Do you like Universal?

[mproca]

Hello, what is Universal like? Is it worth it to go? How many days to tour this and the new part? Are there best days and/or times to go?

 

[hulabird]

I'd like to know opinions on this as well, I have a two day pass for
US and IOA but I know it will be hard to tear myself away from WDW...but DH really wants to see US too..so we will go, I was hoping to do it in 1 day and save our other day for next trip, so I can have another whole day at WDW, I can't get enough!

HUlabird

inkbounc inkbounc

 

[Rob_b]

I just got back from US/IOA. This was my first visit to both parks. This year we took WDW off. It was very tough not to enter any WDW parks while staying at OKW.

I will be posting our trip report on US/IOA/CW/RC later this week.

We liked US better then IOA. Both parks are worth a visit. Very fun and highly recommended. Just don't skip out on the WDW parks. We regretted it.

 

[MIB999999]

I live in orlando and have an annual pass to universal and a seasonal pass to disney. I like both but budgeting more time for one over the other is not a problem i have. I go to universal every weekend and to disney for the special events or once per quarter which ever comes first.
If you have not visited IOA/USF, take two days and see both and then make up your own mind. WARNING: universal parks are a bit more to the thrill side than anything disney has. The only disney ride i think beats a universal ride is the tower of terror. Disney has no roller coaster that comes close to the ones at universal....

 

[Mouser]

The Universal Theme Parks are well worth your time, these are not just local type amusement parks. They are high tech parks which would be well worth your time to visit Florida for even if WDW was not there. I know a lot of folks do not want to take Disney Days away to see them, but once there many just love the Universal parks. If you are really into the movies and like rides like the Tower of Terror in themeing, you will love Universal and IOA, for you truly seem to ride the movies at USF. IOA also contains some spectacular rides, the best 3D ride in the world Spiderman is here, along with some wonderful coasters, shows and the Jurassic Park ride and area. If you only want Disney, I recommend you stay at Disney for you will NOT find Disney at Universal. If you would like to visit a wonderful theme park, with a lot of atmosphere and great rides and attractions I highly recommend you spend some time at Universal this trip......

 

[mproca]

What are some highlights to see at Universal? Also, is there a romantic, quiet place to eat dinner in that area? Is one day enough or do we need two?

 

[popy]

I just got back and this was my first time to Universal & IOA.
Universal is worth the time, but it is no Disney.
On the other hand, IOA is remarkable and I am sorry, but Disney
has nothing to close to this one. IOA has some rides now, and
Jurassic Park and Spider man, WOW.

 

[flyerfan22]

Universal and IOA are both excellent amusement parks.
Universal is similar to MGM - rides are based on the movies with King Kong, Jaws, T2, Twister, Men in Black, etc. MIB is by far the best ride in the park and well worth the price of admission!

IOA is difficult to describe. On our visit in April, it was our favorite park (we did all of the Disney parks as well). The park is well themed, with plenty of Coasters - something that Disney is seriously lacking! And having FOTL access all day every day sure helped!

We spent 3 days between the 2 parks, and felt it was plenty of time to see/do it all.

 

[AdventureFamily]

I know this is hard to believe, but we tried IOA/USF first. Then, about a year later (last November) returned to Orlando to do Disney. This November...it's back to IOA/USF. Don't get me wrong. We loved the mouse and the castle and all the wonderland had to offer. It's just that with the kids (and Dad) into the rides, Universal is the spot of choice in Orlando for the AdventureFamily. With CityWalk and the great restaurants, the great GREAT rides, and the HRH FOTL access, you can't go wrong.

But, hey, there is room for both. We hope to alternate between the two. While it is hard to pass up Disney when in town, we find it is also hard to pass up IOA/USF!

 

[NoodlesTheRabbit]

I may be in the minority, but I hated Universal/IOA. On numerous occasions, the employees were very rude. They seemed to be more interested in chatting amongst themselves than helping the visitors.

The lines for the rides were ridiculously long. We did not stay onsite, so we did not have FOTL access...however, we did have early entry to US and we saw a lot during that time.

We did enjoy Twister and Terminator 2...

Maybe I would return in a few years to try it again for DBF's sake...he really wanted to ride Incredible Hulk and Spiderman but we did not have time to wait in the lines.

If you like thrill rides and are staying on site, you might have a better time.

