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WWYD (Disney/Universal Related)
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muffaboo
LIF Adult
Member since 12/10 3797 total posts
Name:
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WWYD (Disney/Universal Related)
I was going to take my mom as her Christmas gift and my 2 DC (DD 5.5 y/o and DS will be 10 months when we go). Honestly, if I wasn't still nursing my DS, I would have just taken DD and my mom. But now, it has snowballed into 9 of us going (added DH, my sister and BIL and my DH's parents).
Anyway, we only have a few days. We are going mid-January. We land at 10AM on a Thursday and fly home 9PM on Monday. So, we have 2 half days on our travel days and 3 full days Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
How many park days would you do??
This will be the 3rd trip to Disney World in 3.5 years for me, DH, our daughter, and my in-laws. I also took DD and my mom to Disneyland in this timeframe. So, my daughter has seen all things Disney multiple times. We usually go for at least 6 park days and do park hopper tickets but this is such a quick trip and kind of last minute. Now that there are so many of us going, I am thinking of just doing base tickets (no park hopper) to keep costs down. So thinking of just doing Hollywood Studios (a MUST for us b/c of Star Wars and Toy Story lands) and a MK day. I am not personally a fan of Epcot and there is a lot of construction there now so I'm fine skipping it this trip. I also don't mind skipping AK this time around. So, I don't think we'll need park-hopper, although it is always nice to have the flexibility of hopping around.
DH, sister, BIL and I would also like to do Universal/Islands of Adventure. I think DD would really like it now that there is a bunch of stuff she's big enough for. So, I was thinking of one park-to-park day for Universal and IoA. I know it's a lot in one day--DH and I did it a couple years ago--but it's doable.
After all that, do you think 2 Disney days and 1 Universal/IoA is good? I don't want our travel days to be a waste, which is why I booked early arriving and late departing flights. Should I do 3 Disney days?? Do Disney Springs on a travel day? I rented a nice house off property for this trip so we're all together. We always rent a car and drive to parks even when we stay on property so having to rent one this time is no different.
Also, the house has it's own private heated pool in the yard but the development also has a nice heated pool with slides and a tiki bar. I'm not banking on it being warm enough to swim in January but if it is, we can do that on our travel days. We have to check out of the house at 10am but still have access to all of the community amenities.
WWYD?? I def want to buy the tix soon so we can be ready to book FP 30 days out, which is right around the corner!
Message edited 12/1/2019 2:33:52 PM.
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Posted 12/1/19 2:28 PM  |
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lightblue
LIF Adult
Member since 1/17 2249 total posts
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Re: WWYD (Disney/Universal Related)
Me personally I don't like going to a park the day we arrive, because by the time we get to the hotel I feel like half the day is wasted. We usually arrive to our hotel about 2 hours after we land. This past trip we went to Disney Springs the day we arrived and DD did the bibbidi bobbidi boutique there. I would def do HS and MK, maybe even two days at MK if possible since there is so much to do there especially for your kids age groups. I don't know about Universal because although I was there years ago, I was told to wait till my children were older to go there because there is more to do there once the kids are older...
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| Posted 12/1/19 2:36 PM |
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muffaboo
LIF Adult
Member since 12/10 3797 total posts
Name:
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Re: WWYD (Disney/Universal Related)
Posted by lightblue
Me personally I don't like going to a park the day we arrive, because by the time we get to the hotel I feel like half the day is wasted. We usually arrive to our hotel about 2 hours after we land. This past trip we went to Disney Springs the day we arrived and DD did the bibbidi bobbidi boutique there. I would def do HS and MK, maybe even two days at MK if possible since there is so much to do there especially for your kids age groups. I don't know about Universal because although I was there years ago, I was told to wait till my children were older to go there because there is more to do there once the kids are older...
Thanks for the response! I know Disney has the Mid-Day Magic tix now that are cheaper and you can go into the parks after 12:00 but you can't do it for only 1 day, must be at least 2 days, or else it would have been an option for the day we arrive.
As for Universal/IoA, I looked at all of the rides and height requirements. There's only a handful my DD CAN'T go on--she can go on most. DH and I went a couple of years ago and had DD stay back at the hotel with my in-laws because she was too little. I know there won't be a lot for my son but I think DD would really enjoy it.
