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..

[zb39]

Glad to hear you had a great time. I just got back 3 days ago. 24 trip to DW in 22 years.

[Tvov]

Excellent! Glad you had a good time. Did you see any of the shows, like Hoop-De-Do-Revue in Fort Wilderness, while you were there? What about the water parks? If not, you have something to plan on for your next trip there!

[lawrosa]

Well since there is new activity here I just have to say we had a great time... We did just as DRYCREEK had suggested..

And since the kids and wife never been to disney we just did 3 parks. Magic kingdom, hollywood studios, and animal kingdom.

We had 4 days and saw all parks very well and got on everything. Using fast pass was great.

We got up early and were the first on line at the parks. Hit our 3 fast passes by 9 or 10 am, then did minor rides and attractions till 1 or 2pm. Then headed back to camper and relaxed, eat, sit in A/C, etc.

We then would head to a park that had extended magic hours since we had park hopper. Then hit our fast passes there. Animal kingdom is a must see at night as well as in the day.

We didn't even go to epcot as no one seemed interested in even entertaining the idea. IMO

But main park kingdom we hit 3 times.

Hollywood studios is kind of a bust and there is nothing there really but 3 major rides really.. Aerosmith roller coaster, tower of terror, and star tours. Hit all of them with fast pass. After that we strolled around. went on minor rides and left by 1 pm. never went back there.

Animal kingdom is a big big park. Lots of walking. We went 3 times there also. Went on rides several times. You need time to see it all.

The good thing if you get to park early is not to use your fast pass to get on rides that are all booked up. Walk, don't run ,lol when your first in the park to the ride you want.

The issue the whole trip was the new camper had a intermittent short in the main 12 volt wire that was pinching on the frame. The truck thought there was a short and I lost 1 battery in the truck that spewed acid all over. The other battery leaked too but I managed to recover that one as it was newer.

I also changed the alternator in alabama on the way home thinking that was the cause. It wasn't until west virginia that we lost all power in the camper.

A break in our plans and a drive from WV to PA at the dealer and they found it.

All and all we would do it again. The only time we moved the truck was to get to a store the resupply our food for the ride home...

The shuttles, boats and all take you where you want to go.

Plus we were in 1400 group at wilderness. Short walk to pool, and campfire. Also the trading post store. No need to drive anywhere.

What would I of done different???

NOTHING!!!!!

[bikendan]

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

Kids are 16 and 9..

Dont they have rides at disney magic kingdom?

yes but they're not exciting. kinda boring compared to Universal.

i wished i would've passed on Magic Kingdom and done Universal, cause Magic Kingom is just a bloated version of Disneyland, which i've done many times.
Epcot was great though. i'd go back again anytime.

[jerseyjim]

I've been to FW a few times...always found it darn near perfect....EVERYTHING is right there. Yes, it is more $ than surrounding campgrounds, but I would do the FW as a first choice. My opinion.

Uber sounds good...you can also rent a car. Enterprise advertises they bring the car to you. But I don't really know....we tow 4 down.

First off, get a map of FW (from the website), get a "loop" as close as you can to the lake. (Like, say the 600 series loop) closer, the better for an RV. Bus, boat, to Magic Kingdom. Or a series of buses from FW to, say, Downtown Disney. A bus "depot" is right there at FW. Reservations almost required. Do that on the 'net, or call the phone number. If I remember correctly, WDW has NO 1-800 numbers anywhere. But...with unlimited talk and text...it's no bother

[VA_Family]

DryCreek wrote:
Just my two cents worth:

I am a Disney fan, but I also have been to Universal Studios for an exclusive vacation. My recommendation is to always stay on-site for either choice. Unfortunately, an RV park is not part of Universal property like Fort Wilderness in Disney World.

Since you are staying on-site at a Disney Resort property, you have Extra Magic Hours you can use to your benefit. ---> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/planning-guides/in-depth-advice/extended-theme-park-hours/

