Newbie to Universal Parks

[miste76]

In 22 years of visiting WDW (over 30 visits), I have never ever been to any of the Universal Parks/locations. This year that will change.
We will be taking our annual family trip in July and then staying a few extra days in the area to visit Universal. We will not be staying on Universal property.
My biggest concern is that I will be disappointed with Universal after being spoiled by WDW for so many years. Can anyone convince me otherwise? What can I look forward to (besides the obvious change of rides and shows)? Is the customer service at Universal on the same level as Disney's? Is the atmosphere as wonderful? (Will I feel like I can leave all of my 'real life' behind and just be a kid?)
Any info would be appreciated!!!

 

[Bill Lumbergh]

The first step is to learn more about Universal. You can obtain Kelly Mongahan's excellent Universal book at www.theotherorlando.com. You can read excerpts from his book on that web site. Another good site to visit is www.ioacentral.com.

Many people are afraid to venture outside of Disney because they are afraid they will be disappointed. You get so used to it, like old leather, that you don't want to experience anything else. However, many people (here on this board) will say Universal is every bit Disney's equal. Some people will say Universal is better than Disney. However, it is your vacation and not ours, so you must make the decision.

 

[johnvree]

WDW has always been our first love. For us, Universal was at best a one day stop. Last year, we spent two weeks in Orlando and for the first time devoted more than a day to Universal. In fact, we spend three nights at the RPR and four days in US and IOA. I have to say, we were pretty disappointed - disappointed that we didn't spend more time at Universal.

First, the RPR was outstanding. We usually stay at the Polynesian and the RPR was pretty close. Did it have the magic of the monorail running through it and the Castle across the lagoon? No. But it had a convenient walk and delightful boat ride to the parks, immaculate grounds, great restaurants and service that was at least as good as Disney's. The parks were also on par with WDW. The themeing at IOA is incredible. Yes, you could do it one day. But you could also spend two days there easily and still not soak it all in. I also personnally prefer US to MGM. I know a lot of people differ and it does lack the quality shows of MGM, but I like the feel of the park more and US's rides are better, again IMHO, than MGM's.

Anyway, to answer your question, I doubt you will be disappointed. I used to think the same thing and I was wrong. We love UO. We love it so much that we are doing something that I never thought possible: we are taking a 9 day Universal-only vacation this August. Time to see if Sea World, Wet n' Wild and Busch Gardens can hold there own too.

Have fun!

 

[Granny]

Our family ventured to Universal last year, and will again this year. My two DD's are 16 & 14, and though they still love WDW they are ready for some other attractions.

I may get flamed for this, but if you are not staying at the Universal property, and you go at a busy time of the year (which you will), you may be a bit disappointed.

Universal has Universal Express, which works similar to FastPass at WDW. However, it doesn't work nearly as well for two reasons:

1. Guests at the Universal on-site hotels get front-of-the-line FOTL access to the attractions.

2. Guests who are not staying on-site at Universal can pay for a daily Universal Express Plus, which allows one FOTL pass per attraction in a park for a day.

So what we found is that...

a) On those occasions when we could get a Universal Pass free at the machines, we still had a bit of a wait due to all the other FOTL passes being used.

b) By 10:00 in the morning, all the free Universal Passes were already out to 3:00 - 5:00 in the afternoon for return times. This is because they limit the number of free Universal Passes per timeframe due to #1 & #2 above.


My advice? As much as it grinds me to do it, it is probably worth the money to pay for the one-day, one-park Universal Pass Plus. It's not cheap...about $35 during the summer per person for one day. But it is the only realistic way to "do Universal" in a couple days when they're busy.

Imagine if Disney had the current Fast Pass system, but also sold one-day, one-park Fast Pass Plus cards that gave you Fast Pass access whenever you wanted that day. I think you can see how those who don't stay on site or buy the Universal Pass Plus can really feel left out.

And the lines at Universal without the passes were usually in the 80-120 minute range for the popular attractions if you want to brave it without any passes.

