How long at Universal?

[steph436]

My family and I will be staying at the Hard Rock at Universal for 7days 6 nights. We are planning 2 days at USF, 2 days at IOA and 1 day at Wet and Wild. Is that an appropriate amount of time at each park? What are you recommendations for our final day?

It has been many years since we have been to Universal so any suggestions are welcome.

[NJGIRL]

IMO two days in each park is more than enough. I usually tell people at least 3 whole days. Doing a day at Wet N Wild is good. Maybe a pool day for the other day. Will you have a car? For something different you can make the drive to Kennedy Space Center..... If not there is the Blue Man Group onsite too.

[wilcat]

We really dislike Universal on all levels. I would spend my time elsewhere in Florida. Seaworld, Kennedy Space Center, Legoland (old Cypress Gardens) water parks, mini golf and the biggie would be Walt Disney World,

[Strmchsr]

I like Universal well enough, but I agree with Rita. 3 park days MAX. There's just not a lot of replay value with many of the attractions. Also, the dining options are pretty lame. Of course, that may be because I live in a tourist area and we have all of those things, but there were no special experiences like at Disney. I think the Blue Man suggestion is a good one. Loved that show. But you might want to consider a day at Legoland and/or Seaworld as well.

[John]

We really dislike Universal on all levels. I would spend my time elsewhere in Florida. Seaworld, Kennedy Space Center, Legoland (old Cypress Gardens) water parks, mini golf and the biggie would be Walt Disney World,

Quite a statement.

On contrast, I could the last 3 days at universal extraordinary and found it far less stressful and more relaxing than any of my recent WDW vacations.

In fact, we are planning on going back for a 5 nite 6 day stay in the future.

To me, its the same setup that makes the Disneyland resort so amazing. Tons of parallels between the two.

Re dining... Again I'll disagree. Between the resorts, parks and city walk, there is a lot to enjoy and good food to be had.

[Strmchsr]

Re dining... Again I'll disagree. Between the resorts, parks and city walk, there is a lot to enjoy and good food to be had.

As I mentioned, I think I'm biased on the dining. Pretty much everything at Universal in City Walk I have right here where I live so nothing was cool or special to me, but if I didn't have that I might feel differently. None of the places we ate were bad, just not a "different" experience.

[John]

We have lots of chains in DC too but I'm looking for good food. So, while there are national names, there are also unique experiences at the resorts as well. Regardless, its all opinion based anyway.



This trip, cowfish was great, margaritaville was very good, pizza at the resort deli was tasty though not NYC good. Butterbeer and butterbeer ice cream was good as were my churros! Certainly we could have venture off property but didn't feel the need.

[John]

Oh and really enjoyed bumble bee mans tacos for lunch at the Simpsons area...

[MNNHFLTX]

My family and I will be staying at the Hard Rock at Universal for 7days 6 nights. We are planning 2 days at USF, 2 days at IOA and 1 day at Wet and Wild. Is that an appropriate amount of time at each park? What are you recommendations for our final day?

It has been many years since we have been to Universal so any suggestions are welcome.

Since you're staying at one of Loew's onsite hotels and can use the Express Pass on most of the rides, two days at each park will be fine. Utilize early entry to Islands of Adventure for the Harry Potter attractions there and then swing over to Universal Studios on the Hogwards Express as soon as it opens to get on Gringotts.

As far as restaurants, not all of them are chain restaurants in City Walk (we loved Cowfish--try Doug's Filet Roll!) Mythos inside IOA is actually quite good and fun to eat at.

[MNNHFLTX]

As I mentioned, I think I'm biased on the dining. Pretty much everything at Universal in City Walk I have right here where I live so nothing was cool or special to me, but if I didn't have that I might feel differently. None of the places we ate were bad, just not a "different" experience.

You definitely don't have Cowfish where you live, Chris. The only other branch of this restaurant is the original in North Carolina. If you go back to Universal, give it a try, the menu is very unique.

[steph436]

Thanks for all of your comments! We are planning to eat at Mythos and Cowfish.

What is a good age group for Legoland? My son is 11yo. We will have a car so we could go to Kennedy, too. Any attractions we should try close to Universal?

