Visits to Universal

[Olivia]

We are planning to take 2 days from our Disney trip and go to Universal and Seaworld. Is one day enough for each? Also.... could anyone give me the highlights of each in case we don't get to see everything and we want to see the main things?

 

[SimonV]

Olivia, be aware Universal Orlando is actually two complete theme parks these days, with an entertainment district called CityWalk (like Downtown Disney) linking the two. Islands of Adventure is the new, high-tech, high-energy, high-thrills park, with stacks of big rides and loads of fun (although not, perhaps, for under 5s). Universal Studios Orlando, the original park, is more film-orientated, similar to Disney-MGM Studios but more in your face and with a younger image. Both parks require a full day to see all of them properly, and the highlights include Hulk Coaster, Duelling Dragons, Spiderman Adventure, Poseidon's Fury, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Ripsaw Falls, Cat In The Hat (IoA) and Back To The Future, Men In Black, Earthquake, Jaws, Kongfrontation and ET Ride (USF). SeaWorld is another full day park and usually has more for younger children, as well as two superb thrill rides in Kraken and Journey to Atlantis. Catch the Shamu Show, Clyde and Seamore Show, Terrors of the Deep and Penguin Encounter as the basic must-sees, but there is so much here you really will need to take your time to see it all.

Don't forget to check out our companion sites of

www.usfinfo.com
www.swoinfo.com

for all the inside track on these parks.

simon.veness@virgin.net

 

[BarryHom]

I think Sea World really takes two days to see it all. With all the attractions and shows, I felt hard pressed to see it all in a day. Besides, you have to ride Kraken for a few hours.

Barry Hom
Moderator, Universal and Sea World Boards

Click HERE for interesting Universal Orlando information!

 

[leebee]

My 7 y.o. DD adores Sea World. We always go here for a full day. We haven't taken her to Universal or Islands of Adventure yet. She still considers Space Mountain a thrill ride, and I get motion sick, so Universal/IofA is out for us for awhile longer. Depending on the age of your kids, you might want to reconsider Universal. At SeaWorld, in addition to the shows, the Manatee exhibit is absolutely tops, you can pet and feed dolphins and stingrays, and DD really enjoyed Journey to Atlantis, which is like Splash Mountain, only more so, if you know what I mean. Definitely spend an entire day at SeaWorld. It's worth it!

 

[aec]

When you say a full day at seaworld, could you give me an idea of how many hours. Is that like 9 - 6, or 10 - 3?? I went to seaworld about 15 years ago w/o kids so I have no idea how much time to plan. We will be spending most of the week at Disney but we are staying very close to seaworld so I've pretty much decided we will have to hit seaworld. I've heard so many great things about SW on these boards, but if nothing else I think our kids (4 and 7) will be able to see SW from our hotel so a visit will be unavoidable. LOL!

 

[DJT]

We (four adults) went to Sea World on 3/26 and spent the whole day there. I think we arrived around 9:30 and stayed until about 6:00 p.m. We did everything except Kraken and Journey to Atlantis. We didn't want to get wet (Journey) and none of us wanted to be "thrilled" as much as Kraken would have "thrilled" us! We saw all the shows except one. We had a great time. It was my DD-I-L's first trip and she actually rated Sea World equal to Disney.

 

[kimartyraye@att.net]

9-6 for SW seems A-OK from my experience. Nice, relaxing park with much to see and do! Wish we had time this trip to do it again. But, because WDW added AK and USF added IOA, that's 6 full days of those parks!!!

W/O SW in our plans right now, we figure that if USF/IOA doesn't take 2 "full" days, we'll hop to WDW again. At WDW though, you'll need a "park hopper" pass for more "full" days than you're actually there, in order to do hops after USF/IOA and get your actual Full Days in, as well.

Pre-AK & Pre-IOA, (4 parks, 4 days) we'd spend 6 full days, 1 at each park and then re-visit our favorites after that. We had a 5-day at WDW and a 2-day at USF (FYI).

Hope this helps, a little. ºoº

Happy Vacation!

 

[deena]

If I had to sum up highlights from our trips to Universal Studios, I would include the rides: 'Kongfrontation', 'Earthquake', 'Back To The Future', 'E.T'., 'Jaws', 'MIB Alien Attack' Also the 'Twister', 'Terminator 2 3-D', and 'Alfred HItchcock' attractions. The 'Beetle Juice Graveyard Revue' is interesting to see if you're a fan.

As far as Sea World goes it would be: the 'Shamu Show', 'Terrors of the Deep', 'Penguin Encounter', 'Clyde and Seamore', 'Kraken' (if you're into rollercoasters), 'Journey To Atlantis', the 'Cirque' show, 'Dolphin Fest', and the 'Manatees'.

I hope you enjoy Universal and Sea World; they are both truly fantastic!