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Wizarding World of HP girls...
Want to fill me in on your trips there? My mom, some family, and I are tossing the idea around of taking a trip there in a few months. So, I have a few questions:
We will certainly want to spend a day or more at HP world, but will probably also have to go to Disney World to meet some princesses because we'll probably have 3 & 5 yr old girls with us. Is that possible? I've never been to DW and have no idea how it's all set up and whatnot. Is it all in one general area? Or, are they completely separate parks where we'd have to buy separate tickets?
Do you think it's better to buy a package deal with hotel, tickets, etc. or buy separately? If you think package deals are the way to go - what's the best way to find them?
If it matters, the round-about ages will be my mom and aunt, myself, a few younger twenty-somethings, a couple teenagers, and maybe the two little girls.
Whatcha got?
Re: Wizarding World of HP girls...
We will certainly want to spend a day or more at HP world, but will probably also have to go to Disney World to meet some princesses because we'll probably have 3 & 5 yr old girls with us. Is that possible? Yes, absolutely! Universal Studios is about a 20-minute cab ride from Walt Disney World.
I've never been to DW and have no idea how it's all set up and whatnot. Is it all in one general area? Or, are they completely separate parks where we'd have to buy separate tickets? Walt Disney World is 4 parks on one property: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. How it works is this: Let's say you want to spend three days exploring Disney parks. You buy a 3-day park pass, and that allows you to visit one park of your choice each day. Now, for about $40 extra per person, you can add the "park hopper" option to your 3-day pass. That means over those three days, you can hop around from park to park as much as you want each day. Does that make sense? Also, the more days you buy, the cheaper the tickets get.Do you think it's better to buy a package deal with hotel, tickets, etc. or buy separately? If you think package deals are the way to go - what's the best way to find them? I prefer Disney packages because I like staying on-property (Disney has three levels of hotels: Value, Moderate, and Deluxe). The perks of staying on property: Close to the action, free transportation to/from the airport if you fly, great transportation around WDW, great theming, Extra Magic Hours (parks open early/stay open late), etc. However, you can get some great deals if you stay off-property, and a lot of people prefer that. I just like the feel of staying on-property.
For what it's worth, Universal Studios also has some hotels. I don't know much about their packages, but they're good if you plan on staying around Universal the whole time and just want to spend one day at Disney or something.If it matters, the round-about ages will be my mom and aunt, myself, a few younger twenty-somethings, a couple teenagers, and maybe the two little girls. Personally: I much prefer Disney to Universal. WWoHP is great and all, but DH and I will probably never go again... despite the fact that we're the biggest Harry Potter geeks you will ever meet. It was expensive, crowded, and WAY too small to handle the sheer number of people (and we were even there in off-season!). All in all, it just was not a great experience, especially for the cost of tickets to Universal, plus the cab ride. Disney has so much to offer with the various parks, two water parks, a shopping area (Downtown Disney), and a crazy variety of resort options--those are fun to visit on their own! Plus Disney does things right--things are so well laid-out. I wish, wish, wish Disney had done WWoHP because they would have made it beyond epic. Also, if you decide Disney is your way to go, let me know--I highly suggest booking with a Disney-specializing travel agency to ensure you're getting the best deal possible. For more info on Disney (and a little about Universal), my favorite sites are www.allears.net and www.disboards.com. Or ask me since I'm a giant nerd.my bookshelf!
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ginger covered all the bases.
I will say that WWoHP is expanding in Orlando, but not sure when that will take place...I'm definitely going again. My experience was different though - a good friend of the family worked at Universal at the time, so he got us into the park for cheap and helped us get through the lines pretty quickly. I loved every moment of being in that park, but Universal as a whole was boring to me. Would much rather be at DW.
We plan on going back to Disney [we only got one day there, but we got in for free, so I won't complain] when JJ's older. We never stayed at any sort of Disney property [last two times we've gone to Orlando, we've stayed at a Hilton resort], but I would prefer to stay on a Disney property next time we go. It's pretty easy to move between all the parks since there are trams and monorails that can take you from one park to the other.
Okay, so tell me if I'm wrong:
WDW and US are two different 'things'. So, we would need to get a Disney pass and a Universal pass separately, right? What I'm thinking is that we will want to stay at a WDW resort because from what I understand we are wanting to do 3 days - one at HP and two at WDW.
I'm sure I will be asking more questions, soon!
What travel agent (or whatever) is it that you recommend? The sooner we can figure out prices and whatnot, the sooner we can figure out exactly who is going to be going.
Thanks girls!
Yes, Universal and Disney are completely separate entities. A day pass to Universal will cost you about $90/person, and the cab ride is around $30-ish each way, as I recall. However, some companies will offer you shuttles..? We didn't do this, but you can look into it.
I've used two different travel agencies. The last one was AWFUL. The first, Dreams Unlimited, did a good job. They are at: http://www.dreamsunlimitedtravel.com/ You can get a free quote on their site.
Ask any other questions you might have! I know way too much about Disney for my own good, I think.
my bookshelf!
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