Universal Orlando vs Disney World : Which is the best for you ?

Walt Disney World Resort

Walt Disney World in Orlando includes 4 theme parks, a water park and an entertainment complex:

• Magic Kingdom
• Hollywood Studios
• Epcot
• Animal Kingdom
• Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
• Disney Springs

Magic Kingdom is the world’s most popular and visited theme park, with 17 million visitors a year.

What other Disney parks are there around the world? See them in this article on the various Disney theme parks.

Universal Orlando Resort

Universal Orlando Resort in Orlando includes 3 theme parks, a water park and an entertainment complex:

• Islands of Adventure
• Universal Studios Florida
• Universal Epic Universe
• Volcano Bay (water park)
• CityWalk (entertainment complex)

Islands of Adventure is one of Universal Orlando Resort’s most visited parks, with around 11 million visitors a year. It also ranks among the most visited theme parks in the world.

The third park, Universal Epic Universe, opened on May 22, 2025. It is the first major theme park to open in Orlando in 25 years. It brings together five worlds: Celestial Park, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk and Dark Universe.

All these parks have major differences.

Numbers aside, which is the best park to visit between Walt Disney World vs Universal Studios Orlando?

The price difference between Disney vs Universal

Ticket prices at Disney World and Universal Studios Florida depend on the park and the date of your visit. The more popular the date, the higher the ticket price.

Here’s the basic cost of a one-day park ticket at Disney World and Universal Orlando, for a person over 10 years old:

Here is the cost of a ticket for two or more parks per day at Disney World and Universal Orlando, for a person over 10 years old:

To avoid waiting lines, here are the additional options to be added to the price of each ticket:

For both parks, the more days added to the package, the lower the cost per day.

Disney and Universal often offer special deals and vacation packages, especially during less busy periods. In fact, Disney regularly brings back its popular meal plan (Disney Dining Plan), sometimes offered free with select packages during quieter periods.

Since transactions are in foreign currencies, we recommend you one of the 4 cards with no conversion fees in Canada. This avoids the 2.5% surcharge that most credit cards add for each of these transactions.

Is it cheaper at Disney World or Universal Studios Florida?

In general, Universal Orlando is less expensive, both for tickets and for food and souvenirs.

For example, here is a ballpark of the costs for a 3-night, 2-day stay during a spring break week at a Resort-affiliated Value hotel, tickets included (for illustration only, prices vary by date):

At Universal Orlando, a stay at one of the three Premium Hotels (the Royal Pacific Resort, Hard Rock Hotel and Portofino Bay Hotel) includes an Unlimited Express Pass for all room occupants. This can be very profitable and more than offsets the cost of the room.

What’s more, guests of these hotels and those who have purchased their tickets through a travel agent can enter the park an hour before anyone else. The equivalent at Disney World is 30 minutes before the rope drop.

Tickets for special seasonal events (like Halloween) also cost less at Universal Orlando.

To lighten the bill with points, Disney gift cards can be purchased in Canada before visiting Disney parks in the United States.

Unfortunately, there is no Universal gift card available in stores across Canada.

Which characters are at Disney World and Universal Orlando?

Depending on your interests, the choice between the two parks will depend on the characters you want to see, your childhood memories and nostalgia :

Best park for young children and families

Disney World has the magic touch for the whole family, from young to old.

Universal Orlando’s parks, on the other hand, appeal to an older clientele, as they have many more rides with a minimum height requirement. This may prevent access for several young children.

On many popular rides at Universal Orlando, a child must be at least 102 centimeters (40 inches) tall to enter.

Best park for best rides

Disney World has the incredible Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, TRON, Avatar Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest, Space Mountain and Aerosmith Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster.

Disney parks have a great capacity to create an immersive and magical experience.

Universal Orlando makes us scream with its Incredible Hulk, Jurassic Park Velocicoaster, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey and Revenge of the Mummy rides.

At Universal, there are plenty of thrill-seeking roller coasters and 3D simulators.

You can also marvel at almost touching the Millennium Falcon at Disney World or walk throughHogsmeade like Harry Potter at Universal Orlando.

Best food park

In both parks, there are as many fast-food restaurants with fried food as there are elegant, distinguished restaurants.

