DINK needs help with Universal - Plan my trip?!

Hey Intercotees,

Like many of you I am a great wealth of knowledge when it comes to planning WDW trips. Universal however... not a clue. Maybe a sliver of a clue, but in the general area of cluelessness. So... help me!

Solo trip, just me - 40ish adult male
3 nights/3 full days
Want to stay on property - all hotels are in my price range.
Can rent a car, but prefer not to. Transportation options from MCO?
Want good pool/bars/restaurants.
DO all 3 days at Universal or 2 there and one at Sea World? (never been)
Should I book through MJ like I do with Disney? Are there advantages with them booking Universal like there is with Disney? I love MJ and my agent, but she hasn't booked Universal in years.

I want/need your ideas. So, if you were to go to Universal for yourself for 3 days and 3 nights where would you stay and what would you do? The dates are set, so I don't need help there; going Thurs-Sat of Mothers' Day weekend.

I am an empty vessel. Fill me up with your Universal knowledge.

Thank You,

Evan - aka DisneyDINK

I stayed at Lowe's Royal Pacific and loved it! Its a 5-10 min walk to the parks or there are water taxis as well. If you stay at a Universal "deluxe" you get the unlimited express pass which is front of the line "fast passes" for everything except Forbidden Journey and Gringotts. Express pass was totally worth it in September so it might be awesome in May.

I used MJ to book the Universal portion of the trip as well as WDW. Terrisue is a Rock star and was watching for deals all the time. I rented a car as we were going to Discovery Cove, Legoland and WDW, but a car service was available from the airport to Universal and Universal to WDW. ***Parking was $25 a day two years ago at Universal**** probably more now - something to consider. Terrisue offered to set up a car service for us if we needed it.

The pool at LRP was great. A bunch of ducks were swimming with us and would hop out and go into the bar, look for food and get back in the pool - sounds like a joke but it was true.

Restaurants we enjoyed - HardRock Cafe, Margaritaville, Mythos, Three Broomsticks. Didn't care for Cafe La Bamba but that's just us.

We had 3 days and nights in Universal and it was about right. We did each park 1 day and then hit our favorites in both parks the last day. The express pass lets you see a lot of stuff quickly. We also spent the evenings in Citywalk shopping. Lastly, we caught the BlueMan Group in Citywalk and had an absolute blast.

My kids are asking to spend more time in Universal now. IMO it's catching WDW really really fast.

:confused:Wow, I didn't mean to kill the thread.:shrug:

Personally, I like all 4 hotels but I I am doing park time I will do one with Express Pass. Of those 3, Portofino is my favorite, followed by Royal Pacific. I know Hard Rock is closest, but I just don't get a wow feeling there. Portofino has a lot of food options, great pools and that piazza with the opera at sundown!

Universal does not have a free airport shuttle, but it does have one you can pay for. With just one person it is probably your best option cost wise.


Have never done SeaWorld, but Universal does have shuttle that go there as well.

I can easily do 3 days with just the Uni parks and CityWalk. Vivo Italian Kitchen in CityWalk was really good for dinner.

We have a 2 agents that do not do Universal, but one of the others would be happy to assist!

Nanc

Quote:

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Originally Posted by conan617

:confused:Wow, I didn't mean to kill the thread.:shrug:

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fixed that for you!

N

Thanks Conan and Nanc for the info! I requested a quote through the site.

I think three days at Universal would be about right too, even with the Unlimited Express Pass. That would give you enough time to enjoy the parks and spend some time at the resort, whichever one you choose. Personally, I think Hard Rock would be a great choice; they've always got something special going on there (music!)

We lived in Central Florida for many years and enjoyed going to Seaworld a several times, but now that I'm aware of some of the issues of dealing with wildlife in captivity (especially the orcas), I'm not keen on them anymore. Don't get me wrong, they do good too, like their manatee and turtle rescue, but ethically I can't condone some of their programs. Just my :twocents:

We loved Royal Pacific. Two days is enough for us in Universal and we did do Sea World, which I loved, but also had ethical concerns. Universal is much more relaxing than WDW.

And you can pool hop at Universal.

N

ive done Universal in one day and two days. i think 2 is enough. stayed at both hard rock and royal pacific. you get expresspass if you stay there too, but not at cabana bay or sapphire falls. id pick RP over hard rock. Cowfish i think is the sushi burger place that was good at citywalk and the pixxa place (sorry my letter after y button doesnt work) was good. used Mears from the airport but there were a few stops before universal. didnt know they had a shuttle