Do many of you DVCers go to Univeral regularly while visiting WDW?

[SheriB]

We went to US/IOA in 2001, skipped it in 2002, and are going again this June (got 3-day passes from Sam's Club for only $87!).
It's a nice change, but we still stay in Disney (it's only a 20-30 minute drive from WDW-can't remember exactly how long). Now that we're DVC members, I can't imagine staying offsite ever again(don't care about the weekend points-we bought enough to stay the weekends). My kids are 16 and 12, and US/IOA is right up their alley. They still love Disney, but US/IOA seems to be more geared toward them(my husband and I love it too). But nothing will ever compare to Disney. The one thing they do have that Disney only has a couple of are those misting stations, some of them are in the ques while waiting. They really help in those hot summer months!

Sheri

 

[Lisa F]

We went to universal on our last trip and had a nice time, but are not rushing to go back. By the end of our trip, we couldn't WAIT to go to Disney though!

We were there during a very busy time (the saturday before NYE) and did take advantage of the front of the line thing. It worked great earlier in the day but by 3pm, the "fastpass" line for spiderman had a 1 hour wait while the regular line had an over 3 hour wait. Just ridiculous! The front of the line thing is great most of the time at Universal but I sure hope disney doesn't do that as it's NOT GOOD when the "fastpass" lines become saturated with people.

We had a complimentary upgrade at the portofino into a "deluxe villa" room and could not help but compare to the DVC 1br that was waiting for us. I'd read on the Universal boards how much better the USF hotels are than Disney hotels and I honestly can't say I agree. It was a nice room and it was laid out about like the bedroom portion of a dvc 1 bedroom, only instead of the nice jacuzzi tub it was a separate tub that was just a standard hotel tub size, no jacuzzi. The shower was also tiny, a little corner thing. Overall I was not impressed compared to DVC.

The parks were fun and we could not help but compare to disney. Our overall feeling was that in rides that were clearly meant to be an equivalent to the disney version (their water flume ride and cat in the hat, which remidned us of pooh, just as an example) the disney version was superior. however, if you love coasters (which we do not really) then it's the place to go.

Overall, I definately think it is worth a visit and a great way to save saturday points. the FOTL thing is great but we actually preferred our more relaxed way of touring the wdw parks... get a fastpass, do a few of the "minor" attractions, get another fastpass etc. One thing we noticed lacking in USF are any "minor" attractions... if you don't have FOTL or an express pass, you have two options... either wait on line for an "e-ticket" type ride or ride an e-ticket type ride. There are very few of the "walk on" type rides that you have at WDW that we enjoy as part of a relaxing trip.

Lisa

 

[zurgswife]

We have never been to Universal and quite frankly we have yet to have the urge to go......We are true blooded Disney AP holders....we have never cheated...

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

How come?

To be as gentle as I can be: The place is dirty, crowd control is non existant, the employees are rude, the food stinks, they don't sell Coke, the hike from the parking garage to the park is exhausting and there are no trams (this was about 3 years ago and things may have changed) and I simply don't like it. Not my "cup of tea".

 

[gmboy95]

can you believe that with all the times we have been to disney we have never been inside US....I went to a wedding last year and had dinner at emerils...but besides that we have never been....reading these posts, I think we may make a trip over this year.

 

[mickey7861]

We usually go to Universal for 1-2 days during our trip. We've yet to stay there. We usually just drive over. We gave our niece 5 nights at VWL for her honeymoon last September and she spent 4 nights at Royal Pacific at Universal after. She said she wished they had stayed at Universal first because although it was a very nice hotel it was a let down after VWL. Of course she was there in Sept and lines weren't really an issue anywhere.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

Is the target market different for US and IOA? Will the preteen group like it more? I understand there is much better name recognition of the spiderman ride than Disney rides, and more rollercoasters. Perhaps these are deomgraphic differences in the target customers? Just an idea.

 

[Sharper]

We are spending some time at OKW, then two nights at HRH, then several nights at BCV in May. We got the buy one, get one half price AP's which are great not just for the visits but with the discounts on merchandise, etc. While we are hardcore Disney fans, I am looking forward to spending a couple of days there in the middle of our looong May trip. We also may well spend a (weekend) night or two there for trips during the time the AP's are good, both to save on DVC points and since park admission won't cost us anything. I expect we would not plan to make US a part of every Disney trip, but my memory of having visited a couple of times is that it is fun, in its own way. If we have the time and can work out a cheap way to do it, visiting US is definitely an option sometimes.

 

[RLevy29]

$125 for HRH is a great rate! We stayed at the RPH for 4 nights last summer and loved it. We enjoyed the parks and FOTL. We felt that the room at RPH was somewhere between a moderate and a deluxe room at WDW. I believe that HRH compares to a Deluxe at WDW. We do like DVC accomodations better because the rooms have kitchens or kitchenettes..
I think that US and IOA have attractions with better effects. Spiderman, MIB, and The Terminator are very well-done. Disney is better at theming. The attractions and hotels at WDW have much more detail. The WL& WLV really give you the feeling that you are in a National Park Lodge. When you are in MK the details make you feel like you are in the west, jungle or wherever.
We will probably continue to go to WDW more often but we are talking about going to Universal Again. I would not go without staying at one of there hotels not only because of FOTL but because you can walk to both parks and City Walk.
Have a great trip!

