Disneyland really made me appreciate walking distance. Even though there are a million things to do in Walt Disney World, getting on a bus to get to most of them requires more planning. Disneyland itself was even within walking distance of our off-site hotel, then once we got there we could walk to anything on property. Universal is similar in this regard if you're staying at one of their hotels, and even if you drive you can walk to anything on property once you've parked.

I didn't write about this in the article, but in 2004 I had one day at Universal and one day at the Magic Kingdom and personally I enjoyed the Magic Kingdom more. We rode just about every ride in IOA plus a couple in Universal, and we managed to ride the major rides in MK (it was just before New Year's and both were absolutely packed). At IOA we rode Popeye's river rapid ride 3 times in a row because we had done most of the rides already. I had similar experiences at Universal in the past where halfway through the day we were pretty much done with the park and we were just hanging around and re-riding things. It's more difficult to spend a day in the Magic Kingdom and ride everything. Of course, the other side of this is the Magic Kingdom requires more planning to determine which rides to ride in a day. So yes, I can see Universal being more laid back.

Value is really what you want to get out of what you spend. If you want to ride thrill rides all day, Universal is the place to go. The Hulk coaster is one of my favorites. And yes, next time I'm in Orlando I definitely plan on going to see Harry Potter. But it will probably be one day out of a week or more at Walt Disney World.

As an AP to both, I found I was still more drawn to UO (Universal Orlando) than I was to Disney. The walking distance makes a huge difference. It means that we can do more in a day without having to move the car or wait for the buses which are known for their slowness. I like when we get to UO we are at UO and not still just in the parking lot. We can be in the parks within 7 minutes of parking. Also, having the movie theater right there makes it nice to take a break when the heat of the day is on and go cool off for a couple of hours.

UO also offers some major discounts for AP that Disney didn't. (I know this is about one day tickets, but I had to throw that in there.)

Having worked at UO by choose (I got an offer from Disney, but turned it down so I wouldn't kill the magic for myself) I would TOTALLY choose DISNEY for the team members. That does make a huge difference, even though I think that 'Disney Difference' is declining.

The other thing we have found is that Disney makes a much better “vacation” than a one day. Disney seems to be more stressful as a day outing. UO is a GREAT one day thing for us (and we have enjoyed our vacations in the hotels – including our honeymoon and anniversary). But when we “go to Disney the right way” (with the hotel, dining plan, and tickets) we really enjoy ourselves.