YOUR Top 10 Terrific Tipz (for a Universal Newbie)??

[Bonacker]

Hey Gang,

Last year, I was a total Disney newbie, never been to Disney before, and all you good Disboards people 100 percent knocked it out of the park and helped me plan the Disneyworld vacation of a lifetime. (Truly the best trip ever: We scored seats in the Castle at first seating; we never once waited on any ride lines, ever; we scored a fantastic room upgrade at Polynesian . . . . all due to intense planning and advice garnered here.)

Now, our family of four (kids aged 6 and 8) are planning a UNIVERSAL STUDIO three-night vacation followed by a four-night cruise on the Disney Dream, for December 2015. YES~!

Mama (that's me) is now gearing up to start planning the Universal Studios part of the trip --- cruise already booked, boooyah! --- and I'm going to put big-time effort into doing it right, just like we did with our debut Disney trip. So of course I'm back on Disboards.

So . . . would anyone be so kind as to share YOUR TOP TIPS for a Universal stay?

• Best universal hotel? or favorite room? (stay onsite, or no? we love THEMING!)
• Any sneaky tricks for avoiding lines for rides or meals?
• Any hard-to-score meal reservations I could try to snag?
• Any book or website I should check out in addition to Disboards?
• Any extras that you've paid for that were really worth it?

Any advice for a never-been-to-Universal-before mega-planner would be much appreciated. Good karma right back atcha!

THANKS SO MUCH, folks.

 

[ali in wonderland]

We are veteran WDW visitors, but we just completed our first trip to universal two weeks ago. I did a lot of research. We stayed on site at Royal Pacific Resort to get the express pass and be closer to parks. We purchased our tix through undercover tourist using the Mousesavers special link. If you have a AAA card you get discounts at many resturants. I suggest reading through the Orlando Informer website. It is a very thorough guide to universal. Go to the forums after you have read the information on the website. They are very helpful.

 

[macraven]

Hey Gang,

Last year, I was a total Disney newbie, never been to Disney before, and all you good Disboards people 100 percent knocked it out of the park and helped me plan the Disneyworld vacation of a lifetime. (Truly the best trip ever: We scored seats in the Castle at first seating; we never once waited on any ride lines, ever; we scored a fantastic room upgrade at Polynesian . . . . all due to intense planning and advice garnered here.)

Now, our family of four (kids aged 6 and 8) are planning a UNIVERSAL STUDIO three-night vacation followed by a four-night cruise on the Disney Dream, for December 2015. YES~!

Mama (that's me) is now gearing up to start planning the Universal Studios part of the trip --- cruise already booked, boooyah! --- and I'm going to put big-time effort into doing it right, just like we did with our debut Disney trip. So of course I'm back on Disboards.

So . . . would anyone be so kind as to share YOUR TOP TIPS for a Universal stay?

• Best universal hotel? or favorite room? (stay onsite, or no? we love THEMING!)
• Any sneaky tricks for avoiding lines for rides or meals?
• Any hard-to-score meal reservations I could try to snag?
• Any book or website I should check out in addition to Disboards?
• Any extras that you've paid for that were really worth it?

Any advice for a never-been-to-Universal-before mega-planner would be much appreciated. Good karma right back atcha!

THANKS SO MUCH, folks.

i would start out with www.universalorlando.com

check out what is in each park and read the descriptions of the rides/shows to make sure it would appeal to the kids/family.
for things the kids would or could not do, use the child swap program.

get an idea of the park layout so you will know your way around the park for rides, eateries, restrooms, etc.

www.citywalk.com will give info on restaurants, menus, events, shops, entertainment, etc.
the mini golf in city walk is a hit with kids and families.

the darkside is nothing like the motherland.
you do not have to make restaurant reservations 180 days out.
i rarely make them for the darkside, but when i do, it is usually the morning of.

stay on site at one of the 3 deluxe hotels and receive the hotel perks of early entry and unlimited usage of the express lines.

if you stayed at the Poly on your motherland trip, check out the Royal Pacific Resort.
the theme there is much more marvelous.


Cabana Bay is similar to the disney all star value resorts.
Cbay allows guests early entry but that is the only perk.

if you are used to deluxe resorts, you have 3 to chose from at the darkside.

 

[Bonacker]

This is fantastic, thanks, you guys!

Heh, heh. I was totally hoping people would say that Royal Pacific would be good for someone who liked the Poly ~! So now you guys have given me a good reason to choose Royal Pacific. So psyched about that.

