please talk me in to Universal.....

[Purseval]

It's hard not to get frustrated sometimes. People so often decide that Universal is all wrong sight unseen and I don't get that. I was reluctant to leave Disney, I admit it but not really because I thought that Universal was terrible. I was just all about Disney for a while and it took a bit for me to rip off the rainbow colored glasses. I did go into Universal with eyes wide open at least.

I don't really care if people don't like Universal, it's the ones who come in here and act so condescending. The only consolation we can take is that they just don't act that way with Universal, the entire city of Orlando gets the treatment:

I've tried everything I could but DH tells me that until we pay off the 2nd mortgage we got to pay for our last WDW vacation we're going to have to (sob), we're going to have to (sob, sob) STAY OFFSITE Somebody PLEASE reassure me that everything is going to be okay (sob)

Then when someone calls them on it they run back over to the WDW board and cry about it: Oh, those people are soooooo ruuuude

If they want to go somewhere and tell everyone how great WDW is and what a big favor they're doing to the world by going offsite they should try the Orlando Visitor's Bureau or call Universal directly. To those people every dollar is a good one and they will happily listen to them all day. This forum is made up of people who actually like the place and don't appreciate being talked down to.

I have some news for those folks. Walt Disney didn't invent the cartoon. He didn't invent the motion picture. He didn't invent the theme park either. All he did is what people have been doing since time began, he took someone else's ideas and improved on them. So if he can improve on someone else's ideas it's really not a big surprise that Universal Studios found a way to improve on his. There are plenty of ideas in US/IOA that are as good or better than anything at WDW and Halloween Horror Nights is arguably the best event in any theme park anywhere in the world

 

[Running_Bell]

dang.....seriously? I wasn't trying to offend ... I wasn't trying to say one was better than the other or I was "slumming" or "afraid".... Just looking for some information on the park....details...what you like?...what are your not miss activities?... that kinda thing....the Universal website really doesn't do it justice.

Anyways...thanks to you all for the helpful information...it's exactly what I was looking for. I am looking forward to the more thrilling rides... that will be a nice change from WDW since they really only have a few.... it'll be fun. I'll be sure to post my trip report! Maybe I'll earn the rights to be a redheaded stepchild too : )

Thanks again!!

 

[Purseval]

dang.....seriously? I wasn't trying to offend ... I wasn't trying to say one was better than the other or I was "slumming" or "afraid".... Just looking for some information on the park....details...what you like?...what are your not miss activities?... that kinda thing....the Universal website really doesn't do it justice.

I'm sure you meant well and I'm sorry if you think my little tirade is directed at you personally. It's not, you just happened to pop in on an ongoing controversy. It happens so often you could actually make a sticky out of it

 

[damo]

I'm sure you meant well and I'm sorry if you think my little tirade is directed at you personally. It's not, you just happened to pop in on an ongoing controversy. It happens so often you could actually make a sticky out of it

I think we should!!!


sticky: First time Mom at Universal? Don't be scared...you owe it to your family to at least give it an open minded try!

And then we can add all the testimonials that come back on how their vacations are now cheaper, more relaxing and more fun!

 

[Rip]

I don't really care if people don't like Universal, it's the ones who come in here and act so condescending. The only consolation we can take is that they just don't act that way with Universal, the entire city of Orlando gets the treatment:

I've tried everything I could but DH tells me that until we pay off the 2nd mortgage we got to pay for our last WDW vacation we're going to have to (sob), we're going to have to (sob, sob) STAY OFFSITE Somebody PLEASE reassure me that everything is going to be okay (sob)

Then when someone calls them on it they run back over to the WDW board and cry about it: Oh, those people are soooooo ruuuude

If they want to go somewhere and tell everyone how great WDW is and what a big favor they're doing to the world by going offsite they should try the Orlando Visitor's Bureau or call Universal directly. To those people every dollar is a good one and they will happily listen to them all day. This forum is made up of people who actually like the place and don't appreciate being talked down to.

I have some news for those folks. Walt Disney didn't invent the cartoon. He didn't invent the motion picture. He didn't invent the theme park either. All he did is what people have been doing since time began, he took someone else's ideas and improved on them. So if he can improve on someone else's ideas it's really not a big surprise that Universal Studios found a way to improve on his. There are plenty of ideas in US/IOA that are as good or better than anything at WDW and Halloween Horror Nights is arguably the best event in any theme park anywhere in the world

That's not arguable.

