Universal Review from a Disney Fan

[AngieInOH]

At this point I'm using the term "Disney Fan" loosely. So many things that are so wrong there right now. But I've been there many times.

This was my first trip to Univeral. We stayed 6 nights at Portofino with 4 day Park to Park tickets.

The Good:

• Express Pass: I can't say enough good things about it! They were included in our stay, but I think they're worth the extra money if you can swing it. It was busy while we were there (we went during Mardi Gras and President's Day). Waits were 1-2 hours for almost everything. I don't think we waited more than 20 minutes for any ride and most waits were less than that. Far superior to Disney's Lightening Lane even if you have to pay more for it.
• Portofino: Great Hotel. Large Room with a HUGE bathroom. Location to the parks was awesome!
• Transportation: AWESOME. Disney doesn't even come close. We took the boat every time and didn't wait any longer than 10 minutes. At close to park close we waited a little longer to catch the boat back to Portofino, but it still wasn't that long of a wait. And they don't cram you on!! Everyone sits and has plenty of room.
• Everything is so close together, it's nice not to have to leave 1.5 hours ahead of time to get to where you want to go.
• Mardi Gras Parade!! I bought the dine package so we could ride the float. It was AWESOME and I'd do it again. My girls said it was the highlight of the trip for them.

The NOT So Good:

• Most rides are 3-D. They really are neat and immersive. However, after about 5 3-D rides I found myself not enjoying them as much. Case in point Spiderman. We rode it later in the day and I didn't find it enjoyable. Next day we went back and rode it again in the morning and I liked it much better. My one daughter had the same issue. She even sat out of one because she said she had enough.
• The lines for quick service food were long! It was busy so I get it but dang

Food:

• The Crepe place in Studios was awesome, but be prepared to wait and wait and wait. We thankfully got there early with a very small line, but if there is a long line I'd go somewhere else. These babies take a long time to make, and they are not in a hurry.
• Mythos: I was so excited for this one but honestly it was a let down. Theming was great, food was just OK. However, I will say my steak was wonderful.
• Cowfish: We all liked it!! Burgers were great and I'm told the sushi was equally as good. Not a sushi eater myself, yuck.
• Vivos: We all loved it. Good quality food.
• Toothsome: We ate brunch here and were all satisfied. Try the Choclate Bread, yum!! Unique atmosphere.

Other items of NOTE:

• If you have dining reservations, be prepared to get there on time. I got text notices they would only hold the reservation for 10 minutes. I'm not sure if they stick to that but we were running to get to one of our reservations. I've always found Disney to be very understanding if you're running late.
• If you don't have a dining reservation don't just go up to the stand and see if they have availability. At Lombards they were telling people it was a 45 minute wait. While standing in the line I got online, booked a reservation, and was sat immediately!!
• Know your kids and do some research on the rides. They are more intense than Disney rides. I saw some parents leaving lines because their kids were too scared.
• Ride The Mummy. I do not like big rollercoasters, not at all and almost didn't go on it. I had no problems riding it.
• Harry Potter was jammed packed, we rode the rides and got out of there. I'd suggest going to see it during the day but enjoy it in the late evening. Much fewer people.
• Watch the Borne Stuntacular!!!! We all loved it and watched it twice.

Final thoughts: Would I go back? I would, but probably only do 1 day at each park with Express Pass. Will it replace Disney? Aw man I wanted it to soooo badly, but I just don't think it can. They are two Theme Parks with two completely different experiences. Out of all the rides we did during our stay the top 2 favorite rides were Gardians and Rise of the Resistance, both Disney ugh. I'm so glad we went and we will definitely check out the new park when it's completed. There are so many good things about Universal, things that blow Disney out of the water.

I'd highly recommend any Disney fan to give it a try. Right now, I don't recommend to anyone that they should take a trip to Disney. In fact I have actually done the opposite.

I'm open to questions if you have any!

 

[SkyGuy]

Love Portofino and agree the bathrooms are huge, but I hate the layout. My WDW/Universal traveling companion is my 21-yo DS. I hate that the bathroom is fully contained. The stool has a door, but to get to it or use the sinks, you must enter in full view of the floor-to-ceiling clear glass shower. My kid takes showers late at night that last a good hour, so I have to make sure I jump in there before he closes the door or I’ll be up much later than I’d like. They are gorgeous baths for someone traveling only with a SO - or with a quick-showering kid!

