Disney World vs. Universal Orlando: Which is Better for Your Florida Vacation?
Wondering about the pros & cons of Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando? This post compares and contrasts the two most popular Florida theme park complexes, with a look at the strengths and weaknesses each to help you determine which is the “better” option for your vacation. (Updated January 25, 2024.)
Walt Disney World versus Universal Orlando. Mickey Mouse. Harry Potter. The debate has raged since both entered the theme park scene in Florida, and is hotter than ever with Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida adding thrilling rides that capture the attention of theme park fans and vacationers. In this battle royale, TWO THEME PARK COMPLEXES ENTER, ONLY ONE WILL LEAVE.
Okay, actually, not really. This does not engage in the typical fanboy arguing over which is better. If you already have a favorite, nothing I write is going to change that (probably) passionate opinion. I will say that any supposed rivalry is mostly an artificial creation of theme park fans, and not something that actually exists between the parks themselves. Rather, this post is for those who are not diehard fans of either, but rather, are simply trying to determine how to allocate their limited vacation time between the Central Florida theme parks.
For us, Universal Studios Florida, Islands of Adventure, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom are all like children. Sure, we might have preferences and personal favorites, but we ultimately love them all. To that point, we’re Annual Passholders at both Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World, but we’ll be the first to admit that we spend far more time at the latter.
However, that might start to change next year when Epic Universe opens and the new Super Nintendo World debuts. As a huge fan of Mario, Yoshi, and Donkey Kong, I’m anxiously awaiting this new land and know that it’ll be a huge hit with guests. (We’ve already experienced the Mario Kart attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood, and the Yoshi ride at Universal Studios Japan.)
This new park has also led some Walt Disney World fans to openly ask: Is Universal Beating Disney? It’s not just the new park–Universal has been doing a lot in the last decade to position itself as a bona fide ‘destination’ resort and not just diversions from Disney. There’s also the new Minions mini-land and an upcoming DreamWorks Animation Land Opening in 2024 at Universal Studios Florida.
When it comes to Universal opening blockbuster additions, Disney’s public position has been that “that a rising tide lifts all boats” and that a stronger Universal is beneficial to Disney. In other words, if you’ve ever thought that a visit to Universal Orlando would be tantamount to “betraying” Walt Disney World, banish the idea from your mind. Besides, these are for-profit, publicly-traded companies and not actually family members. You can’t “betray” them.
Anyway, this is written to compare and contrast Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, to give those of you who haven’t recently visited both an idea of how you might want to allocate your vacation time in Central Florida. Hopefully it’s reasonably fair in doing that. Ultimately, I think the two resort complexes are better as complementary destinations rather than competitive ones, so I don’t have much interest in that “battle,” anyway.
We receive a number of questions about whether Universal is “worth it?” That’s an incredibly loaded and subjective question, but I feel like this type of comparison post is the best way to answer it. The fact is, each brings a lot to the table, and has its strengths and weaknesses.
For many of you, Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando might work well in tandem, and it might make a lot of sense for you to spend some time at each resort complex. For others, only one may hold any appeal due to your party’s demographics, advantages of staying on-site at one or the other, cost, or for a variety of other reasons.
As preliminary info, Walt Disney World Resort includes four theme parks: Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom, plus Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon water parks, over two-dozen on-site resort hotels, and the Disney Springs shopping area.
Universal Orlando Resort has two theme parks: Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, Volcano Bay water park, 8 on-site resort hotels, and the CityWalk shopping area. Although it’s often mis-portrayed as a theme park, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is not one of the parks at Universal Orlando–it’s two lands within the above-mentioned parks.
We will cover all of that in this post, as we take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resorts…
Rides
According to some, Walt Disney World is for families with kids and Universal Orlando Resort is for teens and young adults. At least, this is what has been perpetuated. The reality is a bit more nuanced.
It’s a statement that you can take at face value and more or less know what is meant by it, even if it’s incomplete. Universal Orlando does skew more towards teens and adults. A total of 24 attractions at Universal Orlando have height requirements, for an average of 12 per park. At Walt Disney World, there are 22 attractions with height requirements, for an average of 5.5 per park.
This is compounded by the fact that most of Universal Orlando’s best attractions–Revenge of the Mummy, Men in Black Alien Attack, Transformers, Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, Jurassic World VelociCoaster, and Incredible Hulk Coaster–have height requirements. Oh, and don’t forget the three flagship Harry Potter attractions: Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, and Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts.
A lot of rides are eliminated for families with by virtue of this height requirement alone. While there are still plenty of attractions that kids can do in the Universal parks, these attractions are not Universal’s strong suit, whereas many of Walt Disney World’s classic attractions are aimed squarely at kids.
If you have small children and are contemplating a trip to Universal Orlando, you will definitely want to consult height requirement charts to make sure that they are tall enough for at least a chunk of them. The good news is that Universal is making a concerted effort to improve its family-friendly offerings.
Universal’s newest attraction, Illumination’s Villain-Con Minion Blast, is for almost everyone (aside from infants). Universal now has more kid-friendly characters, a new daytime parade is likely coming in 2024, and there’s other entertainment aimed at families. Then there’s the new DreamWorks Animation Land, which is aimed squarely at kids. Next up, Super Nintendo World and other additions in Epic Universe. To be sure, there’s still room for improvement, but Universal is adding more for families with kids.
Even if you don’t have small children, you might find many of Universal’s headliners simply too intense. Motion sickness is only an issue with a handful of attractions at Walt Disney World–things like Expedition Everest, Star Tours, and Cosmic Rewind. Pretty much every thrill ride and/or simulator at Universal can present problems for guests with motion sickness.
