A little Universal advice?

[Rock'n Robin]

Well after 7 trips on where I won't let the family set foot off of Disney property, I promised DH we could do a few days at Universal next time.
I wanted to ask you guys rather than going to a new board.
Is 2 days enough? Do they have 2 day tickets or is 3 the multi day minimum?
If we stay at Disney but go to Universal a couple of days, will we be waiting forever in line behind the people staying at the universal resorts with front of the line passes? Will that ruin the trip?
Do any of the Universal resorts hold 5? If not, that answers that question (I will NOT get 2 rooms).
Any experiences welcome. This is NOT my idea, but my kids keep hearing about it and the NICK angle, and their dance teacher is going next week and raving about it, and DH wants to ride all those rides based on his favorite movies.
Robin M.

 

[Dan Murphy]

I have an AP for there, usually taking one day out of my WDW trip to take them in, but rushed. Waiting is not bad, but then I go in early December, not sure about other times. And the other questions I have no idea of. It's 2 parks so think of WDW and 2 parks, 2 days. Have you visited the USF/IoA boards here on the DIS. Shoot this link to Barry, he is an expert there.



edited for spelling

 

[stinkerbelle]

what time of year are you going? We (DH and I) went in September last year for a few days...EVERYTHING was walk-on first thing in the morning. (we saw Shrek 4d twice in the morning...by the afternoon, it was PACKED!) "front of the line" access might be nice to have though if you are going during high time (summer)

I think you can buy a 2 day ticket and get 3 days free. It's an awesome deal. Here's a link:
https://tickets.universalstudios.com/USRG/us_store_secure2.jsp?merchant=UO
(if that doesn't work, just go to www.universalstudios.com, click on "parks" then "tickets" and "orlando")

We went for 3 days...1 day was cut short due to me hurting my back, so we missed a few things. I think 3 or 4 days would be perfect. (alternate parks...studios/IOA) We did skip some things - IE, kiddie rides as we have no children - so adding kids to the mix would add more rides to the mix. (We got 'stuck' in the 'Cat in the Hat' ride...and they didn't turn the soundtrack off...I was ready to start gnawing through the lap bar just to get out of there! heheh)

I can't help you with the resort though...we stayed at WDW (check over on the universal board though...they may be able to help)

They have some AMAZING rides there...Spiderman blew me away...it was AMAZING! THought I was gonna hate it, but loved it. Also, the MIB ride (aka - Buzz lightyear for Universal) is fun too!

I wanna go and ride the Mummy ride so bad...but I don't know if we'll be venturing off-site of WDW any time soon.

Have fun!

 

[powellrj]

We are going to Universal for the largest portion of our trip this year. 2 day should be plenty of time to see most of the parks. They sell several different ticket options including an annual pass for around $180, a power pass ( annual pass with blackout dates and no discounts) for around $110 and 5 day both park passes for $95, but there are usually discount available. Check out the Universal boards, there is a wealth of information over there!!!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Are you thrill ride lovers? If so you might want to go for 3 days.

My BF and I are not thrill ride people and when we went the last week of Feb 2004 we felt that 2 days was enough and 3 days was too much.

We bought our tickets through AAA and it was a 5 days for the price of 2 ticket or something like that. I think if you check their website for ticket info you will see that they have deals like that often.

I don't know about the hotels but I'd imagine they can probably accomodate 5 , but it would be crowded.

 

[MAC3]

Take a few days and stay on site it gives you front of the line access (to tell you the truth it's the only reason why we stay there).

It is awesome and buy a 2 day pass you should be able to do both parks in 2 days. The hard rock is a nice place (showing signs of age but still nice just the same). It's not the same as Disney so don't expect that!

My daughter(12) loves the rides there especially Men in Black and the Mummy! If you have an entertainment card (or there is a very nice lady on the Universal board that gives out fan club cards for free). With that you can get the room for about 125.00 a night. It also offers discounts for park passes.

Have fun

 

[Robinrs]

First I'd just like to ask WHY do people have to apologize about going to Universal? Is it like cheating on one's spouse?? (or MOUSE?)

But I digress....

It seems from your countdown that you will be going next summer. Summer is, like most theme parks, very crowded. The "FOTL" perk is like FastPass, those with it go through another area to enter. It is called "Universal Express" and you can get one for free just like FastPass.

The hotels have rooms that DO accommodate five. Check out the Universal Resorts and Hotels board for more information.

