Never been - how many days?

[cabloom]

Hi - newbie here. I'm planning our first trip to Universal in early May and am wondering how many days to stay. At first I was looking at only 2.5 days in the parks, but then discovered that for only $150 more we could take advantage of the "Stay 4, Play for Free" deal and get 4.5 days in the parks.

My question is, is there enough to do at Universal to keep us occupied for that long? I want to be able to not feel rushed, have time for breaks, and to redo our favorite attractions.

 

[phamton]

The "Stay 4 days" sounds perfect for a newbie. You'll have a great relaxing and fun trip.

 

[Immelman]

trust me....

 

[Immelman]

My question is, is there enough to do at Universal to keep us occupied for that long? I want to be able to not feel rushed, have time for breaks, and to redo our favorite attractions.

there's enough to keep you busy much longer than that.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I'll be the lone voice of disagreement =)

I'll start with our experience: First time visiting, in May, staying at Royal Pacific with FOTL, we easily did everything we wanted to do (and some repeating) in less than 2 days. On the first day, we hit the park early, broke for lunch, then took an entire afternoon at the pool, returned later for a couple hours, left for dinner and didn't return. Second day, hit the park that morning, finished the last few things we wanted to do and repeat, and were done by lunch. This was ALL thanks for FOTL. I honestly can't think of one thing we didn't do.

That said, if you're staying at one of their beautiful resorts, I think you'll be plenty entertained with bouncing between the amenities at the hotel and the parks. I could spend every single afternoon laying under the palm tree at RPR. So I don't want to discourage you from going. Also, it's not like you can't leave and go outlet mall shopping if you so desire, or spend sometime at CityWalk =)

But we couldn't find enough things to do in the parks for longer than our short 2 days. =)

Have a great time! We really enjoyed it alot =)

 

[JessicaR]

My first trip years ago was for 3 days. My second trip was 6 days and after that one a 10 day. All trips there after have been for as long as possible. It is so enjoyable (for me at least) to do the parks at my leisure with down time at the pool and nice dining experiences thrown in as well. I think there is plenty to do and see during a 4.5 day trip. Have Fun!

 

[Immelman]

I'll be the lone voice of disagreement =)

I'll start with our experience: First time visiting, in May, staying at Royal Pacific with FOTL, we easily did everything we wanted to do (and some repeating) in less than 2 days. On the first day, we hit the park early, broke for lunch, then took an entire afternoon at the pool, returned later for a couple hours, left for dinner and didn't return. Second day, hit the park that morning, finished the last few things we wanted to do and repeat, and were done by lunch. This was ALL thanks for FOTL. I honestly can't think of one thing we didn't do.

That said, if you're staying at one of their beautiful resorts, I think you'll be plenty entertained with bouncing between the amenities at the hotel and the parks. I could spend every single afternoon laying under the palm tree at RPR. So I don't want to discourage you from going. Also, it's not like you can't leave and go outlet mall shopping if you so desire, or spend sometime at CityWalk =)

But we couldn't find enough things to do in the parks for longer than our short 2 days. =)

Have a great time! We really enjoyed it alot =)

you made my point, it's not just about the parks. the total experience has enough to keep me occupied the rest of my life, that's why we moved here.

 

[phamton]

I'll be the lone voice of disagreement =)

This was ALL thanks for FOTL. I honestly can't think of one thing we didn't do.
But we couldn't find enough things to do in the parks for longer than our short 2 days. =)

Have a great time! We really enjoyed it alot =)

I understand what you are saying but it reminds me of when people say they saw everything at WDW in 5 days. When you know the parks, there is so much to do that most never think to do. We completely missed the Curious George/Woody area the first few times we went. Then when we found out about it on our next trips, we thought it was just for kids and didn't go. Even my teens had fun in the water zone and also in the building with all the nerf balls. Taking time to shoot water at all the people on the water rides at IOA. Exploring the Me Ship Olive. Riding MIB over and over to increase our score. Splitting up and having part of the family go on one car and the other across so we can compete with each other. Watching the Blues Brother show and other street shows. Talking to Merlin in the Lost Continent or Lucy and Ricky at Universal. Being in the Macy's parade. They're always looking for balloon (float) handlers. Sitting around eating Dippin' Dots and trying to talk while we eat. It freezes your tongue and makes it hard to talk.

Riding Fire in the front row and then riding Ice in the front row. Then riding in the back and trying to decide which is most fun. Going through some of the queues that we missed because of the FOTL. Mummy queue is not to be missed so is Dueling Dragons and ET. Going back to the hotel mid-day and taking a nap or swimming. Going over to all the other onsite hotels and checking them out for our next trip.

Now that we live here, I can still spend hours in the parks and not get bored.

