Univeral Studios Orlando /Islands of Adventure

[MeghansMom]

So other than Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on October 29th, we are not doing Disney World. The tickets are non-refundable to the party, so we are going.

We have chose to spend three days at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure since my parents said they would take care of tickets as a Christmas present.  We will be staying at Cabana Bay. We have not been to these parks since 2006, so any advice would be appreciated. We do not do rides such as The Hulk or the Mummy, etc. We do ride Spiderman, go figure. It does not bother me, I enjoy it so much that I road it like half a dozen times.Meg and i love Harry Potter! She is very excited to finally get to go see Harry Potter World. :)

 

Thank you.

[MeghansMom]

No one has gone to Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure? Or You don't want to share your tips? :p

 

 

[fraidycat]

No one has gone to Universal Studios or Islands of Adventure? Or You don't want to share your tips? :p

Your title is hard to understand. I had no idea this was about theme parks until I opened the thread - and I skimmed past many times before getting curious enough to see what IoA even meant! I thought it was some kind of college in Iowa or something.

 

You might get more hits if you edit the title to Universal Studios.

[Jean in Newcastle]

I thought it was a weird acronym for the US of A

[bettyandbob]

Just went the week before Labor Day. 3 days was perfect for us. We could see everything without feeling like we needed to race through. We took a break in the afternoon each day and returned to the park after a couple hours--it was very hot the week we went so this break (midday recharge) infinitely increased our enjoyment of the parks. Other families could probably do it in 2 days, but that wouldn't have worked for our needs.

 

We stayed at Cabana Bay. We also paid extra for express line admission. That's probably not necessary if you aren't going on peak days. We used the Universal app to get around and you can use it to determine wait times. The app also gives times of shows that don't seem to be posted on the website. You will need park-to-park tickets if you plan on riding the Hogwarts express.

 

Early admission is for IOA only. And as far as I could tell they only opened Hogsmeade. So, you walk straight through the park to Hogsmeade. Then you do the Forbidden Journey first because that's a ride you can't use unlimited express on. Even if you have a wait there it's fun because they have all these things in the castle for you to notice while waiting. The dragon challenge and hippogriff roller coasters are fun, but less popular--virtually no wait when we went. The Hogwarts Express opens about 30 min after early admission so after a couple rides you can get over to US into London and visit Diagon Alley. You need to go early to ride Escape from Gringotts. If you aren't that into rides, you do want to look at that app because there are some fun short shows throughout the day.

 

Besides Harry Potter, I was really impressed with the look of Seuss Island. It was just plain fun, like you'd stepped into a book. We did meet an greet with SpongeBob twice. The second day no one was in line and SpongeBob played with my ds (14 with intellectual disabilities) for 20 minutes until someone else showed up.

 

I also did meal plans--two days of quick service and snack and one day with full service. I think the meal plan was worth the expense. There were plenty of options for my celiac dd. I'd skip the unlimited drinks (freestyle beverage) option, unless you are a big fan of drinking lots and lots of soda. They do have water fountains, you can get ice from the freestyle machines without getting soda and you can bring water bottles. One reason why we chose the Cabana Bay was it was the only "on site" option that had in room refridgerators. I brought yogurt and gluten free instant oatmeal and we had breakfast in the room each morning.

 

We also took in the Blue Man Group. That was a great show. So, if you feel like adding on, that is worth it.

 

Cabana Bay has two pools. They sell dollar store quality inner tubes for use in the pools and lazy river. It appears you can bring your own. So, I'd check that and bring your own if you have room and can blow it up yourself.

[MeghansMom]

I changed the title, sorry about that!

[MeghansMom]

Thank you Diana P.

 

 

We leave on the 24th of October early in the morning. Plan on exploring DTD and maybe taking in a movie and dinner if it is not too expensive that night.

 

Sunday we plan on taking in Magic Kingdom. We will be in MK for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on Thursday but I don't think we will have much time for rides with trick or treating, shows, parades, fireworks, character greets, etc. We want to experience the new Fantasyland and Meg now wants to try Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. :)

 

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday is for Universal and IoA. I am slower now and don't wish to rush. We figured a day for each park, and one day for the water stuff and favorites. We are not buying express pass but we do get an hour early entrance to Potter World. We do want to eat at Three Broomsticks, Leaky Cauldron and Mythos. We plan on eating breakfast in our rooms and we are not soda drinkers.

