at WDW, and went to Universal for night 7 at one of their resorts. My kids had such a great week at Disney that they didn't even want to check out Universal (hubby was sick that day too) so we spent the day in the pool at the resort and didn't do the parks at all. They wished we had started at Universal and then went to Disney so we would end the vacation on a Disney high note. Next trip they agreed to check out Universal (after I went without them and gushed about the Harry Potter areas) but want to do it mid-week. I think it's all a matter of personal preference.

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

When traveling to Orlando, I usually add Universal at the end of the trip. Sometimes, I include a couple of SeaWorld or a Busch Gardens day in as well. That said, I prefer to start with WDW and end at a Universal "Deluxe" resort with Express Passes. Because Disney requires a great deal more planning, I like to end the vacation with a less structured approach to touring. We don't usually rent a car. We take the Magical Express to WDW. Last trip we did a two day rental from the Dolphin Resort for a trip to Tampa then taxied to Universal. We were gone 15 days. Nothing beats ending the trip at Universal for me. After all the walking, calculating transportation routes, ADRs, FP+s etc...it was nice to "let it go".

 

[sandam1]

I would say definitely after. My friend and I did it the other way (2 days at Universal and then 4 days at Disney) on our last big trip in November and it was very difficult to go from the "we can do anything we want to" at Universal to the "we must be to this ride within this hour and at this restaurant at this time" at Disney. Also, the park hours are shorter at Universal. So you can go-go-go at Disney when you are fresh and then recoup while you are at Universal.

 

[rob0519]

Personally, I would do Universal first. I would rather end my trip at Disney, but that's just me. I just find it a much more aesthetic and calming as the vacation comes to an end.

 

[Disneylover152]

I would start the trip with universal. Mostly because Universals a disappointment with customer service and theming. We went to Disney for about 9 years in a row. The next year we tried Universal. I stood in the Jurassic Park area and could see the other universal park, other lands, and even a high school that was next door. So, start it off with Universal cause once u spend the day there, Dis ey would seem even better than it normally is.