Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I'm going to be in Orlando Next month and thought about going to Universal for a couple of days, mostly to see the HP stuff. That is until I saw how much it would cost. The multiday park tickets and "fastpass" option brought the cost to almost $300.<<< We didn't take the Fastpass option, we just bought the regular tickets on the internet and got them at the Will Call Kiosk. There we saved some money. So you should try that. <a target="blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.gktw.org/pre/pdf/Universal-Orlando-Tickets.pdf">http://www.gktw.org/pre/pdf/Un...kets.pdf</a> >>>I've been to Universal and Islands of Adventure before and the only reason I would go back is to see the HP stuff, but I can't see spending $300 per person to do that. <<< Harry Potter is the only reason why we would go there again. I really don't get the buzz for Universal, I get it for HP, but not for the resort. There are some good attractions but overall I expected more and something better.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***Please don't tell me that you mean Universal, than besides Harry Potter, the parks are definitely not amazing*** They're certainly comparable to Disney Studios.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>They're certainly comparable to Disney Studios.<<< Okay, I thought you were comparing the whole Disney resort with the whole Universal resort. The Universal parks are definitely better than DHS.
Originally Posted By Mr X Of course not. I was only referring to the "trapped" reference, which comes with the implication that MGM is good enough because there's "Nothing better to do". There are *plenty* of options outside of WDW, but people feel "trapped" because they opt not to rent a car (dirt cheap in Florida) and instead stay "inside the bubble" (riding buses all week long and spending too much time in sub-par locations like MGM). So they're trapped by their own design, and it's their own fault for ending up that way.
Originally Posted By Mr X A five minute search yielded rates for *tomorrow* on Budget at $97.68 for an economy car for a week, or a whopping $154.88 for a full sized ride. So the car option is hardly a budget buster (just get McDonalds for breakfast for the family once or twice in lieu of a character breakfast and it's paid for!). In fact, I recommend it to people even IF they don't intend on leaving Disney property, if only for the convenience of tooling around at night, heading out to Crossroads for some grocery shopping, and for getting to and from the airport. Just sayin... Trapped is a mindset. Nothing more.
Originally Posted By dagobert Yes, a car is definitely nned in Orlando if you want to see more than Disney. We rented a car for a couple of days, because we wanted to go to Universal. Atferwards we returned it at the Car Care Centre at WDW, because we didn't need it on property. Although Disney's Transportation System could be better, we were fine without a car. When on vacation I like to have drinks and in foreign countries I just don't drink and drive.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***When on vacation I like to have drinks and in foreign countries I just don't drink and drive*** Well, that's obvious. I hope you don't drink and drive in your own country either.
Originally Posted By dagobert >>>I hope you don't drink and drive in your own country either. <<< When we are out for dinner I have a glass of wine or beer. I wouldn't do that in the US.