 

[Planogirl]

dang.....seriously? I wasn't trying to offend ... I wasn't trying to say one was better than the other or I was "slumming" or "afraid".... Just looking for some information on the park....details...what you like?...what are your not miss activities?... that kinda thing....the Universal website really doesn't do it justice.

Anyways...thanks to you all for the helpful information...it's exactly what I was looking for. I am looking forward to the more thrilling rides... that will be a nice change from WDW since they really only have a few.... it'll be fun. I'll be sure to post my trip report! Maybe I'll earn the rights to be a redheaded stepchild too : )

Thanks again!!

It's really not directed at you by anyone here as far as I can tell. I have a theory that a lot of the dread I see mentioned by people is because of unfair attitudes from others though. I was there to some extent so I know.

You might end up liking the place or hating the place and that's OK. I just suggest treating it like something brand new in your experience and you'll likely enjoy it more. I keep repeating this...do NOT expect Disney!

As for best stuff... I like The Mummy and Spiderman and Men in Black and the Simpsons and... I could go on and on. The food is generally good in City Walk and it's an easy walk from both parks. I love to leave the park we're in around lunch time and eat in City Walk. It's restful and generally not crowded. If you want to eat in a park, Mythos comes highly recommended and my personal favorite counter service is Thundering Falls. I haven't ever seen anyone slamming any of the the full serve places though but opinions seem to vary widely when it comes to counter service.

I would suggest studying the rides and hitting the most popular at opening. In IOA that would include the Hulk and Spiderman. The water rides get packed on hot days too.

In the Studios, the popular rides are the Simpsons, the Mummy and from what we've seen lately, Disaster and Men in Black. Shrek can also get backed up but that's probably because it's close to the entrance.

Other than that, I would plan to try everything. There are unique things, some not to everyone's taste but I guess that would be true of any park.

I would also try to stay onsite if possible. The Loew's hotels are lovely (and worth at least a look if you like hotels like I do) and the front of the line privileges are hard to beat. You can pretty much toss out itineraries if you have front of the line. Plus you can pool hop and the Loew's pools are just amazing.

Again sorry if I'm one that seemed to be slamming you. I hope that if you decide to go that you all have a great time!

 

[macraven]

universal rules...........







that's my story and i'm sticking with it..........

 

[CJK]

we have homie talk here and made new words up.


Disney: Motherland
Universal: the Darkside.

LOL!! I love both US and WDW. I've not heard these terms before though. Hilarious!! To me - both parks are magical because it means I'm not at home working!

 

[Timmy Boy]

To the Original Poster, you said you don't do roller coasters. That's just fine! Before Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit opened, Universal had EXACTLY the same amount of coasters that Disney had. Now that Rockit opened, it has just 1 more.

WDW
Space Mountain (still counting it even though its closed)
Barnstormer
Big Thunder Mountain
Rock N Roller Coaster
Primevil Whirl
Everest

Universal/IOA
Hulk
Fire Dragon
Ice Dragon
Pteranadon Flyers
Mummy
Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster
Rockit

 

[Running_Bell]

Timmy-Boy... please go back and read my posts... I never said I didn't do rollercoaster.. in fact I said the opposite ... I actually love roller coasters....

First time Mom at Universal? Don't be scared...you owe it to your family to at least give it an open minded try!

Damo....you crack me up!

 

[Rip]

universal rules...........







that's my story and i'm sticking with it..........

now that I know about the redhead thing, I should add it myself

when I lived there, we rarely went to Disney but always had passes (and went at least once a week) to universal

 

[damo]

Timmy-Boy... please go back and read my posts... I never said I didn't do rollercoaster.. in fact I said the opposite ... I actually love roller coasters....

Damo....you crack me up!

I hope you know this is all in fun! We LOVE converting people to Universal! Nothing makes us happier than having a first timer come back and say if they only had known how much fun it was, they would have gone years ago.

You wouldn't believe some of the other posters we've had here too. We've had people who claim they did the whole park in 45 minutes and hated it and got their money back. We've had reports of filth and gangsters and lewd behavior. We've had stories that we know were absolutely impossible and trips that were horrible about visitors went at 2 in the afternoon in July and only got in a few rides and they made them sick and they'll never go back.

There is never a dull moment over here but we are all here to help out and make everyone's trip the best it can possibly be. So please stick around and ask more questions and we'll do our best to help you out.

Next trip, you must go for two days and do both parks. Once you get the idea of Disney out of your head you will really like it. I promise it is much better than Carowinds (even though there is a great B&M coaster there). We plan on going next year to ride the new coaster. It looks like a ton of fun.

