Universal Studios - can anyone sell it to me??

[Chris/Lisa]

Never been that keen on going to US - went about 10 years ago and was not impressed ( just when T2 opened).

IOA we love and have been back to - well themed and lots for the kiddies to do.

So.... we have 2 kids 5 and 3

Is there really enough there to keep them happy for a full day??

[Dawn]

Is there really enough there to keep them happy for a full day??

Ummmmm, probably not the whole day. Unless they like Barney. :evil:

Let me think back.............

They can do most of the rides and shows. Didn't think Terminator was suitable for Harry and Steven. They also had to have the special non-moving bench in Jimmy Neutron. I think Harry did everything else, and got a soaking in Twister. :lol: Oh wait, he was too short for Men in Black and Back to the Future. We spent a ton of time in the Barney play area though because Harry and Steven loved it in there. :gairy:

[ukwdwnut]

i dont know about a full day chris but there is always enough to keep us there for best part of one imo, there are plenty of place to eat and drink

you have

shrek 4D
revenge of the mummy
jimmy neutron nicktoon blast
jaws
T2 3D
et adventure
men in black alien attack
BTTF
twister
earthquake
animal planet live
woody woopeckers nuthouse coaster, more for the small kids but we ride it all the same :wink:
and more smaller attactions for the smaller kids too

i think its worth the day there, but of course thats just my opinion :)

[Chris/Lisa]

Thanks Mike - dunno may do but there may be other places we'd just rather go :shrug:

[ukwdwnut]

of course there is plenty other things to do its just personal preferences for everyone isnt it, as we have bigger kids it suits us better than yours, so it might be a day ticket wasted for you, i would rather do 2 days at IOA if i had the choice :wink: :lol: but others want to do US so thats what we do :)

[kiltedwarrior]

I think it depends on the time of year you go but the last few times ive been the wait times for attractions were very short so we got round everything we wanted to do by late afternoon. Id say theres probably enough there to keep the little 'uns happy for a while. Jimmy Neutron, Shrek 4d, ET, Woodywoodpecker, Barneys Playarea, MIB, The Nickelodeon studio etc.
You could always have a stroll round Citywalk and grab a bite to eat to fill out the day after.
Its a shame US done away with the nightime stuntshow they had in its early days, it always gave guests a reason to stick around till later. Since it went though crowds really do thin out near to closing.

[orlando-sky]

I love it, I love Disney as well but there is something about US that I just enjoy.
The whole atmosphere is completely different from Disney and after several days at Disney it is nice as a change, and I like citywalks.

Besides I love the Mummy, me and my daughter did it 11 times in one day :)

Roll on Feb 06 when I go back to the Hard Rock Hotel, for chillin and priority passes for the rides.... ( hmmmmm perhaps thats why I like it !!)

[Keith]

I keep asking people that too.... every so often we go to US and have never really found much to keep us entertained. Then someone gushes about it and we go back thinking we've missed something <G>

[OKWTink]

I'm not sure, because I am not a US fan either, but I think (stress on the think here!) that Animal Planet Live might be discontinued? I thought I heard somewhere that they put in one of those gross reality shows in place of it? :unsure: Double check with someone who really knows for sure, but I did think I heard that somewhere.

I don't like US for many reasons, loudness being one. I had an AP for both parks when I first moved to Orlando and really tried to like the places as I was only about three miles north of them at the time. They just never rubbed off on me. :sigh:

I do like the Dr. Suess bit, and the Curious George playgrounds though! :D (But I can never remember which parks they are in). :rolleyes:

[ukwdwnut]

tink animal planet is still showing on the website, thats where i got it from, apart from that i never knew it was there :)

[kiltedwarrior]

Animal Planet Live is still there, i think the one Tinks referring to is Fear Factor which replaced the Wild, Wild, Wild West stuntshow in the theatre next to MIB

[OKWTink]

Ah. Well then, I'll just assume that I heard something that wasn't so! (Won't be the first time). :D

[ukwdwnut]

tink you might still be correct, might just be they havent updated the website :)

[orlando-sky]

Animal Planet still there (cool show)... Fear factor live is the latest show there but that is in a seperate part ( really cool show )

[joanne]

IMHO, I'd wait until the squidlets are a bit older for USF. Not really enough there for kids so young :shrug:

[ukwdwnut]

IMHO, I'd wait until the squidlets are a bit older for USF. Not really enough there for kids so young :shrug:


i would tend to agree with you jo, US might be toooooo old for them chris :)

[Chris/Lisa]

Thats fine we'll just go and play with the cat in the hat like last time then :D

[OKWTink]

Thanks for the clarification on which show is no longer! :yes:

[MystikPiglit]

You could browse the website for bit more info. :)
(There is a dvd available but not sure if it comes from here.)

http://themeparks.universalstudios.com/orlando/website/vcvb/uk/index.html

I love wandering around the studios and looking at the buildings etc but that wouldn't interest kiddies.

[katie]

I can confirm that Animal Planet Live was still there last week and that the Fear Factor Live was in place of the old Wild West Stunt show. I honestly think there is enough for you to do a full day there - there are things for younger children as well as the older ones & adults. I went almost every other day for 3 weeks, but then, I just love the place. If you haven't been for 10 years, it's worth going just for the Mummy and E.T., Jimmy Neutron & Shrek for the kids. The animal cast of Madagascar were signing autographs while we were there.

