Universal only or SeaWorld too?

[hihohiho]

I am thinking of going the first week in November and staying at Sheraton Vistana Resort. I thought about doing Disney again because of free dining but we have done it twice before and want to do something new. Tickets for Universal are around $660 for four day park to park tickets, or I could get two day park to park for $576 and Seaworld for $290. I think with shopping and swimming at the resort we would be fine with just the Universal tickets and save a couple hundred dollars. Has anyone else found Universal not enough to do and think we should do SeaWorld too?

 

[bankr63]

How many tickets are you buying? Based on what you are quoting, I am guessing 6, but you might want to head over to Undercover Tourist for somewhat better pricing. If you are buying 7 tickets, ignore that comment.

Alot depends on your travel companions. If you have tweens to teens, US and IOA should keep them happy for 4 days, but they may not satisfy a younger set (or kids who are not crash test dummies like mine), in which case you could go shorter on Universal and do Seaworld. There is a big difference between the two - lots of shows at Seaworld with some thrill rides; lots of thrill rides at Uni, with some shows.

 

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Have you thought about the Orlando Flex Ticket? It gives you admission to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, SeaWorld, Wet & Wild, and Aquatica.

Lots of flexibility and I believe the tickets are good for unlimited admissions for a 14-day period.

Might be worth a look! Undercover Tourist, as the PP said, has great prices.

 

[hihohiho]

We have a 13 year old and 11 year old, and we are all Harry Potter fans, so I think we might be fine with just Universal. I think I will buy the four day pass just to be safe, I can always pick up Seaworld once we are there. The prices are part of the Westjet package, they are pretty close to the Undercover Tourist website. I thought about the flex pass but I am hoping to spend a little less on park tickets compared to Disney.

bankr63 I have read many of your posts on the Sheraton Vistana, they have been very helpful! I was considering staying onsite at Universal when I found a great deal on Westjet for the Sheraton, so have been reading up on it, it looks great!

 

[chimo2u]

We have a 13 year old and 11 year old, and we are all Harry Potter fans, so I think we might be fine with just Universal. I think I will buy the four day pass just to be safe, I can always pick up Seaworld once we are there. The prices are part of the Westjet package, they are pretty close to the Undercover Tourist website. I thought about the flex pass but I am hoping to spend a little less on park tickets compared to Disney.

bankr63 I have read many of your posts on the Sheraton Vistana, they have been very helpful! I was considering staying onsite at Universal when I found a great deal on Westjet for the Sheraton, so have been reading up on it, it looks great!

Just thought I would chime in to so say staying on site is worth its weight in gold especially for the express pass. We went in Feb, a supposedly slow time of year, and express pass saved our days 100x's over! On site is the best!

 

[hihohiho]

We are morning people so I am hoping going first thing for several mornings will be good enough to avoid too many lineups.

I am now thinking of getting tickets to the MNSSHP halloween party, might be a fun way to get a bit of disney in.

 

[bankr63]

With two kids of 11 and 13 you should be fine with Uni. The real question is, how are you with roller coasters? My DS (12) convinced me to do Dragon Challenge (Hungarian Horntail) and although I rode some of the biggest coasters around back when I was 16, I thought "OMG what the H-E-double toothpicks am I doing here!" That was one of the most intense experiences of my life; he was laughing hysterically when we got off. We followed that up with Rip-Ride-Rockit at US later that afternoon; DD (14) suggested that she might actually open her eyes next time! Next time!!! I am definitely getting too old for this. Well maybe I'll start to back off; after I try The Hulk next time...

BTW - I am a bit biased about Vistana, but we took some time to find a place we liked, and it is a great place to come "home" to every year. I hope your family enjoys it as much as our family does

The one down side of staying at any timeshare resort, is that they will try to get you to attend the dreaded breakfast presentation. Don't do it; nothing they offer will be worth the 3 hours you'll be there. It really isn't hard to avoid; Sheraton is not nearly as pushy as some other resorts. And if you do break down and actually go; just remember that whatever they are selling is available on eBay for $1. Yes, really, $1.

Have a great trip!!