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Disney World Tips and Tricks

BacktoBack said:
Aren't you in Asheville?
I suspect you know this. But just in case - they're starting direct allegiant flights to Orlando this summer. And my wife has taken allegiant a few times to Sanford airport with no troubles. It's crazy cheap.
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And now that Disney cut the Magical Express no need to always fly into MCO.

We usually stay in one of the All Star resorts, or Swan & Dolphin if on property. That said, you can save a bunch just staying in a condo off property and taking an uber to the resorts.
 
The Disney Springs concept seems to be working. We were there on Wednesday to grab dinner and Salt and Straw. The line from the Grapefruit lot across the street took 10 minutes just to walk in. There were long lines for several stores and restaurants.
 
PhDeac said:
The Disney Springs concept seems to be working. We were there on Wednesday to grab dinner and Salt and Straw. The line from the Grapefruit lot across the street took 10 minutes just to walk in. There were long lines for several stores and restaurants.
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Uggh. I hated that place when we there in the spring. Our resort had a boat ride to Disney Springs so we figured it was worth a shot. It was not worth a shot lol. Must not be for the olds like me
 
I love Disney Springs. Good restaurants and good bars. The crowds can be rough sometimes.
 
BacktoBack said:
It was definitely a crowd issue for us. It was a zoo. Just not worth the effort
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Weren't you there during Spring Break? That's the only time I've ever felt overwhelmed by the crowds there.

Most empty I ever saw it (non Covid reopenening) was Thanksgiving week one year. Managed to hit all 4 parks in one day because we never spent any time in lines.
 
My wife and I went to Disney/Universal on October 20-23rd in 2011 (Th-Su, third weekend of Oct) and it was super chill, we hardly waited in line at all, plus the weather was perfect. Is that still a good time to go?
 
Liquid Karma said:
Weren't you there during Spring Break? That's the only time I've ever felt overwhelmed by the crowds there.

Most empty I ever saw it (non Covid reopenening) was Thanksgiving week one year. Managed to hit all 4 parks in one day because we never spent any time in lines.
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Our SB was not the typical Easter week last year. Though still busy. Parks were busy but manageable. Disney Springs was just too packed. I get that most people aren't bothered by that. But I think after being at a park all day I wasn't up for more herds. Like I don't want to wait in line just to shop at the Lego store.
#olds
 
We may have discussed this already, but is it feasible to fly in on a Thursday afternoon, hit up both Universal Parks on a Friday and Saturday, then fly back out on Sunday, or do I need to devote more time? This is just gonna be a trip for me and the 8yo, and she's absolutely insane about Harry Potter.
 
mako1331 said:
We may have discussed this already, but is it feasible to fly in on a Thursday afternoon, hit up both Universal Parks on a Friday and Saturday, then fly back out on Sunday, or do I need to devote more time? This is just gonna be a trip for me and the 8yo, and she's absolutely insane about Harry Potter.
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I think you could make that work. Two days is plenty for Universal, especially if you're spending most of your time in HP world.
 
Yes. Completely doable. I recommend staying at the Endless Summer Resort. It's affordable and on-property with bus service to the parks.
 
I always stay on site for Disney because of the convenience and early access time as well as the whole fun theming aspect, but last time my wife and I went to Universal, granted around 5 years ago, we Ubered pretty easily to the park from our hotel. Is it worth staying on property if I can stay for free relatively close for next to no Hilton points?
 
mako1331 said:
We may have discussed this already, but is it feasible to fly in on a Thursday afternoon, hit up both Universal Parks on a Friday and Saturday, then fly back out on Sunday, or do I need to devote more time? This is just gonna be a trip for me and the 8yo, and she's absolutely insane about Harry Potter.
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I've done this exact itinerary almost. Fly in Friday evening, do parks Saturday and Sunday. Fly home late Sunday.
 
mako1331 said:
I always stay on site for Disney because of the convenience and early access time as well as the whole fun theming aspect, but last time my wife and I went to Universal, granted around 5 years ago, we Ubered pretty easily to the park from our hotel. Is it worth staying on property if I can stay for free relatively close for next to no Hilton points?
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There isn't much advantage IMO unless you stay in the elite resorts with the free express pass stuff.
 
mako1331 said:
I always stay on site for Disney because of the convenience and early access time as well as the whole fun theming aspect, but last time my wife and I went to Universal, granted around 5 years ago, we Ubered pretty easily to the park from our hotel. Is it worth staying on property if I can stay for free relatively close for next to no Hilton points?
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If you can stay at one of the hotels that gives you fastpass it's awesome, you're both super close AND you get a great value w/ the unlimited fastpass because that lets you skip past the poors on so many rides. (I'm assuming this is still built into the hotel stay, tbh, PH probably knows if it has changed at all in the last year or two)
 
Liquid Karma said:
There isn't much advantage IMO unless you stay in the elite resorts with the free express pass stuff.
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Yeah, from where I'm looking to book it seems that the fast pass is only gonna add 60 bucks a day for the two of us and the premium resorts are pretty damn pricey, especially compared to free.
 
mako1331 said:
Yeah, from where I'm looking to book it seems that the fast pass is only gonna add 60 bucks a day for the two of us and the premium resorts are pretty damn pricey, especially compared to free.
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Consider unlimited vs regular (if you think you would ride some rides more than once in a day, especially stuff like the HP train that moves you between the two HP lands, it's tricky/kind of annoying without the unlimited fastpass)

But yeah, the hotel deal tends to help a lot more w/ a bigger family of 4 since that's giving you 4 express unlimited passes for the price of the hotel stay.

Do the non-premiere universal hotels also give early park access too? That's super nice for getting in and knocking out some non-express pass stuff before the big crowds arrive.
 
Depending on when you go you really don't need the express pass. The 2nd half of this month is low traffic for example.
 
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