Is 5 days too long for universal?

[Seeker615]

We did 5 nights at Universal and I would have loved one more day. We really just took everything in and relaxed. No need to rush to anything or worry about dining reservations. We did a nice sit down meal every night!
We usually stopped at Cinnabon for breakfast and then headed to one of the parks early. When it felt too crowded or we just needed a break we would head back to our resort hotel to relax and freshen up.
Citywalk had Happy Hour so we made sure to enjoy that as well. We played mini golf, saw the Blue Man Group and took advantage of the hot tubs at our resort. We had a blast!

 

[macraven]

We did 5 nights at Universal and I would have loved one more day. We really just took everything in and relaxed. No need to rush to anything or worry about dining reservations. We did a nice sit down meal every night!
We usually stopped at Cinnabon for breakfast and then headed to one of the parks early. When it felt too crowded or we just needed a break we would head back to our resort hotel to relax and freshen up.
Citywalk had Happy Hour so we made sure to enjoy that as well. We played mini golf, saw the Blue Man Group and took advantage of the hot tubs at our resort. We had a blast!

totally agree with seeker!

i started to extend my stays to two weeks so i could have a completely relaxing vacation onsite.
i don't have to be up at the crack of dawn to hit the early entry line for the parks.
i wake up when i wake up as i have numerous days on my stay.

some days i do an early start.
other times i can sleep in and make it a late night and take in city walk entertainment.

no rushing as i can do it all little by little during my stay.
i treat this time period as a way to totally relax and come back home refreshed ready to get back into the busy world i am in.

during my vacation, i don't live by the clock.
if i planned something one day and it doesn't get done, i still have another day for it.

i start my vacation with 5-6 days at the motherland.
a lot of prep and watching the clock to keep a schedule there.
fp times, adr times, figure out when to be at the bus stop for going to the parks, plan time to know when to be at mk for the parade, fireworks, etc.....

it is a lot of planning at the motherland but it is worth it in order to see and do what i want to.
if i don't keep to a planned schedule there, i miss out on things i want to do, see, eat.

so, once i move over to the darkside, this is the time i can change the pace and have a relaxing laid back vacation

 

[RocketCityMama]

I think it just depends on your vacationing style We do 5-6 days last year and still didn't do/see everything but we had 3 kids, one who is special needs and we had to take midday breaks. We are returning this weekend and staying another week and plan to take our time, not rush and just enjoy it. I wish we had more vacation time lol

 

[sam_rogers]

Thanks for your advice everyone I really appreciate it! Dh hates me because I'm always an early riser when we're in Orlando (stupid jetlag!!) but it does mean we're normally at the parks for opening and get the big stuff done early. I'm feeling more and more confident that this will be the perfect amount of time for us!

 

[schumigirl]

Nope nowhere near too many days..........

We have 18 nights and it's never enough..........you'll have a blast though!!

 

[nkereina]

For us, 5 days would be too long but our flight is a quick 2 hours. If I were flying as far as you and spending that money, plus with the time change, 5 day is probably perfect.

We usually stay 3 nights and that gives us an afternoon to use the pool as well. We can certainly fill up the days with the parks and pool time, but for us it's night time that we struggle with. City Walk is good for a nice dinner and a little shopping, but we don't drink much and usually travel in the Fall when the parks are closing around 6-7pm. We've played mini golf at night but aside from that, we have a hard time finding things to do at night.

 

[snoopboop]

5 days is the bare minimum for me to feel like my trip has been long enough! Our next trip is only 3 nights and I'm already dreading it being over basically before it's started!

 

[sam_rogers]

For us, 5 days would be too long but our flight is a quick 2 hours. If I were flying as far as you and spending that money, plus with the time change, 5 day is probably perfect.

We usually stay 3 nights and that gives us an afternoon to use the pool as well. We can certainly fill up the days with the parks and pool time, but for us it's night time that we struggle with. City Walk is good for a nice dinner and a little shopping, but we don't drink much and usually travel in the Fall when the parks are closing around 6-7pm. We've played mini golf at night but aside from that, we have a hard time finding things to do at night.

One of my concerns is the evenings but we're really competitive so mini golf and bowling will keep us occupied for a bit I think we'd probably do a Halloween party of some sort too so that would take up an evening

 

[nkereina]

One of my concerns is the evenings but we're really competitive so mini golf and bowling will keep us occupied for a bit I think we'd probably do a Halloween party of some sort too so that would take up an evening

If you have a car to drive off-site, that definitely helps and opens up many more options for evening activities. We're two adults, no kids and usually no rental car, so we're confined to the property. We've also toured the other resorts at nice which is fun too.

