Universal Stay with a few Disney Days (trip observations and thoughts)

sbunit

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Totally agree with you on most of this. That was our experience as well, and the sanitizer before each ride at UNI is really good. I do think people tended to be more compliant at Disney with masks and distance than they were at Uni.
Gotta ask though, how did both you and your wife score vaccines so fast?
i'm a dentist and she works part time for me so we got first dibs
 

sbunit

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the info! She should be over the 48-inch mark by that point, but my husband is convinced that many of the rides are still too intense for her.

Did you do the Harry Potter rides, and did the kids enjoy those?
Every parent knows their child best so it's up to you guys to make the appropriate decision. Some of the rides can certainly be intimidating for a 6 year old or even 10 year old. We did Gringott's and skipped out on the other Harry potter ride as my 5 year old wouldn't qualify to get on. They both loved Gringott's and they're not even big potter fans. My 5 year was slightly apprehensive on line for almost every ride at both parks but once on the ride he truly had a phenomenal experience. I personally wouldn't try the Harry potter rides first for your daughter but instead test the waters with maybe Spiderman since IMO that ride is a little less intimidating and take it from there.
 

sbunit

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I went to Universal for a week in May of 2019. Overall the park was less crowded than Disney. (We went to Animal Kingdom & Epcot also during this trip) The parks are also smaller than Disney, and the wait times for the most part were lower. I know many people on these sites want to compare the two straight up, but I am sorry it is definitely an apples and oranges type of comparison.
No question. But because of everything you mentioned, Universal is more of a stress free experience compared to going to Disney
 

OG Runner

Well-Known Member
No question. But because of everything you mentioned, Universal is more of a stress free experience compared to going to Disney

I agree. We also had the express pass, as we stayed at the Portofino. Take a boat to the parks each day and then
basically be able to walk onto the rides. (anything under 20 minutes, I consider a walk on.) Yes, that definitely
relieves some stress. Just remember, when you take the trip the way I described it, you should really enjoy the
rides that are there. We were already repeating rides our second day. We went on Fast & Furious three times
during that trip. (it had just opened) Unfortunately, it made me more than qualified to completely pan the ride.
 

Giss Neric

Well-Known Member
I believe if you stay at a Universal Hotel you can get into the parks. The capacity affects people who are not staying at Universal.

I still LOVE Disney but more recently our trips have included staying at Universal at either the beginning or the end of our trip. The 1st time we went to Universal it was a day where we drove over from Disney. Now we stay at Universal and allow 2 days. By staying at one of their deluxe hotels we can walk go over and use our express pass and ride things as much as we want. It is relaxed and we can enjoy the park. I agree that Universal is still a step below Disney World.
As DH describes Disneyland, Universal, etc.....you feel like you are at an amusement park (you are!) but at Disney World you feel like you are at a resort. Probably because places like AK are so lush and you can walk around Epcot, etc. And MK always feels magical!
Yes, if you stay at their hotels, you're guaranteed an admission to the parks. We went on a weekend so we're basically taking a risk of not getting in immediately but we usually go during weekdays.
 

NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
I think the only way of getting DH to Orlando anytime before we have grandkids (unless I can convince my teen boys to guilt him into staying at Disney) is to stay at Universal. He even gets a discount through his employer. We enjoy USO, especially WWoHP but hate the in-park food as vegetarians. City Walk had good options though!
 

EngineerMom

Active Member
I think the only way of getting DH to Orlando anytime before we have grandkids (unless I can convince my teen boys to guilt him into staying at Disney) is to stay at Universal. He even gets a discount through his employer. We enjoy USO, especially WWoHP but hate the in-park food as vegetarians. City Walk had good options though!
I don't know about being vegetarian but we have managed to find decent food. Mythos is good. Three Broomsticks is good but mostly meat. We have eaten at some outside places at Universal Studios and it was fine
 

EngineerMom

Active Member
I agree. We also had the express pass, as we stayed at the Portofino. Take a boat to the parks each day and then
basically be able to walk onto the rides. (anything under 20 minutes, I consider a walk on.) Yes, that definitely
relieves some stress. Just remember, when you take the trip the way I described it, you should really enjoy the
rides that are there. We were already repeating rides our second day. We went on Fast & Furious three times
during that trip. (it had just opened) Unfortunately, it made me more than qualified to completely pan the ride.
I was amazed you rode Fast & Furious 3 times. It does qualify you to pan it.

We rode it one time and said THAT was STUPID. I'll take the old earthquake ride any time!
It didn't matter how short the line was we didn't ride it a second time. The effects were not great and the story line so dumb!
 

NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
I was amazed you rode Fast & Furious 3 times. It does qualify you to pan it.

We rode it one time and said THAT was STUPID. I'll take the old earthquake ride any time!
It didn't matter how short the line was we didn't ride it a second time. The effects were not great and the story line so dumb!
We had the misfortune to wait an HOUR in line since it was the new thing (and that was down from 120 min). It was the worst ride EVER!!! We got off and said, "never again!"
 

OG Runner

Well-Known Member
We had the misfortune to wait an HOUR in line since it was the new thing (and that was down from 120 min). It was the worst ride EVER!!! We got off and said, "never again!"
I wanted to give it a chance. I enjoy the Fast & Furious series and thought, maybe it was where we were on the ride. We rode in the front, looking at the back of the "driver" mannequin's head, we we in the middle and even the last row. All in all, none were a good experience, partially due to the content, partially due to sight lines, and just in general.
 

MickeyLuv'r

Well-Known Member
1) Both Disney and Universal are putting in the right effort in terms of health related precautions. Temperature checks at both resorts were efficient and not viewed as a hinderance. Mask wearing was enforced by both resorts equally but of course there were a fair share of guests at both resorts that tried to circumvent the rules, some innocently unknowing and others certainly just not giving a flying you know what but they were very few and far between. the weather cooperated for the most part and made the mask wearing tolerable. I however would want no part of wearing the mask during the Florida summer (and I am a healthcare practiitoner who wears one every day and is quite used to it).

All the best and happy to answer any questions
What was your general experience/protocol with mask wearing? (Hopefully these questions doesn't open up a debate about it - fingers crossed).
What I mean by that is what general type of mask did you wear? Did you have any trouble with it? Did your masks stay dry, or did you feel you had to change masks part way through the day?
 

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