Non-Dis park ? Universal/Sea World...please don't be mad :)

[Kris & Steve]

Okey dokey, I figure I might be risk being kicked off the board witht his question but...

For Universal Studio do you need to get 2 tickets, 1 for Universal Studios itself & then one for Islands of Adventure? Or when you buy the tickets is it for both? I think their website is hard to navigate.

I want to try to hit every park in the area on my vacation, we have been saving very diligently to be able to go on this vacation. We will be there for 8 days, arriving very early AM on the first day & leaving around 5 on the last day. Is it possible to hit every park in Disney plus Universal & Sea World in 8 days? I am trying to squeeze as much in as I can because I am sure I won't be able to go right away, it will probably be about 3 years before I can get back to DW.[/FONT]

 

[crow11ad]

Okey dokey, I figure I might be risk being kicked off the board witht his question but...

For Universal Studio do you need to get 2 tickets, 1 for Universal Studios itself & then one for Islands of Adventure? Or when you buy the tickets is it for both? I think their website is hard to navigate.

I want to try to hit every park in the area on my vacation, we have been saving very diligently to be able to go on this vacation. We will be there for 8 days, arriving very early AM on the first day & leaving around 5 on the last day. Is it possible to hit every park in Disney plus Universal & Sea World in 8 days? I am trying to squeeze as much in as I can because I am sure I won't be able to go right away, it will probably be about 3 years before I can get back to DW.[/FONT]

Hey there. We haven't been to Universal yet, but I do know you will need a ticket for each park. I am sure they have a perk for buying 2 day tickets. It is possible to hit each park. Lets see 2 for universal, but might can do both in 1 day, 1 for Sea World. So you would have 5 days for Disney. Sure it can be done. Us we will be at Disney for 8 days....No other parks...

 

[PrincessAurora]

If you go back to the main forum page, you will see a section for these parks. You will have more detailed answers there from people who have been.

 

[DOOM1001]

Universal and IOA do have separate admissions but they sell 2 day 2 park tickets for $104.95 at the gate or $99.95 online plus if you get it online you get 1 free childs ticket for every adult ticket purchased and two days extra free.(total of 4). That seems like a pretty good deal. As far as Sea world If you buy it online with 7 days advance purchase. you can get the tickets at $53 instead of the $59 regular price. But a better deal you can get 2 days, one at Sea world and one at Busch Gardens in Tampa, which is a beautiful park and awsome if you love rollercoasters for $94.95. You can get to Busch Gardens in about 1 hr and 15 minutes.They even have a shuttle from different parts of Orlando to take you there.It seems If you want to do all the area parks you have to add Busch Gardens to your trip.

As far as doing Disney and all the area parks in 8 days it's definitely doable as long as your'e not going at a very busy time of the year. 2 days at Universal and IOA, 2 at Sea World and Busch Gardens and 4 at Disney seems to me the way to go if you want to get as much in as possible.If you're leaving at 5 on the last day I would save IOA, USF or Sea World for the last day since they tend to close earlier than the Disney parks except Animal Kingdom.

 

[BankBunny]

I personally wouldn't try to do all that in 8 days. I need at least that many days just for all of WDW. SeaWorld can be done in a day. DH and I went on a cruise earlier this year and did a shore excushion to SeaWorld.

I also hate to be a Disney Snob, but I don't know that I would every go to Universal. I would love to go some the rides that they have in their parks, but I don't want to spend the money on top of what I have paid for Disney. Plus I still haven't gotten over the way they used to dis Disney at the end of their commercials.

I'll get off my soapbox now. If you want to try and do all 7 parks in 8 days then go for it.

If it makes you feel any better....DH and I are on the 3 year plan also. Our first trip was in 2000 and our second was in 2003. We have to skip next year and wait until 2007 this time.

 

[hockey mom]

I would omit Seaworld but do Universal.

They have a one/park-one/day ticket for around $55 or a one/day 2 park ticket for $80. Both parks are hard to do in one day. We have done it but were very tired by the end.

 

[skyhawk]

For what it's worth....We went to Seaworld in late August. It's a really nice park, but very expensive. We had a AAA discount, and for 4 adults, it still ended costing us over $250. Thats alot of money to spend to look at fish.

 

[antmaril]

I would like to add my two cents. Depending on the time of year you go, you can definitely do all the parks in eight days. We go for five days and do Magic Kingdom, MGM and EPCOT, as well as both Universal Parks. We don't visit the Animal Kingdom, because it doesn't appeal to us. Obviously, you can't do everything. We pick and choose what we want to do. If a line is too long, we skip it. We stay onsite at Universal, which allows us to go to the front of the line - the best perk ever!

