Visiting Universal in 2 weeks and I'm going crazy over not planning?!?!?!

[DocOck]

You should be OK with no planning for this time of year, if its early May when you're going, I'm pretty sure the crowds will be pretty light during the week days.

 

[BillSears]

I'm with you Bill! I'm a total OCD Disney planner (actually famous for it in my area As I've planned trips for 3 people that are going this summer!)

So, DH and I are going to US/IOA in 2 weeks (5/4-5/11), and I have no plans. We are staying at my timeshare and going to buy the $79 tickets. Other than that nothing...it's making me We've invited 2 couples to go with us that have both backed out, and we are waiting on the third's decision. Why don't people want to go to FL with only a few weeks notice?!?

We are thinking about spending 3-4 days at US/IOA, 1 day at Daytona Beach chillin' out, 1 day at The Disney's Wilderness Preserve and we can't completely skip Disney, so we are going to Downtown Disney for a meal at Rainforest, shop a bit, and ride the buses to visit some resorts that we haven't seen yet.

What do you think about that plan?

That sounds great to me! I'll be there from the 3rd-10th so if you see me say Hi. I'm specifically avoiding Disney on this trip, it's going to be really tough but I'm not even going to DTD.

enjoy the darkside, it's highly addictive ps still say south of the border is a nice place to stay , where did you finally decide?

re dining/entertainment:

mythos is amazing

finnegans (except for the undercooked fish last trip, decent)

jurrasic terrace (good chicken & ribs), same for enchanted oak

happy hour @ NBA (thanks jodie ) is a steal

&

bob marley's has a nice vibe, all races/ages and red stripe

ps i luved KSC far more than i thought i would

Thanks...I'll be staying in Jacksonville on the way down(visiting St Augustine) and staying in Charlestown on the way back. So nope, I'm not stying at SOTB, but I might eat there on the trip.

You should be OK with no planning for this time of year, if its early May when you're going, I'm pretty sure the crowds will be pretty light during the week days.

Great! My trip is in early May so hopefully I'll avoid the big crowds.

I'm thinking this for right now.

Saturday: Saturday morning I'll visit St Augustine. Then after checking into the Timeshare I'll head over to Citywalk and get some food and check it out. It's Saturday night but hopefully it won't be too bad.

Sunday: Probably Kennedy Space Center. I figured that SeaWorld and USF should be weekday events and I'm hoping that KSC will be ok for Sunday.

Monday: Universal and maybe dinner at Citywalk.

Tuesday: IOA with Mythos for lunch or dinner.

Wednesday: Seaworld, eating with the Sharks.

Thursday: Either Seaworld or Universal/IOA.

Friday: Either Seaworld or Universal/IOA or who knows what...

Saturday: Check out from the Timeshare early and head up to Charlestown.

I guess I should print out this thread since I just made up the above schedule off of the top of my head. Or maybe I'll just keep it in mind and adjust it however I want to.

 

[donaldduck352]

For planning just of the top of your head thats pretty thorough.
Have a great vaca @ post pics.

 

[Metro West]

For planning just of the top of your head thats pretty thorough.

That's what I was thinking.

 

[BillSears]

For planning just of the top of your head thats pretty thorough.
Have a great vaca @ post pics.

That's what I was thinking.

That's planning? For me that's a vague description of what might happen.

You should see my WDW itineraries. I have every day planned out, what fireworks/parades to go to, every meal planned, and what to do every evening. The above is just a rough sketch compared to my normal planning.

I guess I have to learn to let go of the Disney structure and go with the flow for this vacation.

 

[Planogirl]

So which attraction will you go on as soon as the gates open?

That and lunch is about all I plan at Universal. It's kind of refreshing.

 

[BillSears]

So which attraction will you go on as soon as the gates open?

That and lunch is about all I plan at Universal. It's kind of refreshing.

Ohhh a pop quiz!!!!!! Umm how about the Mummy for USF and maybe Spiderman for IOA?

 

[the Dark Marauder]

What, no Simpsons?

 

[BillSears]

What, no Simpsons?

