Universal/Islands of Adventure in summer. Insane to even entertain the idea?

[mommaU4]

Here it is, the question that's most likely been asked a hundred times before (at least):
Just how hot/crowded is it in summer, specifically June? We are planning a trip to Orlando June 9-16, 2012. (Yes, next year. We already did our family vacation for 2011.)

I have never been to either park, although I have been to WDW in May and we had temps in the 90's. I am familiar with the Disney parks, so I know how to plan and avoid the heat. I know all the tips; go early, take a break mid-day, stay late in the evening, make dining reservations at indoor restaurants, frequent the air conditioned attractions and shows, etc.
I got it.
But having never been to Universal, do those same rules apply or work?

Specifically, which USO/IOA attractions and shows are best on hot days?

Which restaurants are air conditioned and yet still have good food?

Is it realistic to leave the parks if you are staying "off-site"? (We'll be staying at my aunt's timeshare if we go) Or is it a real hassle?

Since we won't be staying onsite, we won't have the FOTL/Express Pass. Will the lines/crowds be huge the second week of June making us really regret not getting an Express Pass?

Basically, the bottom line is, my kids (ages 16, 14, 10 and 10) really want to do USO/IOA and I'd really love to make it happen for them. But I'm not sure I can gather the courage to face the Florida summer heat and humidity. I live in Las Vegas, so I am not a stranger to high temps, but the humidity is a whole different ball game.

If you go in summer, or have gone in summer in the past, what specific advice or touring plans do you have? What's your tried and true summer tip to make it all go smoothly without passing out from heat exhaustion?

Lots of questions, I know, but any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks so much!! Oh, and if there are any threads with this advice already in them, a link would be great. I'd love to take a peek at them!

 

[Metro West]

Here it is, the question that's most likely been asked a hundred times before (at least):
Just how hot/crowded is it in summer, specifically June? We are planning a trip to Orlando June 9-16, 2012. (Yes, next year. We already did our family vacation for 2011.) Crowds during early to mid-June aren't too bad but after school lets out, the crowds really start to arrive. Weather is funny...plan on hot and humid in June.

I have never been to either park, although I have been to WDW in May and we had temps in the 90's. I am familiar with the Disney parks, so I know how to plan and avoid the heat. I know all the tips; go early, take a break mid-day, stay late in the evening, make dining reservations at indoor restaurants, frequent the air conditioned attractions and shows, etc.
I got it.
But having never been to Universal, do those same rules apply or work? Yes.
Specifically, which USO/IOA attractions and shows are best on hot days? Just about all attraction queues are indoors or covered with misters/fans. Any of the water rides will be wonderful during hot weather...the lines will indicate how popular they are.

Which restaurants are air conditioned and yet still have good food? At the Studios...Louie's and Finnegan's are great. At IOA...Thunder Falls Terrace and Mythos are the best. Just about all dining places are indoors and air conditioned.

Is it realistic to leave the parks if you are staying "off-site"? (We'll be staying at my aunt's timeshare if we go) Or is it a real hassle? It can be a hassle depending on where you're staying. Most of the time it will take you at least 45 minutes from the parking garage to your place and then you'd have to fight the traffic to come back. Some people don't mind it though.

Since we won't be staying onsite, we won't have the FOTL/Express Pass. Will the lines/crowds be huge the second week of June making us really regret not getting an Express Pass? You should be OK w/o the Express Plus passes but you can purchase them once you arrive if you feel the lines are too long.

Basically, the bottom line is, my kids (ages 16, 14, 10 and 10) really want to do USO/IOA and I'd really love to make it happen for them. But I'm not sure I can gather the courage to face the Florida summer heat and humidity. I live in Las Vegas, so I am not a stranger to high temps, but the humidity is a whole different ball game.

If you go in summer, or have gone in summer in the past, what specific advice or touring plans do you have? What's your tried and true summer tip to make it all go smoothly without passing out from heat exhaustion? The best advice...get there early and be prepared for hot/humid weather by drinking plenty of water and resting when you can.

Lots of questions, I know, but any and all advice is appreciated. Thanks so much!! Oh, and if there are any threads with this advice already in them, a link would be great. I'd love to take a peek at them!

See my answers above.

 

[keishashadow]

June is a breeze compared to July imo, that early most schools in the north will still be in session.

re heat vs humidity issue, i don't care what anybody says, hot is hot! the temp when we landed in Vegas after 9 pm a few years ago was nearly 95. It was over 115 degrees every day. If you can handle vegas weather you'll be fine. Just be prepared to sweat (alot) & rehydrate often. Take advantage of the water rides to cool off & buy the wicking type of shirts and you'll stay much cooler.

