Need Advice... "First" Trip to Universal

[Emteach]

We are going to Orlando at the beginning of July. We know it will be crazy busy but don't have an option for the dates.

We have not been to Universal in about 17 years so not the same park that it used to be. Also, have never been to IOA.

We will be going with 2 adults and 7 year old and not staying on site. Are planning to spend a day at each park. Does anyone have any tips, what rides to go on/ which to avoid (he will likely just be 48 inches), where to eat, any spots for getting out of the sun (as we likely will be staying for the entire day). ANY advice would be greatly appreciated. Don't even know where to begin!

 

[Planogirl]

I would go to the Universal Orlando website. There is some good info there about the rides and knowing what the 7 year enjoys and maybe fears, you can probably whittle it down pretty easily.

As for touring, I would just follow the standard themepark rules for the most part. Get to the park before it opens and head for popular things first. That will be the Wide World of Harry Potter at IOA of course. I would enjoy Ollivanders first if that's a priority and then ride the Forbidden Journey. Considering the age of the child I would also put a priority on the Spiderman ride and whole Jurassic Park area. If you can, avoid the Pteradon (sp?) Flyers. That line is endless. I would plan to ride everything though because you never know what you'll enjoy.

As for Universal, the current popular rides seem to be Rip Ride Rockit, the Mummy's Revenge, Men in Black, the Simpsons and the Despicable Me attraction. Then there is the Transformers ride to consider. We also have found that the Disaster wait time seems to veer all over the place for some reason. We keep seeing times from 15 minutes to 50 minutes and never can figure out when and why these variations happen. I would check out wait times for the Studios once your trip nears.

As for getting out of the sun, that's pretty easy. Many rides and shows are inside and there are slews of stores and restaurants to duck into. You won't have trouble staying cool.

 

[Lynne G]

As for food places, check the sticky at the top of this thread. It has current menus so you can see if the type of food is what your are looking for.

For IOA, most of us like Mythos (sit down) and for quick service, Thunder Falls and Three Broom Sticks

For US, most of us like Finnigans (sit down) and for quick service, Louie's, and Ritcher's. I also liked the theming in Monster Cafe.

The restaurants in City Walk are good too: Margaritaville, Hard Rock, Bubba Gumps, NBA City

Have a great trip! Our family enjoys USO.

 

[Emteach]

Thanks for the tips so far, very much appreciated.

 

[heidijanesmith]

We are going to Orlando at the beginning of July. We know it will be crazy busy but don't have an option for the dates.

We have not been to Universal in about 17 years so not the same park that it used to be. Also, have never been to IOA.

We will be going with 2 adults and 7 year old and not staying on site. Are planning to spend a day at each park. Does anyone have any tips, what rides to go on/ which to avoid (he will likely just be 48 inches), where to eat, any spots for getting out of the sun (as we likely will be staying for the entire day). ANY advice would be greatly appreciated. Don't even know where to begin!

I would look at buying an Express Pass for your US/IOA days. We stay onsite and used the resort express pass for everything that we could in July. July is crazy busy and would have spent much of our time standing in line instead of enjoying ourselves.

IOA-WWoHP 1st thing in the AM. Olivanders, then FJ, then the other rides/shops. Express pass for as much as possible afterwards. Plan on getting wet-soaked on the three water rides at IOA.

US- transformers (if open) and then Ripe Ride Rocket, then Express pass for the rest.

City Walk has some great restaurants to get out of the heat, we like Bubba Gump Shrimp and Margaritaville for atmosphere and good food.

 

[101disneyfan]

I would definitely go to Universal Studios first, and then Islands of Adventure second.

I will say that the Universal Orlando guide maps are much easier to use for touring than the Magic Kingdom or Epcot Center maps. You can literally use the maps and just go in order, and both maps will take you right around the parks from the entrance through each land, and back to the gates.

 

[Emteach]

Thanks for the advice, looked into the Express Pass but seemed really costly. Would be 200+ for the two days for the 3 of us. May try to check out City Walk as well.

Thanks for the tips regarding the maps. We were thinking Universal first and the Islands of Adventure on the second day. Good to know that touring around is not too tricky.