NBR: First time Disney/Orlando trip

dutchgirl76 · April 2015

Hello. My husband and I are planning a trip to Disney in late Sept. or early Oct. Neither of us have ever been to Disney or the general Orlando area. We are hoping for 5 full days staying on resort. I know there's pros and cons price wise, but as first timers we don't want to worry about renting a car and getting kicked out of the parks earlier etc.We are running numbers on an off, low and moderate all that jazz. The plan right now is only Disney all 5 days at a hotel with a pool/options to relax.

My question for today is if we should try to squeeze in a trip to Universal or not? It looks like there's 4 major Disney parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom aaaand something else?) How much time do you need for each park? I guess this is a hard question as everyone's different. We're going just us (2 adults, no kids) and I'm not a huge roller coaster fan, so I don't anticipate a great deal of time in line for the most popular rides, or at least *shorter* lines if the bigger kids are in school. We are looking into the Park Hopper option so that we can go back to one area if we like it more than another. I guess I"m worried about missing some of Disney if we have to get over the Universal, and I don't want to rush that experience. I'm probably answering my own question...but from experience, is it better to do each of these options on separate trips to have more time? Honestly I'd love one afternoon in the sun reading and relaxing so I feel like 5 days of Disney with breaks (for my poor pale skin to get a break) would be heaven.

Thanks in advance!

dutchgirl76 · April 2015

I probably should add, I"m very excited to see all of the characters, but I think my husband is more going to get in the sun. A lot of guys he works with have started going to Disney lately as their kids are getting old enough, I think he's more I better go so I can relate to everyone more than actually wants to do Disney. I think we'll have plenty of time to see it all, I just worry if we'll have too much (is there such a thing) time once you see each park.

Is it hard to get to Universal if plans change and we find ourselves with a day we don't want to see anymore Disney? Any financial downside like not paying for tickets in advance?

EliStar · April 2015

Do you like Harry Potter?

If so, I'd go to Universal just to go to WWOHP. As an adult, I really enjoy the Universal parks and think there's more for grown ups there (like booze!) than at the Disney parks. I'd get the park hopper so that you can do both parks in one day and I'd probably get them ahead of time because I think the tickets are discounted if you buy them ahead of time.

I really enjoy the Disney parks but 1 day for each park is enough in my opinion. Even with breaks. The parks are exhausting, but for example, you can probably do Animal Kingdom in half a day and spend the rest o the day at the pool. They close early, too.

Don't worry, you won't have too much time.

dutchgirl76 · April 2015

I couldn't get into Harry Potter myself. I saw the first movie, I tried reading the book but I just couldn't do it. My husband enjoys the movies (never read the books) so I think he'd get a kick out of it. I heard there's a Simpsons world at Universal now, we do enjoy that a lot.

Thanks for your feedback. I've heard Animal Kingdom is one you can even skip, at the very least get there early because the animals get hot and don't do anything. Might be worth cutting Disney park tickets one day and put the money into Universal instead.

RiverPlate · April 2015

We did 1 1/2 days at Epcot, 1 day Magic Kingdom, 1 day Hollywood Studios, 1/2 day Animal Kingdom. Next time we'll skip Animal Kingdom, spend another day at Magic Kingdom, and maybe spend a day in Downtown Disney instead of flying through in a couple hours.

It really depends what you're interested in. Universal has a lot of the bigger rides. DisneyQuest in Downtown Disney is amazing if you're into video games. We got a different beer in each country in Epcot (maybe not each, there are a lot of countries), and ate some really amazing food. If you like water, there's 2 water parks. If you're not a zoo person or already have an amazing zoo that you frequent, you could skip Animal Kingdom or do a 1/2 day and only go on the safari.

dutchgirl76 · April 2015

Just FYI for those who can go in the fall, a free dining plan option just opened up with a reservation in certain rooms.

NBR: First time Disney/Orlando trip

Re: NBR: First time Disney/Orlando trip

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