First trip - Can you share your one favorite tip for a great trip?

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Hello everyone. We will be spending one day at Seaworld and 3 days at Universal. We have never been. We will be staying off site but only a 5-10 minute drive.

Can you help us by giving your best advice or tip for a great trip?

There is 5 of us with 3 hotel rooms so no worries on getting ready.

Our group consists of my husband (50), me (49) disabled but still walking slowly and will rest more than most of the group, my best friend (her age is close to mine), my daughter (22) and my son (20)

Thank you in advance for any help you can give us.

 

[anorman]

arrive for 30 minutes (at least) before rope drop to avoid the long lines.....that goes for both Universal and Seaworld! Have you considered staying onsite? The deluxe hotels offer free Express Passes to onsite guests. We did one trip offsite and the next we stayed onsite and with the EP perk, I will never stay offsite again if I plan on going to the Universal parks. It was such a pleasure to just walk on to most of the rides!

 

[nkereina]

Arrive early and familiarize yourself with the attractions/layout before you get there. This will save you time from looking at the map and trying to get your bearings, and also help you avoid missing things. We also found that having some background on the attractions helped us to know if they were too intense for us, if they were a show or simulator, etc.

Also, if you can, avoid bringing a bag with you. Many of the rides require you to store bags or crossbody purses in a locker (free of charge) right outside the entrance to the ride. It's not terribly inconvenient, but will take an extra minute or two each time you need to do this. The lockers JUST fit a backpack so if you do bring a bag, don't make it a large or overstuffed one.

 

[johde]

If you have AAA or American Express you can get 10% off most food in the parks (kiosks excluded) and Merchandise ($50 minimum)
If you like Universal and you think you might make it back in a year, inquire at guest services about upgrading to a power pass. It may be cheaper than you expect.

If you are prone to motion sickness, Dramamine can be your friend.

Frequently the longest line in the parks is for Despicable Me. Try and hit it first thing. The HP rides can get long lines but the queues are so well themed that some wait is OK.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Thank you for the tips. No way to stay onsite this trip. Lodging is a birthday gift from my best friend who has Hilton Honors and is using them for my family.

I will do our best to get there early. Two young adults on Spring break it may be tough. But I will remind them of the July 4th. lines at Magic Kingdom.

I think my girlfriend has an America Express. I will ask her to bring it and we can just give her the cash.

If anyone has anymore tips please let me know. Also is the park as much walking as Disney?

 

[damo]

Do the little things instead of just standing in line for rides all day. Walk through Camp Jurassic and visit Jurassic Park Discovery Centre. Watch the fountain do its spiel. Talk to the Knight Bus Driver. Take your time going through Hogwarts by asking to do the tour. Study up on how to score well on Men in Black before riding it. Watch all the movies that have rides so they are fresh in your head. Do single rider lines whenever possible; you'll all end up being quite close together anyways and it will save you lots of time. Don't purchase butterbeer from the carts at IOA but use Hogshead Pub instead. I second the reminder to bring along some Less Drowsy Dramine or Bonine because some of the rides can ruin your day if you are prone to motion sickness.

 

[Liberator]

For Islands of Adventure: If it is not too crowded, go to the Popeyes-Raft-Ride 1/2 hour before closing. We did this several times and it was so much fun to ride it over and over without getting off because there was no one in line anymore.

Important: Always have a set of dry clothes with you (underwear, shirt, everything) because the water rides at Islands of Adventure are fun, BUT VERY WET! You will get soaked. Everyone!


And, the most important advise: Be early!

 

[nkereina]

Also is the park as much walking as Disney?

Eh, depends. I wouldn't say either park is as big as Epcot, but maybe more like DHS? It's definitely doable but I wouldn't say it's super convenient to go from the back of the park to the front of the park to meet someone or rent a locker, etc.

 

[johde]

Eh, depends. I wouldn't say either park is as big as Epcot, but maybe more like DHS? It's definitely doable but I wouldn't say it's super convenient to go from the back of the park to the front of the park to meet someone or rent a locker, etc.

I would agree, in terms of area, I'd say BOTH parks together are about the size of Epcot. To get from MIB in the back of USF to Jurassic Park in the back of IOA is 1.1 miles. From the front of EPCOT, the long way around (past Mexico and Norway) to the International Gateway is 1.2 miles. IOA is setup a lot like World Showcase with a central lake in the middle you travel around to see the various areas. USF is setup similar to DHS in a "city street" setup especially in the front of the park. And walking wise, USF is very similar to DHS and IOA is very similar to World Showcase at EPCOT.

