My family of seven would love to try Universal...need suggestions

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Hi everyone! I've been on the boards for awhile but new to Universal forum and we are hoping to do our first visit to Universal next spring. We would like to do a three day pass, not sure if we should do park to park or not. What should I focus on in terms of preparing and researching for this trip? I haven't been to Universal Orlando since I was 11 years old in 1990! lol! Back then I remember enjoying E.T., Jaws, and the Nickelodeon studios was there! I know if you stay onsite in one of the deluxe resorts you get the express pass free; but since we are a large family and would need two rooms, the price to stay onsite at one of those resorts wouldn't be feasible. Would you recommend we just buy the express pass or is that too pricey? We aren't big into Harry Potter, but we would still enjoy visiting the areas and doing the attractions there. We would definitely enjoy attractions like the Minions, E.T., Spider-man, Shrek, Transformers, King Kong, Jurassic Park, and Seuss Landing as well as the many character meet and greet opportunities. I'm crossing my fingers the Fast N' Furious attraction will be open by next year. DH is a huge fan of that movie franchise. I know I've rambled a bit, but what are some recommendations or advice you would suggest for us? My kids are 3, 8, 10, 15, and 15 years old. Thanks for any feedback !

 

[wagman67]

Since you have a year to prep, just start reading the topics and look at those that grab your attention. You can then get further into conversations and specifics. Staying onsite, with 7 people, whether deluxe or not, will most likely be more relaxing than moving that many back and forth offsite. Depending on the dates you are looking at, you may not need any EPs. You will find EPs more expensive when bought separately from a combo ticket or staying at a deluxe hotel (even with 2 rooms). I, too, miss Jaws and Nick studios, but there is plenty for everyone.

 

[Robo56]

Will throw out some ideas to share.

Get one AP. Then start watching for AP Discounts for two rooms at one of the onsite deluxe resorts. You will definitely want Unlimited Express passes that are included in your rooms. This will help with not having to stand in line for rides if it happens to be busy.

Also when you stay onsite at resorts you can have the advantage of early entry.

Staying onsite will give you the comfort and convenience of returning to your resort for a rest during the middle of the day to enjoy some pool time and then go back to parks in evening. Especially with your toddler.

Go online look at the map of the parks and get the lay of the land.

If you get a Perferred pass you can get discount on food and merchandise also. You can also purchase tickets at a discount for your family.

If you have anymore questions ask away. Someone will jump in and help.

 

[hm8453a]

So excited for you! I'm from South Florida originally, and we used to go to Disney and Universal 4-5 times a year. I remember when I was three and four, my parents used to say I was two, stick a pacifier in my mouth, and tell me to not talk, as there's no admission prices for under three. Not that I'm recommending that, I'm just sharing.

Anywho, I agree that you really, really should find a way to stay on site. Just for a cost breakdown, buying the passes unlimited EP that you get by staying on-site for a seven person family on a three day trip would be $1,680. Factor that in when you calculate the cost of the on-site hotels. It really is an incredible asset. As Robo said, staying on-site also means you won't feel like you're wasting time by going back to the hotel in the middle of the day. That means your youngest two can take naps, which'll make the trip better for everyone.

What are your children's interests? And do you trust the fifteen year olds to go around the park alone, with the ten year old (without the three of them fighting), or with either you or your partner? I ask because the younger two likely cannot ride many of the rides that interest your oldest three. It'll save a lot of heartache if they don't feel like they're missing out. Splitting up sometimes will also give everyone a break, and it'll be a lot easier than trying to wrangle seven people through these parks, including a toddler and a very young child.

 

[2Pirates2Princesses]

Thank you all for the great suggestions. I am definitely going to have to do some number crunching over the next year. I like the idea of looking into getting an AP for the discounts. I will certainly be spending more time on this forum .

 

[hm8453a]

Great! Let me know if I can help at all, or if you'd like to speak to my parents to ask for help planning with kids. Again, we used to go all of the time. And there's a six year age gap between me and my baby sister.

