New to Universal, ??

[ZPT1022]

We're trying to plan a vacation for mid to late August. The plan so far is to visit family on the gulf coast first and then head up to the Orlando area. We've never been to Universal but we're interested in trying it out.

First off, my kids will be 5,5 and 8. Will there be a lot of things they can't do because of height restrictions and such? They're all fairly tall but I just had the impression that Universal was more teen/adult oriented than WDW. Is that correct or am I way off?

How many days would you recommend for a family that's never been there before?

It seems that the onsite hotels are the best bet because of the front of the line pass. Do they ever offer any promotions? Are there any rooms that are able to sleep five people or are we looking at either a suite or two rooms?

We've been to WDW a lot and feel pretty confident about that but when it comes to Universal I'm like a fish out of water. I have no idea. Any tips, advice, good websites or tourbooks to check out would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Jonny_Duck]

We're trying to plan a vacation for mid to late August. The plan so far is to visit family on the gulf coast first and then head up to the Orlando area. We've never been to Universal but we're interested in trying it out.

First off, my kids will be 5,5 and 8. Will there be a lot of things they can't do because of height restrictions and such? They're all fairly tall but I just had the impression that Universal was more teen/adult oriented than WDW. Is that correct or am I way off?

How many days would you recommend for a family that's never been there before?

It seems that the onsite hotels are the best bet because of the front of the line pass. Do they ever offer any promotions? Are there any rooms that are able to sleep five people or are we looking at either a suite or two rooms?

We've been to WDW a lot and feel pretty confident about that but when it comes to Universal I'm like a fish out of water. I have no idea. Any tips, advice, good websites or tourbooks to check out would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

There is a fair amount of things your kids will be able to do. They may have to skip Hulk, DD, Mummy, Doom, and the new coaster but other then that should be good. It is aimed more teenage but honestly there are lots for kids to do also. Theme at IOA is great for kids and Suess land is awesome. Below is height restrictions link...

http://www.universalorlando.com/hours-information/height-requirements.html

For rooms I believe there are some super saver rate promotions going on now. They have 2 queen beds in the room so you all can probably squeeze into one room. They allow up to 5 FOTL passes per room. Below is the link to check the prices during your stay.

http://www.universalorlando.com/hotels/how-to-book.html

I would recommend 2 days each park for a very relaxing vacation. Depending on the dates you go the parks may close early or later. With FOTL you can probably do it in 2 days but to get full experience I would say 3-4.

As for tips... If you go for 4 days spend 3 traveling parks and one for playtime for the kids. They have the feival park that your kids will most likely love. They also have a water park right next to that and a ball pit that my 6 year old nephew loved. Its basically air guns that you shoot balls at ppl I had a blast doing it also. They also have 3 ish water rides at IOA and water at the comic playground so a water day could be fullfilling to 5 year olds. I also suggest doing a night at City Walk for a restaurant and maybe a movie, they have an AMC theater there on premissis.

Any other questions feel free to ask there are plenty of ppl on these boards to help you out.

 

[macraven]

We're trying to plan a vacation for mid to late August. The plan so far is to visit family on the gulf coast first and then head up to the Orlando area. We've never been to Universal but we're interested in trying it out.

First off, my kids will be 5,5 and 8. Will there be a lot of things they can't do because of height restrictions and such? They're all fairly tall but I just had the impression that Universal was more teen/adult oriented than WDW. Is that correct or am I way off?

How many days would you recommend for a family that's never been there before?

It seems that the onsite hotels are the best bet because of the front of the line pass. Do they ever offer any promotions? Are there any rooms that are able to sleep five people or are we looking at either a suite or two rooms?

We've been to WDW a lot and feel pretty confident about that but when it comes to Universal I'm like a fish out of water. I have no idea. Any tips, advice, good websites or tourbooks to check out would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'll piggy back off of jonny duck and add somethings he didn't mention.

use the child swap rooms for the rides the youngest can not go on due to height.
your older child would be allowed to go twice on that ride with the adult that rides.
most of the rooms have couches, chairs and a/c.

rooms for the on site hotels will sleep 5.
5 is the maximum per room.

if you have the AAA card, you can get a nice discount.
discounts are also available if you have the APH, or Amex universal cc.
super saver rates are available for anyone and they are the best, lowest rates of them all!
there is a requirement of staying for 3 or 4 days minimum to be eligible for that discounts.

If you stay onsite, you can do the park in the daytime, come back for a rest period in the early afternoon, then return to the parks late afternoon.
it works out great for families that need some down time to rest.

there are more things for children then people first assume.
the play area in fieval land, it's barney time!!!!
Seuss land is always a winner for kids.