Universal - NOT LIKELY TO RETURN

[NewEnglandCamper]

First of all we had a wonderful time down to our trip to Disney World however we were NOT impressed with Universal for the following reasons. I feel this park is geared for older families (with kids in tweens and teens). We visited 12/27-12/28. We had the option to go back on 12/29 but decided to skip it.

** The wait for parking was 20 minutes... 0 at Disney world and parking was more expensive than Disney
** Each attraction had an average wait of 60 minutes or more.
** I didn't like the Express Plus program. First of all its expensive ($50 extra per person -- how can young families afford this) and if you don't act on it quick, it SELLS out as we found out. A 2 year old is not going to stand in line for 1 hour. In comparision I loved the Fast Pass system at Disney.
** Very few rides for younger children and toddlers.
** There is a lot of glamour, glitz, but little substance. The Toon Lagoon is a large area that is very neatly decorated but has 2-3 rides.
** Closes early... MK was open until 12 AM and then extra magic hours until 3AM. This places closes at 10AM with still big crowds. If we had until midnight we probably could or seen a LOT more things when the waits become lower.
** Smoking is allowed through out the park as none of the cast members enforces their smoking policies.
** Not as clean as Disney. Some of the streets are dirty with cigarette buts, paper, etc.
** Photographers at entrance were pushy.

What we did like about Universal:

** Lots of character sightings at the original park (with a smaller wait than Disney)
** Most of the rides that we got on we liked (Jaws, Shrek 4D, Dueling Dragons, Jurrasic Park ride).
** Cafe's are huge and accomodate large groups
** The shows were good but not breathtaking the Extreme Stunt Show at Disney or Believe show at SeaWorld.

Overall, I don't understand what the big fuss is here. Until they improve the crowd control, improve the wait times, and improve the shows we won't be back. I feel that our visit was a TOTAL waste of time and $$$.

Is there a good time of the year to visit this park when its dead (besides summer when its 100 degrees there)?

 

[damo]

My advice to you would have been to use the free shuttle service from the Clarion where you stayed and arrive before opening to ride the rides before the huge crowds arrive. Arriving early is always your best bet to get to avoid the lines.

Just as a side note, how many fastpasses were you able to use each day at Disney? I don't ever seem to have much luck with them.

We usually stay onsite, and go at non-peak times. For $150/night, unlimited express passes and $85 7 day passes, we really think it is an absolutely amazing deal and vacation. When we go to Disney, the hotels are more expensive for comparable quality, we usually manage to get about 3 fast passes a day and our tickets are well over $300 each for the week. It takes us several days to actually ride the number of rides that we could ride in one day at Universal. We come home feeling run ragged and frustrated. I guess everyone has different preferences and it is great that there are parks that accomodate and satisfy us all.

 

[FayeW]

Unless they changed the price in the 3 weeks since we returned from our trip, the parking costs $10.00; EXACTLY the same cost as WDW parking! I hope you didn't pay the extra $5. for preferred parking, because that's a rip off.

Did you purchase the Express Pass, or did you elect to stand in line for the hour? If you paid for it, then your money would definitely have been better spend staying onsite for Dec 27th, and then having FOTL access for both of the days you visited (good for full day of check in AND check outday as well). When you add the cost of your offsite room to the cost of the express passes, I doubt if it would have cost a great deal more to stay onsite and enjoy the benefit.

I am glad you enjoyed some of the rides. When the twins are older and can enjoy the bigger attractions you should give it another try.

 

[NewEnglandCamper]

Parking at Universal on 12/27 and 12/28 was $11. They probably raised the rate for the holidays. Since one of the tickets we got was scrathed out as $10 and marked with $11. Oh yes another complaint. The elevators weren't working properly here in the Cat in the Hat parking lot.

Forget about using the moving walkways. People get on them and then just stand there. You can move quickly by walking instead.

The fast passes at WDW worked great. We were able to get on all the rides that we wanted too see.