Universal is a wonderful place to go to enjoy, like any other travel choice. It's not the Anti-Disney, it's a theme park where people go to have fun. As for the thrill park, there are 3, really 2 1/2 roller coasters at IOA, but since it's what most people see it's all they think the place is about. Spiderman, MIB, Shrek, Jimmy Neutron, all FUN rides that are worth the trip.

Enjoy!

No... I'm NOT biased....

 

[SC Minnie]

If you are going for 2 days stay at least one night on sight. You get front of the line the day you check in as well as the day you check out.

With front of the line you should be able to do everything you want in 2 days. You may miss some things but make a list of the must dos and then fit in others if you have time.

 

[tinaluis]

I agree with the other posters -- if you are going at a peak time, definitely stay onsite for one night, thus giving you two full days of FOTL privileges. US/IOA are awesome theme parks-- I don't think you'll be disappointed. We have had APs for the past 3 years and make a point to get there whenever we can -- and we're coming all the way from Chicago. Have a great trip!

 

[4greatboys]

Universal is great! We always stay there atleast 2 days. They allow 5 ppl in all their rooms though there is really only bedding for 4. We did stay in a deluxe room at HRH one trip and it was wonderful. It has 2 queen beds and a fold out sofa (which was actually fairly confortable). You can get good discounts on the rooms with the Entertainment rate with the Entertainment book or if you have a AP (they give lots of discounts with their AP's).
They have a couple of great coasters Hulk & Dueling Dragons. Spiderman and MIB are very cool rides we love.
You will have a great time at Universal. Just dont try to compare Disney and Universal because they are really different. Just enjoy each for what they are

 

[Patch'sD]

Take the plunge the waters fine. Stay on-site and never stay at a Disney Resort again. No lines, great Service, and Great rates. Two days are enough to see both parks, We stayed five days, had a ball and never got tired of the parks. If you don't stay at the parks, they have express which is just like fastpass, then you can be in the same line as the hotel guests. Portofino rooms are so big that the cot they put in can fit in the room and you would still have plenty of room. Two Queen beds are so comfy you need a step stool to get in them. Bathroom is huge, Deluxe room has a shower and a tub, sinks in the bathroom rather than outside like disney. In fact in Deluxe room cot can fit in the bathroom.
They do sell a two day, two park pass which you can get at the park and get a third day free or online and get the 5 day for 2 day pass.
Have fun and enjoy, don't forget to take your disney blinders off.

 

[Feralpeg]

If you don't want to stay at a Universal hotel, you can still get front of the line passes. They sell them by the book. Each book contains one pass for each of the major rides/shows. The books run about $20 a piece. We bought them last year and it was wonderful. We were there at a very busy time and stood in no lines.

We were at the Studios park the other day. It was wall to wall people. The wait to get into Shrek was 120 minutes. I didn't see a single ride with a wait under 60 minutes. The do have their version of fastpass, but you have to get them early. A word of warning. They only sell so many of the express books a day. By the time we got there (around noon), they were sold out for the day.

 

[TennVolTony]

I was over there Monday and yesterday and I have NEVER....EVER seen them that full!!! Over 2 hour waits on some rides, Shrek and The Mummy were over 2.

 

[Aimeedyan]

2 days was way enough for us, and we are thrill seekers, BUT we had FOTL. Without it, it would have been a push. HOnestly, I think its worth staying one night at Universal to get FOTL. Money worth spent. We had 5 adults, and we simply paid a $25 extra fee for the 5th adult in our room... It was worth every dime to have those 5 roomkeys, I can't praise that feature enough.

We got up, hit hte parks early when it was cool, stayed until lunch, ate lunch, then returned to the pool =) I did everything I wanted to do in those two mornings, but we skipped the water rides, kiddy stuff, etc. DH and my brother returned after lunch and rode some stuff several more times.

We bought the 3 day pass, and then saved the 3rd day for a later date...

We stayed at Royal Pacific and it was gorgeous. We will stay at Porofino next time, it was breathtaking =)

 

[Rock'n Robin]

WOW! That's great! I'll definately buy an entertainment book this fall.
We have to go in peak seasons because I teach, and we don't get a February break or a November break, only Christmas and Easter.
DH will be so excited! I think we'll do 4 or 5 days at BWV and 2 or 3 at a Universal resort.
Robin M.