Is there enough to do at Universal for 5 days to a week?

[schumigirl]

So does anyone know if they move the luggage from one hotel ot the other for you?

They will from deluxe to deluxe......

Not sure about CBay. Maybe call and ask?

 

[Charade67]

I will be spending 5 full days there in December. We will be doing all 3 parks. (My husband and daughter love waterparks.) We are trying to make this vacation more relaxed than previous ones. We will use the 5 days to come and go to the parks as we please.I like the idea of having the freedom to come back to the room and take a nap and then return to the park at night. We also may take advantage of any activities the hotel has to offer. (I heard something about dive-in movies.) I've also never taken the time to shop at CityWalk.I'm sure we will have no problem filling up our 5 days.

 

[macraven]

So does anyone know if they move the luggage from one hotel ot the other for you?

you will get answers to your question if you post this on the hotel forums of UO.
i can move threads but i can not move individual questions

the subject of this thread is about doing 5 days at the darkside

moderators are to keep questions on topic and not veer off to different subjects.

go to the hotel forum and post the same question there and you will get replies to guide you
many thanks!

 

[DisBuckMan]

Dissenting opinion here. We were done after two and a half days. Anymore would have been dull. We were ready to move on.

Agree. Everyone is different, but 2 full days is more than enough for my family at Universal. Always stay at HRH, RPR, or PB so that we have EP's.

We have pools here. I have no desire to drive 7 hours to go to a pool. We have multiple water parks here within an hour of where I live, and I don't go to them, either...same with Disney and Universal. Just no interest.

I go to both Universal and Disney for the actual theme parks. Two days is plenty at Universal for us...4-5 days at Disney is enough. We go to both multiple times per year.

 

[schumigirl]

I will be spending 5 full days there in December. We will be doing all 3 parks. (My husband and daughter love waterparks.) We are trying to make this vacation more relaxed than previous ones. We will use the 5 days to come and go to the parks as we please.I like the idea of having the freedom to come back to the room and take a nap and then return to the park at night. We also may take advantage of any activities the hotel has to offer. (I heard something about dive-in movies.) I've also never taken the time to shop at CityWalk.I'm sure we will have no problem filling up our 5 days.

The dive in movies are fun!

We don't really use the pool during the day, but at night with the movies and a cocktail it's very relaxing........we usually do that a couple of times each trip at least.

You'll fill your time easy........we have 19 nights this year and I've no doubt we won't be bored. Can't wait!

 

[Ametista]

Yes your EP is valid fully on check in and check out days.

I would add I agree with the majority of folks.......I couldn't even scratch the surface of Universal Orlando in a few days.......there really is so much to do and so many places to investigate and spend time in.

Pools are all nice.

This is so true. You could easily spend a full day just looking through both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade. There are so many stores and restaurants and rides. In Diagon Alley we felt like we barely saw it even though we spent 2 days at the park. If you really want to sight-see and get wands and do the magic /interactions you could just stay there all day, not even touching the rest of the park. We usually spend a couple hours in HM or DA, then go ride a few rides n other areas, then we return to HM/DA. Then there are all the photo ops with the Marvel comic characters/X-men, etc.

 

[Carl4628]

Yup, but I figured the first day we might just hang at the pool so I don't need to pay the extra money to stay at the fancy hotel with express passes. More money for something else. If we do a day at Volcano bay, same thing, no need for express passes. If express passes are good for day of checkin and checkout which I believe they are. I could even do two days at cabana bay and save a good 300 dollars probably doing volcano bay while in the cheaper room.

Your plan definitely makes sense if your goal is to save $$$

 

[New England Eeyore]

In the past, we added a few days onto a Disney trip and did Universal in 2-3 days. Yes, you CAN do everything in two days. But allowing yourself to spread it out makes for a completely different vacation. Last trip, we did a Universal-only trip (this was before Volcano Bay opened) and spent 4 days at Cabana Bay. We agreed we'd never go back to cramming everything into a couple days again. It helps that we are completely in love with Cabana Bay and could never get enough time there. In 4 days we still didn't manage to do everything we wanted to do (never made it to bowling at the resort or even spent a significant time in CityWalk.) We had the luxury of time in the parks and could repeat things as often as we wished. It was an utterly relaxing vacation (something Disney, as much as we love it, never is) and we all agreed that we could spend a full week here and not be bored.

