Am I making a mistake going to US instead of Disney??

[abysdad]

Ok, I have 3 kids 13-11-9, who love disney, I decided to try US, IOA and SW this trip instead of disney. While we like some rides we are not exactly super coaster people, my kids like RNR coaster, and TOT but that is about the limit, I am now worried that US/IOA might be too intense for them

 

[damo]

If they like RNR and TOT, they will be fine. The coasters aren't any more intense than RNR.

 

[yaytezIOA]

That is the common misconception that ALL disney people make. "IOA/US is TOO intense. We're not coaster people!" In all honesty, I want to know just how many coasters you think all of UO has? Include both parks. And please dont percieve this as being mean or snippy...there is a reason for this...
I will convince you that not only should you go to UO and SWO this time...but you may never want to go to disney again.....At least I hope to.

 

[abysdad]

That is the common misconception that ALL disney people make. "IOA/US is TOO intense. We're not coaster people!" In all honesty, I want to know just how many coasters you think all of UO has? Include both parks. And please dont percieve this as being mean or snippy...there is a reason for this...
I will convince you that not only should you go to UO and SWO this time...but you may never want to go to disney again.....At least I hope to.

well I'm primarily concerned with IOA and the ones that I am worried about are Hulk, Spiderman, Dueling Dragons, and Dr Dooms.

 

[yaytezIOA]

There are in total...at both Universal parks 5 rollercoasters. Those are
IOA: Hulk, Dueling Dragons and Flying Unicorn
USF: Mummy and Woddy Woodpecker.
Dr. Doom is a launched freefall tower....which is similar to Tower of Terror. The difference is that ToT takes you through some pretty intense scenes and thrills before they drop you a number of times. Doom launches you into the air, where you drift back down. Spiderman is a 3D simulator. Not a coaster by any means. Its mixes 3d and 4d effects with a dark ride. Its simply amazing.
Now Hulk is one of the three coasters at IOA. It is a launched coaster, just like RRC. RRC only has 3 inversions where Hulk, I believe has 6. RRC launches of at 60 something mph where Hulk is only about 44 I think. The difference? You see Hulk. He makes his presence known through out the park. RRC you dont see it at all. It makes it kind of out of sight out of mind, but I assure you were you to see it out in the open you would be afraid of it as well. Dueling Dragons is a ride that you are not allowed to miss. It is an inverted coaster, which means your feet dangle, and it has two tracks...therefore it duels. You have 3 near misses with the other coaster. It is intense, but its not so bad that you are going to be very sick once you get off of it. The best thing about the coaster is the line. The queue is amazing, and you really expect to see a dragon waiting for you a the end instead of some boring old coasters.
There are other things that are really a lot of fun to do at IOA as well, such as Dudley Do Right, which is Splash Mountain without all the glitz, and with much more fun...there is Blutos Bilge Rat Barges, which is Kali River Rapids...only good. There is also Jurassic Park River Adventure which is like Splash Mountain.....gone very very very bad. Its pretty intense, but also very beautiful....and the dinosaurs are what makes this ride intense...not the drops.
There are also so many other things to explore and do. If you go to Camp Jurassic...it looks like its for kids, but we spend at least an hour there every time we go. There is also the Discovery Center where you can play games, and watch a dinosaur hatching. If shows are more your speed, then catch Sinbad...a fun show for everyone....and then of course Posiedons Fury. Something you just have to see.

The Studios are right around the corner, which means no busses to wait for, no lines to stand in for monorails...and you wont be dead tired in two hours. If you stay onsite at a Universal hotel....you wont get "extra magic hours"...but you will get Express....which is Fastpass, only good. You can go anytime you want on any ride just using your hotel room key.
Let me know if you want more information and need more convincing.

 

[damo]

well I'm primarily concerned with IOA and the ones that I am worried about are Hulk, Spiderman, Dueling Dragons, and Dr Dooms.

No need to worry, you will love it all. If at all possible, ride in the front on Hulk and Dueling Dragons and keep your eyes open.

 

[mrslur]

The difference? You see Hulk. He makes his presence known through out the park. RRC you dont see it at all. It makes it kind of out of sight out of mind, but I assure you were you to see it out in the open you would be afraid of it as well.

This made me laugh because I love RRC but have never gotten up the nerve to go on Hulk. And, yes, it's because I can't see RRC. Maybe on our next trip I will get up the nerve to ride Hulk.