We would fast pass a ride and either hit another attraction that had less of a wait, do some shopping, or eat lunch/dinner and then return to the ride.

 

[NashvilleTrio]

I'll agree Universal is for a little bit older crowd, but my son is 6 and just loves it. Although, he has a roller coaster freak for a father, so factor that in to the equation.

Anyway, we've done two on-site trips to Disney for 9 and 5 days. This past August we went for a 5 day trip to Universal and stayed onsite. We had the *best* vacation we've ever experienced while onsite at Universal.

The FOTL access with your room key completely changes the way you spend your time. At Disney, we were in commando mode 24/7 --- Universal we actually got all the thrills and then some, plus we enjoyed relaxing at the pool, sleeping in some mornings and were a lot more relaxed.

Disney has some amazing attractions and their own special brand of "magic". However, given the choice for another 5 day trip next week, we choose Universal again over Disney.

The 3 hotels, FOTL, City Walk and both theme parks within walking distance is an unbeatable combination for this family. Keep up the good work Universal.

 

[micksterlee]

Once again I have to ask why people try to compare Universal and Disney. They both can be very fun and at times they both can be frustrating. The main thing I think is important to keep in mind is that they are both very different resorts.

 

[jeanie]

When the kids get older you should give Universal another try. Mine are now 13 and 15 and they enjoy both parks. And so do I for very different reasons.

Our first day at Universal was a nightmare. It was Christmas week in 2003. We arrived late and the place was packed! We waited 3 hours for Spiderman!!! (I honestly can not explain why we waited that long) The entire day we only did 3 rides at IOA and didn't make it to US, never again would I go back, I kept saying... All day we kept seeing people fly through the express lane while we waited and waited... The kid wanted to see US but I had had enough of crowds and lines.

That night we got on line and booked a room at the RPH for 129 per night for one night (We were staying off site at a timeshare for free so I did not mind paying the extra) I am not sure why it was so cheap but it was cheaper than buying the one day express ticket and we got two days of express plus out of it!

We went back to the parks the next two day and it was even more crowded than the day before but we never waited in any lines!!!! It was a totally different experience. We did both parks at a very slow relaxing pace and it ended up as the best vacation!! We are hooked on Universal but I will only go if I can stay on-site or close by so that we can get there when the parks open. I am so glad I gave it another chance.

Last year I did a split stay between Universal and Disney during Easter week. Universal I did not have to plan out one thing (except meal reservations) and Disney was commando style touring, fun but not so relaxing. 4 days is enough for Universal but not enough for Disney. We used TGM so we made use of fastpass but because it was only fours days we were go, go, go all the time... It's nice to take breaks and enjoy your vacation.

This year we are going to Disney for a week and then a few months later we are going to Universal for a week. I love both parks and each is a different type vacation... I have been planning every minute for Disney and I haven't done much planning for Universal. I will only make reservation for dinner, maybe reserve a cabana and that is it!


Give it another try, you may just fall in love with it like we did...

 

[yaytezIOA]

Parking at Universal on 12/27 and 12/28 was $11. They probably raised the rate for the holidays. Since one of the tickets we got was scrathed out as $10 and marked with $11. Oh yes another complaint. The elevators weren't working properly here in the Cat in the Hat parking lot.

Forget about using the moving walkways. People get on them and then just stand there. You can move quickly by walking instead.

The fast passes at WDW worked great. We were able to get on all the rides that we wanted too see.

We would fast pass a ride and either hit another attraction that had less of a wait, do some shopping, or eat lunch/dinner and then return to the ride.

