January trip planned- tell me I'm not making a mistake

[jfoofj]

SO- it has been YEARS since we have had a family vacation. We usually did Disney every year with our 2 boys and the past few years have been pretty tough for us, both financially and with some unexpected health issues. Family vacations have taken a back burner, other than quick getaways to the beach for a few days. We are long overdue for a "big trip" and our boys are now 12 and 13 so we decided to give Universal a try. We have never been to Universal, and our Disney trips always consisted of us staying onsite and not renting a car.

Here is what I have planned so far- we are arriving in Orlando on Wednesday, January 15th late afternoon at MCO. We need transportation to Hard Rock Hotel, where we are booked for 6 nights. I am planning on getting us the $199/person annual pass (seems like the best deal) so we will have 5 full days. Is this too much time for the two parks? A co-worker of mine seems to think we will be done with the parks in 2 days and bored to tears. I don't plan on renting a car and going anywhere else, but now I'm getting nervous that my family will be "done" with the parks by the 3rd day. Also, the parks close pretty early in January, what is there to do in the evenings? I'm hoping the weather is nice enough that the kids might want to swim (we are from MA, so any temp over 70 is fine with them for swimming!).

I guess I'm looking for feedback as to whether or not 6 nights staying onsite with just park tickets to Universal is adequate or should I consider renting a car one day and venturing of site? We don't want a "commando" trip like some of our Disney trips have been, I definitely NEED some downtime and relaxing this trip.

 

[bumbershoot]

Hi!

We will be checking in to Portofino on the 18th and staying until the 26th. Our previous trips have been 4 nights, 3 nights, that sort of thing, and each time we left wanting MORE. And that's even before our son could ride the BIG rides, and that's despite my husband not being able to ride the big rides (he hasn't lost enough weight yet). And despite my not liking the big rides. And still we like it.

Universal is GREAT for relaxing when you're staying onsite. You can pool hop (though I bet your boys would LOVE the slide and whole vibe of the pool at HRH), relax on lounge chairs, etc etc. It's just so nice to spend time at the resorts there.

If your dates work out right, you might want to look at the Power Pass for all or some of you. There are blackout dates on it, though, so be aware of your current (and possibly future) plans before going that route.

We are a family that loves re-rides, so spending days at the parks doesn't bother us. We also love Butterbeer and like being able to get it every day. We have our favorite foods at the parks, and like going there for that. We also love the feel of the parks, the theming, the music, etc etc, just walking or sitting...makes us happy. For whatever reason, at WDW we want to go go go, but at Universal when staying onsite it's all so much calmer to us.

If you guys get bored, send me a PM! We'll be there for part of the same time, and I have a 9 year old boy (who tends to make friends with older kids for some reason), so maybe it would be fun.


The evenings...so far we have had a rental car (despite the parking fees at the hotels) and if we are awake enough to go out we might head to Sweet Tomatoes for food, or Downtown Disney for souvenirs, or GiftLand for cheaper souvenirs (awesomely cheesy giftshop near DTD). But sometimes we're just tired. I, too, hope the weather is nice for comfortable swimming. We'll swim anyway, because we're weird like that (let me amend that...DS and I will swim anyway...hubby will read his Kindle on a lounge chair while cuddled up under all our towels if it's cold), but it would be much nicer if our skin didn't start to freeze up the minute it comes up from under the water.

There's a big movie theater at citywalk and restaurants. Oh and minigolf, which was actually pretty fun!

Unless your family is a "one and done" sort of themepark enthusiast, who rush through parks without looking around, and that sort of thing, I think you'll be OK with a nice long relaxing trip.

 

[RMulieri]

We have spent 7 days onsite before,we do the parks over 4-5 days leisurely allowing plenty of time to re-ride things and see all the shows.We have spent plenty of time at the resort pools ( even in Jan) and pool hopping is encouraged.At night we people watch over at citywalk, play mini golf or see a movie.We are a family of 3 and my daughter is only 9 and not into thrill rides and she still enjoys Universal ( moreso than Disney) .we are eagerly planning our next trip for after the opening of the Harry Potter Expansion

 

[macraven]

6 nights is not too much, especially for a first timer.
my stays are 11 days and very relaxing vacation for me, no rushing...



you could set up private car service for $100 round trip.
from mco to the hotel and return back.

if one of you buy the preferred ap at $249, you can get discounts off of food and merch in the parks, hotels, city walk.
the rest can get the power pass for park admission.

 

[dedex13]

We just got back from a week-long trip and wish we could have stayed longer! Being so close to the parks and having the Express Pass made everything so relaxing! And staying for a longer time allowed us to do the parks at our leisure, so no rushing around trying to do everything in a couple of days.

 

[jfoofj]

Thanks for the responses! I feel better reading these. I'm pretty sure we will not get bored and I'm looking forward to spending time in the resort itself too, not just crashing there at night. Actually thinking about upgrading to Club Level... not sure yet, but it might be something that works for us if we plan on sleeping in. My boys are hungry ALL the time and I like the idea of having continental breakfast and snacks available to us.