Universal?

[ClareH37]

Am thinking about adding a couple of nights at a Universal resort at the end of my November trip, it's somewhere I've visited before with family but never solo.

I'd be interested to hear what other solos think about Universal for a solo trip, including parks, hotels (any preference?) and dining.

Thanks

 

[red_old_bug]

I am interested as well.....(Taking first solo Universal trip next month) Thanks for the thread.

 

[BriarRose Bride]

Me too, very interested, a little concerned about transportation from hotel to Universal. At Disneyland they have charter buses that pick you up from the Disney hotels and take you to Universal or Sea World. Apparently they don't have the same kind of contracts in FL? Any info would be super!!

 

[nurse.darcy]

Okay Clare, I know nothing about their Hotels, but I just bought an AP for the parks because a friend came out and a ticket just seemed odd since I live here. I was pleasantly surprised by the parks. I had a great time and I went on several of the coasters at IOA. Not sure what the hotels offer as far as front of line passes but we never seemed to wait long. . .lol.

 

[catra121]

Have thought about this myself and haven't really decided how I feel about it. There are some pros and cons to Universal solo from what I can see.

Pros for going solo are that a lot of the coasters and big headliner rides have single rider lines. So if you are going solo you won't have to wait long. If you LIKE the thrill rides then this is a great trip in the making. Also...LOVE IOA. I think it would be an awesome park to just stroll around and take it because the themes are just so well done in my opinion. I am fascinated.

Cons are first and foremost that I don't think I would feel safe at Universal like I feel at Disney if I was solo. Don't know why I feel that way...maybe because Universal is a more "adult" park and it is less "family" oriented so I just feel like there might be more wierdos there...don't know. I'm probably crazy. Even just having to walk through City Walk I just don't think I would feel safe. So even staying onsite would feel uncomfortable.

Less of a big deal on the cons side is that I have never felt like there were good meal options inside the parks at Universal. That may not be important to a lot of people...but it is to me and so I consider that a con.

And...this is an odd one...but I just feel like Universal is a place I would enjoy more with someone else there to enjoy it with me. I don't feel that way about Disney. I mean...I enjoy seeing Disney with others but I also really feel like I will enjoy it solo and be able to relax there and just enjoy everything. Universal just doesn't seem to hold that same feeling for me (maybe that goes back to the safety thing for me).

I don't know why I feel the way I do...and why I always see things about Universal and WANT to go solo until I start thinking about it too much. For now it's just a park I want to do with another person around.

But if safety weren't a factor...I would totally go and stay onsite at a Universal hotel. Walked through them once with my family and thought they were incredible. Also...with hotel guests getting front of the line privledges on every ride...that is a HUGE benefit.

If anyone goes solo there, please let us know how it goes.

 

[ClareH37]

Thanks Darcy and Nicole.

I think I've discounted universal now, it's funny but I kind of feel like you Nicole, there was something in the back of mind niggling me about safety, I probably will go just for the day (i.e. during daylight) but generally I'm going to stick with Disney, and certainly as far as my resort stay is concerned

 

[nurse.darcy]

Thanks Darcy and Nicole.

I think I've discounted universal now, it's funny but I kind of feel like you Nicole, there was something in the back of mind niggling me about safety, I probably will go just for the day (i.e. during daylight) but generally I'm going to stick with Disney, and certainly as far as my resort stay is concerned

Well, Clare, we can plan a day to go while you are here. Just let me know which day you want to go and I will rearrange my work schedule. Have car will travel. . .lol.

 

[sand2270]

My DD and I spent 5 nights at HRH. We walked around at night, walked the path from HRH to Portofino. It was well lit and I felt safe. If you don't want to walk you can take the water taxis or rickshaws which I always felt safe on. The walk from the taxis to the hotel, at least HRH, was a very short walk.

As far as food goes, I thought the food was better if not comparable to WDW and cheaper. You also have options like Starbucks that you don't have at WDW. The Kitchen at HRH was really good, no ADR craziness, I just walked to concierge in the morning and asked for a seating. Mythos was cool, Universal's theme park pizza is better in my opinion .

The Citywalk area is very well lit and open, I wouldn't have any problems walking around there by myself. A bit Vegas/mall like...I wasn't crazy about the shopping options, but lots of food options, both counter service and table.

Express Pass that comes with your room is awesome!! Unlimited front of line access on the rides that it is available on.

If you want more info about the room, etc. it's in my trip report (link below). The pool was great, I appreciated that they had servers so you could order a drink or food if you wanted to. I loved the hotel and would not hesitate planning a solo stay there just for the pool alone. I would have loved to hit up the Velvet Lounge but with a 10 year old wasn't really doable.

