Disney fanatic considering a venture to the "dark side"...

[HeatherPage]

I'm sure Universal is awesome in it's own right, however as of now, I've only ever done Disney since a kid (am now appx. 33). For my husband's sake, I'm considering a Universal trip (he will willingly go along on another Disney trip, but I thought I'd try something new). This - or a trip to Myrtle Beach is about the only places I can think of to vacation with him and my almost 4 year old son since I don't fly (I know that limits us quite a bit with the driving but since I don't see me getting over my fear of flying anytime soon, I need to find places we can travel to in a day or two of driving time). Can anyone give me some tips from the viewpoint of another Disney nut, how a vacation to Universal went over (especially with a child about the same age as mine)? Any help would be great. Also, if anyone has any other ideas for family vacations in the Southeast/lower Northeast I'd love to hear of them.

Thanks in advance!

 

[keishashadow]

I was glad I took off the mouse ears & headed on over to Universal. Staying on-site for the priceless FOTL privledges will spoil you for life. There's enough to occupy both your hubbie & young son - who would love the on-site hotel pools; for at least two days. Then, head on down to WDW so your son can enjoy the characters for a few days. As an alternative, visit SW or BG; or even FL beaches - the possibilities are endless.

Somewhat confused about your need to vacation within a day or 2 of driving time from home. I live outside of Pittsburgh & can make it to Myrtle Beach, w/o traffic & the wind in my sails in less than 11 hours. I'm past the point of 2 days drives, anywhere LOL, but I'm told we could make it to Orlando in 22 hours of driving time.

Find a AAA guidebook & explore the Visitors Bureau on-line sites for info. Good Luck.

 

[Disney Dee]

Why not split your stay? Since they are so close it would be easy to stay maybe 3 days at each place.

 

[Cinderella822]

I'm doing the same thing this year - giving up my Disney vacation for Universal. We just felt like we needed a change for a bit. We're staying on-site at PBH and we've decided to actually do some relaxing on this vacation. Whenever we go to Disney, we feel compelled to constantly be doing something as there is so much to do there. But we feel Universal is a bit smaller and more managable. So we'll take a few days to relax by the pool for a change of pace. I recently bought a book by Kelly Moneghan - Universal Orlando 2005 Ultimate Guide. I've read through almost the whole thing and boy am I excited to go now! He does a great job of describing everything. I'm not going until August and I can't wait. So I would suggest getting some type of book and reading up on all there is to do at Universal.

 

[Snoopymom]

Here's my trip report from our first trip to Universal last June with our 4 (almost 5) year old son. We are leaving tomorrow for our third short trip in 5 months!

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=838903

As for other vacation spots, we usually spend a night or two in Daytona Beach or St. Augustine while we're in Florida. We like to break it up with some beach time, hanging out, trying new restaurants and attractions, etc. I can give you a whole list of stuff for these two places so let me know if you're interested.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[fiveforall]

Last year my family enjoyed US/IOA for the first time and we LOVED it!!! This year, my kids had the choice of Disney or Universal. Next week we're Hard Rock Hotel bound! FOTL will spoil you, and the close proximity to the hotels and the great eats at CityWalk just help to seal the deal. I admit, I was a Disney snob. I thought Disney parks were probably cleaner and more magical. I was WRONG! MGM doesn't hold a candle to Universal, and the theming of IOA is absolutely outstanding. I truly believe that once you try Universal Orlando, you'll wonder what took you so long.

 

[HeatherPage]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'll have to go out and get a book soon. I told my husband last night what I was thinking and he said "You'll never be able to do it" (talking about giving up Disney for Universal for a year). I was like, I can try new things too you know. Snoopymom, any ideas you have would be great, I just feel like we're in a rut. Thanks again everyone and I'll keep my eye out for more posts

 

[FayeW]

Now is an excellent time to try US/IOA, ticket prices are outstanding! You can buy a 2 day/2 park ticket for $99. for adults AND you get a child's ticket free! ( Must be used by April 30/06). In addition, you get 2 extra days for free so for your family it would cost about $213. for all 3 of you to have 4 days of fun!

 

[HeatherPage]

That's an outstanding offer, I'll have to talk it over with my husband and see what he has to say. Since we just got back from Disney two days ago I'm not sure if he's ready to make any decisions yet. Though I did tell him we should try to go in February for our next trip (to stay out of the heat).

 

[Snoopymom]

St Augustine

Besides the guided city tours, haunted tours and the "oldest" school, house, jail...everything tours, LOL, and the great shopping in the quaint stores along the cobble stone streets, we've done

The Alligator Farm which is fun. We liked Gator Land in Orlando a little more.
http://www.alligatorfarm.com/

We've done this chocolate factory tour. It's free and only takes about 45 minutes.
http://www.whetstonechocolates.com/

Loved this winery. They had some wonderful homemade grape juice for the kids too.
http://www.sansebastianwinery.com/

We haven't taken the lighthouse tour yet, but it looks like one of the most picturesque ones.
http://www.staugustinelighthouse.com/

Marine Land is now closed, and that's a good thing. Hopefully they will refurbish it. It has a lot of history, but it was not worth the money.

