Yay or Nay is Universal worth $400 for a day?

[palmtreegirl]

Love Universal, but no I don't think it's worth 400.00 for a day and neither is Disney.

 

[CentralFloridian99]

Including park hopping? Yes. Without? No.

 

[PrincessKida]

Deleted

 

[andyman8]

Definitely! We just returned from an outstanding weekend trip to UOR. If you are going for one day, you may want to consider purchase Universal Express. Oh and definitely see both parks (USF and IoA).

There are plenty of non-coasters at both parks. Here's some:
Universal Studios Florida
Despicable Me Minion Mayhem (brand new)
Shrek 4D
The Blues Brothers Show
Disaster!
Men in Black Allien Attack (a personal favorite)
The Simpsons Ride (surprisingly fun for all ages and fans and non-fans of the show)
Animal Actors on Location
E.T. Adventure
Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster (a "kiddie coaster" that young ones will love)

Universal's Islands of Adventure
The Cat in the Hat
Caro-Seuss-sel
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
The High in the Sky Seuss Trolly Train Ride
The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad Stunt Show (hilarious!)
Harry Potter & the Forbidden Journey
Flight of the Hippogriff (fun "kiddie coaster")
Camp Jurassic/Discovery Center
Jurassic Park River Adventure (might be a bit intense)
Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges
Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls (might be a bit intense)
Storm Force Accelatron
The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man (might be a bit intense)

As you can see, there's a lot for young ones to do at UOR. I'd get a 1 Day Park to Park ticket with Universal Express.

 

[Meekoo]

I dont think Universal is worth that much money.... i went to Universal a few years ago and was very disappointed with their lack of attention to detail. Thats what really sets Disney apart. The landscaping in Universal is poor, the restaurants are dirty, and i even saw a rat around the bathroom area and cockroaches. i always joke with my girlfriend that while Universal hats rats and cockroaches, Disney has ducks and squirrels.

I do want to go back to Universal to check out Harry Potter, however, just not at full price and definitely not at the expense of a day that could be better spent at Disney.

 

[Meekoo]

I dont think Universal is worth that much money.... i went to Universal a few years ago and was very disappointed with their lack of attention to detail. Thats what really sets Disney apart. The landscaping in Universal is poor, the restaurants are dirty, and i even saw a rat around the bathroom area and cockroaches. i always joke with my girlfriend that while Universal hats rats and cockroaches, Disney has ducks and squirrels.

I do want to go back to Universal to check out Harry Potter, however, just not at full price and definitely not at the expense of a day that could be better spent at Disney.

to be fair, the last time i went, it was extremely hot and extremely packed. maybe i just went at a bad time.

 

[Fantasmiss]

It's worth doing once to see WWoHP. Otherwise, personally I wouldn't bother going back to Universal at all.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Suellen]

We too love Universal. It is a hard pill to swallow for my DD that she doesn't meet height requirements there like she does at Disney though.

People have to remember that staying at the on site hotels gives you front of line access. So of course you see a lot more in a lot less time. You could do all of MK in just a day if you had front of the line access to everything.

We have FOL access at 4PM and saw a lot of IOA on Saturday between 4-7:30.

Personally I think the one day passes to every amusement park I've been to is outrageous. Not just in Orlando!

 

[Brian Noble]

Is it worth it? That depends on how badly you'd miss the $400!

We love the Universal parks---in many ways, more than the Disney parks. But, when we go to Orlando, we either do a "Disney vacation", or a "not-Disney vacation". For a "not-Disney" trip, we get the five-park Flex Tickets: the two Universal parks, Sea World, Aquatica, and Wet-n-Wild. It works out to be about the same price as a 7-day MYW base give or take. Our most recent Orlando trip, this past summer, was not-Disney. We did not even set foot on WDW property, and had a great time.

i went to Universal a few years ago and was very disappointed with their lack of attention to detail. Thats what really sets Disney apart. The landscaping in Universal is poor, the restaurants are dirty, and i even saw a rat around the bathroom area and cockroaches

Huh. We must have gone to a completely different pair of parks, because I did not experience any of this.

