Universal/Islands of Adventure Cost!

[DisneyDaffodil]

We have just come back from Universal/New York stay and loved Universal. However if you are doing Disney too it is expensive and hectic to do the two in one visit. Unless you can afford it easily (and well done if you can as we certainly couldn't 😀 ) I would just get Disney tickets and hope and save for another visit for Universal.
We thought we would only enjoy Disney but we have just returned from Universal and loved that just as much (especially my DH who is not a Harry Potter fan ). Hopefully you will return but don't overstretch on time or money for your first trip as it can spoil the whole experience, just enjoy what you can afford.

[Guest]

Originally Posted by DisneyDaffodil

We have just come back from Universal/New York stay and loved Universal. However if you are doing Disney too it is expensive and hectic to do the two in one visit. Unless you can afford it easily (and well done if you can as we certainly couldn't 😀 ) I would just get Disney tickets and hope and save for another visit for Universal.
We thought we would only enjoy Disney but we have just returned from Universal and loved that just as much (especially my DH who is not a Harry Potter fan ). Hopefully you will return but don't overstretch on time or money for your first trip as it can spoil the whole experience, just enjoy what you can afford.

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Alternatively, families with older kids/teens may prefer to do Universal and skip Disney for their Florida holiday. Whichever they choose, they'll have a great time ... agree with you 100% on ticket costs though.

[baldybouncer]

Universal is brilliant - different to disneyworld so it makes a nice change ride wise and food wise. If you can afford it then you HAVE to go. Love rides like the Hulk etc

We are not able to go this year due to the increased cost and we keep looking to find a cheaper price/deal but so far cannot find it cheaper then £1060 for 5 of us ( 2 adults 1 teen and 2 children ) for 2 days... so we cannot justify it for 2 days

That said - if we found a cheaper deal I would buy in blink of an eye - to us universal is must visit like disneyworld in orlando.

[skstorm]

I really love Universal and am a huge rollercoaster fan however like you husband hates them and mine won't even try them. 5 year old DS is a little timid and didn't really like spiderman or transformers then wouldn't try anything else and other DS is only 2 and not tall enough (although he probably would love them as he's fearless). again we only have 2 / 3 possible days spare in 2 weeks. At the moment that is the tickets we will be knocking off if money is a problem as we would get more use better value from the disney and sea world tickets and they are really expensive for 2 days, shame they don't do a more reasonable 1 day entry ticket. This thought has only been reinforced by the problems at Volcano Bay recently as there is no way that we are getting up at 6am to get there!

[DisneyDaffodil]

Originally Posted by mike230652

Alternatively, families with older kids/teens may prefer to do Universal and skip Disney for their Florida holiday. Whichever they choose, they'll have a great time ... agree with you 100% on ticket costs though.

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Of course, we skipped Disney completely this year and loved Universal just as much. It's difficult to choose which one to go to but I feel its too expensive and too hectic to do it all in one holiday. Good excuse to go back too 😀

[Wobbles]

We have skipped Disney for the last couple of years and don't miss it. We love the slower pace at Universal and can easily spend 7 or 8 days there, only doing a couple of rides at a time and then chilling and watching the world go by.

But we do go for Annual Passes, which spread the cost and saves us money on parking, food and drink

[Moorlandman]

Originally Posted by HollyF

We are here now and have made a complaint to Universal. Not worth the ticket price by a long way. Tacky and boring is an understatement.

We have been massively disappointed by the place.

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Can you expand what you are unhappy with?

I agree its expensive but it is one of the best theme parks in the world along with WDW

[Alien]

not worth it for me to be honest.

[Guest]

We were going to do a week at each this year but decided didn't want to buy 14 day tickets for both due to cost so we only did Disney.

Next year we are going to do two nights in an onsite hotel at Universal and get a two day single park entry ticket. Do one park one day and the other the next. I think that would be rushed for a first tip but we were there in 2015 for twelve days so, happy to do a whistle stop this time and not bothered about missing Hogwart Express.

If you are a big HP fan then it is a wonderful experience and you will love it.

[Nimbus]

Originally Posted by Eloise73

Is it really worth the money?

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It's a tricky question to answer objectively but I will counter that with "Is a holiday to Orlando just to visit the Disney parks worth the money?"

The Universal theme parks are excellent. In many ways, they are the equal to the Disney parks. Personally, I don't quite get the same "magical feeling" as I do at Disney when visiting Universal. However, on the other hand, Universal has some attractions that beat anything at Disney.

My two favourite rides - Spider-Man and Simpsons - are in the Universal parks. My favourite land - Marvel Superhero Island - is at IOA (I'm a big Marvel fan). The theming at IOA and in the Harry Potter areas is superb and is as good as anything at Disney.

Is it worth the money? Although it is a lot more money, yes I would say it is worth it.

Whether you can afford it, well, that's another question.