[pjfnme]

Hi!! I am in my "commando" planning mode now and I'm trying to plan when to visit the "other" places in Orlando!!! We have two weeks so, if anyone can give me some ideas I would greatly appreciate it!!!!! We want to visit Universal, Islands as well as Seaworld and have multiple day passes to all!

Thanks in advance...I look forward to hearing from you all!!!!!

[Cavey]

I can't speak to Universal, but regarding SeaWorld....

We went to SW with me in complete commando mode, and quickly discovered it's not necessary. Just hit Kraken and the log flume ride first thing. After that, the shows hold so many people, it's just walk on. We saw the manitee show all by ourselves. It was VERY relaxing. (Think AK's animal trails)

We even showed up for "rope drop" only to discover, the park is so liesurely, it was unnecessary.

BTW, if you're looking for a great 1/2 day park, try GatorLand. My kids loved it.

[twist1980]

I noticed the same thing with SeaWorld. The only real rides are Kraaken and Journey to Atlantis(loved both of those rides btw, they are must-do's). Wild Artic is okay, just not one of those things that you want to do again and again! :) We were there on a pretty busy day, but the lines still didn't seem to bad. So I think SeaWorld would be a great park to do on a weekend since weekends are always the busiest at theme parks.

IOA was pretty crowded when we were there, but I believe it was a Saturday. They have a system that is similar to FastPass, so you can always use that if it does get crazy! :) IOA is one of my favorite non-Disney theme park. I recommend doing it mid-week so the crowds are lighter, there is a lot to do there!

Universal is a so-so park to me. I'm not planning to do it on my next trip down, but then again I don't have two weeks! :D I only spent about a half day there so I'm not sure when you should go. :) Don't miss the MIB ride though! Its similar to Buzz Lightyear AstroBlasters.

Have you thought about doing Busch Gardens? I know some of the multi-day SeaWorld/Universal ticket packages offer a day there as well. That is another great park with some great coasters and isn't too far of a drive from Orlando!

Have a great trip!

[DisneyHog6]

A big factor would be the time of year that y'ou're going. We went to Sea World in December and we pratically had the place to ourselves. We were able to do almost every single attraction there all in one day, and we did Kracken 3 or 4 times each (baby swap) and Atlantis 2 or 3 times. Atlantis was walk-on all day long...

As far as Universal goes, their crowd trends are similar to those at WDW, as far as slow times, busy times, etc. When you go to Universal, you HAVE to make sure you don't miss The Mummy ride. I think it is 2nd only to ToT as far as the coolest attraction I've ever seen...

[pjfnme]

Sorry!!! I suppose I should have mentioned when we are going...!!! We will be there the first two weeks of May. Last year we went the same time and it was very nice. We only did WDW parks though. I had heard the Universal and IOA were crowded regardless of when u went...but, I like to plan what days I will try to be where so that I can book my character meals appropriately! Does anyone know how crowded SeaWorld will be if we decided to go on a weekend? I suppose we will try to do Universal and IOA on Monday/Tues/Wed. Oh...does anyone know how accurate the "best days of week to visit WDW parks" planner is? My thoughts are that if everyone reads that, those might not be the best days afterall!! LOL

Anyway..thanks for the info so far..keep it coming! Thanks!!!

[Disneyfever]

I'm not sure which days would be the best for Universal/IOA. We went on a Saturday once, and it was not too bad. We have also been during the week in March, and it wasn't too bad then either. Like Disneyhog said, The Mummy ride is great! I rode it for the first time at Universal California, and it was awesome. They do have a fast pass system for some of their rides. You can also purchase additional fast passes (in a booklet). Or, if you stay onsite, your room key acts as a front of the line pass. I've never stayed onsite, but I will the next time I go. I wish I could tell you about Sea World, but I've never been. That's something we really want to do though. Also, Medieval Times would be fun. We did that in Ca and it was my DS's favorite thing of all time. I'm sure you will have a wonderful time!

[missy H]

Make sure you arrive at Universal/IOA as soon as they open in the morning. We went on 26th Dec and had finished IOA by 10.30 and had done all the crowd pullers ie mummy, shrek and MIB at US. We had left the parks by 1.30 and had planned on going back but as we had done everything we didn't bother.

[llama]

Originally Posted by missy H

Make sure you arrive at Universal/IOA as soon as they open in the morning. We went on 26th Dec and had finished IOA by 10.30 and had done all the crowd pullers ie mummy, shrek and MIB at US. We had left the parks by 1.30 and had planned on going back but as we had done everything we didn't bother.

I agree with Missy - we've never taken more than 4 hours to do IOA - and we generally do everything. It's a very well-organized park. You don't waste any extra steps. One attraction just melds into the next. Universal usually is more crowded and more walking is involved, so I would focus on more of a plan there. There are some great attractions at Universal, though: The Mummy, Men in Black, Shrek, ET are not to be missed. As for SeaWorld - you can arrange it so that you literally flow from one show to another - Sea Lions, Pets on Parade, Dolphin Show (don't miss this - it's fantastic), Shamu. Sea World is a wonderful park and much more relaxing than both WDW and Universal and, if you appreciate this kind of stuff, the landscaping is gorgeous. And it has the BEST food of all of them. While Kraaken and Atlantis are great rides, we enjoy the shows and attractions here best of all.

[Franco54]

I'm with Llama, We just blow right through Universal, and we love it!