Both parks? Is Harry Potter a separate park? I thought Harry Potter was in Universal studios.We just went to Universal Orlando. They have a deal that if you stay in one of their premium hotels you get an unlimited use Express Pass for everyone in your party good for the day you check in, the days you stay there, and the day you check out.
An Express Pass essentially gets you to the front of the line with little to no wait. Each one goes for $100 a pop on top of the cost of admission.
In our case, we didn't even really need the room as we were staying someplace else. But we rented a room for one night for around $300 and ended up getting $800 worth of Express Passes. (4 people X 2 days)
Note that they ARE NOT valid on Harry Potter stuff, but were good for everything else we went on at both parks. I think we also got early admission to the park by an hour for resort guests only. We got to go on way more stuff and multiple times compared to other trips. Well worth it in my book. Never been to the one in Hollywood, so not sure if they have it or if it's worth it.
Being in Hollywood I would go to Griffith observatory which takes you right up close to the Hollywood sign in the hills. Mann Chinese theater is worth checking out as well being so close. The La Brea Tar pits are pretty interesting and you can get a discounted pass bundling that and the natural history museum which is pretty decent.Thanks for the reply's. If there is anyone here familiar with the Universal Hollywood area, what other attractions are in that area worth doing? This would be our first time to this area. In the past we have been to Disneyland and the San Diego area.
I went to the rose bowl while there and saw UCLA get thrashed by ASU oolBeing in Hollywood I would go to Griffith observatory which takes you right up close to the Hollywood sign in the hills. Mann Chinese theater is worth checking out as well being so close. The La Brea Tar pits are pretty interesting and you can get a discounted pass bundling that and the natural history museum which is pretty decent.
The Getty museum is pretty cool and has amazing views of LA and the ocean and is close to Santa Monica where there is the beach and the 3rd street promenade and the Santa Monica pier.
Thanksbagger said:Being in Hollywood I would go to Griffith observatory which takes you right up close to the Hollywood sign in the hills. Mann Chinese theater is worth checking out as well being so close. The La Brea Tar pits are pretty interesting and you can get a discounted pass bundling that and the natural history museum which is pretty decent.
The Getty museum is pretty cool and has amazing views of LA and the ocean and is close to Santa Monica where there is the beach and the 3rd street promenade and the Santa Monica pier.
bagger said:You could always go north to Valencia and do magic mountain as well if you wanted more roller coaster rides although the clientele is a bit more trashy than Disneyland for sure.
These are all great suggestions. To add to the list...Thanks![]()
Dodger stadium really is an amazing venue for a game.These are all great suggestions. To add to the list...
- Warner Brothers Studio Tour is very close. It is a nice tour with small groups that takes you through their back lot, onto some sets and into a few areas where they have a bunch of props on display.
- Natural History Museum and Science Center. In downtown LA. Great museums. Science Center is free though there may be a charge to make a reservation to see the space shuttle. Really cool to see that up close.
- Dodger stadium is right there. Catch a game or do a stadium tour
The back lot tour is the best attraction at the California park. Shows you the set for a bunch of shows and movies that you will recognize such as Back to the Future, Jaws, King Kong, Desperate Housewives, Psycho.When I went to Universal California it was 25 years ago, and I absolutely loved it. Thought it was very cool taking the back lot tour. The Florida version of this tour is lame imo.
Not sure how California version has changed over the years
Oh, we love going to Universal Florida but the "movie magic" stuff isn't that cool, imoThe back lot tour is the best attraction at the California park. Shows you the set for a bunch of shows and movies that you will recognize such as Back to the Future, Jaws, King Kong, Desperate Housewives, Psycho.
I have been to both Ca and Fl and Florida is much nicer and a 2 day minimum. California park is nice but you can get through in 1 day.
We went to LA last summer, and did a bus tour around Hollywood. It was nice and easy, didn't require any driving and allowed us to check most, if not everything off the list of what to see there. Let me know if you need the name of the company we used, I'm not at home, but I can dig it up.Being in Hollywood I would go to Griffith observatory which takes you right up close to the Hollywood sign in the hills. Mann Chinese theater is worth checking out as well being so close. The La Brea Tar pits are pretty interesting and you can get a discounted pass bundling that and the natural history museum which is pretty decent.
