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Orlando / Disney / Universal Chat

Spoke to arcade monsters this week, they’ve not got plans to change anything major in their pinball lineup anytime soon but will be getting Pulp Fiction at their locations. Quite surprising if they’d not be getting a Jaws.
 
We’re visiting Orlando again this summer, we’ve done the theme parks (Disney/Universal/Sea World/Kennedy) so this time don’t really want 14 day park tickets, but probably would like to visit a couple of the parks for a day or so each, does anyone know if you can purchase day tickets for the parks?

Also any recommendations on things to do in and around Orlando would be much appreciated.

Chris.
 
I’m travelling over again this year and hoping to do Universal on a day, what’s the cheapest way to purchase tickets ? Either buy before I go or get discounts over there and pay on the day ?
Any info much appreciated.
 
taz turbo said:
does anyone know if you can purchase day tickets for the parks?
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You can, but you’ll be paying the highest price if buying at the gate. It’s not something I’ve looked into much, but my friends in the States tend to use Undercover Tourist for park tickets for shorter (1 or 2 day) visits.

replicas said:
I’m travelling over again this year and hoping to do Universal on a day, what’s the cheapest way to purchase tickets ? Either buy before I go or get discounts over there and pay on the day ?
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Do you mean literally just one day?
 
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taz turbo said:
We’re visiting Orlando again this summer, we’ve done the theme parks (Disney/Universal/Sea World/Kennedy) so this time don’t really want 14 day park tickets, but probably would like to visit a couple of the parks for a day or so each, does anyone know if you can purchase day tickets for the parks?

Also any recommendations on things to do in and around Orlando would be much appreciated.

Chris.
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I’ll ask one of my friends that lives there for you, let me know which parks you want?
 
replicas said:
I’m travelling over again this year and hoping to do Universal on a day, what’s the cheapest way to purchase tickets ? Either buy before I go or get discounts over there and pay on the day ?
Any info much appreciated.
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UK get much cheaper rates, along with 14 day rates as opposed to 7 when there... we actually do get some reasonable breaks from both disney and universal..

Gate prices are just obscene!

Should I buy Universal Orlando tickets in advance?​

Yes, for two reasons:
  1. You’ll get your tickets much cheaper online than on the gate
  2. The 2 and 3 Park Explorer Tickets are only available from the UK and offer the best value for money.

https://www.attractiontickets.com/en or https://www.floridatix.com/park-tickets are the best bets depending on what you are after.

You wont be able to do both universal's in one day... well... not unless you have just 1 or two things to do. Usually a day per park (and there's two of them, Plus Volcano Bay if you want mad wacky water rides and chill time..)
 
All true @Paul, but the special UK only tickets sold here are for longer visits / multiple park days. Not much point spending £325 on the 14 day Universal ticket if you’re literally only going to go for one day!
 
taz turbo said:
Also any recommendations on things to do in and around Orlando would be much appreciated.
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A few things come to mind - Arcade Monsters on Intl Drive, Gatorland, Tampa Zoo, Busch Gardens, Winter Park, Icon Park, lots of mini golf options, Fun Spot, swim with Manatees out in Clearwater, airboat tours etc.

You can always visit / eat at / drink at City Walk, Disney Springs, and both Uni and Disney resorts. Strong Water Tavern at Sapphire Falls is one of our favourites, also love Orchid Lounge at Royal Pacific for excellent sushi and The Boathouse at Disney Springs for seafood.
 
JustLikeMe said:
All true @Paul, but the special UK only tickets sold here are for longer visits / multiple park days. Not much point spending £325 on the 14 day Universal ticket if you’re literally only going to go for one day!
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There is somewhere that does them tho... name escapes me... Why in my head does their logo being a frog come to mind..... Grrrr.. i will remember...
 
Paul said:
Got it...


Bit of a saving... not as much as we tend to get in the UK tho for the longer ones.

Park-Park tickets allow you to ride on the hogwarts and do both parks in the same day... 1 park only allows you to go to one side or the other...
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Yup Undercover Tourist are where my US based friends get their park tickets for shorter visits. As you say, not as good a saving, but better than paying front gate prices.