 

The parks close 5-7 while we are there, which is fine by us. We figured we would spend the evenings at the pool, maybe one night bowl, I hear they will blow up your inflatables for you at the pool?

 

Dh would love to see Blue Man Group, maybe i can surprise him. What about Cirque de Soleil?

 

On the days we are not at Cabana Bay, we are staying at a Comfort Suite hotel near Disney. We have hotel points with them from DH's work, so free stays. :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bettyandbob]

I don't think they will blow up your inflatables at the pool, but you can always ask. Probably have some rule about it and say it's so you can't get mad if their air compressor damages your thing. If you end up buying their inner tubes, you can deflate them and take them home. You have to spend more for the larger sized ones if adults are going to use them.

 

We ate at all three of those restaurants. Mythos was great! Three Broomsticks was good. Leaky Cauldron had only one option for my dd (if you don't have dietary issues there are choices).

 

I doubt unlimited express will be needed on the dates you intend to go, so you are right not to pay for it.

 

We went to Cirque de Soleil in 2008, when we visited WDW. I really enjoyed it, but the show itself had a very dark theme. I don't if it's the same show now. I could see that show being a bit scary for kids who perceive the theme. My youngest was 6 and liked the show. He has intellectual disabilities so he just had fun watching all the tricks. My older two were 10 and 13 at the time. They both said the "zombies" were disturbing. The group they thought were "zombies" looked like concentration camp victims to me (different generations). Overall, we did like the show. I think the Blue Man Group show was more fun, but it's been a while since I saw Cirque de Soleil.

 

 

[ktgrok]

Are you SURE you don't like the Mummy? That's my favorite, and I'm not a big roller coaster person. It doesn't have any big drops, which is my personal bugaboo and it's so creepy and fun. Spider man makes me a bit nauseaus. 

 

Most of my tips revolve around where to drink, lol, as when we had passes it was before my two littles were born,a nd we'd go when my oldest was with his dad. 

 

Oh, there is a little hidden water play area in Seuss landing, that's a good place to hit to let the kids cool off. 

[MeghansMom]

ktgrok, the Grey Goose slushies at a kiosk in the French Pavilon at Epcot are to die for! :D

 

I have to check with my doctor to see if it is okay if I drink alcohol with the meds I am on. Flaming Moe any good? :)

 

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I think my family would much prefer the Blue Man Group. Thanks for all the info!

 

I freak out on roller coasters, i don't know why I am fine with Spiderman.

[ktgrok]

My personal favorite drink there is the sangria at the Backwater bar. It's generally on special during happy hour. Not super strong, kind of sweet, and good for when it's hot out. Oh, and the whiskey sours made at Finnegans are amazing. Best ever. Have a few of those and you won't freak out on The Mummy :)

[Lady Florida.]

We're Universal passholders and go a lot. I'm off to a doctor's appointment this afternoon. Will chime in this evening.

[Lady Florida.]

My suggestion is to go straight to HP World, which it looks like you'll do anyway with your early admission. I'd recommend riding the train (you'll have tickets to both parks right?) over and back if you haven't ever done that. What happens on the train is not the same in both directions. 

 

I don't find much to do at IoA besides HP world and Spiderman, but 1. I don't have littles and 2. I hate Dr. Seuss. If you have some spare time Poseidon's Adventure is kind of fun but gets very little notice. Studios is my favorite park. Can you do motion rides? If you're okay with Spiderman you'd probably like Minion Mayhem, Terminator 2 3-D, and Transformers 3D. Men in Black is easy to handle. I don't like The Simpsons and always just walk past the area. Ds says the ride is just okay. He and his friends (teens) like E.T. because they say it's retro. I remember how cool we all thought that ride was when the park first opened. That and Back to the Future, a ride that is no more.  :lol:

 

Shrek 4D is fun and gives you a chance to rest. If you are able to catch any shows, go for The Blues Brothers and Beetlejuice Graveyard Review (the latter gives you a chance to sit and rest while enjoying music). If you like Lucille Ball, the Tribute to Lucy is nice. It's also a good way to get into an air conditioned building if it's hot out. (Weather could be hot or nice when you're here. It's an iffy time of year.) Don't make special time for any of these though (except maybe Blues Bros.). They're good time killers and give you a break from the more intense rides.

