Universal Studios/Disney tips/tricks for family of 5?

Question

I am visitting Universal Studios and Disney in early December for the first time as an early Christmas present for my 3 kids. They are 10, 12 and 14. My husband and I haven never been either and we are really looking forward to it. I would love to hear any great tips or tricks to maximizing our vacation at either place. Money saving tips are encouraged and time management too! Thanks for your help!

Answer 1

Pick-up Coupon mags everywhere you can, it will save on meals. Get the fast passes, it's well worth it. You won't have to wait in all of the very long lines then. Some parks charge for this and some don't. Meal deals at universal, they will sell you something that will let you eat all day for one price. Plan eating breakfast before you get into the park, and plan dinner after you get out of the park. This will save lots of money too! Get a map this will let you know which rides are open or closed, and you can plan your day around the shows you should also go to. Get there early Bypass the first or even the second rides inside the gate and you will find that lines will be a lot shorter this way. Plan on staying late as some of the parks have great fireworks or really cool laser light, and fire shows. Get park hopper passes if you can afford it that lets you in all of the Disney parks in one day. not that you could possibly see all one park in a day though. Wear Sneekers, or something that won't hurt your feet standing and walking all day. Good luck and have fun!

Answer 2

You can do Universal Studios in one or two days. Universal has some really cool rides and shows (see the Terminator show and be sure to ride Spider-Man), but for an all-around fun atmosphere Disney World wins hands down.

Of the four lands, Epcot is the largest and would probably appeal the least to your kids, so if you do Epcot stick to future world (if your kids like thrill rides, have them do Test Track and Mission Space). In the Magic Kingdom, the Haunted Mansion is a "don't miss," and be sure to do Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad -- and the thrill-seekers can do Space Mountain. Disney-MGM Studios has a bunch of very cool attractions, including Muppet-Vision 3-D (very funny and nice to sit for a while after all that walking), Star Tours, the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (NOT for the squeamish -- it's one of those "free fall" rides) and the Rock and Roller Coaster. At the Animal Kingdom, do the Kilimanjaro safari ride either first thing or at the end of the day, and they have several rides like Kali River Rapids (WARNING: You may get SOAKED), Dinosaur, and the new roller coaster called "Expedition Everest."

Some tips: (1) Get FAST Passes for the most popular rides -- the way it works is you put your park pass in a machine and it spits out your pass and a special ticket that gives you a one-hour window where you can go to that ride and go practically all the way to the front of the line. (2) If you eat in the parks, lunch is a heck of a lot less expensive than dinner at the restaurants. (3) It may be too late already, but if you think your children would enjoy a meal with the characters, call 1-407-W-DISNEY ASAP and see if you can get reservations. Best character meal is the character brunch at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort Hotel, and the Contemporary is on the monorail for the Magic Kingdom. (4) Whatever you do, DON'T miss the end-of-the-day shows at Disney-MGM Studios and Epcot -- Fantasmic! and Illumi-Nations, which happens right in the middle of the World Showcase Lagoon in Epcot. BE WARNED: People start finding seats or viewing spots well over an hour before showtime, so find a good spot for each and keep it -- the wait is worth it. (5) You should really consider investing $15.00 to $20.00 in a copy of Birnbaum's Walt Disney World Official Guide -- that way you can read up on everything WDW has to offer and you can make a list of things you really want to see/do and which things are not as high on your priority list.

Have a nice trip! I'll be following you at the end of January 2007.

Answer 3

Well if your kids are mature enough you can have them go off together and you and your husband can have some alone time to enjoy your first disney experience together. Stay at the disney value resorts i.e. all stars. They are as low as $79 a night and you get free transportation to all theparks, hotels, and downtown disney. What i recommend is to not rent a car while you are at disney, you will never ever use it! Trust me, ive been there 16 times now, and if you go rent a car, dont drive to the parks, take the buses. You will waste so much precious time if you drive yourself.

Heres a good tip: When you go to the parades and fireworks at night, leave like 5 or 10 minutes before its over to get on the buses or monorails without any crowded traffic or it will take you at least an hour to get back to your hotel thats 5 minutes away.