 

[robl45]

My kids always want to see the movies at Disney, but even going for a week there is never time there to see the movies and do the rides. This sounds like it will be perfect. Get to do everything and relax.

 

[broncobill]

No. We went there in February one year. I was concerned that we would not have enough time because the park closed at 6-7. We had plenty of time. It's rather small.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

We tend to be kind of commando-types, and still manage to spend 4nights/5days at Universal.

A few important points:
1. It really depends how well you handle the rides. The rides aren't super intense, but the intensity does run higher than WDW. A few are also VERY wet. We usually skip the very wet ones, but it also makes a lot of sense to spend a designated afternoon getting soaked.
2. It also depends if you plan to get a wand through Olivander's or not. The wands aren't inexpensive, but they add a great deal of value to the HP areas. If you are getting wands, then it absolutely makes sense to use them more than once, ya' know?
3. We don't see a ton of shows, and none of the ones that cost extra, just the ones that are part of park admission. Universal is a bit like Disney in that there's a steady stream of live performers all over. Even if you just stop for a portion of each street show, they add quite a bit of value to your day.
4. Gift shops? If they aren't for you, then they aren't for you, but many Universal shops are fun to browse because they are so unique. A cool one we just found, we'd walked past it many times, is full of real movie props! It was a total surprise.
5. Pools. I have a local pool at home, but mine isn't nearly as interesting as the ones at Universal.
6. Sit down meals? They take more time, but Universal has some very good options. Unlike WDW, you don't have to book far in advance either. Still, TS meals take longer than QS meals or breakfast-on-the-go. So adding a few TS meals easily fills more time, especially if you like to dress for dinner.

 

[robl45]

The kids are definitely getting wands. I think I'm getting one too although don't tell the wife Unfortunately that means at least one early morning to use the wands before its busy. Probably have to do a breakfast too at the park as none of us are eating the food they serve at lunch and dinner at the harry potter places.

Agreed on the pools as well. I have a pool and the community has a pool. That doesn't mean my kids don't want to go swimming.

So like assuming you have the express passes and just hitting each ride once, dragon challenge will close so its just the hulk my son can't go on, how long does it take to do all the rides in one of the parks? I'm just trying to get a gauge on whether we will be express passed through everything in 2 hours or is it quite a bit longer.

 

[DisBuckMan]

So like assuming you have the express passes and just hitting each ride once, dragon challenge will close so its just the hulk my son can't go on, how long does it take to do all the rides in one of the parks? I'm just trying to get a gauge on whether we will be express passed through everything in 2 hours or is it quite a bit longer.

I'd say that your chances are as close as you can get to 0% of you being able to ride all the rides in either park in 2 hours...even with an express pass. Even with EP, you're still waiting in lines...just not nearly as long. Your average wait time probably goes from 30 minutes per ride to 10 minutes per ride...some more, some less. Quite a bit more than 2 hours per park, even on a slow day.

 

[bchbetha]

You won't want to use express passes all the time as you'll miss some cool ride theming.
There are some good lunch and dinner options at Harry Potter restaurants. There's even a super basic "feast" with roast chicken and veggies.

 

[wookiebeck]

The kids are definitely getting wands. I think I'm getting one too although don't tell the wife Unfortunately that means at least one early morning to use the wands before its busy. Probably have to do a breakfast too at the park as none of us are eating the food they serve at lunch and dinner at the harry potter places.

Agreed on the pools as well. I have a pool and the community has a pool. That doesn't mean my kids don't want to go swimming.

So like assuming you have the express passes and just hitting each ride once, dragon challenge will close so its just the hulk my son can't go on, how long does it take to do all the rides in one of the parks? I'm just trying to get a gauge on whether we will be express passed through everything in 2 hours or is it quite a bit longer.

We have a pool, too. But the five resort pools at Uni put that to shame! Our family loves pool hopping at Uni.

The lunch we had at Three Broomsticks was a highlight on our last trip. After a week of restaurant fare, the HP meal consisted of grilled chicken and ribs, salad with fresh crunchy romaine, and sweet corn on the cob.

