Hey there! My name is Ed, and my wife, daughter and I just got back from a trip to Orlando last week, which included visiting Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure for our first time!
A quick backstory: before, since our daughter was smaller, our previous 3 trips were only to Walt Disney World's parks. For us, it's a way to escape from reality for a while, and just have fun.
This past January, my father passed away after a long fight with pancreatic cancer. A little before he passed, he told my mom how much he loved hearing our stories of going to Disney World and wanted us to go back soon.
He and I ware both model train collectors, so after he passed, the directive was to sell any trains I was not keeping. Part of that money was to pay for our trip to Florida.
This time, we felt like we needed to see Universal, especially since our daughter (now 17) really wanted to see Wizarding World of Harry Potter. So we scheduled a day to try it out.
We all fell in love with both parks on the spot. From the staff applauding you on a red carpet as you enter, to how immersive and fun every area was, it really made us feel like we wanted: out of reality, relaxed and having fun.
Next time we go, it will either be a long weekend trip (we live just outside Philadelphia, PA) just for Universal, or if we do both that and Disney, then 2 or 3 days for Universal. It's simply too great a series of parks to not visit more and explore more.
I'm glad I found this forum, and looking forward to getting to know folks on here!
A quick backstory: before, since our daughter was smaller, our previous 3 trips were only to Walt Disney World's parks. For us, it's a way to escape from reality for a while, and just have fun.
This past January, my father passed away after a long fight with pancreatic cancer. A little before he passed, he told my mom how much he loved hearing our stories of going to Disney World and wanted us to go back soon.
He and I ware both model train collectors, so after he passed, the directive was to sell any trains I was not keeping. Part of that money was to pay for our trip to Florida.
This time, we felt like we needed to see Universal, especially since our daughter (now 17) really wanted to see Wizarding World of Harry Potter. So we scheduled a day to try it out.
We all fell in love with both parks on the spot. From the staff applauding you on a red carpet as you enter, to how immersive and fun every area was, it really made us feel like we wanted: out of reality, relaxed and having fun.
Next time we go, it will either be a long weekend trip (we live just outside Philadelphia, PA) just for Universal, or if we do both that and Disney, then 2 or 3 days for Universal. It's simply too great a series of parks to not visit more and explore more.
I'm glad I found this forum, and looking forward to getting to know folks on here!
