Our Review of our 7/26 - 27 U/S, I/A visit

[tessqt]

Not impressed!

Now it could have been the record high temperatures but we just did not have a good time.

We felt there were not enough a/c things to go into to cool off like Disney has and just generally not impressed. The carnival games throughout U/S was in bad taste too, in my opinion.

We went to the Islands of Adventure the 2nd day and had to stand in line with a ticket just to get into the Harry Potter "town". There were lines to get into the stores!! We left early, we had dinner reservations at the Hard Rock, we were not impressed with that place either. After dinner we went back in to see what we could do after 7pm. Well we did get on to more rides without real long waits, did the single rider side and got on quick, FYI. If you just want to ride and your kids are old enough to ride by themselves take advantage of it.

The Harry Potter castle ride was only 60 minutes and we went in just because we were there and it would be the first thing asked when we came home. It was a good ride, I am not a Harry Potter reader but my sister and daughter are and liked it. Didn't think it would have been worth waiting in line for 7 hours like the first day but the hour was worth it.

Their Express Pass ticket is a total rip off. My sister and I could not believe it was $49.95 on top of the price of regular admission for 1 DAY!!! They have got to be kidding to pay for "fast passes"! We did see alot of them, I guess people have money to throw away.

If we ever return we will certainly skip the Universal parks, we were not impressed during our last trip 4 years ago and thought to give it a try again but also having 2 Harry fans, had to go.

The City Walk was really over done too.

I guess you figured out we didn't enjoy Universal! LOL

 

[damo]

People who stay onsite get free unlimited express passes. They just have to show their room card. Not everyone is throwing away their money

Most parks have carnival games of some sort, including Disney. Not really in bad taste, just a revenue maker.

Guess you didn't go on any of the many water rides and attractions to cool down. There are 4 water rides at IOA as well as 3 water areas. Lots of places with AC including stores, restaurants and attractions like the Jurassic Discovery Centre. There are also large mister fans.

USF also has attractions with water as well as stores with AC. Not sure what else Disney has to help cool you down.

US/IOA is not for everyone. I don't like the Hard Rock Cafe either. I find it really, really loud.

 

[Marquibiri]

So sorry you did not enjoy your trip. I go every year to Universal Studios and IOA an love it!

Marquibiri

 

[Planogirl]

I don't like carnival games either and I wish that Universal and Disney would get rid of them. I understand why they're there though and I also understand why they fit the theming of Amity.

Otherwise to each their own. We rarely use fastpass at the Disney parks because we plan our days to avoid lines. We also rarely deal with lines at the Universal parks because we plan but of course HP may change all of that!

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We were there 7/24-7/27 and had a great time! It was very hot, but it was actually hotter in NC than in Orlando - we kept comparing the temps and heat indices.

We stayed at PBH, so we had express access for almost everything. We must have ridden Cat in the Hat 15 times - it was freezing in the queue, so we went there whenever we got hot.

We thought WWoHP was great, but it was very crowded. We went for early entry on Sunday the 25th and they must have let the GP in before 9 am. The line at FJ was huge at 8:45 and it was filled with tour groups (who might have been staying onsite, but we never saw them on the boats or at the resorts).

My (minor) gripes:

I totally agree about the carnival games - I was dragging DD7 away from them at every turn. I see how they fit at Amity - not sure how they fit at US near Spidey and the comic book characters. I can easily avoid them at Disney, but you seemed to have to go through them at Universal.

The WWoHP shops are way too small. I have read all the books mulitple times and own all the movies, so I get the part about authenticity. But the reality is that I was prepared to spend money in WWoHP but didn't - it was too crowded and impossible to move through the shops, even during early entry. We bought a frozen butterbeer and pumpkin juice from the cart outside. I had a list of things I wanted to get, but we went once at almost 9 pm and once during early entry and it was too crowded to move. Missed opportunity on Universal's part - I was more than willing to spend the money. I wouldn't expect the shops to be on the scale of the World of Disney store, but you should be able to walk through the aisles to look at the merchandise.

Overall, we had an awesome time, and I'm sorry you didn't, OP.

We went to US on Saturday the 24th and no one was there. It was kind of eerie. We walked into Lombard's at noon and there was one other family there. We got a table by the aquarium and had a great lunch!

 

[ellie&mattys mom]

I agree somewhat too!! We so missed Disney's food and the dining plan!! went to downtown disney just to get a little magic and my son got a baseball bat made for him it was worth it!!

 

[Jaxx1980]

I havent been to WWoHP yet, but i imagine now is the hardest time to try to visit it!
It has only just opened! So it's going to be so much more busy then it may be after summer.

I do understand that a lot say the shops are so small. But Universal obviously thought this was worth allowing JK Rowling to insit on.
Of course people need to get into them to buy stuff and stroller shouldnt be allowed as some have said.
But i feel i must say again its still so new and everyone 'me included' are just dying to see it all i will wait till next year for it to die down so its hopefully less crowded.

On a side not i personally feel Universal's does just as good job with A/C etc as Disney.
Sometimes I think and i'm not saying this is the case. But sometimes people love Disney So much that they can't always see the positive with Universals. As i said not saying this is the case here.
I am sorry you didn't enjoy it tho.


But lets all remember universal has brought Harry Potter fans something Trully Trully amazing.. good luck to Universals!!! They deserve to take money off me for merchendise for this..