Theres your problem. You dont like the Express system. I HATE the fastpass system. Forget an hour wait.....most rides at ANY disney park have on average a 45 minute to 2 hour wait if you go standby. Why is that way? FASTPASS. Universal had that problem before, but they eliminated the free fastpass, and on BUSY days they go an hour...which most rides are nowhere near that.
And you complain that people at Universal dont walk on the movin sidewalk? Yeah...thats a legitimate complaint there. Its like me complaining that it rained the last time I went to disney.
You went expecting disney...you didnt get disney....and you dont like it. They are different parks, both with a lot for everyone....ESPECIALLY IOA. Did you just look for rides? Did you not see Pterradon Flyers, and the four rides in Suess Landing? Did you look to explore other things that your kids could do? Camp Jurassic, Me Ship the Olive, the Jurassic Park Discovery Center, and If I ran the Zoo are all great things for kids to play on and explore. Sounds like someone just didnt do their homework....didnt look on the right section of the DIS boards, or even explore any Universal sites....and they're mad at it.

I would say give it another try.....but you most likely wont. So, sorry you had a bad experience at Universal. We always have a great time there, and a miserable time at wdw..which explains why we let our passes expire. Enjoy disney

 

[IOA-Guy]

I love your very legit complaints. The photographers were "pushy." The elavators didn't work, there were very few rides for the children, and worst of all the people didn't walk on the moving sidewalk. I used to love IOA/UO, the rides for all ages, the express, and the wait times, but after hearing this I was clearly mistaken.

As yaytez said somebody didn't do their homework. I can't stand the fastpass system. The express system is definatley the way to go. And you said "Is there a good time of the year to visit the park when it's dead (besides summer when it is 100 degrees). Hate to say this but the park isn't dead in the summer. You can't judge a park and decide not to go back just because you went during a peak time. IOA has a wide selection of rides for little ones, teens, and adults. You were expecting something and didn't get exactly what you wanted. It seems you looked for everything wrong with the park just becuase it wasn't WDW. Give it another chance.

 

[NewEnglandCamper]

FastPass vs. Express:

All I know is this:

** At WDW we were there at a peak time and got to ride on major rides such as Soarin, Test Track, Splash Mtn., Thunder Mtn., Everest, MGM Hotel Ride, Space Mountain, etc. with thanks to Fast Pass and Extra Magic Hours that required no extra $$$. Overall kids and wife were happy.

** Express was sold out when we arrived (at 10AM) and only got to ride a couple of the rides in the 2 days that we were there mainly during the late evening before the park closed: Dueling Dungeons, Shrek 4D, Jurassic Park water rides. My toddler won't wait around an hour for us in line. Overall kids and wife was disappointed.

Ride "stand-by" times were about the same at both parks on average -- maybe slightly higher at Universal.

If we return to Universal it will be 1 to 2 days tops and I'll pay the extra $$$ to stay in the hotels that offer Express and then most likely spend 5+ days at WDW during our next visit.

As for the moving sidewalks Universal could make it so that some are standing and some are walking since they were mainly going in the same direction.

 

[granmaz]

I do hope you try again and do some homework next time. They really are great parks and as Yaytez said there is more than meets the eye for the children to do. Yes, different to Disney but that is not a bad thing. Oh, and I love Disney too!

As far as the moving walkways go, we just ask them to move and we walk on past. We are always in a hurry to start enjoying ourselves.

 

[magiroux]

We were at IOA on 12/28 also, but I had a totally different experience.

We arrived at the park entrance at 7:45am (actually a little later than I would have liked) and was surprised to see only about 200-300 people at the gates waiting to get in. Picked a line that had about 15 people ahead of us and the line began to move almost immediately. Universal always seems to open at least 10 mins before posted time. We rode EVERYTHING at least once, including the train over Suess Land (been waiting 10 years for that one to open - very cute) with no waits, and I mean zero wait - walked on. Rode Hulk twice, Spiderman 3 X's, Unicorn Coaster countless times (DD found a freind and they just went round and round ). By 11AM we came out of Jurrassic Park and literally hit a wall of people that was not there when we went into the ride. We could have rode Dudley and Bluto but we did not feel like getting soaked and they now had a 30 minute wait. Oh, no - that's too long for me .