The flip side of this is that Walt Disney World is weak when it comes to thrill rides. Sure, there are some options but most of Disney’s rollercoasters are tame by normal standards, and there are fewer of them (hence fewer height requirements).
Exciting, well-themed attractions are squarely in Universal Orlando’s wheelhouse. With the exception of coasters, almost all of these attractions are brilliantly executed, and are not just cheap, amusement park thrills. Transformers, Spiderman, Revenge of the Mummy, and the Harry Potter attractions, among others, are some of the best attractions in Orlando.
These attractions are not too intense for average guests–to the contrary, they command lengthy wait times, so they’re clearly appropriate for most people. If you can handle Expedition Everest or Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, you can probably handle anything at Universal Orlando.
In addition to that, they wonderfully fuse thrills with thematic delivery. These action-packed attractions are Universal Orlando’s definite strong suit, and if this is your style, you will be particularly impressed with what they have to offer. Many of these fast-paced, action-packed attractions are unlike anything that exists at Walt Disney World.
One myth that exists about Universal Orlando is that it leans entirely on screen-based attractions. There are definitely several instances of screens being used (and more than at Walt Disney World), but in nearly every such case, screens are used in lieu of animated figures (Audio-Animatronics in Disney parlance) because the situation simply dictated as much.
In fairness, recent highly-popular Walt Disney World attractions are also trending in that same direction. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, and TRON Lightcycle Run have a combined total of 0 Audio Animatronics but tons of screens. In both cases, screens are used purposefully and as appropriate. In fast-paced, action-heavy thrill rides (among other scenarios), animated figures simply wouldn’t be pragmatic.
Transformers wouldn’t be possible with huge Autobots scaling buildings and bouncing all around a city leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Same goes for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and the Amazing Adventures of Spiderman, among others. Also to Universal’s credit, but the attractions that do utilize screens don’t utilize only screens. They are all mixed-media, and there’s enough variety that I don’t think you ever really feel that you’re just “watching a video.”
It’s worth pointing out that the gap has been closing between Universal and Disney in the last decade. Walt Disney World has seemingly followed Universal’s lead and placed a greater emphasis on thrilling attractions. If you look at some of the biggest recent additions–both rides in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, Avatar Flight of Passage, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, TRON Lightcycle Run, and Slinky Dog Dash–all have height requirements and offer varying degrees of thrills. And as discussed above, Universal is doing more to cater towards kids.
Walt Disney World does have more variety and classics than Universal Orlando, with the latter placing a stronger emphasis on contemporary movies and what’s popular now. Disney’s attraction lineup has been refined over the last 4 decades, and many of the world’s most iconic and classic theme park attractions exist at Walt Disney World.
Depending upon your perspective, this could be a good or bad thing. These classics will appeal to your sense of nostalgia along with the youngest and oldest members of your traveling party. Many have absolutely stood the test of time, but the teens and young adults in your group may find them lame or dated.
Covering the attraction roster at Walt Disney World is beyond the scope of this post (and you probably know it, anyway), but if you’re unfamiliar with Walt Disney World’s ride lineup, we cover it park-by-park in our Walt Disney World Ride Guides. Suffice to say, Walt Disney World has a lot of ‘Fantasyland’ style attractions that will appeal to kids, and a lot of slow-paced attractions that will appeal to an older crowd looking for leisurely things to do.
Entertainment
Historically, Walt Disney World has offered more and better entertainment. Stage shows, atmospheric performers, character meet & greets, and nighttime spectaculars have all been superior at Walt Disney World. Production values are usually higher and Disney has access to more beloved characters along with a deep well of nostalgia.
To that last point, Disney intellectual property is a lot stronger than Universal’s. While the latter does have Harry Potter and will soon have Nintendo, Walt Disney World otherwise has a near-monopoly on beloved animated characters from the last half-century. Characters from Frozen, Encanto, Moana, Toy Story, The Incredibles, Finding Nemo, etc.
By contrast, Universal’s big name characters that appeal to children are the Minions and Spongebob. That’s not everyone–other characters include Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Megatron; The Simpsons; Shrek, Donkey and Princess Fiona; Scooby-Doo & Shaggy; Trolls; Blue the Velociraptor; Kung Fu Panda; and Marvel Comics characters. It’s a long list, but the sheer volume of popular characters in the Disney vault dwarfs Universal.
Additionally, Walt Disney World has an incredibly robust lineup of scheduled entertainment with purpose-built venues. Here, we’re referring largely to stage shows with live performers, such as Finding Nemo: The Big Blue & Beyond, Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, Frozen Sing-Along, Festival of the Lion King, just to name a few.
In addition to this, there are more tech-driven productions. These include Country Bear Jamboree, Hall of Presidents, Carousel of Progress, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, PhilharMagic, and a number of other 3D films.
Then there are daytime and evening entertainment and spectaculars. Universal has nothing like the Festival of Fantasy Parade in Magic Kingdom, and even smaller-scale cavalcades are quite popular with families–a good way of seeing favorite characters without committing much time to it.
Then there are the nighttime spectaculars, which are currently the Happily Ever After fireworks at Magic Kingdom, Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and EPCOT Forever. (Sadly, there’s nothing at Animal Kingdom.) Fantasmic and Happily Ever After are truly iconic, and both have been recently refreshed.
Where Universal Orlando really excels is with streetmosphere. You can’t walk more than a few hundred feet without stumbling upon an entertainment act of some sort—musicians, stage shows, characters, or atmospheric performers.
Whether it’s the Blues Brothers, Scooby Doo Mystery Machine, Bart Simpson, Marilyn Monroe, or Mardi Gras bands, you can’t go far in either of the Universal parks without seeing something. Universal also has access to more Marvel characters, albeit the comic book versions.
