Questions about Universal vs Disney. Enough to do?

[vacation_junkie]

We are Disney'd out! we have never been to Universal, Sea World etc...
After starting to plan I realized its not like Disney where we can book a package!

We are thinking of buying an Orlando Flex Pass which gives us Universal , Island of Adventure , Sea World..but I am concerned that this will not occupy our time like Disney does! Would there be enough to do between the 3 places to occupy our week or are each of those places where we can tackle in 1 day?

Thoughts?
Help.......

 

[lovebug33]

Depends what you like to do. We spent two very full days at US and IOA. We didn't get to do any shows and we don't do wet rides or roller coasters. So, we basically did all the rides at US but barely any rides at IOA. Sea World to me is a one day park, but I don't know if it is any different in Orlando than California!

 

[ky07]

We have done Universal only for the past 4 years and this will be our 5th year and we are only doing Universal agian and we always find enough to do and if your getting the flex ticket then I think with seaworld then you will defentily will have enough to do

 

[Ohiodislover]

We recently spent 7 days at Universal. We bought the flex tickets you are talking about. Here is how are week went. We stayed onsite at RPR

Day #1 checkin at 10 am and headed to US. Rode a few rides, and ate lunch. Headed back to the resort around 3 when our room was ready. Hung by the pool, and ate dinner there. Bed by 9 since we were going to early entry the next am and we had been up since 3:30 am

Monday day #2 EE at 6:40 am. Harry Potter and then the A lot of the other IOA stuff, lunch at Mythos, and then back to the resort around 4. Swim for a bit, and then were going to head back to IOA for more HP. However being spring break the area was too crowded to let people in. So we shopped at citywalk and ate at the Nascar grill. My DDs loved citywalk. So much fun

Tuesday day #3--Seaworld from 9 am till around 7:30 pm. Fun, but tiring. Back to resort, and back to the pool grill.

Wednesday day #4. gave in to our DIsney lust and went to Epcot for a day. An expensive day given that I paid for 1 day tickets, plus transportation.

Thursday day #5- R and R at the pool from about 10am till 4 pm. Did a few loads of laundry too, which made it nice. Evening at citywalk, saw the Blue Man Group and ate at Margaritaville. Excellent time.

Friday day #6 Aquatica. Rented a cabana and just chilled, rode slides, and had a great time

Saturday day #7 IOA in the AM. Hit the entire park again. back to hotel for dinner and then to US in the PM. Rode the things we hadn't ridden the first time and still had time to ride the favorites again.

Sunday day #8- Kids hit IOA and Harry Potter for EE. Then caught a few rides in the rest of the park. Back to the hotel by 10 am to check out, and go to the airport.


SO, YES indeed, there is enough to do. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have went to EPCOT, and just hung out at US/IOA on Wednesday! The only day I felt rushed and overwhelmed was the Disney day. And this is coming from a family that has been to Disney 10 times in the past 11 years.

HAVE FUN!

 

[torinsmom]

In 2009, DS and I spent 7 days just doing US/IOA. We had a great time. We did all the rides the first 2 days and then rode our favorites over and over again. We also went to see Blue Man Group and spent time at Citywalk.

 

[bumbershoot]

We spent 4 days at Universal in December (2 full days and 2 nearly full days) and left wanting more. Adding in the other places I don't see how you'll have a second of being without things to do.

 

[La2kw]

We are Disney'd out! we have never been to Universal, Sea World etc...
After starting to plan I realized its not like Disney where we can book a package!

We are thinking of buying an Orlando Flex Pass which gives us Universal , Island of Adventure , Sea World..but I am concerned that this will not occupy our time like Disney does! Would there be enough to do between the 3 places to occupy our week or are each of those places where we can tackle in 1 day?

Thoughts?
Help.......

You can definitely buy a package. Check out Universal's web page.

 

[DOOM1001]

Doesn't the Flex pass give you 5 parks with the option of also adding Busch Gardens.Unless you're going in the middle of winter where you won't be able to enjoy the waterparks I would think Universal,Islands of Adventure,Sea World,Wet n Wild and Aquatica with the option of Busch Gardens wouyld more than occupy your time.

 

[Planogirl]

Do you like water parks? There are two great waterparks on those tickets.

If you run out of stuff to do or want a break, there is plenty to do in and around Orlando if you have a car. We've been checking out attractions and have barely scratched the surface.

 

[Latel]

Most of the time I don't bother with Disney and just do the Universal parks, and that is on a 2 week holiday. There is plenty to do and as someone has already mentioned, you can add in Busch Gardens if you want to.

