I liked Universal better than Disney this trip!

[Digger In FLA]

welcome to the dark side.... my family loves the US/IOA parks and resorts as much as disney, moreso in some ways. we go to all the parks down here all the time, and we've found the US TM's and experience to be every bit as good as disney. I can sit at the RR station and stare down Main St. forever. I can do the same at the balcony of Burger Digs looking over the lagoon. US continues to elevate itself and I love the fact the TM's put so much pride into those parks and resorts. it shows.

 

[highlander447]

after xmas drumflower they will post info on mardi gras on the official universal site probably about mid january u will have a great time its a goiod atmosphere although can get crowded at parades

 

[drumflower]

Thanks Highlander! You have been a big help to me in planning.

 

[philliplc]

I first want to say I am excited that you had a great time at Universal Studios. I work at the parks in New York Merch(Twister, Mummy, and Doc's stores) and just love it when I hear how much people loved their trip.

just back from trip with 3 days at universal (and 5 at disney), and also really enjoyed the universal CMs compared to disney's, particuarly in the mummy where they were enthusiastically trying to add to the atmosphere. one was doing nothing but walking around the queue acting creepy trying to freak out the people in line - what a fun job lol

only minor complaint is after 3 days i did get a little tired of vendors in both parks shooting me with those big air guns every time i walked by one...

in terms of thrill rides the one thing disney has over universal is tower of terror. dr doom cannot begin to compare. otherwise universal rules. i agree, mission space was quite forgetable, totally overrated. in contrast among other things i will never forget the amazing AIR TIME on ripsaw falls - something almost unheard of for a flume ride. sitting in the back of the log with someone in front you are off your seat the entire drop.

i also consider lost continent by far the best themed "land" in any park i've ever been to - amazing attention to detail. might sound silly but for me just walking through lost continent, seeing the front of poseiden, castle/queue of dueling dragons etc is worth the price of admission.

 

[LIFERBABE]

We have been AP holders since 2001. I really think we have the best of both worlds! We stay at DVC, but we always spend multiple days at US/IOA. We really love Spiderman and that never gets old to us. Mummy was pretty good too but quick! I was very impressed with T2! Never wanted to do that one before, but when we did WOW!

Glad you had a great trip!

 

[Beanie]

I definitely love Universal Studios/IOA much better then Disney now that my kids are getting older! My son is 7 and loves Spiderman and my daughter is 5 and loves Dora, so they both want to be at Universal/IOA all the time now! We decided last year to buy AP's for the whole family and it was the best purchase we have made! We have used them so much and love going back 2 or 3 times a year! Staying on site just makes it even sweeter with FOTL...I love not having to wait in lines!

US/IOA Rocks!

 

[highlander447]

Its great to see so many people enjoying universal, recently too many negatives about discounts on hotel not being available, I mean its a great park they both are even without FOTL etc

 

[GrimReapuh]

I love Universal. Glad to see a new fan.


~ say w00t to Uni~

 

[Lucky4me]

This is very strange. Usually several days after returning I'm daydreaming about our next trip to Disney. That's not happening this time, but I have been pricing out hotels/condos at or near Universal and thinking about Spiderman, Mummy and the restaurant above Discovery Zone (?) where you can look out over a lake and the Hulk Coaster. **sigh** Yes I do think I have come over to the dark side. Now, what happens if I win one of those 50 or so Disney trip contests I've recently entered?

 

[kaceyisme]

Disney still has them beat in areas like parades, fireworks shows, and hotels.

I was a holdout for sooo long, and I didn't know what I was missing! I didn't want to take any days away from Disney either, but after making two trips to Universal this year, I agree with everything you say, but I have to say that the Portofino wins hands down over most of the Disney hotels. It's my new favorite hotel.

 

[ksdave]

I agree with everything you say, but I have to say that the Portofino wins hands down over most of the Disney hotels. It's my new favorite hotel.

I've stayed at virtually every resort at WDW, including the Treehouse Villas. Nothing there compares to Portofino. It is, hands down, the best themepark resort anywhere.

