Help is universal worth it?

[ness0905]

OK so I am trying to surprise my husband for our anniv. Trip in September we are checking in OKW on Sunday the 15thi was going to surprise him with a Friday night flight and spending Saturday at universal. We haven't been since we were teens unless you count once when we were on a Disney trip and took mears over and was so disappointed bynon Disney workers and crowd and left with in 3 hours. That was over 10 years ago and he wants to give it a try I said no don't wanna give up Disney time for it but thought of going early. Looked at rides and they have really changed and doesn't seem to be much to do is it really worth the trip also we would only be going to studios not IOA because don't want to run around do they have fastpasses that may make me add IOA in but without that won't. Please help he wants to go but don't wanna waste money.

 

[mesaboy2]

OK so I am trying to surprise my husband for our anniv. Trip in September we are checking in OKW on Sunday the 15thi was going to surprise him with a Friday night flight and spending Saturday at universal. We haven't been since we were teens unless you count once when we were on a Disney trip and took mears over and was so disappointed bynon Disney workers and crowd and left with in 3 hours. That was over 10 years ago and he wants to give it a try I said no don't wanna give up Disney time for it but thought of going early. Looked at rides and they have really changed and doesn't seem to be much to do is it really worth the trip also we would only be going to studios not IOA because don't want to run around do they have fastpasses that may make me add IOA in but without that won't. Please help he wants to go but don't wanna waste money.

I think it is, but that's a personal call. See this forum for help from the UO experts: http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=30

 

[sparkylauren]

I went with my mom, dad. Sister, and 2 month old last summer. We spent one day at universal and one day at ioa. We had a good time, there was a lot to do. However they do not have fast passes there like they do at Disney, you have to pay for a voucher that lets you skip the line for the e ticket attractions only once per ride but since it was extra we didn't buy it.

 

[Bullseye]

Last summer was the first time we went to US/IOA and it was fantastic. After reading so many WDW vs US threads and hearing all the complaints about US, we found it was actually a nice change of pace from WDW. Plenty to do, lots of good places to eat, very clean and great themeing! Can't wait to go back this year!

 

[Metro West]

Transformers will be open by the time you visit...so there's one new attraction at the Studios for you.

 

[Jacie]

When its just my husband and I, we do a day at US (mainly for WWOHP) but there are some great coasters there. We enjoy it. I will not take the kids until they are both old enough to rise all the rides. In my opinion US is a waste with little little ones.

 

[PrincessJo]

This past November my DH, DS (16) and I spent 2 days at Universal before our WDW visit.

We loved Wizarding World of Harry Potter, but we are huge HP fans. The Forbidden Journey was a fun ride. We also loved the super hero section of the park and LOVED the Spiderman ride. Our fave though was the Simpsons. We had tons of fun. We also enjoyed walking around CityWalk and had a wonderful meal at Bubba Gump's.

It was well worth the time and money for us.

 

[RMulieri]

Only you can make that decision.We love it there and we are getting ready to do our 2nd Universal only ( onsite) trip.I will say one day tickets are rarely discounted and there is no free version of Express pass.You would need to purchase the option in addition to ticket cost or stay a night onsite to get the resort guest express pass.

 

[ness0905]

OK thank you everyone I will be going I guess the reason I was thrown off was jaws and back to the future were gone and they were our big memories from going before. Have heard mummy is great and we will not have our 3yr old and 6 yr old with us this trip now to the details....is there a hotel off site that we can walk from or has an early shuttle I want to go at park open.

 

[Barahona6]

In all honesty my husband prefers US to Disney. Don't get me wrong he loves Disney but US is more for adults and have more roller coaster type rides. I would say get Fastpasses the price for them depends on what time of year you go but we found they were worth the extra money to basically just walk right onto a ride. IOA is really great. We are huge Harry Potter fan's and HP land is AMAZING if you go, than you will want to walk VERY fast to the Forbidding Journey, if you don't you will wait hours as EVERYONE wants to get on that ride. There is a ton to see when waiting and the ride is worth every min you wait.

 

[ksdave]

As others have mentioned, the best bet is to reserve at least one night at a UO hotel so you have Express for two full days. We have stayed at virtually all of the WDW and UO resorts over the years. Our absolute number one is Portofino, which we find even better than Grand Floridian. I also put Hard Rock over both Polynesian and Contemporary. RPR at UO is as good or better than all of the WDW moderate priced resorts we have stayed at. You should call and ask for the AAA rate, the Preferred Annual Passholders rate, etc. Many times the discounts will bring the price down to close to the decent offsite hotels, and you get all the benefits of staying on site, including Express.
(BTW, even if you do stay offsite, take the boat from Citywalk over to Portofino or Hard Rock just to see them. UO allows non-resort guests to use the boats with no issues).

 

[Herbie]

We are recent Disney converts. I was worried that i would be disappointed, and want to compare everything to WDW. I cannot tell you how surprised we were at US/IOA. We are now huge fans. Yes, it is very different from WDW, but we have found the pace to be slower, and more relaxing. Everything is a better deal, including the food. The rides are awesome, many unlike anything we have ever seen.

So, after 20plus years at WDW, and never giving US a try, we are now passholders, and looking forward to jurassic park and the mummy this weekend!

 

[damo]

OK thank you everyone I will be going I guess the reason I was thrown off was jaws and back to the future were gone and they were our big memories from going before. Have heard mummy is great and we will not have our 3yr old and 6 yr old with us this trip now to the details....is there a hotel off site that we can walk from or has an early shuttle I want to go at park open.

I, too, strongly recommend staying onsite for one night to get you two full days of early admission and unlimited express (think fastpasses to use on every ride (except two) whenever you want). However, if you want to stay offsite and don't have a ticket yet, consider purchasing a small package from the universalorlando.com site and that will get you early admission. If you don't book through the universal website, you don't get the early admission perk.

Hyatt Place, Doubletree and Holiday Inn and Suites across from Universal Orlando are all within walking distance.

 

[glocon]

It is fun to go to both parks. I would say go for it. You can enjoy both WDW and UO, you do not have to pick one. And if you stay at one of the onsite resorts, you will have an extra special time with the free unlimited express pass and with how beautiful the resorts are. Staying at the RPR or PBR could be very romantic...

 

[KorbensMomma]

If I was you and making a special trip to universal i would also do IOA, some of their best rides are there. They are kinda split equally between the two parks, so I would look into the two park ticket.

IOA has Spider-Man, Harry Potter, Jurassic Park & Suess landing. Also the Hulk & Dragon roller coasters are at IOA.

You said you were worried about running around, IOA is laid out in a circle so you don't have to worry about cutting back and forth or missing anything, you just follow the loop.

 

[TheAviator]

Hmm yeah totally worth it. Universal is the best park in the world IMO or at least Disney and Universal are on par together as the 2 best. However, out of the 2 I think IOA is the best park. You may want to do Youtube videos and such and really research before you pick. To me IOA has the ultimate WOW factor to it, kind of like the Magic Kingdom.

 

[CdnCarrie]

When its just my husband and I, we do a day at US (mainly for WWOHP) but there are some great coasters there. We enjoy it. I will not take the kids until they are both old enough to rise all the rides. In my opinion US is a waste with little little ones.

What!! My kids LOVED US when they were young! Barney's playground is amazing! Plus Curious George and Fievel's. My kids would spend a full day in just those 3 areas! Universal kicks Disney''s you know what when in comes to playgrounds.