Having trouble liking Universal

[kc10family]

We are new to Universal and so far, I am not a fan. Many of the rides are not good for me because I have motion sickness , they are not enjoyable and can ruin my entire day. I hold bags and people watch . I will say we have been only 3 times and have not been able to do everything yet, so I may find more for me to do. The food inside the parks is not the best but again, we have only gone 3 times and have yet to eat at all locations. The guests are defiantly different than WDW, at least in attire and attitude. I will never forget the lady in her see-through leopard print dress , walking her toddler to the popcorn stand.

On the flip side, I love the refillable mugs! It is great to pay one fee and get a drink often throughout the day. The Hogwarts express is awesome! The employees are very nice.

Please help me enjoy Universal more.

 

[Disxuni]

Perhaps someone below can suggest what to do about motion sickness, as I know a lot of the people on these boards do have motion sickness and still enjoy and love Universal.

With the quick service restaurants, it's typically good to go when they first open, as it's less crowded and everything is fresh. Also, full service dining is amazing. Mytho's is a great place to go. Also, a lot of restaurants in City Walk are great as well. Hard Rock is a personal favorite of mine, it seems a lot of people like Cowfish as well.

 

[skylock]

I have to agree with the way the ladies are dressed. I was trully shocked on my last trip when the girl in front of me bent over and I got full view (remember I am in a wheelchair) of curly black pubic hair visible from her short shorts. My thought was, no underwear or maybe a thong plus short shorts are not a good idea I see.

It wasn't even that hot when we were last there.

As far as not enjoying things, I do not suffer from motion problems so I can't speak to the rides, but there are plenty of things to do/see to take up hours of my time.

I get tired pretty easy these days, depending on how many times I have had to transfer and the likes and often go off on my own just looking. I can never say in the past couple of years I have had a bad day. In the early days of the parks, when I was fully mobile too, I often had to wonder why I kept returning because the place was pretty pitiful and dirty.

I have now given up disney and only do Universal. Three times in the past year and I like it even better every time I go.

We went to a disney wedding this past trip and I had assumed we would be doing disney that trip, but the group of family and friends I went with did not want to do disney, so we did universal again. There were smiles on everyones faces when we left each day.

BTW, the disney wedding was very nice. Mickey and Minnie even showed up and danced with everybody and the food was great. They really entertained the kids too, with special kid foods and treats. Their drinks even came with flashing ice cubes.

The wedding and a chance to go to universal again made the extra trip well worth the expense.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

You can try motion sickness meds like bonine.

I have motion sickness and cross certain rides off my list as well as others that have large drops and go upside down. I did try bonine (less drowsy formula) but it still made me extremely drowsy. A recommendation people have had was to take it before bed or halve the pill. I may try that the next time we go.

What other stuff have you done other than rides? I like to people watch personally. We found ourselves over by Jurassic Park River Adventure just beyond the splash zone having a blast watching people (and drying off after going on the water rides). That brings up do you go on the water rides?

Have you found yourself enjoying Harry Potter, soaking in the immersiveness and shows?

Have you stopped to watch the Blues Brothers? Or the parade? (the name is escaping me right now)

What about rides like E.T? Does MIB set your motion sickness off? Shrek 4D? Seuss Landng area with the rides there?

Don't ruin your day if you think a ride may trigger the motion sickness. Just don't go on that type of ride

I love Universal even if I can't go on all the rides. There's a feeling I get when I walk in and I still have a blast. But I don't try to compare it to WDW. I love both WDW and Universal for different reasons. That said you don't have to like Universal. I'll give you props for going 3 times already even if you're not so into it.

 

[amberpi]

I get motion sickness from motion sims and spinning rides. I've found spreading them to be fantastically helpful, like whoa, helpful. I can enjoy a ride, and then do something dissimilar and then ride another ride. Also, dramine less drowsy is amazing.

I've had little experience with Universal qs, but I find their very good ts restaurants to be not terribly expensive for a decent meal. As mentioned, Mythos is a favorite.

Have a great time!

 

[bchbetha]

How do you do with other non-Disney parks? Do you like any non-Disney park? I mean, I can find things to like at all parks because I don't compare them. Could that help you at all? I mean, 6 Flags, Cedar Point, Busch Gardens, local parks...there are so many great parks in the world and all have their downside. Disney certainly has its drawbacks as well- booking rides 1-2 months ahead of time? Planning meals 6 months out? That's a really different way to do parks than most any other.
For motion, I don't really struggle but I do have to close my eyes on occasion on the 3d rides.

