5 nights - too much time?

[jeepgirl30]

Just booked our first universal vacation, 6 days/5 nights. Really just 5 days as we fly in and out early mornings.

Is this too much time? We are staying at RPR. Kids are DD11 and DS9. Both love thrill rides although DS is a little one so nothing over 48 inches for him! I did get the 2 park tickets with wet and wild option. So i plan to do that for one day.

Everything I'm reading seems to say 2 days at the parks is plenty. Now I'm nervous there isn't enough to do. I don't have the budget to add disney tickets too.

I'm planning to spend afternoons at the resort so the kids can enjoy the pool and maybe hit the HRH pool an afternoon too.

Did i make a mistake? Is there really not enough at the parks to go back?

 

[jeepgirl30]

Just booked our first universal vacation, 6 days/5 nights. Really just 5 days as we fly in and out early mornings. We are going early May.

Is this too much time? We are staying at RPR. Kids are DD11 and DS9. Both love thrill rides although DS is a little one so nothing over 48 inches for him! I did get the 2 park tickets with wet and wild option. So i plan to do that for one day.

Everything I'm reading seems to say 2 days at the parks is plenty. Now I'm nervous there isn't enough to do. I don't have the budget to add disney tickets too.

I'm planning to spend afternoons at the resort so the kids can enjoy the pool and maybe hit the HRH pool an afternoon too.

Did i make a mistake? Is there really not enough at the parks to go back?

 

[rwdavis2]

5 full days is pushing it. Going to the pools can take up some time but aren't you going to actually be in the parks instead of the hotel swimming pools? But if they like the water park then that can take up a day.

A trip to Universal is, to me, not nearly so exhasting as a trip to WDW so we stay in the parks until the close or we've seen everything.

This year were are going for 3 full days which gives us enough time to do both parks and to use the third day to fill in what we missed the first 2.

I agree on a split trip. Just the extra tickets to either park makes it pretty expensive. We do one or the other.

 

[bumbershoot]

We were at Portofino from the 10th through the 16th and it was lovely. Went to the parks each day, swam a few times, relaxed...it was very nice.

When you don't have to worry about lines, and you have a nice amount of time, you can really EXPLORE. You can see all the little things Universal has in the parks and really appreciate them. We spent about 2 hours in the Jurassic Park discovery center, and DS got to name the "baby raptor" that was "hatched" in front of us (and he got a certificate, too). He got to "see" through a dinosaur's eyes. He got to learn what he might look like if his DNA was mixed with a dinosaur's DNA (they just morph your face into a dinosaur face, but he really believed they had gotten his DNA). People with the one and two day trips probably don't get to do all of that!

Relax, explore, have FUN. And swim in the daytime; we kept swimming after dark, and in Feb that's not the MOST warm experience.

 

[cbsnyber1]

We did six days at Uni in 2009 and are doing four this October. We did visit some family for part of one day, and we did do the Mickey Christmas party at MK one evening, but other than that it was all at Universal - and we could have stayed longer.

You can take your time, sleep in every day since you have front of the line, ride favorite rides over and over, take in Blue Man Group (highly recommend), play the new mini golf courses, take in all the shows (the horror makeup show is funny and interesting, for one), swim and relax at the resort, spend a lot of time at City Walk shopping or just wandering around, soak in the hot tubs in the evening, eat at different restaurants all over the place, plus you have the water park for a day - you can make five full days without too much effort. Don't forget that you can pool hop among the three resorts - never did it myself but it would be fun to try someday.

We did all that (except the mini golf) and the character breakfast one morning, and we never were bored.

Look at it this way - one full day each park (three days), one day to go back and revisit your favorites, half day to shop, half day at the resort pool - there's five right there.

 

[macraven]

gee, sitting here thinking will i have enough time in my 9 nights 10 day stay at the onsite hotel at the darkside.


i thoroughly enjoy a long stay onsite.

i do a lot at city walk, the parks, pools, hard ticket events and the 3 hotels.

i don't have to be concerned that if i blow an entire evening at city walk will i have time to do other things later in the week.


your vacation is how you make it.

i like to make mine relaxing and stress free.

my darkside stay is more than just being in the parks.

 

[Senator Tressel]

I've done a week at Universal. Especially being at RPR, it is not at all too long. It is a much more leisurely vacation and you will not be bored. If you don't want to repeat anything in the parks, yes it's too much time, but I can't imagine that.

 

[jeepgirl30]

Ok thanks all I feel much better! My family will be happy not going commando and will enjoy a more relaxed pace

 

[RMulieri]

Relax..5 nights is fine.We just did 5 nights /4 full park days with our 8 yr old, who didn't make some of the height requirements and is a fairly unadventurous rider.SHE HAD A BLAST Really.We did have plenty of time to take it all in, relax poolside and have a very pleasant,relaxing vacation and still see it all.We did each park over 2 days ..It was great! My 8 yr old had so much fun, she asked to go back to Unviersal INSTEAD of Disney this year.So we are.Now I just need to decide if I want to go in December or in Jan again

 

[macraven]

it won't be a problem.

btw, i answered this question in your other thread:


http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2889214

 

[Metro West]

I'm going to merge this thread with the other thread on the same subject.

 

[Brian Noble]

No worries. My family did a week-long stay last February. Most of that time was spent at UO/IOA, with maybe a day at Sea World. We're "nook-and-cranny/smell-the-roses" types; we like to really explore a park. They were not bored, for sure.

 

[blackjack68]

Our scenario matches yours exactly.

We went in January with our kids 11 and 9 and spent 6 days/5 nights at Royal Pacific. We had the 4-day park-to-park passes and it was great.

