How many days do I plan?

[KellyN1017]

How many days do you need to do the two main parks? Can you do both in one day or do they each need their own?

 

[Delaney14]

I think they each need their own.

 

[Traver Freeman]

We are headed to Universal for the first time in forever (15+ years for me, never for my wife) and we are doing both in a single day just because we don't have time for more if we want to see everything at WDW that we have planned.

We have the Express Pass and a list of about 6-8 rides that are must Do's and everything else is not necessary. We just want to enjoy Harry Potter in both parks and a few select rides, mostly all in the Harry Potter and Jurassic Park areas.

 

[KellyN1017]

I am struggling with diving time between WDW and Universal

 

[macraven]

We are headed to Universal for the first time in forever (15+ years for me, never for my wife) and we are doing both in a single day just because we don't have time for more if we want to see everything at WDW that we have planned.

We have the Express Pass and a list of about 6-8 rides that are must Do's and everything else is not necessary. We just want to enjoy Harry Potter in both parks and a few select rides, mostly all in the Harry Potter and Jurassic Park areas.

You have a better chances of being successful if you avoid going on a weekend

 

[J'aime Paris]

How many days do you need to do the two main parks? Can you do both in one day or do they each need their own?

Depends...
Are you going during a busy or slower time of the year?
Are you trying to see it all, or just whatever you can fit into the day?
Will you have EE, or be at the gate as soon as you're able to enter?
Will you have EP, or not?
These factors will all make a big difference in the experience. Myself, I could not do both parks in one day. YMMV...

 

[Traver Freeman]

You have a better chances of being successful if you avoid going on a weekend

We are going on Wednesday, May 5th

 

[debdebdebby13]

I am struggling with diving time between WDW and Universal

We are going next Friday, the 16th through the 21st at Disney, staying at POP and then on Wednesday, the 21st we are moving to Universal, leaving on the 25th for home. We have reservations at Disney parks 17-20 and the 23rd, we plan on Uber-ing back to Disney on the 23rd and spending 21/22/24 at Universal parks. We may not go back to Disney on the 23rd if we got everything done at HS that we wanted to do on the 20th.

 

[Shellyred8]

Depends...
Are you going during a busy or slower time of the year?
Are you trying to see it all, or just whatever you can fit into the day?
Will you have EE, or be at the gate as soon as you're able to enter?
Will you have EP, or not?
These factors will all make a big difference in the experience. Myself, I could not do both parks in one day. YMMV...

Totally agree with this. If you must do all the rides and see everything, I would recommend 2 days. But if you are ok with just doing what you can fit into one day, even if it means missing several big rides, then one day would be ok. Keep in mind that going for one day is going to be fairly expensive. They are like WDW where the one day tickets are the most expensive per day. They get cheaper per day as you add more days.

 

[RamblingMad]

I say 2-3 days to enjoy the parks. It's a lot like DL/DCA.

 

[Calliecat2]

How many days do you need to do the two main parks? Can you do both in one day or do they each need their own?

At least one per day. I think the perfect amount is 3 with the park to park but you often “have to” go 4 or 5 depending on the ticket deals.

 

[AJA]

I'm in the camp of they each need their own day. And if you have a big Harry Potter fan in your group (and you can swing it) then plan 3 days for the two main parks.

 

[policycobb]

I agree one day for each park and then an extra day to go cover what you missed or enjoyed and would like to do again. I also suggest the park to park ticket.

 

[Vacation_Commander]

Honestly, I would book 3 days.
That way, you can have 1 full day at each park, then spend the 3rd day getting to hit the things you couldn't get to on the previous days. Plus, that would leave you with time to ride your favorites again.
We just got back 2 weeks ago and we did 4 days. So we were able to do everything at both parks, plus extra rides on our favorites, then spent part of the day at Volcano Bay.

 

[maverik85]

I think 3 days is perfect for the 2 parks. Depending on crowds each park can easily take their own day to get through everything and be able to do it at a leisurely pace to catch shows or look at merchandise and such. the third day is great to hit anything you missed or re-ride favorite from the 2 parks.

 

[GatorChris]

I vote for 4 days. Do a day at each of the main parks. And because it'll be hot in May, do a whole day at Volcano Bay. I know that may sound crazy to a theme park fan, but it's coming from a theme park fan. Volcano Bay is the best water park I've ever been to. It's awesome to just hang out there all day long. You won't regret it. Then on day 4, head back and hit all the stuff you want to do again. Anything more and the resort will start to bore you. Anything less and you wont' have the time you wish you had at the end of your trip.

 

[Darcy03231]

At a minimum I would say 2 days, one for each park, especially if you're staying on-site at one of the deluxe hotels and have the free express pass. Personally, I like 3-4 as we enjoy a slower pace and the ability to enjoy our resort. I can spend a full week there and not be bored.

 

[macraven]

My trips to UO are an event
Longest stay was 19 days, shortest was 9 days

Meeting up with friends for food and chat sometimes we don’t even get to do rides ...

Some days are total park days while others are early evening meet ups and late night city walk

But if you only want to do rides, onsite dining and see shows, 3 days it can be done if the parks are not full

Summer time and holiday periods are usually when you run into time waits for rides and shows
If you plan to explore all the hotels and dine there, it can take a chunk of time out of your schedule

 

[jimmymc]

With Express Pass I would recommend at least 2 days, since there are a lot of attractions. Without Express, I would try for 3 if you want to ride all the major attractions.