Disney or Universal?

I made my first trip to Disney land when I was 6 (1957) and I've been a Disney fan since Walt Disney's Wonderful word of Color came on TV in Black and White.

I would go and spend my time at Disney, except for one day at Universal Studios. My wife and I love Epcot, but we also had a wonderful time at the Animal Kingdom. We only spent one day at the Animal Kingdom and left for Epcot before the Animal Kingdom Park closed.

One of the things we did with our kids was to give them watches and set a time to meet them back at a certain place at a certain time for lunch and dinner. We had 8 kids and they got along well so we paired the older ones up and turned them loose. We had fun. They had fun. The older two took the youngest two with them until noon. Then they were off on their own with a brother or sister. At 14 and 17 they should do fine going off by themselves.

If you like gardening, be sure to go on the "Behind the Scenes" gardening tour at Epcot. It was fascinating. It often sells out for a day or two in advance. Book a date and time as soon as you get there.

We went to Universal studios to attend their luau. It was wonderful. It was even better than the luaus(several) we went to in Hawaii. I would recommend you do the luau if at all possible.

Hope you have lots of fun. Good luck to you and yours.

Universal definetely!

Rides are more adventurous and more geared towards older kids.

For teenagers I would have to say Universal Studios and you will Love having the express passes. Also, check with the park or on the website if Universal Studios resort guests get in early or get to stay later - similar to Disney's Extra Magic Hours. Have fun!

Universal for older kids.

We have season passes to Disney so we go often. However being the thrill hound my son (7) and I are we LOVE universal! We go there once every few months and he never gets tired of it. BTW city walk has some great shows too! Like Blue Man group. And awesome restaurants.

We have been to all 4 Disney parks, both water parks and both Universal parks and for your kids with their age they will probably have more fun at the Universal parks. My kids are 7 (just turned) and almost 13 and teen love Universal for the rides!!! My youngest just isn't tall enough to do all the stuff at Universal yet.

As adults, my hubby and I like all the parks because we like the rides and we like watching our kids have fun.

Good park info for Disney is www.allears.net. You can learn which rides do fast passes at each park and how their system works.

Have fun!
S. in FL

I think this is a question you should ask your kids.

I disagree with the others. I've always preferred Disney over Universal. I liked Disney as a child, as a teenager, and I still prefer Disney as a mom in her thirties. I grew up in southern California so I've had access to both; when my parents asked which I preferred, I always chose Disney. I've also been to the parks in Orlando and they're different than the ones here, but generally, Disney parks are cleaner, has more rides, lots more see and do. One major downside is that Disney costs more.

They are very different parks. Disney is my favorite. One day at Universal would be enough.

From what I hear, Universal all the way for those ages and skip Disney. I've been to Universal and it's very cool and kind of like Disney in the sense of lots of characters, themed stuff etc. It's just for older kids. And of course the rides are way more thrilling. With a 17 year old, I'd be hesitant to spend much time at Disney.

Another vote for Universal.

My kids have been to both...they only keep talking about Universal. They have no desire to go back to Disney. They love the movie themed atmosphere...and how movies are made...the themes songs. We actually all really love it and can't wait to go back.

Have a great trip...whatever the choice turns out to be!!

My husband & I love both, you can't really compare them to each other. Disney has more shows & attractions, Universal tends to have more "big kid" rides.

@ the Universal Islands of Adventure, you will find the Harry Potter exhibits. The Forbidden Journey ride (inside Hogwarts castle) is like actually riding on a broom! Here's an important tip - go into the line for single riders... you may not ride on the same car as others in your group, but your wait will be less than 15 minutes, vs. almost an hour in the normal line. My husband & I rode the ride 3x in a row because it was so quick!

@ the Universal Studios, the Horror Make Up Show is well worth it, audience interaction & hilarious for any age.

Disney has too many favorites to mention, but we did Animal Kingdom for the 1st time last year & really enjoyed the safari. Get your tickets ahead of time & then show up for your time spot, makes it nice to avoid lines. There's also a mountain roller coaster - not as thrilling as Universal, but it was a lot of fun!

Best advice I got, which I will pass on to you - check out all the parks online... make a list of things you MUST see, & things you want to see if there is time. Then, hit each park once, & on the extra days, go back to the parks that you didn't get to explore enough, or that are worth a repeat.

Enjoy! T.

For teens definitely Universal but since there is so much walking to be done there doesn't seem to be enough time in your vacation to see all of the parks and activities in that time frame. I've only ever been able to do at max 2 parks, 2 days in a row and then a day off in the middle.

All I can say is I'm a little jealous and looking forward to my turn towards getting back to Orlando with my family.

Have so much fun.