Great Orlando Park Admission deals

[tombo]

I am going to Orlando this summer and there are some deals for park admission tickets (not to Disney). Buy the 7 day unlimited admission Universal studios tickets for both parks for $99.99 and/or the Busch Gardens and Sea World 14 day unlimited admission tickets for $89.95 (online). These prices are cheaper than a one day Disney ticket with park hopper and the rides are a lot more excting than anything Disney has to offer.

Sea World has 3 coasters, Kraken,Journey to Atlantis, and a new coaster for 2009 called the Manta where you lay on your stomach with the track above you giving the sensation of flight. Busch Gardens has Sheikra which is a coaster that falls 90 degrees and is one of the tallest dive coasters in the world, plus Montu, Kumba, and several other coasters. Busch Gardens also has plenty of animals to watch and interact with. You can add Aquatica (water park) and Discovery Cove to the tickets and have unlimited admission to more things than you can do.

Universal has the incredible hulk, the dueling dragons, and several more exciting rides. Dr Doom's fearfall is a stomach grabber, Jurrassic Park is OK, and the Spiderman 3-d is great. In addition the original Universal park's motion simulator rides are great. I like Sea World /Busch gardens better, but Islands of Adventure is good for a day or two combined with a day or two at Universal Studios.

I know a lot of people here love Disney, and that is great for those who love it. Don't start the hate mail but to MY FAMILY Disney is not the most magical place on earth, it is the most boring place on earth. The only thrill ride worth standing in line for is the Tower of Terror. I hope to never hear "It's a small world after all" again in my life.That ride and that mind numbing song could be considered torture to use on the Gitmo terrorists to make them talk. I feel sure that the president would apologize to the world if the CIA made them ride that ride repeatedly in order to gain information. It is worse than water boarding. Follow that mind numbing ride with 2 hour waits in 98 degree weather with 98% humidity just to see mannequins lip synch in the Pirates of the Carribean and a 3 hour wait to ride a roller coaster that is similar to the Mad Mouse that the carnies assemble in our mall parking lot each fall (of course the Mad Mouse is not indoors like Space mountain) and these tough, grisled lunatics will beg to talk and be reciting the pledge of Allegiance in no time. Of course once the details of what the "detainees" are going through is released in a memo, the Disney interrogation techniques will be banned by Obama, and Mickey and Minnie will be prosecuted for torture.

I am going to Orlando on a company trip this summer and I assure you that I won't make a single line at any Disney park one person longer the whole week I am there. However I will be in line at least 4 days out of 7 to ride a roller coaster that loops, lets my feet swing free, drops me like a rock, or which makes me feel like I can fly like Superman. I hope Disney has the majority of Orlando visitors because if the lines at Busch Gardens are short enough I will get off of a coaster and go straight back in line to ride it again. I am getting older (got my AARP card) but my mind refuses to let me give up the thrill rides. I am getting excited just thinking about some of those rides.

For any out there who like exciting rides, the Universal and Busch Garden/Sea World packages are wonderful. Go early and ride until it gets too crowded, then go back to the resort to enjoy the pool. The next day for no additional expense go back to any park you want to visit and go home again when it gets crowded. Repeat daily until you must return home and do it all for less than $100 a person. That is a deal!

 

[carl2591]

we got tickets last year for 99.00 online that allows both sea world and bush gardens in tampa including bus there and back.. that is kinda fun..

universal and islands are good as well. the spider man ride is or was the hottest ride in US.. too bad the Back To the Future ride was turned into the Simpson theme..

I remember that ride from 20 +years ago.. several years ago we rented the BTtF series and with wife and kids age 12 and 9 watched all three over a weekend.. upon going to universal that year we rode the BTtF ride several times which as it turns out was the last time we would ever enjoy that ride again.. it was kinda neat to expose the kids to a great movie series we enjoyed some 20ish years ago..

have not been to disney for close to 10 years.. youngest was 1.5 at the time.

going this year and be staying at Summer Bay July 5th week.. going to get tickets to Daytona 500 and disney tickets for FREE.. man it good to have friends in high places..

have a good one

 

[Carl D]

I am going to Orlando this summer and there are some deals for park admission tickets (not to Disney). Buy the 7 day unlimited admission Universal studios tickets for both parks for $99.99 and/or the Busch Gardens and Sea World 14 day unlimited admission tickets for $89.95 (online). These prices are cheaper than a one day Disney ticket with park hopper

When you compare ticket prices, you are comparing totally different price structures. In addition, there is not enough to fill 7 days at those other parks unless you repeat the same things several times.
You are truly comparing apples to oranges.

and the rides are a lot more excting than anything Disney has to offer.

