A universal newbie..

[carolfoy]

We're thinking about going to US/IOA for a couple of days during our fortnight at WDw in september/october. Have never even looked at either park '*** we're so in love with Disney :love:
Could you give me some opinions as to what not to miss if I list our favourite things at WDW, i.e. no big coasters '*** we get sick! but we do love Big Thunder.
anyway
our faves...
Big Thunder
Splash
Philharmagic
Buzz
Pirates
Small world
Great movie ride
Fantasmic (in fact all the shows/parades)
Dinosaur
Spaceship Earth
Test track

see - no tower of terror, rock n roller coaster and still undecided on everest

[Sylvester McBean]

see - no tower of terror, rock n roller coaster and still undecided on everest

if you can do big thunder, you can do expedition everest. seriously.

as far as the other UO attractions, just avoid The Hulk and Dueling Dragons. the other attractions are just as diverse as your WDW favorites.

[carolfoy]

Thanks, and yes we probably will do everest but I'll wait til we're there to decide for sure (I'm a big wuss!)

[mickey mouse]

Universal Parks are Great!

Don't miss ET!

[mickeymousemommy]

We totally love Jaws, The Cat in the Hat, the entire Jurassic Park area, Spiderman, well all of it! We like to go on Men In Black and then see who got the highest score. We usually do this one over and over trying to be the best! The parks are a lot of fun! Very different from Disney, but great fun.

[carolfoy]

I can see from your piccies that you're big disney fans so thanks for that advice (cute kids by the way)

[goofie4goofy]

Are you planning on staying at a Universal hotel too? Universal is about a 30 minute drive from WDW.

We love Universal as much as WDW but for different reasons. We find USO to be much more relaxing. There is not as much walking as the parks are smaller, but concentreated with FUN! Even if you don't like big coasters, you will have a blast. There is so much to see and do. Did you go to their website? www.universalstudios.com you can get a pre view of all the attractions.


Just a hint: Don't let the Hulk coaster scare you. I know it looks monstrous and intimidating, but it is actually one of the smoothest coolest coasters ever. If you are feeling adventerous and want to go on 1 coaster, this would be my pick. It is a steel rail type coaster so there is not bumpy or shakey, just a smooth ride. Another must do is Revenge of the Mummy, it's more of a show than a coaster....and it's indoors. If you can ride Dinosaur, you can ride the Mummy...no flips.

[Scottish-Helen]

Hi Carol, glad to see you're getting adventurous :thumbsup2 Universal is completely different to Disney and it's best not to compare the 2 as they are very different but very well done.

We usually visit at least twice on any visit. Hubby doesn't like rollercoasters but will go on most other things.


At Universal Studios you have,

ET, I absolutely love this, it's so cute
Men In Black, like Buzz Lightyear on steroids (I actually don't really like Buzz because it was a let down after MIB)
Shrek 4D
Jaws (a classic Universal ride)
The Mummy (ok so it's a thrill ride but you don't go upside down)
Earthquake is another classic (and quite realistic too... Did I ever tell you about the time I was in an earthquake in the Dom Rep? :rolleyes1 )

I don't personally care for Back to the Future as I find you get bashed about a bit in the car but lots of people really like it.

The above would be my favourites in the park but there are other show type attractions too.

IOA is probably better if you like your thrill rides but everybody should try the Spiderman ride at least once as the effects are the best on any ride I've been on.

Cat In the Hat and the Seuss Landing area is great.

There are also a lot of rides where you will get absolutely soaked so we aleays take a change of clothes with us.

[goofie4goofy]

There's plenty of rides in IOA.

Spiderman is great....son't be scared, just remember it is just a big 3 D movie. It is great!

There is Ripshaw Falls...lots of fun...you may or may not get wet depending where you sit in the flume.

Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barge...Very fun and the potential to get totally soaked. We usually make this the last ride before going back to the room.

Jurassic Park River Adventure...If you can do SpalshMountain you will love this ride

Posideon's Fury is also great....if you have little ones they might get scared. It get's pitch black and there is thunder and lightning. This is a great attraction.

You will also love walking thru the different "lands" it is just one giant circle (actually both parks are) so you can't get lost and you will not miss anything.

Don't forget Shrek 3-D in the Studios and Twister Ride it out. Twister isn't really a ride, it's more of a scene.

Theres also plenty of entertainment going on in the 2 parks during the day

you will really enjoy USO.