Back from first ever visit to US/IOA!! Thanks to this board.

[riu girl]

We spent two full days at US/IOA mid December. It was our first visit to US/IOA but not our last.
We simply loved it. Everything was wonderful. Especially the staff at US/IOA. They were simply incredible.

Thanks to everyone on this board who offered advice before we visited. We had a loose touring plan which worked out great and both of our children agreed that they preferred both of the Universal theme parks to Disney. The highlight for us was the ability for the kids to see a "real" baby dinosaur at IOA. DD could have spent all day looking at and petting it. Kudos to the IOA team member for talking to my daughter about the dinosaur.

We are planning on visiting again during our next Florida vacation (12/2007).

Thanks again everyone for all the advice prior to our trip.

 

[Amity 3]

We simply loved it. Everything was wonderful. Especially the staff at US/IOA. They were simply incredible.

sums up our opinion as well.

 

[yaytezIOA]

Spread the word...Universal is just as good for families as wdw. They should be enjoyed equally.
Now did you get to see a baby Triceratops being handled, or was it just a raptor hatching?

 

[damo]

Awwww! Glad to hear you had such fun. You are raising those kids right!!!

 

[smnornes]

PLEASE DO TELL the hows and whats of the baby dinos! We'll be there in a few weeks and that would be the highlight for my kids!!!

 

[Melisa1]

I am glad that you had a great trip!

 

[robvia]

Does it have some robotic connectons?

Amazing how a dino robot could be the highlite of the trip, versus a 20 million dollar roller coaster. Kinda like giving a kid a carboard box as a toy.

 

[smnornes]

Amazing how a dino robot could be the highlite of the trip, versus a 20 million dollar roller coaster. Kinda like giving a kid a carboard box as a toy.

hahaha, how true is THAT?!?!? As long as I get to see those beautiful smiles and hear the belly-laughs...that's all I ask for.

 

[dsmom]

We also had our first stay at Universal in mid December and we loved it!! We have been to Disneyworld over 100 times- we are a 2 1/2 hour drive away.
Everything about US/IA was incredible! We were getting a little tired of Disney and wanted to try something different and we were very pleased! We stayed three nights at RPR and it is now our favorite resort ever. The staff in the resort and in the parks were all so nice- everyone went out of their way to help us. (We have an eight year old severely autistic son.) We are planning our next visit for the end of January and I honestly think we will not be returning to Disney. (We tried the Christmas party at the MK one night and it was such a madhouse we left after a couple of hours.)
There was one girl working at the Cat in the Hat ride that was wonderful with my son. She went out of her way to help him when she saw that he was afraid.
My husband loved all the rides and we all loved the resturants! I really can't say enough about how much we loved it and we are all kicking ourselves that we did not go sooner!

 

[reefnut]

glad you loved it.

 

[bubba's mom]

To riu girl and dsmom: I'm glad you enjoyed UO....I remember you all asking a lot of questions on the board....welcome to the DARK SIDE!

 

[G&J's Mom]

Glad you had a great trip!!

We made our first trip to the dark side in Feb 06!!! What a blast. We return when ever we get the chance

Denise

 

[dsmom]

Hi bubba'smom! Thanks for the welcome!! I just could not believe how much we all LOVED everything about Universal and the resorts!! I was afraid to expect anything and my husband said he will never step foot in WDW again so I was hoping he would like Universal. He fell in love with it and wants to go back as much as I do! My son loved it too - it's hard to know what to expect with him as he is autistic and not very verbal. He was so happy while we were there and he absolutely loved the high in the sky train ride.
We are going back for a thee day weekend the end of this month and we are kidnapping my mom (a disney FANATIC) in March and taking her to the Portifino Bay!
Thanks everyone for all the great advice we were given!

 

[bubba's mom]

....my husband said he will never step foot in WDW again ....... He fell in love with it

yep....mine too! (altho DS hasn't been to Epcot yet, and I talked him into going there in a couple of weeks.....prolly won't be TOO crowded....)

 

[Popsicle]

So happy you enjoyed your visit to US/IOA, riu girl.

Don't understand why the "DIS" people hate Universal so. What's not to love!

When we're in Orlando, we're in Orlando. That includes US/IOA, and sometimes Sea World, and ALWAYS shopping and great restaurants!!!

Let's spread the word.