Is 5 days too much?

[Stinasmom]

I am so excited about the ticket deal I got for US/IOA - 2 + 3 bonus days for adults and kids free for only $99 per adult...I mean WOW!
But, question is.... for a family who has easily done 4 WDW parks in 5 days and that we are going in early December when crowds are likely to be light, are we really going to stay entertained for 5 days? (BTW, we have DD9 and DS 5).

We have a friend who will be living in Daytona Beach at that time and has suggested we go out there to look around, or (as he is living in Orlando at the moment) has suggested looking into the "The Other Orlando" book.
We are staying at a great resort with themed pools and children's activites too.
Guess I am not thinking we will be bored but I am wondering if veterans of US/IOA think we might be looking for something else to do besides the parks by day 4??!?
Thanks!

 

[Gonz Of Lancashire]

We went to US/IOA with the same ticket deal you got. I have DS8 and DD7, they are a bit choosy about which rides they go on, but even so I found that you'd be hard pushed to go for more than two days. The parks are good, but there just isn't that much going on. We went on quiet days, did all the rides we wanted to, and left mid-afternoon.

 

[momof3disneyholics]

IMO, I think 3 days will be the most you will need, esp. since you are already familiar on how to do theme parks. That would give you one day at Universal, one day at IOA and one day to go back and ride your favorites.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

Staying on property, we like to go all 5 days. However, we don't spend very long in the parks at one time. We just ride a few rides, then head back to the resort. If we spent several hours a day in the parks, I think 3 day max. would do it for us. If your resort is close to UO, I suggest you do the same as we do. Break up your visits into small segments over the 5 days, & take advantage of your resort amenities.

Daytona Beach isn't a short drive from Orlando. With rush hour traffic, it can be a nightmare. Unless you're going to visit your friend or plan to spend a night or 2, I wouldn't recommend you go to DB. If you just want to see the beach, Cocoa Beach is closer & an easier drive. Personally, I'd stay in the Orlando area though. Check the Orlando Hotels & Attractions Board for suggestions of things to do in the area.

 

[lindalinda]

We are staying 8 nights on-site (9 days) We have done this several times now. We add in other sites, usually 1 day at disney (epcot this year) sea world, and we always go to disney quest. We go into the parks every day for a little while at least. We relax at the pools. I actually have time to go to the workout rooms (I never have time to do this on any other vacation). We stroll around citywalk. We buy really silly cheap plastic toys and noisemakers and shop for the funniest t-shirts we can find. We encourage the kids to make friends while were there. We drink ridiculous tropical drinks and eat fattening food. We love the laid back atmosphere and pace at Universal.

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We are staying 8 nights on-site (9 days) We have done this several times now. We add in other sites, usually 1 day at disney (epcot this year) sea world, and we always go to disney quest. We go into the parks every day for a little while at least. We relax at the pools. I actually have time to go to the workout rooms (I never have time to do this on any other vacation). We stroll around citywalk. We buy really silly cheap plastic toys and noisemakers and shop for the funniest t-shirts we can find. We encourage the kids to make friends while were there. We drink ridiculous tropical drinks and eat fattening food. We love the laid back atmosphere and pace at Universal.

Do you ever drink ridiculous martinis? We've been on 3 cruises since last June, & have very much enjoyed the martini bars. This isn't something we do at home, so we're hoping for some great martinis at HRH. Those withdrawals are a killer.

 

[robvia]

Most agree that 3 days is good. The thinking is 1 day for each park, and the 3rd day for favorites.

It all depends on your speed or commando level. If you arrive early at 8am each morning, you can tour the main attractions and be done by the afternoon. If you go slow, it can take the entire day. Some people like to hang out, and explore all the little things.

There's always Sea World of Florida (SWF) to visit if you need another park. That one can take you 1.5 days if you want to see everything.

 

[babieemelly]

I don't think 5 days is too much, at all! We rented a house last summer and were in Orlando for a month. We got season passes and wound up spending around 11 days in the Universal Parks. We weren't at the parks all day, so it was very relaxing. We'd usually get to the parks at around 2:00 and stay until closing. We got to experience all of the attractions we wanted, with re-visiting our favorites, and got to take in all that CityWalk had to offer. We're going to do the same this coming summer. We all love Universal Studios, so we have no problem filling up our vacation!

 

[micksterlee]

When we go to Universal we stay for 7 nights. we enjoy being able to hit the parks at our leisure and not having to scramble around.we also love the free time it gives us for the hotel,pool and City Walk.Staying on site lets me park the car and never touch it again til time to go home.

 

[Spinning]

we did this in April. We spent 4 days in the park but could have easily spent all 5 there. SOmething about it allowed us to go at a slower pace. Since I didn't feel we had to get the big bang for our buck! The kids played in the kid zone 2 days for many many hours. WE just sat and enjoyed watching them....It was great!

 

[poohmomof3]

We just returned from our first trip to Universal and IOA with our 3 dd's (ages 12, 11 and 8). We usually just go to WDW.

