First Time - Are the Universal parks worth it?

[Lorene3]

We are planning our first trip to Orlando for the first week of December. I'm planning one day for each Disney park, and one day for each of the 2 Universal parks. Are the Universal parks worth going to? I have heard that the parks are dirty and the employees are not friendly. Should we even bother going to one or both? (Me, my hubby and our 6 year old daughter)

Thanks!

 

[mirlow]

I would like to know too. I ordered a Universal vacation video and it looked like it would be a fun place to go to. My kids wil be 7, 4, and 1.6 years old. We were going to stay 2 nights at the BC just to hang out and relax because our AP's expire before we head home. Now I'm wondering if we should go to HRH and stay those 2 nights and go to one of the Universal parks for a day? I haven't really read much about these parks. It seems like it is mostly families with older children that go there?

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We have not done Universal but my sister's family, that just returned from their trip did one of the Universal Parks with thier two DS's 7&9.They did not enjoy it that much. The boys enjoyed Suess Land if that helps know which park they went to. They said that for their boys ages, it was not worth the money. They however loved everything at Disney.
Jordan's Mom

 

[The4OfUs]

We did one day at Islands of Adventure this August - with my 7 yr old DS and 9 yr old DD, it would not have been worth it if we didn't get the tickets with our vacation package. Most of the rides there were extreme thrill rides, and we were in and out of the park in about 1/2 a day. It's also a very WET park, we wore bathing suits because the majority of the rides they could and WOULD go on were water related. Not saying it wasn't fun, but it is an "older kids" park in my mind - my son was terrified in "Poseiden's Adventure", which surprised me.

But...they do have the most AMAZING restaurant there, Mythos...and we'll get a dining pass and go back just to eat there next trip.

I will try Universal Studios once as well, mainly because they want to see Nickelodeon Studios. But we're a Disney family it seems... *grin*

 

[BethC]

My 8 year old daughter loved Islands of Adventure the most, although there were a few things at Universal Studios that she enjoyed as well. We found the parks to be very clean and the employess were all quite friendly. We stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel for 2 nights and I can highly reccommend this hotel - it was fantastic!! 2 nights was plenty of time to see the parks and swim in the pool. If you are going on a longer trip or have done WDW many times before than I would definitely plan on making this side trip.

BUT, if it is your first trip and you are going for a week or less, I would suggest staying at Disney World. You are going to be very overwhelmed by everything there is to see and do and you'll find that one day at each park may not be enough for you.

Have fun!

 

[tinaluis]

We absolutely LOVE Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure and would not miss them - we visit them every time we go to Orlando. We have three daughters, 5, 3 and 3 mos. and always find plenty for the 5 and 3 year olds to do. They are a little heavier on the thrill rides than WDW (which my husband and I love) but we always find plenty to do for the kids too. And I've NEVER been treated rudely by any employee there.

 

[LeahA]

We have been to USF and IOA, I have to say that for us, my dh would pick IOA, he loves the roller coaster's, for me I would pick USF. I love Twister, Back to the Future, JAWS etc...

Even though IOA has Suess' Landing, I think overall, the park is geared towards older children/teenagers and adults. I think USF has alot more overall activities for the whole family.

It's definitely worth it to experience IOA/USF at least once. We always enjoy going there, and plan to go back in the future.

 

[sherry7]

We loved both of the parks. The theming was spectacular, the parks were spotless, and the employees were polite. IOA was my favorite of the two. It does have a few thrill rides, but there is plenty a smaller child could do also...especially Seuss's Landing. I liked Universal just as well as MGM. The only thing I found disappointing at either IOA or Universal were the shows. The are not bad, but they are not up to Disney standards either.

 

[sha_lyn]

The parks are not dirty. In fact I was very impressed wiht them especially IOA. I think IOA out "disneys" WDW. The theming is wonderful. They even brought up palm trees that were damaged in hurricanes to put in Seusslanding (becasue of the weird shapes). Our kids were 3 and 11 on the trip. I really think DD enjoyed IOA more because of Seuss landign and the unicorn roller coaster. There is more that she can do at US but that doen't mean she enjoyoed it. She was bored by most of the shows there. The play areas at US are ok but the ones at IOA are better in my opinion.

 

[SNOWBOARDER]

We've been to USF on 2 trips and IOA on the last one and Universal is definitely worth the trip. The parks were very clean and the employees were very friendly. You can do IOA in 1/2 day. Use the the other 1 1/2 to explore USF because it's a bigger park. There's a link to Universal from this page....Have fun!!!

 

[kidzmom3]

We went to Islands of Adventure last November with our then 7 year old son, 4 and 2 year old daughters and we really enjoyed it. Here is a list of some of the things that were appropriate for them, and they are kindof chickens:
Seuss Landing:
the carousel
one fish two fish (they adored this ride/dumboesque but with squirting water) rode x2
the cat and the hat
the grinchmas sled ride (there near holidays)
Also the playground here "if I ran the circus"
*i really enjoyed the playground areas for the kids to run around in.

They liked the unicorn rollercoaster and the Pteranadon flyers. My older sun rode the jurassic park river ride and we all went into the Triceratops encounter. Also, the dinosaur playground was a big hit for my younger girls while we waited for my dh and ds to get off jurassic park.

We liked the water raft ride and flume (popeyes bilge rats and I forget the other name) The food court area here in cartoon land was very imaginative with lots of things to look at and even climb over.