Another tip: Go on the rides during one of the parades or firework shows, there are nooo lines :)

You can email me, i am a disney fanatic. Also, if you didnt already purchase Universal Tickets, i dont think i would bother going there, maybe for one day, but every time i went there, more than half the rides were down the whole day! The whole reason we wnet was to go on the rides and 5 out of the 5 times we went we only got to go on like 3 rides :(

Also, the value resorts are sooo cool, so dont underestimate them because of their price :)

And take lots of pictures, have fun! Your sooo lucky, i wish i was there.

Answer 4

Hi,
Before I answer this question, perhaps can you tell me if you are going to the Universal Studios in Hollywood, and Disneyland / Disney California Adventure? Or Universal Studios Orlando and Disneyworld? So far the answers other provided are based on the one in Florida. So if you are heading to the one in California it could be a whole different recommendation.

These are my recommendation:
Go to www.ebay.com
Search for "Disneyland Ticket" or Disney Ticket" Or "Universal Studios Ticket" Or "pass, instead of ticket".
There are a lot of sellers selling reduced ticket, if you are lucky you can win it at a lower price, compared to the prices you pay at the gate.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
I personally have a Priority Pass for Universal Hollywood... where you get to skip the like, and walk at a VIP gate...to your selected attractions. It save you a lot of time, really.

Also, when you enter the park, at Universal Studio...be sure to take the Backlot Tour...because this one is always crowded...and it is an 1 hour ride to a lot of movie scenes, jaws, etc etc.

Water World- This is about stunts performed life..like a movie scene, with motorboats, planes, heros and etc etc.... if your kids like to have fun, stay at the WET ZONE as the actor will splash water to the audience. If you want to stay dry...check out the dry zone (which is always full, so please go there early to queue)

Lockers are available at the park. Rental fee is anywhere from $5-$15 depending on the size. Universal Studios also has this special Meal plan for a fee, you get the plan, and you eat all day at selected restaurants, for free.

There are eletronic signs everywhere at Universal Studios, showing you the current wait line, and how long it takes. So, be on the look of those too. Some attractions close early, some has limited showtime. Plan ahead to get the most out of it.


DISNEY
If you are in Disney, use Fast Pass. Everyone with entrance ticket, will get a chance to pick any attraction that has this Fast Pass feature....all you do is go to the attraction, look for Fast Pass booth, insert your ticket, to redeem a fast pass, that has 1 hour time slot. Make sure you collect the Fast PAss ticket AND your own entrance ticket ok. Then you go enjoy the rest of the park, and remember to come back at the time stated on your Fast Pass. Walk to this special like..and start waiving goodbye to the long line! lol.

Have fun!

Answer 5

Definitely Fast Pass whenever you can.

If anyone is up to riding by themselves, go for it. You can get on the single riders line with less than 1/2 the wait.

Try not to stick to a regular lunch times (12N- 2P) for your for break. Everyplace gets mobbed. I'd recommend going to the park restaurants. They're a better deal than the stands when you consider you're getting served and can really relax. You'll need the break!

I think Universal has the most fun rides, even if it doesn't have the 'I'm in another-world feel" of Disney!

Spiderman and The Mummy rides are musts. The Hulk for roller coaster fans.

Don't bother with any of the character breakfasts!

Answer 6

Gee, this is right up my ally. I'm a fourteen year old myself, a Florida resident who has been to the parks too many times to count. In a nutshell, this is what I reccomend:

