Never been...need help

[jimmytammy]

We are heading to WDW in March and hoping to get in a few days at Universal. So, for a long weekend, where do we stay, get tickets, eat, etc. Any and all help from Universal vets will be much appreciated.

Our family consists of me, DW, DD15 and DS13

 

[mortimor]

We stay at All stars at WDW and spend 2-3 days per trip at Universal. We use a rental car and it takes 15-20 minutes to drive from our room to Universal. Just like WDW, if you are there at opening, you will be able to get more done in a shorter time. We concentrate on one park each day and will go to the second park to knock off a few of the shows etc if time permits.

As for tickets, go to the Universal website and order them with pickup at the coisk (sp?) machine. We get annual passes since the re-newal rate is only $99.00 and you get free parking and some dining/merchandise discounts. They have had buy one year get one free specials in the past, so keep an eye out on the boards and the company website.

They parks do have a couple fancy restuarants, but we normally just eat the normal park fare and snacks. We have purchased the meal plan before..it is good for one or both parks and is a good deal if you eat alot..I would get a refillable cup if you get the meal plan since drinks are not included. My favorite snack is the lemon slushy available in both parks.

We tour both parks counter clockwise. At Islands, we go in order Hulk, Spiderman, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Dueling Dragons, the Suess rides and then the water rides. I would hit all the shows after getting on the rides unless a show is starting as you are walking by. You should be able to get a great deal done in the first three hours and most of the shows etc don't start until a few hours after park opening.

At Studios, we hit in order Mummy, double back for Shrek and Jimmy Neutron, then Twister, Jaws, Men in Black, Earthquake, ET and the Barney area rides/shows, then the animal show, Universal Horror Show, Beetlejuice and Terminator.

 

[stwyatt]

do you want to stay onsite or off? onsite is much more preferable because of the close proximity to parks--and the great perk of front of the line(fotl)access to rides. citiwalk has numerous restaurants, but we usually eat at places outside on i-drive, better choices, less money. while i would recommend onsite, we have stayed 2x at the crowne plaza universal. we have paid 59/ nt on both occasions by getting it on hotwire. it is 1 mile from parks and is a great hotel. we love to eat at bubbas bbq, texas de brazil, dixie crossroads, black angus steakhouse, and at times the cracker barrel. all the restaurants are very close to universal

 

[keishashadow]

Believe you're DVC? Save the expensive weekend points and stay onsite @ Lowes sign up for a Loews card (frequent guest; even @ the lowly initial blue level you can pick from a welcome gift in your room & request an upgrade, if available @ check in).
FOTL is the BEST PERC ever!

As for pkg deals on Universal website, i've never found a deal that beats AAA/AP rate ; of course we travel during the summer & other popular times.

your kids would probably luv the HR hotel vibe, although we thought RPR was fun - the pool was a lively place for teens - volleyball, hula hoop contests.

 

[loribell]

Hey JimmyTammy, my fellow groupies, I have only stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel while staying onsite for my Universal parts of the trips but have also heard that the Royal Pacific Resort is really great. The front on the line access you get staying onsite is so wonderful, you'll never want to do without it!

We like to eat at Margarittaville, usually eat at the Hard Rock Cafe - just out of habit though as I really don't care that much for it. I have wanted to try out the Nascar Cafr & Bubba Gumps. Cinnabon & the window at Pastamore have great breakfast foods. Also Mythos, inside Islands of Adventure gets rave reviews. I really like the Enchanted Oak, also at IOA. Actually most food inside the Universal parks is much better than your average theme park fare and definetly better than counter service food you find at the WDW parks.

I think you can usually get your best deals on tickets online through uescape.com and you can keep an eye out here for deals.

Have fun!

 

[bookworm0312]

loribell -

Pastamore has breakfast? What do they have?

Thanks!

 

[loribell]

They have a great slice of breakfast pizza. Very, very yummy!

 

[bookworm0312]

Ah....great! We'll need three days of breakfast and I didn't want to do the hotel buffet everyday! Any other good places for breakfast...besides Cinnabon...I'm one of those weird people who don't like cinnamon rolls!

Becky

 

[Niki Andiokno]

I have never stayed on site, but I would really like to because I would like to vacation with my doggie. Also, skipping all the lines would be great. Especially in IOA. We go to dinner at Emeril Lagasse's Tchoup Chop at the Royal Pacific. The restaurant is great, and the resort is beautiful.

Nearby are two Hilton Grand Vacation Club properties. They are comparable to DVC in accomodations. The rooms are nicer in some ways. Really comfortable beds. You can often find these for rent on-line for prices less than renting points from DVC owners, and get a 2BR for about the same as a room at Universal on-site.