Need advice on Universal

First time back at Universal in 10 years. Now my son is old enough (15) to go on all of the rides. How much time should we allot for both parks? Factors: we don%26#39;t do much browsing so our shopping time is minimal. Obviously, no kiddie rides. That being said, do they still have the restaurant where the Seuss characters come around? We%26#39;ve been to Universal in SoCal and can skip duplicate rides. We also don%26#39;t like to wait in lines so any type of Front of the Line pass is preferable. Have not decided on accommodations so we could opt for Universal hotel. Finally, this trip will occur in summer because we have to work around school sched. Remainder of the trip will be at Disney but we%26#39;ll save that for another post!

Need advice on Universal

When is Summer to you?

If June go then and go early. Early July- mid August is very crowded as you have the Europeans as well as US visitors. Very late August/early September is slightly better, but more chance of bad weather.

Got to your Park early, and ride most pop things first. Unless you are staying in a Universal resort with an ulitimate fastpass. Having said that, it will be hot when you go whatever, so I%26#39;d stick with the get there early, leave early and swim in your hotel pool option.

Need advice on Universal

Hi fredorules

If you dont like queuing you will have to buy the express pass for universal,last year the characters were at certain points at certain times. I did not see any of the characters in any of the resturants.As for how long for each park depends on what time you are getting there and how busy the express lines are.

we went late june early july one year and it was v busy. The express pass (which you pay for) is one option to allow you to skip the queues. But as said previously July/August you will get alot of visitors from UK and Europe...if you do not wish to buy express pass then go really early and get to the popular rides first...

There is a character meal in IOA, the one we went to has Spider man and thing 1 and 2 etc...

As for lines, I do not like waiting either but am happy to and expect to wait up to 20 mins or so...if I really wanted to avoid crowds then I would and do try to go at the appropriate times..ie; Sept/Oct/May

Have a great time abywhooo ;0)

If it%26#39;s in your budget I%26#39;d highly recommend staying at one of the on-site Universal resorts. You%26#39;ll have front of the line for your entire stay. A one night%26#39;s stay will give you FOL access from the time you check in (We did this at 7:30 AM) until park closing of the day you check out. I took my two during the summer when they were around the age of your son and we were able to enjoy everything in two days. They really LOVED the Hard Rock!

Jennifer

Jennifer, how do you get the FOL for 7:30 if that%26#39;s the day you check in? Do they allow you to check in early?

All: thanks for your suggestions. We last went in 1999 and my son had not started school so we could go in May to avoid the crowds. We%26#39;d like to try to avoid the lines - we did the FOL at Universal in SoCal and saw everything we wanted to see in one day - some of those lines looked horrendous. It sounds like it%26#39;s doable in two days with the FOL. And yes, I believe the restaurant with the characters was in IOA - I just wanted to take pictures of him 10 years later to compare with the same ones I took in 99.

You can check in very early, before the parks even open. Your room probably won%26#39;t be ready but you%26#39;ll get your hotel IDs which will give you FOL at both parks. We checked in, got our keys and hit Islands of Adventure when it opened. The next day we checked out early but were still able to use our keys for FOL at Universal Studios. It was the busy summertime season so this was GREAT!

My kids loved the Hard Rock especially the pool. It%26#39;s really neat because there are underwater speakers so you can rock out while you swim.

Jennifer

Been researching a trip to Universal for next week. The restaurant with the character breakfast is Confisco Grill. It normally includes Cat in the Hat, Thing 1%26amp;2, and Spiderman. You might check on the Universal forum at Disboards or IOACentral, but I believe this meal is offered only during ';peak'; periods. Someone on those sites may be able to tell you whether it will be available during your stay.

One other tip. There is a difference between the Express Pass you can purchase and staying at an on-site resort. The purchased pass is only good for one visit to each major attraction. Guests of on-site resorts receive unlimited use of the Express pass line at the attractions. So, if your son loves Hulk, he could ride it over and over again...

I will be able to give you a little more information on peak crowds and lines after Christmas (our trip is Dec. 19-27), but from what I%26#39;ve found on-line, I would guess 2 days would be sufficient with Express passes.

Thanks all - some really helpful info here.

One question about the use of Universal hotel room keys as FOTL passes. Do you show the room key at the FOTL or do they scan it? We will be staying at Disney for the remainder of the trip, but could we return to Universal with the original room keys for FOTL use if we decide to do one more day there a week later?

Hi Fredorules

I would suggest probabley a day for both parks if there is quit a lot you want to do the worst thing is rushing around the park.Im not too sure about the resturants where doctor seuss still comes around but i imagine that he still is doing that at the green eggs and ham resturant as this resturant is themed on cat in the hat.As you do not like to wait in lines, if you do end up staying in a universal hotel then you can use your room card as a line pass so you can get to the front of the lines.As i have done this when i stayed at the portafino bay hotel.