Orlando Informer, CityWalk.com, and UniversalOrlando.com . . .this is how I will start "work" at the computer this morning. (Procrastinate, procrastinate).

Thanks again.

 

[damo]

I'd also read through the food sticky on this forum. It has lots of tips on people's favourites and displeasures in eating at the resort.

 

[Bonacker]

Oh, good, I haven't done that yet. I love to plan the meals in advance. (I schemed like heck to get a FastPass to "Be Our Guest" at noon last January.)

Sounds like maybe I don't need to be quite as scheme-y and plan-y with Universal . . . ;-)

 

[Seeker615]

We loved Royal Pacific. It was a an easy walk to the parks or Citywalk each day or there is the water taxi as well.

We stayed in Tower one and we were close to the pool and had a great view of Hogwarts!

You will have the express pass if you are staying at Royal Pacific but if you have never been to Universal I do recommend going through some of the queues as they are well done. (Mummy, Men in Black and Spiderman come to mind.)

Use your express pass for the shows as you get better seating!

We did not have to plan a place to eat we pretty much decided spur of the moment what are where we were going to eat. (We were there in November and the crowds were pretty manageable.)

There is no uber planning really. We usually started in one park and then took a break and visited the other park.

Our favorite places to eat a good meal were Pat O'Briens, Hard Rock and Finnegans. We enjoyed the Nascar Cafe as well.

Be sure to really soak up the theming of both parks. One of my favorite moments was one evening before the night show at Universal we were by the NYC area and it started drizzling a little bit. There were lights strung up around the area and it was so pretty. I felt like we were standing in old NYC.

We saw the Blue Man Group while we were there and it was awesome!

 

[nighttowll]

• Best universal hotel? or favorite room? (stay onsite, or no? we love THEMING!)
• Any sneaky tricks for avoiding lines for rides or meals?
• Any hard-to-score meal reservations I could try to snag?
• Any book or website I should check out in addition to Disboards?
• Any extras that you've paid for that were really worth it?
:

First, if you have EP from staying on property, you won't have to worry about lines at all. We walked onto almost everything during the moderate season using the EP, singles line, or by hitting the couple of non EP rides first.

Second, you don't have to score meals at all here which took me a little while to wrap my haed around. I felt like it was some kind of trick or something. I blame Disney. I've been conditioned at 180 days. It was a little hard to let that go.

The website recommed earlier is the best. It will be your new best friend.

We paid for the photopackage. Check previously mentoined website for details, but I thought it was a good value for us compared to paying for individual ride photos. I never do the Disney package as I feel it is ridiculously priced, but the Universal one seemed reasonable to me. Still expensive as everything at a theme park is, but not insanely so.

We made our first darkside trip this past spring. This is what I learned that I'd pass along:

1. Look at the park to park tickets.
I rarely ever use the hopper option at Disney. Maybe once or twice a trip. However, I think we went to both parks at Universal everyday. It is so easy and convienant to switch back and forth. You just walk out the gate, down the sidewalk, and into the other park. Less than 15 minutes for the whole process. It really helped us the day it was scheduled to rain in the afternoon. We were able to ride all the outdoor rides in the morning in both parks, and then do the inside ones in the afternoon in both parks when the rain hit.

2. If you do stay at RP, walk to the parks.
We waited for the boat one time, and it was a nice ride to do once, but it actually took us longer to take the boat, and it only cuts out part of the walking. The walk was much nicer and the security much faster to go through as there was never a line for the security stop along the walking path. I took some of my favorite pictures of the kids along this walk. It is very pretty with lots of plants and flowers along the water, and you can get some great views of the park, citywalk, and hotel in the background.

3. Research what is in the rooms thoroughly.
It was a beautiful hotel, and the staff was amazing. We had a minor medical emergency during the trip and all the staff from the bartenders to the front desk were beyond amazing at helping us out, but I remember the rooms being very bare. I feel like there weren't any outlets anywhere, that sort of thing. I remember thinking how beautiful it was, but also how sparse as far as ammentities in the room. Also, watch out for the prestocked minifridge. Everything in it is ridiculously overpriced. I'd make sure your kids know not to touch anything without asking you first. We ended up needing water one night, and I had to buy it from the hotel. I almost feinted when I saw the bill. I think it was $6 a bottle, but it might have been more.