 

[rabyoga]

Personally I hope you don't do Universal.... Less people, more room for me
I felt "Iffy" about Universal. We got the Military pass this June and headed to Universal Studios with much reservations. I remarked to the lady activating our pass that I'm a "Disney Person"- she smiled and said that I'll be back..
We entered the park and the CM (I don't know what Universal calls them)was very helpful. Our first ride, Shrek in 4-D.. And that was it. I fell in LOVE with Universal! I love the park.
Needless to say, we spent our last day of vacation at IOA.. and had a Blast! We rode Dueling Dragons- 4x. It's my fav coaster EVER!!

This Spring Break, we've (mainly me cause I'm the vacation planner) decided to spend it at Universal/IOA staying at the Royal Pacific. We were thinking about Disneyland; but I just wanted to go back to Universal/IOA.

I LOVE Disney... But I do LOVE the DarkSide as well

 

[macraven]

Personally I hope you don't do Universal.... Less people, more room for me
I felt "Iffy" about Universal. We got the Military pass this June and headed to Universal Studios with much reservations. I remarked to the lady activating our pass that I'm a "Disney Person"- she smiled and said that I'll be back..
We entered the park and the CM (I don't know what Universal calls them)was very helpful. Our first ride, Shrek in 4-D.. And that was it. I fell in LOVE with Universal! I love the park.
Needless to say, we spent our last day of vacation at IOA.. and had a Blast! We rode Dueling Dragons- 4x. It's my fav coaster EVER!!

This Spring Break, we've (mainly me cause I'm the vacation planner) decided to spend it at Universal/IOA staying at the Royal Pacific. We were thinking about Disneyland; but I just wanted to go back to Universal/IOA.

I LOVE Disney... But I do LOVE the DarkSide as well

Mac 101:

peeps that post on universal threads are Homies
disney: the motherland: CM/cast members
universal: the darkside: TM/team members

cool is "kewl"
smart is smrt

class over for the day.
it's the weekend and i only teach m-f...........except for the days i call in sick to go to orlando...


i'm glad you got to check the big UO out and want to return.
it is a very good thing you are staying onsite on your spring break trip.
it can be so packed there, you would think you were at dtd......

sometimes i say if you don't want to go, stay home so there is less in line in front of me for the rides.
but i was being nice and waiting for another homie to say it....


did you try Dr Doom?
if i could fit that baby in my back pocket, i would and take that ride home with me.
for some reason i get all smiley when i go on Dr Doom.

and hopefully, you took in Horror Makeup Show.
another one of many homies favorites.

i do both parks also.
i travel from Chicagoland and darn, those plane tickets are high!
i do both parks in the same trip and stretch it out to 13-4-5 nights each fall.
i stay onsite at both parks.

i do the motherland first and then the darkside.
i get too spoiled of no lines when i stay onsite at UO.
i stand in line behind all the other peeps at the motherland but have nothing like that when i transfer over to the other park.

i always feel like i am taking two separate vacations each year.

 

[Metro West]

it's the weekend and i only teach m-f...........except for the days i call in sick to go to orlando...

And we love having you come down.

 

[macraven]

And we love having you come down.

i live for the days i am in the sunshine state and seeing all the homies at the darkside....

 

[Purseval]

now that I know about the redhead thing, I should add it myself

when I lived there, we rarely went to Disney but always had passes (and went at least once a week) to universal

I almost transferred to Orlando for a job and, even though I didn't, we knew plenty of people in the area. You would be amazed at how many Orlando residents never set foot in any of the parks.

 

[Metro West]

now that I know about the redhead thing, I should add it myself

At least until the TF comes around again to make it official.

 

[Rip]

I almost transferred to Orlando for a job and, even though I didn't, we knew plenty of people in the area. You would be amazed at how many Orlando residents never set foot in any of the parks.

I know what you mean, out of all the people I knew when we were there, only one family ever went to the parks. Even then, it was generally 1 park for 1 day out of the whole year.

 

[Coach81]

Go in with an open mind. Don't go in comparing everything to Disney. It is different.. but it can be just as much fun!!! We are going back in Feb after a three year absence and we are so excited!!! Spidey, Dr. Seuss, the Mummy.. Twister.. Men in Black.. and of course THE HULK.. along with the brand new Rip, Ride, Rocket.. will all be awesome!!!

Hope you have a fantastic time!!!