First time in 12 years

[latexscooter]

Myself, DH and DD9 will be going Feb. 2 to 9. The last time DH and I went was 2001 on our honeymoon. We'll be staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and have a car. Is there any advice and counsel you can give? It's been so long I don't think there's anything left that I can recall. My favorite ride then was King Kong and I know that's long gone. Here's are some other questions to spur your thinking.
Do you think the crowds will be manageable?
What are your personal don't miss attractions? (I know that's subjective but that's what I'm looking for...the passion!)
Best dinner, snacks that you can think of?
Quirky experiences to keep in mind?

Thanks for the help!

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[mesaboy2]

Originally Posted by latexscooter

Myself, DH and DD9 will be going Feb. 2 to 9. The last time DH and I went was 2001 on our honeymoon. We'll be staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek and have a car. Is there any advice and counsel you can give? It's been so long I don't think there's anything left that I can recall. My favorite ride then was King Kong and I know that's long gone. Here's are some other questions to spur your thinking.
Do you think the crowds will be manageable?
What are your personal don't miss attractions? (I know that's subjective but that's what I'm looking for...the passion!)
Best dinner, snacks that you can think of?
Quirky experiences to keep in mind?

Thanks for the help!

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Crowds shouldn't be bad at all that week.

My family's faves are Mummy, Hulk, Forbidden Journey, Spiderman, and Cat in the Hat. Haven't done Despicable Me yet, but I expect that would be on our list too.

Don't have any strong opinions on your other questions, sorry.

[macraven]

read up on what is in the parks and their locations at:

www.universalorlando.com

and read some of the threads in the forum (main forum and trip reports) to get an idea of what others found to be entertaining.


there are things that i would never miss in the parks.
what i truly enjoy, others might not.

[BrinkofSunshine]

I think the crowds will be very manageable, and it will still (hopefully) be cool down here in FL so it's a great time to visit!

I'm very passionate about Universal, and I have favorite attractions at both parks. At Islands of Adventure I pretty much love everything. The stand-outs for me are: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Spider-Man, Hulk, Dragon Challenge and Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. The only thing I don't particularly care for is Poseidon's Fury, but some people enjoy it. On the Studios side, I love Revenge of the Mummy, Men in Black, Rip Ride Rockit and Despicable Me.

Don't miss the Superstar Parade and the nighttime Cinematic Spectacular lagoon show, both at the Studios.

Many people on here love Mythos (sit-down). I haven't eaten there in a long time so I can't comment on the food, but I've been inside recently and it is magnificently themed. Definitely a memorable setting! At Universal If my group wants to sit and eat a real meal we go to Finnegan's, and As for snacks, I love Butterbeer and the strawberry peanut butter ice cream served in the Wizarding World. The Three Broomsticks restaurant also makes for a great quick service meal for lunch or dinner.

CityWalk has some great options for dining as well. My personal favorites are Margaritaville and Hard Rock Cafe.

As for quirky experiences, the talking fountain in The Lost Continent at IOA is hilarious. He talks to guests, squirts water at them, etc. I haven't stopped to watch him in a while, but as a kid I just loved it. At the Studios there's the Horror Make-Up Show which I think is not to be missed. I've seen it so many times and it just does not get old for me.

If you have any specific questions let me know, I'd be happy to help

[excited4disney2012]

Originally Posted by BrinkofSunshine

I think the crowds will be very manageable, and it will still (hopefully) be cool down here in FL so it's a great time to visit!

I'm very passionate about Universal, and I have favorite attractions at both parks. At Islands of Adventure I pretty much love everything. The stand-outs for me are: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Spider-Man, Hulk, Dragon Challenge and Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. The only thing I don't particularly care for is Poseidon's Fury, but some people enjoy it. On the Studios side, I love Revenge of the Mummy, Men in Black, Rip Ride Rockit and Despicable Me.

Don't miss the Superstar Parade and the nighttime Cinematic Spectacular lagoon show, both at the Studios.

Many people on here love Mythos (sit-down). I haven't eaten there in a long time so I can't comment on the food, but I've been inside recently and it is magnificently themed. Definitely a memorable setting! At Universal If my group wants to sit and eat a real meal we go to Finnegan's, and As for snacks, I love Butterbeer and the strawberry peanut butter ice cream served in the Wizarding World. The Three Broomsticks restaurant also makes for a great quick service meal for lunch or dinner.

CityWalk has some great options for dining as well. My personal favorites are Margaritaville and Hard Rock Cafe.

As for quirky experiences, the talking fountain in The Lost Continent at IOA is hilarious. He talks to guests, squirts water at them, etc. I haven't stopped to watch him in a while, but as a kid I just loved it. At the Studios there's the Horror Make-Up Show which I think is not to be missed. I've seen it so many times and it just does not get old for me.

If you have any specific questions let me know, I'd be happy to help

Thanks! You actually helped me out alot, too!

[latexscooter]

Thank you so much for the help! I showed DD the responses and now he's super excited too. We're taking two vacations to Orlando next year and spending a week at Universal and then a couple months later a week at Disney. I kept wanting to sprinkle some Disney days during our Universal trip but I don't think I'm going to need to.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

[Planogirl]

Originally Posted by latexscooter

Thank you so much for the help! I showed DD the responses and now he's super excited too. We're taking two vacations to Orlando next year and spending a week at Universal and then a couple months later a week at Disney. I kept wanting to sprinkle some Disney days during our Universal trip but I don't think I'm going to need to.

I'M SO EXCITED!!!

Are you flying? Finding decent flights out of Texas seems to be a challenge nowadays.

If you have a week, you should have plenty of time to take it slow and just enjoy it. Get to Harry Potter and Despicable Me early, try some places at Citywalk and take in the little things too. We enjoy Confiscos, Mythos and Thunder Falls Terrace in IOA but don't have as many favorites in the Studios so we usually just walk over to Citywalk. It's nice to have it all so close together.

[latexscooter]

For this trip we'll be driving from Houston. We tried driving a few years ago and loved it. For our WDW in June we're flying. I'm still waiting for June dates to open up on SW to book.

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[idgy]

We had a great dinner at Mamma Dallas at Portifino on our last night. We also love Sales also at portfino. We always eat at Sales as soon as we get there. The pizza is very good.

Our favs--mummy,MiB, Simpsons,animal actors show, horror make up show, hulk, Spidey, Dr doom, Forbidden journey, all 3 "wet" rides, and cat in the hat.

I recommend the photo connect deal. I have an AP so we did the $40 deal (all pictures from the Rides can be downloaded) We ended up with 60 photos. Great deal and lots of fun!

[latexscooter]

Originally Posted by idgy

I recommend the photo connect deal. I have an AP so we did the $40 deal (all pictures from the Rides can be downloaded) We ended up with 60 photos. Great deal and lots of fun!

I didn't realize they had something like that. Is it just for AP or can anyone purchase? Do you know how I order one?

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