Bunch of stupid questions

[BabyHabs]

I'm in the very beginning stages of planning a 2 week vacation for March Break. We are doing Disney for a week, staying on site. We've been to Disney several times.. I know what I'm doing there.

I know zero things about Universal and need some basic questions answered.

There are 5 of us. My husband and I and our 3 kids, ages 9, 7 and 2. We have very little interest in Harry Potter.

Questions:

- Is a week at Universal too much?
- Should I stay on site?
- Does Universal provide transportation to other parks - Wet and Wild, Sea World?
- Would we get bored after a few days?
- Is there a lot to do for small children?
- Are there a lot of benefits for staying on site?

 

[schumigirl]

No a week is not too long.

I would always stay onsite. Regardless of time of year.

You should really look at www.universalorlando.com

It has loads of information on what is in both parks and you can decide if there's plenty to keep your family busy or not. We never get bored at Universal, but others will disagree.

It also has all the onsite hotel info that will tell you all you need to know about all the hotels.

There's also a load of info on these threads.....some very good stickies that will be helpful to you since you have never been to Universal before.

Main benefits of staying at Portofino Bay, Hard Rock and Royal Pacific are early entry and unlimited Express Pass.....worth its weight in gold. Cabana Bay will give you Early Entry only.

 

[bumbershoot]

My husband and I and our 3 kids, ages 9, 7 and 2. We have very little interest in Harry Potter.

Is the 7 year old tall? Because there aren't *loads* of things for younger/shorter kids to do. There's enough, if the bulk of the family is interested in all of the parks, but it's not a place FOR littler kids.

Are you interested in having this be a resort vacation, a relaxing time, a nice slow-paced trip? if so, stay onsite and make sure to hit the pools (pool hopping is welcomed!) and take it easy. A week will be wonderful.

If you're planning on parks parks parks, though, I'm not sure you'll find enough for the 2 year old and the 7 year old if s/he is shorter.

I believe there's a shuttle to seaworld.


DS was 6.5 when we first went and on the taller side. We are massively into HP and that's what we went for, and we had 4 park days planned. We could barely leave to go back to WDW at the end, because we loved it SO much. I can't imagine it would have been as fun if we hadn't been into HP.

Get into HP! Wonderful stories. Read them first.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Yes, a week is too long. I would suggest 3 days in the parks to go at a leisurely pace and to give you time to enjoy your hotel. Staying onsite saves you from having to drive to the parks, park the car, etc. You can simply take resort transport. We stayed at Cabana Bay and our 11 and 9 year old loved it there - especially the lazy river - and the buses were great. As for rides in the parks, our 11 and 9 year old are both as tall as me and tall enough to ride whatever they wanted. But they are a bit more timid on rides and had to sit out of a few that seemed scary to them (whether dark or fast). There will be very little that your 2 year old can do, I would guess, but most attractions have a child swap area.

So:
1. Too long
2. Yes, stay onsite for the convenience factor
3. don't know - but likely to Wet & Wild as they have a partnership of sorts - or Universal owns it?
4. likely bored after 3 days of parks
5. rides in Seuss Landing are geared for smaller ones. Then there are the usual get wet fountains that might be great for a 2 year old
6. Benefits are not having to drive yourself each day and being able to go back to the hotel for pool time without losing time for much travel; there is a shuttle from hotel to hotel for evenings (for dining); pool hopping; and, if you stay in one of the higher priced hotels (all other than Cabana Bay), you have Express Pass built in.

Have fun!

 

[flateacher]

My husband insists we stay on site at Universal. Not even just on site - but at RPR or PBH. The benefits of the express pass are worth it. I say stay on site. (Even if you only visit for a few days).

A week? It might be too long if you are not into Harry Potter. It depends on what your kids like and will ride. My 7 year old is SHORT - but will ride anything they let her and she LOVES Harry Potter - so a week would be fine for us. But pp is correct, not too many rides for a two year old. You will have to child swap.

I agree with pp who said to check out the website to see what your kids might ride or be interested in.

 

[damo]

Nah, a week's not too long. You'd spend a week at a beach resort and not think anything of it. Add in a couple of days at SeaWorld and it's perfect.

