Park Hoppability

Image: aloha75, Flickr (license)

Somewhat related to cost is the park-hopping question. In terms of pure attraction-to-park-hours math, it rarely makes sense to have a park hopping day as the time spent traveling between parks can really eat away and the time you have to ride rides. That ratio, combined with the significantly higher cost of a park hopper pass, generally means park hopping isn’t a great proposition.

However, that’s easy to say when you’re visiting for several days and can see everything you want to in that time. If you’re visiting for just one day, it’s important to be flexible so that you can either hit every attraction you want to or even audible to a different park if the crowds or weather don’t cooperate.

It might seem counter-intuitive, but Disney — thought it has far more theme parks — doesn’t quite make sense as the park hopping destination in this regard. The distance between parks is too vast, and the offerings are different enough that it’s easy to pick one park that truly will keep you entertained all day. The Magic Kingdom and Epcot, specifically, are so vast that they’re nearly impossible to experience fully in a single day. So, you can certainly try and still feel like you’re getting your money’s worth.

Universal, on the other hand, requires you to park hop to fully experience its signature attraction: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Both parks, though packed with interesting rides and shows, still can be accomplished in one day. For that reason, though it’s more expensive, a park hopping ticket really is the only ticket that gives you the full Universal experience.

If you’re someone who needs a bit of variety and is happy paying more for the privilege, Universal is the way to go. If park hopping isn’t something you prioritize, Disney will keep you entertained in the same place for longer.

Crowds

Image: christiantlambert, Flickr (license)

There’s no use dithering or equivocating: Walt Disney World draws more visitors a year than Universal Orlando. In fact, each of the four Orlando Disney parks brought in more guests in 2018 than either of Universal Orlando’s parks. To put an even finer point on it, the Magic Kingdom saw 20,859,000 visitors last year according to the Themed Entertainment Association. Universal Studios Florida — Universal’s most visited park in Orlando — saw just 10,708,000. That’s just over half.

And so, on the surface, it might seem like Disney is way, way more crowded than Universal, right?

Well, it’s more complicated than that. 

Crowds are hard to measure because, at the end of the day, it’s more important that a theme park feels uncrowded than it is that the park actually is uncrowded. As such, parks have a variety of ways to get more guests into their parks but make them feel emptier once they’re in them.

As a general rule of thumb, Disney’s operations strategies, as well as their wider spaces, make their parks feel emptier even if they might have the same number of people in them as Universal’s. For that reason, if you’re visiting at an off-peak time, Disney will likely feel less crowded and keep you moving — even if it’s not really all that much more or less crowded than Universal. At peak times, however, both resorts will be operating at full capacity — and those tricks and strategies won’t be as effective. Thus, going to the park with fewer people, i.e. Universal, makes more sense.

So, in early December, Disney makes more sense. If you’re visiting on Christmas, check out Universal.