Should we go to Universal?

[MJ6987]

Hi,
Help us decide if we should go to the Universal parks. Me, my wife and 2 girls (11 and 8) are going to Orlando in late October staying at Port Orleans Riverside for 2 weeks. We are mainly doing Disney stuff as we have UK Ultimate (unlimited) tickets and are also planning to spend a day at SeaWorld on Halloween.

We are thinking whether to spend a day at Universal as well. The problem is that for the four of us one-day two-park tickets (with transfers) come to $450 (including taxes) and then Express passes (whic I assume we'll need to do the best of the two parks in one day are another $100, giving a total of $550 (not far off £400) for one day's entertainment!

For background: I like fast rides but the other won't go on them. My eldest has read and liked the Harry Potter books but is not a massive "fan" or anything.
We went to Orlando once before and I went to Universal Studios (not IoA) but my wife and kids didn't fancy it as my wife felt the kids were too young.

So, what do people think? What would you do?

Thanks,
Matthew

 

[Mrs. D]

I'm kind of a newbie, but My family really enjoyed Universal & I.O.A, my children were 6 & 7 when we went, but the 4 of us (my husband included) really love rides...

I wouldn't miss it if it's something you can do comfortably...I will say the folks on this board are super knowledgeable and may have a less expensive way to do it...

All of that to say...I'd do it...

 

[Metro West]

Hi,
Help us decide if we should go to the Universal parks. Me, my wife and 2 girls (11 and 8) are going to Orlando in late October staying at Port Orleans Riverside for 2 weeks. We are mainly doing Disney stuff as we have UK Ultimate (unlimited) tickets and are also planning to spend a day at SeaWorld on Halloween.

We are thinking whether to spend a day at Universal as well. The problem is that for the four of us one-day two-park tickets (with transfers) come to $450 (including taxes) and then Express passes (whic I assume we'll need to do the best of the two parks in one day are another $100, giving a total of $550 (not far off £400) for one day's entertainment!

For background: I like fast rides but the other won't go on them. My eldest has read and liked the Harry Potter books but is not a massive "fan" or anything.
We went to Orlando once before and I went to Universal Studios (not IoA) but my wife and kids didn't fancy it as my wife felt the kids were too young.

So, what do people think? What would you do?

Thanks,
Matthew

I wouldn't necessarily say you would need the Express Plus passes since historically October isn't really busy. No one knows yet how WWoHP will affect the October crowds so it's really anyone's guess at this point. If your group isn't going to do all the attractions at both parks, I wouldn't invest in the EP's. If you get there at opening, you can do the larger attractions w/o too much of a wait. If you think the lines are getting too long, you can also purchase one for yourself. The one park EP for October is $19.99/per person except for 10/16 & 10/23 which is $25.99/per person.

Since you aren't massive HP fans, you could do the WWoHP later on or skip over the Forbidden Journey which will take a LONG time. Dragon's Challenge and Flight of the Hippograff shouldn't be a long wait at all. It kinda sounds like you would rather spend your time exploring IOA instead of the Studios. Even though the 2 park tickets aren't a lot more expensive than the 1 park, you might want to stick with IOA instead of the Studios since you've been there before and didn't really like it. I'm sure your kids will enjoy IOA and should have no problem spending the day there.