 

[friendnc]

You'll all enjoy US/IOA. We alternate between US/Sea World passes and Disney passes, and enjoy both sets of parks a lot (don't understand all of the anti-Disney stuff). All 7 of the Orlando parks are different (which we love), but IMO all very good in their own way. We have US/Sea World annual passes this year and were there over the holidays and had a great time. At the Clyde and Seamore show at SW, be sure to go about 15 minutes early to see the funny pirate mime guy. He's a show himself. Hope your trip goes well. Write back and tell us all about it!!!

 

[FayeW]

You have absolutely not made a mistake chosing US! Your children are at a perfect age to enjoy these parks to the fullest (if the 9 yr.old is 54", that is!)

My kids are 10 and 12. and we just came back from our third trip.US/IOA is the reason we visit Orlando at all. We like WDW, but we LOVE the US parks! There are only 3 major coasters to worry about, and they are no more intense than RNR (but the theming on Mummy is AWESOME!)

 

[wwessing]

Two years ago we went to 2 disney parks, SW and USO. We absolutely loved SW and USO. We have 6 children and all agreed on this (there is a first. . .and likely the last time for everything!). I personally think Mickey is a HUGE liar - there was no magical experience! We went at the end of May and toured the DW parks first. I didn't HATE it, but certainly didn't love it, or to be honest, really even like it that much. It was not as I remembered it from my childhood and my favorite ride was closed. Some of attractions were awesome. It is those memories which allow me to not hate DW, that and the smile it brought to my children. Oh, and we got some great pictures too. My biggest complaints are that the lines were sometimes 2.5 hours long which is absolutely ridiculous and the tickets overpriced!!!!! It was TOO crowded and difficult to find any shaded areas to give our children a break. Our kids were begging to go back to our hotel by 1:00 (stayed at Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort and loved it!). On the USO and SWO days, they couldn't get enough and were ready to go,but not until 5 or 6:00. the parks were not overcrowded and the meals were much, much better. We are beginning to plan our next trip and have not inluded any DW parks this time. We will be touring SWO, USO, IOA and Busch Gardens (staying at Nickelodeon Family Suites this time). Our experiences at SWO and USO were much preferable, even given the time of year we visited. The lines were not too long and the price of admission, while still expensive, was better than DW parks. The shows at SW were excellent and so were the 3d rides at US. IOA will be a new experience for us. Of course, this is just IMHO. You will find thousands of people who would string me up if they could

 

[BigKahuna]

absolutely not!

We love the IOA! It is a MUST do each and every trip to Orlando. You will love it. Muster the courage to ride the Hulk, if you like the RRC, you will LOVE the Hulk.

Spiderman is another must.

We go in the slow season (after Thanksgiving) and we can knock out the whole park easily in one day and sometimes have enough time to hit our favorites at USO.

I Love Mickey and his gang, but if i could go to only one park it would be IOA

 

[louise1928]

Ok, I have 3 kids 13-11-9, who love disney, I decided to try US, IOA and SW this trip instead of disney. While we like some rides we are not exactly super coaster people, my kids like RNR coaster, and TOT but that is about the limit, I am now worried that US/IOA might be too intense for them

No! you are not making a mistake, both Universal and IOA are fantastic! Your kids will love Islands of Adventure!! My husband and I will be returning to Orlando in December, (this will be our 3rd visit in 6 years) and although we plan to extend our stay by 2 days so that we can visit 2 parks at Disney, We plan to spend the last 3 of our 5 days at Universal/IOA.

 

[MummyAW100]

well I'm primarily concerned with IOA and the ones that I am worried about are Hulk, Spiderman, Dueling Dragons, and Dr Dooms.

Hulk- You said ToT was your kids' limits, right? If so, DON"T ride this. There are 7 upside downs on this ride. The launch may not be as fast Rock N Roller Coaster, but don't let that fool you. The launch takes place in an inclined tube, making the g forces a lot more intense.

Dueling Dragons- You have GOT to walk through the que, but skip the ride.

Spiderman- Nothing to worry about.

Dr. Doom- I find it boring, but I am sure if you can handle ToT, you can do this.