That will get you in to a selected theme park each day an hour before they open the gates for general admission. We would always make that early opening and get the most popular attractions checked off of our list. Once the crowds really started building, we'd head back to the campground or hotel for lunch, a cooling-off in the pool and a quick nap. At around 4 we would then eat a light supper and head back to the selected theme park and finish the night off. As a resort guest you also get an extra hour AFTER the park closes too. If you use that perk you can effectively enjoy Disney World theme parks. You can choose to spend the hottest part of the day in comfort - while the others are dealing with cranky, hot and hungry toddlers. After they have had their fill, you head in and enjoy the (slightly) cooler temps an (slightly) smaller crowds until closing and the day pass visitors are leaving. We would close that park down and head for bed to get up early and start the cycle again at whichever theme park had early opening for that day.
Since you've got some planning time before your trip, I also advise a free membership to one of the Disney Park fan forums - I like both Intercot and DisBoards. They can help you set up your plans well in advance. If you already have your Fort Wilderness reservations, then you can start making your FastPass reservations up to 60 days in advance! If you want to ensure that you get on certain rides and you knwo which park you plan to be at on a certain day - this is the way to go. Another extra cost item you may consider is adding Park Hopper options to your tickets. That will allow you to go to the park with early opening hours, and then go to a different park that afternoon, and yet a different park in the evening. That option adds quite a bit of flexibility to your stay.
One of the best benefits of staying at Fort Wilderness is that you can ride the launch over to the Magic Kingdom (faster than a bus, more scenic), or you can hop on a launch to the Contemporary Resort and then a monorail to the TTC, and change over to the Epcot monorail there. When we stayed on site, we never started our tow vehicle until the day we were hooking up and heading back home.

If you want trip planning hints for Universal, I can provide those too - but there is a lot to do at Disney World - more than enough to fill up seven whole days.

We have stayed in various hotels deluxe down to value over the last 20 plus years at Disney. We have never taken the RV and stayed at Fort Wilderness. We are thinking of staying 7 days at FW and taking a Uber to Universal for a 1 day park to park. My 15 and 12 year olds love Disney but want to try Universal. Any suggestions? We don't tow a car.

[lawrosa]

DryCreek wrote:
Just my two cents worth:

I am a Disney fan, but I also have been to Universal Studios for an exclusive vacation. My recommendation is to always stay on-site for either choice. Unfortunately, an RV park is not part of Universal property like Fort Wilderness in Disney World.

Since you are staying on-site at a Disney Resort property, you have Extra Magic Hours you can use to your benefit. ---> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/planning-guides/in-depth-advice/extended-theme-park-hours/

That will get you in to a selected theme park each day an hour before they open the gates for general admission. We would always make that early opening and get the most popular attractions checked off of our list. Once the crowds really started building, we'd head back to the campground or hotel for lunch, a cooling-off in the pool and a quick nap. At around 4 we would then eat a light supper and head back to the selected theme park and finish the night off. As a resort guest you also get an extra hour AFTER the park closes too. If you use that perk you can effectively enjoy Disney World theme parks. You can choose to spend the hottest part of the day in comfort - while the others are dealing with cranky, hot and hungry toddlers. After they have had their fill, you head in and enjoy the (slightly) cooler temps an (slightly) smaller crowds until closing and the day pass visitors are leaving. We would close that park down and head for bed to get up early and start the cycle again at whichever theme park had early opening for that day.
Since you've got some planning time before your trip, I also advise a free membership to one of the Disney Park fan forums - I like both Intercot and DisBoards. They can help you set up your plans well in advance. If you already have your Fort Wilderness reservations, then you can start making your FastPass reservations up to 60 days in advance! If you want to ensure that you get on certain rides and you knwo which park you plan to be at on a certain day - this is the way to go. Another extra cost item you may consider is adding Park Hopper options to your tickets. That will allow you to go to the park with early opening hours, and then go to a different park that afternoon, and yet a different park in the evening. That option adds quite a bit of flexibility to your stay.
One of the best benefits of staying at Fort Wilderness is that you can ride the launch over to the Magic Kingdom (faster than a bus, more scenic), or you can hop on a launch to the Contemporary Resort and then a monorail to the TTC, and change over to the Epcot monorail there. When we stayed on site, we never started our tow vehicle until the day we were hooking up and heading back home.

If you want trip planning hints for Universal, I can provide those too - but there is a lot to do at Disney World - more than enough to fill up seven whole days.

Thank you... Very informative...

[DryCreek]

Just my two cents worth:

I am a Disney fan, but I also have been to Universal Studios for an exclusive vacation. My recommendation is to always stay on-site for either choice. Unfortunately, an RV park is not part of Universal property like Fort Wilderness in Disney World.

