Dreading Disneyworld -any tips?

[peebles32]

Not my thing but we have promised the kids for years! They will be 13 and 9. Do we still need to do Disney at that age or just Universal?
I hate crowds, hate queuing and hate noise.
Would like to stop somewhere quietish within half an hour of the park but with some stuff to do? I think we will go for Airbnb rather than a hotel. We will be going first two weeks of April.
Any tips??

Our family still loved Disney World at those ages. Plan carefully, avoid the middle of the day (we went home or to a water park for a break)

Is there any flexibility on when you can go? April is their busiest time of year. Could you go end 9f August/September or in October instead. I would do disney too but I quite like theme parks. If you don't want to do theme parks for the whole time I would spend 4-5 days doing universal and then spend the rest of the time by the coast.

There is a widespread misconception that Disney is only for children, which I've never understood. The magic and fantasy really is for all ages, and there's plenty to occupy everyone. That said, if you are after wilder rides, then Universal is the place to go (Disney has LOTS of rides but, generally, they tend to be calmer with a few notable exceptions).

This only relates to Disney ..

As a pp says, I'm afraid April really is very busy. For quieter times avoid the main holiday periods, but April/Easter can be mad. We've done it a few times and you will find crowds I'm afraid. There are various Disney apps to, in effect, queue jump, but you will pay for the privilege (Disney plus etc). If you really can't cope with crowds then you could focus on a non-Disney hotel (The Groves maybe which is close to one side of WDW) or a villa? Self contained apartments (Lake Buena Vista has a few like the Sheraton - again easy distance to WDW)? You could do things like Fantasia Golf which is usually quieter or Winter/Summer golf? Go to the shows (Muppets, Bug's Life etc) which are sit down affairs so can't be overcrowded. If you go to the parks go early .... they get busy in the middle of the day. Go back to your accommodation for a swim etc and then return to the parks later if you want, but avoid fireworks if you hate crowds. Fireworks can be easily seen from nearby hotels or the boat that goes to the TTC if you want to see the Magic Kingdom ones. Also avoid anything specifically aimed at an event, ie Easter. They can be busy too.

At 13 and 9 I think your DC are a perfect age to love it.

We stayed at the dolphin and walked to Epcot or studios. Could go for half days then somewhere nice to eat at the hotels for lunch.

One day we did a monorail bar/lounge crawl and went on boat to wilderness lodge for lunch. Was relaxing!

I'm a bit like you but I also dob't go big rides. We're going first two weeks of April as well and I have finally decided on a hotel (at Universal). I'm am now playing bingo with websites but have found s 10% offer on Attraction Tickets. Our DD is 12 and we've (well, I've) been putting it off - it's now or never!

Easter is spring break time so pretty much as busy as it gets bar New Year

what do your kids like

the parks are hugely spread out but I would say villa sounds best for you

Easter is the end of March this year so things should be quietening off the second week you’re there. It will still be busy and full of Brits but the Easter weekend is the time to really avoid.

Head over to the DIBB forums for some advice about busy days and how to make the best of it. Wild horses wouldn’t make me go back in August. The heat and the humidity were far too much.

This website sells the cheapest Universal tickets. It's £300/person for 14 days of unlimited access of the two main parks:

Universal Orlando 2-Park Explorer | Unlimited Park to Park Access (orlandoattractions.com)

The week before I found this website I unfortunately bought from another website (Undercover Tourist) a 3 day ticket for the same price. Would have much preferred the unlimited deal!

Attraction Tickets does 3 Universal parks for two so including Volcano Bay for just a tiny bit more. 14 days for 7.

I'd stay at a Disney resort so you can easily pop back in the middle of the day to get a break. The Disney resorts themselves are just so convenient and take out so much of the hassle. But the queue jumper if you're there in April.

We're now looking 1-5 April Disney area
6-12 April Universal area

The prices drop from 6 April as that's when spring break finishes. Means we can move to a posher hotel for a better price.

Floridatix currently have the 3 park pass for £1,213 vs orlandoattracrions who have the 2 park pass for £1,186. Both 14 days unlimited visits based on 3 adults and 1 child.

So depends on if Volcano Bay is important to you. The queues for Volcano Bay sound horrific! I went with the Discovery Cove / Aquatica instead.

Attraction Tickets has the 3x Universal park pass (14 days) for £327 adult/child. It's the cheapest I can find. They also have 10% off code (Tenoff) for hotel bookings and hotel/ticket bookings.

I'm looking at their Disney/Universal combo tickets at £847 adult/child 14 days. We have 10 full days to play with but one will be at Kennedy space centre.

I am also finding them cheap for certain hotels - as well as British Airways.

I'm going mad trying to decide on hotels and tickets.

I forgot I put this thread on! Thanks for all the suggestions.

They will enjoy some parts of WDW but will probably prefer Universal at their ages. Also consider postponing a year as the new Universal Epic park opens 2025 (see YT).

Def Disney!! My sons 13 and absolutely loves it!! All the parks have attractions for all ages! HS and AK have the scarier rides (Tower of Terror, Rockn Rollacoaster, Mt Everest) and for 9 theres a load!

Do universal. Better queuing system now, so not such awful long waits. Be aware though that the journey to the ride is part of the experience and usually very entertaining. For example , the Mayan pyramid in Mexico in Disney Epcot to wait for the Three Amigos ride is fabulous. Likewise the ride in Hogwarts Castle in Universal involves walking past the greenhouses with Madame Pomphrey's plants then through the castle with amazing speaking portraits, the Fat Lady included, and seeing Harry etc in 3D in the potions classroom.