This cruise was a blast. We saw some dolphins and the captain let ds steer the boat for quite awhile.
http://www.scenic-cruise.com/

There are tons of neat little restaurants in town, but one of our favorites is Harry's, it's a lot like Pat O'Brian's. We like to sit in the courtyard.
http://www.hookedonharrys.com/

Creekside Dinery has great seafood and a nice outside deck with a fire pit.
http://www.creeksidedinery.com/rest.html

The Oasis is a casual place, good for breakfast
http://www.worldfamousoasis.com/

The Sunset Grill is pretty good
http://www.sunsetgrillea1a.com/

My favorite is The Beachcomer, which doesn't have a website, but it's an itty bitty barefoot picnic table type of place right on the beach, and it's a fun place to get some oysters or peel and eat shrimp.

My in-laws just moved from there and we used to stay with them, so I can't really recommend a hotel. There are some great looking B&B's in the heart of the city, but if you wanted to stay on the beach, I'd recommend a condo. It seems like most of the hotels are across the street from the beach. We did stay at Anastasia condos once and they were nice.
http://www.staugustine.com/visit/accommodations/lodging.shtml

Daytona Beach

We've only been during off season. I don't think I'd want to go during speedweek or springbreak, especially with kids.

For hotels, I'd ONLY recommend the Hilton
http://www.daytonahilton.com/contactus.htm

and the Ocean Walk Resort, which has 2 indoor pools and the outdoor pool has a lazy river, a slide and a great kiddie pool with it's own slides and tunnels, etc. (We should be checking in tomorrow at this time, can't wait!)
http://www.oceanwalk.com/

which has the Ocean Walk village connected to it with restaurants and a movie theater. It's so nice to have everything within walking distance.
http://www.oceanwalkvillage.com/home.html

The speedway is fun. It has been awhile, but we loved taking the tour where you get to go on the track and walk on the bank
http://www.daytonaintlspeedway.com/

We're going to go to the Marine Science Center this weekend, and maybe this chocolate factory.
http://echotourism.com/msc/
http://www.angellandphelps.com/

The lighthouse at Ponce Inlet is neat
http://www.ponceinlet.org/

and there is a nice restaurant there called Down the Hatch where you can watch sailboats and the most beautiful sun sets and another called The Inlet Harbor
http://www.inletharbor.com/

We love to just walk around the board walk, eat taffy, ride the go-carts, play in the arcades and sit on the pier at the outdoor restaurant. It has that tacky old carnival feel to it, but it's fun. There's music on the weekends at the BandShell next to the pier, but we've always missed it.
http://virtualvolusia.com/Pier1.html
http://www.bandshell.org/

There is a new water park that just opened that we haven't been to yet
http://daytonalagoon.com/

There's also a dog track there. When we go with extended family, the guys like to get together and go. It's a little seedy, LOL.
http://www.dbkennelclub.com/information.htm

Our favorite restaurant is the Ocean Deck. It has a great view of the ocean.
http://www.oceandeck.com/

The Oyster Pub is a sports bar, great for snacks, and if you're looking for somewhere to watch your "can't miss" football game. (They have a room and big screen just for Steelers fans, it's a blast!) The website is under construction
http://www.oysterpub.com/

For breakfast Steve's Famous Diner is good, and I've heard Billy's Tap Room and Aunt Catfishs are the best but we haven't tried them yet.
http://www.billys-tap.com/
http://www.auntcatfish.com/


Whew! Like I mentioned, we just tack on a day or two. Dh isn't a big theme park person, and I just can't see going to Florida without having some seafood and feeling the sand between my toes.... I want to see the St. Pete area some day too. Most on the Orlando Board recommend the west coast, but it's an extra hour from Orlando.

Have fun planning!

 

[HeatherPage]

You're the best! Thanks so much

 

[the Dark Marauder]

I recently bought a book by Kelly Moneghan - Universal Orlando 2005 Ultimate Guide. I've read through almost the whole thing and boy am I excited to go now! She does a great job of describing everything. I'm not going until August and I can't wait. So I would suggest getting some type of book and reading up on all there is to do at Universal.

Kelly's a guy. He posts here occasionally.

 

[pjfnme]

Kelly's a guy. He posts here occasionally.

Anyone familiar with this book??? Is it good? Does it include any touring plans for Universal to avoid the majority of the crowds???

Thanks!

 

[bkw86]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'll have to go out and get a book soon. I told my husband last night what I was thinking and he said "You'll never be able to do it" (talking about giving up Disney for Universal for a year). I was like, I can try new things too you know. Snoopymom, any ideas you have would be great, I just feel like we're in a rut. Thanks again everyone and I'll keep my eye out for more posts

I can relate. We've been to Disney 4 times in the last 5 years. We are going to try Universal. My son is 12 and tired of Disney although his 10 year old sister never gets tired of it.