Disney and universal Florida. How to do both..

[lawrosa]

Im heading to Florida in June. Im looking to make reservations at ft wilderness. Im doing like a 2 park pass there and am trying to get universal for two days also.

I dont see anyone that offers a package deal online.

Do I need to buy tickets separate for universal studios?

Anyone know if they do package deals on line with universal and Disney?

Thanks in advance..

[Twain]

Not too familiar with Universal, hadn't been in years but the rides are a bit more extreme, so trill riders will like it better and then tamer Disney rides (although they are good). With Disney, you will get more bang for the buck as you add days to your visit. And you cannot do all of Disney in a couple days, so don't try it unless you can go 20 hours a day. Both parks are $$$ and packed.

We do Sea World, Busch Gardens and Aquatica (water park) for a year for under $250 and that includes food discounts and free parking. Different types of parks, but way less crowds, better food and much cheaper.

[BB_TX]

winnietrey wrote:
....

But I would say this, in June, you are going to be looking at extreme crowds. So unless you get to the parks very early, you are looking at extremely long lines. Like 90 minutes and way plus for the good stuff.

The Disney fast pass allows you to beat those lines. If you know how to use it, and you are good at scheduling. ( lets say you want to go on space mountain, for instance, and you don't want to wait 2 hrs. ) You can use a fast pass, wait would only be say 15 min. But you have to log on to their system, look for space mountain, times available for 4 people. Only time available, maybe say 7pm. Just did not work for us
.........

Definitely agree with this. Be there when the gates open and head to the most popular rides because the wait times go up rapidly. And the lines begin to decrease late afternoon/evening. An early morning and late day with a mid day rest can be a good idea.

You are only allowed a certain number of fast passes, and those can go fast. By early afternoon they can be completely gone. Get the Disney app on your phone and use it to see what fast passes are available for the rides you want and what times may be available. Read up on the fast pass rules before you go so that you can maximize their use. You can also use the app to see wait times for all the rides.

[Lantley]

I was just in Orland at Fort Wilderness 2 weeks ago.
My thought is Universal has more rides for adults and older kids.
If you are interested in doing rides you will need a fast pass at either park.
Without the fast pass the wait will be excessive.
Fast past patrons (those who paid the extra $$) will continually be placed in line front of you making your wait even longer.
I did not understand the reality of the fast pass phenomenon until recently visiting the park. If you are there for the rides the fast pass is required in my book.....it's only money.LOL
Without the pass every line will be an hour plus wait. You will never get to do the entire park at that rate. You will run out of time.
Luckily I am past the ride phase of my life, however I can see how the Fast Pass has changed the game and is really a 2nd ticket/payment required to enjoy the rides at the park!
Without the pass your experience will be less enjoyable due to the long wait.
times.

[RVcrazy]

I would spend most of the time for Disney, at least 1 day each for Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom. I would skip Epcot & add 1 day at Universal. We got 2 days for the price of 1 online & did not pay extra for fast pass there. I would not pay an extra 80 each! We did not experience very long lines, but it was March. Enjoy!

[winnietrey]

One last thought, you can Google WDW crowd predictor, it will give you an idea of what crowds will be for your dates

[winnietrey]

lawrosa wrote:
OMG im so confused now...:S

Kids are 16 and 9..

Dont they have rides at disney magic kingdom?

Yes both do, Universal though has Harry Potter, Spiderman, and others that are 3-D. Both parks are good.

But I would say this, in June, you are going to be looking at extreme crowds. So unless you get to the parks very early, you are looking at extremely long lines. Like 90 minutes and way plus for the good stuff.

The Disney fast pass allows you to beat those lines. If you know how to use it, and you are good at scheduling. ( lets say you want to go on space mountain, for instance, and you don't want to wait 2 hrs. ) You can use a fast pass, wait would only be say 15 min. But you have to log on to their system, look for space mountain, times available for 4 people. Only time available, maybe say 7pm. Just did not work for us

Universal on the other hand you give them an extra 80 bucks per, and you go when you want, no scheduling.

I think personally the rides for a 9 year old and especially a 16 year old, will be more appealing to them at universal than at Disney.

Another thing, these new roller coasters, are not your father's roller coasters, no way you are getting me on them. But at 9 and 16 they will think they are great. And they can get on and off quickly and you don't have to wait for two hours for them.

The 3-d rides I had no problem going on, and we did them together. The roller coasters no way I was doing them.

[jfkmk]

lawrosa wrote:
OMG im so confused now...:S

Kids are 16 and 9..

Dont they have rides at disney magic kingdom?

Absolutely they do! The rides at Disney, are a little tamer than Universal. Your 16 yo might enjoy Universal a little more than Disney.

The last time we went, it was kind of crowded at both parks. Even though we tried to use the speed pass, or whatever it is called in Disney, we spent more time standing in lines than going on rides. When we went to Universal, we spent the extra money for the short line pass (forget what it is called), which is limited issue and allows you to bypass the lines. It was very expensive, but after standing around waiting all day in Disney, very well worth it.

[lawrosa]

OMG im so confused now...:S

Kids are 16 and 9..

Dont they have rides at disney magic kingdom?

[winnietrey]

Dick_B wrote:
I'd spend more time at Disney and skip Universal which pales in comparison.

Everybody has their own likes and dislikes of course, but I would recommend the opposite, I would skip Disney and do Universal and SeaWorld. Especially if the kids are a little older. Like 11, 12 and up. But to each his own and just our opinion

[Lantley]

Dick_B wrote:
I'd spend more time at Disney and skip Universal which pales in comparison.

I would agree if you are not interested in rides. If you are after thrill rides you won't want to miss universal.

[winnietrey]

Just got back last week although we flew.
Couple of thoughts
1) found the Disney fast pass pretty hard to use, times we wanted and rides we wanted always booked. ( lot of that may just be us, and an inability to use it, but did find it hard to use)
2) universal does it different, you pay them an extra $80 per person, bumps you to the fast line, money well spent in my opinion.
3) Mears taxi is Ok but spendy, use Uber, works much better.
4) parking, if you drive to the park, is going to be $20 plus per day, and you will be out in the north 40, a long way from the gate. Where as uber will drop you right at the gate.
5) SeaWorld is the least crowded, and we did enjoy it. The Dolphin encounter for $45 is fun
6) just getting into the park, is not like back in the day. Now it is much more getting on a Airplane, bag checks, body metal detectors, scanners
5) traffic is heavy, and I found their freeways, confusing, another reason not to drive to the parks.
6) June will be even more crowed than 2 weeks ago, which I found bad enough, Just saying, although it is fun and worth doing, Disney is a hard vacation

[Dick_B]

I'd spend more time at Disney and skip Universal which pales in comparison.

[Bears_Den]

Just a side note, both parks will be crowded as kids will be outta school and it will be very hot. Pack lots of patience and water.

[Joyce_in_NY]

Are you retired military? If you go to your base to purchase your tickets, Disney has great deals for you!

[lawrosa]

Tvov wrote:
lawrosa, have you been to Disney before? Even spending a week there, it will be almost impossible to see everything. You might be a little over ambitious trying to do the two places at once.

Ive been to Disney when I was 9 in 1974...lol

I think there was only the one park then.. I remember them building space mountain that was starting construction.

Umm yeah I say tickets to universal is $1000 bucks plus for 4 people.. uggg.

My goal was to just hit the parks a few days then head home at a slow pace 10 days. Hit georgia west, nashville, Smokeymountains NC,
toodle through Virginia, west Virginia, then span PA home..