On-Site Benefits
Right from its opening in 1971, Walt Disney World positioned itself as a vacation destination rather than a day-trip theme park. Disney has strengthened its position in this regard, not just with the opening of 3 additional theme parks and all of that other stuff, but with perks and packages that make it an all-inclusive vacation.
For many people, this has been the ultimate hurdle in visiting Universal Orlando. Even those with interest in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter might favor being in the “Walt Disney World Bubble” on vacation. For many diehard WDW fans, that’s an intangible that has been very difficult to overcome.
This is another area where the tables have turned “thanks” to the end of free FastPass+ and Disney’s Magical Express, plus the ongoing suspension of the Disney Dining Plan. While on-site perks have improved at Walt Disney World as of 2024, there are still fewer incentives to stay on-site at Walt Disney World than there were 4 years ago, and more to stay on-site at Universal Orlando.
In the latest updates to our Off-Site v. On-Site at Walt Disney World article, we’ve covered this shift in detail. That also covers recent additions at Walt Disney World, including Lightning Lane priority booking windows, Early Entry, Extended Evening Hours, and more.
All Universal hotels offer Early Park Admission to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Volcano Bay water park one hour before the theme parks open to the general public. Guests staying at Universal’s Premier Hotels get free Unlimited Express Pass to skip the regular lines at most popular attractions in Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
Express Pass is Universal’s equivalent of FastPass (retired) or Lightning Lanes (current), but better—and it normally costs money. We absolutely love Express Pass, and would strongly recommend a split stay between Walt Disney World and Universal’s hotels if you’re planning a visit to both solely for the sake of “free” Express Pass. (See Universal’s Express Pass v. Lightning Lanes & Genie+ at Walt Disney World for more info and a comprehensive comparison.)
While beyond the scope of this article, Universal Orlando resorts offer many of the same advantages of Walt Disney World hotels. Universal’s hotels also feature great themed design, transportation to the parks, and a great location—most are within walking distance of Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. (See Universal Orlando v. Disney World Hotels for more on the pros & cons of each complex’s resorts.)
Another benefit to staying on-site at Universal Orlando is the layout. Universal Orlando can be likened to Disneyland Resort in California. Much like Disneyland, the Universal Orlando parks are situated adjacent to one another and CityWalk is also close by. As is the case with the Disneyland Resort hotels, almost all on-site hotels at Universal Orlando are all within walking distance of the two theme parks and CityWalk.
Each of these hotels and CityWalk offer various forms of entertainment, shopping, and dining, and Universal Orlando has been aggressively expanding these non-theme park offerings within the last few years, with an eye towards making Universal Orlando similarly viewed as a vacation destination. This has been aided by resort entertainment options, like the lazy river and bowling alley in Cabana Bay Beach Resort.
While Walt Disney World still has more to offer beyond the parks, Universal Orlando is gaining ground, and is showing no signs of slowing down. Additions at Walt Disney World have been coming at a snail’s pace, whereas Universal Orlando is building at a break-neck pace.
In terms of vacation type, they really both could be viewed as catering to similar demographics. Still, if you are looking for a single-site destination for a longer vacation, Walt Disney World has the advantage. Universal Orlando has the edge if you want to do a variety of things, and only want to spend a couple of days at theme parks.
If you are considering a theme park-centric trip to Florida with multiple destinations, the best idea is allocating some time at each and doing a split-stay between an official Universal Orlando hotel and an on-site Walt Disney World hotel.
Theme & Atmosphere
One department in which Walt Disney World has a clear advantage is theme and atmosphere. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter lands (Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade) are brilliant examples of themed design that you do not have to be a Harry Potter fan to appreciate. Both of these lands blow me away, and I know many of the Harry Potter references were lost on me. These lands aren’t just on par with the best of Orlando, they are Tokyo DisneySea caliber. Likewise, Port of Entry is a very well done land.
Unfortunately, once you get past these three lands, the wheels sort of fall off. Universal Studios Florida gets a bit of a pass on this, as it’s a studios park, and even Disney sort of punts on theming on its studios parks, letting them function largely as collections of attractions that don’t fit elsewhere. In terms of theme, both Universal Orlando parks fall short of Walt Disney World’s parks. This is not to say every land at Walt Disney World is a thematic masterpiece (I’m looking at you, Dino-Rama), but overall, its lands are superior.
As someone who loves being in immersive theme park environments, Universal’s thematic missteps are a letdown for me. Again, Wizarding World of Harry Potter does a lot to excuse this–Hogsmeade is a great land and Diagon Alley is next-level. There are also flashes of brilliance in Jurassic Park, San Francisco, New York, Hollywood, Springfield, Lost Continent, Seuss Landing, and other areas. However, Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure are not as consistently strong thematically.
Which is fine–they’re different kinds of parks. The Walt Disney World parks are generally more enjoyable places to ‘be’ in and soak up the atmosphere, whereas the Universal parks do action-packed attractions better. My personal opinion is that both resort complexes fill attraction line-up gaps not fully served by the other, and if all of the attractions mentioned above appeal to you, a great vacation strategy would be to spend time at each.
Conclusion
Ultimately, Universal Orlando is not going to be for everyone, just as Walt Disney World is not for everyone. If you have a trio of 4 year olds and are also bringing grandma and grandpa on the vacation, your party is probably going to prefer Walt Disney World by a wide margin. If you’re taking your 13 and 16 year olds, Universal Orlando should definitely be on your radar. That’s doubly true if they’re Potterheads or fans of other franchises featured at Universal.
Moreover, this really just scratches the surface of the similarities and differences of the parks, and what you might want to know if you’re considering venturing to Universal Orlando Resort. Another one is food, which is dominated by Disney. Transportation is yet another; it’s very location-dependent at Walt Disney World, but great across the board at Universal.