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| Posted 12/1/19 3:19 PM |
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nycbuslady
LIF Adult
Member since 9/15 1066 total posts
Name:
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WWYD (Disney/Universal Related)
When we went to Disney a few years ago, we went to Animal Kingdom on our last day. We checked out of the hotel, put the luggage in the car and drove to the park. Then, we drove straight to the airport. I don't remember when our flight was, but it was probably around 5 or 6. We had plenty of time to see the park and get to the airport. I wouldn't do a park on the day we arrive, but I would do one the last day.
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| Posted 12/1/19 8:21 PM |
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muffaboo
LIF Adult
Member since 12/10 3797 total posts
Name:
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Re: WWYD (Disney/Universal Related)
Posted by nycbuslady
When we went to Disney a few years ago, we went to Animal Kingdom on our last day. We checked out of the hotel, put the luggage in the car and drove to the park. Then, we drove straight to the airport. I don't remember when our flight was, but it was probably around 5 or 6. We had plenty of time to see the park and get to the airport. I wouldn't do a park on the day we arrive, but I would do one the last day.
Thanks!
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| Posted 12/2/19 8:45 PM |
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FirstMate
My lil cowboy
Member since 10/10 7790 total posts
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Re: WWYD (Disney/Universal Related)
Full disclosure: I like to jam pack my schedule when I'm in Disney so know that while you are reading my opinion.
I would likely go to Epcot or AK on day 1. Then I would pick one of the days (probably Friday) to do Universal. Then I would do Disney Saturday and Sunday. On the days I fly out, and I always pick late flights also, I would either do HS or Epcot. But since you have already done Disney, maybe I would just do Disney Springs on Day 1. I'm not sure about weather in January but it could be too cold to enjoy a pool, right? If you can do a pool day, maybe I would do that day 1.
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| Posted 12/3/19 7:55 AM |
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mommy2be716
LIF Adult
Member since 1/16 2921 total posts
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WWYD (Disney/Universal Related)
I think that's a really good plan... I've done disney 4 times. 3 w/o DD- all off-property, 1 with DD last year on-property. I will say that staying on property is great because of the meal plan and everything, but I definitely think your plan is doable. We never do park hoppers and just commit to one day at each park. I would either do MK for 2 days and HS for 1, or do MK, HS, and then Universal. If Universal is non-negotiable for Dh, then go for it!
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| Posted 12/3/19 7:20 PM |
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muffaboo
LIF Adult
Member since 12/10 3797 total posts
Name:
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Re: WWYD (Disney/Universal Related)
Posted by FirstMate
Full disclosure: I like to jam pack my schedule when I'm in Disney so know that while you are reading my opinion.
I would likely go to Epcot or AK on day 1. Then I would pick one of the days (probably Friday) to do Universal. Then I would do Disney Saturday and Sunday. On the days I fly out, and I always pick late flights also, I would either do HS or Epcot. But since you have already done Disney, maybe I would just do Disney Springs on Day 1. I'm not sure about weather in January but it could be too cold to enjoy a pool, right? If you can do a pool day, maybe I would do that day 1.
Posted by mommy2be716
I think that's a really good plan... I've done disney 4 times. 3 w/o DD- all off-property, 1 with DD last year on-property. I will say that staying on property is great because of the meal plan and everything, but I definitely think your plan is doable. We never do park hoppers and just commit to one day at each park. I would either do MK for 2 days and HS for 1, or do MK, HS, and then Universal. If Universal is non-negotiable for Dh, then go for it!
Thank you both for your responses! This is our first time staying off property so we'll see how we like it. It's amazing the nice homes you can rent for cheaper than a Disney Value. I know you pay for convenience with staying on property but we don't take advantage of a lot of the perks, such as the dining plan or Disney transportation. DH and I don't like being on someone else's schedule and just like to pick up and go when we're ready to go or leave somewhere so that's why we always rent a car. A big downfall is having to wait to make FP 30 days out rather than 60. Hoping staying off property isn't a mistake but we shall see!
Universal is a definite so maybe we will add a 3rd Disney day on Monday before flying home and just do Disney Springs on arrival day.
Thanks to everyone who has responded!
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| Posted 12/3/19 8:57 PM |
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