Disney vs Universal

[NTDIANE]

Hi,

I have been going to dw with my dd quite a few times, I am thinking about going to Universal for a week instead and staying at the hrh.
Will I be disappointed?? My dd is 13 now and we like doing thing every waking minute, is there enough to do in Universal to keep us busy.
We are not renting a car so we will not be traveling around, just Universal a Sea World.

Any suggestions will be helpful.
Thank you inadvance for any help.

Diane

 

[Tiggerlover91]

I think you will both do just fine at Universal. If you do Universal AND Islands of Adventure you will have plenty to do. IOA is more for the adventurous at heart...rides like the Incredible Hulk, Spiderman, and the Jurassic(Spelling??) Park ride are great!! US is more the calmer of heart....ET, Jaws, (although that will get your heartrate up), and Kongfrontation (this ride just tickles me!! Doesn't scare me at all!) Citywalk is also so cool just to walk down and visit all the different shops and restaurants.
Will you be disappointed?? Well of course you will if you compare it to Disney, so don't compare it do Disney! There is no comparison between the two parks. I believe you would only need about 3-4 days for both parks, maybe even 3. There are just certain areas to Universal that don't interest me, so I don't visit them. DH and I did Universal in about 6 hours last time we were there. Maybe you could spend your other days at the MK or EPCOT or maybe even Seaworld since you're looking for a change.

Heres a map link to UNIVERSAL STUDIOS and to ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE
I do hope I've helped!! Have fun planning. I'm planning on spending one day at IOA when DH and I visit in 2006...I can't wait, he's never been.

Take care,

Denise

 

[Pooh67_68]

Yes go ahead and do Universal, both parks. And Sea World is pretty good too. No I don't think you will be disappointed either.
Enjoy and have fun!!!

 

[Disney Dee]

I do not think you will be disapppointed, nor will your daughter, my SO and 12 yr old ds prefered IOA over DW. Traitors! LOL.

 

[TreeOfLife]

You'll love Universal, it is a completely different kind of fun, and the cast members are very fun too!

The only place I won't visit is Sea World, I hate to see majestic marine mammals in captivity feeding only when they perform, but those are my personal feelings...

Have a fun trip!

 

[JOC]

Like Tiggerlover91 said, don't compare Universal/IOA to Disney. They are entirely different parks, each with its own merits. Staying onsite at Universal, you'll have FOTL access, which really comes in handy if you're going during peak season. If you're staying at HRH, you can also pool hop to RPR or PBH and check those places out. I think you and your daughter will have a great time!

 

[skiwee1]

They are two totally different experiences! Last October we did 10 days at WDW and then transferred over to the HRH for 5 days at US. Those 5 days were just too long. We did each park in a day and then we went back for the next 3 days doing everything over and over again. They have the thrill rides but just not enough other attractions to stay for more then 3 days. We had bought APs to US at that time since it was cheaper then buying 5 day tickets. We are going back to WDW in 3 weeks and will be taking 1 day out of our WDW trip to see US and finish out our APs there. We only want to get on Spiderman again and the little one likes Seussland. I really don't think there is a weeks worth of stuff to do there. Maybe you can split your trip? We did stay at HRH then and that was wonderful! The hotel is beautiful and the pool was great! Beware though that they allow dogs at this hotel and all we heard were dogs barking! Every time we walked down to the pool there were dogs there that obviously didn't like all the strangers and they barked constantly. Other then that we hand no problems there.

 

[>>^..^<<]

Originally posted by skiwee1
Those 5 days were just too long. We did each park in a day and then we went back for the next 3 days doing everything over and over again.

LOL skiwee... you did the parks in one day because you had FOTL access... anybody staying off site would need the whole 5 days!

=====

NTDIANE.

FOTL is an awesome experience... and so is the Hard Rock Hotel, water taxis, walking distance, great pool and City Walk.

Sea World will take a whole day... and if you can afford discovery cove it is amazing experience to swim with a dolphin

Make sure you go the the shows at Universal and IOA... they are time consuming and fill up your free time.. Hollywood Horror MakeUp is fun.

