Is it worth skipping a Disney day to do Universal?

[3kids4me]

We'll be down at Disney for a week and were thinking of doing one day at Universal. My kids are ages 10, 7 and 3. Do you think there would be enough for them to do there, and would they love it as much as Disney?

Thanks!

Sharon

 

[Loudbmw]

A trip to Orlando is not complete without at least 1 day at Universal Studios and/or Islands of Adventure. If you have length of stay passes at Disney it may not make sense as you'll be paying in effect twice for the US/IOA days.

But if you have park hoppers at Disney, they never expire so try Universal. We think both parks are great however your 3 year old will be limited to what he/she will enjoy.

We hit Universal every year and if you can swing it - try a night at the Hard Rock Hotel. It's very nice and you can't beat the no line access to the attractions.

Lou

 

[nhrenee]

In a word, YES! I've been there twice with my children(at ages 5/9 and 7/11) and they love it!

I would suggest getting a copy of Kelly Monaghan's book "Universal Orlando-the ultimate guide to the ultimate theme park". It's really indispensable when planning a trip to Universal.

Good luck!

 

[hockey mom]

Definetely. Your 3 yr old will love seuss landing. Spider man is the best ride I have ever been on. We are planning 6 days of Disney and 2 of Universal.

 

[Babblin'Boo]

Go for it! I go to Disney because there's no way on earth I'd miss the Animal Kingdom, but my kids love Universal as well, even more than Disney.

 

[Robinrs]

Funny, my son asked me why we DIDN'T go to Disney one day on our last trip (first week in January)....

Because to us, we try to figure if it's worth it to skip a day at USF!

This time we didn't!

Don't get me wrong, we LOVE Disney but we have a real affection for Universals parks. They were the first we ever went to. To us it feels like home.

Sure, spend a day, spend a WEEK, you'll love it!

 

[suz1414]

yes it is deffinnatly worth spending a day at universal.

 

[degenerationxwwfwdw1]

The only way I would suggest spending a day at USF is if you had 2 to 3 weeks in Orlando. So my answer would be no on USF. But Islands of Adventure is another story. There is something for eveyone there. The 3 yr old will love Suess Landing and the 10 yr old and maybe the 7 yr old will love the thrill rides and wet rides at IOA (pretty much what the rest of the park is!). You can also tell that alot more time and money was put into IOA than was USF. IOA has the same feeling as a Disney park. USF feels just like another amusement park. Have fun!!!

 

[MIB999999]

I agree with Robinrs, i use to have a seasonal pass and one day i just went and updated it to an annual pass during a black-out period. Walking into both IOA and USF it felt like being home. Ok enough of the warm fuzzies. If you miss an opportunity to visit Universal you just were not that serious about a good, fun vacation.

 

[markey]

We go to Disney every year, however last year we stayed at HRH and only visited Disney for 2 days, passes left from the previous year and did Universal/IOA for 3. Well this year we have no passes to Disney and the Kids, 7 and 8, only want to visit Universal/IOA. So have booked RP, also I found that we can do Universal/IOA for a lot less. RP club level for $139 and buy 2 get 1 day free on the tickets.

 

[Bete]

IOA is superb and the ages of your children for both parks is ideal. I think you should even consider a day at SeaWorld, too.

I've never felt it was fair to decide between all the wonderful parks there; so, we do them all.

If you do have length of stay passes at Disney then it's not a good idea. If you can change that then I would and give the other parks a try.

Discovery Cove is outstanding, too if you can afford it.

 

[3kids4me]

Thank you all!

We do not have length of stay passes since we are staying off property. We will be arriving on a Sunday (mid-day) and will not waste a day of our pass on the parks that day but will be doing dinner at Chef Mickey's and the Illuminations cruise. We will leave for home on the following Sunday, which basically gives us six full days to "play with". I was thinking of five day park hoppers, and then spending the sixth day (perhaps mid-week?) at Universal. Do you think my kids will be exhausted? Does that sound like a plan? If only spending one day at Universal, should we go to IOA first and take it from there?

Sharon

 

[sha_lyn]

We love all the parks (WDW and US/IOA). Having said that we just do one place per trip. WDW really does take 6 or more days to enjoy. US/IOA take 3. Could you possible go back to US/IOA on another trip? If the answer is no then I would say set aside a day for IOA. Personally if I had to pick one park as my favorite I would have to pick IOA but I do love US and all the WDW parks too.

