First visit to Universal since I was 14

[wholesomejoe]

I got the wild idea to take my family to either Universal or Disney after the new year, as sort of a late Christmas present for my 5 year old boy. I gave him the option of Universal Orlando or WDW, and after looking at every attraction, videos etc. he chose Universal. I'm a indie film maker, and he's "odd" for a 5 year old. His favorite movies are Ghostbusters, Christine, The Goonies, Beetlejuice, Howard the Duck, etc. stuff most kids wouldn't even know about at his age.

He immediately was drawn to Harry Potter, Spiderman, The Beetlejuice show. The only things he seemed interested in at Disney were the haunted attractions and Star Wars stuff. I think he'd have fun at either place once he got there, but I wanted him to pick since the trip was for him. We'll take him to whatever place we don't go this year, next year anyway. Luckily for me Universal seems like its HALF as expensive as WDW. I did check all the height requirements, and with shoes on he hits 44" tall. That's tall enough to ride everything but the big roller coasters, and the big harry potter ride. He seemed more interested in getting a wand than rides, but it may be a different story when we get there. I hope he won't be too disappointed to not ride that one.

It will be me, my wife, and five year old. We plan to see USF and IOA. I want to get a 2 day plus 1 free pass they are doing right now. I found several packaged deals in the 599-700 range that would include tickets, hotel (off site but still offers some benefits). I would assume WDW is the most expensive of the two parks. I think I quoted tickets for just two days, with the park hopper option at 881.00 for all 3 of us.

Anyway, my question revolves around time to go. I've been reading and reading, and reading (because I love to do research) and it seems like January or February is a good time to go.

We plan to leave on a Thursday after I get off work (we live in GA.. so its only a 4 hr drive from here) Check into our hotel on Thursday evening, and hit the parks Friday morning, Spend all day friday/saturday and then half a day Sunday and head back Sunday evening. This way, my son only misses one day of school, and I only miss a day of work. He only has limited days he can miss and he's already missed 6 for a trip to texas we took a few months ago.

I understand the weekend days are going to be the most crowded, but that's going to be the best for us with out schedules. My work is difficult with giving us time off due to coverage, so one day off is easier to get than several in a row.

So here are the dates I had in mind..

Jan 17-20
24-27
Jan 31- Feb 3

The 17-20 is obviously MLK day weekend, and that was my first choice until I realized that. Looking at some crowd calendar's it looks like it might be a bad choice. My 5 year old doesn't have a ton of patience for waiting more than 20-30 minutes. I also don't want to be rushed around the park just trying to beat crowds to rides. The last time I went was when IOA was being built. and I remember standing in line for back to the future for 2 hrs.. well just about every ride we got on was at least an hr or more wait.. this was in the middle of summer though.

My question is, should we chance that or go one of the other times? The sooner the better!

I'm also afraid of rides being closed that we will really want to ride. Is there any way to accurately tell what will be open or closed? It's just an expensive trip to not get to do everything.

Well that was longer than I intended.. any help is appreciated.

 

[macraven]

suggest you stay at one of the onsite hotels.
hotel perks are early entry, unlimited usage of the express lines for rides and shows in the park. (4 rides/shows are not included in the express set up)

if there are crowds in the park, the most you would line wait would be 15 minutes in the express lines.
if no crowds, short lines, still good to stay onsite.
early entry for parry hotter and the ollivanders show would allow your family not to have crowds in the morning.

you are going on a weekend.
if weather is good, more locals are in the parks on the weekend.

 

[wholesomejoe]

I'd like to do that, but its just not in the budget this go round.

This will be somewhat of a budget trip.

 

[mesaboy2]

I'd like to do that, but its just not in the budget this go round.

This will be somewhat of a budget trip.

Sounds to me like you already know what you're doing. While it won't be horrible, MLK weekend is a holiday weekend and will naturally be busier than the other two. I'd just wait one week and go the weekend of 24-27.

 

[wholesomejoe]

does anyone know when the ride closures updates on the UO website?

My only concern with going later is that they might shut down a bunch of rides after that busy MLK weekend.

 

[macraven]

this thread is a sticky in this forum:



http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2092006


when peeps/TM's are aware of a refurbishment, it usually is listed in that thread.


a couple of water rides usually go down in the winter period for refurbing.

 

[RMulieri]

Jan/Feb is when the water rides are down..They don't do all of them at once but usually they are right in a row.last year Jurassic park was down Jan 22-27th-ish because we missed it.Be advised that while Jan is relatively slow, there are LOTS of South American tour groups in the parks at that time.Since you aren't staying onsite and won't have the resort express pass, head in the opposite direction of them.

