We also cancelled Disney & switched to Universal!

[ADisnerdsLifeForMe]

Hey all!

We're a die-hard Disney family who has pretty much exclusively vacationed with Disney, and we decided within the last couple of weeks to change it up and head to USO in May for our next big vacation.

I've only been once, when I was a kid, so it'll basically be brand-new to me. In fact, I was there when I got to participate in some slime thing at Nickelodeon Studios way back when! My husband and two kids (ages 4 and 10 when we go) have never been. We're all huge HP fans.

We're staying at the Hard Rock, club level. We typically stay deluxe at Disney when we go - our most recent vacation was a week at the Poly, club level.

I am just blown away at how much cheaper USO is, and how much less planning is required, in comparison to Disney! Amazing, really. I don't even know what to do with myself.

Is there anything about USO in general, or club level at the Hard Rock, that you'd tell a USO newbie family like our's? We're SO excited!

 

[osufeth24]

Never stayed at the Club Level at HR, just at Portofino. Can say I really enjoyed it and made good use out of it. Having the express pass will be nice. May can be hit or miss with crowds, pending exact week you could get a lot of big groups of kids on senior trip, or it could be quiet.

Never stayed at a Disney resort, but from what I read, many agree Universal onsite hotels are a lot nicer than many of Disney's. I love the Hard Rock, probably my favorite out of all of them. Nice walking distance to Universal Studios side (can take a water taxi as well). The nice thing with Universal is it's all in one area. You walk into City Walk (restaurant/clubs/shopping) and you got both park entrances there.

 

[ADisnerdsLifeForMe]

We will be going the very last week of May.

 

[osufeth24]

I will caution this, in my opinion Universal isn't as good for a 4 year as Disney would be. There's just not a ton there for children that young. IoA has Dr. Suess landing, and Studios side has a kids zone (woody woodpecker, etc). Both will enjoy Harry Potter though.

I feel Universal caters to a slightly more mature crowd. Has more thrilling coasters, etc.

 

[stewart715]

I feel attacked.

jk That's awesome. Always fun to change it up. I don't have any advice just wanted to say have a great time!

 

[ADisnerdsLifeForMe]

I will caution this, in my opinion Universal isn't as good for a 4 year as Disney would be. There's just not a ton there for children that young. IoA has Dr. Suess landing, and Studios side has a kids zone (woody woodpecker, etc). Both will enjoy Harry Potter though.

I feel Universal caters to a slightly more mature crowd. Has more thrilling coasters, etc.

We definitely kept that in mind when booking for sure. Based on his height when we went to Disney in April, he would be tall enough for 12 of the 26 rides are interested in. If he grows 4" between then and our next trip, he'll be able to ride all but 4 of those 26. Not counting on anything, but we'll keep our fingers crossed.

 

[osufeth24]

Hope you guys enjoy it! I'm an AP to both Universal and Disney and love both for different reasons.

 

[Iralyn]

Have fun! I think I love Disney and Universal equally but in different ways Universal feels a lot more relaxed for sure. Even just the ability to walk back to the resort along a nice waterfront route. The only thing I didn't love about the Universal hotels was having to deal with the buses because the water taxis are on hold due to stormy weather. At that point, you are often better off to just walk back in the rain! Most restaurants you could walk up without a reservation in our experience though I'm sure that's not always the case. But the day that it was particularly hot and we just wanted a refreshing break, we, spur of the moment, decided to go to Lombard's Landing and it was no problem to get a table.

Oh and I love that they have xray machines rather than hand searching bags...so much more efficient!

 

[Monykalyn]

Well character meets are a LOT more spontaneous, no need to line up for hours. Scooby and gang will run in and out of the shops. Beetlejuice is a fun character to meet. The night time show on Hogwarts castle is really good. Take time to watch the parades and catch the shows-the Blues Brothers are fun. I always stop to watch the Beat builders-and not necessarily for their music skills The Horror Makeup show is alot of fun (contrary to the name it isn't scary but more funny). Unlike Disney, with the EP at HRH if you want to ride a ride over and over you can with little to no wait. Oh-and the water rides at Universal will get you SOAKED! We will go early to do some favorites, then hit all the water rides and then head out to resort to chill at the pool before getting cleaned up for dinner. And by soaked I mean wetter than if you'd gone swimming for hours in your clothes.