 

[mommaU4]

See my answers above.

Thank-you so much for taking the time to type that out. I appreciate it. Especially the dining info. It seems all over the DIS there is no shortage of "food porn" from the Disney parks, but that doesn't appear to be the case with the Universal parks. I was beginning to wonder if there just wasn't any good dining.

ETA: Is there a thread or even another website with USO/IOA food photos and/or prices that you could recommend I take a look at?

June is a breeze compared to July imo, that early most schools in the north will still be in session.

re heat vs humidity issue, i don't care what anybody says, hot is hot! the temp when we landed in Vegas after 9 pm a few years ago was nearly 95. It was over 115 degrees every day. If you can handle vegas weather you'll be fine. Just be prepared to sweat (alot) & rehydrate often. Take advantage of the water rides to cool off & buy the wicking type of shirts and you'll stay much cooler.

True, hot is hot, but in FL it feels like I never stop sweating, even in the shade, kwim?

I checked next years school schedule and they get out June 7, so I am purposely planning to go right after that with the hopes of avoiding the huge crowds that appear later in the summer breaks.

 

[damo]

We've been down in late August the past couple of years and find it quite manageable staying on site.

What we do is make sure we are up bright and early for early entry at IOA. So that means we are basically at the park by 7:30. We do pretty much everything we want saving the water rides until about noon. We will then ride them getting totally soaked and then head back to the hotel. We change and then go have lunch and stay at the hotel until around 5 oclock when we head back to the parks. We do the parks for a few hours grabbing something to eat and leave at closing.

I think staying onsite makes it so much easier.

 

[nytimez]

You guys all know that something like 18 million people live in Florida and somehow manage to make it through August every year, right?

 

[mommaU4]

We've been down in late August the past couple of years and find it quite manageable staying on site.

What we do is make sure we are up bright and early for early entry at IOA. So that means we are basically at the park by 7:30. We do pretty much everything we want saving the water rides until about noon. We will then ride them getting totally soaked and then head back to the hotel. We change and then go have lunch and stay at the hotel until around 5 oclock when we head back to the parks. We do the parks for a few hours grabbing something to eat and leave at closing.

I think staying onsite makes it so much easier.

I'd love to stay onsite, but with a family of 6 I'm not sure there are rooms to accommodate our whole family without getting a pricey suite or two rooms.

You guys all know that something like 18 million people live in Florida and somehow manage to make it through August every year, right?

Yes, but I don't know how!!



They probably do what we do in Vegas, stay inside in the air conditioning and go outside as little as possible. Well, that's what I do anyway. lol

 

[Metro West]

ETA: Is there a thread or even another website with USO/IOA food photos and/or prices that you could recommend I take a look at?

Try this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1031541

 

[mommaU4]

Try this thread:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1031541

Thanks. I'll check it out. My family and I do enjoy our food porn.


And if anyone else has any suggestions they want to share, or tips that have worked for them, I'd love to hear it.

 

[Badge]

I am assuming you are planning on doing Universal the whole time you are there?

Since you are not going for another year, I just priced this June 9-16 to see what the room costs would be if you had an AP. My thinking is since you would need two rooms, to have two of the adults get an Annual Pass so you can get all the discounts and stuff off food and the hotel room.

The price of the hotel THIS YEAR for an APH is $154.00 a night per room. This of course will give you unlimited express unlike purchasing the express which only lets you ride each ride once a day. Of course this APH discount on the room might not be in affect next year, so just keep your eye on it. When looking for rooms, use the code APH to see if the APH discount is active.

Another option would be to purchase the 7 day VIP tickets. These tickets are so hard to find on Universals website! I only discovered them a few weeks ago while digging around the website. Basically it gives you 7 days of park-to-park access WITH unlimited Express all in one ticket so you don't have to purchase it everyday. Again, since it is unlimited, it will act just like the room key. Of course, you will really need to price this one out carefully. The price of the ticket for 7 days is currently $309.99. Now, I would remove the roughly $180 from the price that you normally pay for the 7 day ticket, because no matter what, you need this. So, you are basically paying $130 for unlimited express for the length of your stay per person. For six people, that is $780 dollars. Compare the $780 to the price of the room. If the cost of the room is only an extra 100 or 200, and you can afford it, it might be better to just stay onsite since its so much easier to get back to the rooms to go swimming.