My DD and I ran all over those parks and I never felt unsafe. I also loved the compactness of the Universal resort area and being able to walk everywhere. No buses to deal with. Easy to walk to Citywalk from your hotel to grab some dinner or do some shopping, or even go to one of the other hotels.

 

[catra121]

Thanks for the info about the Hard Rock Hotel. Maybe if I get a few solo trips under my belt I will get over the safety thing. I would love to go there with my brother some day and stay onsite at Universal. But alone...just not feeling it yet. And I think that the front of the line pass for hotel guests is pretty cool.

 

[ClareH37]

Well, Clare, we can plan a day to go while you are here. Just let me know which day you want to go and I will rearrange my work schedule. Have car will travel. . .lol.

Now that sounds like a good plan Darcy!

My DD and I spent 5 nights at HRH. We walked around at night, walked the path from HRH to Portofino. It was well lit and I felt safe. If you don't want to walk you can take the water taxis or rickshaws which I always felt safe on. The walk from the taxis to the hotel, at least HRH, was a very short walk.

As far as food goes, I thought the food was better if not comparable to WDW and cheaper. You also have options like Starbucks that you don't have at WDW. The Kitchen at HRH was really good, no ADR craziness, I just walked to concierge in the morning and asked for a seating. Mythos was cool, Universal's theme park pizza is better in my opinion .

The Citywalk area is very well lit and open, I wouldn't have any problems walking around there by myself. A bit Vegas/mall like...I wasn't crazy about the shopping options, but lots of food options, both counter service and table.

Express Pass that comes with your room is awesome!! Unlimited front of line access on the rides that it is available on.

If you want more info about the room, etc. it's in my trip report (link below). The pool was great, I appreciated that they had servers so you could order a drink or food if you wanted to. I loved the hotel and would not hesitate planning a solo stay there just for the pool alone. I would have loved to hit up the Velvet Lounge but with a 10 year old wasn't really doable.

My DD and I ran all over those parks and I never felt unsafe. I also loved the compactness of the Universal resort area and being able to walk everywhere. No buses to deal with. Easy to walk to Citywalk from your hotel to grab some dinner or do some shopping, or even go to one of the other hotels.

Thank you so much for the review, I'm deffinitely going to do US/IOA for one day, just need to feel a bit more confident re. staying there, but hopefully another time

 

[ChisJo]

I've done Universal by myself twice now. Stayed once in Hard Rock and another in Royal Pacific. I liked it actually better than Disney. I find that the closeness of everything is better. I love the onsite restaurants. Love the FOTL perks for onsite guests, as well as single rider lines. I find that more people were willing to talk to me, but I'm not sure why. I find that the restaurants have places for solos to sit, so you aren't stuck in a corner table like Disney tends to do. I loved that I could go to the parks for an hour or so, and then saunter back to the hotel and go to the pool, and then I could go back to the parks, all without the inconvenience of dealing with the Disney bus system.

Citywalk is so close too. The restaurants there rock. I love the thrill rides at Universal. I also like that because the hotels are so close, you can get parcel drop off at your hotel room, same day, and that I don't have to carry anything around and because of that, I don't have to worry about locker rental.

I've had more problems travelling solo in Disney than I did in Universal. I just find the convenience of Universal so much more appealing.

 

[DCTooTall]

In General, My impression of solo at the Universal parks vs. the Disney Parks....

for the Parks themselves, being Solo makes it very easy to zip around the attractions. Many of the attractions have Solo Rider lines, and as a Solo it makes it easier to fill the extra space in other non-solo rides.

I'd honestly say that with the number of attractions that have Solo rider lines at Universal, you can make a strong case for not staying onsite for the Express Pass perk. MOST of the attractions that would accept the Express pass, also have a Solo rider line.


While I'm a tall male and so don't have some of the perspective that others might have.... i'd mention that I didn't notice any other safety vibe problems than Disney. While Universal may have a more "grown up" feel than Disney, it DEFINATELY doesn't have that same grungy feel that many local parks might have. It might also be worth noting that pretty much every exit out of Citywalk does have security posted..... So if you enjoy nightlife or possibly the shopping/dining experiences at Citywalk, it is arguably safer than Downtown Disney (if you look past the Disney halo).

The proximity of the onsite hotels to the parks and entertainment district can provide a nice bit of freedom for a solo too. As someone else mentioned, with the well-lit and short walking path to all 3 onsite hotels, or the water taxi/rickshaws, it does give you the flexibility to just relax, take a quick mid-day break back to your room/resort..... or even to enjoy a night out at Citywalk and not have to worry about paying for a cab or driving once you are done. (and honestly... even enjoying a bit of pre-gaming if that's your thing. )

Well, Clare, we can plan a day to go while you are here. Just let me know which day you want to go and I will rearrange my work schedule. Have car will travel. . .lol.

Darcy is fun to hang out with.... and the Valet parking her pass gets can be nice.