Universal Studios

inthelooneybin · 05-10-2010, 05:56:56 PM

Our family is planning a trip in July to Universal Studios in Florida this summer. Was wondering if anyone had any advice or suggestions. Thanks for your help in advance!

gctattoo · 05-10-2010, 08:24:18 PM

As someone who lives just over an hour away, the best advice I can give is this: prepare for the heat! Summer in Florida is insufferable. I just went to Universal last September and it was still scorching hot at that time. So your main goal will be to try and stay as cool as you can. There are alot of shops there where you can have a nice break in the A/C. Plus any indoor attractions are kept cool.

Since it will be so hot, you can end up spending a fortune on beverages. The best thing to do is get these special reusable cups that you can fill up with various drinks at any stand throughout the day for alot cheaper than getting a regular drink. You can also do a meal deal where you pay a base price and eat as many times as you want at any restaurant on the list.

When it comes to seeing the attractions: If you plan on going to Islands of Adventure too, do only one park per day. Both parks have enough things to keep you busy all day and times goes really fast when you're stuck waiting in lines half the time. We did both parks in one day and missed out on alot of things because of that.

But they do have a thing called a Fast Pass which enables you to show up at a ride at a certain time to ride it and there's no waiting in line. So that can free up some time. You can also do a trade-off where one parent waits with the kids who can't ride and then switches places with the other parent once they're off the ride. No more having to start over at the back of the line.

They have lots of water rides at both parks. While the water feels great on a hot day, some get you completely soaked. So save those rides for right at the end or bring extra clothes and stash them in one of the public lockers. DH was so uncomfortable after getting drenched that we had to stop and buy new clothes for him at Target on the way home.

But since little kids don't care if they get soaked, you must take them to Camp Jurassic if you go to Islands of Adventure. It's just like being in a rain forest and there is a section with spouts of water coming up from the ground. My 3-year-old DD had a ball getting wet while trying to "catch" the water. And there was another area that had enormous built-in water guns. You could totally soak people on the upper level and vice versa. I had way too much fun playing with those. LOL

My favorite attraction at Universal was Disaster! People in the audience get cast to star in a disaster movie. It was one of the funniest things ever and I loved the audience participation. My DD actually still remembers it and sometimes she'll say one of the little catchphrases from it-- "And we're.....movin' on!"

wdwprincess03 · 05-31-2010, 12:12:51 PM

Originally Posted by gctattoo

But they do have a thing called a Fast Pass which enables you to show up at a ride at a certain time to ride it and there's no waiting in line. So that can free up some time. You can also do a trade-off where one parent waits with the kids who can't ride and then switches places with the other parent once they're off the ride. No more having to start over at the back of the line.

Disney has FastPass, which is free. Universal has the same concept except you have to pay, it's called "Express Pass". If you stay at the on-site hotels you do get the Express Pass for free. If you aren't staying on site, I would suggest going for less days at the parks, and get the Express Pass if you want to save some $$. You save a lot of time by using the pass, and instead of paying extra for more days at the park, you pay for the Express Pass. I never calculated it because we have an annual pass, but my guess is that it would be cheaper to buy the Express Pass and go less days.

I would suggest that your first day you do the all day meal deal. You can eat as much as you want for that day. I think it comes to $25 per person, but it is nice if you stay there all day. You can buy the refillable mug and get free drinks all day. The next days you go you can bring back the mug and it's about $1 per refill. (I did try to search it on the website but can't find information on it, they may have gotten rid of it...)

Lockers are also free for a specific amount of time while you ride certain rides such as the Hulk or Mummy. Just make sure you get your things out after the ride or it does cost.

DRINK LOTS OF WATER!! Florida heat is different than anywhere else. It will bog you down and make you feel miserable. It's another reason to go for the express passes. Other than that, just have fun!

rtnrjk · 05-31-2010, 02:10:25 PM

We just got back from Florida and found Universal very very expensive. We got free tickets from a friend for Sea World. Even if we had to pay for Sea World we all liked that better.
I guess it all depends on the age of the kids and what you are looking for for enjoyment

jolly321 · 05-31-2010, 05:48:41 PM

Originally Posted by wdwprincess03

Disney has FastPass, which is free. Universal has the same concept except you have to pay, it's called "Express Pass". If you stay at the on-site hotels you do get the Express Pass for free. If you aren't staying on site, I would suggest going for less days at the parks, and get the Express Pass if you want to save some $$. You save a lot of time by using the pass, and instead of paying extra for more days at the park, you pay for the Express Pass. I never calculated it because we have an annual pass, but my guess is that it would be cheaper to buy the Express Pass and go less days.