 

[Dancind]

My DD is 11 and loves big coasters. But she certainly doesn't refuse WDW! In fact, I told her we could do a day at IOA during Spring break with a friend that will be there the same day. I would have thought she would jump at it, but when she realized there would be no FOTL, she passed! We will be at DVC that day, we usually go to US/IOA for a weekend and stay at one of their hotels. We really enjoyed our stays at their hotels, BTW, esp. Portofino Bay. My DD will have 3 days at WDW with her friend, and she's happy with that. In summary, if you can stay at one of the US hotels, it's great fun. They have nice pools and some wonderful restaurants. Try Mythos in IOA, we never miss it. Diana

 

[Disney Doll]

Have been to US a couple of times. It diesn't impress me. The employees are no where near the caliber of WDW CMs, it's not as nicely kept, the wait times were longer than posted, little crowd control...just not my cup of tea.

I do like SeaWorld however, and do try to get there about every other trip. I still marvel at what they can get an 11,000 pound whale to do!

 

[DVCGirl49]

We went 2 or 3 times a few years before IOA and I would never consider going back, even to go to IOA. It was hot, and nasty. The landscaping seemed to be designed to expose you to as much direct sunlight as possible so you would get overheated and have to stop and buy several of the $3 bottled waters thruout the day. The lines were ridiculous, I remember waiting at least 30-45 minutes and as much as 2 hours for EVERY ride we wanted to go on. And the people weren't as nice as the visitors as WDW, they were rude and pushing and cutting/jumping lines. It was just an awful experience.

 

[jade1]

Most of our trips include 2 nights (weekends) at either Universal or Clearwater. That gives another full week for the same amount of points as the weekend would use-plus FOTL at both Universal parks is great. We would go there even if we did stay the whole week at WDW because of the coasters and Spiderman, FOTL and saving the points just makes it a slam dunk.

 

[benhannah's mom]

We went for 2 days last September (US on day, IOA the other) while staying at OKW. Our son got to be on Slime Time Live at the Nick section. He and another boy even won the Big Shaboozee that day. His prize was a silver BMX bike. The highlight of the trip.
We walked on to most rides even without the FOTL pass. We enjoyed our 2 days there.

 

[NCRedding]

We loved our 3 night stay at HRH in September/October. We stayed in HRH deluxe room for $155 a night. It was on of the nicest places I've ever stayed (and after we checked out of HRH, we checked into a GV at OKW). Loved FOTL although crowds were minimal. Loved the location--I too, hate the long walk from the parking garage into the parks, so I loved the stroll over. CItywalk has a variety of restaurants with a variety of prices. I found our IOA/US trip to be very relaxing--I didn;t move the car from check-in to check out (and I've never done that at DIsney). The pool is awesome. We plan on combining our next DVC trip with a stay at HRH.

 

[Lyndarella]

I would like to say exactly what DVCgirl49 said. It all applies to us. Plus every ride we went on (Kong, Jaws, the earthquake ride, and more) took us right up next to real flames that actually burned the hair on our legs. It was already a hot day, and my almost teen-age children were terrified. We will never go back -- they shudder if I even mention the place.

 

[Jollymon]

IOA is just a different experience from WDW. If you want clean and an immacualte attention to detail with albeit slightly more boring rides, WDW is the place to go.

If you want adrenaline pumping, scare your pants off, yell at the top of your lungs experience, IOA is the place for you. Trust me, if your are looking for the latter, you really do not notice the environment as much.

I agree with a previous poster, WDW nneds to open a park that caters to the adrenaline crowd. If not, then they will continue to loose the market leadership to the parks that do.

Andrew

 

[dbond]

We went to US/IOA this last trip for the first time. We had never taken the time away from Disney or wanted to spend the extra $ before. We had a great time, enjoyed the rides, but it was something that we did for a change and we were curious to see what we were missing. There wasn't anything that really grabbed us to bring us back anytime soon. The rides were really neat and different, but we all agreed that the rides were very aggressive compared to Disney and not the kind of rides that we could ride over and over like we do at Disney. We all have weak stomachs and there were a couple of rides that our 8 yo was not tall enough to ride! He can ride everything at Disney, so that was a bummer for him. But, it was a great one time trip over to the other side, our curiosity is satisfied, we'll probably do it again someday, but not for awhile.

 

[RweTHEREyet]

It will not hurt my feelings if I do not ever go back to IOA or Universal or Citywalk.

 

[MAC3]

We always go to US & IOA each time we go to WDW but we always stay at the Hard Rock. Just can't beat that front of the line access. I enjoy the Hard Rock. But I go there on weekends when point usage is high.

Good Luck in your decision,
Lisa