I've got 6 days...

[Dallas_Lady]

How would you divide the time between Disney and Universal? One day for each of the parks? (we aren't doing water parks). Double up on some, remove others? Our son and daughter will be 10 & 12 and we've done WDW multiple times.

 

[MikeNamez]

Depends on where your staying. Universal Premier hotels have built in unlimited fast passes which would make a big difference.

Me personally 3 days at WDW first and then 3 Days at Universal. Universal is much more relaxed so I ALWAYS end with that.

 

[SarahWeasley]

My default would be 4 days WDW, 2 days Uni, but if WDW is more old-hat to you and you don't think you'd need as much time there, 3 days at Universal is better than 2.

 

[bchbetha]

My default would be 4 days WDW, 2 days Uni, but if WDW is more old-hat to you and you don't think you'd need as much time there, 3 days at Universal is better than 2.

Totally agree. I might even skew 4/2 and just hit the 2 must do Disney parks.

 

[wookiebeck]

We do separate trips for WDW and Uni. This is due to the price drop over a multi-day trip. If you bought 4-day Disney and 2-day Uni tix, and compare to just one 6-day WDW trip, voila, cheaper. The next year (or two) after, book a Universal trip. With the three parks and onsite entertainment, we have spent as many as 10 days there. That is just me, though. Your own vacation plans and monetary decisions may vary.

 

[Darcy03231]

Personally, I like at least 3 days for US/IOA. One day for each park and then a 3rd day to hit anything we missed ore re-ride favorites. I also do US/IOA at the end of the trip if we're staying on-site. It's a much more relaxed way to spend our vacation.

Having said that, if your family is still gung-ho about WDW, I would do 4 days at WDW and 2 at US/IOA. My family is pretty much Disney'd-out so we tend to spend more time at US/IOA.

 

[Dallas_Lady]

Depends on where your staying. Universal Premier hotels have built in unlimited fast passes which would make a big difference.

We've got an offsite condo and will have our own car.

 

[MikeNamez]

We've got an offsite condo and will have our own car.

I would do three days then. With unlimited fast pass you would could easily get on all of the rides and view most shows in two days. Three will make it so don't need to rush or if something you really want to do has a long wait you can plan day 3 around that.

 

[skylock]

I agree, 3 days without express pass would be a must to do it all.

Be sure to get the universal app for your phone. It will show wait times so you can head towards to lower wait times.

Also, some of the rides have single rider lines which will be faster.

 

[EveDallas]

I'd do six days at Universal, but that's probably not the answer you're looking for. At least three days at Universal is needed to really experience the parks.

 

[bobbie68]

Hi I when we use to do a split with the two we did 3 at Uni and 4 at DW over 4 years ago. Today we usually only do Uni vacations but if I were to split it I would do my two definite DW parks and 4 days at Uni. I love the relaxed feeling I get at Uni. The teens are older now and find Uni much more their speed.

Good luck!

 

[chicagoshannon]

For me it would depend on when you're going. You could easily see everything at Universal/IOA and reride some rides in 2 days at certain times of the year, even without express pass. If it's a busy time you'd want 3 days probably. Whatever you decide make sure to get park to park passes so you can ride the Harry Potter train!

 

[cbsnyber1]

I'd do six days at Universal, but that's probably not the answer you're looking for. At least three days at Universal is needed to really experience the parks.

I'd do 5 days, 23 hours at Universal. Take an hour to drive down to Disney, past the entrance, then back to Universal. At least you could say you were "in the neighborhood".

On a practical note, we did 6 days at Universal on one trip, with a Thursday afternoon/evening attending Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Gave the uninitiated in our party a taste of the Mouse, with the majority of the trip relaxing at Uni. Pretty sweet.

 

[Spaceace5150]

I enjoyed taking a break from Disney and just doing Universal at a slower pace for a week. Used the 2 + 2 free day tickets and didn't spend all days in the park and more time at the pool.