Universal Studios, IOA or Seaworld with 11 and 13yo dd's?

[tjmw2727]

Title says it all -

DD's are 11 and 13 and dh wants to do one day of our Disney Vacation at one of the other parks. We are leaning toward Seaworld but also considering one of the Universal parks. My concern with Universal is the cost - one day tx are $$ and we won't be onsite so FOTL access isn't an option. Considering its Easter week I do realize we will be doing lots of waiting either way.

We have been to each of the other three parks once several years ago and my dd's are wanting Universal but I just fear the lines. So, I am leaning toward Seaworld this time with the thought of splitting a future stay between a WDW resort and a Universal resort to enjoy Universal with FOTL access.

Any and all advice or experiences would be most welcome- TIA

TJ

 

[twooley2]

We did one day at Universal a couple of years back and it was great even without front of the line access. We got there early. The only down side is they do not open as early as Disney so we felt like we were the only ones in the park. the park will open, but nothing else. We enjoyed the chnage of pace. They have shows also. It was around 40 dollars for one park one day. We bought the tickets at our hotel.

 

[Disney1976]

Ticket prices at all the major theme parks are the same now, as the matched one another, so that probably isn't much of a factor if you're looking at which one is cheaper. As far as which park, what do you like? Sea World is fun but doesn't have a lot of rides, it's more attraction/show based. US and IOA have more rides, with IOA having a lot more big thrill rides -a few top coasters, the Spiderman ride (which is amazing) Jurrasic Park ride, etc. US is more traditional in terms of rides -Jaws, Disaster, Shrek 3D, Jimmy Neutron Ride, Mummy Ride, Men in Black, etc.

 

[GoinToDisney]

My pick is Sea World, but I don't know your kids. My main complaint when we went to universal was that we spent most of our day waiting in lines and only rode a few rides anyhow. If you pick Sea World, make sure to feed the dolphins. Even just that brief interaction with them is so amazing. Also the Clyde and Seymore show, the dolphin show and the shamu show are my faves!

 

[momof3girls6712]

I would say Universal/IOA because of the ages of your kids. There are more rides and more characters that they will identify with. We went last Dec to Universal/IOA and the kids loved it. Honestly, it was my vote to go back this year, but the kids picked Disney. We have APs to seaworld and the kids like it, but they complain that there is only 2 or 3 rides they like. We go maybe once a year to Seaworld.

 

[tjmw2727]

Thanks Guys -

My issue with cost is that we have MYW tickets so the price for another day at Disney is just a couple dollars vs $70 for Universal or 55 for Seaworld. DH really wants to try another park though so I just want to make it worth the extra $ if you know what I mean.

My dd's are voting for a Universal park and I wouldn't mind taking them but I have been reading the trip reports and it really seems that unless your onsite the lines are an issue. Since we are going Easter week I know it will be crowded everywhere! Last time we went they had the regular "fastpass" now you have to pay another hefty fee or stay onsite.

Seaworld may be a nice change of pace and I know my girls would enjoy the animals and shows. I am thinking do it now before they are too old and too cool

TJ

 

[Anne34]

We are also going Easter week. We are spending the first 6 nights at Disney and the switching over to a Universal hotel for the front of the line. We will spend Friday and Saturday there with front of the line and only stay over on Friday. our flight Saturday leaves at 9pm so we really have the whole day there.

Yes, the Universal tickets are expensive (especially since we have 10 day passes to Disney, but we'll use the rest on another trip).

 

[tjmw2727]

We are also going Easter week. We are spending the first 6 nights at Disney and the switching over to a Universal hotel for the front of the line. We will spend Friday and Saturday there with front of the line and only stay over on Friday. our flight Saturday leaves at 9pm so we really have the whole day there.

Yes, the Universal tickets are expensive (especially since we have 10 day passes to Disney, but we'll use the rest on another trip).

Great plan, If I had known that my DH really wanted to do Universal I would have done something similar. I think this is what we will do on the next trip making Sea World a logical choice for this year.

See you in the parks!
TJ

 

[Disney1976]

Thanks Guys -

My issue with cost is that we have MYW tickets so the price for another day at Disney is just a couple dollars vs $70 for Universal or 55 for Seaworld. DH really wants to try another park though so I just want to make it worth the extra $ if you know what I mean.

My dd's are voting for a Universal park and I wouldn't mind taking them but I have been reading the trip reports and it really seems that unless your onsite the lines are an issue. Since we are going Easter week I know it will be crowded everywhere! Last time we went they had the regular "fastpass" now you have to pay another hefty fee or stay onsite.

Seaworld may be a nice change of pace and I know my girls would enjoy the animals and shows. I am thinking do it now before they are too old and too cool

TJ

Unless I'm missing something and there's been a recent change I'm not aware of, Universal does still have regular fastpasses for major rides (though they call them something else I think). They also sell a limited number (around 5,000 or so a day) of "express plus" passes that for an additional $35 will grant you fastpass access to the major attractions. I'm an AP there and will on occasion use a FP and did fine seeing the rides and attractions I wanted to. The only time I considered spending the extra $$ was during Halloween Horror nights, which is just crazy-and after I found out the cost of the express plus pass, I said forget it!

 

[mareed]

Unless I'm missing something and there's been a recent change I'm not aware of, Universal does still have regular fastpasses for major rides (though they call them something else I think). They also sell a limited number (around 5,000 or so a day) of "express plus" passes that for an additional $35 will grant you fastpass access to the major attractions. I'm an AP there and will on occasion use a FP and did fine seeing the rides and attractions I wanted to. The only time I considered spending the extra $$ was during Halloween Horror nights, which is just crazy-and after I found out the cost of the express plus pass, I said forget it!

The Express Pass price varies, and for Easter week, it's $51. That's insane! We'll be staying one night at a Universal Resort for the ridiculous price of $365, but that will give us unlimited express pass for all rides multiple times for 2 days for 5 of us. That's less than the $500 it would be for each ride one time per day with the purchased Express Pass (this is price for 2 parks - I think it's $5 less for just one park).

I definitely would not do Universal during Easter week without the Express Pass or Front of the Line access by staying at a Universal resort. I've never been, but have heard about awful lines. We waited in lines at Universal Studios in CA, so I think I have some idea what it would be like.

We do plan on 2 days where we got before opening at Universal, and then leave early afternoon when I expect it will be packed. We won't have Express pass on those days.

We're used to Disney trips which are so economical compared to what we're finding for Universal! Our "cheap" Universal ticket is pretty expensive once we add Express Pass of some sort!