Universal has your time frame listed as non-peak, so hopefully it will not be to bad. We get there on the 15, so I will try and let you know what its like! Also, keep in mind that Universal closes MUCH earlier than Disney everyday. It will close around 8 or 9, unlike the 11 or midnight at Disney. Something to keep in mind to decide if you should take that drive to and from the hotel for a break.

 

[mommaU4]

Badge,
Thank you so much for pricing all that out for me. I didn't know about those VIP tickets. Good to know! And yes, we are doing Universal the entire time. No Disney at all, with the exception of maybe a visit to DTD.
I also didn't realize the park hours were so much shorter. That's good to know as well. I guess they just don't get the same amount of crowds to justify staying open so late.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[damo]

Badge,
Thank you so much for pricing all that out for me. I didn't know about those VIP tickets. Good to know! And yes, we are doing Universal the entire time. No Disney at all, with the exception of maybe a visit to DTD.
I also didn't realize the park hours were so much shorter. That's good to know as well. I guess they just don't get the same amount of crowds to justify staying open so late.

Have fun on your trip!

They also are in the middle of a subdivision and have to follow city rules about noise after a certain hour.

 

[Planogirl]

We have been to Universal in June and in August and yes, it can be very hot! However the same rules apply to Universal as to WDW - get to the parks early, stay in the A/C as much as possible in the afternoon, drink lots of liquids, maybe use misting fans.

We like to tour the Studios early when we can because it seems to be hotter. Maybe it's because of the wide open concrete areas or the lack of water rides. I think that the queues for Shrek, Disaster and Jaws can get hot and so can the Simpsons if they line you up outside. The Studios is nice in the evening if you can ever catch them open late.

IOA is better because of the water rides and the water play areas in the Cartoon Alley area. You will likely find the water rides very crowded during peak times though. IOA might stay open later than the Studios. We were lucky enough to have this happen to us. IOA is lovely at night particularly WWoHP.

We usually stay offsite and leave in the afternoon for a bit. I like to chill (literally ) in the room for a few hours in the afternoon. We stayed just down the road from Universal the last time though so we were just 15 minutes away and most of that time was due to heavy traffic around International Drive.

Universal is a blast, hot or not.

 

[jarrdisney]

The people that used to head to IOA usually ended up showing up much later than those that go to WDW. So if you got there at park opening, even during peak times, you were usually in a good position to get most rides done prior to the masses entered. However, since the addition of WWOHP that has changed and now there are usually a good deal of people waiting at "rope drop." My suggestion is to still get to IOA at park opening or earlier and forgo WWOHP and head straight to marvel and the rest of the islands. Then go back later around 8pm and check out Potter. It's usually much less busy at that point and it won't be 95 with the sun beating down. Universal proper is MUCH easier and getting there at park opening should allow you to get most of what you'd want done. However, if you're willing to shell out the cash on some ap's and get a discount, there is NOTHING better than staying on site.

 

[mommaU4]

They also are in the middle of a subdivision and have to follow city rules about noise after a certain hour.

Oh. Well, that makes sense.

We have been to Universal in June and in August and yes, it can be very hot! However the same rules apply to Universal as to WDW - get to the parks early, stay in the A/C as much as possible in the afternoon, drink lots of liquids, maybe use misting fans.

We like to tour the Studios early when we can because it seems to be hotter. Maybe it's because of the wide open concrete areas or the lack of water rides. I think that the queues for Shrek, Disaster and Jaws can get hot and so can the Simpsons if they line you up outside. The Studios is nice in the evening if you can ever catch them open late.

IOA is better because of the water rides and the water play areas in the Cartoon Alley area. You will likely find the water rides very crowded during peak times though. IOA might stay open later than the Studios. We were lucky enough to have this happen to us. IOA is lovely at night particularly WWoHP.

We usually stay offsite and leave in the afternoon for a bit. I like to chill (literally ) in the room for a few hours in the afternoon. We stayed just down the road from Universal the last time though so we were just 15 minutes away and most of that time was due to heavy traffic around International Drive.

Universal is a blast, hot or not.

Were the misting fans a pain in the butt to carry around? I was toying with the idea of bringing some of those, but was afraid I'd be the one to end up lugging them around all day. As mom, I usually get stuck with holding all the stuff no one else wants to hold. lol

Thanks for the tips! Every little bit of info helps, since I've never been and I'm finding info not as easy to come by as it is for the Disney parks.

I'm getting excited, even though it's a year away. That's the bad thing about taking an early family vacation this year....too much time on my hands now!