:DISNEY:
--All Disney parks have a circular (or ovalish.) layout. Most guests are encouraged to go counterclockwise. (In Magic Kindgom that would mean starting in FutureLand, In Epcot it's headed towards Canada and England, in animal kingdom towards the Everest ride and MGM towards Rock'n'Roller Coaster.) I suggest going the OPPOSITE direction; that is, go clockwise. There are very few people on the left edges of the parks, so you'll have a few hours of relative solitude before the crowds from the counter-clockwise route meet up with you.
--In Maging Kindgdom, try riding these rides in order. I've found that this way is the easiest and quickest way to get all the rides done and still have time for a few shows.
>Get a Fastpass for Splash Mountain the moment you get there<
>From there, head next door to Thunder Mountain. The line, if you get there at opening time, should be about 30 minutes tops.<
>By now you should be able to get on Splash Mountain<
>Head over to FutureLand and get a Fastpass for Space Mountain<
>Eat. There are no "good" resteraunts - just bad and better. Disney's not known for its food...<
>Go on Space Mountain<
In this order, you should be able to get the three mountains (easily the best Magic Kindgom rides) down easily.
--I haven't been to Animal Kingdom or MGM enough times to honestly have worked out a system. MGM is a fun place and it has the two best rides in Disney - Tower of Terror and Rock'n'Roller Coaster. EPCOT is fun, if not a little dull for the younger kids. There are oftentimes school fieldtrips to this park (been on three myself.) and there are fewer rides in this park than anywhere else, thus the lines are much longer here. Expect lines up to 70 minutes, especially for Mission:Space and Soarin'. There are only two really amazing things at Animal Kingdom, and those would be Expedition Everest and the Safari. (you HAVE to see that; it's very cool.)
--Neat trick on saving $$$ when eating; order a double cheeserburger (eight bucks) and ask for an extra bun. They always give it to you. Then transfer one patty onto the other bun and wala, two single burgers and you've saved yourself eight bucks. LOL.

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
--Let's face it; the studio itself is LAME-O. It really can't occupy a family of five for a whole day. I would definately reccomend getting a pass to BOTH parks, because while Islands of Adventure is much more entertaining, it's small.
--At Studios, you'll want to hit Mummy ASAP. While it hypes that ride up, I don't see anything wrong with taking your ten-year-old on it. It is intense in scary images, I will admit that, but most daring preteens can manage it. The ride itself, while spectacular, isn't really very scary.
--At IOA, you want to hit the Hulk. That is definately the BEST RIDE in Florida. If you're not daring enough, I'd also reccomend Spiderman. It's tamer and it's not really a coaster. It's a revolutionary 3-D show experience that's bound to delight anyone over the age of five. Also get on PopEyes in ToonTown - that's a really fun ride. Not very intense, but fun. Don't bother with Posiedon's Adventure - it's SO LONG! By the end of the show you're wishing to get out. It also reeks in the waiting area; not a perk.
Juarassic Park and Dr. Doom's Freefall are also very fun, as is Dudley-Dorights Ripsaw Falls, but I admit that those have some HIDEOUS drops. Seriously, I can't take them all in one day without getting sick
.--Dueling Dragons = really. Fun. Inverted, Floorless, double-helix rollercoaster. One of a kind.
--Universal is themeed for kids twelve-and-up-ish; Disney for the younger crowd.

Good luck, welcome to sunny Florida, and enjoy your trip!

Answer 7

DONT BOOK ACCOMODATION.

Get a car from Orlando airport.....drive to Kissamee....the prices of ALL the hotels/motels are awesome, they are competing with each other. Booking ahead will waste a lot of money.

As far as the parks?......all over Kissamee are time share advertising places, all you need to do is waste an hour or so each morning looking at a time share and they will give you 2 free tickets to any theme park. The cost to you?...maybe $30...the cost for the parks?...around $55 each the last time i was there

Kissamee is where all the parks are, its an area

Go for it...makes sense

Answer 8

I have been to both MANY times...you will have a blast and the kids are perfect ages...Definately take advantage of the park hopper passes....blizzard beach is a really fun water park!

To save money...take along water bottles...snacks!...the food is very expensive! If you are renting a car..drive into Orlando...they have many great restaurants (trendy and fun)..but will be cheaper "off property"....

Your kids are older..but for others...I buy souvenirs at the Disney store on sale..then give them to them when we get to Disney...

The hotels on Disney property are also very beautiful and fun...take time to browse through them..take the free boat rides...visit Downtown DIsney after dinner and enjoy!!

Answer 9

i have some great deals on my web page, petetapia.com, go to the shop page and look at the travel deals, the income is only checked if you buy a time share. you got to do a 90 min info tour, other than that it's a GREAT deal!!!!!!!