 

[jackal]

We are die hard Disney people. This year we were going to do a 9 night Universal area vacation. I was on the boards and took a lot of advice. Great Advice! I was worried that we would not have enough to do at Universal for the 9 nights. We had Sea world and Discovery Cove in there too. So, I changed and did a 3 night Universal, and 6 night Disney vacation. We had a GREAT time. We stayed at RPR. To be honest, and I can't believe I am saying this - I really wish we would have stayed at Universal longer. The resorts are so lovely that we spent hours in the afternoon there every day. City walk is fun and I wish we had more time there, as well. Everything is so convenient to walk from and to. We really enjoyed the Universal part of our trip. We can't wait to go back. Next time we will stay our whole time at Universal, going back to Seaworld and DC again.

The Universal part of our vacation, felt like a vacation. We weren't waiting on buses or running here and there. We took our time and ate and did what we wanted, when we wanted. Disney is great, too. We love it! But they both have so much to offer, they just offer different experiences.

 

[Metro West]

We are die hard Disney people. This year we were going to do a 9 night Universal area vacation. I was on the boards and took a lot of advice. Great Advice! I was worried that we would not have enough to do at Universal for the 9 nights. We had Sea world and Discovery Cove in there too. So, I changed and did a 3 night Universal, and 6 night Disney vacation. We had a GREAT time. We stayed at RPR. To be honest, and I can't believe I am saying this - I really wish we would have stayed at Universal longer. The resorts are so lovely that we spent hours in the afternoon there every day. City walk is fun and I wish we had more time there, as well. Everything is so convenient to walk from and to. We really enjoyed the Universal part of our trip. We can't wait to go back. Next time we will stay our whole time at Universal, going back to Seaworld and DC again.

The Universal part of our vacation, felt like a vacation. We weren't waiting on buses or running here and there. We took our time and ate and did what we wanted, when we wanted. Disney is great, too. We love it! But they both have so much to offer, they just offer different experiences.

 

[ky07]

We are die hard Disney people. This year we were going to do a 9 night Universal area vacation. I was on the boards and took a lot of advice. Great Advice! I was worried that we would not have enough to do at Universal for the 9 nights. We had Sea world and Discovery Cove in there too. So, I changed and did a 3 night Universal, and 6 night Disney vacation. We had a GREAT time. We stayed at RPR. To be honest, and I can't believe I am saying this - I really wish we would have stayed at Universal longer. The resorts are so lovely that we spent hours in the afternoon there every day. City walk is fun and I wish we had more time there, as well. Everything is so convenient to walk from and to. We really enjoyed the Universal part of our trip. We can't wait to go back. Next time we will stay our whole time at Universal, going back to Seaworld and DC again.

The Universal part of our vacation, felt like a vacation. We weren't waiting on buses or running here and there. We took our time and ate and did what we wanted, when we wanted. Disney is great, too. We love it! But they both have so much to offer, they just offer different experiences.

Well said and totally agree

 

[Seeker615]

Yes - check the the Universal site. There are onsite and off-site packages available. You can add the flex ticket to your package.

We booked a Harry Potter package through the web-site. Very easy to do and if you need to call to talk to someone the operators are very helpful!

 

[poeticdiabetic]

Here's how I see it. We're a big Disney family and will visit both parks this year.

US/IOA is a different kind of park from WDW. We went to US/IOA for 5 days and, even though we had a great time, we were done by 5PM. And you know what? That was fine because we were exhausted by that time! And that was before Harry Potter!

But here's how you enjoy parks:

1. Take plenty of pictures. If you take pictures, you enjoy it more.
2. Ride everything! Don't be so scary that you miss out! If you're healthy, you can ride!
3. Don't be in a hurry! You can commando, but do it in a way where you ride every ride without hurrying!
4. Be friendly! The only way to try to make the long lines a little fun and/or interesting is to meet people. If not, it can be very boring. And hot.
5. Always try to put a positive spin on things. Remember, it's a vacation, not a business meeting. People make mistakes. People get frustrated. But don't let people ruin your vacation. And focus on the good things.

Having fun is a mindset. When you are on vacation, just remember that you are not at WDW. US/IOA is something different and have no expectations but to MAKE IT FUN!

