The Fantastic, the good, the bad, and the ugly at Universal...I'm still a Disneyphile

[kdnmom]

Hi All,

I received much help from these boards in my planning of our recent 2 day Universal trip! At some point I was asked to report back, so here's a brief account of some of our experiences, in case they may be of some help to someone else. We were there 7/31 and 8/1.

The Fantastic: WWoHP! We all loved this whole area! Fantastic theming, tons to look at, and definitely immersive! We took everyone's advice, got to IOA at 6:40 or so, got in at 6:50 or so, and went immediately to Ollivander's. We found that the "short cut" through Sneetch Beach actually delayed us by a family or so. YMMV. We got in to the 3rd Ollivander's show of the morning (the first one didn't start until after 7:10), and DS9 was chosen to have a wand choose him!!! We were all thrilled, as he is a huge fan. (As an aside, he was wearing a Sirius Black tshirt, which I'm sure got him selected, since I saw "Ollivander" look at his shirt first, then his face.) Also fantastic: Frozen Butterbeer! Also fantastic: the regular line through the castle, FJ, and baby swap there! (We got in line at 7:40am and the line took 45min, but barely noticed it since there was so much to see.)

The Good: We really enjoyed the Portofino Bay Hotel. Beautiful theming, and would have liked to have spent more time there, if only we had more time. Also good: the short cut walking path from PB to the parks, through the HRH parking lot. Many thanks to those on this board for that information!

The Bad: There seemed to be multiple issues with roller coasters while we were there. I understand that there was an accident on 7/31 that caused Dragon Challenge to be closed all morning on 8/1, and that is understandable, but it really put a wrench in our plan since DS9 really wanted to ride it, but we couldn't necessarily just leave WWoHP andcome back since they were handing out return time tickets. We ended up picking up a return ticket. Before heading back to the area, I asked someone working at a different section of the park if there was a way to find out if it had reopened before walking all the way back there. She was nice enough to check for us, and said that she called over there and it was back up. So, we walk all the way back to find out that it is not back up. UGH! Finally on our third trip back to WWoHP, DC was up and running and we got to ride. (More on this in the ugly section.)

Other roller coaster issue: We never did get on RRR. It was down at least 3 times, for extended periods, on 7/31. DS9 and DH waited in the single rider line for 45 minutes before it went down one of the times.

Restaurant issues: I had thought that restaurant reservations were supposed to not be an issue at Universal, but found that I couldn't get a same day reservation at Mythos (and the guy on the phone was really rude to me). Also, I was surprised to find that Lombard's wasn't open for dinner, even though the park was open until 9. We didn't expect that and had practically run across the park to get there before an impending storm. Ended up eating at the Irish place, which was fine, but we have an Irish restaurant 2 minutes from our house and were looking for something different. Are they just trying to force everyone over to CityWalk for dinner?

Express Pass: Both good and bad here. Found it somewhat helpful but not nearly as helpful as I thought it would be. Often felt like the workers didn't realize (because they couldn't see from where they were, I guess) how long the express line was getting. I felt like they could have moved the line through quicker, since it sometimes wasn't much shorter (and at the Simpsons, may actually have been longer) than the regular line.

The Boat from Portofino Bay: I found the wait to be long, walking to the line at CityWalk to be a hassle (there's only a ramp on the US side, making a walk from IOA with a stroller particularly long), and I don't understand why they wouldn't put a dock on the theme park side.

The Ugly: The line management was really poor in multiple places, most dramatically at Dragon's Challenge. We wanted to use express and baby swap, and asked the attendant outside how to do that. She told us to just take everyone through the express line. The express line merges with the regular line at some point before the end, and there was nobody there directing anything, leaving it to us to "cut in" to the regular line. Then, the whole thing opens up into a massive mob of people who are forced to direct themselves into whatever row. There was nobody there directing traffic, telling people who to go in which row. It was chaos! And I was stuck in the middle of the mob with DS3 and DS5, trying not to lose them and trying to find where to go for baby swap. There were NO signs and again, nobody to ask!! I finally had to yell over a mob of people to ask the worker checking seatbelts where to go. Once I found the baby swap room, there was no explanation of how to find DH again, and he ended up getting moved from red to blue, since red got shut down, so he wasn't even in the same part of the building. If it weren't for texting, who knows how we would have found each other again. Plus, while we were waiting, we got to watch someone puking in the garbage can in the baby swap room, and watch security get called for a rowdy group who was (I think) trying to use the handicapped entrance without a handicapped person with them. Such fun!