It’s also worth checking if an Orlando Informer meet up is happening when you’re over - they’re expensive, but you get loads of free food and very short lines so it’s possible to do most of both parks in one evening. I’d much rather do one OI meet up than one day in the parks. The next one is in June - prob not worth it if you have a 14 day ticket or annual pass though.

Orlando Informer Meetup

meetup.orlandoinformer.com
 
JustLikeMe said:
All true @Paul, but the special UK only tickets sold here are for longer visits / multiple park days. Not much point spending £325 on the 14 day Universal ticket if you’re literally only going to go for one day!
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When I went last summer I bought Universal tickets over there. It was $350 for two days (both parks). They had a promo 'extra three days free', but this was pretty much the cheapest option for a short visit

Edit: $350 was the pre-tax price. $1121.43 for three of us to spend two days at Universal. Would definitely buy in the UK next time. I'd feel less ripped off, even though I'd be overbuying days
 
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Yes the Universal visit will just be for 1 day as we stay on the Gulf coast and just drive up for the day.
Thanks for all the options will explore a little more and see what deals are out there.
With being Gulf coast Busch Gardens is always a must, really enjoy going there.
D.
 
Love Montu, and my fave, Cheetah hunt :)

Lots of new stuff coming there over the next 12 months. Didnt get to do it last time because the misses was poorly, however always high on the list :)
 
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Just got back from spending a couple of hours at Arcade Monsters Idrive, $25 unlimited play. Very short walk from Universal Surfside if people want to use the free Universal buses.
These games have been heavily used in comparison to the Oviedo location. The Jaws LE#750 has ball trails on the inlanes that look like black marker pen! Also the ball kept getting stuck here:-

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Played pretty well otherwise, the volume was turned up LOUD which helped the experience. The shot to the upper playfield is a joke though, attained a few multiball modes and smashing the shark in the face is pretty good fun.

JJP Godfather & Toy Story were the only none Sterns both of which id never played. Not really interested in playing either ever again. Plain awfulness.

GoT & Lotr played very flowy if a tad erratic and bouncy, upper playfield flippers were totally dead on GoT sadly so the ball just drained immediately from up there.

GZ, Avgrs,JP2 all play as you’d expect.

BM66 was set up very oddly, low flippers and orbit shots triggered the overly sensitive slingshots every time, interrupting the flow.
Venom LE#16 had ball search issues every game, not sure what that’s about but the mechs of the ball switch thingy is very cool and makes it very fast and fun. Would definitely like to play this more.

Neither FF or JB played as well as the ones at Pinfest, but they were Chris Bs tbf and his are setup to perfection.

Mando, GoG & SW played in their usual uninspiring bland sterile fashion as I’ve always experienced.

EHOH was flowy as I’d expect sadly the plastic ramp has been damaged and the ball regularly dropped from its path back onto the playfield.

Finally LZ, my lordy after a couple of flips I understood the hatred towards this game. What an absolute garbage fest!! I drained the 3rd ball on my first ever game and don’t want to play it again. It’s an abomination.

So, having been to both Oviedo and here I’d say Oviedo is a superior pinball experience. However that is a fair old journey away from Orlando. For $25 unlimited play on Idrive it’s brilliant. I can see why they’ve yet to add any of their CGC LEs here as they’d be getting a hammering, I kind of hope they don’t get a PF as they’d informed me. As that will take a serious beating :oops:
 
First time having a family suite in Universal with kitchenette facilities, the microwave has displayed this the whole time so far since Thursday. Most likely coincidental, If it’s intentional that’s next level shiz

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Epic universe preview centre is now open on citywalk. The scale model is paired with an AR app that shows the ride vehicles in motion, Donkey Kong jumps tracks 😲

 
Crewey said:
Epic universe preview centre is now open on citywalk. The scale model is paired with an AR app that shows the ride vehicles in motion, Donkey Kong jumps tracks 😲

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Wife and I are planning a trip for next October with our little ones.

Looking forward to this new park and Nintendo World for sure!

Already have a few pinball locations lined up for our trip too 😂
 
Crewey said:
Epic universe preview centre is now open on citywalk. The scale model is paired with an AR app that shows the ride vehicles in motion, Donkey Kong jumps tracks 😲

Click to expand...