Each offers a variety of restaurants with unique themes, providing an interesting culinary experience.

In fact, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival takes place every year for around 4 months. It’s a great opportunity to sample many of the world’s most renowned cuisines, all in one place.

The best theme park restaurant is at Universal Orlando, with Mythos. For a Butterbeer from the world of Harry Potter, it’s also only available at Universal Orlando.

At Disney World, the best are the pineapple Dole Whip ice cream and the huge Turkey Leg are classics. The best restaurant in all 4 parks is Takumi-Tei, for its experience and refined service.

Best park with waiting in the shade

Universal Orlando has the most rides where the queue is sheltered or indoors.

Personally, I found it much easier to tolerate 35 degrees in full sun at Universal Orlando than a cloudy 30 degrees in the middle of August at Disney World.

Best park with locker system

Universal Orlando is the most demanding in terms of putting personal belongings in a locker before boarding a ride. This is free of charge, but the lockers may be too small for a larger backpack.

In fact, security to enter the Hulk ride is particularly tight, with a metal detector at the entrance. Due to the nature of the ride, this is necessary to avoid injuring people on the ride and passers-by walking underneath.

At Disney World, the only ride that works like this is for TRON. The locker is large enough for a backpack.

In both parks, the entrance ticket (and MagicBand for Disney World) is required to open the locker.

Best park for planning and crowd calendar

Walt Disney World has a much heavier mental burden to manage.

Organizing vacations, with the Lightning Lane Multi Pass to buy each day, reservations to manage ahead of time, the Lightning Lane Single Pass to pay for on certain rides, MagicBand+ to be linked, the obligation to go to the 2nd park of the day only after 2 p.m., restaurant reservations up to 60 days in advance, knowing the means of transport to travel between the four parks, or the virtual queue (Virtual Queue) at a set time on some mornings, requires complex gymnastics.

At Universal Orlando, there’s no need to rush through all these steps before and during the day of your visit.

To plan the least crowded days in both parks, consult the Undercover Tourist calendar (crowd calendar).

Best park for atmosphere

The Disney parks have a magical, fairytale, family atmosphere. Customer service is excellent, the premises are impeccable and they have a very sharp eye for detail. The most magical park is Magic Kingdom, and the family photo in front of Cinderella’s famous castle is a classic.

Universal Studios parks have a more modern, mature and urban feel. They’re all about action, adrenalin and more intense experiences.

Best park for Halloween

From August 1 each year, pumpkins and Halloween decorations take over the Disney parks, especially Magic Kingdom.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Disney features parades, fireworks and encounters with costumed characters.

Universal Studios is famous for its scary haunted houses and Halloween Horror Nights. You’ll be able to enjoy terrifying experiences in professional settings, so you can live Halloween to the fullest. So professional that they look extremely real! This may be too intense for young children or sensitive people.

Best park for Christmas

Both parks are transformed into winter wonderlands over Christmas. Everything is so dazzling with illuminations, giant Christmas trees and glittering decorations.

At Universal Studios, you can extend the Christmas spirit by visiting the spectacular The Wizarding World of Harry Potter section, with its winter decorations, fireworks and shows.

Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party is celebrated every year in November and December. Parades, decorations and special events are grandiose.

Best entertainment complex

Disney Springs is the larger of the two, and also hosts a Cirque du Soleil show.

CityWalk is smaller, but home to a multitude of exciting restaurants and boutiques.

But since it’s free to get in, you might as well do both if you can!

Magic Kindgom or Harry Potter?

So… who’s the winner between Universal vs Disney?

For those accompanying young children or multi-generational groups, Walt Disney World is much more accommodating. They also have more opportunities for entertainment with parades, shows and fireworks in the evening.

While thrill-seekers and those looking for a simple day out will be very happy at Universal Orlando. The biggest Harry Potter fans will have no choice but to go to Universal Orlando to drink a wonderful Butterbeer to get the adrenalin flowing between two rides.

That said, anyone can easily find something to suit them with these two complementary parks.

Read on for our articles on all things Disney:

Whichever park you choose, pay your tickets and foreign-currency spending with a no-FX-fee card. To compare every option, see our page on the best credit cards.

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Disney vs Universal – Frequently asked questions