1st Time Touring Plan... Please help!

[101disneyfan]

Hello everybody-
We were wondering if there are any people out there who could help us put together a touring plan.

We are a family with older children (and older parents!)
Going to Universal Orlando for three days with base (1 park per day) tickets.
Not sure yet if we will get the Express, because we have not booked our hotel yet. Would it be worth the price in the event that we don't stay onsite? We will be going during Spring Break, so I'm assuming that we should...

We would like an idea for touring plans that would let us see a little bit of everything from both parks. (Wet-n-Wild maybe Next Time...)

Shows that we would like to see:
-BeetleJuice's Revue
-Animal Actors on Location
-StarToons
-Horror Makeup Show
-The Voyage of Sinbad
-Oh, The Stories You Hear!
-Universal Parade
-Universal Cinematic Show

We will do any rides that seem interesting for "family audiences" meaning that we will all enjoy it together...
We would like to do at least one or two rides per land in both parks...

Our main question is which park should take two days and which one can we fit into one day?

Thanks in advance for your help, and if anyone else can make use of this thread, feel free!

 

[macraven]

spring break is really crowded.

if you can swing staying onsite, that will help in your situation.

you say you have older people with you...
staying on site will let you return to your room quicker than having to take a break returning to your offsite hotel room.


if you are thinking of buying the express pass plus for all in your group, it might be cheaper in the long run to book onsite rooms.

figure the difference of the two costs to help decide which way to book for the trip.

onsite hotels cost more but so do the express passes if you buy them separately due to staying offsite.

check out the wbsite www.universalorlando.com for what is in the park and which items would be an interest to your group.

 

[Metro West]

You aren't going to squeeze both parks into a single day during Spring Break w/o running yourself ragged. As Macraven stated it's very busy and you will have to deal with long lines for everything. I would also recommend staying onsite if you can swing it. You will have unlimited Express access during your stay and early entry for HP at IOA. Plus it's easy to go back to the hotel and swim, nap or rest during the hottest part of the day and then go back in the evening.