Sorry this is so long! Hopefully some of this is helpful to somebody. Overall, we had a good trip, but I remain a Disneyphile and haven't been converted to Universalphile. If they would make a larger park of just WWoHP and Portofino Bay, maybe I'd be convinced, but the rest was just meh for me. I just find the overall Disney experience to be more complete. (No offense to the Universalphiles - to each his own.)

 

[Melanie230]

Sorry to hear that you encountered anyone that was rude. One thing you said that I thought was surprising was the walk from IOA to the boats. I think the walk from IOA to the boats is MUCH faster than the walk from US. It is a long wait for PBH because the hotel is very far away and you have to wait for the boat to drop off people and then return with people from the hotel. I find the waits for the boats similar to the wait time for buses at Disney. Mythos is ALWAYS difficult to get into. Sorry that wasn't explained to you before you left. We make our reservations for Mythos well in advance if we want to eat there. It is an all time favorite! WWoHP is so small because JK Rowling said so. She designed the park and wanted that realistic feel. The shops are small just like in the movies. They aren't very theme park friendly. We havent been to WWoHP yet, I am just telling you what I have read here and what others have told us. We love Disney too....but we will always be Universalphiles! Wait til your kiddos get a little older...then try it again. Your experience may be much better!

 

[macraven]

so tell me how you really feel...........


coasters and outdoor rides do go down in the summertime.
whether it be disney or universal or busch, it happens.
one of the hazards of summertime vacations at parks i guess.


most peeps usually use the kiosk booth at city walk for their mythos ressies.
it can be made on the morning of the day you are going to the park.

they have TM's that work it with you.


when newbies post about how to do universal, i always suggest reading thru the stickies, trip reports and check out the UO website.

i'm sorry that wasn't mentioned to you before you went on your trip to the darkside.
it would have saved you time you lost trying to find dining in the park.

 

[heidijanesmith]

Hi All,

I received much help from these boards in my planning of our recent 2 day Universal trip! At some point I was asked to report back, so here's a brief account of some of our experiences, in case they may be of some help to someone else. We were there 7/31 and 8/1.

The Fantastic: WWoHP! We all loved this whole area! Fantastic theming, tons to look at, and definitely immersive! Totally agree, love the theming. Felt like we were really at Hogsmead. My DH wants to live there! We took everyone's advice, got to IOA at 6:40 or so, got in at 6:50 or so, and went immediately to Ollivander's. We found that the "short cut" through Sneetch Beach actually delayed us by a family or so. YMMV. We got in to the 3rd Ollivander's show of the morning (the first one didn't start until after 7:10), and DS9 was chosen to have a wand choose him!!! We were all thrilled, as he is a huge fan. (As an aside, he was wearing a Sirius Black tshirt, which I'm sure got him selected, since I saw "Ollivander" look at his shirt first, then his face.) Also fantastic: Frozen Butterbeer! Also fantastic: the regular line through the castle, FJ, and baby swap there! (We got in line at 7:40am and the line took 45min, but barely noticed it since there was so much to see.)

The Good: We really enjoyed the Portofino Bay Hotel. Beautiful theming, and would have liked to have spent more time there, if only we had more time. Also good: the short cut walking path from PB to the parks, through the HRH parking lot. Many thanks to those on this board for that information!

The Bad: There seemed to be multiple issues with roller coasters while we were there. I understand that there was an accident on 7/31 that caused Dragon Challenge to be closed all morning on 8/1, and that is understandable, but it really put a wrench in our plan since DS9 really wanted to ride it, but we couldn't necessarily just leave WWoHP andcome back since they were handing out return time tickets. We ended up picking up a return ticket. Before heading back to the area, I asked someone working at a different section of the park if there was a way to find out if it had reopened before walking all the way back there. She was nice enough to check for us, and said that she called over there and it was back up. So, we walk all the way back to find out that it is not back up. UGH! Finally on our third trip back to WWoHP, DC was up and running and we got to ride. (More on this in the ugly section.)

