Nervous -- don't know what to do

[reelmom]

We were really "strapped" for cash one year and decided to go to Universal instead of Disney for our annual 7 day vacation. Scraped together enough money to stay at Royal Pacific because I had heard about express pass and knew that with small children, we would not want to stand in line. This was June 2009. At that time, I was 45 and had never wanted to "leave" Disney to try Universal. Now I can honestly say, I'm glad we did. I didn't realize how tired I had grown with the rush I felt at Disney. Trying to get EVERYTHING in, so to speak. The mad dashes to rope drop. The siting and waiting for over an hour or more to get a good seat at the parade and still being squished in the end. We've since become annual passholders and visit Disney on special occasions. We do plan on staying at Disney again for a week so I've not totally given up on them but we spend more time at Universal. Just really appreciate a relaxing vacation instead. You will have time to ride the rides you want to, go back and take a dip in the pool or a nap if needed, and go back in the evening if you so desire. You can walk to the parks or take the boat - we usually walk. The kids can get wet during the day at the parks at the water play areas or the water rides and that really helps them not completely melt down. Go and give it a try!!! You might actually wonder what took you so long to come around, just as I have experienced myself. Have a great time.

We have the same story. Universal now gets more of our money. It is so nice to actually relax on vacation.

 

[RMulieri]

We have the same story. Universal now gets more of our money. It is so nice to actually relax on vacation.

Us too..Last Jan was the FIRST vacation to Florida that we left to go home and felt like we had a RESTFUL vacation and I came home without a head cold..LOL.We love Disney, and always will.But right now Universal is getting our hard earned money..Beautiful resorts that are truly deluxe and have great resort guest perks, 2 great parks and dining and all for LESS money than what I spend at Disney to run around from check in to check out.

 

[reelmom]

Also worth mentioning, the renewal price for our 4 AP's( 2 preferred and 2 power) was less than $700.00

 

[Seeker615]

Well you have me rethinking my plans for the fall.

I priced out Universal with the new dining plan and it is cheaper than Disney. Not too mention how much easier it is to get to the parks and the express pass!

Disney is making it very hard for me to want to keep my reservation. They take way too long to offer any fall deals so right now I am sitting on pins and needles to see if we will get a discount for November.

As much as I want to see all the Christmas stuff at Disney I might have to switch to Universal.

 

[PatsGirl]

As much as I want to see all the Christmas stuff at Disney I might have to switch to Universal.

We've done Grinchmas at UO and absolutely loved it

 

[Planogirl]

We were really "strapped" for cash one year and decided to go to Universal instead of Disney for our annual 7 day vacation. Scraped together enough money to stay at Royal Pacific because I had heard about express pass and knew that with small children, we would not want to stand in line. This was June 2009. At that time, I was 45 and had never wanted to "leave" Disney to try Universal. Now I can honestly say, I'm glad we did. I didn't realize how tired I had grown with the rush I felt at Disney. Trying to get EVERYTHING in, so to speak. The mad dashes to rope drop. The siting and waiting for over an hour or more to get a good seat at the parade and still being squished in the end. We've since become annual passholders and visit Disney on special occasions. We do plan on staying at Disney again for a week so I've not totally given up on them but we spend more time at Universal. Just really appreciate a relaxing vacation instead. You will have time to ride the rides you want to, go back and take a dip in the pool or a nap if needed, and go back in the evening if you so desire. You can walk to the parks or take the boat - we usually walk. The kids can get wet during the day at the parks at the water play areas or the water rides and that really helps them not completely melt down. Go and give it a try!!! You might actually wonder what took you so long to come around, just as I have experienced myself. Have a great time.

This is our story too. I had to be talked into Universal and now I feel silly for initially being resistant. I just fell in love the place not to mention actually feeling rested after a vacation.

 

[vacation_junkie]

We are going in Oct and I found a good deal on the Seaworld site -they have a bunch of vacation packages there that have free kids tickets (age 3-9) or free dining, etc. they also have a 5 ticket package that includes sea world, Busch gardens, universal, etc plus hotel. we actually bought our universal tickets at Costco for our last trip (3 park hopper days that you can use whenever up to dec 2015) so I went with the free kids package. We will stay at hrh for the first night of our stay to get the express pass and then move to the sea world hotel for the rest of the stay.

No wdw tickets but it was a good deal money wise for us for this trip - just something to check out.

The 4&5 park tickets are called an Orlando flex pass. The best place to buy those are from undercover tourist.

 

[vacation_junkie]

We have been thinking about surprising the kids with a last minute trip to wdw in August. I was pricing things out today and was surprised to find out that a 5 night/4 day stay at the Royal Pacifica was $700 less than Pop Century -- this includes park tickets and dining plans in both packages.

But, I'm nervous. We had not considered UO until now because of height requirements, but that isn't an issue now. One of my children is still pretty sensitive and gets scared easily. I am worried that the the rides will be over whelming.

My husband is also disabled. He will be using a power chair for our visit. He can transfer out easily, but has issues will long distance walking and standing. WDW has always been good to us with his disability. Will getting from the resorts to the parks be an issue at Universal. One thing I dread at wdw is using the busses and waiting for handicap space on them.

