Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Help-universal studios Orlando

28 replies

Justask · 20/09/2018 16:28

IABU for posting here for traffic

Can anyone help? I want to buy tickets for universal studios for a trip to Florida next month and I don't know which of the deals to choose or which websites I can trust!

Anyone have recent experience that can make a recommendation?

Thanks in advance

OP posts:
bsbabas · 20/09/2018 16:56

Lol there's an advert for booking Orlando holidays just under your post op. As long as its a good travel agent they will normally get you a decent deal.

mymickeysbetterthanyours · 20/09/2018 16:57

I've used American attractions in the past with no hassle

whoareyou123 · 20/09/2018 17:10

We used attraction tickets direct this year and had no issues.

When looking for a deal you need to have worked out which theme parks you want to go to (1 or all of the universal parks, any other parks like seaworld) and over how many days.

PickettBowtruckles · 20/09/2018 17:11

When we last went it was actually cheaper to go direct through universal! Make sure you check their own deals.

mariniere · 20/09/2018 17:12

Ring universal themselves. They have a great deal for UK visitors.

Tr1skel1on · 20/09/2018 17:16

Attractions tickets direct had a deal this summer where if you got tickets to both universal parks you got access to volcano bay water park free. Volcano bay was fab!

TakeAChanseyOnMe · 20/09/2018 17:23

Plan 2 days at Island of Adventure if you want to see the Harry Potter section and do the big rides - it has more "thrill" rides than other parks so good if you have teens. Only an issue if you're buying one day tickets rather than the "all access for 14 days" kind.

We did 1 day at each of Universal and IoA when I last went (years ago so no HP land then) and went back one morning to do our favourite rides in each. We were always there for opening so missed mega queues.

The water ride that wasn't wet the first time we went left us soaked the second time, with no change of clothes. Angry

Coffeethrowtrampbitch · 20/09/2018 17:28

We got our tickets through Florida Tix, they send you physical tickets not exchange vouchers, and the prices compare well with other ticket vendors.
They are also doing free Pirates Dining Show tickets with some of their tickets at the moment, can't wait for when we go on the 16th of next month!!
Hope you have an amazing holiday op!

FunSponges · 20/09/2018 17:30

We used Florida Escapes. I got prices from all the recommended places from The Dibb and they were the cheapest. No problems with them. But they come in the post so you may want to get on with it!

Original poster
Justask · 20/09/2018 20:37

I have been looking at one and two day tickets as we already have 14 day tickets for Disney. I didn't really want 14 days for universal as well but we definitely want to go.

Thanks all for the hints, I will look at all sites tomorrow. Ideally I want to get there and not have to queue for tickets so I don't want to buy on the day, would rather use every minute we have wisely. We have 4 DC so this is the one and only time we will be able to afford to take them

OP posts:
PoptartPoptart · 20/09/2018 20:41

Make sure you get park to park tickets (ie for both Universal & IOA) so you can hop between the two. This is essential if you want to ride the Hogwarts Express train because it goes from one to the other. They won’t let you on the ride if you don’t have hopper tickets

MissCherryCakeyBun · 20/09/2018 20:46

I got ours through Florida Tix too found it very helpful to have the actual tickets in advance not vouchers

PositiveVibez · 20/09/2018 20:47

If you are planning on buying express passes, which imho is well worth it, book into the hardrock hotel and your express passes are free for 2 days.

It was cheaper to stay at the hotel than to buy or express passes.

It also allows you into the park an hour before it is open to the rest of the public.

It was invaluable as we got into olivanders in Harry potter world without queuing and done the wand experience.

When we got out, the queue was massive.

boymum9 · 20/09/2018 20:53

Attraction tickets direct are good, but you can also buy them there, you don't save much if any money buying them in advance unless you're getting tickets for multiple days

lifechangesforever · 20/09/2018 21:07

Floridatix.
Be very wary of travel agent prices, they're often inflated. I've heard Undercover Tourist is good too. If you're on Facebook, definitely join the It's Orlando Time page, loads of ticket information on there.

We always get a 14 day ticket for universal and Disney as we don't want to be tied to set days in universal as we love it so much and go throughout the holiday.

Going in 7 weeks staying at Disney but have also booked one of the applicable Universal hotels so that we get Express passes for 2 days.

Much prefer Universal to Disney, but I do love them both!

AnguaUberwaldIronfoundersson · 20/09/2018 21:08

We got ours from Florida Tix and Travel Republic.

Also make sure you get your Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party before you go as well as your Universal Horror Night (assuming you don’t have small kids with you for the latter) we got ours from the two sites I mentioned above and the Universal one was an open ticket so we could go as many times as we liked (the queues for the houses were very long and it’s a slog to do it all in once night)

lifecouldbeadream · 20/09/2018 21:20

Have a look at The Dibb- loads of Brits with hints and tips there.

Dixiechickonhols · 20/09/2018 21:22

Have a look on thedibb.co.uk forum. There is a section called tickets and lots of info re best deals/recommended companies.

tillytrotter1 · 20/09/2018 21:26

We bought 14 day Disney/Universal combined, seemed relatively good value, I went through American Attractions by phone and got money off but I was buying a lot, 9. If you have 14 day Disney already then that's not much good, 14 days of Disney sounds hellish though! Once you're there you can sometimes get deals in the Outlets, we were offered good deals last time.

amicissimma · 20/09/2018 21:32

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

whoareyou123 · 20/09/2018 21:34

If you are buying only one or day tickets I think you will find direct from universal is the cheapest. Discounted 7 or 14 day tickets can though be bought elsewhere for not that much more.

PoxAlert · 20/09/2018 21:41

How old are your kids?

Halloween Horror Nights are INCREDIBLE this year.

If you have teens then maybe do a 1 day 2 park and then also go to HHN one night.

Wish I was out there this Halloween. (And I'm not a HHN fan in the least!)

If you have younger kids then don't miss Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Our favourite time of year in Orlando. Xxxx

hipposinacircle · 20/09/2018 21:50

Another vote for Attraction Tickets Direct. We have used them a few times now and I like that you get a physical ticket rather than an email ticket.
Also reiterated what a PP said above that you will need to have a 2-Park ticket (I.e. Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure) if you want to ride the Hogwarts Express.

Original poster
Justask · 20/09/2018 21:50

There are 10 in our party as going with friends. We have 14 days Disney but planning to do maybe 7 days Disney. We have a villa so not staying on site, won't be able to book hotels as too many of us.

We have got tickets for Mickey's not so scary Halloween party. I'm not sure about the universal one as youngest is only 8 and one of the older DC is a bit of a scaredy cat!

I'm thinking currently may be cheaper to just buy the 14 day tickets as there is so little difference but it seems a bit of a waste if we only do a couple of days and I don't want to do parks every day as it's exhausting!

OP posts:
DisneyIsMyDrug · 20/09/2018 22:14

Definitely check out The Dibb forums, in the tickets section they had a list of websites that I checked prices for (going in February) I got mines from Travel Republic as they were cheapest for the 14 day ticket (& for some reason the 3 park ticket was cheaper than the 2 park one!) & they sent out the actual tickets, in the past I’ve had a voucher I’ve had to exchange for tickets at the gate which is a bit of a pain although not a dealbreaker.
As you say usually there’s not much between the 2 day ticket price & the 14 day one & at least with the 14 day one you’re not tied to going to the parks on 2 consecutive days & can park hop but obviously if there’s a lot of you then it might be a significant saving to just get the 2 day ticket.