I am 23 yr old and going to Disney World in December w/ my fiancee. Is Universal Studios also worth visiting?

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wastingtyme_52

ok i will keep this one short i live in the area universal is worth the time personally alot of resteraunts on city walk weather not so good for water parks but possibly one of the hotel pools as long as it is heated itgs not that it is cold but u get huge temp drops say 7 am low-mid 50s by noon it could be high 70s then when the sun falls it could drop into the 40s or lower so u will notice a change daily if u are going around christmas be careful about crowds at disney it is one of the most busy days of the year i havent stayed at the clarion but remember the area is a tourist meca 99% of the buisnesses know how to treat u with a smile ok have fun and enjoy ur trip

pinkpicklebox

you've got to go to disneys animal kingdom its the best of all parks hotel wise you can rent a house or condo for just as much if not cheaper then a hotel. I rented a 4 bedroom 3 bath room condo with a private pool for 10 day for only $800 . you might wanna look into florida vacation rentals. good luck.

s_black

If you have 7 full days, you can go to the 4 different parks of Disney (1 day per park - Magic Kindom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot & MGM Studio). Then spend 2 days for Universal's 2 parks (1 day at Island of Adventure and 1 day at Universal Studio). For the last day, you can go shopping at the outlet malls. It will definitely worth the trip but I have to say it will be very tiring as there will be a lot of walking.

By the way, in my opinion, December in Orlando is not warm enough for water park.

Anyway, good luck and have tons of fun.

DisneyLover

I have a pretty long opinion, so get ready!
I think you should just focus on Disney World. If you were going for like 10 or 11 days it might be different and then you could have all the time in the world to visit universal.
Disney takes up a lot of time and you're always busy and most of the time on a Disney vacation when you come home you won't have done everything that you wanted. I go to Disney World every spring and it's absolutely magical, no other place in the world could touch it. I have been to Universal/Islands of Adventure too a few times. However its not that impressive and I don't find myself longing to go back. I always long to visit Disney again, as soon as I get home from my Disney vacation I start counting the days until the next one. And the best part? is that I never get tired of Disney. I usually stay around 6 days and I still don't get to do everything I want. lol. The Disney experience is unparalleled. They refer to you as a "Guest" and their employees as "Cast members" or "Imagineers". who else does that? its amazing! I know you didn't ask but I'd like to reccomend some must sees in my opinion.
My Top 10
1)The New Roller Coaster, "Expedition: Everest" at Animal Kingdom is absolutely the best!
2)The 3 mountains in the magic Kingdom(Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Thunder Mountain)
3)The Rock N' Roller Coaster at MGM is amazing! it blares aerosmith in your ear the whole time! yippee!
4)Test Track and Soarin' at EPCOT are the best "thrill rides" at EPCOT because EPCOT doesn't have that many rides but I love visiting the countries.
5)Pirates of the Caribbean at the magic kingdom, they just got done adding Captain Jack Sparrow and Barbossa to the ride!
6)Although it is terribly cliche and maybe annoying, ride its a small world because its cute and fun
7)Fantasmic, the night show at MGM is absolutely amazing! it took my breath away! Be there early to get good seats, it fills up!
8)Downtown Disney, a Disney shopping and dining ecperience. I love the "Rainforest cafe"
9)Blizzard Beach is the most awesome water park in the world! I love it! Especially teamboat springs and the tobaggan racers! Sorry I have no clue if they're open in December. It'll tell you on www.disneyworld.com
10)Dinosaur and Kali River Rapids are 2 more great rides at Animal Kingdom!

As far as shows I would say:
Wishes, a nightly fireworks show at the magic kingdom
Illuminations, a nightly fireworks show at EPCOT
Fantasmic, I cannot stress this enough! Fantasmic!
and Cinderellabration at the Magic Kingdom are among my favorite shows!

also try to catch at least one parade at each of the 4 parks!

It's so awesome that this is your first time! I'm so happy for you and I know you'll have the best time! Have a magical Vacation.

PS-I reccomend doing at least One Character Dining Experience just for fun! they're great! I reccomend a breakfast at Cape May's cafe at Disney's Beach Club or Chef Mickey's at Disney's Contemporary resort!

Have Fun!

Also sorry for appearing to ramble on.

Sarah Deutscher

Well, yea. Sometimes real live movie stars are there. It is real warm in December. But there could be snow. You never know. When your going to Disney World below is some extra info.

Go to these places: (In Disneyworld)
Magic Kingdom
Animal Kingdom
MGM Studios
Epcot
Sports Complex

Go to these hotels: (In Orlando)
Best Western
Clarion
Hilton
The Hilton Family

Go to these restaurants: (In Orlando)
Red Lobster
Chili's
Hard Rock Cafe

Below is some additional information:
10:00am - 10:00pm
Sunday - Saturday

Hope it helps!