 

[imprint]

Try some table service instead of counter service. Mythos and Confisco Grill in IoA are very good. Finnegan's in the Studios is hit or miss for me. The Harry Potter restaurants are pretty good. Also, City Walk is right there, so utilize those options as well.

 

[maverik85]

My husband gets bad motion sickness, can't even ride a carousel without feeling nauseous without meds. He oes a mixture of Dramamine and Sea-bands and it works well for him. As long as something doesn't have extreme constant spinning he is fine. The only ride that caused him and our son any real issues was Simpsons. I'd definitely recommend trying out the sea-bands. They are basically wristbands with a bead that lie against a pressure point that helps to alleviate nausea, my husband says he hardly even feels it either so not liek feeling something pressing into your wrist all day either. Plus won't cause any drowsiness. Not sure how well they work on their own but defintely a great addition to help and medicine you use.

 

[ForMyBoys]

Try some of the shows. The horror make-up comedy show was quite entertaining. There was the flying fish outdoor acrobat show which was quite fun. The singers in HP and Beattle the Bard are awesome. If they are still lighting up the hogwarts Castle that show is worth seeing.

Grab a big cotton candy in Suess land or a big pink donut in the Simpsons part. Awwww...now I miss it!

The mummy, Jurrasic and Kong rides would likely be ok for you.

I concur that you should try for reservations at Mythos.

The brown derby hat store and magician shops are fun to peruse.

 

[bumbershoot]

Motion sickness:

For me, closing my eyes on Simpsons takes care of it. Same with Spider-Man.

Making sure I’m perfectly in between “haven’t eaten anything that day” and “having just eaten” takes care of issues on forbidden journey.

Sea bands might help you.

Ginger might help you.

And the rest are:
*Dimenhydrinate is the drug name for Dramamine.
*Meclizine is the drug name for both Bonine and Dramamine Less-Drowsy.
*Scopolamine is the drug name for Transdermal-Scop patch.

The guests are defiantly different than WDW, at least in attire and attitude

Many of the guests are the exact same people. Fwiw.

I will never forget the lady in her see-through leopard print dress

Oh gosh, what did she say when you let her know of the clothing issue she might have missed?

 

[Lynne G]

Oh I've seen some body parts I never want to see again in both Disney and Universal. People watch in both places, and you'll say, what were they thinking, more than once. When it's hot, people like to dress cool. I don't think it only happens in Universal. Heck, I can see barely dressed and see through clothes, in our stores around where I live, in the hot and steamy summer time.

Yeah, I get terrible motion sickness. But medicine and an empty stomach helps much. That, and closing my eyes at times, when I start to feel queezy. I'm also not a fan of roller coasters, but I still enjoy going to Universal. While I tend to only do the motion rides once, I like doing Mummy, and ET, and just enjoying myself walking around the park, catching a show or two, or listening the the Blue's Brothers, or other street show. I too, almost always eat at Mythos, it's a nice restaurant, and not that much more expensive than a quick service. I am also picky about the quick service places. Lou's pizza, the Falls chicken, and sometimes Three Broomsticks' food. Otherwise, I go to Bread Box or other in City Walk. I also enjoy some of the sweet stuff Universal has. I never feel shorted if I don't do every ride in the parks. Heck, I don't do every ride at Disney either.

Sorry you have motion sickness and did not enjoy Universal as much. I hope the suggestions to fight off motion sickness help, as well as other not motion things to see and do. And yeah, there are food places at Disney my kids refuse to go to, not so much at Universal. I think food for the masses always can be bland, not cooked right, or not hot or cold as it should be. For cost, heck, when we go to a sporting or concert event, those food prices seem as high or higher than the amusement parks. Convenience costs. I do find food places, that we tend to visit each time we go, at both Universal and Disney. Maybe you'll find some more favored places as you visit again.

And for what it's worth, not only do the same people visit both Disney and Universal, some of the Disney cast members are also Universal team members.

 

[larry47591]

We are new to Universal and so far, I am not a fan. Many of the rides are not good for me because I have motion sickness , they are not enjoyable and can ruin my entire day. I hold bags and people watch . I will say we have been only 3 times and have not been able to do everything yet, so I may find more for me to do. The food inside the parks is not the best but again, we have only gone 3 times and have yet to eat at all locations. The guests are defiantly different than WDW, at least in attire and attitude. I will never forget the lady in her see-through leopard print dress , walking her toddler to the popcorn stand.

On the flip side, I love the refillable mugs! It is great to pay one fee and get a drink often throughout the day. The Hogwarts express is awesome! The employees are very nice.

