First Timers for Universal

[tink20]

Ok, I could do WDW blind -folded. But I am so lost when looking at Universal. I was thinking of skipping WDW this year and doing Universal (both parks)

Dates: June 5-8
Party: DH,Me,DD(17) & her friend, and DS(9)

DD, loves thrill rides, so no problems there, she will ride anything.

As for DH,DS and myself, we will ride, BTM, SplM and Dinosaur (I will ride TOT,SpM and EE, but DS and DH won't). DS and I tend to get motion sickness (a little). We could take Bonine if needed. Would that help?

So what would we not be able to ride, We are not going to want to ride anything that goes upside down. DS loves Harry Potter, is there anything he could enjoy there?

Was planning on staying onsite for FOTL pass, what are wait times with this in June? And how many days do you get, Like if you stay 4 nights do you get 4 day FOTL pass? Is it like WDW, if you arrive early on check in day, can you go ahead and go to the park? How many days do we need to tour both parks?

TIA, I just feel so lost, and want to know all I can before I go.

 

[Planogirl]

If you can't go upside down then Hulk is out and so is Rip Ride Rockit and Dragon Challenge. You can see all of those easily so you'll be able to tell how wild they are.

The Mummy's Revenge should be fine and so should Forbidden Journey. If anyone is prone to motion sickness then something like Bonine might be a good idea. Forbidden Journey seems to affect a lot of people. The Simpsons is simulator ride that seems to bother some people and there is some spinning in Cat in the Hat, Spiderman and Men in Black if that is an issue. Strangely, the only ride that bothers me is Jimmy Neutron but it doesn't seem to affect anyone else.

As for your DS, he MIGHT be able to ride Forbidden Journey. It's wild but it's a car on a moving arm and not a coaster. The car does move pretty intensely though. Flight of the Hippogriff is just a mini-coaster and he will likely be OK with that. He can also go to Ollivander's and do a walkthru of the castle if he chooses not to ride. From my understanding, you just ask the CM if you can walk thru the castle and they direct you where to enter.

FOTL will work the day you check in until the day you check out. In other words, if you stay one night you get two days of FOTL. When we had it we normally had either no wait or just a very short one. How many days it takes you will depend on your touring style. We like to ride things over again and take our time to really explore so we easily spend four days at Universal.

The parks really aren't too bad to get around in. The Studios is kind of a wobbly oval with a lot of side streets that interconnect around the New York area. IOA is a big circle with the WWoHP kind of branching off on one side.

The Universal website has a map under Info that can give you a good idea of the layout. For some reason I can't link it.

 

[mesaboy2]

If you can't go upside down then Hulk is out and so is Rip Ride Rockit and Dragon Challenge. You can see all of those easily so you'll be able to tell how wild they are.

Technically, Rip Ride Rocket doesn't go upside down. But it is a fairly intense coaster....

 

[Metro West]

The Universal website has a map under Info that can give you a good idea of the layout. For some reason I can't link it.

Go to www.universalorlando.com and then scroll to the bottom and click on "Maps" under "Plan Your Vacation". I don't think there's a direct link.

 

[macraven]

Ok, I could do WDW blind -folded. But I am so lost when looking at Universal. I was thinking of skipping WDW this year and doing Universal (both parks)

Dates: June 5-8
Party: DH,Me,DD(17) & her friend, and DS(9)




Was planning on staying onsite for FOTL pass, what are wait times with this in June? And how many days do you get, Like if you stay 4 nights do you get 4 day FOTL pass? Is it like WDW, if you arrive early on check in day, can you go ahead and go to the park? How many days do we need to tour both parks?

TIA, I just feel so lost, and want to know all I can before I go.

in early june, you will appreciate the perk of using the express lines for rides and shows.
P. flyers and FJ do not have express lines at this point.

i check in early, when the lobby is staffed.
i get my hotel card, store my luggage, and head off to the park.

the hotel card is activated and will allow you useage for the express lines.
you should receive a call from the front desk when your room is ready.
they will give you the room number.
you can request to have your belongings put in the room for you.
i have never had it refused to have my stuff put in the room when i am not there.

you don't have to stop at the desk lobby since you know your room number and the card was activated.


i can spend over a week in the parks and never get tired of it.
since this is your first time, the 4 days you have allowed will be good for the entire family.

try to catch Horror Make Up Show.
it is a hoot...

if you shop in the parks, you can have the items sent directly to your room.
or, if you want an item immediately once you finish your day in the park, you can have it sent to the front merch store to be held for you.

i can't believe the fans that buy the parry hotter wands would want to wait very long to get that back in their hands.

if you shop that way, you will not have to use lockers to store items.
some rides do not allow any carry on items.

the perk of the express line useage for rides and shows for onsite guests, begins when you check in.
it also includes that same perk when you check out of the hotel.
it will be valid until the parks close at night.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

Regarding motion sickness, I am similar to you and your DS. I found that the first time I rode FJ, I was a bit queasy afterwards. It is not your typical ride - some is in a moving vehicle and some is in front of a large screen like a motion similulator. I tend to feel cruddy with motion simulators so this one just made me feel a little cruddy (headache).
But the 2nd time I did this one (the next day), I was fine since I knew what to expect (and I concentrated on breathing deeply which usually helps me stave off the motion sickness).

I agree with a PP about the Simpson's ride - a bit queasy on that one too and didn't try it again.

And Rip-Ride-Rocket was a one-time only for me. Huge headache after that one (sad because it was FUN!).

Enjoy!

 

[tink20]

Regarding motion sickness, I am similar to you and your DS. I found that the first time I rode FJ, I was a bit queasy afterwards. It is not your typical ride - some is in a moving vehicle and some is in front of a large screen like a motion similulator. I tend to feel cruddy with motion simulators so this one just made me feel a little cruddy (headache).
But the 2nd time I did this one (the next day), I was fine since I knew what to expect (and I concentrated on breathing deeply which usually helps me stave off the motion sickness).

I agree with a PP about the Simpson's ride - a bit queasy on that one too and didn't try it again.

And Rip-Ride-Rocket was a one-time only for me. Huge headache after that one (sad because it was FUN!).

Enjoy!

Thanks for the advice, and your sig made me laugh, because my name is Stacey LOL!

 

[IdesOmarch]

If you can handle dinosaur, I dare say you can handle most anything at Universal, except maybe for the Dragon Challenge coasters, don't think anything else there goes upside down. There are a ton of theme rides, you'll be able to enjoy (I like coasters, but the theme rides are by far my favorite at Universal)

IOA
1) Jurassic Park River Adventure, 2) Spiderman, 3) HP Forbidden Journey, 4) Ripsaw falls (log ride you get wet), 5) Blutos barges (you get wet), 6) all the rides in Suess landing (mainly kiddie type rides).

Universal

1) Mummy, 2) Twister ( a show), 3) Terminator (a show), 4) Men In Black 5) Jaws, 6) ET (There are more but these are my favorites.)