1st time

[diskidz]

My family and I will be going to Universal Studios and IOA in Feb. for the first time. My children are 14 and 11. They like the adventure rides. Any suggestions as to what to do first? How about where to eat? We are not staying on property and I'm not sure if we should go 1 day or 2. Also, do they have something like the fastpass that Disney has? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[Poohbug]

I would plan on two days-then you will have time to ride and also time to eat at the great restaurants.

I think the food at US/IOA is much better than at Disney and the prices are better also. My favorites are Margaritaville, Nascar Cafe and Bubba Gumps. However, I have not visited many of the restaurants and have heard great things about Mythos. Other places I want to try are Finnegans and Louies.

If you are visiting during high season then you can get Front of the line access(FOTL). You will have to pay for it or stay onsite to get it. If it is not a super busy time then I would not worry about lines-they are usually very reasonable. In Feb. I would not get FOTL as lines are not usually an issue then.

There are many rides your kids(and you) will love. For the roller coaster fan there is Hulk, Dueling Dragons, Rip Ride Rocket, and Mummy. I would not miss Spiderman, Simpsons, MIB, Jurrasic park river ride. You really should be able to get everything you want done.

 

[Metro West]

My family and I will be going to Universal Studios and IOA in Feb. for the first time. My children are 14 and 11. They like the adventure rides. Any suggestions as to what to do first? How about where to eat? We are not staying on property and I'm not sure if we should go 1 day or 2. Also, do they have something like the fastpass that Disney has? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

February is historically slow so I doubt you would need Express passes for that time but you should still plan on two days. Universal does have their own version of FastPass but it's a pay pass that's only good for one time through each participating attraction unless you stay onsite or purchase the VIP Express tickets which include unlimited Express access.

As far as eating at the Studios...I would strongly recommend Louie's (counter service) and Finnegan's (sit down service)...both are excellent and good values. At IOA, I would recommend Mythos (sit down) and Thunder Falls Terrace (counter)...I enjoy both restaurants and you would not be disappointed.

You won't need to plan too carefully for Universal...just pick a park and do what you want to do. Both parks are located beside each other so it's easy to park hop w/o needing transportation.

 

[diskidz]

Thanks for responding. I'm so use the planning for a WDW, that it will probably be nice just to kind of go into the park and enjoy the non-planning of it. It would be great if the lines are short.
Thanks again and Happy New Year!