Anonymous wrote:Omg stay on Disney property and do Magic kingdom, Hollywood studios and Animal Kingdom. Epcot is kind of odd honestly. We just took similar age kids for the first time and it was life changing fun, my oldest ds just told me before bed how much he misses seeing the characters.

Your 15 yo son misses Disney characters? Lol

How many days are you planning? There are benefits to staying on property and the value varies by what time of year you’re going.

Disney - you get to enter the park 30 minutes early and you can prebook lightning lanes.

Universal - you can enter the park an hour early. If you want to get into Epic Universe, their newest park this will be key.

If you plan on switching hotels mid trip, I’d start with Disney since you can pre-book rides and the parks are typically open later than Universal, you can knock out one park on your arrival day and do the second park the next day. Then switch to Universal for the rest of the trip.

For a family of 5, Caribbean Beach Resort is actually your best bet. It gives you skyliner access to Epcot and is cheaper than the suite you’d require at All Stars.

Pop Century >> All Star when it comes to Disney Value hotels.

With those ages I might just do Universal instead. The new park is supposed to be very good. Downside is it is likely to be busy.

Disney's had a dive in quality, unfortunately and the whole reservation system means you have to spend a ton of time on your phone.

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Ideally one day or split days at Magic Kingdom, Universal, Epcot. No SeaWorld or Animal Kingdom.

How many days total? On a shorter trip I would skip Epcot with those ages. Do Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and I personally love Animal Kingdom. One day at Universal is enough if you are park hopping and don’t need to see everything. If you want to see more than Harry Potter you need two days. Agree you can skip Sea World but do not lump Animal Kingdom in with Sea World.

We have been to literally every major park in Orlando (those owned by Disney, Universal, and Sea World), including all of the water parks, so feel free to ask me any follow up questions.

Is it you and your kids, or do you have a spouse/other adult going too?
If there are 5 of you, you would need two rooms at the Disney All Star hotels.
You might also want to check out Coronado Springs (also a Disney hotel) for your dates. Sometimes when I check, Coronado Springs ("the village" outer buildings, not the tower) isn't that much more expensive than All Stars, but it's a much nicer hotel.

Omg stay on Disney property and do Magic kingdom, Hollywood studios and Animal Kingdom. Epcot is kind of odd honestly. We just took similar age kids for the first time and it was life changing fun, my oldest ds just told me before bed how much he misses seeing the characters.

We stayed at all star and it was fine. It’s like a Hilton garden inn. It was nice to get into the parks an hour early. Cheaper to stay out of park obviously.

Anonymous wrote:Will you be going mostly to Disney parks or mostly to universal? The early arrival perk is really helpful.

If you can avoid the all-stars and do the art of animation instead, it’s a way better resort for slightly more money (mostly bc skyliner).

All starts is fine but food is hit or miss.

If just one day I would not stay on property. If multiple days I would. Rent a car if you are not driving and just pay for parking.

Op here. Ideally one day or split days at Magic Kingdom, Universal, Epcot. No SeaWorld or Animal Kingdom.

Will you be going mostly to Disney parks or mostly to universal? The early arrival perk is really helpful.

If you can avoid the all-stars and do the art of animation instead, it’s a way better resort for slightly more money (mostly bc skyliner).

How would you compare the options? What should I know?

Kids are 7, 11, 15 and our first Disney trip. We usually stay at Aloft hotels or boutique hotels.