Taking my wife and kids to Orlando for Spring Break next week. We are joining some friends for a visit to Universal, then heading to the beach (likely Cocoa Beach).

 

Any advice on buying tickets for Universal? We have kids 8 (boy), 10 (boy) and 13 (girl) and want to make sure we spend what we are going to do and not buy a bunch of bells and whistles that we don't need.

 

I'll try to drag in a shark from the beach on Tuesday and will post pictures here if I get lucky :thumb:

Get the speed pass or whatever it is called at universal. It's worth the money to shorten the lines. Not like Disney's stupid system of getting an assigned time to go on a ride.

Get the speed pass or whatever it is called at universal. It's worth the money to shorten the lines. Not like Disney's stupid system of getting an assigned time to go on a ride.

Best advice you'll receive about the park is this^. Speed pass is worth every dime.

I'll be fishing within 45 min of you while you're there. Gonna spend a couple mornings at Toho.

My son's family lives over that way, Apopka. I will fire off an email to my daughter-in-law. She's the master of finding deals, groupon's everything. She got some kind of deal where she saved a bundle on Disney when she took the grandkiddies there last week, during their spring break.

My concern is that the tickets are fairly expensive (going to be like $1,200 for all 5 of us); I just want to make sure that I'm paying for things the kids can actually do. And maybe that's just how much it all costs. If that's the case then so be it, but I wanted to ask around a little before I spend that much.

My concern is that the tickets are fairly expensive (going to be like $1,200 for all 5 of us); I just want to make sure that I'm paying for things the kids can actually do. And maybe that's just how much it all costs. If that's the case then so be it, but I wanted to ask around a little before I spend that much.

 

I just looked and tickets are $179 a piece for adults. A bit cheaper for kids. Where are you getting the $1,200 number?

I just looked and tickets are $179 a piece for adults. A bit cheaper for kids. Where are you getting the $1,200 number?

 

We are going for 2 days. They are $255 for adults and $245 for kids for 2-day, 2-park passes. That's a tough pill to swallow

We are going for 2 days. They are $255 for adults and $245 for kids for 2-day, 2-park passes. That's a tough pill to swallow

 

Ahh, yeah, didn't realize you were looking for multiple days. Yeah, that's a hefty price tag.

We are going for 2 days. They are $255 for adults and $245 for kids for 2-day, 2-park passes. That's a tough pill to swallow

 

There is a theory and a song out there that states Disney hates poor people. Universal does as well. Did you get the speed pass?

There is a theory and a song out there that states Disney hates poor people. Universal does as well. Did you get the speed pass?

 

Haven't got anything yet. Going to look at it this evening

I am going to echo what others said about the Fast Pass at Universal. Fast Pass at other parks like Kings Island, Cedarpoint, even Disney - yes they give the fast pass people the priority, but they still move the standby lane pretty well. That wasn't my experience at Universal. At Universal they really don't care about the standby lane and they don't care how few people they take from that line when filling up a ride. At Universal the fast pass is a must. Just my two cents.

 

With that said.... other than the Harry Potter sections of the 2 parks, I don't care much for Universal.

How much is the fast pass? How old are the kids?

 

The reason I ask is because most of the rides at Universal and Islands of Adventure have a single-rider line. The last two times my girlfriend and I have gone we didn't get the fast pass and just did the single rider lines. We rarely waited at all, and when we did it was no longer than 10-15 minutes.

My daughter-in-law got back with me. Not much help. She used her Florida resident year passes last week. She got a special, probably like I saw it the other day, $17 a month, $204 for the year. If you use it twice during the year, it's paid for itself.

If you want something else to do that it is not owned by a movie company, there is a skeleton museum in Orlando, by the huge ferris wheel. Good place to go if it rains, or if it doesn't. Take about an hour or two to do it. SKELETONS: Museum of Osteology (Orlando, FL)