Yeah the DK coaster has a really unique ride track arrangement:

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The carts ride on that sideways track which is hidden from view, and then there’s a fake horizontal track that’s visible - hence the jumping over gaps.

I can’t wait for Epic - most excited for the two main dark rides. Harry Potter and the Battle for the Ministry and Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. Really looking forward to more info on those two - rumours are that the Ministry will use the next gen version of the Spider-Man ride system, whereas Monsters will use a similar ride system to the KUKA arms on Forbidden Journey but with less reliance on screens.
 
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JustLikeMe said:
Yeah the DK coaster has a really unique ride track arrangement:

View attachment 253269

The carts ride on that sideways track which is hidden from view, and then there’s a fake track horizontal track that’s visible - hence the jumping over gaps.

I can’t wait for Epic - most excited for the two main dark rides. Harry Potter and the Battle for the Ministry and Monsters Unchained: The Frankenstein Experiment. Really looking forward to more info on those two - rumours are that the Ministry will use the next gen version of the Spider-Man ride system, whereas Monsters will use a similar ride system to the KUKA arms on Forbidden Journey but with less reliance on screens.
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Awesome, definitely looking forward to Dark Universe the most there
 
taz turbo said:
We’re visiting Orlando again this summer, we’ve done the theme parks (Disney/Universal/Sea World/Kennedy) so this time don’t really want 14 day park tickets, but probably would like to visit a couple of the parks for a day or so each, does anyone know if you can purchase day tickets for the parks?

Also any recommendations on things to do in and around Orlando would be much appreciated.

Chris.
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If you’ve never been on an Airboat ride to see alligators up close then you can see them at Lake Tohopekaliga. When they crank up the speed, it’s good fun!
 
New Night time show returns to Universal finally, running until 25th August when they'll presumably switch over to a HHN show 🤞

 
..and Universal has just blown every Disney parade out of the water.
🔥
 
Some advice please- staying at Cabana Bay and not renting a car for a change- best way to get to the hotel with a family of four please? Can anyone recommend either a Lyft / Uber or is it better or get a coach or airport taxi? Ta
 
SteadyP said:
Some advice please- staying at Cabana Bay and not renting a car for a change- best way to get to the hotel with a family of four please? Can anyone recommend either a Lyft / Uber or is it better or get a coach or airport taxi? Ta
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We jump in a Taxi every time from the airport to Cabana Bay, there's always some waiting to hop in.
Rest of the holiday we use Lyft pink for everything.
 
HHN Frequent Fear Passes are now onsale (vpn required) couldn't add any discounts with my UOAP :(
With taxes the Rush of Fear pass which covers our next stay in September converts to £150 each, basically 2 nights and it's paid for itself over buying single night tickets.
 
Crewey said:
HHN Frequent Fear Passes are now onsale (vpn required) couldn't add any discounts with my UOAP :(
With taxes the Rush of Fear pass which covers our next stay in September converts to £150 each, basically 2 nights and it's paid for itself over buying single night tickets.
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You can also buy via the Universal Orlando app without having to use a VPN. Originally we were booked to go mid Sept for 10 nights and I planned on getting the Rush of Fear pass too. However a mate of mine announced that he was getting married the day after we were booked to fly with only a few months notice so had to spend £££ to push everything back two weeks to late Sept / early Oct which also means more $ for either Frequent Fear or Frequent Fear Plus. Can't decide if it's worth the extra $50 each to be able to go on the Friday too considering weekend crowds.

I swear if he ever gets divorced I'm gonna send him an invoice for how much extra it's cost us.
 
SteadyP said:
Some advice please- staying at Cabana Bay and not renting a car for a change- best way to get to the hotel with a family of four please? Can anyone recommend either a Lyft / Uber or is it better or get a coach or airport taxi? Ta
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I can give you the details of the guy we use every time we go if you like? he is very good and provides pickup from the airport plus return to the airport. we have used him for the last 8 years and he's been brilliant
 
neilljj said:
I can give you the details of the guy we use every time we go if you like? he is very good and provides pickup from the airport plus return to the airport. we have used him for the last 8 years and he's been brilliant
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Can you pm me his number please Neil? I’ll check if he’s available for my dates. Cheers, Peter
 
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