I have a Universal Section on my website link below with photos of the HarD Rock, parks and city walk... also seaworld & Discovery cove

Have fun

>>^..^<<

 

[skiwee1]

Originally posted by >>^..^<<
LOL skiwee... you did the parks in one day because you had FOTL access... anybody staying off site would need the whole 5 days!

=====

NTDIANE.

FOTL is an awesome experience... and so is the Hard Rock Hotel, water taxis, walking distance, great pool and City Walk.

Sea World will take a whole day... and if you can afford discovery cove it is amazing experience to swim with a dolphin

Make sure you go the the shows at Universal and IOA... they are time consuming and fill up your free time.. Hollywood Horror MakeUp is fun.

I have a Universal Section on my website link below with photos of the HarD Rock, parks and city walk... also seaworld & Discovery cove

Have fun

>>^..^<<

I'm sure we would have needed a little longer if we didn't have FOTL but we went when it was kind if empty anyway. The OP is talking about staying onsite so I think a whole week is too long as she will also have FOTL. We quickly grew bored of going on the same rides over and over. Even my 14 y/o son thought 5 days were too long. The best part of the trip though was Haunted Halloween nights. Wow! We had the best time doing that! Not for the little ones for sure but for everyone else it was great~

 

[patsal]

We did 5 days staying at PBH with DD then 5 and DS then 9. My advice, too, is not to compare the two. You will have a great time but they really are not the same. 5 days was way more time than we needed, but it was a very relaxing time (FOTL was only until noon back then) so we hit the parks early, enjoyed the resort amenities and then headed back to the park in the evening. There are wonderful, unique experiences to be had at US/IOA but don't set your self up for disappointment by trying to compare it to Disney! So long as you are adding Sea World to the mix you should not find yourself with too much time on your hands.

 

[dznyntnh]

We went to US/IOA a couple of trips ago, without FOTL and it took us less than a day to do both parks.

US is the biggest snooze I have ever experienced, after giving it three different tries and trying to find something worthwhile, I have given up. T2-3D was the only worthwhile attraction, but its not worth $50 admission. IOA is a little better, Spider-man is cool, but there roller coasters were built so that is you are a 'bigger' person you can't even ride them. and there really is just not that much there.

If you have teens they may enjoy it, but I have never found either park to be worth the price of admission.

 

[lorivegas]

YOU WILL LOVE THIS PLACE!! In fact,... if I were u, I would split my stay, (they will move your luggage for you,... free) and stay a few nites at the BEAUTIFUL, TROPICAL Royal Pacific Resort.Some nites, they even bring out the "hula wearing " fire jugglers and this guy that plays the caribbean music poolside! What a treat! Also, the inside of Royal is just BREATHTAKING!! Just remember, you can use all 3 pools at the 3 resorts in Universal! And the best thing of course is the front of line access... a special line just for on property guests!! (this allows u to ride some rides many times in a row... matter of fact... each time u get back in line... u see the same people in regular line STILL waiting to ride ONCE! Boy, in writing this it sounds kind of mean.. but it is advertised EVERYWHERE , if u stay ONSITE u get this privlege (sp?) .

 

[>>^..^<<]

skiwee... I would love to be at Universal for the Halloween event ~ sounds like fun.

NTDIANE,

I was at Universal for 5 nights last year and 6 nights this year and I still have not done everything in both parks... we must be real losers or real slow lol

We do our favourites over and over... this year it was Shrek and the hulk (now that my DD is tall enough)

We spend LOTS of time at the Resort by the pool relaxing, this year we rented a cabana every day. We only did half days at the parks and went to City Walk in the evenings.

I think you would really enjoy your time there... you can accomplish so much with FOTL that you can enjoy the rest of your time pressure free.

>>^..^<<

 

[phamton]

The bad news: Kongfrontation closed about a year ago. The good news: The Mummy is coming soon.

My family loves Universal and IoA. You might want to go over to the Universal board here and read more about Universal and IoA:

http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?forumid=30

 

[taylor1293]

You'll have plenty to do!!! I wish we had a week to spend at Universal. We went a few months ago for 4 nights and it wasn't nearly enough time.

With FOTL access you can ride your favorite rides over and over without waiting. It's so much more relaxing than a Disney vacation.

The Universal boards hold a lot of information:

http://disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=8

Teresa