Other than that, we found the Universal parks to be clean, and the employees courteous.

I think Universal parks are very good "thrill ride" parks, and extremely well done. But for us, we found that they don't have the "magic touch" you might find at WDW.

Still, they are worth experiencing for yourself. Everyone's experience is different, and they may well become favorite destinations for future years for you. Good luck!

 

[Hockeymommy]

I have to say I second Granny. We will be at Universal for the first time the July and thank goodnesss we are staying at a Universal resort. It is actually less expensive to stay at a Universal resort than to buy the express passes for 2 days. If you stay at the hotel you get the express for the rides all day, if you buy the passes you only ride each ride 1 time with the pass. Universal told me the passes were $35 per person, per day: That equals $280 for myself, my husband and 2 kids. Our room at Royal Pacific is only $234 night, and you get to use the express for the day you check in and out. We ended up liking the thought (and reviews) of the hotel so much we reserved a room for the 7 days after we leave Disney. If you don't want to wait in line for 2-3 hours for some rides (and you can) this is your best bet!

 

[Slacking]

IMO, Express Plus is not needed. Even during busy periods a schedule like this can esily be done:

Get there 20-30 minutes before opening, US usually opens them a few minutes before the posted time.

Hit Jimmy Neutron, try to be in the first group that gets to experience it.
Next, hit mummy
Now, time for ET
After ET, hit Back to the Future
After BTTF, do Jaws

After those rides, the rest including Earthquake, Twister, T2-3D, Shrek (lumping in this category because of the 2 theaters), and all the shows can be done at your own leisure.

This requires a bit of commando-style touring the first couple hours, but after than, it should be pretty relaxing and you'll be able to watch the shows duirng the busy part of the day.

 

[Bill Lumbergh]

The schedule above is for the Studios. You can add Men in Black on the schedule. If you don't ride it early, you can encounter very long lines. You can pick up Universal Express passes for your party. If you don't mind splitting up, you can board the ride quicker through the single riders line. The Studios has many shows you can watch if you want to sit down for 30 minutes or so. The best show is the Horror Make Up Show. It's funny, entertaining, and educational.

A good schedule for Islands would be like this...

Arrive 20-30 minutes before opening
Ride Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk Coaster, and Dr. Doom's Fearfall
Ride Cat in the Hat and One Fish Red Fish Two Fish Blue Fish (if you really want to)
Ride Dueling Dragons (Fire and Ice) and the Flying Unicorn
Ride Jurassic Park River Adventure, Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, and Popeye and Bluto's Bildge Raft Barges

Then you can do whatever you missed like the Caro-seuss-sel, the Sinbad show, or Posideon's Fury. You should have enough time to do your favorites again. You can pick up Universal Express passes for your party after you rode a ride that you want to experience again.

For lunch at Islands, don't miss eating at Mythos. The food is just incredible. If your budget doesn't allow for such fine dining, try the Enchanted Oak Terrace or the Burger Digs.

 

[Lexxweb]

Hello,
I own a Universal Site which may help you find some decent info. I reccomend you check out the video section located Here and watch some of the area videos, you will be able to tell it does give you that "Im in paradise and away from the world" sense. Thats why I love it so much. Im only 15 and began as a WDW lover, but in the long run I came to my sense, Universal took over and I cannot live without Universal Orlando.

You will have a great time, if you leave Universal Orlando and come back here and tell us you didn't really like it I would be shocked! It is a great vaction from the real world.

Have a great trip!

Lexxweb

 

[robvia]

The problem of the first post is they are going during the most busy time and expecting to be wowed. Plus they're staying off site. Hard to please, but it can be done.

Rent the car. You can visit the grocery stores in the area.

http://www.nogodforme.com/directionstopublix.htm

Next, stay near the park.

http://www.nogodforme.com/offsite.htm

Next, arrive early each morning.

http://www.nogodforme.com/arriveearly.htm

Cruise my site for more pages.

