My wife and I(mid 30's)are going to Orlando the first week of July. We are having a hard time deciding between WDW or Universal Escape Adventure Parks. I would like some help deciding. Also, how are the crowds and weather at this time of year?

hell? is anyone out there?

Sorry I meant to say hello.

still waiting

Hi, Tom,

Why not mix it up and do a little bit of both? I would recommend the Magic Kingdom and Islands of Adventure. Magic Kingdom just can't be missed because it is quintessential Disney. Even though there is a lot of kiddie stuff like Fantasy Land, there's also attractions geared for an older audience, like the Alien Encounter and Space Mountain. And don't miss Splash Mountain, which is the best ride in the park.

EPCOT is interesting - half of the park celebrates foreign countries with shows, attractions and restaurants. The other half is all about "technology." The last time I was there, I couldn't help but laugh at how outdated some of the exhibits were, because things that were considered technology when EPCOT opened are ancient history now. Granted, I haven't been there since 1997, so maybe it has changed. But I wasn't too impressed with that part of EPCOT. I loved the World of Nations part, though.

Islands of Adventure is by far the better of the two Universal Studios parks - in my opinion, anyway. It has some good roller coasters, a cool Jurassic Park ride, and a really great Spider Man 3D ride. I really enjoyed that place a lot. Personally, I'd leave the other Universal park out.

You could also throw a water park into your plans. I'd go with Blizzard Beach in Disney. The weather will surely be hot, hot, hot, so a day in the water is a nice break. Make sure you carry sunscreen and water with you every day. You can buy both in the parks but will probably pay a lot.

As far as the crowds go, they'll be pretty bad - but honestly, the crowds are always bad, no matter when you go. A hurricane could pass directly over Orlando, and you'd still wait an hour to ride the teacups!

I hope my input helps you make your decisions. Have a great trip!

Thanks Meredith!

The idea of Epcot and seeing the World Showcase sound like a good idea to me. I want to try the test track but my wife is concerned she won't be able to handle that ride she suffers from dizzy spells (Vertigo). Can you tell me if that ride would be hard for my wife to handle? Also how would the Spiderman ride be for my wife?

Well, if your wife gets dizzy spells, she'll probably want to avoid the Spider Man ride and the roller coasters (which is a shame because those are the best rides). I'm not familiar with the test track - what is that?

The test track is at Epcot. It gives you a show of what cars go through during their testing stages and you ride in a car that holds 12 people it goes from 0 to 60 in a couple seconds.

I saw the Spiderman ride on the Travel Channel last night it looks really fun!

You say you would skip Universal and just go to IOA. Why do you prefer one over the other?

I don't remember the test track - guess I didn't ride that one.

I prefer Islands of Adventure over the other Universal park pretty much because of the Spiderman ride and the roller coasters. I really love those fast, adrenaline-rush kind of rides. The other one has some cool rides, like Jaws and Back to the Future. It's a fun place, especially if you're into the movies and special effects. But overall, I thought Islands of Adventure was much more exciting.

Nothing wrong with the 'old' Universal park. Back to the future is still wild & Termin

...ator II 3-D is awesome. Not to mention the Men in Black attraction. Twister is, in my opinion, over-rated.
The Wild west stunt show is the best show of it's kind in Florida.

I guess I'd better clarify what I'm looking for in a Theme Park. I can't handle roller coasters, I'd probably lose my lunch. I'm looking for cool special effects rides. Can anyone help me, with that in mind.

My husband and I really enjoyed Universal, as the rides were a lot different from what we had seen at the other parks in Orlando. Also, we were really expecting to enjoy Epcot, but found ourselves bored after about 2 hours. I know the parks are really made for kids, but Epcot really dumbed down all of the science-related exhibits.

Jen,

You say Epcot bored you, how so? Wasn't the world showcase alone worth going to? Just wondering, I've never been there. Please respond if you can. Thanks.

I'd say do a mixture of both. We usually try and do all the parks while down in Orlando. I don't how long your going to be there but I'd definetly do Universal Studios and Island of Adventure. Universal has some COOL special effect rides. We are in our early 30's and love that place. Make sure and ride Back to the Future, Twister, Terminator and Earthquake at Universal Studios. Definetely do Spiderman at Islands of Adventure. I like that park. Also, if you go to Magic Kingdom do Alien encounter, Space Mountain.. Warning,we found that Magic Kingdom to us was basically for the kiddies. You may also want to check out Animal Kingdom-do the Its tough to be a bug, and Kilmajaro Safari rides. If you go to MGM Studios they have a few cool rides too. Tower of Terror, Star Wars, Mickeys rock-n-roller coaster, and more..
Have Fun!!

why don"t you try Sea World. My kids and love it because it has real animals, not robots like many of the other parks

If I had one vote, it would be for MGM. It's my favorite park because of the variety. Not many roller coasters, but there are rides like Star Tours that are very cool. Also, there are a number of special effects shows where they choose members from the audience to be a part of them.

Thanks everyone for the advice. We are going to spend 6 full days in Orlando. Our definite spots to hit for one day each are Sea World, Busch Gardens, Clearwater Beach.

The other 3 days a hard call.

I'm afraid Magic Kingdom is too kid oriented but my wife wants to go there so we'll probably go there.

I want to go to Epcot Center for the World Showcase and Test Track.

Which leads me to the last day. MGM, Universal or IOA? I'm looking for the coolest special effects rides. I'm not too sure I can handle the roller coasters so that is not important.

Tom- We were expecting Epcot to basically be a Disney World for adults. But there really wasn't much to do, other than walk through gift shops in the different "countries". We are in our early 30s, and went with friends who are around the same age. We discovered later that they felt the same way about Epcot, but no one said anything while we were there, because we assumed everyone else was enjoying themselves!

I'm sorry that I can't give you more specifics. We went in 1997, and I had a hard time remembering details.

Tom,

You didn't ask for this advice, and I hope I'm not repeating anyone, but I have an idea.

Would you consider Blizzard Beach instead of Epcot or Magic Kingdom? I liked Blizzard Beach because you could swim and do water slides then just lie there on the sand relaxing. I found that doing park after park after park was really hard to sustain for several days in a row without a break. There really isn't a place to nap in your typical amusement park, but lying on the faux beach at Blizzard Beach was a real treat.

Whether to go to Magic Kingdom probably depends on whether you've ever done it before. If you have, I don't see the point in doing it again, as it is very oriented toward kids.

Have fun, whatever you decide.