Just back from my 1st trip to US/IOA

[mickeysgirl17]

For my DH's birthday, we visited Universal and IOA on Saturday, Jan. 19th. This was my first time there. We traveled with my brother and DD4. I am a big disney fan but I decided to try it anyway to make DH happy since this is where he wanted to go. These are my observations.

1) There wasn't enough for toddlers to do. Much of Universal and IOA is for adults. Even the rides/shows without height requirements like Jaws and Shrek 4D was a bit too intense for a small child. My daughter kept asking where the kids rides are and when will she have something to do. We did visit Suess landing and Woody's kidzone and my DD enjoyed it.

2) I don't know if it is that I'm used to Disney but I didn't feel that Universal was very big on theming. I also felt like it was difficult to navigate the park. I felt lost a few times. On the other hand, I thought IOA was beautiful. I took tons of pics and will be doing a 1 day trip report with the pictures.

3) Crowds were not too bad. IOA was by far more crowded than Universal. We did not use Express passes. Most waits were 20 minutes or less except for E.T. which was about an hour in the afternoon and dueling dragons was an hour and a half. In fact I thought my DH went on both Fire and Ice while I waited outside, but he only got to do fire.

Other than a few small complaints, I did enjoy myself and won't mind going back.

 

[jtdl]

I just returned yesterday from my first trip and I feel pretty much the way you do. We really missed WDW. I'm glad we tried it out but not sure if we will return - maybe when DS is a teenager. We too found the studios to be very confusing the first day but pretty much knew our way around by about the third trip and IOA was much easier to navigate. (We were there on the weekend and Sunday was much busier than Saturday!)

 

[mickeysgirl17]

I'm glad I went Saturday!

 

[Miss Stitch]

We recently had our first trip to US and IOA. We have two teenagers and a very daring 8 year old. We loved it. I found the studio quite easy to navigate if you followed the route around the lake and did things as you got to them, but if you wanted to go somewhere specific and changed directions, it could be quite difficult. I loved the theming at US. I love the whole hollywood/30's/40's style, in fact my favourite themed park at Disney is MGM. I agreed that some of the attractions that you wouldve thought were for small children e.g. Shrek 4D, Jimmy Neutron etc. were quite intense. The only thing I didn't like in the park was the quality of the fast food.

IOA was a bit less of a wow for me as I am not one for thrill rides. Spiderman was the only ride I rode and It was the best ride bar none that I have ever ridden. My kids loved the Hulk, Duelling Dragons, Dr. Doom etc and they had a lot more enthusiasm for the park than they had for Disney and it was fantastic sharing this with them

I do agree that both parks dont have many attractions for toddlers but they dont try to hide this fact. Maybe this should be something they should look at to have more family appeal.

Our Universal trip was just an add on after our days at Disney and we only spent one day each at the parks but I have fallen in love with Universal (apart from the food) and our next trip over the Pond will be staying on-site at Universal with Disney being our add on. Another factor in this is that we only pay £90 each from the UK for a two week ticket compared to the £188 for the same access to Disney World

 

[jtdl]

One thing that I did prefer at Universal over Disney was staying onsite. The parks were within walking distance and we didn't waste hours going to and from the parks. We could actually go back to the hotel for a while and then return to the parks - which is something they recommend at WDW but I just don't find that feasible unless maybe if you drive your own vehicle. I loved RPR! I haven't been to WDW in 2 years, but I found the fast food at Universal superior to at WDW.

So I guess I do prefer the onsite hotels and food to WDW. Oh yeah, how could I forget FOTL - nothing is better than that!!!!

 

[26555]

My kids aren't so young anymore but I'll add the 11am opening of kiddie coasters to the list of things that could be better. With young kids, you are up anyway and skipping over the bigger rides so it would be nice if the kidzone and woodpecker and flying unicorn opened at 10am instead of 11am. During slow season, 11 might be fine, but for holiday weekends and summer, etc, I think that is waiting too long.

Hopefully you caught Barney with a toddler, its a nice show. It was a shame 'If I ran a zoo' was closed for your visit with younger kids, although it was probably too cold to get wet over there. My kids don't do that anymore but its a good place for young kids. I also miss the tryceratops (sp) encounter that young kids liked and adults could appreciate the technology.

 

[Darcy03231]

We were there last summer with extended family and I have to agree that there isn't much for toddlers to do. It worked out ok for us though as DBIL isn't really much of an amusement park person so after DN had been there for a few hours she was ready to go back "home" with Daddy and swim in the pool. On the flip side DD (16), DS (14), DN (12) and DN (9) had a blast! They all preferred it over WDW. This trip we only did one evening at MK (Pirates and Princesses) and the older kids were thrilled to be spending the rest of the time at US/IOA and Busch Gardens (as well as a day at Seaworld).

 

[stephensmum]

Miss stitch - did you book for 1 night. we're staying onsite at Disney for 2 weeks & thinking of doing this for our first visit to us/ioa.

 

[Disneyhappy]

We have been WDW lovers forever. We own DVC and were making trips 3-5 times per year in recent years. Our son is now 15 and he prefers Universal to WDW. Maybe it is an age thing. DH and I actually prefer Universal as well and have 3 trips planned this year and no trips to WDW, except to use up some DVC points for rooms on day of arrival before we check into a Universal Loews Hotel the next day for front of the line access. Yippee! Even during those 3-5 trips to WDW we would make time for USF and sometimes make a Universal only trip. WDW can't beat the value, FOTL access, Loews hotels, and convenience to parks. However, if I had smaller children or grand babies in the future, WDW would be my choice (with a day or two alotted for USF!).

