Universal First Timer

[budafam]

We're planning on doing 4 days in Disney and 2 days at Universal (one for each park). We're going in mid-May of next year. What do I need to know about Universal? Would it really be that beneficial to stay at their hotel or should we stick with staying at Pop for the whole duration? We'll have our own vehicle and we're planning on using the DDP at Disney. I'm not worried about those 2 days we won't be there since we're doing a few 2 credit meals to use up our credits. Would you recommend the Express Pass for us? I was considering it just for me and DH since we'll be doing most of the bigger rides. Our kids are going to be 3 & 5 and my mother in law will be along to take care of them. Also, are there any forums for Universal like there are for Disney? Any websites that you recommend? You can PM me if you want. Thank you so much everyone!

 

[admjax]

I would not do the speed pass for 3 and 5 year olds, but I would for the adults. Also you might want to bring poncho's since there is a high chance that it will be raining. Other than that have a great time.

 

[mesaboy2]

We're planning on doing 4 days in Disney and 2 days at Universal (one for each park). We're going in mid-May of next year. What do I need to know about Universal? Would it really be that beneficial to stay at their hotel or should we stick with staying at Pop for the whole duration? We'll have our own vehicle and we're planning on using the DDP at Disney. I'm not worried about those 2 days we won't be there since we're doing a few 2 credit meals to use up our credits.

1. Would you recommend the Express Pass for us? I was considering it just for me and DH since we'll be doing most of the bigger rides. Our kids are going to be 3 & 5 and my mother in law will be along to take care of them.

2. Also, are there any forums for Universal like there are for Disney?

3. Any websites that you recommend? You can PM me if you want. Thank you so much everyone!

1. I recommend you wait until you get there to see the lines for yourself. If they are too long for your taste and you can afford Express, then get it. Do not purchase in advance as they are non-refundable and date-specific. If your plans change, you are out of luck.

2. This one.

3. This one.

 

[Melanie230]

I would try to see if I could swing staying onsite. The ease of having the kids onsite is just great! Stay one night and get FOTL passes for 2 days. Also you can take the kiddos back to the room during the day for a nap if they need it.

 

[mdsd8700]

I would try to see if I could swing staying onsite. The ease of having the kids onsite is just great! Stay one night and get FOTL passes for 2 days. Also you can take the kiddos back to the room during the day for a nap if they need it.

I would agree with that. We just did a Universal/Disney trip in June. Our first two days were at the Hard Rock and we managed to see everything we wanted in those two days, with plenty of downtime at the pool each day as well. It is really a plus to have a place to take a break at. I got the impression the crowds were pretty light during our stay (mid June) as some of rides we didn't even need the FOTL pass however when we did need it was invaluable not to have to stand in line for 50 minutes for Spiderman and some other more popular rides. Not to mention by staying on site you will get early acess to HP. Although on our trip we were able to do that in the evening after 7 pm with a 10 minute wait for FJ. Again, we were lucky with the crowds.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[macraven]

stay on site.
with the littles, they would enjoy spending a lot of time at some of the sections at the parks.
barneys, woodpecker area, suessland, animal planet show, entertainment at the kid section park near ET, etc.
they could spend over an hour being there.
if you stayed on site, you wouldn't feel rushed to hurry them up so you could explore other sections of the parks.


do the child swap for rides.
all 5 of you go thru the lines and do child swap.
you and your mate do the rides while g'ma stays in child swap w/ the littles.


i think you would enjoy your vacation and have it at a slower relaxing pace if you planned your trip as two separate vacations.

start at the motherland resort.
switch to the darkside resort.

vacations are to be relaxing and fun.
driving back and forth a couple of days from pop can be tiring.

i'm thinking getting the littles fed and ready before you leave.
packing bags of clothes and kid things, and the drive itself with the traffic makes it a too busy set up for beginning a new experience at the darkside for the day.

that's just my opinion as i have done that before.
for a few years, i do the drive from disney resorts with 3 boys to the darkside.
then repeated it the next day.

that alone made me separate the vacations to two separate resort stays.