Universal - Any Tips

[Nancy Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Nancy]

We bought 7 day tickets to Universal. Does anyone have any hints or tips on best times, etc. Hubby and I aren't into coasters or whirley rides, so any suggestions for "calm" adult rides. At Disney I love Haunted House, Small World, etc (you get the picture).

How about parking?

Thanks,
Nancy

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

You'll be hard pressed to fill 7 days, but I love the original Universal park. The "Islands of Adventure" side is very coaster-heavy, though you might find a ride or two that is calmer. Don't miss the ET ride on the original side. I can't help too much with other rides, it's been a while since we were there.

For parking I recommend spending the $ on the valet.. it is a small cost compared to the convenience it provides.

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

Islands of Adventure is great but there are coaster rides there but some are not to be missed. The Popeye ride was a lot of fun and so was Jurassic park. The Movie side was made smaller when they built the other park. You should able to do both parks in 1 to 2 days depending on the lines. If you like fine food Emeril has 2 restaurants there. 1 in City Walk and an Asian style by the Pacific hotel which I recommend.

[shopgirl Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close shopgirl]

I recommend Men in Black, Alien attack. They spin you a little at the end of the ride, but it is pretty calm and is loads of fun. Kinda like Buzz Lightyear but much more fun. We ride it about 12 times each time we go. We head to that ride first because it is by far my favorite in any park. I don't ride roller coasters at all and that makes Islands of Adventure pretty boring for me. I wait on the benches outside of the rides. I cannot ride Dr. Doom's Dreadfall either. I do ride Spiderman and think it is the second-best ride in all the parks. You just have to keep in mind that everything is visual, and you won't freak out when the car seems like it is spinning to the tops of the hirise buildings. Very great 3D effects.

ET is cute, we love it. Jaws is pretty good, just a boat ride, basically. Back to the Future is a wild ride, but I ride it because it is just a rougher Star Tours type of ride. The shows are great at Universal. We watch every one of them, every trip.

[wombat Member Find all posts View Profile Close wombat]

The Shrek 4D show at Universal Studios is absolutely the best 3D show in Orlando, in my opinion. Cose behind is AK's Bug show, but it beats MK's Disney Philharmagic and Epcot's Honey I Shrunk The Kids hands down. We watched it several times a day, on each day of our multi-pass tickets!

[Nancy Platinum Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close Nancy]

Thanks

Thanks for the info so far. Any other suggestions, thoughts will be appreciated. We don't plan to go all 7 days, but a 7 day ticket was just $85, and a 1 day not much less.

Nancy

[Glitter Brunello Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Glitter Brunello]

Thanks for the info so far. Any other suggestions, thoughts will be appreciated. We don't plan to go all 7 days, but a 7 day ticket was just $85, and a 1 day not much less.

Nancy

We bought the same thing when we went, for the same reason. It makes it easier to enjoy, and not a bad thing if you want to just do a few hours at a time, etc..

If the Spiderman ride is still at Islands of Adventure, that was my favorite, and I don't do roller coasters. Also the Mummy ride on the original side. Both are 'thrill rides,' but not hard on the spine.

[timeos2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close timeos2]

Some more

No ones mentioned Twister yet. The effects are very good. The old reliable Earthquake and, if you don't mind a short coaster, the Mummy is our current favorite in the original park. IOA Spiderman holds the award. As already mentioned the rides at Universal are superior to Disneys in our view although the overall theming isn't as good. It's the ride that counts. Enjoy your trip.

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Admittedly we go to IOA for the 'coasters but there are several other attractions and rides that are fun for those that don't need to ride the Hulk 10 times.

Dudley Do Right is a great old fashioned log flume
Poseiden's Fury was very well done.

These are in addition to the ones already mentioned.

You'll enjoy the live shows. It will probably take 2 days to see all of them.

We also bought that ticket deal. Although DH only went with us twice. He is the non-coaster person. He enjoys the shows and water rides. DS and I went for 5 days and had a blast.

[Transit Member Find all posts View Profile Close Transit]

Park for park I would take Universal over Disney any day.If you have a 7 day pass and no kids then you can really stroll through without the rush and race to get on every possible ride.Spiderman is the best ride anywhere.

[dioxide45 Member Find all posts View Profile Close dioxide45]

If you are on the large side like myself, Universal isn't going to have many rides that are accessible. Disney caters to those that are overweight with their ride designs much better than Universal. I can't think of any of the rides that were very comfortable to sit in (ET, MIB). They would definitly be much better at my ideal weight.
I don't know if the Jaws ride is still open as one other poster suggested. Last time we were there, it was closed (Nov 2005). My wife and I are usually able to go through both parks at Universal in a single day. We usually spend more time at City Walk than in the parks. Always enjoy the Hard Rock Cafe too.