The final one is cost. Due to incremental price increases, doing both Universal and Disney will cost more than doing one or the other for the same amount of time. With that said, Universal is less expensive than Walt Disney World in most ways. Park tickets and food prices are not particularly noticeable, but the big one is hotel rates.
Not only is Universal (usually) cheaper, but its resorts include perks that would cost additional money at Walt Disney World. However, even that is not consistent. There are certain times when Walt Disney World offers aggressive resort discounts for the general public, and Universal only has deals available for Annual Passholders and Florida residents. In general, we pay less to visit Universal, but that’s highly variable–and definitely not always true. As with so much of this comparison, your mileage may vary even as to which costs more.
Need trip planning tips and comprehensive advice for your visit to Central Florida? Make sure to read our Universal Orlando Planning Guide for everything about Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. Also check out our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide for everything about those parks, resorts, restaurants, and so much more. For regular updates, news & rumors, a heads up when discounts are released, and much more, sign up for our FREE email newsletter!
Your Thoughts?
If you have visited Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure recently, what did you think? Where does Universal surpass Disney, and vice-versa? Is there anything we missed or you think is inaccurate? Do you prefer Universal or Disney hotels? What about rides, entertainment, and food? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I wanted to add some insight for those with small children. While Universal is not geared toward families with small children, it does a few things better than Disney World; Play Areas and Rider Swap.
Universal has some great play areas for small children, where they can run around and burn off energy. In Islands of Adventure, there is one in the Dr. Seuss area and a huge one in Jurassic Park (it’s amazing, check it our even if your party is all adults). There might even be a Popeye play area. In Universal Studios, there is a Fievel (An American Tale) play area (totally outdated I.P., but fun for kids anyway). There used to be Curious George, but I’m not sure if there is still. This area may get changed as they update KidZone so hopefully they include a play area still. As far as I know, there is not much at Disney World on the same scale. I can only think of the Boneyard area at Animal Kingdom. There are some small play areas at other Epcot and Magic Kingdom, but I can’t think of any at Hollywood Studios.
I prefer Rider Swap at Universal because it is quicker. The family goes through the line together, and there is typically a rider swap room near the loading area. One party will wait there, and after the first party rides, the 2nd gets on almost immediately. At Disney, you have to get a pass and the 2nd party goes through the lightning lane, which can still be a very long line. This is a personal preference, but it’s good to know how the systems differ.
I agree. Rider swap is far superior at Universal. I understand that Disney has existing rides like space mountain but I was distracted when they built new rides like Tron and did build rider swap areas. That is better for everyone.
My husband & I just returned from Orlando, having spent 4 days at Disney (Port Orleans Riverside & Animal Kingdom Lodge) and 4 at Universal (Cabana Bay & Portofino). Yes, there was lots of packing and unpacking, but it was fun trying out the different hotels, especially the pools. All the resorts were beautifully themed, but the Universal side was much better with customer service; we had no trouble checking in early at Cabana Bay and Portofino and got free upgrades at both (probably due to weeknight stays during shoulder season). As for the theme parks, we now have a clear preference for Universal. It’s not that we dislike Disney, but we just found it to be far more stressful. While we did have two perfect days at Disney getting on all the rides we wanted to by using Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes, I hated having to get up early to secure the first reservations at 7:00 a.m. (not to mention paying extra, even though Genie was “only” $15 one day and $18 the next). And while each Disney park had just a handful of rides that were truly enjoyable, we loved every single ride at Universal that wasn’t a giant roller coaster. Also, with the Express Pass from our Portofino stay, we could sleep late, have a leisurely breakfast, and not worry about long lines building up by late morning. Other than booking the hotel rooms, Universal required no advance planning–no park reservations and no restaurant reservations more than a day or two ahead. When we go back next year, we’ve decided to stay exclusively at Universal and just Uber over to Disney for one or two days. It’s Team Harry for us!
Just back from UO and WDW. I would not go back to Universal until the new park is open. Unlimited express pass is a great feature but also had success using Genie+, Virtual Queues and ILLs at WDW. I’ll take Galaxy, Rise, Avatar, Tower of Terror, Mine Train etc. Hagrid’s is really fun but tough to get w/o any queue or pass option. It even broke down for the entire early entry timeframe one day while we there and so basically Velocicoaster and Forbidden Journey was it for the early open hour. Ride photos with Genie+ now are a great perk. The Hulk, Velocicoasster and Rip Ride are great coasters but overall rides in parks total is not as good. Disney magic bands, quick service and sit down restaurants and customer service are superior in our experience. As an aside, the Kennedy Space Center for STEM fans is amazing and worth a day trip.
I am a current UO & WDW passholder. I got the UO passes 6 months ago because they felt like a deal in comparison to WDW (who wasn’t selling passes at the time and made the decision easier). After 4 trips to UO, my family is bored of it and we signed up for WDW last week.
We have a 6 year old who is tall and brave enough to go on anything his heigh qualifies him for and a 10 year old that is somewhat into Harry Potter. I love Velocicoaster and Hagrid’s and my wife loves Hagrid’s, the biggest & fastest coaster she’s ever tried.
But beyond that, we don’t find much “there” there at UO. The Harry Potter lands are great and most everything else is fair. Even if Tom days the simulator ride reputation is overstated, I disagree. UO is overly dependent on them. When you don’t have that many rides to begin with, it feels like there are too many.
The hotels are probably the only place where UO is better than WDW. They are a better value. While there is something to be said about both parks and City Walk all being close by, Disney Springs is also vastly better than City Walk.