 

[HACAM]

Two years ago we went to 2 disney parks, SW and USO. We absolutely loved SW and USO. We have 6 children and all agreed on this (there is a first. . .and likely the last time for everything!). I personally think Mickey is a HUGE liar - there was no magical experience! We went at the end of May and toured the DW parks first. I didn't HATE it, but certainly didn't love it, or to be honest, really even like it that much. It was not as I remembered it from my childhood and my favorite ride was closed. Some of attractions were awesome. It is those memories which allow me to not hate DW, that and the smile it brought to my children. Oh, and we got some great pictures too. My biggest complaints are that the lines were sometimes 2.5 hours long which is absolutely ridiculous and the tickets overpriced!!!!! It was TOO crowded and difficult to find any shaded areas to give our children a break. Our kids were begging to go back to our hotel by 1:00 (stayed at Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort and loved it!). On the USO and SWO days, they couldn't get enough and were ready to go,but not until 5 or 6:00. the parks were not overcrowded and the meals were much, much better. We are beginning to plan our next trip and have not inluded any DW parks this time. We will be touring SWO, USO, IOA and Busch Gardens (staying at Nickelodeon Family Suites this time). Our experiences at SWO and USO were much preferable, even given the time of year we visited. The lines were not too long and the price of admission, while still expensive, was better than DW parks. The shows at SW were excellent and so were the 3d rides at US. IOA will be a new experience for us. Of course, this is just IMHO. You will find thousands of people who would string me up if they could

Hey there. You say you were there in May, just how busy was it? And was it like that at all the WDW parks? We are not sure if we are going to go the WDW again or try something different, like Universal and Seaworld.

Thanks for any help

 

[PatsGirl]

My DS17 prefers US while DD9 prefers WDW and they both love SeaWorld and hate Busch Gardens . We usually alternate and do US/SW one year and WDW the next or I decide on parks depending on who is going with me. I'm not a ride person at all but I do love shows and they all have good shows. We much prefer the restaurants and Express Pass at US and the lines are ALWAYS much shorter than WDW, two big plusses in my mind. On the other hand, we can stay onsite at WDW for much less $$ than US so.... Have a great time!

 

[vatmark]

OP please be sure to post back after you take your trip. I too am planning US/IOA trip instead of Disney for the summer of 2008. My kids will be 10 and 12.

DS loves coasters especially fast upside down ones. My only worry right now is if he will be 54" by 2008 when he is 10. I know he'll be extremely disappointed to not be able to ride all the coasters.

Annie

 

[mommiepoppins]

Ok, I have 3 kids 13-11-9, who love disney, I decided to try US, IOA and SW this trip instead of disney. While we like some rides we are not exactly super coaster people, my kids like RNR coaster, and TOT but that is about the limit, I am now worried that US/IOA might be too intense for them

my friend loved universal and IOA way better than Disney!!!! I am doing IOA and Universal because it is a budget trip big time! I might do one day at Disney.

 

[LakeAriel]

So you can walk through Dueling dragons, skip the ride and still enjoy it? Someone told me that about TOT and it was zero, nothing at all to see..(We were not doing the ride) Explain what there is to see in DD..Please..
Spiderman is a wonderful, wonderful ride!

 

[tlinus]

Not a mistake at all. I have 3 kids 11-7-5 and they LOVE Universal and IOA.

This past October(2006) was the first time we stayed onsite - they were in heaven!! Each year we go to Orlando, we do one disney park, SW one day, 1-2 pool days with a cool dinner and the rest of the time is spent in US and IOA(usually 3 days).

This was a great year for DD#1 - she was tall enough to ride Hulk and Dueling Dragons (and Kraken at SW) with Daddy!!!

Cannot wait to arrange our new trip, nailed down definate dates today.....need to start looking for the deals!!

 

[TinkHappy]

Hulk- You said ToT was your kids' limits, right? If so, DON"T ride this. There are 7 upside downs on this ride. The launch may not be as fast Rock N Roller Coaster, but don't let that fool you. The launch takes place in an inclined tube, making the g forces a lot more intense.

Dueling Dragons- You have GOT to walk through the que, but skip the ride.

Spiderman- Nothing to worry about.

Dr. Doom- I find it boring, but I am sure if you can handle ToT, you can do this.

What about the Mummy ride? I am very worried this coaster is too intense. My DD9 is VERY afraid of coaster rides, but she will go on Splash Mountain and Space Mountain.