Torn...

[fireman1]

The wife and I are seriously considering a universal only trip in early Dec. I've checked, and there are plenty of rooms available. We're thinking of staying at loews royal pacific.

Anywho, I haven't been to universal since 2010. The wife has never been but we've been to wdw 3 times since 2010.
My concern is that I will make plans for universal only and be filled with regret that we didn't spend any time at disney.
Is 4 days too much at universal?
We won't be doing volcano bay.
And yes we love Harry Potter so I'm looking forward to that.

Edit. Let me add I'm 51 she is 44 but we both love thrill rides.

I'm seriously conflicted here. We haven't been to wdw since 2016, and I'm hearing some pretty negative things about it now.
I'm hearing pretty much only positive about universal.
Help me out here. Your opinions will help me decide.

 

[DuskKodesh]

I just did a Nov1-Nov6 trip, stayed at RPR and did Universal/IOA with 1 Sea World day. To complicate things I cannot ride thrill rides, and we both decided to go as leisurely as possible. I was having the same worries as you before but I actually enjoyed my trip a lot. I met about 8-9 different characters, casually explored the theming of areas. We got wands, did all the spells in both HP places, watched the wand experience as well. Rode the Hogwarts express often. Had a lot of nice dining and only one truly bad meal. Did some tamer rides (Kong, ET, MIB so many times trying to beat my spouse's score.) Got some great photos, listened to some live music, caught several live shows, and talked to honestly the friendliest cast members I've met in any Florida park.

IF... if you really feel you'll miss Disney by all means take an Uber over for a couple of days and hit the parks but we were very much Disney people before and we had a blast with the much more casual pacing and calm feel. Plus the theming in the WWOHP just really put Galaxy's Edge to shame, even the scifi loving spouse agreed Universal did amazing with it.

 

[fireman1]

It's amazing that the price of the RP is about what the moderates cost at disney.
It looks beautiful.

 

[Cottoncandylove]

We just did 5 days, 4 at the parks and one day at volcano bay. Still missed a few things we wanted to do. So me personally, 4 days is an awesome amount. We will be going back, hopefully for Mardi gras

 

[DuskKodesh]

It's amazing that the price of the RP is about what the moderates cost at disney.
It looks beautiful.

Honestly the hotel was lovely. Great to relax in and felt much easier to navigate than at Disney. We last stayed at Pop Century and paid more per night there than we did at RPR with the AP rate.

 

[fireman1]

We aren't food snobs, as long as the food is decent to good, we are fine. Is it pretty good at RP? The parks? Like I said it's been almost 12 years since I've been to universal and alot has changed.

 

[ClapYourHands]

We aren't food snobs, as long as the food is decent to good, we are fine. Is it pretty good at RP? The parks? Like I said it's been almost 12 years since I've been to universal and alot has changed.

It’s fine. The cost of QS in the parks is fairly expensive and probably equivalent to WDW, but the cost of the table service restaurants is much less than at WDW.

 

[DuskKodesh]

We aren't food snobs, as long as the food is decent to good, we are fine. Is it pretty good at RP? The parks? Like I said it's been almost 12 years since I've been to universal and alot has changed.

We had overwhelmingly good meals most times and there's a lot of great feedback in the dining thread stickied at the top of the page. It wasn't the sheer variety that Disney had but honestly Citiwalk had some great options. We didn't dine at RPR sadly, had thought about it but decided to hit the parks that morning instead.

 

[ClapYourHands]

Also remember that UO is fairly compact, so it’s quite easy to eat at another resort; you aren’t limited to RP.

Additionally, you can pool hop from RPR to another resort’s pool (completely allowed). So if you want to spend a pool day at Cabana Bay’s lazy river, no problem. Want to chill at Sapphire Falls or Hard Rock’s pool? Just walk over.

With express passes, you can blitz through all the rides in a day or two, but if you’re taking time to see the shows, meet characters, use the interactive features (like the Harry Potter windows), and chill by the pool, you’ll have plenty to occupy yourselves on a longer trip.