UO felt like a good deal for us but the 2 parks get tiresome on repeat visits. I’ll take WDW’s variety of 4 parks and that indescribable “magic” that while may be diminished from years past, it still exists.
I think E.T. Adventure is better than many WDW dark rides, but I’m wondering if a lot of people skip it these days because of its location in the Kidzone. If they’d readjust the borders of Hollywood land to incorporate this classic dark ride, maybe more people would be aware of this must see attraction.
E.T. Adventure is better than MOST Walt Disney World dark rides. I do wonder how well it connects with audiences under 20 (do kids these days still watch E.T.?), but it’s an objectively great attraction. It does the ‘flying over’ concept better than Peter Pan’s Flight in my (admittedly biased towards all things E.T.) opinion.
The rumor is that KidZone is being replaced by Shrek’s Swamp and something (I can’t recall what) from Trolls. Neither are my cups of tea, but that would definitely increase foot traffic to this neglected corner of USF.
Currently in Universal, because to be honest I refuse to give Disney my money anymore. The constant rising of prices is awful. They are pricing middle class families out of their parks and hotels. Additionally I’m sick of Disney getting involved in politics. I just need to be entertained. With that being said, I enjoy Disney more because of the themes and precision and the bubble.. I love the bubble. But Universal is pretty close with Harry Potter World. I think Disney could do HP better. The big draw back for me at Universal was the restaurants in the park aren’t big enough or efficient. Maybe I’m just here at a crowded time. But the crowds are so large it was really uncomfortable. I like that Disney has more dining options. Bottom line until Disney gets back to caring for their customers as far as costs and stays out of politics, we will spend out money at Universal and get our Magic fix with WWoWHP. I AGREE Universal staff not as invested in the magic. Transportation was the same.
Lol… Disney would love to get out of politics. They made one tepid statement about a policy that affects a lot of their cast members and they got thrown into it all by the governor retaliating against them for their free speech. If you want Disney out of politics, tell the governor not to target them.
Unless by “politics,” you’re using code for “acknowledging that lgbt people exist.” If that’s the case, then with all due respect, you need new politics because that’s not a political statement, it’s just reality. You can’t say Disney needs to respect their fans and then get mad when they acknowledge the existence of them
You’re right on the pricing though. Especially if you have a large family.
Universal is still cheaper than Disney. Our week long trip with 4 day 3 park to park passes and stay at Cabana Bay Resort ( 7 night/ 8 days) with breakfast for 4 at The Leaky Caldron and breakfast for 4 at The Three Broomsticks vs 4 day base tickets at Disney and stay at Pop Century with no breakfast included ( 7 night/ 8 days) is over $1700 cheaper! I love Disney but having no perks and only getting in 30 minutes early to the parks only to wait at numerous rope drops to ride anything before the actual park opens STINK!
At least at Universal you get an HOUR to ride the best rides before the non resort guest! The park hours are way better and longer than Disney’s. The characters meets and shows are pretty much same as pre-Covid. Disney is still trying to catch-up. Also all the PLAN PLAN PLANNING in order to have a good time at Disney is exhausting! I don’t believe I will be glued to my phone while at Universal. Plus I can walk to all the parks (planning on the bus for end of day for studios / islands). Again I LOVE. Disney but I don’t feel the love back from Disney anymore. I hope things change real fast at Disney! Universal Studios is listening to their guests and they are building an entire new park EPIC in 2-3 years! Disney takes years for Guardians (2017) and years for a replica Tron (2018 I believe) and they still aren’t open. I say consider Universal and wait and see Disney!
I love both Universal and Disney World. However, when we went in August 2021, Universal was the best part of the trip in my opinion.
1. I love Harry Potter- I love Harry Potter so that was probably the best part of the trip for me.
2. Hotel perks- We stayed at the Hard Rock and for my portion of the hotel cost, express pass was included. Also, we stayed on the Club floor so happy hour was included.
3. Express Pass- As mentioned above, express pass was included in the hotel cost at Universal. At the time of our trip, FastPass+ was not running at Disney. It has since been replaced by Genie+ (the paid service). I would not be happy to pay for it on top of a hotel cost.
4. Proximity- At Universal, you do have to take a bus to Volcano Bay. However, everything else is within walking distance of the Hard Rock which I think is really nice.
5. COVID-19- At the time of our trip, the pandemic was essentially over at Universal Studios. At Disney, you are required to wear a mask indoors even if you are vaccinated. This is ironic because Disney World is supposed to be “on stage”. Also, many things at Disney are still closed because of COVID-19. Universal has since updated its policy to require masks inside, however I’m hopeful they will change this soon given they were one of the last to change their policy.
In conclusion, Disney is too big, expensive and they have not brought enough things back to make it worthwhile. That is why Universal was better in my opinion.
The one BIG advantage that Universal has over Disney (for us) are ticket prices. We’ve been going to Disney every year, enjoying a nice military discount on the ticket prices. But along with Disney’s other increasing prices, they’ve really taken the magic out of their Salute tickets. The rise in price was about $30 per ticket.
Universal has turned the military discounting on its head, offering a ticket that’s basically a season pass with no black out dates for qualified military personnel and spouses. I can get a year-long Universal Freedom Pass for $258 less than the cost of a 4-day ticket at Disney World. Multiply that by the number in my party & that’s a gigantic savings that will go a long way to offsetting the cost of a resort. It’s a no brainer.
Well, I just booked our Christmas trip that would usually be at WDW. This year, it’s all Universal. The 15 month season pass was less than a 5 day park hopper, the hotel was $1000 less than the same stay at POP for better amenities, and with the passes, we get the skip the line option after 4PM. for most rides We went to WDW last Christmas during COVID and had an okay time but it was not the same without Fastpass, fireworks and the street atmosphere and entertainment in general. The whole thing felt a little flat. I am frankly shocked that the prices have gone up again at WDW (across the board) for an experience that is not even close to pre-COVID enjoyment. We are big Disney fans, but we have our limits.