I hope that once you are there on vacation, the vibe hits you and next trip you will want even more days.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

The kids are definitely getting wands. I think I'm getting one too although don't tell the wife Unfortunately that means at least one early morning to use the wands before its busy. Probably have to do a breakfast too at the park as none of us are eating the food they serve at lunch and dinner at the harry potter places.

Agreed on the pools as well. I have a pool and the community has a pool. That doesn't mean my kids don't want to go swimming.

So like assuming you have the express passes and just hitting each ride once, dragon challenge will close so its just the hulk my son can't go on, how long does it take to do all the rides in one of the parks? I'm just trying to get a gauge on whether we will be express passed through everything in 2 hours or is it quite a bit longer.

While I'm sure you will want to use the wands a bit as soon as you get them...Shhh... we find that generally the best time to use wands is at night. For one thing, the crowds aren't as bad. Second, well, the whole thing is just way cooler after dark.

Also, well, you might not get picked the first time you go through Olivanders. At that point, you can buy any wand you choose, or try again. Lines for Olivanders tend to be long in the morning, and almost nothing later in the day. Once you have a wand though, there's no (real) reason to go through Olivanders again. So it isn't always bad to make a second try, maybe trying both shops in the process

No, you won't be able to do all the rides in 2 hours. For one thing, it takes time to walk to each attraction. Express pass is a tiny bit like WDW's Fastpass, in that you still go through a portion of the ride queue, and in some cases the pre-show or part of the pre-show. Also, you may well want to do some rides twice, like MIB. Who doesn't want to try for a higher score?

Beyond just the rides, there's a great many details to see everywhere. Some are funny, some are photo worthy, a great many are interesting, but some stuff might not interest you at all.

The amount of time it takes to cover the parks is going to be widely variable. It depends on a great many variables. Before HP, we could cover most of what we considered to be the main attractions in one very full day with express pass, but that was far from seeing everything. With 4-5 days, we still don't see EVERYTHING, but we DO ride a number of rides multiple times.

 

[nkereina]

We don't usually stay for any longer than 3-4 days. We also find we get bored and are ready to move on after that. With 5-7 days, you could forego all planning, sleep in, visit a park for a few hours, then head back to the pool, etc. It would definitely be a more relaxing, leisurely way to tour the parks but not everyone is looking for that. You'll have a lot of down time IMO or else a lot of time repeating the same rides.

 

[Catvondita]

Personally for me I think that would be too much time. I often am able to do the things I want to do in each park in a day. Im actually going to IOA/US at the end of August for a universal only trip weekend and we got a better deal if we added more days. We were originally only going to a weekend which was enough time for us but now we are adding an extra day and have another day we can add. But we actually think that may be too much time. Everyone tours parks differently though so use your discretion.

 

[robl45]

Thats what I was concerned about is the people saying that 2 to 3 days and you are done. However, I'm looking forward to hitting the parks at a relaxed pace, being able to do the harry potter wand stuff, actually see the shows, let my kids have time to meet the characters and possibly brave the volcano bay if things are sorted out by the time we go. Not rushing my kids out of the pool will be a plus too. Now I"m just nervous that I take them in Spring and then they don't want to go back to Disney in August and thats a non refundable trip the way we normally go.

 

[zebsterama]

Our first trip to Universal was 9 nights of club level at the Hard Rock (we've since done a 4 nighter at PortoFino, and we're about to do 4 nighter at Royal Pacific) .... and my answer to you is ... maybe.

You will definitely have the opportunity the experience everything (I would argue) at an enjoyable pace. I would strongly suggest staying on-site in one of the 3 hotels I've listed above --- this will allow the opportunity to enjoy downtime at the hotel/pool (which we really enjoyed) quickly and easily from each of the parks .... not to mention City Walk --- which is great. Now with VB on deck -- I really do think you can fill 5 days. For us 9 days might have been a little too much - but it was still a great experience.

FYI -- my wife and I have a 15 year old son & 13 year old daughter in tow.

..... lastly .... the HP experience is FANTASTIC! As of now - I'm not a HUGE HP fan and I am a HUGE Disney fan - it's the best/immersive experience in any park IMO. The next few years at Disney might of course make that a mute point -- but it's definitely awesome IMO.