Universal newbie and requesting your best tips

[Duck143]

Hello All! I am the planner in my house and we have been to Disney many times and I plan every detail. This past November, we were supposed to take a 'trip of a lifetime' to an all inclusive beach resort, but we got covid and couldn't travel. Our kids (11 and 8) were super disappointed they missed the trip, so we are trying to surprise them with a trip to Orlando in June, but doing everything non-Disney the time! We're definitely planning on visiting Universal and Sea World. We have flights booked and an off site resort, but nothing else. I am thinking 3 days park-park for US or 4 days 1 park a day. I am also looking into the Express Pass, but not sure if I need it for more than 1 day. I haven't even begun to look at dining and reservations for that. Can you share your knowledge and tips so I can plan an awesome trip for my family. I appreciate your help so much!

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

I would recommend staying at one of the Premier properties at least for one night, that would allow you to get the early entry and Express Passes for at least a couple days (you get them any day you're in the room so buying one night actually gets you 2 days). In addition then you can either walk or boat to City Walk. Our first time down we had a full week booked off site but stayed one night because it was cheaper to get a room for the Express Passes than buy 2 days worth of passes on their own. You can certainly enjoy the parks without them but they're pretty great to have. If you're a planner Universal may be difficult as there isn't nearly as much to plan but that's what I and many others love about it. I would just identify your priorities going in and knock them out the first day and then decide what else you still want to get to or do again, with 3 days at the park you should have time to relaxingly see both parks.

 

[macraven]

The stickies in the UO forums has a lot of info

You will find answers to questions you were not aware of.

Read a few pages of the beginning of the stickies to see general info about the parks

For the sticky with many pages, start from the last post and read back as peeps update info for present time of writing.

Due to covid, present posts have current info that is in effect now

 

[Kit Jackson]

Do you have Harry Potter fans in the family? If there are Harry Potter fans, 3 days with park to park tickets is a must so you can ride the Hogwarts Express. With three days you should be able to see/do almost everything you want to. Staying at one of the Premier properties if you can afford it is fantastic. The hotels are a 5-10 minute walk to the park, and you get Express Pass included. Buying Express Pass for the family is usually more expensive than staying in one of the Premier properties.

Reservations for dining do not book months in advance. I would reccomend booking that month or the month before. There are very few places in the parks that take reservations.

Some of the information in the book might be slightly out of date, but I find this series to be incredibly helpful if you want everything in one place.

https://www.amazon.com/Unofficial-G...cphy=9061285&hvtargid=pla-1253617380869&psc=1

 

[Duck143]

You are all so helpful! We are reading the 1st book of HP as a family now and I'm hoping we get through the first two in the series. I'm super excited to read these books with the kids and then get to visit.