 

[Magpie]

I dont think Universal is worth that much money.... i went to Universal a few years ago and was very disappointed with their lack of attention to detail. Thats what really sets Disney apart. The landscaping in Universal is poor, the restaurants are dirty, and i even saw a rat around the bathroom area and cockroaches. i always joke with my girlfriend that while Universal hats rats and cockroaches, Disney has ducks and squirrels.

I do want to go back to Universal to check out Harry Potter, however, just not at full price and definitely not at the expense of a day that could be better spent at Disney.

Wow, we went in December 2010 and this was not our experience at all!

The attention to detail was stunning. Each section of Islands of Adventure comes with its own theme music that gradually transitions as you move from one section to the other. My son was very taken with how even the signs on the restrooms were themed to the part of the park you were in. There's glowing amber in the caves inside the Jurassic Park playground, and dinosaur footprints on the paths. Universal Studios itself is identical to Hollywood Studios' Streets of America. The landscaping is just as good as anywhere in Disney, with the exception of Animal Kingdom, which is admittedly in a class of its own.

Everything at Universal was very, very clean, and we had nice chats with a couple TMs there who told us they also work as CMs in Disney. When we stopped in at guest services to book a dinner that evening (no ADRs necessary!) a girl jumped up and said, "Oh, a guest! Let me help them! Please can I help this one?" She was adorable!

When we had lunch in the Wizarding World, one of the staff started dancing to the music with her broom, just for fun, until her supervisor reminded her to get back to work.

And the service we got at Mythos (a sit down restaurant) was really top notch - I don't think we've had as good a server anywhere, inside or outside a theme park.

I get that some people feel that they'd be betraying Disney if they ever said anything nice about Universal. I really do understand that. And people are entitled to their own prejudices/preferences.

But all you have to do is look at some of the recent threads on this same board to realize that Disney has rats and roaches, too.

 

[damo]

Here's a suggestion for you. Costco has a 3 day non-expiring for 3 years park hopping ticket for about $150. You can get 3 trips to Universal and IOA over the next three years in there and lower your average costs.


Item #671130. You can call your local Costco to see if they carry them. I believe the actual cost without tax is $144.

 

[parkhopping]

If you are not a coaster person and not into Harry Potter, I would probably skip it.

Even if you are a big HP fan, I'd suggest waiting for another trip; Universal will be significantly expanding WWoHP and it would make more sense to go after that expansion.

 

[jdtopgun71]

We love universal and ioa but from a budget standpoint I would not so it for just one day. You are better off getting a multi day ticket and do at least thee days.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I never had any issues with cleanliness at Universal either. Each of us has our own tastes. I just happen to like both Disney and Universal.

 

[Meekoo]

I get that some people feel that they'd be betraying Disney if they ever said anything nice about Universal. I really do understand that. And people are entitled to their own prejudices/preferences.

But all you have to do is look at some of the recent threads on this same board to realize that Disney has rats and roaches, too.

I don't get how you formulated the opinion that i didn't say something nice about Universal because it would make me feel that i am betraying Disney. That's not the case at all. The very reason that I went to Universal is because i went when i was younger and remembered it being awesome. But that wasn't what i experienced.

Now, the argument could be said that I was just there on a bad day or something. Which is understandable, because any place can have a bad day.

I'm actually in the process of planning a trip to Universal because I want to give it another shot and i want to check out Spiderman and Harry Potter.... and i love the Hulk.

But in no way was my "prejudice" against Universal based on Disney loyalty or anything like that.

 

[andyman8]

Just wanted to add that the food at UOR is much better than Disney's particularly at the TS restaurants.

 

[Magpie]

I don't get how you formulated the opinion that i didn't say something nice about Universal because it would make me feel that i am betraying Disney. That's not the case at all. The very reason that I went to Universal is because i went when i was younger and remembered it being awesome. But that wasn't what i experienced.

Now, the argument could be said that I was just there on a bad day or something. Which is understandable, because any place can have a bad day.

I'm actually in the process of planning a trip to Universal because I want to give it another shot and i want to check out Spiderman and Harry Potter.... and i love the Hulk.

But in no way was my "prejudice" against Universal based on Disney loyalty or anything like that.

Fair enough! That's why I wrote prejudice/preference... and I was thinking of more than just your post in this thread.

