Universal Orlando questions
I haven't been there since probably the early to mid 90s. So, I know things have changed since then...the big attraction was a King Kong ride where he'd shake the cart you're driving in and Harry Potter wasn't even on JK Rowling's radar.
1) There are two parks now - one with Harry Potter and one with the superhero stuff. Are both parks do-able in one day apiece? Or, do you need more/less time? We'd be two adults and one 9 year old. I ask because Universal has a special now that includes a 3 day pass and wasn't sure if there is enough for 3 days.
2) If you avoid Disney, I know there is Sea World. What are some other attractions that can occupy a day?
If we went for a week, I see two days at universal and one day at Sea World... but, without Disney, what else?
Thanks
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Try the Italian Place Next door for dinner. YOM
So I think I can answer your questions. My son is 8, and he has SO outgrown Disney, so we had the same concerns. However, we didn't venture outside of Universal for other things to do, but that was because we also had to schedule time to visit grandma, who lives in Apopka.
Our vacay lasted six days: 1) travel day (got there in the early evening, so just enough time to check into the hotel, have dinner, and crash), 2) Universal Studios, 3) Islands of Adventure, 4) lazy day/pool/visiting grandma, 5) exotic car show/more visiting grandma; 6) travel day.
We got the two-day pass and did Universal Studios one day and Islands of Adventure the next. How long you spend at each park--determining whether you do 'em both in one day or one each day--depends on several factors.
- Are you staying at a Universal hotel? If you are, you can get into the Harry Potter thing an hour before the park opens (otherwise fondly know as "at the crack o' freakin' dawn"
. And when you kick the Harry Potter thing before 9 a.m., you got a whole lotta time on your hands for the rest of the day.
- Will you be splurging on a FastPass? That will cut down on how long you're standing in line, which takes up huge chunks o' time. (Note: FastPass not honored for the Harry Potter rides but is valid for everything else in both parks.)
- Does your kid like rollercoasters? If he does, that's a whole lotta line-standing right there. My son doesn't care for them, so that helped.
- The heat. Sometimes, especially with a young kid, even if you WANT to do both parks in one day, you just get wiped out by the weather, and you might choose to spend a few hours at one of the parks in the morning and then the rest of the day at the hotel pool.
Most important advice: If you don't get early access to Harry Potter, then get there as early as humanly possible, before the park opens even, and stand in line. The lines at HP are STUPID LONG and get longer and stupider as the day goes on. But it is SOOOOO worth it.
As soon as you get into the park, make a beeline for Hogwarts (at the far end of the place, just for fun). Follow the racing crowds (best to go through the Dr. Seuss section, as it's the least populated). Get in line for Ollivander's wand shop IMMEDIATELY. They only let 27 people in the place at one time for a brief but VERY charming performance by Mr. Ollivander and a child selected from the audience. Buy stuff at the gift shop as soon as possible, because the crowds are insane afterward. If you're staying at a Universal hotel, have the loot sent to your room so you don't have to lug it all over the park.
After Ollivander's, get in line for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter (the one inside Hogwarts). Early on the line is long but moves at a fast clip. Later on the line is even longer and does NOT move at a fast clip. Buy stuff at the gift shop it vomits you into at the end. Worth it if you like HP loot.
Do everything else in the park at your leisure.
At Universal Studios, definitely do the Simpsons ride, DEFINITELY the Men in Black ride (OMG we did that one twice) and the moviemaking simulator (it's cute--not as much fun as Universal California, but fun in a limited space).
If you have any other questions, fire away! 
It was fine. Some good bits, some bad bits. It was crazy expensive, but we went during spring break (right after Easter). Prices should be better now. If you stay at the RP, know the restaurants in the hotel are all right but cost a friggin' fortune. If you can eat elsewhere, do so. Highlight of the RP: the family of ducks that swims in the pool before it gets invaded by hoomins (heck, they take dips even when there ARE people in the pool). Bottom line: you can't beat the convenience, especially the early admission and the three-minute water taxi ride to the parks.
On edit: This is MG Jr. in all his bleary glory, 7:30 a.m., standing in line for Ollivander's. We decided to take pictures of us standing in line at every ride, but most of the time everything was stashed in a locker and I always forgot to pull out my phone before locking everything up.