We have APs to both Universal and WDW this year. Did two standalone trips to each – pre and post COVID. For our Universal stays we liked Royal Pacific better than Portofino for convenience to walk to the parks and newer, less dingy. That second trip to Universal we packed our magic bands and made Disney park reservations “just in case.” We did almost everything we wanted to do in one afternoon and one morning at Universal (HP everything plus Hulk) and spent the rest of the trip at Disney.
As a Militray member, Universal (to me) has won the fight for 2021. They are offering a 2021 pass for $200. The WDW salute ticket for 4 days is at the $300 mark. Hotels are so-so but at least I can enjoy the parks for much less. Yes the ambience is the game changer, we all know this. But for hitting an amusement park, and only having expectations of it being an amusement park, Universal wins. For all around enjoyment and relaxation, WDW always wins.
Just got back last night from our first trip to Universal. Stayed at Portofino for 4 nights, 5 days in the park. Portofino was great, but not as immaculate as I expected. It showed signs of wear. Beautiful 10 minute walk or boat ride to parks. Club room access was EASILY worth the $100 extra per night to save $ on food. It also gave our family of 4 an area to “hang out”. Having Express passes in the park was essential as most every ride had lines over 1 hour. I can’t imagine going without them. 2-3 days in the parks is plenty… we were a bit bored by day 4. Some rides / areas are Fantastic like Harry Potter, but some are really, really outdated. I really disliked the screen rides of Spiderman and Transformers. The Mummy and the Forbidden Journey were better. Universal really, really needs to do away with screens. Hagrid’s motorbike, Gringotts, and the train ride are awesome. All 4 versions of Butterbeer are fantastic! (don’t forget to try Pumpkin Fizz) . I think the hot was my favorite, but wouldn’t be as good on a hot day. City Walk doesn’t hold a candlestick to Disney Springs. Really surprised how small it was. Volcano Bay was clean and nice, but nothing special compared to most any well known waterpark.
Overall, we had a great time, but doubt I’ll ever go back. Glad they’re pushing Disney.
Appreciate your report. Is your group roller coaster types if you will? Any additional scoop on club level and why you thought the hotel wasn’t up to snuff is appreciated. TIA
What is an express pass? How do you get one?
We split time during our last trip – 2 days at Disney and 2 at Universal. Honestly, I was kind of bored at Universal very quickly while I could have spent 2 weeks at Disney. The main reason we split our trip was so our daughter could see / experience the Harry Potter section of the parks or we would have stayed at Disney the whole time. As I joked with our daughter, “my heart isn’t big enough for Disney and Universal”… Bottom line, I’m more of Disney. Would I go back to Universal, sure but not at the expense of time at Disney.
We have never been to Universal. The kids have mentioned interest in the past, but it’s a long drive and I didn’t want to bother. Our next Florida trip will be going to Universal 2 weeks, Disney one week. Reasons: 1. Being stuck at home with covid gives me more time to check out Universal and found out about the Portofino Bay hotel that’s based on Italy theme. I would love to stay at a hotel with Italy theme! The Disney Riviera was promising, but turned out to be a nothing. And it seems cheaper than a Disney Deluxe. 2. Found out that the Universal Season pass is less than half of the Disney 10 day pass, so we can stay 2 weeks at Universal and go to the parks every day for half the cost of Disney pass. 3. Portofino is within walking distance of parks, and has a beautiful walk with water view just for it. I love beautiful walks, and would stay there for that reason alone. 4. There is no Magic Express, and I have to figure out getting there anyway, so might as as get to Universal first. 5. We’ve done Disney for 10 years, so Universal might be new and interesting, and by staying at Portofino we’ll have the all around fastpass for free and not have to worry about such nonsense as getting to DHS early and hope to win the RotR lottery, which I find insulting, having to fight against people who aren’t even staying on site. I’m used to having perks for staying on property.
I would highly recommend you DO NOT do Universal for two weeks. Not because it doesn’t live up to Disney, but simply because it’s much more compact and it’s easier to accomplish a lot of things in a shorter amount of time. Most people are unlikely to need more than three or four days. Even one week is far too much time there, especially since you will be receiving Universal Express as a guest of Portofino Bay.
That being said, you might consider expanding to some of the other attractions in the Orlando area, such as Sea World (I highly recommend their Discovery Cove limited admission park), Legoland (if age appropriate for your kids), Busch Gardens in Tampa, Gatorland, or venture outside of parks and head to things like Kennedy Space Center. There are a lot of worthy options out there other than Disney, but Universal by itself will likely struggle to fill one week, let alone two.
Totally agree with Will. I love Universal but there’s no way I could do a full week there, let alone two. It’s very different from Walt Disney World (when that’s firing on all cylinders). Now, if your plan is to use Portofino as your home base while exploring Central Florida, that’s a totally different story.
Jelly! But I have to agree with Tom and Will. Two weeks at Universal is too much Universal. And like Tom and Will, I think even a week might be too long for us. We go for three days after a week at Disney. I could probably do 5 days if we were going to add in Volcano Bay (which we intend to do as we are going in May next time opposed to our usual early December vacay) You can get three park passes that include Volcano Bay. Also, you still need to go early IMO. You get early entry because you are staying at a Universal Hotel so make use of that time to explore the Harry Potter lands before the MASSIVE crowds gather and to either do Hagrid’s in the stand-by line in the early morning and/or be ready to grab a virtual queue for Hagrid’s. (assuming you are into Harry Potter of course – which we definitely are)
I am a Huge Unviersal Fan and will chose it over Disney 10 out of 10 times, but two weeks its a little too much for Unviersal.
