Darcy03231
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2006
- Messages
- 11,251
We were there for 10 days (8/22/15-9/1/15) and had a great time. Our party consisted of myself, my mother (79), my two adult children (22 & 24) and their friends (also 22 & 24). We did Universal, Islands of Adventure and SeaWorld. We found this worked really well for us as we had time for "down time" and didn't come home feeling like we needed a vacation from our vacation. I rented a vacation home in Kissimee and it was in a great location right off of 192. It took us about 10-15 minutes to get to SeaWorld and 20-25 minutes to get to Universal/IOA.
Since we were there for more than a few days we opted for the Annual Passes for both parks. I got the SeaWorld ones in February when they were offering Buy One Get One Free. I ordered the Universal/IOA ones directly through the Universal website. Picked them up at the ticket counters and everything went smoothly.
My mom and I visited a couple of years ago so the new attractions for us were Transformers and Diagon Alley. My mom is a huge Harry Potter fan so we spent quite a bit of time in both Diagon Alley and Hogsmead. We also both enjoyed the Transformers ride. My kids hadn't been since 2008 so there was more new stuff for them. We all agreed that it was time for Posiden's Fury, the Sinbad show, and Twister to be revamped. We all still think that the Hollywood Horror Make Up Show is one of the best in any theme park. I think we managed to see it every day.
Weather was hot and humid with a shower or thunderstorm every late afternoon/early evening. Lines weren't bad at all. Crowd calendars showed levels of 4s & 5s for the entire time we were there. Most lines were 10-15 min. The only exception was Minions which was consistently at 60-70 minutes, other than the last day (8/31) when it was 30 minutes. We found the best way to tour was to go in early in the morning for park opening, stay until around 1 pm, go back to the house for a swim/something to eat and come back around 4:30 and stay until park close. A couple of days we didn't go in the morning and arrived around 2 pm. Lines were longer then and it felt hotter.
I did rent a room at Portofino Bay for one night. This was twofold. One to get the express passes for two days (and we really didn't need them), and second to let the kids have a night at Citywalk (I didn't feel like picking them up at 1-2 am when the bars closed).
I took my mom to Blue Man Group and it was excellent. The show was slightly different from when I saw it last (2008), which I enjoyed. Our only problem there was that the computers went down just before show time so there was a huge line up outside the venue as they weren't letting anyone in. Show was supposed to start at 8, but didn't end up starting until around 8:30.
All in all it was another great vacation.
Since we were there for more than a few days we opted for the Annual Passes for both parks. I got the SeaWorld ones in February when they were offering Buy One Get One Free. I ordered the Universal/IOA ones directly through the Universal website. Picked them up at the ticket counters and everything went smoothly.
My mom and I visited a couple of years ago so the new attractions for us were Transformers and Diagon Alley. My mom is a huge Harry Potter fan so we spent quite a bit of time in both Diagon Alley and Hogsmead. We also both enjoyed the Transformers ride. My kids hadn't been since 2008 so there was more new stuff for them. We all agreed that it was time for Posiden's Fury, the Sinbad show, and Twister to be revamped. We all still think that the Hollywood Horror Make Up Show is one of the best in any theme park. I think we managed to see it every day.
Weather was hot and humid with a shower or thunderstorm every late afternoon/early evening. Lines weren't bad at all. Crowd calendars showed levels of 4s & 5s for the entire time we were there. Most lines were 10-15 min. The only exception was Minions which was consistently at 60-70 minutes, other than the last day (8/31) when it was 30 minutes. We found the best way to tour was to go in early in the morning for park opening, stay until around 1 pm, go back to the house for a swim/something to eat and come back around 4:30 and stay until park close. A couple of days we didn't go in the morning and arrived around 2 pm. Lines were longer then and it felt hotter.
I did rent a room at Portofino Bay for one night. This was twofold. One to get the express passes for two days (and we really didn't need them), and second to let the kids have a night at Citywalk (I didn't feel like picking them up at 1-2 am when the bars closed).
I took my mom to Blue Man Group and it was excellent. The show was slightly different from when I saw it last (2008), which I enjoyed. Our only problem there was that the computers went down just before show time so there was a huge line up outside the venue as they weren't letting anyone in. Show was supposed to start at 8, but didn't end up starting until around 8:30.
All in all it was another great vacation.