 

[macraven]

We are die hard Disney people. This year we were going to do a 9 night Universal area vacation. I was on the boards and took a lot of advice. Great Advice! I was worried that we would not have enough to do at Universal for the 9 nights. We had Sea world and Discovery Cove in there too. So, I changed and did a 3 night Universal, and 6 night Disney vacation. We had a GREAT time. We stayed at RPR. To be honest, and I can't believe I am saying this - I really wish we would have stayed at Universal longer. The resorts are so lovely that we spent hours in the afternoon there every day. City walk is fun and I wish we had more time there, as well. Everything is so convenient to walk from and to. We really enjoyed the Universal part of our trip. We can't wait to go back. Next time we will stay our whole time at Universal, going back to Seaworld and DC again.

The Universal part of our vacation, felt like a vacation. We weren't waiting on buses or running here and there. We took our time and ate and did what we wanted, when we wanted. Disney is great, too. We love it! But they both have so much to offer, they just offer different experiences.

i remember when you first posted.
wasn't it a question about how long to stay at universal?

if i'm wrong, just ignore me...
the thread i am thinking of was helping out and answering questions of a disney fan for how long to stay at UO and be entertained.

i love reading about the others that stay a week or up to a week and still have things they want to take in.

i go solo each year and i never have enought time.
this year i upped my UO hotel stay for 8, and keeping disney only at 7 days.
and i'm concerned i should shorten my disney stay so i can add to my UO stay.

i can not imagine going to Orlando and not doing both parks.
there is no way i could do that.
i have to do both.........the motherland and the darkside.

Yes - check the the Universal site. There are onsite and off-site packages available. You can add the flex ticket to your package.

We booked a Harry Potter package through the web-site. Very easy to do and if you need to call to talk to someone the operators are very helpful!

check out the prices of the packages.
then write out what it would cost to pay for everything separately.

i have only done 2 packages with UO since i started going there in 1993.
twice they had great deals that could not compete with buying everything separately.

you might find that it will be cheaper to book the room, buy the tickets not as a package.
i know the package 'parry hotter' includes the 3 broomstick breakfast.
when you write up a plan to show the costs, include that b'fast to see if it's a deal breaker.



i find that my time flies by when i do the parks.
i do spend time at the Mystic fountain just watching others react to it.
have spent an hour just sitting there laughing at what happens.

i do the shows and not just once.
horror make up show will change based upon the audience participants.

i do the shops. i always enjoy the characters.
lucy and ricky can be found in the front of the Lucy Tribute shop.

with the rides, shows, picture taking, shops, HP, city walk, hotel pools, city walk outdoor music entertainment on the weekends, special event hard ticket HHN, etc, i don't have much left over time.

 

[Planogirl]

i find that my time flies by when i do the parks.
i do spend time at the Mystic fountain just watching others react to it.
have spent an hour just sitting there laughing at what happens.

i do the shows and not just once.
horror make up show will change based upon the audience participants.

i do the shops. i always enjoy the characters.
lucy and ricky can be found in the front of the Lucy Tribute shop.

with the rides, shows, picture taking, shops, HP, city walk, hotel pools, city walk outdoor music entertainment on the weekends, special event hard ticket HHN, etc, i don't have much left over time.

We spent almost an hour just poking around the New York area the last time we were there. I had my Starbucks and the Blues Brothers were tearing it up one street over. It was just fun to take it all in.

 

[jackal]

i remember when you first posted.
wasn't it a question about how long to stay at universal?

if i'm wrong, just ignore me...
the thread i am thinking of was helping out and answering questions of a disney fan for how long to stay at UO and be entertained.

i love reading about the others that stay a week or up to a week and still have things they want to take in.

i go solo each year and i never have enought time.
this year i upped my UO hotel stay for 8, and keeping disney only at 7 days.
and i'm concerned i should shorten my disney stay so i can add to my UO stay.

i can not imagine going to Orlando and not doing both parks.
there is no way i could do that.
i have to do both.........the motherland and the darkside.





macraven, that was me Good memory you have! I asked so many questions and went back and forth. We loved, loved Universal. It was beautiful and peaceful and we didn't feel we had to run to the parks at 7:00 in the morning during spring break. We just played everything by ear and it was fantastic. I really wish we would have spent more time at Universal. now we know and we definitely will be back for a longer period to spend more times at the beautiful, relaxing, yet fun resorts and hang at City Walk longer and check out all the great restaurants. We never even used the EE at IOA for Harry Potter. We just went about an hour before close and were able to ride it multiple times before the park closed. My DD8 even got to go on the Hogwarts over and over and over. I think she rode it 10 times in a row one night while DD16 and DH did the other rides in HP.

I didn't realize, even with asking all my questions, that City Walk literally is right in between the two parks. We walked everywhere. never took the boats. everything is so close and convenient. They truly did a wonderful job.