 

[Jaxx1980]

Also can I ask what you didn't like about City Walk?
You say it is over done.
In what way? Persoanlly i love City Walk and think it has a great atmospher.

 

[Lou Holtz]

Almost all of the rides at USO are indoors, so I don't get that criticism at all. At IOA, only three rides are indoors, but another three are water rides. Not sure if you got them mixed up.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

Almost all of the rides at USO are indoors, so I don't get that criticism at all. At IOA, only three rides are indoors, but another three are water rides. Not sure if you got them mixed up.

We found plenty of places to stay cool in both parks, and Universal does a great job with fans and misters. Sea World, on the other hand, is a terrible park for the heat! We still had a good time there, but everything (except for two small shows) is outside and there are very few fans and misters compared to Universal.

 

[Jaxx1980]

I have to agrre about Seaworld. It really does feel so hot when I am there.

 

[GinaBean]

We love both Disney and U/S & IOA; we love different things about each of them. I enjoy going to Downtown Disney, but I certainly would not consider it magical. I don't think City Walk is any more over done than DTD is.

I am sorry you did not enjoy your visit.

 

[Clemson Bama Fan]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your time at US/IOA. I guess this is why there is chocolate and vanilla. We are planning our 10th visit and I must say we enjoy these parks much more than Disney. We like Disney, but we feel US and IOA offer much more excitement for the older kids (including me). We always stay on-site at the HRH and really use the Express Pass, which to me is a huge benefit over the Disney Fast Pass which helps, but nothing like showing your room key and having an unlimited number of Express Passes.

 

[StitchandPooh'sMom]

We are planning our 10th visit and I must say we enjoy these parks much more than Disney. We like Disney, but we feel US and IOA offer much more excitement for the older kids (including me). We always stay on-site at the HRH and really use the Express Pass, which to me is a huge benefit over the Disney Fast Pass which helps, but nothing like showing your room key and having an unlimited number of Express Passes.

DD11 and DH are firmly in the Universal is better camp (a recent move for DD11), DD7 is firmly in the Disney is better camp, and I am sort of on the fence. I have more memories from Disney since we have been there more often, but I think Universal does a much better job staying current. We enjoyed both places very much!

There is no perk as awesome as the onsite express access at Universal. We used our Give A Day vouchers for fastpasses at Disney this trip (which was awesome), but unlimited express at Universal is the best ever.

 

[LittleBoyBrew]

We were at UO July 22-23 and 26-27 (Thur-Fri and Mon-Tue). The latter two days were noticeably more crowded, but the FOTL passes worked like a charm. They are way superior to Disney's fastpass.

 

[EPCOT_VA]

We just got back from our Florida trip on 7/28. We loved the new Harry Potter area. It was our first trip to Universal since the kids were born. (They are 10 and 12 now!) I must admit that we felt a little guilty staying at Old Key West for a week and not going into a Disney park even once! We are DVC members, so we just used our points.

Our first trip to WWoHP was at 7:00 pm. The lines weren't horrible at that time of day. The shops were crowded, but that didn't really bother us. Our 12 yo DD was chosen for the wand ceremony when we went into Olivanders. We only rode FJ once though. They wait was about 45 minutes when we went. We were at WWoHP on a subsequent night when all those riders got stuck on FJ. We saw all of the news choppers circling and my DW checked her iPhone for breaking news. Something like 132 riders were "trapped" on the ride for some period of time.

Anyway, next year we plan to do the Disney Dream cruise, and spend a couple of days at USO / IoA afterward.

 

[adamas]

If i just want to ride dragons in harry potter world how long of a wait was it? Think we are there wed/thur?

 

[EPCOT_VA]

If i just want to ride dragons in harry potter world how long of a wait was it? Think we are there wed/thur?

In the evening the Dragon Challenge lines get very short. Between 9 and 10 pm you can basically just walk on. At 8 pm I saw waits of 20 to 25 minutes.

 

[Josh Hendy]

Yeah the heat can be a real drag, it saps your energy.

We've always visited Orlando in the summer because of DW's schedule. To maximize enjoyment we drag ourselves out of bed about 7, get to the parks before opening, and tour the best rides first. By the time it gets really hot around 11 AM, it's also the time that a huge flood of guests is entering the park. If you're passing by the entrance it's an interesting sight to watch the river of people flow into the park. There isn't a theme park anywhere in central FL whose "big" rides can't all be visited between 9-11:30 AM with minimal waits, in our experience. Haven't been to Harry Potter yet so maybe it's different what with being new and everything.

After we've done the big rides we start looking for dark, cool places for live shows, 3D movies, lunch, etc. If it's just too hot to walk between shows then we bail and go for a swim or shopping in a mall with A/C. We return in the evening when it's cooler and the crowds are diminishing. The lines are never as short as in the morning though, except right before closing. In the last 1/2 hour we often visit our favorite ride and go on it again and again. The wait times drop to zero right around closing time so we're literally sprinting from the exit back to the entrance.

Oh yeah there's another way to beat the heat, which may or may not suit you. Once on a really hot day in Animal Kingdom I got totally soaked on Kali River first thing in the morning, and i had all cotton clothes on. Instead of changing I walked around wet for a few hours and it actually kept me pretty cool. It has to be cotton to work. You feel and look kinda bedraggled however, not exactly a fashion plate if you know what I mean.

 

[Jaxx1980]

yea some good ways to get cool there mate.
also water rides as you said are a great way. And Island of adventure has 3 of them.... i would have used them myself lol.