 

[ADisnerdsLifeForMe]

Well character meets are a LOT more spontaneous, no need to line up for hours. Scooby and gang will run in and out of the shops. Beetlejuice is a fun character to meet. The night time show on Hogwarts castle is really good. Take time to watch the parades and catch the shows-the Blues Brothers are fun. I always stop to watch the Beat builders-and not necessarily for their music skills The Horror Makeup show is alot of fun (contrary to the name it isn't scary but more funny). Unlike Disney, with the EP at HRH if you want to ride a ride over and over you can with little to no wait. Oh-and the water rides at Universal will get you SOAKED! We will go early to do some favorites, then hit all the water rides and then head out to resort to chill at the pool before getting cleaned up for dinner. And by soaked I mean wetter than if you'd gone swimming for hours in your clothes.

Good to know, we'll save those rides for later in the day!

 

[KJTex]

We did Disney for many years and then switched to Universal about 2 years ago. We bought the annual passes and went 3 times over the year. My youngest was also too small to ride a lot of stuff, but she still had a blast. She loved the Seuss’s land stuff. Her favorite thing was having customized cotton candy made at the candy store there. I think it was called Honk Honkers.

 

[NickC]

Hard Rock is great! We stayed there in July. You can walk to City Walk and the parks. It's such a great location. The pool is nice too. If we went again, I would stay there again.

 

[disneyseniors]

I love the relaxed atmosphere at Universal. It's fun to get on a ride you like over and over again. We always stay at RPR and get the express passes. However, we still enjoy WDW too, but it's getting to be too much of a "deal" to handle all the adr's , fp's, etc. The crowds are bad most of the time now, but we still find some things we still love. It's just easier at Universal, and I admit, a lot of fun too. You will love it

 

[CPanther95]

4 year olds prefer relaxed parents, swimming in the pool, and riding fewer rides more times rather than waiting in line longer than riding even if it means they sacrifice variety.

If 4 year olds demanded variety, kid's menus wouldn't have the same 5 things on it at every restaurant - and the 4 that aren't chicken nuggets might actually be necessary.

 

[butterscotchcollins]

You are going to have a BLAST!!! Especially as huge HP fans, imo the immersion in those lands blow anything Disney has done to date out of the water. I cried the first time I went (many years after the parks had opened and I'd seen tons of pictures) because it just felt so real and I was so blown away. So yeah do everything twice, three times if you love it, you'll have plenty of time and may I suggest also hitting up Volcano Bay? I haven't been but it looks like a stellar water park. Have fun!

 

[Chickinvic]

Never stayed at the Club Level at HR, just at Portofino. Can say I really enjoyed it and made good use out of it. Having the express pass will be nice. May can be hit or miss with crowds, pending exact week you could get a lot of big groups of kids on senior trip, or it could be quiet.

Never stayed at a Disney resort, but from what I read, many agree Universal onsite hotels are a lot nicer than many of Disney's. I love the Hard Rock, probably my favorite out of all of them. Nice walking distance to Universal Studios side (can take a water taxi as well). The nice thing with Universal is it's all in one area. You walk into City Walk (restaurant/clubs/shopping) and you got both park entrances there.

I love that. It's like Disneyland in that regard. Both parks across from each other and the "downtown" district right there too. I have always loved Disneyland, and I'm leaning more and more towards focusing more on Universal for Florida trips.

 

[Chickinvic]

I always stop to watch the Beat builders-and not necessarily for their music skills

Quickly googles "beat builders" for my own educational purposes lol.

 

[Chickinvic]

You are going to have a BLAST!!! Especially as huge HP fans, imo the immersion in those lands blow anything Disney has done to date out of the water. I cried the first time I went (many years after the parks had opened and I'd seen tons of pictures) because it just felt so real and I was so blown away. So yeah do everything twice, three times if you love it, you'll have plenty of time and may I suggest also hitting up Volcano Bay? I haven't been but it looks like a stellar water park. Have fun!

Agreed about Harry Potter immersion. Disney actually did a fantastic job with Carsland in California IMO. I would say on par as far as the theming. Harry Potter though I think is fantastic.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Is there anything about USO in general, or club level at the Hard Rock, that you'd tell a USO newbie family like our's? We're SO excited!

You're going to have a great time!!

We tend to alternate between Disney and Universal (have family near Orlando, so we go almost every year, and tack on a few days at one set of parks or the other) and we have stayed at Hard Rock once (though not club level) and loved it!

I am a huge Harry Potter fan, and I think Universal has done a fantastic job - it's completely immersive!! (I admit to tearing up as well.)

Tips I can think of right now:

One side usually opens early - at least the HP section. If you're early birds, start there, and then take the train to the other side as soon as it opens. That way, you'll be starting in the back of that park, and have a leg up on everyone just entering.

Volcano Bay is awesome!! Go if you have time.

Also, if your kids want wizard robes, it might be a good idea to look for them on sale after Halloween. The ones in the park are really nice, but I've heard that even in May, they can be hot!

 

[Monykalyn]

Quickly googles "beat builders" for my own educational purposes lol.

THe Beat Builders -