4. You get EP with your hotel reservation as long as you stay at one of the Deluxe hotels.
This starts the morning you check in and ends when you check out. So 1 night gets you 2 days of EP. You can check in at anytime and just store your luggage with bell services. They will notify you when your room is ready. You then have to go over to the kiosks and make your EP cards. Best to do this before going to the park incase you have any issues. It took us a number of tries and a few visits to the desk for help before we were straightened out. Not all the rides have EP, so you will need to check on that to see which are participating before you go. Then I'd do those rides first.

5. The photopackage they offer is for consecutive days only.
I didn't realize that last time, so we missed out on a whole day of pics because we didn't go to Universal 3 consecutive days in a row. Stupid fine print!

6. Expect to get wet.
It seems like Universals answer to everything is to splash guest with water. Almost every ride spits out water at you at some point. If you actually ride the water rides, expect to go swimming. Those make you look like you jumped in a pool with your clothes on. Nothing at Disney even comes close to soaking you like the rides at Universal do. We all had on those long ponchos to ride the raft ride and not exagerrating, the water came up from below us, and we still got soaked. It comes at you from all directions, above, below, behind, not even a poncho can save you.

7. Universal bakery items are to die for. Enough said.

8. You don't really need dinner reservations.
This was a hard one for me to let go of. I'm a super planner. If you can't stand the thought of not having a reservation like me or are going during a very busy time, you can book a week or two out or that morning. Also don't forget about the Citywalk restaurants. We ate all our meals there. It isn't like DTD. You just walk right out the park gate and you are there, so it is no big deal at all to leave for lunch and then go right back.

9. Take motion sickness drugs, especially if you plan on doing the HP rides as there have been numerous reports of those doing in people who usually don't have any motion sickness issues.

I'm sure I'm forgetting stuf, but that should get you started. If you have any specific questions, I'd be glad to answer them if I can.

Hope you have a great trip!

 

[macraven]

if you want to read a detailed trip report, try this:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3342111

you'll see pictures of rides in the park, food and her narrative of how the family spent their days in the parks/city walk, etc.

schumigirl has been writing trip reports for a few years.
you can pull up her other past reports to see and read more.

 

[johde]

Don't be afraid to park hop. You can get between 2 places on property fairly quickly either on foot or by water taxi, or bus if your going to the resorts. From entrance to Cabana Bay on the far South West side of Property to MIB on the North East Corner of USF is 1.3 miles by foot (possibly a little further but more enjoyably on the new path). For comparison From the Swan and Dolphin to the Monorail at Epcot is 1.2 miles. So basically, Everything at Universal Theme parks and hotels are contained in the area Epcot and the Epcot resorts.

 

[pixeegrl]

Try the Volcano Nachos at Margarittaville....just don't plan on eating much else Catch a movie by the pool one night....With EP you will have a very relaxing trip.

 

[momto2js]

TIP #1: Don't let different mean less. They are two different breeds, USO and WDW. It is like trying to decide whether apples or grapes are better. They are both great and liking one does not mean the other one does not have merit. If you are consistently comparing the two, you may miss the best parts.

TIP #2: I have a 5 and 8 year old and we have done all the Orlando parks making about 2 trips a year. I am not a person that generally says there is a minimum age to take a kid, but I wouldn't pay for a 3-5 year old to go. There just isn't enough for them to do to justify the admission price.

TIP #3: The food at the TS restaurants is very close in price to the CS places. My family of 4 had lunch at Confisco's was $37 and we could have easily spent that at a CS place. The break sitting down and not trying to balance trays was a treat. The food is not great, but it is passable.

Tip #4: Camp Jurassic is the best themed interactive play area Florida. If you have kids, make sure you spend plenty of time there. Remember #5 when you do so.

Tip #5: plan to get WET, or maybe even soaked. I found that for the rides that involved water having a pair of dry panties in the backpack for me was a really good use of space. Also my kids wore tennis shoes and I carried crocs for the water rides. Pretty much all the kids areas have a place where the kids can drench themselves. If however, you or a member of your party manages to soak your shoes, your hairdryer in your room is useful so you don't have to wear wet shoes the next day.

Tip#6: I carried a bag for the 4 of us that had snacks, a change of cloths and most of what we would need for the day. It was too big to fit in the lockers. So we mostly did a bag swap, DH would ride and I would wait with the bag and then I would ride. I think next time, I will pack two smaller bags and we will each have a smaller on that will fit in a locker for rides. We are cheap so going bagless is simply not an option for our family, but if you can manage that it is the best option.

Have fun!!

 

[Minerva Mouse]

I disagree with momto2jus, I actually think that Universal has way better CS food than Disney. But that's just my opinion.