First day, we checked into the hotel. Swam at Royal Pacific and then boated over to Portofino Bay to use their pool since it has a water slide (Hard Rock does too but it was being repaired that week) and the kids loved it. Went to City Walk for dinner and by the time we left there we were all kind of worn out from the day of travel and swimming.

2nd day - we did Universal Studios and hit all of the rides we wanted but missed a few shows...we'd hit them again another day.

3rd day - got up early and did the Early Entry to Wizarding World of Harry Potter doing Ollivander's first and then onto the Forbidden Journey ride. Did the other rides and explored the shops in WWoHP and by that time the public was coming into WWoHP and we left to explore the rest of the park. Ate dinner at City Walk and then went back to hotel for "dive-in" movie by the pool. (They have this every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday night.)

4th day - Woke up late and went to Gatorland as a surprise for the 9 year old boy. Lots of little shows including up close encounters, gator wrestling and gator jumping shows. For an extra $5 each my son and I went inside the gates and fed several gators including a 13 footer! Went back to hotel and to Margaritaville at City Walk to see a performer we know on the deck (Porch of Indecision)

5th day - park hopping to hit all of our favorites and catch up with some of the shows we missed the first days at each park. Some happy hour swimming at the hotel.

6th day - last visit to the parks to buy souveniers and a few last rides and then off to the airport.

 

[hayleyp]

Our family (DH, DS10, DS10, DD8 and myself) goes for a week every yr and we absolutely love every minute.

We have always stayed at HRH and spend a few hrs at the pool everyday. There is always a lot going on (water slide, music, volley ball, games & activities, dive in movies, etc) to keep everyone happy. I also love to lounge on the beach, but usually the only one in the family to actually sit down.

We also like to take our time in the parks, at City Walk, and just spending quaility time together (my favorite part). There is truely something for everyone and you can always find countless things to do.

Like most, our family is normally so busy with all the chaos of everyday life that it is amazing to just slow down, really talk & listen, laugh, and not rush. There is just something so special about Universal.

 

[reelmom]

gee, sitting here thinking will i have enough time in my 9 nights 10 day stay at the onsite hotel at the darkside.


i thoroughly enjoy a long stay onsite.

i do a lot at city walk, the parks, pools, hard ticket events and the 3 hotels.

i don't have to be concerned that if i blow an entire evening at city walk will i have time to do other things later in the week.


your vacation is how you make it.

i like to make mine relaxing and stress free.

my darkside stay is more than just being in the parks.

Glad to hear this. We will be down there from May 27-June 8. Staying onsite(first time) for 4 nights at the beginning of our trip. I figured we will have more than enough time but I am looking forward to taking our time and really enjoying ourselves. We might do SW or Disney for one day. We will try out the new mini golf and maybe do Blue Man Group.

 

[Zim]

We were down there this past Fall for a 4-night 5-day Universal trip. It was our first time not doing everything in 2 days. It was nice and leisurely, by the last day we were basically just hitting repeat shows and looking for characters.

However, we went during a colder season, so water areas were out and that could take a good chunk of a hot day at Universal for the kids. And we've been there a lot so if this is your first visit, you'll want a lot more exploration time than we need.

We also took their complimentary shuttle (you need to sign up for it the night before) to do a day in Sea World. I highly recommend that experience.

PS - take the time to arrange the character breakfast at Confisco Grille... the best character dining experience EVER (blows Disney away, IMHO)

 

[ky07]

We have done 7 days several times over the years and have found there is plenty to do and have done it staying onsite and offsite .
I would say relax and enjoy your vacation and by staying onsite you can take breaks during the day and do the parks later in the day when its less crowded

 

[Karpkg]

One thing I really enjoyed was character autograph hunting. I do this in Disney, and the kids had a blast doing this in Universal. Character hunting does take time and it helped to extend that vacation. I made up my own autograph pages with a character I hoped to see and brought colored sharpies. With Berlioz' site stickey-ed at the top of the forum, you can see the list of characters that will be there.

This was my chance to get the Marvel characters, as well as Dr. Seuss, Shrek, the Simpsons, as well as the oldies but goodies like Marilyn Monroe and Betty Boop. Shaggy, etc.

With the amount of time you're spending this would be a great feature to do on your trip and have great scrapbooking and pics to remember. I tend to associate US and IOA with just rides but this part of my trip helps me to make my time with the darkside a much more richer experience.

 

[mjohnson96]

We usually spend 5 or more nights, this year I can only do 4 and so we are just doing 3 days at the park and 1 day at DC.

We love how relaxed it is there, DH loves going to Universal and will just tolerate WDW for me and the kids.

The character hunting sounds good I might do that for DD who will be a little older. She was the one who got to pick this time either WDW or US and she went with US this trip.

 

[hugastar]

The last 5 spring breaks, we had done Disney for 8-11 days each time, and enjoying every moment of our vacation in an extremely relaxing way. We've never been to the early park openings, instead we took our times getting ready in the morning, eating breakfast, going for an occasional swim at the hotel pool, and getting to the parks between 10am and 1 pm. In the parks, we walk and stop and look at things, we sit on the banch and eat our snacks, and we don't run from an attraction to an attraction. We have the time to do things twice, three times, or even four times, as it was the case with my daughter and Goofy's Barnstorming Rollercoaster. We ended up going on that ride 4 times in a row, in one day. We've never park hopped, and in the length of our vacation we've always ended up seeing everything. We love character meals, dinner shows, and mini golf and especially the waterparks, which are a must for our kids.

In a week we'll be going to Universal for the first time. We'll be there 10 days, and we can't wait. We're planning on purchasing the orlando flex ticket and and doing it all in our relaxing/lazy way.