WDW or Universal this Christmas?

Disstevefan1

Disstevefan1

Well-Known Member
Dr. Ludwig von Drake said:
We're planning a trip this December to Orlando, but are having difficulty deciding between WDW and Universal.

I've got reservations at All Star Movies. Four-day tickets and five nights (two rooms) for our family of seven. The cost for room and tickets is $4327.

I've also got the same dates reserved at Universal. Two rooms at the Royal Pacific, and Florida annual (seasonal) passes. Total cost here for room and tickets is $3934.

We are Florida residents (4 hours away). We've been going to Disney since 2002, but have only been to Universal twice (in 2019). We usually have Florida annual passes.

The room and ticket costs are within 10% of each other, so that cost difference is not an issue.

Disney thoughts (plusses and minuses):
  • Plus: In my opinion they do the holidays better than Universal. Decorations, food, merch.
  • Plus: All Star Movies is well-themed if you love Disney (and we do).
  • Plus: Better / more food choices.
  • Plus: Resort hopping (holiday pins, gingerbread houses).
  • Plus: We've got a lot of gift card money racked up from using two Disney Chase Visa cards.
  • Minus: No fastpass yet announced for December.
  • Minus: All things in the resort are expensive, particularly dining.
Universal thoughts:
  • Plus: Unlimited fastpass for Royal Pacific guests.
  • Plus: Annual passes!
  • Plus: Bigger rooms, fancier hotel.
  • Plus: Walk to parks.
  • Plus: Butterbeer.
  • Minus: Less Christmas atmosphere.
  • Minus: Limited dining in parks.
The family is split 4 to 3 on where to go. We have a while to think about it. Cancellation of rooms in is November for Disney, December for Universal.

Any thoughts?
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You are assuming both will be functioning in full "Post Pandemic Mode" fully normal operation. We do not know, but if I had to guess, Universal will be closer to normal operation.

The thing we most enjoyed about Christmas at WDW was all the special decorations at the resorts, especially the monorail resorts. Will we get this this year? This is unknown.
 
The_Jobu

The_Jobu

Well-Known Member
Maybe not directly applicable, but in 2018 I stayed at Sapphire Falls in December and it was absolutely amazing. Currently my favourite hotel.

Taking the boat to Universal was great and the parks weren't nearly as busy as Disney.
 
MickeyLuv'r

MickeyLuv'r

Well-Known Member
A little of both?

The downsides of that time of year, IMO are the crowds and the cost, if you are good with both of those then either is fine.

I somewhat disagree with you on the food at WDW being better. I tend to think for the price, Universal has better choices, and there is much we don't know about WDW food locations re-opening come December. Mind, the food is mixed quality at both WDW and Universal. My take is, if we want to eat on a tight(er) budget, it is easier at Universal. It is also often easier to book meals at Universal. WDW just doesn't offer enough dining capacity to meet demand, so often if we want a table service meal, we sometimes have to accept eating at an odd time to get a table. Where Disney scores higher is in the charm/nostalgia category.

So all that said, we often do split stays. that gives the best of both worlds. If that isn't quite your cup of tea, as another poster suggested, consider visiting the other world for a partial day or evening. Maybe arrival/departure day visit CityWalk/Disney Springs/resort hop? Have a nice meal, enjoy the decorations, or get tickets for a party/event.
 
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Disneyhead'71

Disneyhead'71

Well-Known Member
If Universal's Christmas celebration is anything like all the other celebrations for the past year, I would expect some sort of food festival to be a part of it.
 
M

mellyf

Active Member
Dr. Ludwig von Drake said:
We're planning a trip this December to Orlando, but are having difficulty deciding between WDW and Universal.

I've got reservations at All Star Movies. Four-day tickets and five nights (two rooms) for our family of seven. The cost for room and tickets is $4327.

I've also got the same dates reserved at Universal. Two rooms at the Royal Pacific, and Florida annual (seasonal) passes. Total cost here for room and tickets is $3934.

We are Florida residents (4 hours away). We've been going to Disney since 2002, but have only been to Universal twice (in 2019). We usually have Florida annual passes.

The room and ticket costs are within 10% of each other, so that cost difference is not an issue.

Disney thoughts (plusses and minuses):
  • Plus: In my opinion they do the holidays better than Universal. Decorations, food, merch.
  • Plus: All Star Movies is well-themed if you love Disney (and we do).
  • Plus: Better / more food choices.
  • Plus: Resort hopping (holiday pins, gingerbread houses).
  • Plus: We've got a lot of gift card money racked up from using two Disney Chase Visa cards.
  • Minus: No fastpass yet announced for December.
  • Minus: All things in the resort are expensive, particularly dining.
Universal thoughts:
  • Plus: Unlimited fastpass for Royal Pacific guests.
  • Plus: Annual passes!
  • Plus: Bigger rooms, fancier hotel.
  • Plus: Walk to parks.
  • Plus: Butterbeer.
  • Minus: Less Christmas atmosphere.
  • Minus: Limited dining in parks.
The family is split 4 to 3 on where to go. We have a while to think about it. Cancellation of rooms in is November for Disney, December for Universal.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...