There are lots of great play areas at the park. When my kids were younger, they could spend half a day at the Jurassic Park playground. They also spent a lot of time at the Discovery Centre and shooting balls at each other in the Curious George playarea. Make sure you visit everything!

 

[saskdw]

There are 5 of us. My husband and I and our 3 kids, ages 9, 7 and 2. We have very little interest in Harry Potter.
We aren't HP fanatics either. In fact our first trip to UO was Dec. 22nd-28th 2010. It was the first Christmas HP section was open. It was so busy in the HP section we actually never went in there. It wasn't the reason we went to UO and we had a blast enjoying everything else. Our next trip was 2012 and things had calmed down by then and we went on slower dates. You will find that the HP section is very impressive and a lot of fun even if you don't care about HP just like us.


Questions:

- Is a week at Universal too much?
It depends on your vacation style. If you like to roll through the parks like a pack of navy seals and only do everything once than you will find a week too much. We go to UO for 7-10 days. We like to enjoy everything many times over at a leasurely pace.

- Should I stay on site?
Yes. Especially for a 7 night stay. You can't beat having a short walk to and from the parks for mid-day breaks. Access to Citywalk and all the resorts have to offer at your finger tips makes for a great vacation experience.

- Does Universal provide transportation to other parks - Wet and Wild, Sea World?
Yes to both.

- Would we get bored after a few days?
We don't. See first anwser.

- Is there a lot to do for small children?
It will depend what amuses your kids. The Dr Seuss area is fantastic. The Jurassic playground is great for some kids. There is Despicable me and Simpsons. Two great mini-golf's at Citywalk. Bowling at Cabana Bay. RPR has a fantastic pool for kids. We don't have small kids anymore so I'm sure I'm forgetting something.

- Are there a lot of benefits for staying on site?
As mentioned above, we find the whole onsite experience makes for a great and relaxing vacation. I really feel it takes away the chaotic rushed feeling that many get on theme park vacations. The Unlimited Express pass is something we can't live without now that we've experienced it.

 

[crazywig]

I think a week just for US/IoA is too long with children those ages who cannot ride everything. My kids could ride everything and did (13 and almost 11), we did 4 days and that was enough to do everything multiple times. I think they may have gotten bored if we stayed longer.

 

[Robo56]

Week is not to long to stay at Universal. My grandchildren love Universal. This is their preferred destination in Orlando. We always stay onsite and enjoy the added amenities awarded those staying onsite.

We used the bus service from Portofino to Sea World a couple of years ago. It was free to onsite guests.

I would agree with Schumi above get on Universal Orlando site and look around. If you have anymore questions after that please come back and all the Universal regulars will help you fill in the blanks.

My grandchildren and I have never been bored after 3 days. We stay at least a week or more and always wish we stayed longer.

 

[macraven]

one week is not too long to do a darkside vacation.

there is more to just going to the parks for rides on a vacation.

take your time and relax at the hotel, enjoy pool time.

when i am on vacation, i don't have to rush at all.
see some things some days, the rest on other days.


i don't do day long marathons at the darkside.
i space it out and let myself have a relaxing stay so i return home refreshed.

i don't need to set an alarm clock to get up early on vacation.
that i can do when i am back home.

 

[kohlby]

We did 6 days at US/IOA on our last trip. We had 7 day passes but spent one day at Legoland. My kids were 4, 7, and 10. And there was plenty for them. BUT - we had been before and IOA was a favorite of my older two kids even at 3 years old. My then-4 year old has sensory issues so he didn't ride much at US/IOA - but he wouldn't do much at Disney either. He loved eating yummy food, hanging out in the stroller, and chasing birds. Due to the higher cost of on-site, we always do a split stay. We have found that RPR has always been the cheapest of the three deluxe hotels when we go. (We stay in a standard room).

Check out the HP things - even if you are not HP fans. The flight of the Hippogrif coaster is just a kiddie coaster. Forbidden Journey is amazing - but intense, so keep that in mind if your 7 year old is 48" as some kids are ready for it then and some are not. My daughter loves coasters but scared easily so she did not do FJ on our last trip. (She was the 7 year old. She is going to do it this time at 9 though). She did like Mummy though. (Though my youngest is 6 and tall enough for Mummy on our next trip - but he's the kid with sensory issues and there's no way he can handle Mummy).

