Talk to me about US/IOA in February?

[bas71873]

Newbie to US/IOA and we'll be there Feb 21 through Feb 28 (Mardi Gras break for Louisiana). Staying in on off site condo. Have tons of questions, so here goes:

1. Crowds? Will I need to purchase an express pass? If so, do I have to buy a new one every day or is it good all week?

2. How many days to do US/IOA? We have a 5 1/2 year old daughter?

3. Eating. Can we just wing it and eat when & where we want? Hubby HATES being tied down to reservations.

4. Parking. Is there somewhere to buy a discount parking pass? AAA perhaps?


Any other "inside" scoop will be very much appreciated.

 

[danimal921]

Congratulations on deciding to visit Universal. You and your family are going to love it.

First off, the crowds in late February shouldn't be too bad. It starts to pick up a little bit, but I would hold off on buying express passes. If you get there and for some reason it's packed...get the express.

You could do IOA and US in 2 days. But if you want to take your time and re-ride things you might want 3 or 4 days to totally experience everything.

You don't need reservations...most places don't even offer it. Again, it shouldn't be too busy so I don't think you'd need reservations.

I can't think of any parking discounts at the moment.

Enjoy your trip!

 

[bas71873]

Thanks!! Anyone out there who may be a US/IOA expert....feel free to jump in and add. I'm trying to let this vaca be a "go with the flow" kind of thing....otherwise I'm a little OCD with the planning

 

[lachica]

4. Parking. Is there somewhere to buy a discount parking pass? AAA perhaps?

No discounts on parking other then AP perk. But its free after 6pm (during HHN 8).

 

[teresared]

Hi, First I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Teresa. I've been a lurker for a while and decided to join in on the discussions. We go to Universal every year in February. We love the low crowds and the weather. It's like our spring is in KY. 70's during the day and high 50'5 -low 60's at night. I am a little OCD about planning too, but don't worry, Universal is so chill it's easy to relax. We always have a group of 15 or more. This Feb. we will have about 23 people with us. We all get to do our favorites and then some. IMO Feb. rocks!!

 

[bas71873]

Thanks for the info. We are looking forward to a little more a laid back trip...OK, well, my husband is. I am commando style with Disney and he HATES it. So, we decided to go low key and do US/IOA and SW this time around and basically have no plans and go when we want to go

Hi, First I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Teresa. I've been a lurker for a while and decided to join in on the discussions. We go to Universal every year in February. We love the low crowds and the weather. It's like our spring is in KY. 70's during the day and high 50'5 -low 60's at night. I am a little OCD about planning too, but don't worry, Universal is so chill it's easy to relax. We always have a group of 15 or more. This Feb. we will have about 23 people with us. We all get to do our favorites and then some. IMO Feb. rocks!!

 

[donaldduck352]

Hi, First I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Teresa. I've been a lurker for a while and decided to join in on the discussions. We go to Universal every year in February. We love the low crowds and the weather. It's like our spring is in KY. 70's during the day and high 50'5 -low 60's at night. I am a little OCD about planning too, but don't worry, Universal is so chill it's easy to relax. We always have a group of 15 or more. This Feb. we will have about 23 people with us. We all get to do our favorites and then some. IMO Feb. rocks!!

Febuary is a great time to visit,but the weather can get a littlecold(to me I live here)..Glad to see ya post post more often..

Thanks for the info. We are looking forward to a little more a laid back trip...OK, well, my husband is. I am commando style with Disney and he HATES it. So, we decided to go low key and do US/IOA and SW this time around and basically have no plans and go when we want to go

Thats the great thing about Universal-anytime of year you can relaxe and enjoy yourselves instead of doing the 10mile sprint daily!!!

 

[Metro West]

Congratulations on deciding to visit Universal. You and your family are going to love it.

First off, the crowds in late February shouldn't be too bad. It starts to pick up a little bit, but I would hold off on buying express passes. If you get there and for some reason it's packed...get the express.

You could do IOA and US in 2 days. But if you want to take your time and re-ride things you might want 3 or 4 days to totally experience everything.

You don't need reservations...most places don't even offer it. Again, it shouldn't be too busy so I don't think you'd need reservations.

I can't think of any parking discounts at the moment.

Enjoy your trip!

All excellent advice! Just follow those guidelines and you'll be fine.

 

[bas71873]

Thanks everyone. I am starting to feel a whole lot better about this trip already. I am just going to buy my US/IOA and SW tickets and then just go where want to go when we want to go the week we are there. I think I can, I think I can

 

[Purseval]

Depending upon how many people are going and how many days you plan on visiting it may be cheaper to buy one Preferred Annual Pass through AAA. That will let you park for free, which is a $12/day savings plus you get discounts on park merchandise, food, etc. Here are the benefits, I bought mine through AAA for less than $100:

http://www.universalorlando.com/annualpass/ap_prefdiscounts_popup.html

They will try to fool you into paying for the first day's parking while you get your pass validated but you can get around that and park for free each day, ask me how if you decide to do it. The savings on parking and buying tickets for the rest of the family can make it worth the extra price of the PAP, even if you never use it again.

 

[bas71873]

WOW....you got a great deal through AAA because a preferred pass online is $199. I am going to call AAA and see what they are currently offering. Thanks for the scoop.

Depending upon how many people are going and how many days you plan on visiting it may be cheaper to buy one Preferred Annual Pass through AAA. That will let you park for free, which is a $12/day savings plus you get discounts on park merchandise, food, etc. Here are the benefits, I bought mine through AAA for less than $100:

http://www.universalorlando.com/annualpass/ap_prefdiscounts_popup.html

They will try to fool you into paying for the first day's parking while you get your pass validated but you can get around that and park for free each day, ask me how if you decide to do it. The savings on parking and buying tickets for the rest of the family can make it worth the extra price of the PAP, even if you never use it again.

 

[macraven]

renewals for the preferred passes are $117.20

this pass is well worth it for the discounts at the hotel, discounts of 10% at the parks for food and merch and benefits of buying discounted tickets for family and friends. different discounts come up frequently for pass holders.
some months you can buy 50% off park tickets for others if you have the AP.

you also get free parking at the garage.

and as you know, free park admission with the ap......


the entire group does not need to get the ap for all to get the discounts.
if it is for parking, you would need one ap holder in each car for the free parking.
and one per room if using it for the discounted on site room.

others have given you good suggestions.
same as i would have mentioned.