First trip to Universal - number of days

[dr0970]

I am looking in to possibly planning our first trip to Universal. We are going Feb 1 - Feb 6. I had originally started planning a trip to Disney but we have been there 5 times in February and I thought maybe it was time for a change. I have two DS's ages 7 and 8. Neither them nor hubby are big on 'thrill' but I do see a lot of things we can enjoy at both parks.

My question is the number of days at the parks. At Disney we have done 4 and 5 days. I had planned 5 nights/4 days for Universal but wondered if this was too much. Will there be enough for us to do? We do not plan to rent a car.

I am looking at staying at Cabana Bay and I know my boys will love the pool. What does City Walk have to offer for young kids/families?

I am still in the process of researching but really leaning towards trying Universal. Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Nomarian]

I think that is actually a good amount of time to go. We go every few years for the same time frame. We take our time at the parks and also enjoy the pool at the hotel and all the amenities. You can do both parks in 2 days, but you will be pretty stressed out which we used to be. Now we just spread it out and take it all in with a relaxed state of mind.

 

[glocon]

Staying onsite is great, and that is a great amount of time. You can have a relaxing vacation, but also an exciting one. You can do 5-6 hours in a park then go swimming at your great pool at CB. There is also a bowling alley at CB.

At CW there are 2 mini-golf courses, Blue Man Group, theater if you want to go to shows.

You can also pool hop when staying onsite, and your kids would love the pools at the other resorts.

And re-rides of favorite rides are always good. Just think, a themepark at your finger tips, lots of great pools and restaurants to enjoy, excitement with relaxation all in one. You will love it!

 

[mrsabbott]

I think that is a good amount of time!

 

[dr0970]

THANK YOU for all the responses. So you can pool hop? This is not something you can do at Disney. I will have to check that out.

What is the cost of bowling at CB? I just wondered if anyone knew.

Now I have to look at our food options. At Disney we have mostly had the quicker service dining plan and once the table service. We have always had our dining plan free or very cheap but I don't think Universal offers anything like this from what I can see. And what they do offer doesn't seem worth it.

 

[lazer]

Spending 7 days there in a few weeks, and our oldest is 5. We're gonna take it slow and spend some time at citywalk, the pools and maybe some things outside Universal!

We usually go to Disney, but the lines and planning are getting to be too much. Excited to go at a slower pace and have little to no plans (we have two dining reservations). I'll be sure to share more detailed trip report after we're back

 

[Planogirl]

The mini-golf courses at Citywalk are really nice and we try to see a movie during each trip just to chill out for a bit. The last one we saw was the Disney movie Saving Mr. Banks!

There is a stickey at the top that lists menus for Universal and Citywalk and hotel restaurants. You can find some decent prices at the full service places and some are quite good.

 

[TunaSled]

That is exactly the amount of time we are giving ourselves. We are attending for the 1st time ever the first week of December. The parks close at 7 those four days but I figure with the hour early HP entrance (staying at CBR) we should still be able to stroll casually onto everything we like, crowd calendars show attendance as low also.

These are my hopes anyway.

 

[bumbershoot]

At Disney we have done 4 and 5 days. I had planned 5 nights/4 days for Universal but wondered if this was too much.

Were those 4 or 5 days at WDW enough for you? If so, 4 days might be too much *for you*.

For me, our first Universal trip was 2 partial days and 2 full days. But our first WDW trip was 10 days. And we've spent 8 days at Disneyland.

We like long trips and multiple re-rides and just hanging out in the fun of the park.


That said, Universal can be an incredibly relaxing vacation that doesn't have to be spent in the parks all day. It's a really lovely place when you stay onsite.