And you're right - there's certainly plenty of folks who go to Disney during Christmas without a touring plan who end up swearing they'll never go back. Years ago, I had a friend tell me Disney was nothing but a miserable, expensive waste of time, and she advised me not to bother. I'm so glad I didn't listen, but at the same time, she was just being honest about her own experience.

Check out the Universal trip planning boards on this site and you'll be able to avoid most of the pitfalls, even if you run into crowds.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I don't get how you formulated the opinion that i didn't say something nice about Universal because it would make me feel that i am betraying Disney. That's not the case at all. The very reason that I went to Universal is because i went when i was younger and remembered it being awesome. But that wasn't what i experienced.

Now, the argument could be said that I was just there on a bad day or something. Which is understandable, because any place can have a bad day.

I'm actually in the process of planning a trip to Universal because I want to give it another shot and i want to check out Spiderman and Harry Potter.... and i love the Hulk.

But in no way was my "prejudice" against Universal based on Disney loyalty or anything like that.

I am a fan of both Disney and Universal. I love Spiderman and Harry Potter, but it is offset by the loss of two of my favorite rides there, Jaws and Back to the Future. I think Universal and Disney are vastly different parks. There are things about each I like. I think each person has their own taste/preference and that's why they have multiple parks in the area to satisfy them all so I agree that no one is "betraying Disney" by also liking another.

 

[biondagirl]

Not to me. But, I'm bitter.

We went in 2010. (We wanted to go in 2009 but couldn't justify the cost so we just added on a day to our KTTW card for $12.) It cost us a HUGE some of money to go for one day. $400 sounds right. My kids were 4 and 7. I only wanted to do the studio side since my 4 year old couldn't do most of the Island of Adventure stuff. And it was FREEZING the day we were there, so anything with water was out of the question.

When I went to purchase the tickets, I asked for the studio tix. The CM explained that it wasn't that busy of a day and we could see both sides for a little. I explained I just wanted to do the studio side. She laid on the guilt THICK right in front of my kids of how I was depriving my kids of seeing Spiderman, Harry Potter (which my kids aren't into), etc. Now I'm getting frustrated with the CM, my husband is getting frustrated with me and my kids are crying that they can't do the other side. We ended up purchasing them. I still regret it. I spent most of that day on "baby" rides because she was too tiny to do most of it and my 7 year old had a splitting headache (me, too) from all the simulator rides.

If you are really into it, go for it! Enjoy your trip. But, if you are only so-so on the idea (as I was), then forget it it.

Have fun!

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

Not to me. But, I'm bitter.

We went in 2010. (We wanted to go in 2009 but couldn't justify the cost so we just added on a day to our KTTW card for $12.) It cost us a HUGE some of money to go for one day. $400 sounds right. My kids were 4 and 7. I only wanted to do the studio side since my 4 year old couldn't do most of the Island of Adventure stuff. And it was FREEZING the day we were there, so anything with water was out of the question.

When I went to purchase the tickets, I asked for the studio tix. The CM explained that it wasn't that busy of a day and we could see both sides for a little. I explained I just wanted to do the studio side. She laid on the guilt THICK right in front of my kids of how I was depriving my kids of seeing Spiderman, Harry Potter (which my kids aren't into), etc. Now I'm getting frustrated with the CM, my husband is getting frustrated with me and my kids are crying that they can't do the other side. We ended up purchasing them. I still regret it. I spent most of that day on "baby" rides because she was too tiny to do most of it and my 7 year old had a splitting headache (me, too) from all the simulator rides.

If you are really into it, go for it! Enjoy your trip. But, if you are only so-so on the idea (as I was), then forget it it.

Have fun!

That bugs me. It's one thing to put on the sales pitch to you (or your husband) but to use your kids to get the extra sale? It's funny until about 2-3 years ago, the original UNiversal was my favorite (it had Back to the Future and Jaws in addition to most of the rides there now) but now IOA is my favorite (Spiderman and Harry Potter). But a lot of IOA is water rides (Jurassic Park and the two rides in Toon Lagoon). I was down in Florida in 2010 during that cold month and I have a picture of myself in my winter jacket at Universal in front of the DeLorean. I think your case is a perfect example of landing the sale, but maybe losing a customer as if that happened to me, I'm not sure I'd be in any rush to return.