 

We like The Three Broomsticks better than the Leaky Cauldron. It should be the same right? Somehow it just tastes better to us at Three Broomsticks, and the menu options are slightly different. 

 

Can't help you on the resort stuff because we just make day trips. I second the recommendation for the app with wait times. I've never been to Cirque du Soliel even when it was at DTD but I second the Blue Man Group rec. It's not cheap unless you can find a deal (maybe your hotel has something?) but it's worth it. Such a cool experience! 

 

Tomorrow night I'm going to have hours to kill. I'm taking a group of teens to Halloween Horror Nights but I don't like to go. They're going to get there early so they'll be inside Studios before it closes for the event.  I'll go into IoA until they close, then will wander around City Walk until they come out of HHN at midnight. It's open til 1:00 but the ride home is an hour so I'm giving them a time limit. I'll then have a them camping out on my living room floor. None have their own cars, I won't be out even later to drop them all off, nor do I want to make their parents come out in the middle of the night to get them. The sad part is, it's not my first time doing this. I seem to be the parent who doesn't mind killing time over there. 

 

 

[Kari C in SC]

Even if you do not want to actually ride the rides in the Harry Potter parts, DO walk through as a non-rider. I don't do rides, but there is amazing stuff to see as you walk through. If nobody in your party is riding, they let you go though a faster line. My husband loved that I didn't just end up sitting and waiting while they road rides because everything had stuff to see. It was the same with other areas of the park, but Harry Potter was amazing.

[MeghansMom]

Thirteen more days, yay!

 

It feels strange not having to plan every moment of a vacation.

Other than the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween, we are not doing Disney. Too expensive and they are just getting out of hand.

DH and Meghan are doing the Blue Man Group.

I will be a non-rider on a couple of rides. I have read about taking the "bank tour"

I look forward to this vacation, my family could really use a fun time.

Thank You for your advice!

[madteaparty]

I am not a theme park person but I love Harry Potter world. There's the new addition now where I think you need the park hopper tickets in order to ride hogwarts express from Hogsmeade" to "London". I would time the rides in order of how crowded they get: ollivander's shop is tiny so that line gets long quickly. We've always had the express pass thing where we get into the parks one hour before general admission--this is very worth it to me as I hate lines. DS has been picked for the wand ceremony twice because we were among the first ones there. Same with the castle ride, that's one we do over and over again(also because we use child swap for my youngest) but it also gets a long line. I'd ride this one first.

I cannot speak to the rest of universal as Indint really do the rest of the rides. Well except the shrek ride and the minion one. People seem to adore the minion one but I Tjougjt shrek was cuter. Similar concept. I'm all about the HP world though ;)

[ktgrok]

The Shrek one really is adorable. 

[DawnM]

I am here NOW!  

 

I won't do the Rocket roller coaster thing, but I will do everything else.  

 

We have eaten in Diagon Alley at the Leaky Cauldron.  It was fabulous.

 

If you are staying on property, will you get the express passes included?

[DawnM]

Even if you do not want to actually ride the rides in the Harry Potter parts, DO walk through as a non-rider. I don't do rides, but there is amazing stuff to see as you walk through. If nobody in your party is riding, they let you go though a faster line. My husband loved that I didn't just end up sitting and waiting while they road rides because everything had stuff to see. It was the same with other areas of the park, but Harry Potter was amazing.

 

You don't do rides?  Any of them?

 

Forbidden Journey is my favorite ride ever.

[DawnM]

Thirteen more days, yay!

 

It feels strange not having to plan every moment of a vacation.

Other than the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween, we are not doing Disney. Too expensive and they are just getting out of hand.

DH and Meghan are doing the Blue Man Group.

I will be a non-rider on a couple of rides. I have read about taking the "bank tour"

I look forward to this vacation, my family could really use a fun time.

Thank You for your advice!