 

[Cindy B]

I would do it as well.. in fact we are taking a Disney break and doing a Flexticket...

Loved Discovery Cove as well, wonderful....
Sea World outstanding..

but really USF and IOA exceeded all our expectations. I hadn't been to Universal since 1985 (Hollywood), and it was outstanding.

IOA, it was fantastic... so new, so fresh, so innovative. Spiderman, outstanding! Incredible Hulk, well, what a rush.. Duealing Dragons, themeing is incredible.. the coaster(S) is enjoyable.

 

[Goofy'sFriend]

Sha _ lyn...a question for you. I see your advice was to one thing per trip. That is what we are planning for this summer. We have been to Disney numerous times but never to Universal, IOA or Sea World. Is a 7 night stay too long for just these attractions? We do want to spend LOTS of time enjoying the pool.

I know at Disney 7 nights is not enough for us, especially wanting some pool time. I just don't want to get through the parks early on in the week and wish we had more to do. Any opinion? Also, where did you stay. We are trying to decide between HRH or the new Royal Pacific. Thanks!!

 

[gschmerl]

Goofy's Friend,
It's easy to do the US/IOA in thee days--expecially with express access if you stay on site. Then you have another day for Seaworld. Then you can spend the remainder going back to US/IOA doing all the rides and shows that you love. MANY of the attractions warrant numerous repeat rides!! If you want to relax by the pool, seven days won't be too much. We were there five nights last summer and wouldn't have minded staying longer. I just can't imagine being bored there.
As for hotels, no one can really comment on the Royal Pacific yet. We all seem to love the HRH. I especially love it's proximity to the parks. I would definitely stay on site and see where you can get the best rates.

 

[Goofy'sFriend]

Thank you gschmerl!! Usually we are planning our trip to Disney around things we have already seen and want to do again...but the prospect of going to Univ/IOA/SW and never been to anything is overwhelming....and EXCITING!! Thanks again.

We have reservations at HRH and RP....don't know if we want to go to a hotel just opening. We are leaning toward the HRH for something different. Last time in Disney we were at the Polynesian...so the HRH would be some different theming. Wish I could find more pictures of HRH online....since the search is down, I'm not having any luck.

 

[gschmerl]

Goofy's Friend,
Have you tried the Hard Rock Hotel's website? They used to have pictures there. The HRH is incredible. It's so convenient to walk to the parks right from the hotel. There were always lounge chairs available at the pool and we were there at a very crowded time. We just loved everything about the place. They also have a shuttle bus to take you to SeaWorld. When you get to SeaWorld, get a map as soon as you enter. The show times will be on it. Just plan your day around the shows you want to see. The Shamu show is a must. If you like roller coasters, go straight back to Kraken when you get to Seaworld. It's GREAT!

 

[sha_lyn]

goofy's friend.... I would love to stay 7 days at US/IOA. (should I dare say HRH) Personally if I were you I would get the flex tickets that are good for I think up to 10 days. They include admission to US/IOA/SW/W&W and I think Bush Gardens. I know one of the flex ticktes includes BG. I know you can take a bus from HRH to WW SW and BG. We took the bus to SW last yr. I would do 2 1/2 days at US/IOA, 1 1/2 SW, 1-2 at BG and one by the pool. Of course a lot of this depends on when you go and who is in your group. My DS and DNiece would spend all day riding MIB (yea thanks MIB9999999, LOL). The parks hrs would dictate a lot of it. With FOTL you can get a lot done in one day but at US when the hrs are short it is very hard to get everything done in one day because of the timing of shows.
we have stayed at HRH 2x. Both were interesting experiences to say the least. We for some reason just have bad luck when we stay there but they do make up for it. We paid nothing for our 3 night stay this time, 1 night was suppose to be free because of the problems on our first trip. The other 2 were given to us because they had a problem with the door lock when we checked in at midnight and it was 2 am before we were finally settled into a room (upgraded to a pool view at that, wine and cheese for sis and me, milk and cookies for the kids and turn down service while we were there).

BTW the pool at HRH is great. We really enjoyed the dive in movie this time (we didn't stay there on a friday night last yr). I guess when we go to US/IOA again we will give another onsite hotel a try just for a change of pace. Even with all the problems we have had at HRH I still love the place. The place just blows me away.