DD & DH went and played in the arcade while I went back to Dr Suess to pick up some souveniers and we were out of there by 1pm. What I saw heading back to our car should have made everyone want to just turn around and go home. Mind you, when we left the park it was wall to wall people. All I saw was people on the moving walkways in droves heading into the parks. There were thousands of the little buggers, pushing strollers & wheelchairs, no less. We looked over the rail where you can see the entrance and it was gridlock, bumper to bumper all the way out to the main road. You were lucky to wait only 20 minutes. Those people had to have waited at least an hour just to pay to park.

NewEnglandCamper - I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, but you had to have picked the worst possible day/time to visit this park. Also, I don't know how you were able to ride all the major rides at WDW if you also arrived there at 10AM as you did Universal. We also toured the WDW parks last week the same way, but arrived a full 40 minutes before opening and we did get to ride everything there, using fastpass, our favorites twice. However, in every park we visted the waits were 90 minutes and beyond by 10:30AM. On 12/27 at noontime all fastpasses for Soarin had been distributed for the day and the wait time was 160 minutes. That was noontime. Goodness knows what it was by early evening. In all my 20 something trips to WDW in the last 15 years I have never waited more than 10 minutes for the Figment ride. That day at 12:30pm it was a 60 minute wait. MK was closed down by 1pm three days in a row due to crowd capcity and AK closed down twice by 1PM for the same reason. From my perspective, both parks (universal & WDW), same time of day - WDW definately had the less tolerable stand-by lines.

I agree with micksterlee - They are totally different types of parks. At Unversal there is no pixie dust - just kick-butt, first rate rides and entertainment.

Oops, sorry to go on and on, but I had the greatest time last week at both parks and wanted to chime in.

 

[yaytezIOA]

Yeah, really...you get to a park at 10 a.m. when it opens two hours earlier during a PEAK time? I dont really believe you get in all of your big stuff done at wdw waltzing in at that time....even with fastpass. I think the thing that ticked you off about it most....and its due to the fact that you keep bringing it up.....is that if you want a "fastpass" you have to pay for it. You said it yourself....the wait times for standby are the same.
You need to go there fully prepared next time, do the research just as if you were going to disney. Find out what to hit first, find out what to wait til later in the day and what to skip altogether. Learn to use Child Swap...which is waaaaaaaaaaaay better than disney's version of the same thing, and take full advantage of that.
I hope you give it another try, and you do a little more research next time...if you have a bad time at any of these parks....especially Universals...its your own fault.

 

[NewEnglandCamper]

Yup! I'm cheap. At $50 X 4 people it would of cost me an extra $200 to ride the rides at a reasonal wait that I already paid for on my admission ticket.

Anyways.. yes more reseach.. and setting the alarm to get the 5 of up and ready for 8AM opening... Next time the kids will be older so this will be more reasonable.

thanks for all the hints, tips, etc.

 

[yaytezIOA]

Yup! I'm cheap. At $50 X 4 people it would of cost me an extra $200 to ride the rides at a reasonal wait that I already paid for on my admission ticket.

Anyways.. yes more reseach.. and setting the alarm to get the 5 of up and ready for 8AM opening... Next time the kids will be older so this will be more reasonable.

thanks for all the hints, tips, etc.

I live two hours away....we left at 5:30 with guests on Friday.Sure we waited in line for some rides, but would we wait any less at disney? Dont think so. If you want to enjoy the park and all the rides...sorry thats what you have to do. If you want to sleep in.....then you wont get to enjoy everything. You cant have your cake and eat it too. Thats how it is at every major theme park during the holidays.

 

[rolltideroll]

I stayed at RPR on Dec.20th for $124 at APH rate (which they never confirmed). I then had FOTL for 2 days for my family- four of us. The express pass for those two days would be 3x as much, and would limit the # of times we could ride. A serious no brainer for us.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

wooowie I just learned something new! I'd be willing to pay $150 for a Friday or Saturday night stay since it includes FOTL for two days. I have a preferred pass good until 9/2008 so I'm sure I'll get the opportunity to do this.

