I've seen a lot of Disney vacation posts, has anyone done just a Unversal Studios vacation? Also does anyone have a vacation planner spreadsheet or list? I want to make sure I am thinking about everything when I am setting my budget. Don't want to be caught unaware.

Thanks!
Kelli

I'm probably not going to be much help but yes we did. It was a long time ago (when my 19 year old ds was in kindergarten). But we did it on $500 and spent three nights. Even back then that was really something.

We drove straight through and spent two nights in the cheapest motel we could find (that was decent). We did one of those morning visit a condo things and get a free ticket (that was about $100). And it was just an hour of our morning. So we only had to buy two tickets. We went to Daytona beach one day and Universal Studios the next (it was cool) and then spent the night in Atlanta on the way back and even stopped at those caverns on the way home. We even each came home with a t-shirt. We packed a cooler before we went with sodas and sandwiches to save money on the way.
And we had a lot of fun and my son has that memory.

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My gourds made the front page of the paper!!

We go to FL every year to visit my inlaws. Some years we do Disney, others Universal and still others we avoid the parks all together.

You can certainly build a vacation around just Universal if that is what you want. Like Disney, they have their own hotels, or you can choose from the many nearby ones that offer free transfers. Unlike Disney, however, you will not need a full week when visiting Universal 3 days is plenty.

Check out their website. You can usually get a 5 day pass for less than what it costs to visit the parks 2 days. Universal is in Orlando, so there are lots of hotels, and lots of shopping. Plus it is less than 20 minutes to Disney, on a good traffic day . If you stay close to the park, it is located in a good area of Orlando, Try to stay away from anything located on OBT, Orange Blossom Trail. Some parts of OBT are not the best parts of town. Or stay in Kissimmee, there are hundreds of hotels in Kissimmee that are inexpensive. Check out Ebay too for houses you can rent for the same price as a hotel, that way you can eat there and save money, plus most have a pool.

I am not sure of the prices but they have a website. We do Universal when I get free passes, they once in a while will send one to me b/c I am a teacher. Across the street from Universal, on Major Boulevard, there a bunch of hotels, not fancy, like Holiday Inn, Baymont, etc that run excellent specials and are new-ish and clean, fine if you are going to be most of the day at the park. There is also a Wendy's and a Burger King nearby, a Walgreens too. Universal to me is in a good location as far as there are lots of eating and shopping places right there.

Just went there last June and my 3 kids (8,12,14) had a blast! we stayed in the park at one of the Loews Hotels, there are 3. They are pricey, but worth every penny. When you stay in one of their hotels, you get their version of a "fast pass" like at Disney but better. There is a seperate line at 90% of the rides and you go right up front, there is no specific time or limit to how many times you use it. Since it was to be our big trip of the summer I splurged and decided it was worth it. The hotels are gorgeous and have great amenities. We stayed at the Royal Pacific, they have a super pool. The tickets to the park are very reasonable (5 days, real cheap), and we NEVER waited in line. At one point, we did wait for like 2 minutes and my daughter said "what's the hold up". We went in June, I knew it was going to be hot, so its worth it. We ate out of the hotel to save $. The room was great, spotless. A nightly dinner show by the pool. You should check out the UniversalOrlando website to help you in your decision. Everyone in my family agreed that staying in the park was worth the extra $. When we wanted a break mid day, we took the boat ride back to our hotel, or walked or got on the shuttle. Tip: before I booked the hotel, I signed up as a Loews member (free) and got a hotel upgrade and free water/fruit when I checked in, as well as a speedy checkin. We chose Universal over Disney because I thought my kids were too old for Disney. We had a great time at Universal. We stayed 3 nights (4 days) which was plenty. 1-2 days in each park (there are 2). They also offer drink/meal plans. We didn't get those since we went back/forth to our hotel and took breaks during the day so we ate out cheaper. It depends on where you stay. Good luck!

Thanks for the tipS! This is exactly what we are looking for, but I was not sure staying on property was worth it. Sounds as if that is the way to go. And thanks for the tip on the Loews member. Did you book directly online or did you go through and agency?

Thanks,
Kelli

I ended up booking everything online, although I originally called the Universal # (on website). When I spoke with them about a room reservation, they were willing to upgrade me....when I checked back 3 weeks later, they said they couldn't. The $ of the room didn't change, so that's when I saw they were Loews and decided to check out the corporate website. As I said, the main reason the extra $ for the room was worth it was because we went in June and believe me, some of the lines were 45-90 minutes (in the heat), so it was well worth it to cut the line, maybe it's not so bad other times of the year. It's a fun park, and so much better since we didn't have to decide which ride to go on based on the lines. Good luck, have fun!