Universal wasn't a great park for us (we enjoyed ET, The Mummy, the Beetlejuice show and our youngest liked Jimmy Neutron), but the rest was just ok. I wouldn't return. However, IOA was great! We could have easily spent two days there (if I hadn't forgot the ticket expired 4 days after first use I'd say 3 days is enough.

Have fun whatever you decide!

 

[mslclark]

We can do 5 days at Universal, we usually hit the parks when they open and are done by about 1 or 2 pm. Spend the rest of the day at the pool and relaxing. At least you have the option of spreading it over several days and don't feel you need to go commando. Have fun!!

 

[MScott1851]

We go in September, and five days is just a bit too much...

We can see everything in both parks in two days, especially if we stay on site and have FOTL. I like having three or four days, just because you can go back and re-ride things you liked, plus spend a little time at the resort, have a morning to sleep in, etc.

Then again, the hours in September are shorter, too. I think 10-7? If we went in the summer and had extended hours, then 5 days might be way too much.

 

[KelnRon]

We bought the same tickets this year and we probably will only go 3 days. 5 days is a little much! We do one park each day and then the 3rd day we will probably re~hit some of the rides again that we all enjoyed!

 

[IMGONNABE40!]

We are staying 8 nights on-site (9 days) We have done this several times now. We add in other sites, usually 1 day at disney (epcot this year) sea world, and we always go to disney quest. We go into the parks every day for a little while at least. We relax at the pools. I actually have time to go to the workout rooms (I never have time to do this on any other vacation). We stroll around citywalk. We buy really silly cheap plastic toys and noisemakers and shop for the funniest t-shirts we can find. We encourage the kids to make friends while were there. We drink ridiculous tropical drinks and eat fattening food. We love the laid back atmosphere and pace at Universal.

Wow! 8 nights! I think the longest we have stayed is 6! And I always want to stay longer! We do Universal the same way you do. Except, the only place off-site we have ventured is WalMart! My July visit was supposed to be 6 nights PBH, but due to my sis checking out early, it makes more $$ and cents for me to switch over to Pop Century and do Disney for a few days. I haven't been in about 20 years, so I guess its time. I am, however, worried that 4 days at Universal won't be enough. Good thing I will be going back in August with DH and DS!

 

[AlexandNessa]

We never do less than 4 nights, prefer 5 or 6, and this September, we are doing 7 nights. With FOTL, you can sleep in if you want, go to the parks at your leisure, hang by the pool, sample all the restaurants you care to in the parks and City Walk.

We always take one day just for "water ride day." We do not like to walk around the parks wet, so we dress accordingly, and hit only the water rides in IOA in order of least-wet to most-wet and waddle "home." Hope for no chafing.

Since we're staying 8 days next time, we may do Busch Gardens or Sea World again. DH and I are often on opposite schedules, so we like to get away and spend as much time together as possible, and Universal is our happy place. Have fun!

 

[Stinasmom]

Wow!
Thanks to all of you for such helpful responses! I think we will likely know after the first two days if we need 3 more to see and do it all or not. I suspect they are just trying to get you in the park for the extra days to spend $$ on food and souveniers that that you might have spent elsewhere.

My DD9 saw the US/IOA commercial today where the little girl says "If I have to hug one more princess, I think I'll go crazy!" and agreed! We are all looking forward to this change of pace.

I have, admittedly, been the drill sargent on other WDW trips trying to run "comando" all over the parks...it will be nice to feel like we can arrive when we want, leave, come back, whatever!

Thanks again!

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Tell me what you would do! We are planning the 2 +3 day tickets, and are staying on site. It is our first trip to Universal. The trip is in Aug so I think crowds will be a factor. (We usually spend about 7 -9 days at Disney and have no trouble filling the days but do like to spend some time at the pool and do sleep in a couple days.)

Should we plan to stay 4 nights going to the parks on our travel days? Flying in early and out late. This option gives us 3 full days and 2 - 1/2 days in the parks. Will it be enough to see most everything and ride our favorites at least twice?

Or should I plan 6 nights so that we get the extra park time? This option gives us 4 full days and 1 - 1/2 day.

We are a family of 4. DS13 and DD6 both will ride anything they are tall enough for!

Thanks!

 

[3DisneyNUTS]

It depends on if you are commando or not. We used all 5 days on our tickets and we got everything done in 3 1/2 and then just strolled around what we missed or wanted to do again. Plus we like to eat at table serve restaurants so one of those 5 days we booked the character breakfast which was about and hour and 15 minutes out of the morning did the parks afterwards. we also ate at Mythos twice, Finnegans' too which takes about an hour plus each time factoring in our dining we could rush and shave off that time by eating counter etc....

We definitely do not go commando. One day was really hot so having the option to leave and go back the next day was great. Also we got poured on one day at 2pm and just went back to the hotel. We could have went back but there was no rush since we had 5 days to do it all. We like having the extra time to take our time.

 

[Disneycrazymom]

Thank you! We are pretty laid back with our touring. WE (well I) used to be commando but I am better now! I think with the FOTL we will be fine with staying 4 nights. That works much better for DH work schedule anyway. Thanks for the advise!