Just for fun, using one of the Google Maps Area tools

Universal Orlando Resorts (Parks, Hotels, City Walk, Parking Garages, Backstage area etc). 676 Acres
EPCOT and Resort Area (EPCOT, Parking Lot, Swan, Dolphin, Boardwalk, Yacht and Beach Club) 688 Acres
Disneyland Resort (Disneyland, California Adventure, Mickey and Friends Garage, 3 onsite hotels, excluding remote parking) 449 acres.

 

[Seeker615]

Enjoy lunch or dinner at Citywalk if you can. There are some great places to eat and some great shopping as well. We ate at Pat O'Briens and Hard Rock and both places were great. NASCAR Cafe was good for lunch.

Take your time and enjoy the themeing in both parks. It is really amazing!

Don't miss the Horror Make Up Show. It was one of our favorites!

 

[nkereina]

Enjoy lunch or dinner at Citywalk if you can. There are some great places to eat and some great shopping as well. We ate at Pat O'Briens and Hard Rock and both places were great. NASCAR Cafe was good for lunch.

Agree with this. Unfortunately the NASCAR restaurant has been closed and knocked down. Rumor has it they are replacing it with an NBC Sports themed restaurant.

We enjoyed Red Oven Pizza for some quick service wood fired pizza. Really good. Also loved Antojitos which was better for dinner and a relaxing night. The Cowfish has some good reviews too, but haven't tried it yet.

 

[sharona]

My one tip for a great trip to US/IOA = DRAMAMINE

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Could someone compare a ride at Disney that would be a "dramamine" ride.

Also while I have had some type of dramamine before which would be the least drowsy and is this more of a "we are getting older tip" or should I encourage the 20 and 22 year olds to also use it. Is it once a day? Thanks for all the tips.

Getting excited it has come up very quickly and I feel totally unprepared.

 

[sharona]

For me motion sickness has always been an issue and my DD has it too. Any ride with a screen/3D or that goes backwards or is spinny or a boat ride in choppy water will do us in w/out taking something ahead of time. Neither of us can go to an IMax theater, 3D movie or handle long car rides (unless in the front seat) so for us it is our #1 most important tip since we love to ride.

I don't bother with Dramamine at WDW, I just avoid the attractions that I consider Dramamine rides (for me): Mission Space, Expedition Everest and anything that spins quickly like Tea Cups and Astro Orbiter.

 

[vrajewski10513]

Could someone compare a ride at Disney that would be a "dramamine" ride.

Also while I have had some type of dramamine before which would be the least drowsy and is this more of a "we are getting older tip" or should I encourage the 20 and 22 year olds to also use it. Is it once a day? Thanks for all the tips.

Getting excited it has come up very quickly and I feel totally unprepared.

My best comparison I would make at Disney is Soarin' but a little more intense... not quite as bad as Mission Space.... For me atleast, its the rides with the screens that make me a little queasy.

 

[pixeegrl]

No one has mentioned this yet but depending on your disability you may be able to get a Guest Assistance Pass. You can read up a bit more on it here http://orlandoinformer.com/page/art...ets-packages-planning/guest-assistance-passes
and also here https://www.universalorlando.com/Resort-Information/Accessibility-Information.aspx
My favorite bit of advice, which seems like common sense but we sometimes forget is to relax, have fun and just go with the flow! Oh, and there is a short cut to HP in IOA Instead of following the main path--which leads around the Caro-Seuss-el and past One Fish Two Fish and Trolley Train further on--cut left as soon as you enter Seuss and stay left of Green Eggs and Ham. Follow the left path along the water and it'll skip past all that and bring you out to the bridge to Lost Continent, which you must pass through to get to WWoHP." that's a quote from an old post. There used to be a picture of it drawn out on the map but it's gone now.

 

[Pembo]

Drink lots of Butterbeer....the stuff is amazing!

 

[nkereina]

Could someone compare a ride at Disney that would be a "dramamine" ride.

Mission Space is a Dramamine ride for me. Star Tours gets me sometimes too. The Uni rides I had similar feelings on were Simpsons, Men In Black and Forbidden Journey. FJ wasn't bad, and I rode it more than once but I can see where it would get to people. Rollercoasters have no impact on me.

 

[imprint]

Cheaper draft beer at Cigarz in City Walk.

 

[Planogirl]

It's nice to take a break and eat lunch in Citywalk. The restaurants tend to be quieter and we always feel recharged after some time spent away from the crowds.

There are however some good places in the parks too and some close at 5 or so. Check the dining sticky posted above if you haven't yet.