One thing I did not like about the Express Pass was its inefficiency as far as line processing goes. Overall I think it would have been better to do something other than designating one ride machine for Express pass and another for stand by. That made the stand by lines too long on Jan 1st and 2nd and the express lines too short. When the crowds are really big they should find a way to divert some of the stand by flow into the Express line very close to the ride start. Or merge the two lines close to the start. This would slow express down just slightly while increasing overall crowd enjoyment. If I owned GE stock I'd be a bit pissed looking at the crowds trapped with their wallets in the stand by line. People dont spend money standing in line. The $$ for an Express Pass or a hotel room wouldn't make up the difference.

I took my niece with me after New Years. The place wasn't empty the way I thought it would be but that was a plus. She hadn't been since she was scared out of her mind in Terminator at age 9 (now almost 17). We had a lot of fun and didn't have too much of a problem going stand by. The only ride we didn't get on that we wanted to was BTTF. Her $91 ticket (w/tax) was just golden for managing the the 4 days we had at USF/IOA. A much better value than the ticket I bought for New Year's Eve at MGM. I'm not saying the lines were short but the only long lines we waited in were for the Mummy and Spiderman. The others were merely average if one uses Disney wait times for less interesting rides as a yardstick.

Anyway I'd take kids of at least kindergaarten height to universal...there are enough shows and rides to keep them entertained if they aren't easily scared the way my niece was at 9.

 

[F-L-A]

ROFL @ someone visiting a park between Christmas and NYE and complaining about crowds.

 

[damo]

wooowie I just learned something new! I'd be willing to pay $150 for a Friday or Saturday night stay since it includes FOTL for two days. I have a preferred pass good until 9/2008 so I'm sure I'll get the opportunity to do this.

One thing I did not like about the Express Pass was its inefficiency as far as line processing goes. Overall I think it would have been better to do something other than designating one ride machine for Express pass and another for stand by. That made the stand by lines too long on Jan 1st and 2nd and the express lines too short. When the crowds are really big they should find a way to divert some of the stand by flow into the Express line very close to the ride start. Or merge the two lines close to the start. This would slow express down just slightly while increasing overall crowd enjoyment. If I owned GE stock I'd be a bit pissed looking at the crowds trapped with their wallets in the stand by line. People dont spend money standing in line. The $$ for an Express Pass or a hotel room wouldn't make up the difference.

I took my niece with me after New Years. The place wasn't empty the way I thought it would be but that was a plus. She hadn't been since she was scared out of her mind in Terminator at age 9 (now almost 17). We had a lot of fun and didn't have too much of a problem going stand by. The only ride we didn't get on that we wanted to was BTTF. Her $91 ticket (w/tax) was just golden for managing the the 4 days we had at USF/IOA. A much better value than the ticket I bought for New Year's Eve at MGM. I'm not saying the lines were short but the only long lines we waited in were for the Mummy and Spiderman. The others were merely average if one uses Disney wait times for less interesting rides as a yardstick.

Anyway I'd take kids of at least kindergaarten height to universal...there are enough shows and rides to keep them entertained if they aren't easily scared the way my niece was at 9.

Often they will let several loading of regular lines occur before they let one loading of express line. This happens at Mummy frequently. The right side will load several times before the left side will load. Many of the rides have express and regular lines merging near the entrance to the ride as well. At Spiderman, the ride attendants will take people from the express lines as they want.

 

[Disney MAINEiac]

I personally have never had a bad experience at either Disney or USO When we vacation there we expect crowds & waits and they really don't bother me. Being from Maine and the closest thing to a thrill ride being a drive on an icy road for groceries, i'm just over joyed to be in either place (disney or USO)