We will be there the same time as you 18-25! You guys will have so much fun! The kids were around your kids ages the first time they went for spring break, and they loved it! The Mardi Gras parade was big hit as well.
EP Passes
First, you will love having the EP passes. We are so spoiled by these now. I can't imagine having to go somewhere and actually wait.
One thing to note, if you can, try to do one or two rides early in the morning each day without the EP. The idea is to walk through the standby line when there isn't a wait, so you can experience the storyline. Some of the rides have very elaborate queues that setup the storyline and make the ride make more sense. You can find lists on the forum here that tell the not to be missed queues.
Dining
You don't need to make reservations, but you can on OpenTable if it makes you feel better. We've never made reservations and never had an issue. I don't plan on making any for our spring break trip. We will be a party of 7. I've never had an issue getting us all a table in under 15 minutes. Usually, we go straight back to be seated.
Places we usually eat:
Three Broomsticks (if HP fans)
We like getting the feast as we find it tasty, a good deal for the money, and able to feed all of us.
Bubba Gump in CityWalk
This has been a favorite of the kids since a beach vacation years ago. They always ask to eat here anytime we are in a city that has one. We like it for the fun atmosphere and the variety of non-seafood options that satisfy the picky eaters among us.
RedOven Pizza in CityWalk
Honestly, not my favorite pizza ever, but the kids eat it, and it is convenient and quick.
Mythos
The atmosphere is amazing and the food very good. I like the Pad Thai.
HardRock
Technically, we haven't been to the one in Citywalk because we have a local one and try not to eat at places we eat at at home while on vacation. However, I would think they are all pretty similar, and the kids really enjoy the one we have been to. I think it's a good option for the tween /teen age group. The food is very picky eater friendly, and the atmosphere is fun and interesting without being childish.
Toothsome
This place looks fun, but we haven't gotten to try it yet. I feel like this is one of the few places I might actually make a reservation for if they take reservations. It is so new and seems really popular. I feel like a party of 7 might be an issue without one.
We've also tried both the Italian and Mexican restaurants in CityWalk and not really cared for them.
If you will have a car, there are tons of great restaurants and dinner shows off property, you can go to.
Tips to make it successful:
Planning
Relax and have fun! Universal with an EP is a very laid back trip, especially if you are there more than 2 days. It doesn't require extensive planning. You can just wander around and do whatever you feel like for the most part.
Having said that, I'm not sure if you are a big planner or not. The biggest mistake I made on our first trip was not planning anything as far as what we were doing when. I found out that trip, the kids really like us having a plan. They like knowing what we are doing when. Kids like structure and familiarity. I tried to change the way we vacation by not planning because it wasn't necessary, and it totally blew up in my face. Maybe a plan isn't necessary to fit everything in, but it was necessary for us to function as a group. So my advice is to do what you normally do on a trip. If you are a big planner, plan, make dining reservations, create a ride schedule, etc. If you normally don't do more than book a few dinners, do that. Planning isn't necessary, but if your family is use to it, you might not want to get rid of it completely.
HP
Is anyone a fan? If so, give yourself plenty of time to explore, and you will need to do some planning in these sections as FJ and Gringotts don't take the EP pass. Also, these two lands get very crowded very fast. There is also the decision of to get an interactive wand or not to get an interactive wand? If you get one, do you all share, or does each person get their own? At $50 a wand, you might want to have a discussion with the kids about that before you go.
Rides
Try to try everything at least once. So many things that we thought we wouldn't like or that the kids stuck their noses up at at first, ended up being favorites. For instance, I made the kids ride One Fish Two Fish which is a Dumbo like ride that squirts jets of water at you. They didn't want to have anything to do with it at first because it was a baby ride, and at 12,13, and 14, they were too old for that. Well, once I got them on it, and they realized they had the power to soak me and anyone else riding with them, I couldn't get them off it. It became one of their favorites.
Water Rides
Be prepared to get soaked. Like jump in the pool with your clothes on soaked. Plan accordingly. We rode with ponchos on and still got soaked. On the raft ride, the water came up from below!
Motion sickness
Does anyone have issues? Some of the rides can be brutal. I've even heard of people who don't normally have issues, getting slightly queasy on some rides. I never have issues at Disney. There are only 1 or 2 rides that bother me out of all 4 parks. However, I think half of Universal's rides give me problems. You may want to look into non drowsy Dramamine or talk to your Dr about other options just in case. Just something to think about.
Lockers
Be aware there are a few rides where you can't take anything on with you except a lanyard. I mean nothing, not even in your pockets. A couple of coasters even require you to go through a metal detector. Free lockers are provided at these rides, but they can be a pain depending on your luck and the crowd level. Some people don't mind the lockers. Others hate them. Personally, they just annoy me. I try to avoid them if possible, but if we have to use one once or twice, it isn't a big deal.
This brings me to:
Lanyards
Since you will have EP to keep up with for each person, you may want to look into getting lanyards for everyone. Every time you enter an EP line, you have to have your EP scanned. This can make keeping the EP in a wallet or purse a little inconvenient since you have to keep pulling it out all the time. Plus, it would have to go in a pocket on all the rides where you can't take anything with you.
Lanyards are more convenient. I keep everything in my lanyard, EP on one side facing out, park ticket on other, and credit card / cash in the middle. This way we don't have to mess with the lockers. When the kids were younger, I even stuck a Help Me I'm Lost Card with all our cell phone numbers listed in each of the kid's lanyards.
You can buy lanyards in the park, but they are much cheaper if you get them ahead of time. I've found they are cheapest at Home Improvement stores like Home Depot, but you can also find them at
Walmart and on
Amazon. I like the ones with either the extra long chords or with the little retractable extender on the end. This way you don't have to take it off your head to be scanned.
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