New to Universal - need tips

[kbkids]

We're making our first trip to Universal in May, and I'm pretty much clueless on all the tips for this park. I have two children, ages 6 and 3. The 6 year old is a thrill-ride junkie - the scarier, the better. I'm curious about the "fastpass" (I know that's not what it's called, but I didn't know the correct term). I know you get one automatically by staying onsite, but a friend thought you were able to purchase it as well. Is this true, how much is it if so, and how does this pass work? We are very familiar with the Disney parks, but Univeral is new to me. We are staying on-site at Disney and would prefer to stay there instead of moving half way through the trip, but it's an option if it makes more financial sense to do so.

Also, what rides should we do, not do? We will be there for 8 days, so which days would be best to set aside for Universal? Is it possible to do the park in one day, or should we allow two days?

Any other tips or ideas you could share would be greatly appreciated!! Oh, and we're also Florida residents if there are any discounts.

 

[edie w]

It's called Express Pass.

It works pretty much like Fastpass in that you put your park ticket into a machine near the ride entrance and get a return ticket for later.

In addition, there are Express Pass tickets giving you one Express at each Express attraction, which you can use at any time on the day you bought them. These cost us £15 when we were there in October but apparently it changes from time to time. The good thing is you can share them with your party so the thrill seekers can do Hulk twice, and the kids can do Cat in the Hat twice - provided you remember which ticket has been where. (Dark Marauder is going to tell me you aren't supposed to do that!)

And finally there is the FOTL pass which gives you unlimited front of line access with your room key (or something). Sadly I've never done that!

A word of caution - check the height restrictions. My nephew is a small 8 and can't get on the big coasters even though he desperately wants to ride.

 

[kbkids]

So, which do you think would be better for us to do? If they've got something similar to Fast Pass, I'm thinking that would be our best option, since we wouldn't have to check out of the hotel at Disney. I wasn't aware you had three options - I thought it was the FOTL or the pass you buy. So, the only difference in the Express Pass and the pass you buy is that with one you can come back anytime during the day, and the other you come back in a specified time - is that right?

I have checked the height requirements, and there will be alot of things that the 6 year old won't be able to do. Basically, she meets all the 44" height requirement rides, but none of the rest. That's why I'm wondering if it's possible for us to do this park in one day.

Thanks again!!

 

[edie w]

With the ordinary Express pass, you just use your normal park ticket. You get a return time, and you can't get another Express pass for a while - I think 2 hours or after your last pass became valid. More or less the same as Disney

So if it's busy, you might struggle to get on everything.

With the additional Express tickets (they do have a proper name but I can't remember) that you buy for $15-20, you can go on everything just once at front of line. You can of course use your normal park tickets to get passes as above at the same time but it's a bit tricky keeping track of everything!

If I were you I'd check out the wait times. If the park is empty and everything is 10 minutes then you don't need to bother with the $15 tickets. If it is busy, then they are very good value and will enable you to do everything at least once. Certainly cheaper than checking into one of the hotels!

However, it's my ambition to spend at least a couple of nights at one of the on-site hotels just for the experience of unlimited FOTL!

Your DD will be able to enjoy just about everything except the coasters I think. Flying Unicorn is one of the best kiddy coasters with a pretty scary first drop - especially if you are in the last car. My nephew (nearly 4) said, when we got off, " I didn't like that first bit - can we do it again?" And we did.... again, and again!

And don't even think about Pteranodon Fliers. It's very, very slow loading. We were there on a rainy day and walked onto everything with barely a pause, but the wait time for PF was still 45 minutes!

Oh - I've just re-read your post. You do know there are 2 Universal parks? Universal Studios, and Islands of Adventure, within a couple of minutes walk of each other. You will need one day in each park. Actually a week in each park would be better, but that's just me.

At some point SpideyHulk, FlyFly, Barry, Dark Marauder et al, who are all far better at this than me, will appear and give you some proper advice!

 

[kbkids]

Yeh, I knew there were two parks - I was hoping to do a little of both in one day, but that probably won't be possible at this time of year. Which one between the two would be the best for little ones - just in case a second day would just be too tiresome after already being a Disney for a week?

Thanks for the tips on the Express Passes. I get it now, and I'm relieved that checking into one of the on-site hotels isn't a necessity. We'll probably save that for when they are older.

 

[Flyfly_Eclipse]

I'm here!

edie w is talking about Express Plus, which is a single ticket that enables entry to the Express line once per ride. Please note that this is one pass per person per park. If you go to both parks, you'll have to buy an Express Plus for each park for each person. It can add up quickly and it almost better to just stay onsite...depending how large your party is. I know you say you do not wish to switch hotels, but in a way, it would be more convenient. Disney is a decent drive away from Universal (not THAT long, but, enough to make you have to get up at least 30 or 45 minutes earlier than necessary if you stay onsite at Universal). With the onsite resorts, you can just walk or take a water taxi. It's nice an convenient, especially if you go on water rides...you can go back to the hotel and change with no problem! Or if one of the adults or kids is too tired, they can head back to the hotel while the others stay at the parks (of course, kids with a parent...but you know what I mean). I remember during my birthday trip, my dad wanted to watch the Tampa Bay Bucs game and so he left the parks early to watch it while my mom and I stayed. He later came back to join my mom and I took a turn enjoying the hotel room to myself. Nice having that option!

I would say to do the parks in two days. Even though you are limited in which rides DD can do, you don't want to make them have to do as much as possible in one day. THAT would be tiring, especially after many days at Disney. I say, 2 days, that way you can relax and enjoy the parks. Enjoy some shows, meet some characters, go on certain rides over and over again, etc.

If you have any more questions, let me know! I hope this information is helpful!

 

[h20jag]

Since you didn't travel too far (so you're probably not "loaded for bear", packing-wise), go ahead and pick a nite at a UO on-site. You can't go wrong. Enjoy 2 days worth of Express.

 

[SpideyHulk24]

Since you are a family, it may be in your best interest to stay onsite. That way you will get the Express usage and won't have to pay per person since it's included in your room key. It will make more sense financially, IMO and it will enhance your Universal experience. Hope that helps.

Thanks for the compliment edie. You did great yourself!

 

[highlander447]

Another option for people with a small family is to check in for one night at cheapets onsite hotel get two days FOTL access and only use room for a rest period when at parks and still stay in you orignal hotel with out moving out some people have said its worth it as if they bought the express booklets over 2 days for family of 4 u would be $160 so if its within your budget it may be worth it to have a base and get FOTL access