Help please! [How many days for Universal Studios?] - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Help please! [How many days for Universal Studios?]
We are planning first trip to Disney World and Universal Studios for 2016. We have an expert helping us with the Disney part but she has never been to Universal Studios. We have a 10 y.o. and 5 y.o. and need to know how many days to plan for at Universal.
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I moved your question here, in hopes you'll find your answer.
Are your kids Harry Potter fans? If they love HP, you might want a park-to-park pass for the two Universal parks, so you can ride the Hogwarts Express from one to the other. If not, you can get away with one day at each park, I would think.
Is the older one a fan of thrill rides? You'll find more of them at Universal than at WDW, so that may factor in to how many days you'll need.
Yes we are staying on site and then moving to WDW. We had already planned to do the park to park pass and the little one is very excited about riding the train. We are going in October so the older one is super excited about the extra Halloween stuff but the little one doesn't like scary stuff so much so I will probably stay at the hotel with him. Both boys have watched the Harry Potter movies and enjoyed them very much. I just have to keep reminding the little one it is not real and just a movie.
Thanks everyone for your help. If you have any other suggestions please send them on.
Truthfully, your 10 yr old may be too young for the Haunted Nights at Universal. It's REALLY scary. It's geared toward adults. Do some research on this before buying tickets.
Onsite resorts are all really great and very convenient. You'll love it.
Let me know if you have any questions. I've been to US/IOA three times this year.
Thank you for your input about the Haunted Nights. I will let his parents decide on whether he should go or not (I'm the grandma). But you answered the question about me staying back with the youngest one.
I do have another question. If we are going mid October do we still need the Express Pass or are the lines short enough that it wouldn't really be worth the cost? We are wanting to stay onsite at Cabana Bay and they have early entry but not free Express Pass.
I have always stayed on site becauae I love Universal hotels-they are lovely. The only time we have really used FOTL access was on the weekends. No matter what time of year, UNiversal never seems that crowded to me.
I have always stayed on site becauae I love Universal hotels-they are lovely. The only time we have really used FOTL access was on the weekends. No matter what time of year, UNiversal never seems that crowded to me.
Well, we've had a different experience with crowds. We've been three times, all in the summer, and we have found crowds to be very large. Rides like Pteranodon Flyers and Dudley Do-right routinely had 1 hour waits, so Express Pass will be a nice perk.
I would suggest two days at US/IOA, even with Express Pass.
We did a similar trip during the Christmas holidays. 2 days in Universal was plenty for us. Wizarding World was awesome but holidays lines were insane. 3 rides in the rest of Universal was all we enjoyed, everything else seem dated. Wizarding World is really designed for older kids and adults so that may not take you long. Being able to split up your party will help alot, both in Universal and WDW. If your 5 yr frightens easily, really research the individual attractions. Being tall enough to ride Star Wars won't overcome the noise and rough ride.
You can't overplan with kids that age. Standing in line is the hardest for them so consider taking "time killer" toys...
It sounds like Harry Potter is increasing attendance like it was hoped. I have not been to Universal since before Harry Potter. I remember last time we were there it was so empty.
I do recommend on site. The hotels are beautiful, the service very good and everything is close enough, you can walk.