 

[ChrisFL]

Where did you eat? I've always found the food at US/IOA much better than at most places in WDW (CS at least)

 

[ky07]

Universal will always be a downer for those with small kids and you can't compare Disney to Universal like other posters here will tell you cause if you go there expecting a Disney like experiance then you will be disappointed and don't get me wrong I like Disney and will go back someday but for now Universal has me hooked and the family can't wait till this summer when we go back and it will be the first time we get to spend part of it onsite.

 

[Metro West]

Where did you eat? I've always found the food at US/IOA much better than at most places in WDW (CS at least)

I agree...Universal's food is much better than Disney's.

Universal will always be a downer for those with small kids and you can't compare Disney to Universal like other posters here will tell you cause if you go there expecting a Disney like experiance then you will be disappointed and don't get me wrong I like Disney and will go back someday but for now Universal has me hooked and the family can't wait till this summer when we go back and it will be the first time we get to spend part of it onsite.

Exactly!

 

[Miss Stitch]

Miss stitch - did you book for 1 night. we're staying onsite at Disney for 2 weeks & thinking of doing this for our first visit to us/ioa.

We stayed off-site on I-Drive, as we wanted a bit more variety this trip. We have been before and only done Disney. We were there in Sept. so it was a slow time and we didnt need FOL, Spiderman was actually a walk on!! The only thing we waited in line for more than 15 mins was Duelling Dragons (the kids not me ) We stayed two weeks in Orlando, we did Disney the first week or so, a few shopping days out, Kennedy Space Center and a couple of lazy pool days, then our last two days at Universal/IOA. If we had done Univeral earlier in our Holiday, we would have definately spent more time there than Disney.

If you are going at a quiet time, you should be okay to stay at Disney and just visit, but if you are going at peak times booking on-site at Universal is the way to go. Just one night and you will get the FOL pass for two days!

Go for it, after Disney, we didnt really think we would enjoy Universal as much as we did, but it is difficult to compare the two as they are both very different.

 

[Miss Stitch]

Where did you eat? I've always found the food at US/IOA much better than at most places in WDW (CS at least)

I cant remember the names but one of them was the spiderman place, it was okay but nothing special. I wouldve rather had a McDonalds. The other one, was I think near E.t., would it be International Film Festival?, the food was cold and tasteless. Maybe we caught them on off days. Loved the drink thing though, where you bought the cup and could refill for 69c

 

[damo]

Unfortunately, it sounds like you just picked very mediocre places to eat.

 

[Miss Stitch]

Unfortunately, it sounds like you just picked very mediocre places to eat.

Thought I may have done. To be honest, Universal was just an afterthought on this trip and I didnt do much planning around food, just attractions. Next time I will be more prepared. We like to eat CS as the kids dont't like to sit still long enough, they are ready to go asap and just picked somewhere at random when we got hungry

 

[ksdave]

Thought I may have done. To be honest, Universal was just an afterthought on this trip and I didnt do much planning around food, just attractions. Next time I will be more prepared. We like to eat CS as the kids dont't like to sit still long enough, they are ready to go asap and just picked somewhere at random when we got hungry

If you go back, eat at Mythos in IOA. It is by far the best theme park restaurant anywhere. We also really like Confisco Grill for lunch and Croissant Moon Bakery for breakfast at IOA. In USF, we like Lombard's the best. Breakfast is at Beverly Hills Boulangerie and lunch at Cafe La Bamba (so many people miss this one. Makes it nice and quiet).
In Citywalk, our favorites are Emeril's (of course) and Margaritaville.
In the resorts, we ALWAYS eat at Mama Della's at Portofino, and Emeril's Tchoup Chop at Royal Pacific.

 

[damo]

Thought I may have done. To be honest, Universal was just an afterthought on this trip and I didnt do much planning around food, just attractions. Next time I will be more prepared. We like to eat CS as the kids dont't like to sit still long enough, they are ready to go asap and just picked somewhere at random when we got hungry

There are probably two places at each park that you really don't want to eat at because the food is very blah. You found them.

 

[ChrisFL]

If you go back, eat at Mythos in IOA. It is by far the best theme park restaurant anywhere. We also really like Confisco Grill for lunch and Croissant Moon Bakery for breakfast at IOA. In USF, we like Lombard's the best. Breakfast is at Beverly Hills Boulangerie and lunch at Cafe La Bamba (so many people miss this one. Makes it nice and quiet).
In Citywalk, our favorites are Emeril's (of course) and Margaritaville.
In the resorts, we ALWAYS eat at Mama Della's at Portofino, and Emeril's Tchoup Chop at Royal Pacific.

And those are mostly Table Service restaurants, but unlike Disney, you don't need a 6 month in advance reservation to get in!

As far as counter service, at IOA, the Thunder Falls Terrarce and Enchanted Oak Tavern have excellent food, Burger Digs is also good.

At Universal, Cafe La Bamba has good food as well as Monster's Cafe, IMO

 

[ky07]

And those are mostly Table Service restaurants, but unlike Disney, you don't need a 6 month in advance reservation to get in!

As far as counter service, at IOA, the Thunder Falls Terrarce and Enchanted Oak Tavern have excellent food, Burger Digs is also good.

At Universal, Cafe La Bamba has good food as well as Monster's Cafe, IMO

I agree with you cause we ate at Thunder Falls Terrarce and was very surprised how good the food was and over all I think universal has some of if not the best food as far as theme parks go.