Even if you don't do everything you want to do on this trip, it will be okay, because in three years when you go back, you will have much to look forward to. Do what you can and enjoy it. You will have a blast!

Personally, I would choose Universal over SeaWorld - just a personal preference.

 

[Paul_Pearce]

8 days and all the parks can be done, you just need to be resilient, and hope its not too hot, becasue the heat wears you out.

I would do this:

Magic Kingdom - 1 full day (not Saturday) plus the day you leave -its the central reason why your going i assume.
EPCOT - 1 full day
MGM studios - 1 Full day (not Saturday)
Animal Kingdon - one full day
Universal Studios - one full day
Islands of Adventure - one full day
Sea World - One full day.

Busch Gardens, whilst a great park can be avoided due to the commute.

If one of your 8 days is your arrival day, I would choose either Seaworld or Animal Kingdom for that day, as they are the parks where u can get away with a shorter day and still expreience most of the park's attractions.

Hope this helps and enjoy!!!

 

[safetymom]

You might want to ask your Sea World and Universal questions on their separate boards here on the DIS.

 

[KerriVa]

I agree with Paul. It is workable. DH and I just visited all 4 Disney, 2 Universal, Sea World and Busch Gardens--8 parks in 6 days. How?

We arrived at 9am and went straight from the airport to Islands of Adventure.
Bought our Disney passes at our hotel that night.
Stayed onsite at Disney and utilized the early/late magic hours for each park.
The day Disney didn't have early magic hours at a Disney park is the day we visited Universal Studios.
With the park hopping option, once we were finished at one Disney park, we were free to leave and visit a 2nd park with late magic hours.
I had visited Sea World's website and knew the schedule for most of the shows ahead of time, making it easier to highlight the ones we wanted to see.

We spent approx. 8 hrs in each park, sometimes split into two days. It was a whirlwind vacation and we loved it. Who needs sleep? BTW, although we loved Busch Gardens Tampa, the drive back to Orlando seemed l-o-n-g. You might want to save that park for another trip.

 

[phamton]

Actually the price for tickets at the gate is $59.95 plus tax for one day/one park and $69.95 plus tax for one day/two park tickets.

 

['Canes Fan]

for one, I applaud you. that's the way my wife and I used to vacation. full-on attack the theme parks. we would work out an itinerary in advance and never sleep. man, it was a blast. save Busch Gardens for another time and you can do it if you're ready to commando. take lots of pictures.

 

[rie'smom]

If you do have to give up a park-give up sea world. IMHO it is a waste of time and money.

 

[willis37862]

I love Disney. That being said the two Universal parks offer more thrill rides. The Hulk rollercoaster at Universal Islands of adventure was my Fave. Doing all the parks is tiring. We tried to do that once. And I just couldn't. I wasn't having fun anymore. Took a day off and that made the rest of the trip fun again. Just don't wear yourself out. HAVE FUN either way.

 

[ChrisFL]

Well you can do Animal Kingdom and MGM in one day easily, and Universal is well worth the visit, despite what Disney Snobs who have never seen the place might think.

 

[dudedisney]

Why are people so down on Universal when they've never been there? One person in the group insists that we're wasting money to go but we happen to LOVE the movies Jaws, JP, Grinch, Dr. Seuss, etc. etc. so why would we skip that? That's like telling someone visiting New York for the first time not to bother seeing the Status of Liberty because she never takes her arm down. Disney snobs really bother me because I can't be that narrow minded for my kids' sake if nothing else.

I will get off my soapbox now.

 

[willis37862]

I dont think Universal parks are a waste. I have been to both and enjoyed them both. If you like the rides and entertainment they offer then my all means go. I also enjoyed citywalk area. It had some fun shops and good places to eat.

 

[christophfam]

I'm really surprised that nobody has asked you the ages of the people in your group. If your kids are really young, then it may be better to wait on US and IOA, but if they are older then you shouldn't miss it.

Tell us more about who is going in your group and the kinds of rides they like!

 

[ChisJo]

All I have to say is that one year I missed IOA and the next time I went, I regretted not giving it a fair chance the first time. I have officially fallen in love with USO and will ensure a trip there every time I head back to Orlando. If you really want to go to USO, but only have one day, definitely go to IOA. I also love the other side of the park, but if you are only going to do one day, go there. I think going to all parks may be a bit exhausting. I try to take a day or two to do more relaxing activites or going shopping. If I had to omit one thing, I would agree with Sea World. Although I love Sea World, I did it in 3 hours, including all the shows that I wanted to see. It was a little expensive and I found I had way more fun in the bigger parks.
JMHO though

Jo