Other roller coaster issue: We never did get on RRR. It was down at least 3 times, for extended periods, on 7/31. DS9 and DH waited in the single rider line for 45 minutes before it went down one of the times.

Restaurant issues: I had thought that restaurant reservations were supposed to not be an issue at Universal, but found that I couldn't get a same day reservation at Mythos (and the guy on the phone was really rude to me). Also, I was surprised to find that Lombard's wasn't open for dinner, even though the park was open until 9. We didn't expect that and had practically run across the park to get there before an impending storm. Ended up eating at the Irish place, which was fine, but we have an Irish restaurant 2 minutes from our house and were looking for something different. Are they just trying to force everyone over to CityWalk for dinner?

Express Pass: Both good and bad here. Found it somewhat helpful but not nearly as helpful as I thought it would be. Often felt like the workers didn't realize (because they couldn't see from where they were, I guess) how long the express line was getting. I felt like they could have moved the line through quicker, since it sometimes wasn't much shorter (and at the Simpsons, may actually have been longer) than the regular line.

The Boat from Portofino Bay: I found the wait to be long, walking to the line at CityWalk to be a hassle (there's only a ramp on the US side, making a walk from IOA with a stroller particularly long), and I don't understand why they wouldn't put a dock on the theme park side. We also experienced long waits for the boats, sometimes 2-3 boats deep. We liked using the rickshaw bicyles for transportation. I didn't mind paying extra for them, it was fast and easy.

The Ugly: The line management was really poor in multiple places, most dramatically at Dragon's Challenge. We wanted to use express and baby swap, and asked the attendant outside how to do that. She told us to just take everyone through the express line. The express line merges with the regular line at some point before the end, and there was nobody there directing anything, leaving it to us to "cut in" to the regular line. Then, the whole thing opens up into a massive mob of people who are forced to direct themselves into whatever row. There was nobody there directing traffic, telling people who to go in which row. It was chaos! And I was stuck in the middle of the mob with DS3 and DS5, trying not to lose them and trying to find where to go for baby swap. There were NO signs and again, nobody to ask!! I finally had to yell over a mob of people to ask the worker checking seatbelts where to go. Once I found the baby swap room, there was no explanation of how to find DH again, and he ended up getting moved from red to blue, since red got shut down, so he wasn't even in the same part of the building. If it weren't for texting, who knows how we would have found each other again. Plus, while we were waiting, we got to watch someone puking in the garbage can in the baby swap room, and watch security get called for a rowdy group who was (I think) trying to use the handicapped entrance without a handicapped person with them. Such fun!

Sorry this is so long! Hopefully some of this is helpful to somebody. Overall, we had a good trip, but I remain a Disneyphile and haven't been converted to Universalphile. If they would make a larger park of just WWoHP and Portofino Bay, maybe I'd be convinced, but the rest was just meh for me. I just find the overall Disney experience to be more complete. (No offense to the Universalphiles - to each his own.)

Thanks for your review! I made a couple comments above.

 

[damo]

You can also make reservations at Guest Services in the hotels and also there is usually a stand set up right inside the parks. You can also just put your name in directly at the restaurants.

In busy times, it is always a good idea to have a reservation of some sort if you want to eat at a certain restaurant at a certain time.

Your complaint about there not being a TM to merge lines is a common one. I don't know why there isn't always someone there. More people need to complain to guest services about it because it certainly can be an issue in busy times. For Hulk and Dragon Challenge, you are never told which row to go in. People always just fill in where they want to go. It has always been that way and generally is at most roller coasters where there are long queues for each row. Disney's set up is different with only short little queues for each row which only fit one or two sets of people.

There is also a bus shuttle between the hotels and parks as well as the boats. We usually just walk since it is generally faster.

 

[IndyJammer]

I was going to do a TR for US/IOA, but I think I could just cut & paste most of yours kdsmom!

Good - Loved PBR, WWoHP & Frozen ButterBeer!

