DVCers just back from "visiting the darkside"

[Goofy&Sleepy]

Stayed at BCV from Sun. thru Thurs night & went to US/IOA on Thursday-Sat. Stayed at Royal Pacific Friday night to utilize xpress pass option. Had "really old" 2007 tix w/kids free @$79 each...$160 for all 4 OF US! This was the ONLY reason I could justify $277(AAA Fri. night discount) for the one night we decided to add to our trip a few weeks ago. DD7 & DD9 LOVED WWHP & I can say it was very well done. We are diehard Disney folks &, while I probably won't go back anytime soon to US/IOA, it was a good trip. Girls are NOT coaster fans so we had no problem doing all we wanted to do in 1 full day + 1 1/2 day (arrived at 1 left at 8 RAIN most of day) & 3 hours before heading home Sat. 2nd fav to FJ was Spiderman....very well done. Was disappoint as DH (300lbs , 6'2") was unable to ride FJ. Should have done my research & to their credit they did have seats to check before you entered but we were in such a hurry the first ride we didn't notice it. He was pulled off when the bar wouldn't go over shoulders. Must say I think Disney does most things better (parking folks not so nice & you would NEVER hear wait while we "reset the computer" for the next show as you did in SHREK) we were impressed w/the boat transportation (very timely) & liked drink cup you could buy & refill (saw popcorn too but it was later)& liked having the food options right there instead of treking to DTD...ate at Bubba Gumps & meal was $80 incld tip & dessert (btw...they are LANDRY's so take your RAINFOREST converted LANDRY card...they looked mine up by phone to give pts). Sorry rambling but happy to answer any ??? esp. for 1st timers venturing over....

 

[NHKristy76]

I am a Disney girl through and through but will be heading to US/IOA for the first time this weekend. This trip was a graduation present from my dad (I got a BA and she got her Masters) and it's just the 2 of us heading down.

I'm twitching about being in Orlando and not going to WDW. (I will be there in late August though so it's not THAT bad) But I'm such a Disney girl, I'm afraid that I'll be disappointed by Universal...

I'm worried about being "Pooh" sized and not fitting on rides. Were there any other rides that your husband wasn't able to enjoy?

 

[Goofy&Sleepy]

We did not ride roller coasters. He rode Hippogriff but he did NOT fit on Forbidden Journey ( the main HP ride) . UNFORTUNATELY, I did not read up enough (only read about how to rush to get to the ride first) and he was on the ride w/3 kids (niece 7, DD7,DD10) & was pulled off & they went on. All was fine & he was in the child wait after. Wish we had seen the TEST seats at the entrance but were in too big of a rush & I guess it never dawned on me that he wouldn't fit on a new ride. Everything else that we did was fine. Even if you can't ride it, if the line is short (under 1 hr) I highly recommend walking thru the castle & exiting. It is really amazing and very detailed if you are even a semi HP fan. Have fun!

 

[Goofy&Sleepy]

Another thing...from a fellow die hard Dis fan, I enjoyed US/IOA but no thoughts of returning anytime soon. Funny the things you notice, like at Shrek they said wait while we reset the computer for the next show... would NEVER kill the magic at WDW w/that & the parking folks definitely lacked "pixie dust". Make sure you do SPIDERMAN So cool & wished we had done it our first day! All enjoyed it.

 

[disneywithfive]

We're die hard Disney fans too but love Universal. We just spent 10days there staying at Royal Pacific. Dh said the he wanted a relaxing vacation but we also had to entertain the three kids. We loved it. It was very busy and FOTL was so worth it. I had never wanted to go to Universal but it will be a place we visit often. Thankfully we live close enough to utilize an annual pass to its fullest. I thought I'd compare it to Disney and I guess I did but only in trying to find the good points. There are bad points and situations to Disney and Universal so I think that is a wash. In the past, we've traveled to Disney more then five times a year so we've experienced bad times there too. Just enjoy.

 

[Metro West]

Thanks for sharing your report!

 

[NHKristy76]

Another thing...from a fellow die hard Dis fan, I enjoyed US/IOA but no thoughts of returning anytime soon. Funny the things you notice, like at Shrek they said wait while we reset the computer for the next show... would NEVER kill the magic at WDW w/that & the parking folks definitely lacked "pixie dust". Make sure you do SPIDERMAN So cool & wished we had done it our first day! All enjoyed it.

We had a great time on our trip too! I was shocked when I actually fit on The Forbidden Journey (even though I did NOT fit in the test seat). My sister and I both agreed that we aren't likely to go back any time soon... maybe when our kids are older because the park is definitely, in our opinion, meant for the younger set.

WDW in August! Woohoo!

 

[NHKristy76]

We're die hard Disney fans too but love Universal. We just spent 10days there staying at Royal Pacific. Dh said the he wanted a relaxing vacation but we also had to entertain the three kids. We loved it.

10 days?!?!!?! Wow! We were there for 3 nights/4 days and felt like we did everything there was to be done including a day by the pool!

 

[marylandterps01]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[disneywithfive]

10 days?!?!!?! Wow! We were there for 3 nights/4 days and felt like we did everything there was to be done including a day by the pool!

Yes, we stayed at Royal Pacific and we were able to walk on the rides most of the time. There was a lot of pool time and relaxing. Just what we needed. Plus, it was so easy to come and go as we wanted. It's only about a 10 minute walk to the parks.