How many days?

[gopherit]

How many days should a fam of 5 take to get a taste of Universal Studios?

Our kids only just recently figured out there was more to Orlando than WDW (DH and I did a good job concealing it... but the jig is up!)

Honestly, we just figured they were too young for US. Eldest son (DS10) si not a thrill ride guy -- in WDW terms, he won't ride anything with a "Mountain" in the name (though he LOVES riding M:S and Test Track... go figure.) DS9 loves ALLL the thrills -- fave rides at WDW are ToT and RnRc. Our DD loves everything, thrills and all -- but she's vertically challenged as she's only 5 yrs old!

How much time should we give ourselves for a first taste? How much time does it even take to get through US and IOA? Is FOTL privys worth staying at a US resort for? And if so -- which one is best for a fam of 5? We don't really fit into hotel dynamics -- would we need 2 rooms to accommodate our fam of 5? We have also considered Sea World -- think the kids would really love it. If we did 2 days at US and one at SW, would FOTL priveleges be worth it, or should we just find some other resort that better suits our family size (like a suite hotel) ?

We aren't really cost-prohibited in hotel choice -- it's more a matter of what makes the best fit and sense (as in, we aren't keen on spending money if we could get what we need and use the remaining $$ for something else!)

I need help and don't even know where to begin!

 

[robvia]

3 days is a good plan. The idea is one day at each park, then a 3rd for favorites.
HRH is the closest onsite hotel to the parks. You can walk back and forth in 5 minutes. This hotel is very popular and has been selling out recently.
The RPR is also close, about a 7 minute walk along a winding path, most people on this forum have been choosing it this year.
It's worth the extra money to stay onsite and have the magic keys to skip the lines.
You could look into getting a suite that has more room, that way you would only need 1 room.
After you spend a day and find your way around, a good plan would be to split up, one person taking the 5 year old, another taking the kids. When you stay onsite, it's easy to go back and forth between the hotel.

 

[DisneyWisher]

At the RPR you can sleep up to 5 to a room. You might need a rollaway, unless one of the kids likes to "camp out on the floor". The FOTL pass is worth the hotel. We just stayed at RPR last week, it was our first trip to US/IOA. The biggest wait we had was because they were trying to fill the theaters for Terminator and Earthquake. Otherwise it was a 5-10 min wait for most (in the middle of July). Stand-by reached up to 80 mins for popular rides. DD12 rode Hulk 5 times within 45 mins. I think 2 days is a good amount of time to get a taste of US/IOA. You could always stay for just the 1 night at an on-site hotel. The FOTL pass will be good on the day you check in and the day you check out. When I was buying our APs I saw people buying the express pass. Its different than what the hotels offer. With the hotels FOTL is unlimited, with express pass its only good 1 time at each ride. They were charging $40 a pass. So IMO staying onsite is worth it.

 

[PiRSquared]

We go to Orlando for 2 weeks and we do 3 days at Univ/IOA and 1 1/2 days at Seaworld. My kids LOVE all three parks. We can't go to Orlando without visiting everything, thus the two weeks. The special ticket that gives access to Univ/IOA/Seaworld/Wet n Wild is good deal if you want those parks. $185 for 14 days access. Wet n Wild doesn't have the "prettiness" of Disney, but the rides are good.

 

[Andrea]

well we are just a family of 2 myself and hubby and we did seaworld in one fullday and us in one full day!!!! i guess we were lucky becuase it wasnt busy at all when we went

 

[famofour]

Andrea - When did you go? I'm curious as to how busy it is in mid-February - after the President's weekend. We won't go that Saturday, Sunday or Monday, but will probably go Tuesday or Wednesday. We're a family of four (kids ages 8 & 12) who will have one day for US and one day for Seaworld.

 

[No11's Mom]

The deluxe rooms at Hard Rock easily sleep 5....there are 2 queens and a pullout sofa. Housekeeping will make the sofa out into a bed each night if you request. There is a little hallway with a closet that is great for storing luggage and keeping it out of the way. We had 5 in a deluxe last year and there was plenty of room.

FOTL is DEFINITELY worth it. The ability to walk on rides without having to wait in line makes the entire vacation so much more relaxing. It allows you to have time to enjoy the pools, City Walk, etc.

 

[gopherit]

THanks, folks!

Now for some questions:

(1) How does one get the best price for a few nights at say HRH?
(2) Is CLub level worth it? (2 adults, 3 kids, ages 11,10,and 6)
(3) Where can you get the best price on tickets?
(4) How far in advance do you recommend making your ressies / getting tix, etc. ?

THANKS AGAIN -- KEEP THE INFO COMIN' !

 

[Andrea]

Andrea - When did you go? I'm curious as to how busy it is in mid-February - after the President's weekend. We won't go that Saturday, Sunday or Monday, but will probably go Tuesday or Wednesday. We're a family of four (kids ages 8 & 12) who will have one day for US and one day for Seaworld.

we just went this past june... june 25th for my hubby's bday!!! and it was great!!!