Bad - Also seemed like the Boats were few & far between sometimes - My kids did love the Rickshaw's, but there were 7 of us most of the time (My Mum & Dad went with us) so they were not real economical for us.

Ugly - Understand your point at DD, but my kids were older & were able to slide ride in without incident. One thing that we did notice was the early closings of snack places - including "Green Eggs & Ham." It seemed like they were rolling up the carpets at a lot of the food places early - like 5 or so. And Green Eggs and Ham closed at 3:00 in the afternoon in late July!?!? DD9 really wanted to eat there, but we got there at 3:15!

(That actually turned out ok for us though because we then went to Mythos with No reservation and only waited about 15 min for a party of 7!)

So, like you, we loved WWoHP, but the rest of US/IOA was just "not Disney." I know DW & the little ones (DW9 & DS7) will want to do WDW next time if we only get to do one. (Whereas DS16 preferred US/IOA - but missed Pin trading at WDW!)

 

[dimimi]

I guess we were lucky. We just returned on Wednesday. We also stayed at Portofino. I think it is funny how different some things are.

We were in the west wing of Portofino. We never waited more than 5 minutes for the water taxi. We never tried to walk since it was so convenient. We loved the fotl. The only wait we had was for the Simpsons, but the rest were all well run.

We made all of our dinner reservations with Opentable before we left. Then, on the day of our reservation we would stop by the restaurant and adjust the time to match our plans. Even Mythos had no problem adjusting our reservation time.

We did Olivander's because we had done everything else in the park and figured we would give it a shot. We ended up waiting a long time. We were the second family in and they picked the son of the first family (fair enough.) The experience was very cool, but we won't wait in the line again.

The only long wait we had was the single rider line for FJ. That was a mistake! Other than that one time, we were impressed!

Isn't it funny how 2 people can have such different experiences only a few days apart! I would have felt like you if what happened to you happened to us! We did have a LOT of rain to deal with...so we had to adjust indoor rides with the rain!

 

[nytimez]

One note about Express Pass and Dueling Dragons... it seems to me that in the dark, it's easy to move left and end up merging into the regular line through a gap in the walls... when in fact you should bear right (I think it's more like straightish-right) and go straight to the lines for the individual rows.

 

[conniehar90]

We were there the same days as you. We were at US on 8/1 and RRR was down several times. In fact, we were one of the ones stuck on it for 10 minutes the first time it went down. Luckily, it was our 2nd time on so we didn't feel the need to go on it again. It was a great ride, though! I wasn't aware of the DD accident. We got on it a couple times in the morning of 7/31.

All in all, we had a good trip and didn't find the crowds overbearing. The only thing I hated was Ripshaw Falls. I KNOW it is a water ride and you will get wet but I didn't expect it to be like I jumped in a pool. Glad we saved it for the end of the day. Splash Mountain is still the ride for me!

 

[patrickpiteo]

These high tech rides go down a lot. Last time we were at Disney the Arrowsmith ride was down. You have to roll with the punches.

 

[patrickpiteo]

ohh and no way Disney can compte with FOTL sorry been to both plenty of times. The Disney fast pass though free is gone like right away.

 

[Ima Princess]

I am also a Disney-phile who just returned from visiting IOA and Disney. I was going to do a similar post, but since you've already got one going, I'll add my experiences here.

We've been to Disney too many times to count, but visited US & IOA only once before, about 7 years ago. Honestly, we were not impressed and did not feel the need to return. Until WWoHP opened, that is!

I, too, have some good/bad/ugly to report, and am pleased to say we had an overall much better experience at IOA this time.

