Thinking of adding Universal, who can tell me about it?

[SueV]

We haven't been to Universal since our honeymoon and we went to IOA once for about a half day when Sam was a todler and Nicole was an infant. We havne't ben back since. But now that the girls are getting older I thought maybe this was the year to give it a try. I would like to add 2 nights to the end of our august vacation ending at one of the UNI hotels, preferrably portifino(I think). Can anyone tell me about the rides at Universal and IOA? Are there enough kid friendly ones to enjoy? My oldest is 6 and as of January was about 49" and my other two are around 42" and 39-40". They also love Nickelodean and I think there are Nick characters there, am I right? And does anyone know if the UNI resorts take AAA and offer discounts with it?

[PixiePrincess]

Well, I can't help ya on Universal... except to say, I have been once and that was back in 1995. I wouldn't mind going back but Erin won't even hear of it.

It's actually a 'war' between my brother and SIL over Disney and Universal. We, as you know, love Disney... my SIL refusing to step foot on Disney because I love it and she will ONLY go to Universal. I'm like Whatever... :nahnah: but the sad part is my brother and my nephew tease us with real super hero's.
They will say~ Spiderman is a REAL super hero... your little mouse is nothing. The Hulk, a real super hero, a princess?

My kids get so upset. :crying:

What made matters worse was my parents went on vacation with them JUST to Unverisal and the following year went JUST to Disney with us... and couldn't stop saying HOW much better Disney was. My mom and dad have been to WDW with us a few times and plan on going again in Nov. My father kept saying that he wanted to go back to Disney... actually move there and work security.
My brother was so jealous, he called me to tell me that MOM and DAD liked Disney better and won't go back to Universal with them. I just giggle and said... well, let the best park win. :neer:
Get's him so mad!! That I just have to laugh. :razz: I know he does it more out of trying to get to me... but in the end, I'm the one getting to him. Ohhhh the love!!

Oh sorry OT here~ again, I can't help but I wanted to say :wave: it's been awhile soooo. Hey, did you read my trip reports???

[ddoll]

Sure Sue: there's plenty for the little ones to do at both Universal parks. They have Nickelodeon after all and all the characters that go with them, as well Hanna Barbera cartoon characters, the Uni movies (Shrek), and all the super heroes. There's also Barney, Seuss, Curious George, Feivel, Animal Planet Live, Jurassic Park and several play themed areas.

You can check out universal-excitement.com for a closer look at all the rides and attractions.

[Moley]

I think your kids will enjoy these parks. Depending on how fearless they are, there are plenty of rides their heights qualify them for. Even the more timid kids can find a good time at the shows and the playgrounds. And Seussland is not to be missed. It is simply enchanting for young and old alike. Another great ride is Men In Black, sure to be something you will want to ride more than a couple times.

You can't go wrong with any of the three hotels either. We have stayed at both Portofino and Royal Pacific. The latter one is our favorite. ddoll has stayed at Hard Rock and posted some gorgeous pics of their rooms. Next time we go, I would like to stay there.

Whatever you decide, I hope you have a great time. Front of the line privileges will make your whole family very happy.

[Moley]

Almost forgot to add, yes they do take AAA for room discounts. You can also get a discount on tickets and some merchandise with AAA. I had YMJ make my ressies and get me the AAA discount.

[woody]

Hi SueV,
From Moley
Front of the line privileges will make your whole family very happy.
Oh yes, Moley is right even better than Disney's fastpass. Pete, DeltaDawn, Tinkerbarb and I stayed at Portofino's for two days back in 2002 and had a good time. As far as the kiddos go a lot of rides for them and for the whole family to ride.
I know you would have a great time!
Woody

[Mickey4Us]

We went a few years ago and stayed at Portofino Bay - loved the hotel! All three of the on-site hotels looked good - we managed to visit each one but did not stay long. Our kids were very young and there wasn't much for them to do. They loved the Nick characters but some of the rides scared my young one. Suess land was cute but I was amazed how they enforced the ride restrictions. For example, onefish-twofish (like dumbo), my son (age 2) was not allowed to sit on my lap. Had to sit next to me. For Cat in the Hat, I had to prove that he could walk on his own. Not sure why but it held up the line as he would not walk to a stanger.

We had fun but we preferred Disney for younger kids. I loved the coasters at Universal. We felt it was "decompress time" as there weren't as many rides the kids could do and it was less crowded. We just strolled around and relaxed. Spent an evening at City Walk (just had to stop at Margarettaville) and I got to have lunch at Emeril's. Stay on-site if you can as "front of the line" priv is great! Just be sure to check what transportation is avail to/from your hotel and where the drop off point is. We took the boat from Portofino but on the way back it was raining (boats do not operate in the rain) and we had no idea where to get the bus!!

Have a great time!

[josh1121]

Portofino Bay is a really nice hotel. I would highly recommend staying there over the other two. If you are an Entertainment card member then I think you might be able to get some decent discounts on room rates. I would also register online with the lowes hotel website since they send me offers from time to time for PB. In terms of rides the mummy and spiderman are must do's.

[crittermom]

We just tried Universal for the first time. But we did it at the beginning of our trip. We are very glad we tried it. We may even go back sometime but we all were VERY ready for Disney after our three days there.
My kids are older, 15 1/2, and almost 13. My DD is finally a roller coaster girl and can ride anything. My son, the 15 year old, likes roller coasters if they don't flip. DH and I do fine with the coasters but sometimes the simulator rides make us ill. We found most of the rides have a lot of that simulator sensation (spiderman, back to the future, etc.) but they are amazing rides. The park however, felt more like an amusement park like 6 flags. We are spoiled by the Disney magic I guess.
The parks were VERY crowded as we were there Memorial day weekend. Folks who did not have the front of the line pass were in miserable lines. There is no way I would want to go without that priviledge. They do also sell them. 35/day for one park or 45/day for both parks (PLUS YOUR ADMISSION TICKET). Then, this ticket only allows you to use it one time each ride. I couldn't believe how many people were buying these at the gift shops. I guess when they saw every ride taking over an hour in line and others (like us) basically getting a walk on, they felt it was necessary.
If we had done Universal at the end of our trip, I think we would have liked it less than we did.
There were a lot of superhero characters for autographs and pictures. Sadly we have outgrown that. Several rides in the Dr Suess area of IOA were closed while we were there. They did look cute.
As I said we are so glad we tried Universal. A few families we know prefer it over Disney but for us, it is Disney all the way.