 

[wholesomejoe]

I think the time I was there last Earthquake and Jurassic Park were both closed, and this was during the summer.. so I guess its a crap shoot either way (That tells you how long its been)

I wish I could afford to stay on site, but its either stay on site, and have no spending money or stay off site and plan a little better. We still get early admission to islands of adventure, so that should help some. We'll be staying within walking distance, and I'm an early bird so I'll be there before most still anyway I think.

Is everybody still of the mind to avoid MLK weekend? I have to go ahead and ask off from work for whatever days I am going to try to take.

 

[macraven]

in some states, MLK is a paid holiday off from work.

you will find families/solos that do 3 day weekends due to that.



if it were me and staying offsite, i would select another weekend.
why take a chance?

i second mesaboy's choice.

 

[mesaboy2]

in some states, MLK is a paid holiday off from work.

you will find families/solos that do 3 day weekends due to that.

if it were me and staying offsite, i would select another weekend.
why take a chance?

i second mesaboy's choice.

And a federal holiday as well.

 

[wholesomejoe]

Yeah, I think I am going for the 24-27th and hope for the best with the rides being operational. Water rides I'm not as concerned with, since its gonna be sort of chilly most likely.

 

[wholesomejoe]

I put in the time off from work.
I decided to try to take that Monday off as well for rest.. and then we could even spend our third day, all day instead of just half.

Now to figure out a few other things...

which parks to do what days?

I'm getting the park to park tickets so we can jump around if we want, but I figure it will be best to just hit a park a day, and then the last day recap things we liked alot at both parks.

Also, debating getting the dining pass. We'll eat at least twice in a day.
I know I want to eat at the Three Broomsticks, and maybe Mythos or Hard Rock at some point. How much is that gonna run me for 2 adults 1 kid (he's 5).

He's going to want a wand at the very least, and who knows what else but a wand for sure.

We won't have express passes, but we do get early access to IOA with the hotel we are going with, its 1 mile from the location and a shuttle takes you there, from what I read the shuttle still runs some time after the park is closed so you don't have to leave early.

 

[macraven]

suggest you look at the menus at the 3 places per park that offer the meal deal.

you would have to use that promo 3 times that day in order to come out ahead financially.

the beverage is not included in the meal deal.
no sharing on the meal deal.
you have to get back in line for additional food at the restaurant when using the meal deal as you only receive one order each time.

the meal deal does not include breakfast.
the cs opens 10:30/11:00 in some places.

the meal deal terminates 30 minutes prior to park closing.



so, if the meal deal is available at 11:00 and ends at 6:30 (if park closes at 7:00 that night), can you eat 3 meals in that 7.5 hour time period?

you can't get any of the foods "to go".


really, there are better places to eat at than some of the cs that are in the program.


Louie's is the one place that is on the meal deal that has great food.
just wanted to get that in so you are aware there are a few places that are worth using the meal deal at.

 

[wholesomejoe]

Thought of some more questisons.

As much as I'd love to stay on site, I've been checking ride wait times right now and it doesn't look like the express passes are going to be THAT useful the time of year we are going. I haven't seen any ride have a wait longer than 30 minutes or so, and that was mostly HP, everything else was 5-20 at most.

So we are forced to stay offsite.

I was looking at package deals on the UO site, that included hotel, tickets, and early access to IOA...

my problem is, I don't see any of these hotels that offer shuttle service to the park that early.. so what good is early admission unless we drive? I would love to avoid driving, but I also know the shuttles also have a tendency to only run at really specific times which may or may not coincide with how long we want to stay at the park (probably very close to closing each day). What are the options other than driving from an offsite hotel? How big of a PITA is driving?

 

[macraven]

Thought of some more questisons.

As much as I'd love to stay on site, I've been checking ride wait times right now and it doesn't look like the express passes are going to be THAT useful the time of year we are going. I haven't seen any ride have a wait longer than 30 minutes or so, and that was mostly HP, everything else was 5-20 at most.

So we are forced to stay offsite.

I was looking at package deals on the UO site, that included hotel, tickets, and early access to IOA...

my problem is, I don't see any of these hotels that offer shuttle service to the park that early.. so what good is early admission unless we drive? I would love to avoid driving, but I also know the shuttles also have a tendency to only run at really specific times which may or may not coincide with how long we want to stay at the park (probably very close to closing each day). What are the options other than driving from an offsite hotel? How big of a PITA is driving?

you don't save money on the partner hotel packages.
tickets are cheaper at UT.
get the hotel that offers you a rate you can live with.
you can always get a lot done in the parks without the early entry.
EE will cover parry hotter, not the rest of ioa.
why pay a higher room rate for an offsite hotel just for the EE.


shuttles never give you an early morning drop off time.
shuttles usually do a few hotel pick ups and some charge for the shuttle.
shuttles can have limited hours, depends on the hotel.

avoid the shuttles and drive to the parks.
or
book a hotel within one mile from the parks and walk to the parks.
use a taxi to return to the hotel in the evening if you don't want to walk back to your hotel.

if the parks are full on a day you are there, you won't get out of the parking garage quickly if you leave at closing time.