If you stay in an Universal Hotel on site, you get a free FAST PASS. This pass is 50 times better then Disney because you are not given a time to the ride the ride, you can enter the ride right then anf continue to ride it as many times as you want. We passed the same people in line several times before on the Spiderman.

My family and I got to Universal every year for about 4 days.

Here are some things we do to save money.

We stay at Royal Pacific which is the cheapest of the Universal hotels. We take a cooler to the room (lots of people do this). I pack the cooler with lunch meat and fruit and some drinks. Every morning I would empty the water from the cooler in the tub and my hubby would take the cooler to the ice machine to refill it. You have to do this early since everyone is doing this so the ice machine will run out and you will need to go to a different floor. I take hot drinks and snacks, which we replenish in the cooler. We would have pop tarts and dry breakfast in the room before we left for the parks. Wear clothes that can get wet when you go to Universal vs. Islands of Adventures.

You can take your own drinks to the poolside. My DH and I would replenish our drinks in the room and bring it down to the pool. Everyone at the pool has there own cups.

There is a character breakfast at one of the restaurants; we had Scooby Doo at ours.

This is all I can think of at this moment. I will write more soon.

cgrace · 06-09-2010, 09:53:04 AM

We stayed at Royal Pacific a few years ago and absolutely loved it. From the moment we drove up it was like being transported to a tropical island. I highly recommend staying on property at Universal. Not only do you then have free (and quick) transportation to the parks but you have special lines for guests only that basically take you to the front of all the lines (guessing that's the Express or Fast pass others have talked about). When we went you just had to have your hotel card to verify you were a guest. You can actually stay at the parks for fewer days this way because you aren't wasting any time waiting. We kind of felt bad walking past all those poor people who were waiting for hours at the most popular rides, but we got over that pretty fast :) It's also nice to stay on property because you can go back to your room for a nap, snack or swim during the day and then head back over to the park without any hassle. Food was pricey, but the restaurants right outside the park were very good (Emeril's, and some others I can't even remember anymore). Everyone we came in contact with at the hotel and parks was very nice, helpful and attentive. We actually enjoyed our stay there slightly more than at Disney, mostly because of getting to go to the front of the lines.

jolly321 · 06-09-2010, 01:55:24 PM

Originally Posted by cgrace

We actually enjoyed our stay there slightly more than at Disney, mostly because of getting to go to the front of the lines.

Same here! We only live 2 hours away and I don't think I will ever get DH back to Disney because of the luxury of the Express Pass line that takes you to the front at Universal.

cens0rship · 06-20-2010, 01:14:43 PM

Thanks for all the info guys! We're gearing up for a vacay to Harry Potter's wizarding world in August ( we're used to the heat we live in Houston TX and it's 100 degrees from april to October not including the humidity lol) I'll be keeping my eye on this thread for more useful info.

I am curious about one thing. I know Harry Pottter is part of Universal but are they at the same location? (It's new and i'm a little confused *blush*)

gctattoo · 06-21-2010, 01:28:10 PM

Originally Posted by cens0rship

Thanks for all the info guys! We're gearing up for a vacay to Harry Potter's wizarding world in August ( we're used to the heat we live in Houston TX and it's 100 degrees from april to October not including the humidity lol) I'll be keeping my eye on this thread for more useful info.

I am curious about one thing. I know Harry Pottter is part of Universal but are they at the same location? (It's new and i'm a little confused *blush*)

What people refer to as "Universal" is actually two different parks. There's Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. The new Harry Potter exhibit is at Islands of Adventure.

You can get tickets for either park or a combo for both. The parks are right next to each other. All you have to do is walk a little ways from one entrance to the other if you're visiting both parks in one day.