We are intrigued by the unlimited express pass. How short does this pass really make the lines? Do you walk on most rides or does it just make it more manageable?

5 days 4 night really doesn't sound like a long time a wdw, but I am worried that it will be too long at Universal. What do you think? Will we get bored of the theme parks with that amount of time? I thought of splitting our time in between wdw and uo, but that sounds more stressful than we want it to be.

Would it be worth it to buy 1 annual pass to get the ap discounts? Is there a place to go to check out all the different discount scenarios? I can't find ap discounts on the universal website.

Lastly, the express pass is worth it, right? A offsite stay at the embassy suites would save us $1000 vs. disney.

I truly am a lover of Disney. I almost feel like a traitor going over to Universal, but maybe it's time for a change.

Oh, and I know it will be HOT. How long does it take to get to the parks from the Royal Pacifica? We will plan to go back to the room to cool off during the day.

We are in the same situation kinda. We do Disney every year.. Stay onsite and run like a lunatic through each park.
Right now we have a split stay on the agenda for January. That's only because we feel like if we go to Orlando it's just not a trip if we don't visit Disney. I know that sounds silly.
My concern is that if we go with the Orlando flex pass and nix Disney that there won't be enough to keep us busy for 8 nights. I speculate universal , ioa, sea world are all 1day parks.. Or are they 2 day-ers for 1st time visitors?
I don't want to switch our usual busy disney routine and hear the dreaded I'm bored.

 

[macraven]

uo is more like a 3 day than a 1 day visit for the newbies.

 

[rschaen]

We just completed our first visit to UOR. Planned 3.5 days and ended up buying ap's and going for 6. Can't wait to return! There is plenty to do and things you will want to repeat to be sure. You will not be bored!

 

[Bluer101]

We just completed our first visit to UOR. Planned 3.5 days and ended up buying ap's and going for 6. Can't wait to return! There is plenty to do and things you will want to repeat to be sure. You will not be bored!

Another family hooked!

 

[Planogirl]

We are in the same situation kinda. We do Disney every year.. Stay onsite and run like a lunatic through each park.
Right now we have a split stay on the agenda for January. That's only because we feel like if we go to Orlando it's just not a trip if we don't visit Disney. I know that sounds silly.
My concern is that if we go with the Orlando flex pass and nix Disney that there won't be enough to keep us busy for 8 nights. I speculate universal , ioa, sea world are all 1day parks.. Or are they 2 day-ers for 1st time visitors?
I don't want to switch our usual busy disney routine and hear the dreaded I'm bored.

I can easily spend 5 days at the Universal Resort but 4 is enough. I feel rushed if we do less. I don't mean complete days necessarily either. We leave to dine or swim or shop.

SeaWorld can take more than one day. The park is big plus there is the waterpark.

We also like to spend at least one day doing something different in the Orlando area. There are a lot of things to see.

I'm like you though to where I think that we should spend at least some time at WDW. I really need at least two weeks to do it all.

 

[vacation_junkie]

I can easily spend 5 days at the Universal Resort but 4 is enough. I feel rushed if we do less. I don't mean complete days necessarily either. We leave to dine or swim or shop.

SeaWorld can take more than one day. The park is big plus there is the waterpark.

We also like to spend at least one day doing something different in the Orlando area. There are a lot of things to see.

I'm like you though to where I think that we should spend at least some time at WDW. I really need at least two weeks to do it all.

We always like to visit the flea markets and the outlet mall. I like the idea as well of not spending all day.. Every day in the park. We can leave , go shop.. Come back and enjoy some more .

 

[macraven]

i know i posted that a newbie could do the parks in 3 days.

i need more than that and i'm a regular darkside goer.


i'll be there onsite for 11 days on my next trip.
it's such a relaxing atmosphere at the hotel, and amazing time in the parks, i could stay longer than what i have already booked.

 

[bumbershoot]

I speculate universal , ioa, sea world are all 1day parks.. Or are they 2 day-ers for 1st time visitors?

I've been a first-time visitor to Universal, and I disagree. I've also been a second, third, and fourth-time visitor, and I still disagree. Our first visit was 4 park days and we left wanting...nay, needing, more. Came back inside a year. Upgraded to APs. Came back inside a year. Renewed our passes! Went back for a way too short visit. Going back in October then January. At minimum.

But I don't just "do" a park. I want to *experience* it. I want to re-re-re-ride. I want to sit on a bench and drink in the parks. I want to swim at my resort. Do some shopping (that is almost never said by me at Disney).


I've never been to Seaworld in Orlando, but in San Diego it's a two-day park for us. For my brother and his wife, it's a year-long thing; they get annual passes and sometimes head over there just at lunchtime. They love it there.

I can't imagine the Orlando version of SW is *less* than San Diego's version!

 

[MommaBearof4]

It honestly depends if you are a park family. We always say that we are going to take it easy, not do full days at the parks, and we are always wrong. We never have enough time there. We always want to do more. Both Universal parks, we do a minimum of 4 days. Sea World, we usually do 2, but that's only because we usually stay onsite at Disney and Universal and it's easier to get to those parks. Do you like rides? Then the you will need more days. The Wizarding World is awesome, but it gets crowded quickly. You will need to stand in line or come back later in the day. Time is your friend at the parks. I always say, you can never have enough there.