Two days on each park will give you more than enough from the “park area” (plus maybe one day in Volcano Bay), and a day of strolling through the restaurants/shops/mini gofl, etc will likely be all you need. Night life is a lot more lively than in the Disney Area, so that might be an dditional thing to consider but a week should be about it.
I would say its the same for Disney (a week is MORE than enough), but I know some people differ there for reasons I still find strange hehehe
Do not be discouraged by the “two weeks is too much” crowd! First of all – don’t get up early, ever, since you’ll have the skip the line pass. Secondly – plan to spend two days at Harry Potter. (If you are not a HP fan, read the books before you go.) You’ll need two days to find all the magic (definitely buy the magic wands, or buy them beforehand from ebay), including the unmarked places, and see all the shows. The rides are worth MULTIPLE times – especially the ride in the castle. Also, go through the castle line super slowly at least once to catch all the details of the story they tell in the castle. It is so worth it.
After two days at HP, take a day “off” and explore City Walk – lots of cool stuff for teens. In pre-pandemic times, this could eat up every evening, but I don’t know if some things are closed.
As for the rest of the rides – we rode every ride and saw every show in both parks and it took us two full, long, open-to-close days. Exhausting. Spread it out to four days by sleeping in every day. Then do your favorites again. Next week – repeat, plus some time to explore other places within driving distance.
You will love it. I wish I could be there for two weeks!
I had to chime in 2 weeks at Universal.
If you use the resort as your home base and check out other things while there for 2 weeks, then I think it is definitely doable.
We always stay at RPR, and love it. I thought I read somewhere while there that Universal has free shuttles to and from sea world and busch gardens? I don’t think I’m making this up?
If that’s true, you could check these out. We Love Sea World too, but haven’t been to busch gardens for years.
I think it could work out as a very relaxing type of trip., with some side trips included. Remember, it is a big place to navigate. We could have spent much more time at HP area which is awesome and definitely worth the extra time spent there. Knockturn alley is creepy and fun.
We spent more time on the Studios side and we missed out on alot at IOA because we thought it was a just a “kids” park. Can’t wait to go back and see it all again.
Hope you enjoy your two weeks at Universal. We like it but 2-3 days max for us. Could not imagine how to fill 2 weeks, but that is our family. Last time we went our daughter and daughter in law only had a week, not 10 days like the rest of us, so they put on their running shoes, got to Universal when it opened, left when it closed and did most things, some HP things twice. The rest did 2 days and did everything they wanted, many twice. WDW we spend a good 8 solid/full days at the parks and always could have spent more time.
We were the same with DL 2 days Max-but no longer go there, too far to travel for to be there for a few days.
My family and our friends have normally stayed in Disney and rented a car to go to Universal for two days. We love both Universal and Disney for different reasons (our travel group is all over 21). Disney was prime because of Magical Express and food has been better at Disney – more places to eat and usually free dining. With Magical express being dropped, we may very well split our stay between Universal and Disney. I will still want to see both – love the Disney bubble AND Harry Potter… We are going to wait until 2022 to go so everything should settle down by then… Meanwhile, I can read your blog and save your pictures to use as wallpaper on my desktop!!
We took the plunge and did a trip to Universal in 2019 after going to WDW every year since 2000. My daughters really wanted to see all the Harry Potter stuff so I booked a six night stay and crossed my fingers. Well, we fell in love with Universal. I definitely don’t think we would have enjoyed it as much when my daughters were little, but now that they are young teenagers, they are really into it and can do all the rides. We ended up buying annual passes last Novemeber. We still love Disney, but there are a few ways that we feel Universal is superior:
– Resorts – We tend to go value/moderate at Disney. The three resorts we stayed at at Universal (Dockside, Surfside, and Cabana Bay) are far superior than the Disney hotels and far cheaper. Most are interior rooms, they are more spacious, and they have more amenities. We are booked at Royal Pacific for our next trip and can’t wait to use the Express Pass that comes with it.
– Transportation – We always drive to the Disney parks because the bus transportation just takes too long. We have had very few issues with transportation at Universal – the buses just keep coming.
– Compact Size – Getting around at Universal is so easy. Hopping between the two parks takes minutes as opposed to an hour plus at WDW. I also love being able to walk to CityWalk for lunch.
– Volcano Bay – First, this is an amazing water park! My girls love water parks, but adding the waterpark option to WDW tickets is cost-prohibitive for us most years so we were rarely able to visit when we went to WDW. The three park passes for Universal are much more cost efficient for us. When we stated at Cabana Bay, we could walk to Volcano Bay and use the special entrance. We would go over for a couple of hours after being in the theme parks, and it made for a really great, relaxing trip.
– Harry Potter – Universal truly knocked it out of the park with this. Both Hogsmeade and Diagonal Alley are spectacular, and the rides are fantastic. Gringott’s and Hagrid’s are our favorites. Hagrid’s is probably my favorite theme park ride ever.
– Cost – I don’t mean to harp on price, but we are a family on a budget. Universal is just a lot more affordable for us than WDW at this point. WDW has consistently increased prices while cutting so much that made our trips worthwhile.
– Stress – Universal is just a much less stressful trip for us. We don’t have to plan our meals 60 days in advance or fight for fastpasses. I can actually enjoy the parks without running around because I have a reservation I need to keep.
Once again, we still love Disney, but Universal is worth checking out.
