2nd Trip Observations

[BigRedDad]

We went in June as a family trip with friends and kids. This was an adult only get away. The trip in June was great because it was the first time going.

This trip was less exciting than the first. Thankfully we were there Wednesday and Thursday with almost no crowds. Almost a walk-on to everything without the Express Pass. It was fun to be able to go on rides together and not do Child Swap.

Good:
We could ride everything we wanted multiple times
No lines for almost everything except Forbidden Journey
There are a lot of thrill rides

Bad:
There is not much to the parks. You can literally do everything in a day if you have Express Pass.
Food is average and there is almost no variety at the quick service places.
WWoHP is very boring and lacks depth. FJ is cool, but gets old quickly (mix of Sum of all Thrills and Soarin).
Day Care - what I mean is on Veteran's Day, kiddies were dropped off in packs from locals because the AP is inexpensive and cheaper than day care/babysitters. I am not talking 5yos, but I saw many 10-12 year old packs.
Little depth to the whole place. There are not many details to keep you enthralled with being there. It is more of a do this, then go to the next ride. At WDW, there are things going on besides the rides.

It is not some place I plan on visiting more than once ever 4-5 years. There simply is not enough there for the amount of money we spent.

[NJGIRL]

Bad:
There is not much to the parks. You can literally do everything in a day if you have Express Pass.
Food is average and there is almost no variety at the quick service places.
WWoHP is very boring and lacks depth. FJ is cool, but gets old quickly (mix of Sum of all Thrills and Soarin).
Day Care - what I mean is on Veteran's Day, kiddies were dropped off in packs from locals because the AP is inexpensive and cheaper than day care/babysitters. I am not talking 5yos, but I saw many 10-12 year old packs.
Little depth to the whole place. There are not many details to keep you enthralled with being there. It is more of a do this, then go to the next ride. At WDW, there are things going on besides the rides.

It is not some place I plan on visiting more than once ever 4-5 years. There simply is not enough there for the amount of money we spent.

Thanks for the review. While I respect your opinion I have to toally disagree with you.

I believe there is alot to do in the parks. Besides the rides there are shows going on in the streets, shows in theaters, character appearences, huge play areas for the kids, a "water" town. I don't see what is going on at Disney that is not at Universal.

Seeing everything in one day. Well, if you don't have to wait in lines like you do at Disney, yes you can do Most of one of the parks in one day. Many people say AK & DHS are only half a day parks. Which I disagree with by the way.

The food at quick service has no variety? The quick serivces we have eaten in have Italian, Asian, pizza, burgers, subs, wings, soups, "full course meals" (meat and potatoes), fried chicken, gourmet sandwiches, salads, the biggest selection and best chessecake we have ever had plus too much more to list.

HP.... boring and lacks depth? It is a combination of Sum of all Thrills & Soarin? Sorry but I disagree with this too. The details not only in Hogwarts but the rest of the town are amazing. The ride is one of the best in Orlando.

As far as kid groups being dropped off. You see that more and more at Disney too. In October we were in line for Soarin' and a kid group was in front of us. Every couple of minutes "friends of theirs" cut in line to be with them. By the time we got to the front of the line we had about 20 kids cut in front of us.

I understand if Universal is not your cup of tea but we enjoy it just as much as Disney and find it not to be lacking in anything we are looking for. We spend 3 days there each trip and if they had a water park it would be 4.