 

[reelmom]

We are in the same situation kinda. We do Disney every year.. Stay onsite and run like a lunatic through each park.
Right now we have a split stay on the agenda for January. That's only because we feel like if we go to Orlando it's just not a trip if we don't visit Disney. I know that sounds silly.
My concern is that if we go with the Orlando flex pass and nix Disney that there won't be enough to keep us busy for 8 nights. I speculate universal , ioa, sea world are all 1day parks.. Or are they 2 day-ers for 1st time visitors?
I don't want to switch our usual busy disney routine and hear the dreaded I'm bored.

We have stayed a week at Universal and we were never bored.

 

[chs27]

You can upgrade to club level for about $100 more a night and the whole family will enjoy lots of food choices. This actually saves a lot on food during your visit.

 

[glocon]

Since you are staying at the RPR for 2 nights, you will have a vacation like you never have before. It is not like WDW, it is not like UO when staying offsite, it is unique and wonderful! The resorts are so deluxe and beautiful, and so close. The boats if you choose to use them to get to the parks are easy to access and a quick short ride to the parks. Or you can walk the pretty paths to the parks in a few short minutes. It is all so close and convenient.

And the biggies of early entry and unlimited express pass will give you a vacation like you have never imagined, because there is nothing else like it out there. You will feel so spoiled!

The hard part is once you have stayed onsite at UO once, you will want to do it again, and maybe split a stay with WDW. And that is expensive, to split stays between two theme parks (even though that is what we usually do-it just is too hard to be in Orlando and not do both for us).

I think you will have a great time and become one of us- families that love both the motherland and the darkside...

 

[MommaBearof4]

We have been thinking about surprising the kids with a last minute trip to wdw in August. I was pricing things out today and was surprised to find out that a 5 night/4 day stay at the Royal Pacifica was $700 less than Pop Century -- this includes park tickets and dining plans in both packages.

But, I'm nervous. We had not considered UO until now because of height requirements, but that isn't an issue now. One of my children is still pretty sensitive and gets scared easily. I am worried that the the rides will be over whelming.

My husband is also disabled. He will be using a power chair for our visit. He can transfer out easily, but has issues will long distance walking and standing. WDW has always been good to us with his disability. Will getting from the resorts to the parks be an issue at Universal. One thing I dread at wdw is using the busses and waiting for handicap space on them.

We are intrigued by the unlimited express pass. How short does this pass really make the lines? Do you walk on most rides or does it just make it more manageable?

5 days 4 night really doesn't sound like a long time a wdw, but I am worried that it will be too long at Universal. What do you think? Will we get bored of the theme parks with that amount of time? I thought of splitting our time in between wdw and uo, but that sounds more stressful than we want it to be.

Would it be worth it to buy 1 annual pass to get the ap discounts? Is there a place to go to check out all the different discount scenarios? I can't find ap discounts on the universal website.

Lastly, the express pass is worth it, right? A offsite stay at the embassy suites would save us $1000 vs. disney.

I truly am a lover of Disney. I almost feel like a traitor going over to Universal, but maybe it's time for a change.

Oh, and I know it will be HOT. How long does it take to get to the parks from the Royal Pacifica? We will plan to go back to the room to cool off during the day.

We love staying onsite at Universal. It is soooo much easier to get to their parks than Disney's. Don't get me wrong, we love Disney, but being able to walk to and from your hotel in the time it takes to get to the disney bus stop or monorail is a huge plus.

The express pass is awesome. The only time we ever had to wait ( and we travel in August) was when we wanted to get on the front car at Dragon Challenge. That took about 10 mins, everything else was walk on. This August, we are travelling with family (2 different groups at different times) and they are only doing Disney. So for the ease of connecting with them we are just staying at Disney for the full 3 weeks, but we are doing Universal. Having stayed onsite at Universal our last 2 trips ( at the Hard Rock..love it) we can't go to Universal without the Express Pass, so we are opting to purchase it separately. The only rides it isn't accepted at are the Rip Ride Rocket( did it once, never again. It terrified me), the Forbidden Journey Ride in the Wizarding World ( this will be a long line, but so worth it, especially if you are Harry Potter fans) and Ollivander's ( the wand choosing experience) at the Wizarding World. There's a new Transformers ride, I'm not sure if you can use it on that one.

We are only doing 3 Universal days this trip, but I am worried that we will feel it hasn't been enough. We've always done a minimum if 4 full days and a couple of partial days before.

So, to summarize, an onsite stay at Universal is super convenient. The short trek back t the room makes midday breaks to cool off or get out if the rain super easy.

Th express pass is fantastic. I really wish Disney had an equivalent. We wouldn't do Universal without it. The rides are great. There are many with lots of different thrill levels. Ben and Jerry's ice cream at Universal Studios is a great place to take an afternoon break. It's quiet and air conditioned. We usually get ice cream for lunch. It is a vacation after all. Te water rides there are super wet and a great way to cool off and that express pass men's no wait.