Sure I'll do it if it's open. I'll be in and out of Universal from 5/5-5/9 so hopefully they'll be doing some testing for the general public.

 

[donaldduck352]

Ohhh a pop quiz!!!!!! Umm how about the Mummy for USF and maybe Spiderman for IOA?

Thats more like it,wing it!!
Welcome too the Darkside Bill!!

 

[Planogirl]

Ohhh a pop quiz!!!!!! Umm how about the Mummy for USF and maybe Spiderman for IOA?

Hey those are my first picks! I go to the Mummy and then Shrek. I'll have to figure out what to do about the Simpsons.

At IOA, I definitely start at Spiderman and then ride it again.

 

[mikeandkarla]

That sounds great to me! I'll be there from the 3rd-10th so if you see me say Hi. I'm specifically avoiding Disney on this trip, it's going to be really tough but I'm not even going to DTD.

Do I detect a bit of frustration with Disney? If so, your not the only one. we are also making our first trip to orlando without going to Disney.

 

[BillSears]

Do I detect a bit of frustration with Disney? If so, your not the only one. we are also making our first trip to orlando without going to Disney.

Heck no!!! It's the total opposite. I love WDW so much that I'm afraid I won't give Universal a fair shot if I split up my trip. I'll be constantly comparing them and asking myself why I'm spending time away from the parks I love. So to be fair to Universal, SeaWorld and KSC I'm going to pretend WDW doesn't exist.

It's really going to be hard and I might even break down and visit the MK on Thursday. I haven't seen the new HM changes and on Thursday they're open until 11:00 plus they have Spectro and Wishes my 2 favorite events.

 

[bopper]

We got back from Universal a couple of weeks ago, and the only reservation I made was for Tchoup Chop (you can use www.opentable.com to do it). Mythos we stopped by in the morning as we were walking by and put our name on the list for lunch.

One thing I would do planning-wise is to take a look at the "shows" schedule for Universal Studios so you can sort of map out your day. For example, Monster Make up show or Fear Factor or Terminator are only at certain times of the day so you need to plan around them.

Also, if you feel you will need fast passes you can buy a All-ride fastpass that I think you can use once for each ride. It's cost varies depending on when (i.e., how crowded it is) you go.

 

[Lizzy Lemon]

I do so hate those food pics that are posted due to the fact its making me hungry!!!!! However, as we will be visiting next July for the first time does anyone know if there is a food porn picture thread like on the Disney forum just so that we know what food we MUST try.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1031541

There's your food pr0n, Lizzy.

 

[BillSears]

I'm back from my US/IOA trip and I had a good time. Mythos was amazing. Spiderman, the Simpsons and many other rides were first rate. The shows were mostly good. The only real problem I had was after 3 days I ran out of things to do. For some reason I expected more.

So instead of doing US/IOA for a 4th day and SeaWorld for a 2nd day I popped over to WDW for my last 2 days.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

You went too fast!

But it's good that you had a great time.

 

[Atotty]

I'm back from my US/IOA trip and I had a good time. Mythos was amazing. Spiderman, the Simpsons and many other rides were first rate. The shows were mostly good. The only real problem I had was after 3 days I ran out of things to do. For some reason I expected more.

So instead of doing US/IOA for a 4th day and SeaWorld for a 2nd day I popped over to WDW for my last 2 days.

Since you sound very much like me....super over obsessive Disney planner.....did it really work at Unviersal and IOA without any plan? Did you "feel" comfortable YKWIM?

We're going in a few weeks. First WDW for 4 days, the "dark side" for 3-4 days and then back to WDW. Were your eally done with Universal in 3 days? And did you see most everything?

 

[Metro West]

Since you sound very much like me....super over obsessive Disney planner.....did it really work at Unviersal and IOA without any plan? Did you "feel" comfortable YKWIM?

We're going in a few weeks. First WDW for 4 days, the "dark side" for 3-4 days and then back to WDW. Were your eally done with Universal in 3 days? And did you see most everything?

Going during a slower time, three days should be enough time to do everything. Days 1 & 2 for each park and then day 3 for return visits for the favs. You don't have to plan everything like Disney...it's a vacation...no need to stress out over planning.