I really like how US/IOA does their rider swap - that you all go into the line together. That way, we can stay together as a family easily. There are times when one adult goes off and uses single rider line for some coasters. (Though my eldest is taller than me, he's not a thrill rider. I just have one of those and that's my petite 9 year old).

On our first with-kids trip to US/IOA, my first two kids were 2 months old and barely 3 years old - and we still had a blast. I do think a week of US/IOA after a week of Disney would have been way too much though. It's not that we couldn't spend that time at US/IOA, it was that they needed more downtime. We did just do a 13 night Disney trip last year though - at ages 5, 8, and 11, and it was amazingly well though. So - know your kids. Mine did great this last trip doing lots of parks. But it would have been too much just a few years before that.

We're headed back for another trip and have 7 US/IOA days planned. (And one Legoland, but no Disney this time. We'll do Disney the following year).

 

[Belle0101]

Personally, I wouldn't ever not stay on-site. I absolutely love that you can walk from your resort to US/IOA and CityWalk! We stay at RPR and the walk is really pretty. I tend to end up far behind my family because I'm looking at all the landscaping.

My husband and son (15) were bored last year on our first day. It was our 2nd trip and by noon they had ridden everything they were interested in. I like to wander around, take my time and look at the details. They just aren't into that and adding to that, they each suffer from motion sickness.

I'm going back, by myself, at the end of October. I'll be there 1 full day and most of another day and I'm already feeling like that won't be long enough.

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

I agree with previous posts, if you are looking for a seven day park extravaganza, it's too long. But, after a week at Disney, a week at Universal just might be the ticket. Again, so much to do that is not just going to the park, and you can RELAX. You are not into HP, so you will have Express pass for just about everything else if you stay on site, so NO WAITING (or very little). This includes shows where you get in first with the best seats. Also, spend some time to look at all of the attractions on International Drive if you are willing to venture off site for a day. We have been to WonerWorks a few times. Relatively inexpensive, indoors if the weather is touchy, somewhat educational. Sort of like your home town science center, with an Orlando amusement attraction twist.

So, to answer your questions with a question - what do you want? The last time we did a 15 day vacation, we were exhausted! Universal (on-site) is the one place I have found where you can be relaxed and entertained at the same time (if you don't find relaxation entertaining, that is).

 

[damo]

You don't have to be into HP to LOVE HP!!!!! Those two sections are fabulous whether or not you know the characters themselves. As long as you know what magic is, along with witches and wizards, you have everything you need to really love the area.

Kids will spend hour doing spells with their magic wands over and over and over again.

Our 5 year old loved the Universal Parks. So much so that next time, she doesn't even want to go to WDW where she could ride more stuff but found that there was way more stuff to "DO" at Universal.

 

[disneyavonohio]

I think a week is just fine at Universal. There is a lot to do and see. Plus plan time for pool hopping, seeing the other resorts. I have 3 boys, 12, 10 and 6. And they all liked Universal better than Disney. My 6 year old loved the super hero's and there was plenty for him to do and see. My kids watched only 1 of the HP movies--and they still liked, enjoyed the HP section and rides very much. It is just an amazing area to see, even if you are not into HP as we are not.

- Is a week at Universal too much? No
- Should I stay on site? Yes-front of line and early entry and walking to the parks is worth it. We always like staying in Condo's for our trips to Disney--but for Universal the Hotels are reasonably priced for the perks you get. And with a 2 year old, the ease of being able to go back to the room, while one of the parents plays with the older kids is so easy.
- Does Universal provide transportation to other parks - Wet and Wild, Sea World? yes, I have not used it though, so not sure how it works-Seaworld is a great park--another great water park is Aquatica
- Would we get bored after a few days? No
- Is there a lot to do for small children? There is not a lot to do anywhere for a 2 year old. For 6+ years old there is a ton to do and see at Universal.
- Are there a lot of benefits for staying on site? yes,see above--in addition you can "pool hop"-go spend an afternoon at one of the other pools.