[NJGIRL]

I like Universal well enough, but I agree with Rita. 3 park days MAX. There's just not a lot of replay value with many of the attractions. Also, the dining options are pretty lame. Of course, that may be because I live in a tourist area and we have all of those things, but there were no special experiences like at Disney. I think the Blue Man suggestion is a good one. Loved that show. But you might want to consider a day at Legoland and/or Seaworld as well.

I think I may have worded my reply wrong. I feel that you need at least 3 whole days at Universal and feel 4 days will be enough to do everything. I have to disagree with saying that many of the attractions aren't worth doing more than once. I feel that most of their attractions are better than Disney's at this point. And I strongly disagree that their dining options are lame. I think the food there is right on par with Disney's. Universal's hotels are also above Disney's in my opinion.

And I am 100% with John on his statement that Universal provides you with a stress free vacation. Not much planning is involved, restaurants are easier to get into, no time frame you have to be at this attraction or that attraction, and no staying up past 12 midnight in order to get a FP.

We skipped Disney last year and just went to Universal and it was a great vacation. This year we are going back to Disney because I have a timeshare week that must be used and it has already been a hassle and we are not even there yet. After this year our trips to Disney are most likely going to be "what to do with the extra unplanned day" and our home base will be Universal.

[NJGIRL]

I am not a SeaWorld type person, just on principal, and haven't been there for years so I can't give you advice on that. Kennedy was a really nice experience and think it is great for an 11 year old. My son was a lego freak, but by the time they built the park he was too old for the attractions so we haven't been there either.You can always double up on Wet N Wild. Waterparks are so much fun and they can be relaxing too.

[MizMissy]

On both of our trips to Universal, we had four days worth of passes. My kids are thrill ride junkies and with express pass would ride the rides over and over.

I also cannot say enough about HRH. Loew's hotels are just nice and very relaxing to hang out in. We spent a lot of pool time during our vacations. We opened the parks (you really need to arrive early for Harry Potter rides - our trips were before Diagon Alley - but I think it's truer now than before), then either ate early lunch in the parks or CityWalk or the pool bar and spent afternoons at the pool. Also, because the parks are walking distance, in the afternoons, we would take the kids back to IOA and they rode the water rides over and over (Dudley Do Right, Bluto's Barges, and Jurassic Park), then it's an easy walk back to the hotel to change for dinner or more night time in the parks. One afternoon, we were with a big group of people and the kids spent hours in the Curious George ball playground.

We were not bored at all spending 5 days at Universal. It's so easy to move between parks and the hotels and City Walk ... it's so easy NOT to carry lots of stuff with you because you are only minutes from your hotel. I carried a small wristlet with my phone, park ticket, some cash, a credit card, and a couple bandaids with the express pass in a clear pocket on the side.

It's a very relaxing vacation. I think one night we had Cirque du Soleil tickets and spent an evening at DTD, but really had plenty to do on Universal campus. I can't wait to book our next trip.

[NJGIRL]

Karen.....yes! when my son was younger we would spend hours at the Curious George Water Playground....and I am not kidding! I would have him wear his bathing suit and take off his shirt. I have so many Universal pool towels at home now because we would just buy a towel when he was done.

[steph436]

I appreciate all of the great information. We love Disney but really want to experience Universal this year! We love theme parks - the rides, the theming/decor, all of it!

We are also BIG Harry Potter fans. We have decided to wait and see what we want to do on day 6. A day by the pool just relaxing may be needed.

So far we are looking at the following restaurants...

Mythos
Cowfish
Bubba Gump Shrimp
The Kitcken (HRH)
Three Broomsticks (breakfast)
The Leaky Cauldron (breakfast)

Any other sit down restaurants we should try?

[NJGIRL]

The Kitchen at the HR is very good. We have had meals there many times. But I have to warn you if you are going for breakfast they can be very slow unless everyone gets the buffet. I am a small eater and usually just want toast or a bagel for breakfast. Everyone else in our party gets the buffet and they usually have two plates of food and are finished before I get the toast. Just something to keep in mind if you are in a hurry to get into the parks.

Mythos is a great choice.

I reviewed a few places before and will see if I can find the post.