Good:
(1) We stayed at Royal Pacific and had a wonderful time. I would stay there again. We walked to IOA most of the time; the weather was iffy and we didn't want to wait for a boat that might not be able to operate (lightning).
(2) The Express Pass puts Disney's FPs to shame. I realize Disney has far too many hotels to be able to offer what Universal does to ALL of its resort guests, but it was fantastic. I typically stay at the mid-price Disney resorts (Coronado, Port Orleans, etc) but would jump up to the Deluxe category in a heartbeat if Disney offered a "fastpass" to its Deluxe resort guests. The Express Pass allowed us to truly enjoy the park instead of doing the FP shuffle all day long.
(3) WWoHP brought tears to my eyes! It was just as I had hoped, and better. And the butterbeer? Mmmmmm!
(4) Early WWoHP was also a great perk. Disney does the same at its resort and we used it there, too. Helps not only beat the crowds, but the FL heat, too. We got into Ollivander's right away, and then most of our party got in line for FJ.
(5) While DD6 & I were milling about in Filch's waiting for the rest of our party to finish FJ, a "student" offered us a castle tour. Excellent! And, if that wasn't wonderful enough, she then gave DD6 a certificate to return when she's tall enough to ride FJ with front of line privileges!

Bad:
I didn't like having to pay for parking at Royal Pacific. I realize we had free transportation to the parks, but Disney does the same and no one pays for parking, even if they drive to a Disney park from their resort (which we do on occasion).

Ugly:
Dining choices for vegans. Disney puts IOA to shame on this. Disney has something for everyone at most dining locations, be it gluten-free, vegetarian, nut-free, etc. At IOA, we chose to leave the park & go to CW for dinner to find vegan foods. We did not make reservations for Mythos; perhaps that would've been a good veg option. But there should be more than one option at a large theme park.


Bottom line: we thoroughly enjoyed our IOA visit this time. We will return in a few years so DD6 can use her certificate. We also enjoyed visiting the Disney parks, but, then again, we always do.

 

[BigMommaMouse]

I loved reading these, thanks for posting!

 

[damo]

I am also a Disney-phile who just returned from visiting IOA and Disney. I was going to do a similar post, but since you've already got one going, I'll add my experiences here.

We've been to Disney too many times to count, but visited US & IOA only once before, about 7 years ago. Honestly, we were not impressed and did not feel the need to return. Until WWoHP opened, that is!

I, too, have some good/bad/ugly to report, and am pleased to say we had an overall much better experience at IOA this time.

Good:
(1) We stayed at Royal Pacific and had a wonderful time. I would stay there again. We walked to IOA most of the time; the weather was iffy and we didn't want to wait for a boat that might not be able to operate (lightning).
(2) The Express Pass puts Disney's FPs to shame. I realize Disney has far too many hotels to be able to offer what Universal does to ALL of its resort guests, but it was fantastic. I typically stay at the mid-price Disney resorts (Coronado, Port Orleans, etc) but would jump up to the Deluxe category in a heartbeat if Disney offered a "fastpass" to its Deluxe resort guests. The Express Pass allowed us to truly enjoy the park instead of doing the FP shuffle all day long.
(3) WWoHP brought tears to my eyes! It was just as I had hoped, and better. And the butterbeer? Mmmmmm!
(4) Early WWoHP was also a great perk. Disney does the same at its resort and we used it there, too. Helps not only beat the crowds, but the FL heat, too. We got into Ollivander's right away, and then most of our party got in line for FJ.
(5) While DD6 & I were milling about in Filch's waiting for the rest of our party to finish FJ, a "student" offered us a castle tour. Excellent! And, if that wasn't wonderful enough, she then gave DD6 a certificate to return when she's tall enough to ride FJ with front of line privileges!

Bad:
I didn't like having to pay for parking at Royal Pacific. I realize we had free transportation to the parks, but Disney does the same and no one pays for parking, even if they drive to a Disney park from their resort (which we do on occasion).

Ugly:
Dining choices for vegans. Disney puts IOA to shame on this. Disney has something for everyone at most dining locations, be it gluten-free, vegetarian, nut-free, etc. At IOA, we chose to leave the park & go to CW for dinner to find vegan foods. We did not make reservations for Mythos; perhaps that would've been a good veg option. But there should be more than one option at a large theme park.


Bottom line: we thoroughly enjoyed our IOA visit this time. We will return in a few years so DD6 can use her certificate. We also enjoyed visiting the Disney parks, but, then again, we always do.

Did you check out Confisco's at IOA for vegan foods? They seem to be often missed. I know that many of the sit down restaurants will prepare special for you if you tell them your restrictions.