 

[JessicaR]

Now that we live here, I can still spend hours in the parks and not get bored

I totally agree with this and would like to do the same! You make great points. I could spend a large portion of a day hanging around and playing with the mystic fountain! My husband could spend an entire day sitting in the tower soaking unsuspecting victims at curious george.

 

[phamton]

I totally agree with this and would like to do the same! You make great points. I could spend a large portion of a day hanging around and playing with the mystic fountain!

How could I forget the Mystic Fountain?! It's fun to watch others interact with the fountain too. I like to hear his jokes and watch him spit water on people just walking by. It's funnier that watching people slip on banana peels!

 

[Immelman]

(adding 'secretly has the hots for phamton and JessicaR' to my tagline)

 

[robvia]

Many add a visit to Sea World of Florida (SWF) on to their visit. It's become very popular with out of town tourists who have never been or haven't been in a while. Busch Gardens Tampa (BGT) is another park you can visit, located 75 miles to the Southwest. They're opening a new roller coaster in May. Wet N' Wild is another idea. The onsite hotels have a shuttle that can take you to SWF or WnW. Only bummer is the shuttle leaves late in the morning, so you'd get there after the crowd arrives. That's why I tell many to rent the car, so they can visit SWF and explore.

 

[cabloom]

Thanks everybody! Sounds like we won't have any trouble finding enough to do!

 

[ksdave]

If you are like our family and love to eat at great restaurants, you could spend 4.5 days doing nothing but trying all the great sit-down restaurants at both parks, all three resorts, and Citywalk. Places like Mama Della's at PBH, Emeril's Tchoup Chop at RPR, Mythos and Confisco in IOA, Lombards and Finnegan's in USF are just a few of the great places to eat. I have a business trip to Orlando next month and, unfortunately, have to stay at a hotel by the airport. BUT, I am planning on eating at Margaritaville Monday night, Mama Della's Tuesday night, and I already have reservations for Tchoup Chop on Wednesday night. And, if I can sneak out of the meetings early enough Tuesday like I am hoping, I'll be doing lunch at Mythos that day.
Our last family trip was six days at PBH, and I could easily have doubled it and still not have gotten bored.

 

[gwcollins71]

We stayed in Florida for a non-Mouse vacation and visited the Universal Parks for 3 days. It was the perfect amount of time. The first day, we went to US. There were thunderstorm warnings for the day and the park was empty. We walked on almost everything but Jaws and the special effects ride. (I can't remember the name.) We actually went to IOA later in the evening (around 6ish) to just look around since we had ridden everything we wanted to at least once.

The next day, we went to IOA for the day and it wasn't as empty. We got the equivalent of fast psses for hulk and raced on toe Spiderman. As soon as we got off Spidey, we went on Hulk and then went on the water rides. Popeye's & Blutos raft ride was empty so we kept getting back on over and over again. Then we rode Ripsaw Falls and it went down. We stood in line for around 2 hours. I'm one of those people who won't get out of line once I'm close. After that, we went back to the car to change clothes as I hate walking around in wet shorts. UGH! By now, it was a little after noon.

Then we walked around the other side of the park to the Dinosaur area and worked our way back to the front and rode everything. We rode Fire and Ice twice. We left a little before closing and I was exhausted!

We ate dinner at Margaritaville's that night. Loved it! Then we spent the evening on the Citywalk. We didn't go into any of the nightclubs though. We went back to our hotel and swam instead.

The third day, we went to both parks and rerode all the rides we could. We were able to get on all of them again but Spiderman. The wait was too long. We ate lunch at Mythos and contined to ride more rides.

The other days of our weeklong vacation were spent at Sea World, Busch Gardens and Kennedy Space Center.

I don't think I could have spent much more time at the Universal Parks though. Maybe one more day if there were waits our first day there. However, there was definately enough stuff to do to keep us busy in Florida.
I will say, Citywalk rocks. I prefer it completely to Pleasure Island. We actually spent a couple of nights there during our last vacation which was at Disney, so it had to be good for hubby to leave Disney property.

I hope my 2 cents helps. Have a great trip!

 

[Beanie]

My first trip years ago was for 3 days. My second trip was 6 days and after that one a 10 day. All trips there after have been for as long as possible. It is so enjoyable (for me at least) to do the parks at my leisure with down time at the pool and nice dining experiences thrown in as well. I think there is plenty to do and see during a 4.5 day trip. Have Fun!

I definitely agree! What I love about Universal is I don't feel "rushed" to see everything! At Disney, I feel like we have to do everything in a short time and we still leave feeling like we didn't accomplish much! LOL

At Universal, we can take our time, spend time at the pool, have great meals each night and just walk at our own pace! I feel much more relaxed at Universal then anywhere else!

Have a great trip!