 

[damo]

Like Mac said, just pic a hotel within walking distance and your problem is solved.

 

[wholesomejoe]

I'm thinking that maybe the early access won't mean much for us since we are going during one of the slowest times of the year. We are going to be there for 3 days, so I don't see why we won't have time to see everything and see some things multiple times without that.

I'm just wanting to do this for as little as possible, with a balance of convenience and safety.

Ideally I'd walk to the parks, it would be me, and my wife and 5 year old. We are fairly fit. I just don't want to have flashes of death every day trying to dodge traffic walking. I've heard its pretty bad, but then again I've heard the same about driving.

But I also don't want to be tied to limited shuttle times, and get to the park late due to it making a zillion stops before it ever gets there.

I was looking at Hyatt Place or Double Tree, they seems to be the closest.
Is it safe to walk at night?

 

[macraven]

yes, safe to walk at night.

 

[ChitownFamily]

Hiya! I love that your child has been exposed to some awesome movies already in life! How fun!
couple of thoughts, as we just returned from US/IOA with our kids ( 7 & 5) with their first visit.
Has your child ever gone to a theme/amusement park or ridden a ride simulator?
We found even though our kids would ride almost everything at Disney (we did a 10 day visit recently) Universal rides & show simulations like Twister scared the beejezus out of our kids.

Now my DH & I took turns to ride the Mummy, that was INCREDIBLE!!!! (but IMHO not 5 year old appropriate even if they meet the height requirement)

Basically at universal- my kids rode MIB, Shrek, Minions, Simpsons, & ET unless i'm forgetting something that was it. We played in the woody wood pecker kids area.

My hubby & I child swapped to ride some of the other rides. Do you know about the secret song tracks on Rip Ride Rocket? http://attractionsmagazine.com/blog/2009/08/20/hidden-songs-confirmed-on-rip-ride-rockit-coaster/

The popcorn bucket was a good value with 89 cent refills. Though the popcorn was just okay...Disney popcorn was awesome

I didn't see anyone mention the Cinematic Spectular (still on first cup of coffee so it's possible i skimmed the other posts & missed it) Being an indie film maker, you might really enjoy their night time presentation of Universal's 100 years of film. A nice splurge would be to book the Cinematic Spectacular dining Experience. For the cost, you get an appetizer, meal & unlimited dessert table & a reserved spot for the nighttime show. Alcoholic drinks are extra. we had 515 reservations, we were able to remain at our table all through the show (about 30 mins) http://www.universalorlando.com/Shows/Universal-Studios-Florida/Cinematic-Spectacular.aspx

IOA- the kids loved Suess Landing, which worked out well, b/c I LOVE it too. They were bored in WWoHP. My 7 year old rode the Dudely do right rip saw (or whatever it is called) & they were excited to meet a couple of the super heros.

Overall, after spending the first half of our vacation at disney, universal felt just like going to our local Six Flags. It just didn't have the same magic....And my DH & I LOVED universal/IOA in years past.

I know cost is a big factor, but have you looked at Disney's Hollywood Studios?
their version of a movie theme park. Plus the Jedi Training was my 5 year old's favorite thing!!!

 

[wholesomejoe]

I've been researching this for like 2 weeks now. It was a tough choice to go with UO/IOA but what I did was sat my son down next to me, with both websites open. I showed him all the rides and attractions and gauged his reaction to them.

At disney, the only rides he went nutso over was The Star Wars, Haunted Mansion, Tower of Terror. He liked the toy story one as well, and a few of the others.. but he seemed to like Universal and IOA better overall. All I have heard for a week now is "When are we going to get my wand?".

He's very different from a normal 5 year old. He wants "Christine" for christmas. He's watched most of the Friday the 13th's with me, and has gone through many haunted attractions with no issues. He likes scary stuff. He's seen beetlejuice and was excited to see they had a show that featured him. I think of the disney parks, he'd like Hollywood Studios the best.. because Magic Kingdom seems to be geared more towards girls than it is boys. I know we will take him there one day just because its a "must"... but the tickets are twice as expensive, for less days.

We can go to UO/IOA for 3 days for LESS than the price of doing a park hopper deal at disney for only 2 days. That's not counting the hotels. If there was a way to make the cost a bit more "attractive" for disney I would have been more apt to consider it but it seems way more expensive overrall. I think my son is going to like most of, if not all of the rides at UO/IOA he can ride. I've also heard both sides, I've heard some people who love US/IOA more than they do disney. I've never been to Disney so I have nothing to base anything on. I've only been to universal once and there was no IOA then.. I loved it though.