 

[damo]

We're getting HRH for $139, aph. How good is that???????????????

 

[Popsicle]

Talk about coming to a thread late.....

As with others here, I'm also glad people are discovering US/IOA. We've done "Orlando" every August since 1992. We love Disney, but we love Universal, too. Can't go to Orlando without going to both sets of parks. We've also gone to Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, the Kennedy Space Center. The two constants are Universal and Disney.

Over the years we've seen so many changes at Universal. The year they put up the parking garages, we thought we were in the wrong place. LOL
We were used to there only being one park and a surface parking lot (Guess we didn't look at the models of the NEW Universal closely enough.)

We've not had the pleasure of staying on-site. The same reason we don't stay at the Disney resorts.... TOO EXPENSIVE. Have to tell you I DO have pangs of envy when we see the FOTL people going through the lines while we're sweating with the masses, but being the "frugal" person I am...

These boards are fantastic. Back in 2003, they told of a two year for one annual pass for both parks. We bought in 2003 (parking included, along with 10% to 15% discounts are most shops and restaurants, and other little perks. (That pass was somewhere between $90 and $100 or $110. Talk about getting your money's worth...) So for that sum, I got to use the pass in 2003, 2004 and will use it again sometime before August 19th 2005.

Anyway, keep enjoying US/IOA. It keeps getting better and better!!!

 

[MulanMom]

Yet another late arrival to this thread!!!

We, too, visited Universal for the first time as a family during Thanksgiving week. We stayed at the Portofino for a few nights for FOTL. What a GREAT experience! This was our 20 something visit to WDW in a 13 year time span, and I must say the week we visited US/IOA and SeaWorld was the most relaxing. We are definitely looking forward to returning and plan on spending more time to relax and enjoy the hotel...depending on us getting a good discount, of course!

One comment we often found ourselves saying was that our experience at US/IOA was what Disney used to be .. outgoing, friendly, helpful cast members, great new attractions (Mummy, Shrek, Neutron), and wonderful theming/attention to detail.

Our kids, 5 & 7, still like both WDW and US/IOA equally. For ourselves, we feel more of a pull to go back and explore US/IOA, and are not interested in returning to WDW until AE....after Eisner!!!

Glad to hear there are others who came away from a US/IOA visit with the same impressions!

 

[bjakmom]

damo - for when and how did you get HRH for $139. ??!! The best I've gotten is 169.- for a 3 night stay (234.- for 2 nights - that's per night, of course!!) the last weekend of January - last year we only paid 216.- for club over MLK without APs and 141. for gv !!

 

[MarkLem]

We just returned from 2 days UO, 4 days WDW. Isle of Adventure and Universal Studios have amazing rides and the theming is great as well. Stayed at Hard Rock which was OK, but FOTL is an amazing bonus!! Hulk, Dueling Dragons, Mummy, Spiderman, Juraissic Park, Dudley flume ride, and even Back to the Future all beat any ride at WDW in my opinion (although my 3 year old's favorite was Buzz Lightyear).

I do enjoy Epcot and some of Animal Kingdom & MGM, but Magic Kingdom is a rat race, disgustingly crowded, dirty. I agree with all the previous comments about Universal: nice people, clean, great theming. We will definitely be back.

 

[damo]

damo - for when and how did you get HRH for $139. ??!! The best I've gotten is 169.- for a 3 night stay (234.- for 2 nights - that's per night, of course!!) the last weekend of January - last year we only paid 216.- for club over MLK without APs and 141. for gv !!

$139 is the weekday, APH rate. $169 is the Friday, Saturday rate. We will be going down the last Sunday of January for 3 nights (maybe 4 -- my fingers are crossed -- I'm still waiting for DS's hockey schedule to come out for that week)

 

[bjakmom]

Thanks damo - that explains it - we check out the day you check in and move over to BWV - I'm glad to see there are still some decent discount rates - maybe there's hope yet for early October.