seaworld or IOA

[uktigger]

hi everyone
i need some help deciding which of these 2 parks to go to(i know i will get different opinons)
we are staying on site at the all stars so doing disney will take up most of our time but dh wants to go else where for one or two days(we are doing space kennedy as well)we are a family of 4 me, dh and 2 ds's 12 and 8
i would love to hear your experiances at these parks and hopefully we will be able to decide which one to go for

thanks eve

 

[KayleeUK]

For your DS's I would say IOA, there are some great thrill rides there that they will probably love

 

[Red-Snapper]

Both !!

There is so much more to Orlando than just Disney.

 

[gilld]

IOA and US...for sure you need to see both, Seaworld as well if that's your thing.

 

[allie5]

Hard choice as they are so different. It may be hard to do IOA without US though. I would imagine boys of that age would prefer the big rides at IOA over Sea World, but I guess it depends on their interests!! If you can, try to fit in both as they both have something to offer and are fantastic days out! Its nice to move away from Disney for the odd day and Im sure you wont regret it.

 

[Tony Bush]

Has to be IOA. The kids will love the huge diversity of rides. Also if you've ever watched movies such as Men In Black, Back to the Future then Universal Studios is a must too.

Tony

 

[Selina]

Gosh. That is soooo difficult. Seaworld is great - free beers too, but we would never miss IOA or Universal. Both are fabulous parks - even if you don't like coasters - - e.g Universal: Shrek, Twister, Earthquake, Jaws, Men-in Black - similar to Buzz but much better, Barney, ET Adventure, then there's Terminator, Shows, The Mummy, shops, CityWalk - restaurants, fabulous on-site hotels - The Hard rock Hotel has a curly slide, underwater music in the pool surrounded by a sandy beach on one side, cabanas, beach bar, spacious rooms, and Front of the line access to nearly all the rides in Universal and IOA plus priority seating at restaurants - a perk that once you have tried, you will sorely miss!! At IOA: Marvel Super Heros walking round for "meet and greet" - Storm, Wolverine, Rogue, Spiderman, Captain American, Green Goblin, etc., Spiderman ride that's great fun, Toon Lagoon - White water raft barges, and Ripsaw falls - you get very wet at both!!, Jurassic Park River adventure another super ride with great theming, Camp Jurassic for the littleun's and Seuss Landing for the littleun's. You need 3 days at least to do both parks.

So....to answer you question.....do all three and spend less time at Disney and Epcot. You won't regret it!!

 

[juliebro]

I would suggest giving Kennedy Space Centre a miss and doing IOA and US. Not a fan of SeaWorld.

We just love US & IOA (especially IOA - our favourite park in Orlando!)

Julie

 

[uktigger]

hi all
thank you so much for your quick replies as far as universal studios goes we were not too keen on this park(we did this the first time we were there)altough we had fun when we were there,just not enough to go back i have mentioned to dh and the boys about giving up KSC and doing seaworld and IOA and they didn't seem to mind(although my eldest wanted to do the shrek ride at US but that's the only reason he picked to go here again)so if our budget will stretch we will try and do both
i think i am the only one who wants to do seaworld anyway,i just love watching dolphins i think as far as rides goes my boys would prefer IOA ,my youngest wants to go on the hulk ride as for me i'll have my feet firmly on the ground

sorry one last thing
what will be the best way to get to IOA we will not be hiring a car and the last time we went to US we booked the excursion with the virgin rep and the transfers worked out nearly as much as the actual tickets to get in the park

thanks again eve

 

[marv]

My kids loved IOA and seaworld but out of the 2 IOA won hand down! I have 1 13yr, 2 10yr old. My10 yr old daughter was the most excited about IOA, more so than all the Disney parks.

I also found this park jammed with brilliant rides and so much easier to go around a not miss anything.

Have a great trip

 

[RUSHBURY]

On behalf of my children, 17, 14 & 8 IOA is a must as is US

 

[Rain]

I just could not go to Orlando without visiting SeaWorld!! gotta say hello to dolly!!

 

[SidB]

Absolutely gotta be IOA. Best park in Orlando by far. If you love the "big" rides do Busch Gardens too.

 

[vernon]

For boys of that age I would say IOA is a must, as a close second I'd suggest Busche Gardens is worth considering. If they enjoy the thrill rides there is plenty of choice at BG as well as a number of animal exibits to enjoy.

 

[Rannoch]

A word of warning re Shrek at Universal

I was there last week, and at 10.00am the express passes for Shrek were finished for the day. The standby time was 90 minutes.

Rannoch

 

[uktigger]

hi all
a big thank you to you all for giving you're opinons it looks likely that we will be going for IOA and seaworld and we have decided to give KSC a miss this time

can anyone help out with how to get to IOA? we will not be hiring a car while we are at disney and virgin charged us quite a bit(if i remember correctly)for the transfers

thanks again eve

 

[vernon]

With four of you it's probably easiest to take a cab and the cost isn't going to be much more ( it may be less) than taking a bus.

 

[uktigger]

hi vernon
thanks for that i was thinking of taxi's

eve