Biggest piece of adivce is to wake up early each morning and be at the gate frist thing. Tour the parks in the morning, then rest in the afternoon. Then come back at night for the fireworks show at 09:55pm.

I'll be there July 6-8.

 

[Granny]

Slacking & Bill Lumbergh....thanks so much for the touring tips. We did arrive first thing last year in July, and found that we could only do one or two feature attractions (like Spiderman or Mummy) and then the park really started filling up and the UE passes started disappearing quickly.

Like I said, the parks are in excellent condition, and well-themed. First class all the way. I just feel that their way of "encouraging" on-site stays or buying UE Plus passes is a bit much. But there is no doubt that the attractions are first rate....that's the nice part of not being part of nostalgia like Disney, and being able to update attractions without worrying about a legion of attraction loyalists threatening to boycott!!

 

[F-L-A]

My biggest concern is that I will be disappointed with Universal after being spoiled by WDW for so many years. Can anyone convince me otherwise?

Well, you're going to be disappointed no matter what if you go there with that attitude. You have to convince yourself that it's possible to have a good time there, or to be "spoiled", and to not compare the two. Otherwise, whatever we tell you won't make a difference.

that's the nice part of not being part of nostalgia like Disney, and being able to update attractions without worrying about a legion of attraction loyalists threatening to boycott!!

USF is 15 years old. There are plenty of people who have been going there long enough to have grown a nostalgia for it, including me. I know a lot of people who considered Kongfrontation a classic, and are still bummed about it being closed, but they don't boycott because they announce attraction closings and the like way ahead of time, and even put on a very classy closing day event for Kong. Which is much more than what Disney has done for some of it's recently departed attractions. Plus, it doesn't hurt that it was replaced by Mummy instead of Pooh or *cringe* Stitch....

 

[Snoopymom]

IMO, Express Plus is not needed. Even during busy periods a schedule like this can esily be done:

Get there 20-30 minutes before opening, US usually opens them a few minutes before the posted time.

Hit Jimmy Neutron, try to be in the first group that gets to experience it.
Next, hit mummy
Now, time for ET
After ET, hit Back to the Future
After BTTF, do Jaws

After those rides, the rest including Earthquake, Twister, T2-3D, Shrek (lumping in this category because of the 2 theaters), and all the shows can be done at your own leisure.

This requires a bit of commando-style touring the first couple hours, but after than, it should be pretty relaxing and you'll be able to watch the shows duirng the busy part of the day.

Whew!!! Many thanks to you and Bill for the tour info... reading through this I was getting worried...we're going for the first time in 21 days, staying off-site, AND I bought AP's, LOL! I'm off to make my commando schedule. Thanks a bunch!

 

[Snoopymom]

http://www.nogodforme.com/arriveearly.htm

Cruise my site for more pages.

Thanks for the great touring info!

 

[miste76]

Thanks for the info. I'm really wishing that we could stay on property, however... it's not possible this year. We will be staying at BWV for the first two weeks of the trip and then moving into the house that my parents just purchased at The Villages. I've heard it's a 45 minutes drive from the new house to WDW, so I'm guessing it's about the same for US. Because they just purchased their first 2nd home... we're being careful with the finances this year. (I'm a student and am very fortunate that they bring me for any trip... I'd be happy just to stay in a cardboard box.)
With that said, it looks like I'll be doing some commando style planning for US. I tried this with a WDW trip back in November and it didn't go over very well with my family (our idea of planning is - whatever comes to mind the night before.)
My step-father has mentioned a 2-day pass that gives an extra 3 days (total of 5 days for approx $100.) I haven't looked into this, but it's my understanding that we'll have 5 days to do everything there. I guess I should go out and purchase a book and look up the sites listed above.
Thank you again-

 

[johnvree]

Well, you're going to be disappointed no matter what if you go there with that attitude. You have to convince yourself that it's possible to have a good time there, or to be "spoiled", and to not compare the two. Otherwise, whatever we tell you won't make a difference.

Umm, ok....