This is a matter of opinion, not fact like you have stated.

I know a lot of people here love Disney, and that is great for those who love it. Don't start the hate mail but to MY FAMILY Disney is not the most magical place on earth, it is the most boring place on earth.

No hate mail from me.. I'm happy your family has found something they enjoy while on vacation.

That said, you seem to dole out Disney hate mail at every turn.
In fact, I don't see the need to ever mention Disney in this thread. You could have kept it to a purely positive Uninversal/Sea World thread. Instead you felt the need to take a jab at Disney, calling them boring among other things.

The only thrill ride worth standing in line for is the Tower of Terror.

I personally think there are a couple others, but the point is that Disney is not a thrill ride place. It's about theming, and story telling.
Anyone can put up a bunch of metal and call it a roller coaster, but making Expedition Everest is true genius. Sometime you should watch that story on the Travel Channel. You may gain appreciation for how the pros do it.

I hope to never hear "It's a small world after all" again in my life.That ride and that mind numbing song could be considered torture to use on the Gitmo terrorists to make them talk. I feel sure that the president would apologize to the world if the CIA made them ride that ride repeatedly in order to gain information. It is worse than water boarding.

I never thought I would see this day come, but we are in total agreement on this one.

 

[joestein]

I just returned Saturday from our 3rd family disney trip (each a week long) in the last 3 yrs, and can't wait to plan the another next year, but even I have to agree that the rides at universal are more thrilling.


Sadly, a lot of the older rides at Disney really show their age and are boring. Specifically the dark rides in fantasy land (with the exception of pooh) and even pirates of the carribean (though I remember enjoying the one at Disney Land much more).

While I agree on the storytelling and the impact it has on a ride, many of the rides at universal also tell great stories (though it has been almost 10 years since we went, so I can't speak for the newer rides or IOA).

I also avoided Small World, by running to Splash Mountain for FASTPASSES while my wife took our 6 yr old twin girls on the ride.

Joe

 

[Carl D]

I just returned Saturday from our 3rd family disney trip (each a week long) in the last 3 yrs, and can't wait to plan the another next year, but even I have to agree that the rides at universal are more thrilling.


Sadly, a lot of the older rides at Disney really show their age and are boring. Specifically the dark rides in fantasy land (with the exception of pooh) and even pirates of the carribean (though I remember enjoying the one at Disney Land much more).

While I agree on the storytelling and the impact it has on a ride, many of the rides at universal also tell great stories (though it has been almost 10 years since we went, so I can't speak for the newer rides or IOA).

I also avoided Small World, by running to Splash Mountain for FASTPASSES while my wife took our 6 yr old twin girls on the ride.

Joe

Boring is in the eye of the beholder..
I absolutely love the classic dark rides in Fantasyland. They are true classics, and I would hate to see them changed *too much*. A little modernazation is fine, but the concept must remain.

Other dark rides, such as the Haunted Mansion, must stay intact. Some may call that boring, but many of us consider that a timeless masterpiece.

I am a bit disappointed with Pirates simply because they turned a great classic into "The Jack Sparrow Show".

If thrill coaster type rides is the main draw for you, than IOA would be a better park.
If you like extremely well thought out, intricately themed attractions with a deeper meaning, than WDW is the answer.

 

[Sea Six]

A few months ago, I was offered a free 5 day pass to both Universal Parks. We thought that was a great deal and a great way to spend a week up in Orlando. We spent one day in each park and did everything they had to offer. The place was so dead, we didn't even wait in a queue line to get on anything. I will say, the new Simpson's Ride was a lot of fun!! I am looking forward to my first visit to Discovery Cove.

PS - my "Worst Attraction in Orlando" award goes to Poseidon's Fury at IOA. Next time I see that place I'll sit down somewhere and stick needles in my eyes before I waste my time there.

Also, another thing I love about Universal is that you walk farther to get from your car to the front gate than you do during the remainder of your day in the park.