Katie :)

[Dawn]

And I believe you may just spot a certain Dora the Explorer there. :thumbs:

[Chris/Lisa]

I think when we went there all those years ago we just went

:shrug: yeah its ok but theres no 'magic'

[Melfuzz]

Universal was brilliant. I enjoyed it more than MK but probably cause of Shrek as I love Shrek its the best cartoon ever. The park is for older kids and adults probably why I will not have children I would not put up with them not going on scarey rides when I want to. Luckily my husband will go on anything.

[Kate2005]

I absolutley loved Universal :excited: ! I agree it doesnt have the same magic at Disney, but its a completely different atmosphere there - i thought it was brilliant, im so looking forward to going back there - soon! :D

[neil@disney]

In a word - no.

Neil
:lol:

[Kate2005]

In a word - no.

Neil
:lol:


No? :eek: What didnt you like about it?

[wdwgrandma]

I don't know about Neil, but I don't do roller coasters. So I'm worried that there wouldn't be enough there to keep me occupied or to make it worth my while!

[joanne]

There's only 1 coaster at Universal Studios. The others are at IOA.

(I'm not counting Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster :hehe: )

[neil@disney]

:wavesmile

I suffer from motion sickness so I can't go on rollercoasters, simulators etc etc

There's very little else here for me I'm afraid IMO. They try hard to be as good as Disney at the whole park thing but fall short of the mark IMHO. It just doesn't have the atmosphere of Disney. I know Disney is in a league of their own when it comes to parks and they have big boots to fill but that's how I feel.

Sorry Universal fans, it's just not my thing.

Neil
:D

[wdwgrandma]

I can't do the simulators either! They make me so ill.

[Johnie]

It's completely unfair to compare it to Disney.

Universal has plenty to do for one who doesn't do coasters IMO. IOA is a different story.

[Melfuzz]

It has Spongebob Squarepants now Disney does not have that!!!

I really wish I got a spongebob toy now (or t-shirt :)) he is so cool

[katie]

The other thing I have noticed about US and IofA is that the queues/lines for attractions are much shorter than Disney and the US/IofA parks are definilely quieter than when we first started going in 1998. My DH & I are in our 50's now and although we like to see younger people enjoying themselves, we are not as patient/fit as we used to be so shorter lines and fewer crowds are a bonus to us.

Katie :)

[uscwest]

Is there any particular reason you would like to buy it? :rotfl: :rotfl:

[Glennon]

For the kids no it probaly wont keep them amused for the day but I really enjoyed it there, I'm 16 by the way.

[josh.p.]

i think its well worth a visit:thumbs: i think if you had smaller kids (5-8) then half a day would be cool, but the part i enjoyed the most (and i'm sixteen) was the woody woodpecker water play area, it was great especially in july it was a boiling hot day and the water was great! i stood under a shelter because this giant bucket of water which tips over every five minutes was about to tip, little did i know the shelter had holes in it :hehe: :hehe: :swim: :swim: :scuba: also the woody woodpecker ball factory,w here you could go upstair s and fill guns with sponge ball things, and they would fire out wiht air pressure, and you had baskets, and little hovers where you can collect all the balls with, and use the pullys to pass it up to your friends, then you fill this big basket at the top which is on a timer and it opens up at the bottom and it rains balls! its so much fun.
i'm excited jsut thinking about it!!!!!!!:excited: :excited: :excited: (and i'm 13:D )
man i wanna be there right now!:(

[sunshine state]

Universal Studios is a great park, we went there quite a few times this year.

[Chris/Lisa]

:rolleyes: looks like we now have 2 major spongebob fans so we may have to pop accross and say Hi on our IOA day

[lisaw]

We did both parks in one day - IOA first which we whizzed around no problem as it was empty and then US in the afternoon - big mistake :rolleyes: There were huge queues (well huge for us as we are used to Sept with no queues at all!)

Now I love rollercoasters as much as the next thrill seeker but give me the Disney parks anyday - perhaps I am just getting old as I used to love Universal but I really think they need some sort of 'finale' again like they used to have with the stunt show on the water I find it all a bit flat and in my opinion nowhere near the value for money that you get at Disney.

Just my opinion though - I know that lots of people love it :blush:

[Josette]

:lol: you might find this disturbing, but the only thing that i *really* enjoy about UVS, is the smell of ET :D

[Glennon]

To be honest with you all, I enjoyed my Orlando Flexi Tickey more than my Disney ticket, don't get me wrong, I loved Disney as well, just saying :)

[disneytracy]

Returned on Sunday from our two weeks hol and had to tell you how really disappointed i was with US/IOA. I have always loved these parks, but we went last week and they have done away with the fast pass tickets and now you have to buy a 'express yourself' ticket at $15 each. The first time at US we didnt use it, but we waited in long queues to each ride (usually with the fast passes we were everywhere) so when we went to IOA we bought the express tickets. Only once we had purchased the tickets we realised that the express ticket only got you on a ride ONCE only, having used it on a couple of rides we still had to queue (fire and ice using express tickets still had us queuing 35mins). I didnt like the idea of having to buy this ticket, it stinks of divison haves and have nots and i'm even more against it now that i know it is a complete waste of money, I would NOT recommend this to anyone, my thinking is will Disney think its a good idea to adopt. Sorry for rambling but it has made my blood boil!!
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