Universal/Orlando

[Avista]

Has anyone been to Universal lately. We have our grandchildren cousins coming to visit. (Age 22 and 11) Thought we go to Universal. Any thoughts how to approach the parks and stay cool in July? Ha Ha.

[villages07]

Avista... I was there on Friday 6/25 with my visiting sister and her 13 yr old granddaughter. I went ahead and bought the $150 (with taxes) FL resident annual pass for both parks - Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios.

It's worth it to buy the ticket for both parks.

It was hot there, but enough air conditioned and covered areas to find relief from the sun and heat. No rain that day, which was helpful. Also, there are a couple of rides in "Islands" where you can get pretty wet...refreshing but makes you feel grubby walking around afterwards.

It was very crowded but we got on just about all the rides/exhibits that we wanted to. Worst wait was 45 mins, best was instant on.

Many of the rides have "single rider" lines which get you on much quicker (i.e. they won't guarantee to keep your party together on the same seat, but, you usually end up on the same run of the ride). Kinda like seat fillers at the Oscar.

We walked through the new Harry Potter exhibit and rode the secondary roller coaster, but, the wait to get into the main castle ride was hours long. The 'village' is absolutely gorgeous...you feel like you are on the HP movie set.

We got there about 10am and stayed until 8:30pm.

If you stay at a hotel in the park, you can get the priority passes to bypass some of the lines.

This is the first time I had been to Universal. I have been to the Disney/MGM a couple of times. I thought Universal was much more fun. First time I have been on a 'real' roller coaster in over 20 years.

Anyway, overall it was a fun day with lots of stuff to see and do.

[Avista]

Avista... I was there on Friday 6/25 with my visiting sister and her 13 yr old granddaughter. I went ahead and bought the $150 (with taxes) FL resident annual pass for both parks - Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios.

It's worth it to buy the ticket for both parks.

It was hot there, but enough air conditioned and covered areas to find relief from the sun and heat. No rain that day, which was helpful. Also, there are a couple of rides in "Islands" where you can get pretty wet...refreshing but makes you feel grubby walking around afterwards.

It was very crowded but we got on just about all the rides/exhibits that we wanted to. Worst wait was 45 mins, best was instant on.

Many of the rides have "single rider" lines which get you on much quicker (i.e. they won't guarantee to keep your party together on the same seat, but, you usually end up on the same run of the ride). Kinda like seat fillers at the Oscar.

We walked through the new Harry Potter exhibit and rode the secondary roller coaster, but, the wait to get into the main castle ride was hours long. The 'village' is absolutely gorgeous...you feel like you are on the HP movie set.

We got there about 10am and stayed until 8:30pm.

If you stay at a hotel in the park, you can get the priority passes to bypass some of the lines.

This is the first time I had been to Universal. I have been to the Disney/MGM a couple of times. I thought Universal was much more fun. First time I have been on a 'real' roller coaster in over 20 years.

Anyway, overall it was a fun day with lots of stuff to see and do.

Your post was a big help. We got the annual passes. We got one day passes to both parks for grandkids. We are staying at a Holiday Inn Express near by--they supposedly have a shuttle to the park.

What time do you suggest we get there in the morning.? Also, did you have to wait long to get your annual pass processed? The kids go right through the turnstile, so maybe will send them ahead. Did the crowds EVER thin out? any other suggestions? Will let you know how it goes.

[villages07]

Avista...glad it helped!!!

Very quick to pickup your annual pass...special kiosks, not the general "buy a ticket" line. No need to split up your party.

We stayed at a local Hampton that night. It had a shuttle too but only one run to the park in the morning and one return in the evening. Since it was just one day (and we got started out of here later than planned), we went ahead and parked in the Universal garage. $15-$18/day ($18 gets you on preferred parking levels...less walking). You can also go in and out of the garage without having to pay again that day.

We got there at 10:30am...maybe it was less crowded closer to the 9am opening but it seemed to stay pretty crowded all day long.

We didn't eat lunch until about 4pm and still had to wait about 30 mins, so, food places get and stay crowded.

Just be patient...and take your Nook/Kindle to keep you occupied while the kids ride the hard core coasters!!!

Hope y'all have fun.

[Avista]

"Take your Nook" Wow you have a good memory. That is a great idea.
My husband got the annual pass that includes parking. I got the less expensive annual pass. Wonder if his Pass will work for us if we drive our car instead of the shuttle.

PIcked up 4 ponchos for 88 cents each at Wal Mart today. It always seems to rain at some point.

[JoC]

We took two grandchildren ages 13 and 14 specifically to see the Harry Potter exhibit. We were on line for about 2 hours. However, the ride inside the castle, we all agreed, was worth the wait. We noticed when we were leaving in the early evening, that there was much less of a line. It was too crowded to get into any of the Hogsmeade shops. We were there probably at the most crowded time of the day.

[Avista]

We survived Universal on a 95 degree heat day--and we are almost 70. Actually, had a great time with grandkids. We went on many rides, but left the roller coasters to them. Stayed 2 nights at a Holiday Inn Express. The day we went to Universal, we went early and stayed until about 2. Then came back to the hotel and rested a couple hours. After that back to the parks.

Advise given here was great. Inside and water rides were cooling. We rested in the cool indoors occasionally. All and all we did just fine. It was a good day.