I prefer the way Universal handles their parking at the hotel fees. At Disney it is put into the cost and everyone pays it whether you have a car or not. At Universal, you only pay for parking if you use parking. Compare the rack rates of the hotels and you will see the large price differences between Disney deluxe and Universal deluxe and how much extra Disney is adding for your free parking and magical express.

 

[Melanie230]

Did you check out Confisco's at IOA for vegan foods? They seem to be often missed. I know that many of the sit down restaurants will prepare special for you if you tell them your restrictions.

I prefer the way Universal handles their parking at the hotel fees. At Disney it is put into the cost and everyone pays it whether you have a car or not. At Universal, you only pay for parking if you use parking. Compare the rack rates of the hotels and you will see the large price differences between Disney deluxe and Universal deluxe and how much extra Disney is adding for your free parking and magical express.

Yep! Disney charges $14 to park at Magic Kingdom. If we wanted to park at my brother's hotel and hop the bus with them to MNSSHP we can only get a 3hour visitor pass. So that won't work. So we will be paying the $14 to park at MK for MNSSHP!

 

[Ima Princess]

Yep! Disney charges $14 to park at Magic Kingdom. If we wanted to park at my brother's hotel and hop the bus with them to MNSSHP we can only get a 3hour visitor pass. So that won't work. So we will be paying the $14 to park at MK for MNSSHP!

But if you chose instead to go to IOA or US, wouldn't you also pay $14? Even if you did stay onsite? Whereas at Disney, your brother won't pay for parking at all because he is staying onsite, even if he chose to drive a car to the MK from his resort.

Did you check out Confisco's at IOA for vegan foods? They seem to be often missed.

No, I did not. Where are they located? I'll keep them in mind for the next time.

 

[mesaboy2]

But if you chose instead to go to IOA or US, wouldn't you also pay $14? Even if you did stay onsite? Whereas at Disney, your brother won't pay for parking at all because he is staying onsite, even if he chose to drive a car to the MK from his resort.

I think damo's point was that parking is not free at WDW resorts because it is implicitly included in their room charges, whether you have a car or not. Universal resorts charge also, but of course it is explicitly mentioned and only applies to those with cars.

 

[Melanie230]

But if you chose instead to go to IOA or US, wouldn't you also pay $14? Even if you did stay onsite? Whereas at Disney, your brother won't pay for parking at all because he is staying onsite, even if he chose to drive a car to the MK from his resort.

Actually we dont have to pay to park at US/IOA because we bought an annual pass which includes parking. We have had to pay to park at the resorts before, but we aren't driving this year. But I will say we have a room rate at HRH for $169 a night vs. Disney's Grand Floridian (same level hotel) which is $485 a night, or if you wanted to just do moderate...the Port Orleans is $189 a night. So even if you book a moderate at Disney with free parking...you are paying more than staying at the HRH plus $14 to park.

 

[CampbellScot]

Great report! I also just returned from my first visit to Universal! I'm so glad I was able to visit the WWoHP! It was every bit as wonderful as I had hoped it would be! Forbidden Journey was fabulous, we did get to ride both red and blue DC coasters and those were great as well. Butterbeer (both kinds) and Pumpkin Juice were huge hits! I also tried a Pear Cider that was pretty awesome!!

We also stayed at PBR. It's a gorgeous resort, we had a wonderful meal at the Italian deli. The wait for the boat was indeed long, but not overly so.

IOA was a lot of fun from start to finish. Hulk was the favorite coaster of the day. We loved Spider Man as well. The kids loved the water rides.

We're glad we tried something new, but we also all agreed that we are Disney people at heart and will remain so. That being said, we will definitely be coming back to Universal for another go!!

 

[macraven]

But if you chose instead to go to IOA or US, wouldn't you also pay $14? Even if you did stay onsite? Whereas at Disney, your brother won't pay for parking at all because he is staying onsite, even if he chose to drive a car to the MK from his resort.

many cities have parking fees at the hotels.
orlando is cheap compared to other cities i have stayed at and have to pay for parking at the hotel.


come to chicago and stay downtown at one of the nicer hotels.
you pay between $40-50 a night for parking your car there.