My number one tip would be to take your time. 3 days is perfect, don't rush around, relax. I like the spontaneity that comes with Universal you don't have to have every second of your day planned out with fast passes, and reservations, just take it easy, and see where the day takes you.

All of the hotels are amazing. I have had the pleasure of staying at all 4, and you can't make a wrong choice.

Don't skip the shows, and be on the lookout for a magic show throughout the parks. They aren't huge productions, and they aren't really advertised, but I guarantee the kids will love it.

As the others said, expect to get wet. Jurrasic Park will destroy your hair, and leave your clothes splotched. The other water rides will completely drench you, head to toe, nothing will be dry.

Try the Butterbeer.

Make sure you ride the Hogwarts express, to and from each park. The experience is different.

If the kids are into the Transformers, make sure you visit the area where you can meet the characters. The have Optimus, Bumble Bee and Megatron and the costumes are jaw dropping.

That's all I can think of for now. Hope you enjoy your trip.

 

[Poppins2010]

Cargo pants (or shorts).
Wearing these really allowed us to leave the bag in the locker. Phone, wallet, chapstick....all tucked away in a pocket.
Its a good idea to make sure those cargo pockets are able to securely close.
Bagless is so much more important at Universal than at the Motherland.

 

[johde]

I disagree with momto2jus, I actually think that Universal has way better CS food than Disney. But that's just my opinion.

On the price front, once you get past pizza and chicken strips momto2jus is spot on especially with the new "themed" counter service areas.

For Example:
Leaky Cauldron Lamb beef and Guinness Stew 12.99
Finnegan's Beef and Guinness Stew 11.99

Simpson's Fast Food Blvd. - Krusty Burger & fries $9.99
Confisco Grill - Classic Burger and Fries $9.99

You need to tip at the TS places but the difference in prices is not as great as it is at Disney.

In terms of quality, both Disney and Universal has good places to eat and bad places to eat. I would say Disney takes the edge in the variety of CS places especially with all the places in World Showcase. Universal has improved in the variety department over the past several years. Quality wise though top prize in my mind has to go to SeaWorld/Busch Gardens in the CS department especially CS BBQ.

 

[Celesdragon]

I just got back from two days at Universal, learned several things from staff and experience.

1 - Be mindful of the wand boxes if you buy any in either Harry Potter area. We found that the wand boxes are a tight fit for lockers.

2 - If you like Jurassic Park and want to get merchandise, make sure you pick it up while you are actually in the Jurassic Park section. If you wait to go up to the stores in the front of the parks, there's only a pin and maybe a plush. It was weird, because it seemed like every other franchise had merchandise easily accessible in multiple places around both parks. Maybe this will change with the new movie, but it very disappointing for us because we didn't stay to shop and realized our error too late.

3 - We ate at the Leaky Cauldron (heavy-type food, recommend planning on walking after eating), Three Broomsticks (found this easier on the stomach for riding), Blue Moon Bakery (they ran out of breakfast burritos way early, the stuffed biscuit is not something I'd recommend getting again - but the bakery items are awesome), and Cowfish (Amazing if you like sushi)

4 - Everyone says to get the express pass, but it's not really needed on a slow day (Touring plans had us at a 2 both days). Longest wait we had was Gringotts at 20 minutes at like 1pm. Everything else was pretty much walk-on.

 

[macraven]

anything you buy can be set up to be sent to the front of the park.

your purchases will be held there until you come pick them up.

it's a free service.

(don't wait until the end of the day and do all your shopping at the front main store in the parks, see something you know you want, buy it then.)



no need to carry wands, bags, etc with you while you are park touring then.



if you stay onsite at one of the 3 deluxe, you can have it sent to your room.
it will be delivered the next day and placed in your room.

if you are checking out the next day, room delivery will not be possible.

 

[RebeccaRabbit]

Following along too! We are looking forward to our first Uni trip in January.

Thanks for all the great tips so far.

 

[cgattis]

Problem is, if you buy a wand, you're probably planning to use it. Don't know why it never occurred to me to just have them send the BOXES to the room and just keep the wand! Duh. Maybe somebody else can learn from my stupidity LOL

 

[berryinDC]

4 - Everyone says to get the express pass, but it's not really needed on a slow day (Touring plans had us at a 2 both days). Longest wait we had was Gringotts at 20 minutes at like 1pm. Everything else was pretty much walk-on.

Good to hear this. We'll be there this week with the same crowd level