I guess if we are really going to finally do this, and trade Disney for Universal, at least on this trip, that I should introduce the family to the Harry Potter stories. Yep, that's right. I've never seen an HP movie nor read any of the books.
"What? You've never seen nor read Harry Potter?!? Sacrilege!" I know, I know, I know. Not sure why. We just never did.

But I suppose I should at least rent the movies this summer so that when we go next summer the kids aren't standing around wondering what the heck this castle is, and why everyone is wearing a robe and waving wands. (Maybe they don't really do that...I'm just assuming. )
Or like me, wondering what the heck butter beer is. For awhile there I actually thought it was beer.

 

[mommaU4]

The people that used to head to IOA usually ended up showing up much later than those that go to WDW. So if you got there at park opening, even during peak times, you were usually in a good position to get most rides done prior to the masses entered. However, since the addition of WWOHP that has changed and now there are usually a good deal of people waiting at "rope drop." My suggestion is to still get to IOA at park opening or earlier and forgo WWOHP and head straight to marvel and the rest of the islands. Then go back later around 8pm and check out Potter. It's usually much less busy at that point and it won't be 95 with the sun beating down. Universal proper is MUCH easier and getting there at park opening should allow you to get most of what you'd want done. However, if you're willing to shell out the cash on some ap's and get a discount, there is NOTHING better than staying on site.

Thanks!
With a family of six, we are on a pretty tight budget, but I'll definitely weigh the pros and cons of staying at a timeshare, versus getting APs and trying to stay on site.




Too bad USO/IOA doesn't have a vacation planning DVD like WDW does. That would be fun to order and watch with the kids. As it is now we just go to youtube and watch what we can there, but much of the content there seems a bit outdated.

 

[christophfam]

They have vacation planning videos online. Check out this link -
https://www.universalorlando.com/vacationplanning/vacationplanning.aspx

Also, I can't think of a better way to spend THIS summer than going to the library and checking out the Harry Potter books. Your kids are at the perfect age to read them. We were a bit late on the HP wagon, but in the last two years the whole family has read them. Ages 15, 12, and 40(something)! We ALL loved them. The books are WAY better than the movies.

 

[Planogirl]

Butter beer is amazing. It's kind of like a frothy cream soda but not really. People mention a butterscotch flavor but I don't like butterscotch. We like the frozen but some people prefer the regular unfrozen.

As for misting fans, they can be a pain. I like to get the mini-fans that I can put in a pocket if I want or I might put them in a locker. You often have to put stuff in a locker before you can ride certain things and that can cause a bottleneck at Forbidden Journey. I prefer to wear cargo shorts and go without a bag if I can.

 

[mommaU4]

They have vacation planning videos online. Check out this link -
https://www.universalorlando.com/vacationplanning/vacationplanning.aspx

Also, I can't think of a better way to spend THIS summer than going to the library and checking out the Harry Potter books. Your kids are at the perfect age to read them. We were a bit late on the HP wagon, but in the last two years the whole family has read them. Ages 15, 12, and 40(something)! We ALL loved them. The books are WAY better than the movies.

Thanks for the link! We'll definitely watch those.

I'll see if I can get the kids interested in reading the HP books. They have about two weeks left of school and if I mention summer reading, even fun reading, right now, the might freak out. lol
Are the books really long? Seems like I heard they were. Then again, we read the Twilight books and those were pretty long too. And I'm sure the HP books are better......at least, I hope!

Butter beer is amazing. It's kind of like a frothy cream soda but not really. People mention a butterscotch flavor but I don't like butterscotch. We like the frozen but some people prefer the regular unfrozen.

As for misting fans, they can be a pain. I like to get the mini-fans that I can put in a pocket if I want or I might put them in a locker. You often have to put stuff in a locker before you can ride certain things and that can cause a bottleneck at Forbidden Journey. I prefer to wear cargo shorts and go without a bag if I can.

Mmmm, the butter beer sounds good. And frozen might be nice to try on a hot summer day!

After this summer is over, I'm going to keep an eye out for clearance and sales on items such as the misters and mini-fans. Since I don't need them until next summer, might as well get a deal on them!
That's good to know about the lockers. Seems like it could be a bit of a hassle. Do they charge for those?



Thanks again to everyone for all your help. It's funny how I can be so knowledgeable when it comes to Disney, especially Disneyland which is like a second home to me since I grew up in SoCal, and now with Universal I feel like I've been sent back to Kindergarten!

 

[Metro West]

That's good to know about the lockers. Seems like it could be a bit of a hassle. Do they charge for those?

If the attraction does not allow carry on items, the lockers are free for the duration of the ride.