Hubby and I are going to Orlando in May for 7 nights with my girls aged 10 and 11(all of which have never been) We plan on going to the 4 Disney parks but wondering if it would be worth spending the money for both Islands of Adventure as well as Universal Studios or just do one due to limited time and funds? Also, staying at Windsor Hills resort which is 2 miles from Disney. How long is it to get to Universal from there?
Universal %26amp; Islands of Adventure....is one better than the...
Depending on traffic the drive to Universal is 20-30 minutes. May son is 10 and loves both Universal and IOA but if we had to choose just one it would be IOA. In May the parks shouldn%26#39;t be that crowded so you are liekly to have time for everything. I would bet your kids are old enough that the Magic Kingdom will not have broad appeal. I know my son is very limited in what he likes there now and we barely spend half a day there. Of course having been several times he knows what to pick and choose from and newbies may have a hard time doing that.
Universal %26amp; Islands of Adventure....is one better than the...
It depends on what you and your family likes, IOA has more of your thrill type rides and are mostly outside, where Universal is more of what I call your attraction rides, they are mostly rides and shows inside of buildings, some are bumpy and jerky but really not that thrilling.
Just FYI Disney Property is 2 miles from Windsor Hill not the parks, you can add just under 2 miles more to MGM, 2 1/2 miles more to Epcot and just over 5 miles to the Magic Kingdom. Universal is going to be approx 15 miles from Windsor Hills but because of traffic and construction its going to be about a 30 minute drive.
Universal has a really good website you might want to review with the kids, and see which park they would be most interested in. I%26#39;m thinking they will probably pick Islands of Adventure, because of the Seuss and Comics themed areas. I feel that unless you%26#39;re familliar with the movies the attractons at Universal are based on, they%26#39;re just not as interesting as the attractons at IOA, which can stand more on their own. You don%26#39;t have to know who the Incredible Hulk is to appreciate a big green rollercoaster!
If you get there early you should be able to get a good half day in both. Go to Universal first and set yourself a time to leave , say 3;00pm Its only a short walk to IOA spend the rest of the day there. You should be able to do it on the same ticket, but check.
If you like it you can plan an action replay to suit you tastes another day and do it all again or that you missed the first time round. If you were to do it on your first or second days, it would give you some idea of the differance ie Disney/ Universal you would then be in a better position to judge if you wanted to go again and for how long.
My 10 year old son would choose IOA as his favourite park - above all the Disney ones and Universal. If your girls like thrill rides go to IOA the rides are better than Disney%26#39;s. However I don%26#39;t think the atmosphere is quite the same. Have you thought of two days at the Universal parks and one less at Disney?
Another point - it%26#39;s so easy to walk from one park to another at Universal, so if you went early and stayed late ( do a smaller Disney park either side) then you could do most rides at each.
If your girls enjoy rides - white knuckle and wet rides particularly, don%26#39;t miss IOA, it has some of the best rides ever. However, I agree with XR759 that you could fit in both parks in a very full day if you wish. However, I would disagree in the order you do them. IOA, since it has so many really popular thrill rides, would be good to visit first in order to do the rides before the crowds build up. Do them first (head off left into the park), then get wet in Toon Lagoon and dry off on your way round the rest of the park and head off to Universal Studios. As suggested take a look at the website and plan out all the things you%26#39;d like to do in both parks and skip the rest (tempting tho they may be).
After hearing everyone%26#39;s feedback, I think we will do both IOA and Universal. Who knows when we might get back again.We will be there May 16-23 and silly me did not realize that this will be over the Memorial Day holiday. In Canada we have the Victoria Day weekend that week and I wasn%26#39;t thinking at all. How busy do you think it will get? Thanks so much for all your extremely valuable comments. I can%26#39;t imagine what everyone did without the internet!!!
I too would recommend IOA as the better park in terms of thrill rides but Universal Studios also has a lot to offer.
If I just had a week and had to choose (having been to them all many times), I%26#39;d not even bother with Disney or maybe just go to MGM and possibly Magic Kingdom if it means missing out on either Universal park.
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