 

[DanG]

As precious as vacation days are, surrender two days to US/IOA. After taking three vacations with our kids to WDW and SeaWorld, we tried the new IOA on our last day last vacation. It is now one of our favorite parks (within which just about everyone had their favorite attractions). This year we are tacking three days at USF in front of a Disney Vero Beach vacation. The year following we'll do WDW.

Variety is the spice of life. And chances are, like USF or not, you'll be back in Orlando in a year or so, with a broadened perspective as to the choices available to you.

DanG

 

[DisneyFanGuy]

As a loooooooooong time Disney addict, I had managed to make it to Orlando quite a few times without ever setting foot on Universal property.

Last spring we stayed for a few nights at FWilderness, and decided to only do the universal parks. I was skeptical, though I figured that we would have fun.

I was completely and totally blown away by the parks.

My family liked US, and really enjoyed the park. Lots of attractions with a completely different "feel" than Disney. It really is all about the movies and entertainment, and keeps to its theme extremely well. Disney/MGM is teriffic too, but seems to be struggling to keep to its them.

We really loved Universal. It compares favorable with much of what Disney has to offer in many ways!

IOA, however, is the best Theme Park that I have ever seen. Hands down, flat out, the best.

The ONLY real thing that we felt was missing was a night time "closing spectacular" like Fantasmic or Reflections of Earth.
Leaving after one of those is an incredible high. If Universal ever gets that part right, watch out mouse! Until then we will be happy to visit both!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Do we like Universal? No...................We love it! We especially liked the FOTL access. Having that perk would encourage me to visit even during the hot, crowded days of summer. We didn't like the early closing (8pm) because we needed to take a mid-day break (with the heat and since we have a toddler) and we felt that we needed to hurry back to the parks and even then didn't get enough time after our afternoon break. I also didn't like the smoking all over the park. WDW has smoking areas and even though some people smoke outside of those areas the smoke is not all over the place. That was my major gripe.

We had two days at WDW, three at Universal, and then 4 more at WDW. We wished that we had of allowed one more day at Universal. The rides at WDW seemed so tame after Universal. We love RnR and Tot, but nothing could compare to Dueling Dragons and the Hulk. Spiderman was great.

My 13yo daughter became addicted to MIB and got a score of about 575,000. She wiped the floor with me and our car always beat the opponent (even a car of teenage boys!). When we would see the scores at the end we would cheer like the crazy people that we are. What fun!

When we return (long time before we will be able to return) we will take a few days for WDW and hopefully 4 or more days at Universal.

 

[markey]

We went 1st time, posted trip report, and I agree they are good parks, however I agree with some, they are not WDW. If you feel a chill when you enter the gates, get tears in your eyes when you leave and can't wait until you go back then you will find yourself liking the parks but not in love with them. We had 4 days there with a three day pass and went to Blizzard Beach on day. Both grandkids 6 and 7, said they liked WDW better. When we stopped At WDW for 1 day, after our Disney 7 day cruise it was like coming home. But if I had it to do over again I would still go, we did not dislike it, only love WDW! The best thing is the Front of the Line, stay at HRH it is a good hotel.

 

[CityKid]

Wife, daughter (7) and I just did a short stay "on the grounds" at HRH before going to WDW.

I think the two Universal parks are excellent. They are quite different from each other and not Disney clones. IOA is definitely a thirll ride oriented environment. The Hulk coaster and Spiderman are worth a trip to the parks.

Seuss Landing and some parts of Jurrasic Park are small kid friendly but, all in all, IOA is for the older kids and adults.

USF is much larger than Disney-MGM and is laid out sort of Epcot like. The rides are all movie themed and the shows are very nicely done. My daughter loved Nick and she would like to go back just for it.

When you add to this the FOTL benefits, I wholeheartedly recommend a stay at Universal--but stay on the grounds if at all possible.

Oh yes, no one was less than polite to us.

 

[sha_lyn]

As much as I like WDW if I had to choose only one park as my favorite then IOA would be it. I think it is a beautiful park. they "out disney" WDW in tying all the theming together
island/ride/que . I could spend all day listening to the talking fountain. I laughed so hard I also most wet myself. At least If I had no one could have told because the fountain already did it for me.

 

[Sean23]

I have an annual pass to universal and a Premium Annual Pass to Disney. I go to disney at least twice a week and universal on the average every other week. Universal and IOA are both great parks, I would definetly try them if you have never been. I was at universal Monday and Epcot yesterday, I will probably stop be IOA after work tomorrow for a few hours.