 

[disny_luvr]

Thank you for your review! We love Disney and are making our first trip to Universal (after a stay at Disney ) this June. I’m really looking forward to Universal so I hope we like it. Did you go to Volcano Bay?

 

[titojackson84]

Thank you for your review! We love Disney and are making our first trip to Universal (after a stay at Disney ) this June. I’m really looking forward to Universal so I hope we like it. Did you go to Volcano Bay?

Volcano bay is my overall favorite water park. Ko’okiri body plunge is 5 feet taller than summit plummet but starts with a trap door. There is a water coaster, decent wave pool, and an adventure river (like a lazy river bit with much quicker current) that is comparable to the one at aquatica.

They also give you a “taputapu” which is basically like a magic band that you can set up and link a credit card to so you can pay for things. You don’t get to keep it though. I don’t know about things for little kids, but if you like the thrill slides, it’s definitely a great park.

 

[CynBeth]

We stayed at Portofino in November 2021 for 2 nights before Disney and absolutely loved it! We do not go on roller coasters or anything with a drop but really enjoyed a lot of rides and saw some shows. We only had a day and a half to visit the parks with travel and wished we had a full 2 days or a 3rd day.

 

[cschaaf]

Great summery, thank you!

• The Crepe place in Studios was awesome, but be prepared to wait and wait and wait. We thankfully got there early with a very small line, but if there is a long line I'd go somewhere else. These babies take a long time to make, and they are not in a hurry.

We've tried to eat there on our last few trips and always ran into too long of a wait. On our Christmas trip, it was a 45 minute wait after you ordered and they said you had to stay in the area to hear your name called. There was a big crowd of people standing around waiting because there's nowhere to sit close enough to hear your name called. I can't believe, as popular as that place has become, that they haven't come up with a better system yet.

• If you have dining reservations, be prepared to get there on time. I got text notices they would only hold the reservation for 10 minutes. I'm not sure if they stick to that but we were running to get to one of our reservations. I've always found Disney to be very understanding if you're running late.

It wasn't until COVID times that you really even needed reservations at the Uni restaurants, so we haven't done reservations a ton of times. We were running late for one dinner (I think at Vivo) and we called the reservation number and told them we'd probably miss the 1- minute window and they said it wasn't a problem, to get there as soon as we could and they'd work with us.

I imagine they aren't super strict on the 10 minute limit unless they are really busy - give them a call to be safe.

 

[disny_luvr]

Volcano bay is my overall favorite water park. Ko’okiri body plunge is 5 feet taller than summit plummet but starts with a trap door. There is a water coaster, decent wave pool, and an adventure river (like a lazy river bit with much quicker current) that is comparable to the one at aquatica.

They also give you a “taputapu” which is basically like a magic band that you can set up and link a credit card to so you can pay for things. You don’t get to keep it though. I don’t know about things for little kids, but if you like the thrill slides, it’s definitely a great park.

We are definitely visiting Volcano Bay! We have watched so many YouTube videos on it and we think it looks awesome!

 

[AngieInOH]

Thank you for your review! We love Disney and are making our first trip to Universal (after a stay at Disney ) this June. I’m really looking forward to Universal so I hope we like it. Did you go to Volcano Bay?

We didn't go to Volcano Bay. Didn't add it to our tickets initially because we didn't know what the weather would be like going in Feb.

the temps were definitely good for it. We decided to hang out at the Portofino Bay pool instead of doing the waterpark.

 

[cfoxga]

Thanks for the excellent review! We've been going to UO for several years and have come to think of it as a second home.

For a first trip, I would say 6 days might be too much. Our first trip was 5 nights (our only trip without EPs) and while we loved it, it was a day too long. Most of our trips have been 3-4 nights and that became our sweet spot.

While UO is "small" compared to Disney, there is a ton to see and do. I think we're up to around 10 trips now, and still find new things on every trip. The time of year you go is important. Mardi Gras is great this time of year, we enjoyed HHN for the first time last year, and we absolutely love Christmas time. The resorts each have their own personality, so we like moving around (PBH is my favorite, but the kids like the shorter walk from HRH). So the rides seem to take a smaller role in our trips now.

It helps that we are within driving distance and can make multiple trips on an Annual Pass. Unfortunately, the increases in Deluxe Resort prices (with limited APH rates) have reduced our visits. It is hard to pay $500-700 per night for a room that we paid $300 for last year...