Please help me enjoy Universal more.

We stopped eating in the park after the first visit. Everything at city walk is much better. It’s not worth the crappy food to eat in the park. Snacks only in the park is our rule.

 

[maverik85]

Agree everything being so close it's easy to head into Citywalk for lunch and dinner and head back to the parks. There are a lot of great snacks in park though, like frozen butterbeer, Florian Fortescue's has great ice cream, the big pink donuts in Springfield are delicious.

 

[Mrsjvb]

City walk is a much better culinary experience. We love the fact that all three are within spitting distance, and the hotels we chose are no more than a 10-15 minute walk.. no standing around waiting for boat launches in long lines

As for motion sickness: only Simpson’s gives my husband issues, and even then he was fine after 20 minutes or so.

Either of the HP lands are great to just soak in the ambiance no rides necessary

 

[Disxuni]

Another thing to note about City Walk is that even if you cannot afford, or want to spurge on full service dining that they usually offer, they now have more fast food options, such as Moe's, Panda Express, Red Oven Pizza, and Burger King. I'm sure there is one, or two I'm forgetting.

 

[lebeau]

First off, neither Universal nor Disney are for everyone. It's okay if one or the other isn't to your preference.

As others have pointed out, there are remedies for motion sickness you can try. I get a touch queasy on Forbidden Journey or The Hulk, but not bad enough to take anything. Everyone's going to be different. My wife can't ride a bunch of simulators or anything that spins more than Men in Black. She'll sit out certain rides.

While Universal does have a simulator problem, there are still lots of traditional rides to enjoy. Men in Black, the Mummy, Cat in the Hat, the Hulk, Popeye... it all just depends on what you enjoy. Woody Woodpecker and Flight of the Hippogriff are fun kiddie coasters. Don't discount Seuss Landing. There are a lot of different types of rides to enjoy depending on your preferences. The one thing Universal doesn't have a lot of is the traditional Disney dark ride featuring animatronics. If that's your preference, you're going to do better at Disney.

When I talk to people who say they don't enjoy Universal, typically I find they run from one ride to the next. Not only will that increase your chances of motion sickness, you will miss out on some of the biggest pleasures the resort has to offer. See the shows. Shop. Enjoy a sitdown meal without making reservations 180 days in advance. Explore. There are so many nooks and crannies hidden throughout Universal. Everyone talks about the Harry Potter lands, but the surprises aren't limited to the Wizarding World. Universal rewards curiosity. Wander around the lagoon. Check out the kids' play areas. You can have fun in Curious George or Camp Jurassic at any age.

What we love about Universal is that it is easy. There's no crowded buses. No need to rush to some appointment you scheduled weeks or months in advance. Almost no planning is required. You can be spontaneous. With ExpressPass, we never wait in a line for more than 10 minutes. If it gets hot, you just go back to the hotel pool and cool off. If you get hungry, the restaurants will accept walk-ups. Compared to Disney, it's a stressfree vacation.

 

[lebeau]

Another thing to note about City Walk is that even if you cannot afford, or want to spurge on full service dining that they usually offer, they now have more fast food options, such as Moe's, Panda Express, Red Oven Pizza, and Burger King. I'm sure there is one, or two I'm forgetting.

Hot Dog Hall of Fame and Breadbox. Oh and Menchi's Frozen Yogurt, Dippin Dots, Aunt Annie's Pretzels etc if you just want a snack. Or for a super sweet tooth, Voodoo Donuts. *Homer Simpson noise*

 

[Bethany10]

How is breadbox? We're a big sandwich family but one of the touring guides I read didn't care for it.

 

[lebeau]

How is breadbox? We're a big sandwich family but one of the touring guides I read didn't care for it.

I don't have firsthand experience with it. The reviews I have read have been all over the map. Some people love it and others aren't impressed.

 

[luvsJack]

OP, I am not a rider for most things in Universal. What do I like to do? Explore every nook and cranny of Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, watch all the shows in HP and the other parts of Universal, enjoy people watching and the sights and sounds and taking in the theming. What I did ride was Forbidden Journey (once and done on the ride but could spend all day in the castle), MIB, HP train, Minions, Shrek. I don't do heights, don't do fast and do get motion sickness. But I thoroughly enjoy our time there. I don't sit around holding bags, that was one thing I had to put a stop to. They either put it in a locker or don't bring it. Only exception was things they bought that I didn't want to get broken.

Food, we like both Three Broomsticks and Leaky Cauldron and Mythos. Other meals were usually in City Walk. We did have pizza in the parks and it was decent. Just don't remember where.