The Getty museum is pretty cool and has amazing views of LA and the ocean and is close to Santa Monica where there is the beach and the 3rd street promenade and the Santa Monica pier.
My wife and I just took our two kids (10 & 13) over spring break to Universal Orlando. They had a deal if you buy 2 days get 2 days free. We ending up going 3 days so essentially had 1 free day. We opted for the express pass for all of us and it was awesome. Skipped lines at almost all the rides except for the Harry Potter castle ride. I definitely recommend it but it is costly.Resurrecting this thread as I didn't want to clutter the Disney Vacation thread with Universal questions...
Wife and I are thinking of taking the kids (13, 11, 9) to Universal Orlando mid/to end of July. Anything of note going on during this time? Any deals/specials?
We're looking at staying one night onsite (Volcano Bay?). Is this still a two day trip (like it sounds above)? Should we plan on two nights instead? Do we need multi-park passes? Express passes worth it for a family of 5? We're visiting family near Tampa, so thought we'd surprise the kids with this side trip. Our boys are really into Marvel, and our daughter loves roller coasters. So we thought this may be better than WDW - and hopefully not as costly.
The only thing that multi park passes are good for is the Potter train ride between parks. You can do one park one day and the other park the 2nd day easily.Peak said:Resurrecting this thread as I didn't want to clutter the Disney Vacation thread with Universal questions...
Wife and I are thinking of taking the kids (13, 11, 9) to Universal Orlando mid/to end of July. Anything of note going on during this time? Any deals/specials?
We're looking at staying one night onsite (Volcano Bay?). Is this still a two day trip (like it sounds above)? Should we plan on two nights instead? Do we need multi-park passes? Express passes worth it for a family of 5? We're visiting family near Tampa, so thought we'd surprise the kids with this side trip. Our boys are really into Marvel, and our daughter loves roller coasters. So we thought this may be better than WDW - and hopefully not as costly.
My birthday is in early July and I asked my wife to come with me for a day at Epcot while we dropped the kid off with her grandparents. It's a GD miracle we didn't die of heatstroke and we are from here. We dropped $90 on waters and poweraide. I'll personally never go back in the summer.Peak said:Resurrecting this thread as I didn't want to clutter the Disney Vacation thread with Universal questions...
Wife and I are thinking of taking the kids (13, 11, 9) to Universal Orlando mid/to end of July. Anything of note going on during this time? Any deals/specials?
We're looking at staying one night onsite (Volcano Bay?). Is this still a two day trip (like it sounds above)? Should we plan on two nights instead? Do we need multi-park passes? Express passes worth it for a family of 5? We're visiting family near Tampa, so thought we'd surprise the kids with this side trip. Our boys are really into Marvel, and our daughter loves roller coasters. So we thought this may be better than WDW - and hopefully not as costly.
So plans changed and we pushed this back to the week of Thanksgiving. Due to a limited time frame we are going only to Universal Studios Orlando for one day, then traveling to see family for Thanksgiving. With that said, I want to get the most out of this trip that we can for the kids. My daughter has been here before and told us that USF is better than Islands of Adventure, so we're only getting 1Day/1Park tickets - but I'm going to surprise them with the Unlimited Fast Passes in order to maximize the most of our time in the one day.Resurrecting this thread as I didn't want to clutter the Disney Vacation thread with Universal questions...
Wife and I are thinking of taking the kids (13, 11, 9) to Universal Orlando mid/to end of July. Anything of note going on during this time? Any deals/specials?
We're looking at staying one night onsite (Volcano Bay?). Is this still a two day trip (like it sounds above)? Should we plan on two nights instead? Do we need multi-park passes? Express passes worth it for a family of 5? We're visiting family near Tampa, so thought we'd surprise the kids with this side trip. Our boys are really into Marvel, and our daughter loves roller coasters. So we thought this may be better than WDW - and hopefully not as costly.