I am just wondering if anyone has any been to Orlando and avoided the Disney experience entirely. Did you feel you missed out at all? I am in the early planning stages of a Florida trip and I am thinking of just buying the Orlando Flexticket which includes entrance for the 2 Universal parks plus Seaworld plus Aquatica and Wet'n'Wild waterparks - it would make the trip a lot more affordable as Disney tickets are $$$. Our kids are older (youngest is 6) and would probably enjoy the Universal parks more anyway.
Anyone been to Orlando and skipped Disney
- Thread starter girasole
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Hey I was in Orlando last summer and had the time of my life. There was a big group of us and some of the with you kids went to Disney but ended up coming back to the hotel after acouple of hours because it was too busy and all the Q's were over an hour long.I highly recommend you get a ticket for Busch Gardens its a theme park and a zoo all in one a great place and the coasters are class.
helllohello
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skip disney. the first time we went to florida we went to disney. the "castle" which is in all the films was the biggest disappointment. it was like a big cardboard cutout.
rides more suited to 4 / 5 year olds. spiderman in Universal is brillent.
rides more suited to 4 / 5 year olds. spiderman in Universal is brillent.
We always buy the 14 flexi-ticket. In Disney terms - only been to Epcot - very interesting and educational. You can also go to downtown Disney f.o.c. and no parking charge. There is plenty for your younger children to enjoy on the walk about. We also love going to the cinema. The cinema in Disney is not a patch on Universals. Going back again in November with our flexi - ticket. Make sure you get to see all the shows if poss in the parks - they are fab. Hope you have a great time.
I have been to Orlando several times and, much as I adore Disney, there are times when I haven't gone. Universal is excellent, and Sea World is fun (although getting completely soaked by Shamu and a downpour didn't exactly add to the experience!)
I'm not sure if Universal still do this, but the last time I was there, they offered priority boarding for some of the more popular rides. Basically, you register at a desk near the ride, and are given a boarding time. You can then wander off and do other things til then, and when you return to the ride, you are taken past the main queue to the boarding area. It gives you so much more time to enjoy the park if you're not spending half your time queuing.
There are other trips you can take from Orlando too, such as a visit to the Kennedy Space Center (no trip to Florida is complete without that, IMHO) or an airboat ride across the Everglades.
In fact, by the time you do all that the Flexticket covers, and allow a day to recover after each theme park, you won't have time to miss going to the Disney parks!
I'm not sure if Universal still do this, but the last time I was there, they offered priority boarding for some of the more popular rides. Basically, you register at a desk near the ride, and are given a boarding time. You can then wander off and do other things til then, and when you return to the ride, you are taken past the main queue to the boarding area. It gives you so much more time to enjoy the park if you're not spending half your time queuing.
There are other trips you can take from Orlando too, such as a visit to the Kennedy Space Center (no trip to Florida is complete without that, IMHO) or an airboat ride across the Everglades.
In fact, by the time you do all that the Flexticket covers, and allow a day to recover after each theme park, you won't have time to miss going to the Disney parks!
Thanks folks for all the replies. Am feeling quite reassured now that it is ok to give the place a miss but still not miss out.
We do intend going to Kennedy space centre and having a look at the stuff on I-Drive, Wonderworks etc. We might do an airboat ride too as well as all the things that are included on the flexticket, so we should have a pretty full schedule even without the Disney parks and hopefully, as you said Celtwytch, we won't have time to miss them.
By the way you can still do the priority boarding thing at Universal, I think it's called Express Pass or something like that, but it's not free unfortunately, you have to pay extra for it.
We do intend going to Kennedy space centre and having a look at the stuff on I-Drive, Wonderworks etc. We might do an airboat ride too as well as all the things that are included on the flexticket, so we should have a pretty full schedule even without the Disney parks and hopefully, as you said Celtwytch, we won't have time to miss them.
By the way you can still do the priority boarding thing at Universal, I think it's called Express Pass or something like that, but it's not free unfortunately, you have to pay extra for it.
If you know what priority boarding rides you want, go as soon as the gates open and there won't be any long ques.