Wonder Works and 15yo birthday

[oklamomof4boys]

We will be arriving at Orlando late on July 15th. Monday, the 16th is my son's 15th birthday and we are trying to figure out what to do for his birthday. We were considering going to Wonder Works. I know it gets mixed reviews but it looks cool to my kids ( they will be 15, 12, 11 and almost 9), they love laser tag and the dinner show looks funny.

Does Wonder Works get busy? Do we need to get there when it opens- since we are getting in late the night before, we would rather sleep in a bit. How many hours do you think I should plan for the museum? Should we go there in the morning, do the museum and laser tag, leave for a bit and then go back for the show? Or should we do something else in the morning, go mid afternoon and stay until the show? I worried a bit about doing this because I didn't know if it would get crowded later and I didn't want to leave either too much or too little time for the museum.

Also, any ideas on what to do that day when we are not at Wonder Works? What is close by WW? We are staying at a hotel close to Universal, is that far away? Any fun places to eat for a birthday? We will have 7 day passes to Universal. We are staying onsite at Universal on the 17th so we plan on doing US/IOA on Tues/Wed when we have express pass. But we could go there for a few hours on Monday- but would that really be worth it?

Thanks for the help

 

[horseshowmom]

We've been to WW several times, and we always enjoy it. Honestly, sometimes it's crowded and sometimes it's not. Most of the times we've been, it wasn't, but last time there was a daycare group there (a VERY LARGE daycare group ).

We never really made a point of getting there early (just kind of got there "when we got there", if you know what I mean). In our case, if we got in late the night before, we'd probably sleep late, so that we got a relaxing start to our vacation (but that's just us).

We've never done the laser tag or the show, but this board has had some great reviews of the show. In fact, my family had meant to go when we were there before Christmas, we just ran out of time. I think www.ticketmania.com and www.undercovertourist.com have discount tickets for the show or the package (which includes WW and the show). There are tons of little coupon booklets in the area that also have discount tickets.

Your hotel should be pretty close (what hotel is it?). Universal is just off International Drive, and WW is on I-Drive. Look at a map and acquaint yourself with Universal Drive. Most of it runs parallel to I-Drive, and it's much faster to get around on.

I think there's a SkyVenture on I-Drive (if anybody in your party wants to try sky diving in a wind tunnel). The outlet shopping malls up at the top of I-Drive (close to Universal) is very good too. There's a great Shepler's and Bass Pro Shop up there too. There's also Wet 'N' Wild (great waterpark) on I-Drive.

I'd probably hold off on US/IOA until I checked in and used the Express Passes. Just to make sure you know, you can be there early on the day you check in, leave your luggage (at the desk or in your car), get your keys, and hit the parks. You don't have to wait until "regular" check-in time. Also, the keys are good all day the day you check-out. If you want to go back to US/IOA after you T/W, you'll have done everything and will be more relaxed about it.

Have a great trip!

 

[oklamomof4boys]

Thanks for the information.

We are staying at the Comfort Suites Universal Area on Sunday and Monday and then staying Tuesday night at the Royal Pacific so we will get the passes on Tues and Wed. Luckily we have friends joining us and they graciously agreed to let one of my boys stay with them when we are at the Royal Pacific so that we have Express Passes for all of us.

After that we are staying at a condo at Windsor Hills until we leave on the cruise on Sunday. It is a lot of hotel hopping, but it works best for us. Luckily we have several strong boys to help with loading and unloading the car!

 

[CaptainMorganE]

Did SkyVenture today and it was awesome !!! Can't wait to go again !

 

[joey's mom]

We went last month (just for the Otta Control Magic Show) when we stayed at Royal Pacific. To give you an idea of how close it is, the taxi was only eight dollars and change.

 

[HopperFan]

We stayed across from Wonderworks and it is 2 miles from Universal. The I-Drive Trolley runs up and down I-Drive for $1 each and a great travel option. http://www.iridetrolley.com/index.html