Since you are staying on-site at a Disney Resort property, you have Extra Magic Hours you can use to your benefit. ---> https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/planning-guides/in-depth-advice/extended-theme-park-hours/

That will get you in to a selected theme park each day an hour before they open the gates for general admission. We would always make that early opening and get the most popular attractions checked off of our list. Once the crowds really started building, we'd head back to the campground or hotel for lunch, a cooling-off in the pool and a quick nap. At around 4 we would then eat a light supper and head back to the selected theme park and finish the night off. As a resort guest you also get an extra hour AFTER the park closes too. If you use that perk you can effectively enjoy Disney World theme parks. You can choose to spend the hottest part of the day in comfort - while the others are dealing with cranky, hot and hungry toddlers. After they have had their fill, you head in and enjoy the (slightly) cooler temps an (slightly) smaller crowds until closing and the day pass visitors are leaving. We would close that park down and head for bed to get up early and start the cycle again at whichever theme park had early opening for that day.
Since you've got some planning time before your trip, I also advise a free membership to one of the Disney Park fan forums - I like both Intercot and DisBoards. They can help you set up your plans well in advance. If you already have your Fort Wilderness reservations, then you can start making your FastPass reservations up to 60 days in advance! If you want to ensure that you get on certain rides and you knwo which park you plan to be at on a certain day - this is the way to go. Another extra cost item you may consider is adding Park Hopper options to your tickets. That will allow you to go to the park with early opening hours, and then go to a different park that afternoon, and yet a different park in the evening. That option adds quite a bit of flexibility to your stay.
One of the best benefits of staying at Fort Wilderness is that you can ride the launch over to the Magic Kingdom (faster than a bus, more scenic), or you can hop on a launch to the Contemporary Resort and then a monorail to the TTC, and change over to the Epcot monorail there. When we stayed on site, we never started our tow vehicle until the day we were hooking up and heading back home.

If you want trip planning hints for Universal, I can provide those too - but there is a lot to do at Disney World - more than enough to fill up seven whole days.

[Twain]

For about the same price of two days of Universal, you can do Discovery Cove. It's prices change with the calendar and is more in the summer, but it's not crowded because they limit visitors to about 1300 per day. You have to make reservations in advance. The price includes: parking, breakfast, lunch, drinks, snacks (all you can eat), towels, sunscreen, wet suits, shower supplies, etc. Just show up with hat and sun glasses. It is a relaxing place and you can turn the kids loose while you lounge.

[lawrosa]

Cecilt wrote:
We were at Disney from the 13th - 18th last week. We love it there. Our kids are 14 and 10 and the prior year our then 9 year old would not ride all the rides at Disney. This year he rode them all and LOVED them all. We find the parks and FW magical. I just booked FW last night for 8 nights for next years spring break trip.

We plan to do Universal but more than likely 2 years or so out. Our 10 year old son is not as willing to try thrill rides as his older sister was at his age so I want to make sure that if I am going to drop $1200+ on 4 adults for 1 day at Universal we can ride 95% of the rides, if not 100%. Enjoy it. Kids grow up fast and one day they will tire of going so we will keep going until they want to do something different.

Thank you

[Cecilt]

We were at Disney from the 13th - 18th last week. We love it there. Our kids are 14 and 10 and the prior year our then 9 year old would not ride all the rides at Disney. This year he rode them all and LOVED them all. We find the parks and FW magical. I just booked FW last night for 8 nights for next years spring break trip.

We plan to do Universal but more than likely 2 years or so out. Our 10 year old son is not as willing to try thrill rides as his older sister was at his age so I want to make sure that if I am going to drop $1200+ on 4 adults for 1 day at Universal we can ride 95% of the rides, if not 100%. Enjoy it. Kids grow up fast and one day they will tire of going so we will keep going until they want to do something different.

[RV-1_2n-FUN]

lawrosa wrote:
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..

Do you HAVE reservations now? FW can possibly be filled this late in time.

[winnietrey]

I think You should do it. That 16 years old, is getting to the point where they often don't want to go with the parents so much.

Yes it will be hot and crowed, kids will still have a great time. Don't let some old grumps like me scare you off. ( we have been 4 times in the last 25 years, we are just kind of done with it) Kids always loved it though

If you are there three days, maybe just do 2 days at the parks, and spend one day hanging around swimming etc. Just a thought

[lawrosa]

The kids I guess when asked will be ok with disney..

I myself know how hot it will be and crowded. My plan as I said was do the whole trip in 2 weeks or so.

NJ to florida with one overnight at Wallyworld. Hit disney for 3 days, then take the rest of the time and mosey on home.

I was just going to wing it on the way home and follow park adviser app. Looking for no hook up state parks and such.

I have 280 watts solar and an inverter.. Gen for back up..

Cruise through east coast GA on way home, hit smokeys, maybe nashville, ect etc..

Maybe we shouldnt even go to disney as it may just be a we were there thing..

In reality with a 2 week time limit, staying somewhere each for one day, we technically only would have 6 stops somewhere.