We loved the Royal Pacific and the easy walk to the parks. (but there's also boat service, I believe). The Unlimited passes are a huge bonus. I've never been to Universal at Christmas time, but those benefits would definitely push me to Universal. Ummm...and Butterbeer ice cream!
 
Tomi-Rocket

Tomi-Rocket

Well-Known Member
I would always choose WDW over Uni if money is not an issue, however that being said I’ve got a birthday trip planned for the hubster to Uni because of that exact reason. So I’m looking forward to it but not AS excited as if I was going to my favorite place, lol..🤣
 
aliceismad

aliceismad

Well-Known Member
Tomi-Rocket said:
I would always choose WDW over Uni if money is not an issue, however that being said I’ve got a birthday trip planned for the hubster to Uni because of that exact reason. So I’m looking forward to it but not AS excited as if I was going to my favorite place, lol..🤣
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This. I will always choose Disney over Uni because of the emotional attachment. But I think for a short trip with mixed preferences (judging from OP's 3-to-4 family voting), Universal with a better hotel and unlimited passes for a cheaper price looks better on paper.
 
jloucks

jloucks

Well-Known Member
Mousertainment said:
Another vote for both!

I bet Christmastime at Wizarding World would be fantastic. But Disney at Christmas is truly special. If you can, why not enjoy the best of both worlds? :)
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Yea, another vote.

The last several trips we did both. It is really easy to do and it is a great way to "do it all"

We typically did 5 & 2. 5 days at WDW and 2 days at Universal.

Start at Universal, end at WDW.
 
rreading

rreading

Well-Known Member
So we're recently back from a trip which started out at HS/Epcot on day one, then 2 days at Universal, then MK on day 4 and AK on day 5. 18yo and 16yo girls and 12yo boy with the wife and I. Long time Disney fans but enjoy thrill rides and regular (every few months) visitors to Six Flags in Texas. I expected to enjoy Universal more than Disney this time since we would have unlimited FP at Universal and I expected Disney to be uber crowded and without fireworks/shows it was definitely not on its A-game.

I'll probably be back to WDW in the next year, but do not anticipate being back to Universal again. HP was extremely well done and Jurassic Park has great music; but it didn't enrich my soul to feel like I was in a movie set. Since clearly magic is not real, the illusion was not magical for me. The Hagrid roller coaster when in the motorbike seat is one of the best roller coaster experiences I've ever had and I enjoyed Velocicoaster and Forbidden Journey and Gringotts. But getting back to WDW and going swimming at BLT that evening was maybe more enjoyable than the rest of my day at Universal.

YMMV, but to me I feel that Disney is more relaxing and Universal more chaotic so - for me - a trip to Disney is more of a vacation.

tl:dr - this is a vote for WDW for Christmas!
 
SSH

SSH

Well-Known Member
Disstevefan1 said:
You are assuming both will be functioning in full "Post Pandemic Mode" fully normal operation. We do not know, but if I had to guess, Universal will be closer to normal operation.

The thing we most enjoyed about Christmas at WDW was all the special decorations at the resorts, especially the monorail resorts. Will we get this this year? This is unknown.
Click to expand...
We're really hoping they relax their restrictions on non-resort guests at Fort Wilderness for Halloween and Christmas 2021. Each year, we visit the campgrounds to see the decorated campsites - and in the past, WDW has no problem allowing non-campers to visit. I check w/their guest services team each year to confirm. Now, it's not allowed. Hoping that relaxes soon.
 
rreading

rreading

Well-Known Member
SSH said:
We're really hoping they relax their restrictions on non-resort guests at Fort Wilderness for Halloween and Christmas 2021. Each year, we visit the campgrounds to see the decorated campsites - and in the past, WDW has no problem allowing non-campers to visit. I check w/their guest services team each year to confirm. Now, it's not allowed. Hoping that relaxes soon.
Click to expand...

Unless something changes (new variant), I will expect things to be completely back to normal by the end of summer

(the question could linger - what will the new normal look like?)
 
Dr. Ludwig von Drake

Dr. Ludwig von Drake

Active Member
Original Poster
Plenty of rumors flying around about paid fastpass. I don't know if that will occur by this December, or at WDW at all, but if it did I think I would go with Universal.

I and my family love fastpass. We are very proficient at it and have been able to avoid lines for years. I would hate to see it go.
 
Dr. Ludwig von Drake

Dr. Ludwig von Drake

Active Member
Original Poster
Well, now that Genie and Lightning Lane have been introduced, I'm starting to lean to Universal. All day fastpasses at Universal vs the pay-for-fastpass option at WDW. As mentioned in the opening post, there are seven us for four days. That's over $400 extra. I also think that most visitors will pay the $15 charge, so without it we would be at a significant disadvantage.

I think I'll wait to see the annual pass options before making a final decision. It would be great if the passes had Genie+ on them, but I'm not holding out hope that the Florida passes will include these benefits.

Oh yeah, and there's this delta variant going around ...

Quite a year.
 
Dr. Ludwig von Drake

Dr. Ludwig von Drake

Active Member
Original Poster
Canceled WDW, going with Universal. Free fastpasses with our Universal hotel and I think it will be less crowded than WDW with its 50th celebration going on.

Probably get the weekday WDW pass in the spring and hit the parks when it's quieter.
 

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