 

[schumigirl]

Hi everyone! I've been on the boards for awhile but new to Universal forum and we are hoping to do our first visit to Universal next spring. We would like to do a three day pass, not sure if we should do park to park or not. What should I focus on in terms of preparing and researching for this trip? I haven't been to Universal Orlando since I was 11 years old in 1990! lol! Back then I remember enjoying E.T., Jaws, and the Nickelodeon studios was there! I know if you stay onsite in one of the deluxe resorts you get the express pass free; but since we are a large family and would need two rooms, the price to stay onsite at one of those resorts wouldn't be feasible. Would you recommend we just buy the express pass or is that too pricey? We aren't big into Harry Potter, but we would still enjoy visiting the areas and doing the attractions there. We would definitely enjoy attractions like the Minions, E.T., Spider-man, Shrek, Transformers, King Kong, Jurassic Park, and Seuss Landing as well as the many character meet and greet opportunities. I'm crossing my fingers the Fast N' Furious attraction will be open by next year. DH is a huge fan of that movie franchise. I know I've rambled a bit, but what are some recommendations or advice you would suggest for us? My kids are 3, 8, 10, 15, and 15 years old. Thanks for any feedback !

You have plenty of time to arrange this, and there are plenty of people on these boards that will be happy to help you with anything.......

Robo above has given one of the best bits of advice.......look on the website www.universalorlando.com

It has plenty of information and park layouts...... you can have an idea of where everything is along with information on ride height limits, Citywalk, hotels, bathrooms and restaurants. And we have some fabulous stickies on these boards that are full of information.

You will see some massive changes since you were last there that's for sure......try and stay onsite if you can, it makes such a difference. And definitely do park to park if you can.......not only for the Hogwarts Express, which even non Potter fans can enjoy a lot, but it`s so easy to swap over as parks are so close together.

As for Potter......we aren't the biggest Potter fans but have always been totally blown away by both areas......they are amazing!! We have had some amazing character meets in both parks......they are fantastic, you get plenty of time with the characters, no manic rushing around there.......and so much fun!!

Happy Planning.......

 

[macraven]

Ragman, Robo and schumigirl have given you excellent pointers!

YouTube is also a source of good visual for the darkside rides and entertainment

Trip reports should be added to your list of research readings

And you always have the homies here to guide you with our personal experiences in the darkside forums


To your new home !

Many of us are repeat visitors and spend a lot of time in the parks and stay onsite

I do a two week stay once a year and shorter visits onsite for other months outside of October

Always glad to help newbies!

 

[derekw]

We are going in a few weeks (first week of April) with our family of seven. We are staying offsite which fits our budget better and purchased the 2+2 single park tickets which is a great deal. So we have four days to visit both parks at a busier time (start of spring break) and plan to hit them either early or late...stay half a day at the park...and relax some at the hotel. Even with the higher crowds I think four visits should give us enough opportunity to hit all our favorite attractions even though we might have to wait in lines. On our previous trip in '14 we stayed onsite at Royal Pacific to get the Xpress Pass and I had to get 2 rooms for all of us for one night. As someone mentioned using AP to get discounted rates is a good way to go they also have AAA discounts. It was pricey but we had 1 day at each park (check in day/check out day) with Xpress and that was great considering the summer crowds in mid/late June. We were able to get to every attraction we wanted. You said you are going in spring and unless its in the busier spring break time frame I'd go with offsite accommodations that can fit your entire family and get a 3/4 day ticket pass. Lots of options with 2 bedroom hotels/resort/condos in Orlando that sleep 8.

 

[damo]

Great! Let me know if I can help at all, or if you'd like to speak to my parents to ask for help planning with kids. Again, we used to go all of the time. And there's a six year age gap between me and my baby sister.

I hope that I have interpreted this correctly to mean that you are a young person! It is really refreshing to have a younger point of view about Universal. I hope you stick around here to give a different perspective than us older visitors!

 

[hm8453a]

I hope that I have interpreted this correctly to mean that you are a young person! It is really refreshing to have a younger point of view about Universal. I hope you stick around here to give a different perspective than us older visitors!

Hey! Yes, I'm 23. I love being here, and I have every intention of sticking around. Again, I basically grew up in both WDW and Universal. We would go to each 4-5 times a year, and I am still young, so I do think I have a different perspective, like you said. Again, I plan on sticking around, and feel free to ask me anything whenever.