Universal-How Long?

[tink 2257]

I'm wondering how long we should plan to stay in Universal. We have been to Disney on site 4 times in the last six years, and stayed an average of nine days each visit. Our children are 16 and 13 now, so we would like to do something a little different and take them to Universal for a couple of days and then on to Disney for a week. We are considering staying on-site in Universal for three nights...is this enough time to see the majority of the park...too long as we might be disappointed as compared to Disney???

Any comments will be appreciated since we really don't know a lot about Universal!

 

[AlexandNessa]

I don't really know where to start on this one, other than Universal and Disney are two completely different experiences, and it sounds like you've already made up your mind that you might be "disappointed in Universal compared to Disney." This board isn't really the place to say that.

If your kids are 13 and 16, Universal should be right up their alley. The rides are much more up-to-date and thrilling than at Disney. They are hardly disappointing. Maybe not "cutesy" or "nostalgic," but certainly not disappointing, but rather more "cool."

Three days should be good, as you can have one park for each day and a third day to enjoy the pool and/or do favorites again at each park. You don't mention where you plan on staying, but if you stay on-site at UO, you surely will not miss waiting in all those lines at Disney. If you stay at the RPR, HRH, or PBH, your hotel key will act as your Express pass for each attraction. No making "appointments" to ride the rides; simply show up at a ride, flash your hotel key, and jump in the Express line. Let's see Disney do that.

Don't get me wrong. We love both Disney and Universal, but for completely different reasons, and you shouldn't expect them to offer the same vacation. Both fruit, but apples and oranges... Don't set yourself up for disappointment just because Universal isn't Disney. They aren't the same, and it's by design.

 

[lindalinda]

Gee if your kids are 13 and 16 and you plan to do a week at disney, you better do disney first. Cause if you do universal first, they will be bummed back at disney. My son is 13 and we switched from disney to half-and- half when he was 10 and now we are to the point where its all universal, 1 day at disney (usually epcot, but sometimes mgm). It doesnt take as much time to do universal, but that gives us plenty of time to enjoy the pool and have a relaxing evening. We stay on-site so the kids can actually run in and out of the park when they want to. It is the most relaxing family vacation imaginable.

 

[markh]

I agree your kids will probably enjoy Universal more than Disney. I would agree to do the Universal portion last, since the fotl benefit will spoil you.

 

[macraven]

if you are staying on site at universal, then definitely go to disney first.
you will be so spoiled by universal so save the best for last.

when are you planning to go to orlando?
depending on when you go will determine the crowds. stay on site and use the fotl. you will be able to see most of everything in a 3 day stay. when you check out, your room key for fotl is good until midnight on your check out day for the parks.

3 days might be a tough one for a first stay at universal.
rides can be done quickly and you will not have long waits in lines with the fotl card. the attractions will cut into your time at the parks and there are some that are a do not miss. the gory make up show is one of them.
terminator 2 is another big hit.
rides like men in black can not be done only once. with the fotl, you can do multiple rides and kill at least half an hour doing so.

spiderman another biggie as well as mummy. these two rides need at least one repeat to catch it all. if you do the express/fotl for spidey, you do miss out on a lot of the ambience and story line on the way to the ride. you might want to suffer thru with the line to catch it all for spiderman though.

the water rides are soooooo kewl at ioa. again, can't imagine going only once on jurassic water ride.

then you have city walk to roam through. your children might enjoy some of the unique shops. many places to eat and check out.

don't forget the pool at the hotel........you could spend hours at them, especially at hrh where the music is piped in underground.....

we have done universal 15 times. the first two visits were mostly disney and 2 days at universal. this was when only the studios was opened and city walk was limited. in 1993, we split our stay between disney and universal. the longest we have stayed on site at universal has been 5 days.
that gave us plenty of time to lounge around the pool, do the movie and deal (free coupon in the entertainment book for the movie and food at city walk), shop at the sports memorablilia stores at city walk, do both parks, rides and attractions, sit down and dine at finnegans, mythos, lombards and not have to rush............

ok, now what was your question, i get carried away when i talk about universal...........if you are staying on site, 3 days could do it justice.
you won't have the time to hang around the pool for an afternoon or take in all the shops at city walk. if you concentrate just on the 2 parks, it could be done in three days.

any more questions.??

 

[allie&mattsmom]

We just got back for US/IOA in October. We stayed onsite and did everything and more in the four days we were there. And what others have said is true, you do get spoiled. We LOVED being such a short walk away from both parks and citiwalk. Our kids had not been to Universal since they were 3 & 5 (they are now 8 & 10) and they had an awesome time! It was a nice change from Disney for them.

 

[rie'smom]

My DD is 11 and loves Universal. Your teens will flip. It's oriented more toward older kids/teens.We love it too. These days we go to Disney because we're in Orlando. FOTL will spoil you rotten!!!! The onsite hotels are fabulous -they are all deluxe plus. Have a great time!!!

 

[robvia]

Agree with the previous posters. Do Disney first, then onsite at USF because you will be spoiled. The attractions at USF/IOA don't take as long, because there isn't a preshow for each ride like there is at Disney. So you can walk right up, and you'll be on the ride in a matter of minutes. At Disney, every ride seems to take half an hour no matter what. That's they way they want it, because then it makes people stay there for a week. At USF/IOA, you can stay 3 nights and see everything, 4 nights if you want to relax and hang out.
If you get done with everything, you can take a shuttle to SWF, or your can visit WnW one morning.
After you visit IOA, the rides at Disney will seem like kiddie stuff, especially for your teens. Disney is great to visit once every 4 years, but basically they have 2 thrill rides at each park, and even those are really family rides compared to other coasters out there. After you conquer IOA, your teens will want to move on to parks like Busch Gardens Tampa, and then it's on to Cedar Point in Sandusky Ohio.

 

[tink 2257]

Thanks so much everyone! You've given us a lot of great information and helped us start planning this vacation. I'm sure my kids will love Universal and it will be a new experience for all of us. They love Disney and the last time we were there was June of 2004. Even though they were 15 and 12 at that time, they couldn't get enough, so it seems that going to Universal will just be the icing on the cake!

 

[macraven]

tink, do come back here and ask any question you may have.
there are many of us on the universal boards that can help.

i am not the expert here but can share my experiences with you on what i have seen and done in my last 15 visits and stays at universal.