Everything Crispy said is bang-on; and your assessment, Tom, is, too. We did a split stay at Portofino February/winter vacation this year and loved Universal. We’re doing another split stay next February, this time at Hard Rock to try it out. We only did resort stays at our DVC February to relax and enjoy the resorts — which we did — but with no APs, it’s too darn expensive to keep doing day tickets to WDW for less entertainment. Next February may be another resort-only stay and hit Universal hard again with their significantly cheaper APs we bought that are good for 15 months. Can’t wait to try Volcano Bay!
Great analysis–thanks for sharing your thorough thoughts! 🙂
In the last 3 years, I’ve done a few trips to Universal, none to WDW. Though I previously did WDW lots, and will be back this summer.
There are MANY things to prefer about Universal:
– Lines tend to be shorter, and can mostly be bypassed with an Express Pass, which is a good value if you stay at a deluxe resort and get it included
– The thrill rides tend to be more thrilling
– Between the Express Pass and the entire system, you don’t need to do nearly as much planning. Dining options are plentiful same day, no reserving dining months in advance.
– Two parks and their “downtown” area are all connected and walkable to each other. You don’t need a “Disney Springs day” — You can walk out of Universal Studios at lunch time, eat lunch in their downtown City Walk, and then walk right into Islands of Adventure.
Where things get more opinionated: Theming and “magic”
Disney used to be the clear winner here. Look at the Transformers ride, where the building is just a big warehouse. Or the lame theming of Universal’s version of Splash Mountain. And the Marvel thrill rides — the Hulk coaster may be a thrilling roller coaster, but the “theme” is just being green.
And Universal is way too dependent on simulator rides.
But The Wizarding World of Harry Potter — It actually surpasses pretty much everything at Disney. Pandora and Galaxy’s Edge are both great, but they still don’t rise to the level of Wizarding World.
I’m a little confused – if you have not been to Disney World in three years, you have not yet seen Galaxy’s Edge – are you just basing your judgement on what you’ve seen online?
Yes, I’ll judge for myself in a few months. But what I’ve seen online, heard from friends.
But here is what I know objectively:
WWoHP occupies 2 parks, with themed transportation between it.
Galaxy’s Edge is 2 attractions, 1 of which is a premium attraction (but you can’t even experience unless you are have lightening fast fingers at 7 am).
WWOHP is 5 attractions, 3 of which are premium attractions
So when I was saying they don’t rise to the level of Wizarding World — I was talking objectively about size and scope. A world that connects 2 theme parks, 5 attractions, compared to a corner of 1 park and 2 attractions.
Galaxy’s Edge is phenomenal, not the same size as Wizarding World of course, but the quality is easily at the same level.
Pandora is even better (and I’m a Star Wars fan, and I hate Avatar, but Pandora is just such a nice place to be).
Wizarding world being across two parks is actually a big negative for me. It just comes across as a cheap way to get more money out of people.
We went to Universal a few years back and had a poor experience (crowds and low quality theming were big negatives for us). I thought maybe we didn’t give it a fair shot and tried again last week. Nope, still not great. Wizarding World is very good, and if the rest of Universal rose to this level we would likely go back, but the rest of the parks are big letdown for us. It really comes down to what Tom pointed out above. The Disney parks are just a nicer place to be. That’s not important to everyone of course, but for us it’s huge. It’ll be long time before we try Universal again.
Wizarding World being split between 2 parks is certainly a play for more money. But it also fits absolutely perfectly with the theme and story telling.
Universal Studios has a London section. Go through a hidden brick alley, and you’re suddenly in Daigon Alley!
And want to go to Hogwarts?
Just like the books and movie… You don’t get there from Daigon Alley. You go to King’s Cross Station in London… and board a train to take you to Hogsmeade!
So spreading it out between multiple sections of multiple parks fits completely perfectly with the story telling.
Yes, I agree with you, the rest of the parks don’t hold up nearly as well. Outside of Wizarding World, I prefer 90% of Disney attractions and theming over 90% of Universal theming and attractions.
I went to Disney in October. Was my 21st visit, and 1st since Covid. This time stayed at Caribbean beach resort due to wanting to utilize sky cars. Trip cost the same. Disney stripped so many of the things that made it magical and efficient. Without fast pass, we only did 4 rides a day, and even found ourselves taking Uber due to minimal transportation. I just came back from Universal, and they got it right! Didn’t wait more than 10 min. For any given ride with Express Pass. Universal already sent me a review request, as I was eager to fill out. Disney, for the 1st time, never did. Won’t be doing Disney anytime soon. Feel ripped off tbh.
Mark Akers
I have been to WDW many times (recently mostly with the military salute tix) and to Universal twice when they had the very cheap 7-day park-hopper, I think it was (doing a week at 5-day trip to WDW at the same time and bouncing between parks). In fact, it was at Universal that I found my love for roller coasters at 50+ years of age!. Both times at Universal, though, I noticed a distinct difference between its employees and those at WDW; the Universal employees just didn’t appear to be enjoying their job as much. Also, Universal managed to mess up reservations twice, once is scheduling the return of the rental car before the end of our week there, and the other by horrid food under the meal plan. I will say, though, in both cases, they exhibited great customer service and treated us to our choice of sit-down restaurants in their City Walk area; in fact, I remember the first time being greeted by name at the restaurant, telling us they were expecting us and anything that was on the menu was for us! I have a personal respect for any business that takes responsibility for its mistakes, and Universal sure did, but then, they made mistakes that WDW never has. (COVID kept me from going to WDW and Disneyland this year, so I am looking forward to next year!)
I have to agree that all the employees I’ve encountered at Universal – while perfectly competent – seemed to be doing a Job. At Disney, I felt like they actually enjoyed being there. Could be due to pay and benefit differences, or maybe Disney makes people pretend harder?