While I would agree that there are a lot of grown up rides here. My DH was in absolute heaven as he is a coaster fan. We really enjoyed IOA, it is visually stunning. The theming from land to land is fabulous complete with theme music. The superheroe area is loud. That was my one complaint. When all the superheroes came riding up on there atv's with sirens blasting. LOUD

I love Disney better, it is more familiar and I would go every year. But I would go to IOA every other year. And hopefully they will add a couple of more kid rides to each area as time goes on.

Have fun

 

[lookingforward]

We went to US & IOA in April. My boys were 10 and 8 at the time and they LOVED everything about it. My 10 year old is a thrill ride addict and was so happy. We went Easter week but stayed at the Hard Rock Hotel so we did not wait more than five or ten minutes for any ride. My 8 year old loved US and most of the rides at IOA. It is completely different than Disney but it is first rate entertainment in a different way. Also, citywalk has some great restaurants..you will really like it.

 

[M&M's Daddy]

We were at both US and IOA on 10/9. We have two DD's (5 and 2).

I would definitely say that US and IOF are geared toward adults and teens, more so that the MK. That said, I would still say these are great parks for families, even with very young children.

We began the day at IOA. Seusslanding is the one area that targets families and young kids. We didn't really try any other area except we did walk over to the cartoon area. I don't think that IOA has enough attractions for small children to occupy a full day. We headed over to US after lunch. (Part of the reason we didn't stay was that last year we went to US and the then 4 yo loved it and kept whining to go there). The parks weren't busy last week and we got to go on the Cat in the Hat and the One Fish... rides 1/2 dozen times each before heading to US. Note: if you get a 2 or 3 day pass you can 'Park Hop' between US and IOA.

Although US only has a few attractions that target young children, in my opinion and experience, what they do have could easily occupy a young child for a full day. There is an area Fievel's Playland that a kid could spend the whole day in (which our 5 yo loves). There's a great water interactive park (Curious George) that big and small kids could spend hours in on a hot day. Right next to it is a 'Ball Factory' that is a large room with air cannons and guns that shoot nerf type balls that families could spend hours in. There is a Barney show that's great for young children and in the exit area there is an interactive play area that kids could spend hours in...

The parks are not dirty and our experience with the staff was good. I would recommend going to both, though if you were only going to spend one day, for the 6 yo I'd pick US. Both my wife and I like US over MGM.

 

[kristikae]

I wouldn't go to Orlando and not go to these parks! I love the magic Disney has but USF and IOA are special in their own way. I have always been amazed how clean all the parks are in Orlando considering the number of people there. I don't think you will regret it if you go to USF and IOA.

 

[Amazing-grace]

Universal studios was my favourite day out in Orlando. We have 4 children and they all loved it, very different from MK, but absolutely brilliant nontheless. Don't miss it

 

[Dopey's twin Dippy]

Hi . Our first trip to Universal was a few years ago.
We had a great time. We loved all of the rides especially ET. that was great.
Food was the same as other parks. We have not been to the new part yet. my
SIL said they really liked it. The rides are more for older kids.
I think you will like the place. We also love Sea World. try it at least one day
and see. But of course we always go back to MK cause its our favorite.

 

[hulabird]

I had purchased US/IOA tickets for this trip to WDW, which we took at the end of August
I bought a 5 day php for WDW and a 2 Day US/IOA...after I bought the US tics I
started having second thoughts, thinking..."how will I ever tear myself away from WDW?"
but I did, and I was glad I did because my DH and I had a great time there, and we only
used 1 day of the pass so next year we can use the other day, as we did both US and IOA
in one day...it really is worth checking out.

Hulabird

CBR Aug/Sep 2001
CBR again in Aug/Sep 2002

 

[bhse]

the people who say there is nothing for a small child to do at IOA are completely wrong. My 4 yr did Spiderman, Popeye, Dudley do-right, Storm spinner, Unicorn coaster, all of Seuss landing, Jurassic River ride, Pteradon Flyers, Dino encounter, play area and discovery center, Poseidens fury and Sinbad shows and loved them all. 9 yr old joined me on Hulk, Dueling dragons and Fearfall.

 

[MikeP]

We did IOA and US for the first time this year, both were great, both were clean and very well done. Both my DS 9 and 5 had a great time at each of the parks. IOA and US are don't miss attractions for us from now on.

 

[Robinrs]

As you can tell by my signature I am FAR from unbiased... .. but I thought I'd stick my two cents in...

My son was 6 when we first went to Orlando. IOA was the first theme park we ever went to. I always call the Port of Entry MY Main Street. It took my breath away then and it still does.

Universal is a fave of mine because I have a degree in theatre. It represents so much of what I love. My son is now 8 and JUST reached the height for the main coasters, but we have enjoyed the parks 10 times before that. There is so much more to offer.

I agree with Beth about the Hard Rock. An awesome hotel! And with the card key you get Express Access so your longest wait is about ten minutes. We went on Memorial Day and never waited more than five. I wouldn't do it any other way. It was depressing when we went to Epcot the next day and had to wait up to 45 mins for rides. It can spoil you terribly.

I think Orlando is full of great options. The sad thing is when people think that Disney is the only option. It's like visiting New York and not going to the Statue of Liberty because you like the Empire State Building.

So, in a word, is it worth it... YES!