Universal Orlando Rocks!!!

[twinklingstars4u]

My family and I just got back from our stay in Orlando. We went down for the Mega-Con Convention and decided to do Universal while we were there. There are 3 of us DH, DD and myself. I'll try to be brief : )
We drove down Friday night from Georgia and arrived 6:30 Saturday am. It was pouring rain! Our check-in wasn't until 3 pm, but we went to our hotel anyway to see if we could get in early. We were staying at Parc Corniche (which I reserved thru Priceline @$70./night) and they let us check-in for $25.00. (FYI: this was a very nice place to stay. It had a full kitchen and we saved some $$ on food!) This allowed us to get some sleep and wait the rain out. The rain slowed a bit (but not much) so we hopped in the car and went on down to the park. We were going to get the "Buy a two day park hopper pass and get third day free for $89.95", but went with the 2-Park annual pass for $99. The total came to around $317. for the 3 of us and includes all kinds of discounts in US, IOA and Citywalk (also includes free parking)!
We went to IOA first and even though it was pouring, it was a blast! Did not realize that alot of the rides are coverd. We rode and saw everything that you can do inside over and over! The park was not crowded at all. Even the outside rides were open. Anyway this gave us a feel for the park so we knew what to do next time.
Sunday we went to Sea World (got free tickets from a very nice guy at the Mega-Con!) and I was impressed. We saw the shows and rode the big rides.
Moday we went back to IOA. We at Mythos and it was as good as everyone has said it was! DH was impressed. Later in the afternoon we headed over to US. Loved the Men In Black ride! Unfortunately the E.T. ride was closed, but everything else was up and running!
Tuesday we did a little of both parks. We went back to do the things we missed and the things we enjoyed! We stayed til the parks closed and then drove straight home.
What I really thought was great about the whole Universal experience was how thoughtfully they seemed to plan everything. The express lane works great and I loved the baby swap! Food was good all round and with the annual park discount made it worth the $$. One thing we noticed with the locker rentals is that if you rent one when you first enter the park it's $5.00 all day, but if you head on over to a major ride (ie; the Hulk at IOA) you get a locker free for the first hour and then it is $2.00 an hour after that. So if you plan well you do not have to spend any $$ on locker rentals! The lockers by the Men in Black ride were free for the first 2 hours!
Anyway hope there was something helpful in my ramblings for everyone!
Take care,
Mary Beth

 

[nhrenee]

Hi Mary Beth,
That's a really nice description of Universal!
Thanks for posting!!

 

[BC]

I saw you mentioned that the Express lane worked great. I just wondered if you were able to use it even though you stayed off site. I thought you had to stay at a Universal hotel to get it.

 

[gschmerl]

BC,
You can get an express pass for the attractions using your park ticket in an express pass machine. You can only get one express pass at a time and have to come back to ride at the time printed on your pass. If you stay onsite, you just show your room key and get right into the express line.