Universal Orlando but not Disney? Newbie advise pleas

[medianewbie]

Looking at last min breaks. 10 day trip to Florida: Universal Orlando came up. We're a Family of 3. Kids of 19 & 16. ASD. No interest in 'Disney' / 'theme parks' / rollercoasters. But LOTS of ASD interest in Space & Harry Potter. Never been abroad before. Would it be completely crazy? Once in a lifetime?
What do I need to know please?
Room only at the resort. But no idea re food costs / transport etc. I don't suppose you can do this on a budget!

I may need someone to talk me down!

Package hol Co said cheaper to buy any park tkts through them. Also, 'as cheap to buy 7 days as 2 days'. But 2 x 7 days sounds like it would be 2k in tkt entrance (plus KspaceC) alone. Yikes.

We bought 7 day passes because we went back to Universal/Islands of Adventure more than once. These theme parks are incredibly busy and if the queues for some things were too long we would go back to the hotel then go back in the evening, so a multiple day pass might be worth thinking about. We stayed at Cabana Bay and just used the free shuttle bus, which was very well organised and arrived every few minutes.

Or you could do some theme park stuff early morning, go back to the hotel and lounge by the pool for a few hours, then go back to Universal in the evening. I used an app that told me which parks were the busiest and whch rides were the busiest, so we could plan our time around that. Being flexible really helped.

How are you getting to the space centre? Is it an organised tour?

Another thing we did was go to Boggy Creek to ride on an airboat and look for alligators, although the best place to see loads of alligators is from the shuttle bus that runs between the car park for the space centre and the main buildings. They don't need security - they have the alligators

This website sells 14 day passes to Universal inc the waterpark for £300/person. I bought mine from here:

Universal Orlando 3-Park Explorer Ticket (Unlimited) - Orlando Attractions

If you like nature and wildlife I recommend the following (all done and tested)

1. Silver river day trip + book swimming with manatees - go for a later slot in the day when the water is warmer - we made a mistake of going at 6am. You snorkel surrounded by manatees it was amazing.
2. kayaking/ tubing down natural springs - try Kelly Springs/ tubing at rock springs run, followed by a picnic.
3. Free drive through Lake apopka wildlife drive - takes about 3 hours going slowly around the nature reserve in your car , you will see lots of alligators, birds, potentially snakes, turtles . We always do it when in Orlando. To make a day out of it go to Winter Garden for a stroll as it’s nearby, lovely market town, you can walk from town centre to the lake too.
4. Must do- day trip to Anna Maria Island and boat trip with captain ‘Kim- very wildlife focused, kid friendly and educational . You get to go in the water on sandbanks , look for crabs and other animals , all is returned to the water very eco friendly.
5. airboat ride through the Everglades - lots of options if you google it
6. visit the town of Mount Dora - lovely wooden boardwalk walk taking in lots of wildlife around you. We spent a day there and are returning this year as it was so lovely. Followed by a boat trip through the mount Dora canals and bird spotting.

I recommend bringing binoculars on the holiday.

also, if you enjoy cycling I recommend the West Orange trail , easy to rent bikes there and a great day out.
Or horse riding at Disney’s fort wilderness resort? Takes about 2 hrs in total.

@40somethingme Don't all or most of these brilliant sounding activities require the PP to be able to drive?

I personally think you can have a lovely holiday just at universal. @RampantIvy has given some great advice - parks in morning, chilling in afternoon and parks again later in the day. It is too hot to be on the go all day.
There is lots to see at the parks and some rides/attractions you’ll want to do more than once. There aren’t many massive rollercoasters at universal but there are quite a few screen/simulator rides which are probably less intense. My ds is nervous/asd but he loved the Simpsons, Men in Black, Shrek and a ride themed on the Jimmy Fallon show which takes you from New York to the moon and back!
We mainly ate at the universal hotel which was self serve so no need to pay tips, plus we took an uber to the supermarket to stock up on room snacks.
Apart from a day trip to the space center which seems a no brainer given your DCs’ interests, you could spend a nice holiday just at universal.

I have had a lovely holiday just at universal parks morning and evening hanging around the pool in the afternoon with a odd trip down international drive and a day to Kennedy space centre (recommend costing up a taxi company taking you there and back in advance)

this is a first holiday, Orlando can be overwhelming even for seasoned travellers

Attraction Tickets is the best place to get your park tickets - I did a lot of research. I also booked our universal hotel through them.

I booked BA flights using Abios. I booked our car and Disney hotel through BA as it was the cheapest deal. We flew into Tampa.

The HP stuff is gobsmacking. Nothing like the WB Studios here.

We had an amazing time. I don't like the big coasters pictures but I really enjoyed it. We didn't leave enough time at the space centre - I'd recommend two visits.