Both parks in one day? Possible with kids?

[nlginny]

We are not interested in HP stuff at all, we just want to do springfeild, see some characters and shows and a few rides for the kids, ages 12 and 8. Should we just do one day both parks or split it up into one park a day? We will be going in July.

 

[HM]

If it were me, I'd just go to Universal and skip IOA. You'll feel less pressure sticking to one park and there are more attractions at US.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

If you are not doing HP, I think one day is enough. I think there are some things in both parks doing, other than HP, but you should be able to do both in one day since HP is by far the most crowded.

 

[amycakes]

We did both parks in 2 days.... we did not do any shows but we rode our favourite rides multiple times....we had express pass as we stayed onsite. We did all of Harry Potter too. My kids are 13 and 14 so they have good stamina but in the afternoon my son slowed down significantly because the heat. I think that you should be able to do it in one day as long as the showtimes don't interfere/conflict and everyone is able to keep at a good pace... it's a lot of walking. I should also mention that the parks closed at 6pm one day and at 7pm the next.

 

[CyndiLooWho]

You don't mention ages... Mom and I brought the boys down at 11 and 13, and we were able to do all the things we wanted to do at both parks in a day. But we skipped the wet rides (it was cool when we were there) and all the roller coasters. We only saw Shrek and Terminator and skipped the rest of the shows. Of course, DM, Transformers, and DA weren't there at that time. We would have wanted to add those. We did almost nothing in IoA except Hogsmeade, so the suggestion to just do Universal is a good one. Still plenty of rides and shows, and less pressure to see it all.

This time around, we're doing everything. Well, except for my last ride chicken. And we'll try to convert him into a roller coaster fiend while we're there.

 

[damo]

You don't have to like HP to like the HP areas. They are basically just fantasyland type of attractions.

 

[Seeker615]

I always think one park per day. There is so much pressure when you are trying to cram everything in one day. If you have never been to either park then you are going to be surprised at how much there is to see and do in both.

And I would not skip the HP attractions. Even if you are not a Harry Potter fan those areas are simply amazing and have some of the best queues and rides!

 

[Hootch]

We visited Universal for the first time a couple of years ago. It was for only one day. We stayed at the Royal Pacific so we had early entry and Express Pass. We did HP Forbidden Journey two times early with the second after the park had opened. (I did two more times using single rider at the end of the day) In IOA, we did almost everything. We did not do Dr Doom for certain. For Universal Studios we did almost all attractions, but no shows. We did not do Mummy and Rip Ride Rocket which I plan to do this coming trip. I tried RRR but the Exress line just creeped along.

In a about three weeks we will be there for about 1.75 days staying at RP for two nights. We'll have to add Diagon Alley and possibly the Monster makeup show. We'll also eat dinner at City Walk both nights. I am hopeful that we can get everyting on our list done. I know I am skipping Jurassic Park this time.

 

[sharona]

If I were going in July I would want IoA for the water rides. It will be hot hot hot. I would do both parks starting in US in the am hitting all my top priorities then heading to IOA in the afternoon to get the water rides while it's hottest then the rest of IOA when the sun is setting and back to US for the rest if you have time. Even if you're not doing HP, it may be a nice break to take the Hogwart's Express from US to IOA if the wait is 30 minutes or less, that will put you at the back of IOA and you can work your way out from there hitting the water rides as you go then ending up by Spiderman and Hulk.