 

 

No kidding.  Our homeschool 7 day passes for 5 used to be $780 or so.  They went up to $1250.  Now there aren't discounts to speak of and they are up to $2,200.  That is 3 times the price they were 9 years ago.

[madteaparty]

If you are staying on property, will you get the express passes included?

I think if you stay at the three hotels yes, you do get them free, but I don't think this is the case for the newer hotel :(

[MeghansMom]

I am not a theme park person but I love Harry Potter world. There's the new addition now where I think you need the park hopper tickets in order to ride hogwarts express from Hogsmeade" to "London". I would time the rides in order of how crowded they get: ollivander's shop is tiny so that line gets long quickly. We've always had the express pass thing where we get into the parks one hour before general admission--this is very worth it to me as I hate lines. DS has been picked for the wand ceremony twice because we were among the first ones there. Same with the castle ride, that's one we do over and over again(also because we use child swap for my youngest) but it also gets a long line. I'd ride this one first.

I cannot speak to the rest of universal as Indint really do the rest of the rides. Well except the shrek ride and the minion one. People seem to adore the minion one but I Tjougjt shrek was cuter. Similar concept. I'm all about the HP world though ;)

 

Yes the two park tickets ! Is there not an Olivanders store at both sides of Harry Potter? The original being the tiny Olivander's and a bigger one on the newest side? Maybe I read it wrong.

 

We did do Shrek when we were there in 2006 and we loved it. :)

[MeghansMom]

I am here NOW!  

 

I won't do the Rocket roller coaster thing, but I will do everything else.  

 

We have eaten in Diagon Alley at the Leaky Cauldron.  It was fabulous.

 

If you are staying on property, will you get the express passes included?

 

Cool! Hope you are having a blast.

 

We are staying at Cabana Bay for the three days we do Universal. We get in an hour early at Harry Potter World. The other hotels get express passes.

[MeghansMom]

No kidding.  Our homeschool 7 day passes for 5 used to be $780 or so.  They went up to $1250.  Now there aren't discounts to speak of and they are up to $2,200.  That is 3 times the price they were 9 years ago.

 

Wow!

 

When we were going to Disney World, we had Cinderella's Royal Table on Disney Scout so we could get a table. It came up but now they do not include gratuity nor the photo package.

 

Disney has become way too greedy. :(

[Kari C in SC]

You don't do rides? Any of them?

 

Forbidden Journey is my favorite ride ever.

Nope. I'm terrified of them. Having said that... I took a Xanax and attempted Forbidden Journey. I knew I could close my eyes if I was freaking out. I had to keep my eyes closed for most of it. I have tried to conquer this fear with no luck. I, literally, stopped Splash Mountain before the final drop once. I stood up and stepped off! Yes, I am crazy.

[madteaparty]

Yes the two park tickets ! Is there not an Olivanders store at both sides of Harry Potter? The original being the tiny Olivander's and a bigger one on the newest side? Maybe I read it wrong.

 

We did do Shrek when we were there in 2006 and we loved it. :)

Hi, I'm sure that's the case since the new HP expansion seems to be shops upon shops but I bever tried bc DS got his ollivander's fill twice before the new world opened

[ktgrok]

Nope. I'm terrified of them. Having said that... I took a Xanax and attempted Forbidden Journey. I knew I could close my eyes if I was freaking out. I had to keep my eyes closed for most of it. I have tried to conquer this fear with no luck. I, literally, stopped Splash Mountain before the final drop once. I stood up and stepped off! Yes, I am crazy.

 

I really really hate big drops like that. I won't ride splash mountain for that reason, or most rides. I can't handle that feeling of weightlessness. That said, The Mummy doesn't have that. No big drops at all, just fast turns and such. 

[DawnM]

Nope. I'm terrified of them. Having said that... I took a Xanax and attempted Forbidden Journey. I knew I could close my eyes if I was freaking out. I had to keep my eyes closed for most of it. I have tried to conquer this fear with no luck. I, literally, stopped Splash Mountain before the final drop once. I stood up and stepped off! Yes, I am crazy.

 

Wow, with all your Florida trips and theme park visits, I just assumed you did the rides.

 

This time around I was a little more claustrophobic on FJ.  The person who checked our holders pushed mine down so far I felt I couldn't breath easily.   I hated that, but still loved the ride.