trujilloana

I am planning a trip for my family to Universal and Legoland in Orlando for next year, in mid September. We visited Disneyworld two years ago and did not include any other park but Disney's.
My first question is if two days for visiting each park (Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, and Legoland) is right, or if it is too much. I know my daughter will be thrilled with Harry Potter World and Legoland, but I don't know if two days is too much for Universal Studios.
And the second question is if it is really convenient to stay in an inside hotel, such as we did in Disneyworld.
Thank you very much for your advice, I need it so much!
Ana =)

schmerl

For Universal I would stay at one of their three on site hotels. We love the Royal Pacific Resort there.
That way you will get express access for most of the attractions in the parks. You can also walk to the parks or take the water taxis from the hotels.
If you stay just one night on site you will get two full days of express access. ALL day the day you check in and ALL day the day you check out. You will also get early entry to Harry Potter since the rides there do not have express access. Two days is definitely NOT too much time. We have stayed five days and never ran out of things to do.

gmoney

Definitely stay at a Universal Hotel (Like schmerl says it is worth it just for the Express Pass). I would think 4 days would be more than sufficient for both Universal parks, even 3 days would probably suffice. I have not been to Legoland but my SIL took her 10 year old grandson there and left after about 4 hours.

tarfan24

I agree with the prior replies about staying at a Universal hotel. We've gone the last 2 years for 2-3 days during Spring Break and while the hotel was pricey, the express access made it worthwhile and was the *only* reason I would pay that much for a hotel in the Orlando area. It also gets you early access to the HP area of the park first thing in the am which also helps with the lines at the Hogwarts attraction.
Skip the meal plan at Universal - we did it this last trip and found that while various locations were included, not everything AT those locations is included and the food was very fast foodish and not very good. Plan to bring some non-perishables in for snacks.
3 days is definitely enough for both Universal parks, especially if you have the express pass access and I would suspect lines in Sept to be not too bad overall.
Enjoy!

Barbara_in_FL

I've been to Legoland twice in the last month, once with my 9-year-old and a second time with him, a friend of the same age, and two older siblings who decided to come along. I think one day for Legoland is fine. The older two were a bit bored after a couple of hours (if it had been up to me they would have done something else for the day, because the park is really geared more for the younger set). For the younger two, both of them had no trouble spending an entire day there. And I am a confirmed wimp when it comes to rides, so it was just perfect for me as well - several little coasters but nothing really terrifying. Depending on what you decide regarding accommodations it might be easier to drive there for a day than to move just for one night.