I first wanted to thank everyone for the wonderful tips and suggetions I received that made this trip all the more enjoyable. I did want to share a couple of observations and let you know that if you have any questions I will be more than happy to try and help you out.
We just returned from a wonderful 8 day stay at the Four Points Sherton a Universal Partner hotel. Four days out of our stay we primarliy consentrated on Universal/IOA. The hotel was great and very reasonably priced! Trip advisor rates it pretty high and they were not wrong. The free breakfast buffett was wonderful and the staff was always welcoming and helpful. Our only "complaint" was it was a mile and a half from the entrance to city walk.... we had pedometers so that is pretty acurate. We ended up taking a taxi to and from the parks most days and the cost, to include tip never exceeded 8.00.
My family is a Disney family .. we Love it!!
However, we also love Harry Potter and all that comes with that. So we thought we would skip Disney this year 
and see Universal/IOA. Let me say...What a different experience!!.. We felt less rushed, more relaxed and had no regrets. The rides and humor of the shows was perfect for my DH, my tween son, teenage daughter and myself. The castmembers were definetly "cool."
We bought the express passes (prior to arriving in Florida) for two days out of our stay and I can truly say it was worth every cent. The days we did not have an express pass we slept in... yes in Florida.. slept in
and hit the parks in the early evening. This tip was wonderful. Not only was it cooling down outside, but the park was clearing out. All four days we hit Harry Potter after 5PM and everything was managable. As a perk with the package we purchased through Universal we were able to enter Harry Potter an hour earlier than the "regular" guest. We never did this and still saw everything including the "wand show" several times.
The four of us carried "fanny packs," ... which I will admit not the most fashion forward accesory, but they worked great. We were NEVER asked to remove them and place them in a locker.
Single rider is the way to go!! Subsquent to riding each of the rides a few times as a family we went back to our favs and did single rider. Maybe it was just luck but several times at leaset two of out party sat together if not all of us in the same "car."
It was great a great vacation and although we are still very much a Disney family... this trip the mouse was not missed.
We just returned from a wonderful 8 day stay at the Four Points Sherton a Universal Partner hotel. Four days out of our stay we primarliy consentrated on Universal/IOA. The hotel was great and very reasonably priced! Trip advisor rates it pretty high and they were not wrong. The free breakfast buffett was wonderful and the staff was always welcoming and helpful. Our only "complaint" was it was a mile and a half from the entrance to city walk.... we had pedometers so that is pretty acurate. We ended up taking a taxi to and from the parks most days and the cost, to include tip never exceeded 8.00.
My family is a Disney family .. we Love it!!
However, we also love Harry Potter and all that comes with that. So we thought we would skip Disney this year and see Universal/IOA. Let me say...What a different experience!!.. We felt less rushed, more relaxed and had no regrets. The rides and humor of the shows was perfect for my DH, my tween son, teenage daughter and myself. The castmembers were definetly "cool." We bought the express passes (prior to arriving in Florida) for two days out of our stay and I can truly say it was worth every cent. The days we did not have an express pass we slept in... yes in Florida.. slept in
and hit the parks in the early evening. This tip was wonderful. Not only was it cooling down outside, but the park was clearing out. All four days we hit Harry Potter after 5PM and everything was managable. As a perk with the package we purchased through Universal we were able to enter Harry Potter an hour earlier than the "regular" guest. We never did this and still saw everything including the "wand show" several times.The four of us carried "fanny packs," ... which I will admit not the most fashion forward accesory, but they worked great. We were NEVER asked to remove them and place them in a locker.
Single rider is the way to go!! Subsquent to riding each of the rides a few times as a family we went back to our favs and did single rider. Maybe it was just luck but several times at leaset two of out party sat together if not all of us in the same "car."
It was great a great vacation and although we are still very much a Disney family... this trip the mouse was not missed.