 

[macraven]

before i moved, it was a over a two hour flight for me.
now it is only a one hour flight.


i'll still do the long stays no matter how much transportation time i have involved.

 

[sydneysmom]

I'm the wrong person to answer as I stay onsite for 14 days.........

I never run out of things to do as I take it at a slow pace
It's my way of vacationing
No all day periods in the parks as I enjoy sitting around the pool, checking out city walk and catching up with friends in Orlando

This is good to know!!! We are booked for 8 days, and I'm glad we're having that much time to spend. Since we've never been, I'm sure we're going to want to do everything over and over again!!

 

[cbsnyber1]

5 days isn't too long for me!






Or just run around and do things quickly again and again and again.

 

[FaithsWish]

Last year we did an 8 day stay and a 4 day stay. The eight day stay was perfect for us. I felt rushed on our 4 day visit. We have a special needs daughter, and to be honest, we just let her lead the way, even if it means riding MIB 10 times in a day.

 

[macraven]

MIB is the bestest ride !!!

Your daughter is smart to choose that ride for repeats!

I do that ride a LOT
But my score never gets better

 

[agavegirl1]

We usually do five days at the end of our two week Orlando trips. It is just right for us. We are just two adults however and YMMV. When I went with two teens many years ago, pre-Potter, we stayed a week and that was just right for our group.

 

[sam_rogers]

I love mib too!! I always beat dh on that one!!

 

[mellyf]

We did 3 1/2 days last January. It was our first on-site stay at Universal. We stayed at Royal Pacific so we had Express Pass and Early Entry, both of which we loved! Loved being able to walk to City Walk and the parks. We like to go to the parks first thing, spend a few hours, relax back at the hotel in the afternoon, and then go back late afternoon for more park time. We definitely wouldn't have minded more time, but it also felt relaxing. With Express Pass during a pretty slow time, we could pretty much ride everything as much as we wanted, except for the HP rides. Gringott's built up a long line pretty quickly. We would love to go for a longer time next time we go.

 

[Bluer101]

More days the better.

We are there monthly (benefit of living close) and enjoy every trip. We enjoy the overnight stays, 3 and 4 day weekends too. But our best trips are HHN and out summer stay which is coming up soon.

We have 9 days at RPR and looking forward to it. Once settled in to our second home it's relaxing time. Do what you want when you want. Get up at anytime, stay out late just hanging at Citywalk.

I get up sometimes and enjoy my coffee in the living room while DW sleeps in. Sometimes DS and I will hit the parks while DW sleeps. Sometimes she will get breakfast by herself and grab some lounge chairs at the pool for the day. It's nice to sit poolside with no plans and watch the day pass without a care in the world. All while being waited, eating, swimming, and RELAXING!

 

[Sparkly]

We tackle both sets of parks in much the same way- walk up to a ride- "30 minutes- you wanna wait in line?" "Nah" "Do we have a fastpass for this? (disney)" "Yeah" "You wanna do it or leave it?" "Nah, not feeling haunted mansion right now" "You wanna get a das/whatever Universal uses, the name of which I cannot remember right now return time?" "Might as well"

In a very rambly makes no sense sort of way I mean that we approach both the motherland and dark side in much of the same way really. Quite happy to amble through a theme park re doing favourites and revisiting favourite parks casually. We've never been the touring plans/hurry up we've a dining reservation in 5 minutes type. So more time in the parks overall is a good thing. I just wish Universal was open as long as Disney was!!! Would love to be in Diagon Alley at midnight.

 

[sam_rogers]

We tackle both sets of parks in much the same way- walk up to a ride- "30 minutes- you wanna wait in line?" "Nah" "Do we have a fastpass for this? (disney)" "Yeah" "You wanna do it or leave it?" "Nah, not feeling haunted mansion right now" "You wanna get a das/whatever Universal uses, the name of which I cannot remember right now return time?" "Might as well"

In a very rambly makes no sense sort of way I mean that we approach both the motherland and dark side in much of the same way really. Quite happy to amble through a theme park re doing favourites and revisiting favourite parks casually. We've never been the touring plans/hurry up we've a dining reservation in 5 minutes type. So more time in the parks overall is a good thing. I just wish Universal was open as long as Disney was!!! Would love to be in Diagon Alley at midnight.

This is exactly how we normally tackle Disney and universal. We don't get in big queues and would rather come back later and just go with the flow. It's such a shame universal have earlier closing time!