I think what F-L-A was trying to say is that if you go to Universal Orlando looking for the ways that it doesn't measure up to Disney, you may interfere with your ability to have as good an experience as you have enjoyed at WDW all these years. [Not that you said you were going to do that.]

Trust me, Universal Orlando is incredible. I grew up with Disney too and, as I said in my first response, I would have never believed there'd be a day that I would set foot in Orlando without going to WDW. But we are doing it this year.

Is UO as good as WDW? I think in the cleanliness and customer service departments, the two vacation destinations are equal. I give UO the edge in price and thrill rides right now and WDW the clear edge in "things to do".

 

[Slacking]

Bill, the original poster seemed more interested in the Studios, hence a studios touring plan. But, thanks for poining out that I forgot about MIB. So, here is the same plan, but with MIB put in between BTTF and Jaws. But, your IOA Plan is pretty much the exact way I would attack the park. I would mention though, that even if you do Poseidon's Fury after you do all the other rides (which I recommend), picking up an Express pass for it is almost mandatory based on my past experiences.

Get there 20-30 minutes before opening, US usually opens them a few minutes before the posted time.

Hit Jimmy Neutron, try to be in the first group that gets to experience it.
Next, hit mummy
Now, time for ET
After ET, hit Back to the Future
MIB Time!
After MIB, do Jaws

After those rides, the rest including Earthquake, Twister, T2-3D, Shrek (lumping in this category because of the 2 theaters), Fear factor, and all the other shows can be done at your own leisure.

This requires a bit of commando-style touring the first couple hours, but after than, it should be pretty relaxing and you'll be able to watch the shows duirng the busy part of the day.

 

[Char17]

OK, I have a question that I'm sure has been asked before but I have not been able to find the answer 100%. With the Express Pass Plus, are they limited to a certain amount sold every day? Or will it be OK just to turn up and buy them on the day? I'll be there with another 5 people sometime from June 11th to the 25th.

Thanks for any info.

Rich

 

[hardrocker45]

First get a copy of Kelly Monaghan's Universal Orlando to prep and peak your interest.Battle plans included.Second,they are two totally different experiences.Disney is Disney and thats great if your in a Mickey kinda mood.But ,if you long for a more teen/adult theme park then UO is the ticket.The difference in mood is noticable the second you enter City Walk.If you ever get a chance to stay on-site at UO the first thing you notice is you are in a world away from the parks unlike Disney where Mickey seems to be around every corner .Also the biggest plus is the proximity of everything.Where as WDW has a few A attractions at each park UO is loaded with em at each park and travel on-site to the parks and back is completely hassle free and immediate compared to WDW.You are quite literally a 5 minute or less walk from Hard Rock to US.Disney is great at what they do and I enjoyed every visit we had there.However,I for one would never trade the Hard Rock ,FOTL,IOA,Mythos,City Walk , COASTERZZZZZZ!!! et.al for WDW anyday.I will prolly go back to WDW but if an amusement park'resort can be for adults UO is it.

 

[Granny]

OK, I have a question that I'm sure has been asked before but I have not been able to find the answer 100%. With the Express Pass Plus, are they limited to a certain amount sold every day? Or will it be OK just to turn up and buy them on the day? I'll be there with another 5 people sometime from June 11th to the 25th.

Thanks for any info.

Rich

Yes, they limint the number they sell each day. In the timeframe you are talking about, I would show up to the park early and purchase them right away. I know they were sold out by mid-morning the days I went last July.

 

[miste76]

Which books are best for planning my US & IOA tours? I noticed a few sites/books mentioned... which should I use? Are these books sold at Barnes & Nobles or do they need to be ordered online? If online is the only way to go... is there websites/links that you can give me?
We've decided that we're ready to go commando style at the parks for a few days to get it all in. Now I just have to spend the time planning it out. I'm a little nervous trying to plan something that I've never even seen...

Also... Is there anyway to get US to send current park maps or additional park info pamphlets/brochures?
Thanks for the info!!!