 

[Pooh's World]

The wife and I are seriously considering a universal only trip in early Dec. I've checked, and there are plenty of rooms available. We're thinking of staying at loews royal pacific.

Anywho, I haven't been to universal since 2010. The wife has never been but we've been to wdw 3 times since 2010.
My concern is that I will make plans for universal only and be filled with regret that we didn't spend any time at disney.
Is 4 days too much at universal?
We won't be doing volcano bay.
And yes we love Harry Potter so I'm looking forward to that.

Edit. Let me add I'm 51 she is 44 but we both love thrill rides.

I'm seriously conflicted here. We haven't been to wdw since 2016, and I'm hearing some pretty negative things about it now.
I'm hearing pretty much only positive about universal.
Help me out here. Your opinions will help me decide.

Sun-Thursday after Thanskgiving parks shouldn't be crowded.
You should be able to do Universal in 2 days, especially since you will have express pass from staying at the deluxe Universal hotel.

That leaves you 2 days at Disney.

I would do Universal on Sun-Mon.
Then Tue-Wed do Disney and do the extended evening hours at Disney Magic Kingdom on Wednesday night (assuming you stay at a Deluxe Disney hotel)

I would also recommend Portofino Bay over Royal Pacific. (Royal Pacific is just ok but Portofino Bay is amazing)

 

[Pooh's World]

The wife and I are seriously considering a universal only trip in early Dec. I've checked, and there are

If you don't have a car, there is also a little known express LYNX public bus from Universal to Disney/hotels that runs once a day for $2. (leaves early in the morning from Universal's bus terminal)

https://www.golynx.com/plan-trip/ro..._1_1=showPublicPosting&calendar_entry_id=6751
WEEKDAY OUTBOUND

COLONIAL DR AND JOHN YOUNG PKY	WASHINGTON SHORES SUPERSTOP	VINELAND RD & CONROY RD	UNIVERSAL ORLANDO PARKING GARAGE	DISNEY SPRINGS TRANSFER CTR	DISNEY SPRINGS TRANSFER CTR DP	BEACH CLUB	DISNEY HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
6:10 am	6:18 am	6:28 am	6:40 am	7:00 am	7:05 am	7:14 am	7:25 am

 

[fireman1]

We'll be driving.

 

[fireman1]

If we do disney also, it will be 3 days there, and two at universal. I had planned on 4 days but we may do 5.

 

[mco65]

IMO, 4 days is a bit much for Universal... We were there back in the Spring and i didn't feel any regret about not going to WDW. It was nice, really had a good time but it simply does not compare to a WDW trip.. I typically visit WDW at least once a year so it was not a big deal for me to be at Universal because i was going to WDW in a few months. If i only had 1 trip per year or every other year and i had to decide between Universal and WDW... WDW wins every time! JMO..

 

[schumigirl]

4 days is a lovely amount of time to spend at Universal.

You can take your time and capture all the little moments some folks miss by rushing around. Have a check of the park maps and see what you and your wife will enjoy in both parks, Citywalk and even the hotels if that takes your fancy.

You`ll fill 4 days easily......

 

[macraven]

Can’t say the same for me
Did Disney in January and February this year and it will be a long time before I go back there


I find it much easier for doing both UO parks with a short walk
The down time to travel at Disney from park to other parks was very time consuming

 

[georgina]

i enjoy relaxing at Universal and would be fine with 4 days there. You could always go over to MK for the holiday party one evening, though it will set you back close to $500 for the 2 of you!

 

[macraven]

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

As others have said 4 days is fine at Universal, should allow you to take everything in without feeling rushed. The Harry Potter areas are always full but there's plenty of other stuff to enjoy.

 

[Dawn Peterson]

I am cost conscious so I would probably choose one if you need park tickets. You get better deals The longer you go. I would also get a Seasonal Pass at Universal if planning on 4 days. Loved Disney and we will go back one day, but right now, too cost prohibitive, and I am not ready to deal with GeniePlus. I would recommend the Seasonal Pass because the amount you can save at the Premiere Resorts in hotel costs pays for the passes. i would also recommend Portofino Bay. They usually have great Passholder rates. My husband and I love that hotel. for our trips.