Maureen

Universal has some pretty cool rides, but if you are going to Disney, be sure to check out ALL the opportunities there are at Disney world before finding another place to go. They have the Animal Kingdom there now, as well as eco-tourism islands and of course the basics. Just do your research and you'll have a great time!

motts1962

We went to Disney World in December 1996 and spent 11 days there. We had a 5-day pass which also allowed us to go to the water parks as often as we like during our stay. On our off days we went to the resorts (they are great!) and did other Disney stuff like Pleasure Island and Celebration. Even after 11 days we still didn't get to do everything we wanted to do. Why? Two reasons. First, it is really busy around Christmas. But, more importantly, there is just so much to do there! You can easily fill 7 days doing nothing but the parks. BTW, a 7-day pass is about $210 which is only about $20 more than a 4-day pass, so you might as well get the 7-day one. If you do take a day off, be sure to go to the resorts, especially the three on the monorail, The Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Wilderness Lodge. The Boardwalk is seriously romantic! A great place for engaged couples. Also do Downtown Disney and Pleasure Island. Sure, you could do Universal - it's a nice place. But, for my money, Disney is hands-down the better place!

When we went the weather was great but I heard it was pretty unusual for the temps to be that high. It was around 80 most days except Christmas Day which was kinda nice. Good luck! You can write to me if you would like some specifics. I've been there many times!

Guitar_Junkie_

It's the highlight of trip, Universal is freakin cool. Disney sucks unless you 10.

Everyone below is talking about Adventure Island, which is okay, but that's been done before. Universal Studios, the movie based side, is a must see, If you're going to pay 50 bucks for a park, go to the movie park.

leclairro

Deffinately go to universal

Okay, I am going to break this down.

Universal Studios has the two parks now and even though you could probably visit both in one day, I would suggest picking one of the two. If you are interested more in more the traditional theme park rides, such as roller coasters, then I would suggest Universal's Islands of Adventure. If you are more interested in rides associated with movies, then you may prefer Universal. I personally found Islands of Adventure to be more fun since I enjoy riding roller coasters. Universal is worth visiting if you have the time.

Orlando in December is usually warm enough for the water parks, or at least it can be, there have been occasions when the weather does something funny and they get a cold front.

Disney World has all kinds of things to do between their 4 theme parks, all there water parks, Downtown Disney, Pleasure Island, Disney Marketplace, etc. that you could keep busy for the entire 7 days. But, during December the theme parks usually close earlier most nights, and occasionally the crowds are lighter, so you can pack more into one day.

I would suggest that if you have not already done so that you check out some books about Disney and Universal before you go to get some ideas on what you want to do. Every time I make a trip to Disney World, I always get the current of Birnbaum's "Walt Disney World" guide. It gives a listing of the rides are like and lets you know if there is anything else going on in the parks that you may want to know about. I do not have a set book that I use when I go to one of the Universal's, but I usually at least check out their website to see what is going on.

So, to break this down since I got quite "chatty":
1. Universal is worth visiting if you have the time.
2. A couple years ago while I was in Orlando, the weather was warm enough during the early afternoons for the water parks.
3. Unfortunately, I do not know anything about the Clarion Hotel Universal. I usually try to stay in hotels where I can either have a mini refridgerator to keep drinks and snacks or one of the hotel chains that are "suites".

kandii

Yes- Disney id awsome and I've been there 8 times and still LOVE it, US is also great, go to Islands of Adventure if you go( thats part of Universal)

pathetic_club

I went to Universal Studios when i went to disney land and yeah i would say it's worth a visit

I would do it, go to all of the parks. Universal is worth it, but make sure you visit all the DW parks too. I only stay at DW resorts, so can't help you there. But Pop Centry in DW is really nice and not that expensive. I probably wouldn't do the water parks, a bit on the chilly side. Not cold, just chilly. Hope you enjoy your stay and have lots of fun. By the way, Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom is awesome.

Kutekymmee

Universal is good if you like roller coasters, but the park just doesnt have the same magic as Disney. It might be worth one day, but no more than that.

charlottelellis1980

You will love it all, Universal and Disney are brilliant. The waterparks are clean and fun. But also Bush Gardens are good, look for tickets when you are out there and don't forget the night life... enjoy

figment_usa

We enjoyed Universal more than Disney. Hotel suggestion: Hard Rock Hotel. When we went in 2002, if you stayed at one of Universal's hotels, you got "front of the line access." You would show your hotel key and go to the front of the line for the rides. Plus, free transportation from hotel to the park. Not to mention that the Hard Rock Hotel is AWESOME.

roritr2005

I went and did the trip in November for 7 days. It took all of the 7 days to do 5 of the parks. It was too cold for me to do the water parks but I didn't really have the time or energy to do them anyway. I didn't care much for Epcot or the Animal Kingdom but that was based on the ticket I got. Do yourself a favor and get a pass that lets you do more than one park in a day, you will want it after Animal Kingdom. Make sure at Animal Kingdom you see the festival of the Lion King, there are some seriously talented people doing that show. I also would have liked to see Universal but we have one here in CA so I didn't think I would be missing much. However, if you can, go. You will be sick of Disney after about 3 days. Oh and Disneyworld everything is BEYOND EXPENSIVE, this includes food, drinks, any bloody thing you can think of. Hope this helps!!

KATHY W

Hello! You will have a great time there! If you have time also check out Arabian Knights Dinner Theater. I am a home based Travel Agent and that is my favorite. Email me if you need any assistance or have questions. wilcotravel@yahoo.com

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