Universal Studios Orlando Question

2 days is a minimum. Each park (each side) takes about a day, and each requires a seperate or combo ticket.

Staying on property does have a huge benefit. When you stay on property, you are able to get fastpass access where you go to the front of the line. Keep in mind that there will be others doing the same. Unlike Disney where you get a time to come back and then still have to wait, you go to the front, right there.
https://www.universalorlando.com/Theme-Park-Tickets/Unive...

Right now, staying on property for 4 days can get you 2 days of free dining.
https://www.universalorlando.com/

My husband & I were just there in November for a dog show (Rhodesian Ridgeback national specialty). We arrived a few days early to enjoy being tourists. We bought a 3-day pass to use between the two Universal parks.

We went to each park for one day (you really need a full day to be able to experience it all!) and went back to our favorite park on the third day to relive our favorites.

We stayed @ the LaQuinta nearby. There are actually a few of them (EVERYTHING repeats every couple of blocks in that area, because of all the tourists!) The one we stayed at specifically was on International Dr North. A friend @ the same event we attended stayed at the La Quinta on Major Blvd.

Both are in nice areas, offer free breakfast, WiFi & are kids/pets friendly. Both are also within walking distance to Universal studios, or you can take the complimentary shuttle. (Walking requires crossing a couple of major streets).

Personaly, I LOVE La Quinta. Nice hotel, nice amenties, friendly staff, & the price point is just right. I know the hotel on International Drive has a Junior suite (we got that room) which has a kitchenette (fridge/microwave), king bed & a sofa that pulls out to a full bed. But you might prefer 2 adjoining rooms (king for you & hubby, 2 queen/full for the kids)

In the park, we did 2 days in Islands of Adventure & one day @ Universal Studios. There are more rides @ Islands, & more "shows" at Studios. The Harry Potter ____@____.com is my most important tip - When you go into Hogwarts for the Forbidden Journey ride (cannot miss! It's just like flying a broom!), go to the line for single riders. They'll get you on the ride super quick - we waited at most 10 minutes or so, when the regular line was over 1 hour long. You may not ride on the exact same car, but you don't see/interact with each other when the ride takes place anyway. We did this & ran back through 3x to ride - all in less time that it would have taken waiting in the normal line!

If you like coasters (who doesn't?) Harry Potter has a Dragon challenge - 2 different coasters, & the Hulk coaster is pretty intense.

Spiderman was good, and the Popeye's Bilge Rat barge is great on a hot day.

At Studios, make sure to go to the Horror Make up show. It is hilarious! Very interactive with the audience, & great reveals on how they "made that happen" in the movies.

Despicable Me, Men in Black & Simpsons are a "must see" ride attraction. They do a good job of keeping you entertained while you wait, too.

We tend not to eat at the parks (way too expensive!) But do make sure to order a pumpkin juice @ Harry Potters (don't bother paying more for the take-home mug, you'll just hate dragging it around all day)

There are restaurants at the entrance of the two parks, or you can probably pack something light in a bag to take in with you. Also, leaving to get somethign to eat & then coming back is an option if you say close.

At night, there is an amazing mini-golf, 2 sceneries. We did the Sci-Fi, so funny!!

And if you & your husband want to get away for a romantic dinner for 2, the Churrascaria (Brazillian steakhouse) is out of this world. I've been to some locally that were highly rated, none compare to the one @ Universal! (beware, it IS pricey, might not want to take the kids)

We did get approached @ the parks to see if we wanted to take a survey (I did, got $25 in cash for 1 hour of my time) or attend a time-share presentation. We did, they give a hard sell, we stuck to our guns & said "no" But the presentation was a couple days after when we were @ the park... & they give you $100 Universal Visa card to spend in the meantime (if you don't show up for the presentation, they charge your credit card, which they take the info of just to have on file). So we used that to pay for our expensive, romantic dinner. =-)

Anyway, tons of options to have fun. I'd say overall, get a 3 day pass, budget your money on the hotel & dine affordably to get the most bang for your buck during your vacation. Have a blast!! T.

It's enough. Quite frankly, we wouldn't have wanted to spend more than 2 days at Universal. Are you also going to Disney? I'd spend more time there using a hopper pass so that you can go to everything.

We had tickets for 2 days. It worked well spent a day and a half at the park because we wanted to visit Harry Potter a second time and see it at night. We were worn out after the first day and left before dark. Went back the second day after sleeping in a bit... hit all of our favorites spent extra long time at HP world, then stayed till dark to see everything at night.

I think 2 days would be good, especially since your kids are older and they will be able to navigate around the park quicker than little ones. We only stayed one day there, and wished we had one more. We also stayed off property. We stayed in Lake Mary at Hyatt Place and the drive was not bad at all, and was much cheaper. We spent that money having nice dinners on our vacation plus we got free breakfast there too.

My rule of thumb is one full day at each park. So if you're going to Islands of Adventure and Univ Studios, then you need at least one day each. Then you guys could decide as a family where to spend your last day. However, you could spend a month there and ever get bored. lol There's a ton of things to do in Orlando.

The only park I stay on-site for is Disney, and only because of the monorail stops. If you're comfortable driving in a town you don't know, you can find a nice full condo/hotel for way less than an onsite hotel. We rented at a place called The Palisades in 2011, and were super impressed. Five nights for a 3 bedroom, 3 bath, full kitchen, on-site free movie theater(older movies), pools, playground, the works, all for less than 3 days at an on-site Disney hotel. So it just comes down to what you're most comfortable with. You guys will have an awesome time! I grew up in Florida, and those are 2 of my favorite parks.

I'd stay off property. Only 5 or 10 min away are decent hotels. My daughter is mostly into roller coasters so we only do islands of adventure. That takes 2 days in my opinion just for Islands. So if you can wing it take the third for the other park. Its mostly movie type rides if I remember correctly. Rosen Inn is not so bad I've stayed there. Just make sure you take a room in the main hotel not the out building. If you want a little more higher dollar price just down the street is a Marriot and higher level. I'd suggest going on travelosity and seeing the what others say who stay at the hotels.

I would get three day tickets and stay off property. Universal in located a few minutes from the interstate (I-4) and there are so many nice hotels near it. Make sure you get tickets for both parks and split the two or three days between them.

Disney's parks are set more in a woodsy section between Orlando and Kissimmee where you have to travel a bit to get inside.

If you like scary Halloween stuff I think their Halloween Horror nights have started. If your kids scare easily then I would not spend the extra money.

One day in each park. Certainly no more than that. Would not stay on property there. Too expensive, if I remember correctly.