1st time visitor to Universal. Any advice on this plan?

[mikewdw]

We are visiting Universal for the first time ever. We have always done WDW but our kids are out of high school and we are going to give it a try. We are meeting family for a few days at WDW after Universal so we only have 1 day.
We are going to Islands of Adventure. Looking at two nights at Dockside or Surfside. The night before Memorial Day then Memorial Day at IoA then stay the night before our check in at WDW. We basically want to check out the park and see if its something we want to do in the future.
So questions...
1. Will we get to do enough on Memorial Day to get a good sense of the park?
2. Quality of stay at Dockside or Surfside?
3. Best way to do tickets?
4. What is normal early entry time for this hotel?
5. Is bus service to park reliable and often?
6. Food options for night in hotel, how expensive is food court
7. Food options off site, how easy to get to
Anything else a first timer might need to know?
Thanks
mikewdw

 

[CAPSLOCK]

1. Will we get to do enough on Memorial Day to get a good sense of the park? Yes, lines will be pretty long as Epic Universe will have just opened. Getting there for early entry, and using the last few hours will help (either staying through to close or taking a break and coming back). Lines will drop the last few hours. You can also hop in line for Hagrids or Velocicoaster right at the end of the night.

2. Quality of stay at Dockside or Surfside? Hotels are basic but they're clean with big pools.

3. Best way to do tickets? There aren't really discounts on 1 day tickets, so probably best bet is to just buy them from Universal website. But never hurts to check on Undercover Tourist or similar.

4. What is normal early entry time for this hotel? 1hr before the park opens, park is likely to open at 8am.

5. Is bus service to park reliable and often? Very! Constant flow, haven't waited longer than 5-10min ever.

6. Food options for night in hotel, how expensive is food court Conveniently you can find the prices on the websites for each hotel. But I might suggest grabbing something in CityWalk on the way back to the bus - since you'll be walking directly past all the restaurants anyways.

7. Food options off site, how easy to get to? You can walk to a few places from Dockside/Surfside, but again you are walking directly through CityWalk with a wide variety of options. You can also meet a food delivery in the lobby or Uber to nearby places.

Anything else a first timer might need to know? Popeyes barges & Dudley Dooright flume will get you wring-out-the-panties soaked, plan accordingly (these are good rides for right before a hotel break, if you're doing that). Jurassic Park River Adventure will get you a reasonable level of wet, no specific planning required.

 

[Skippyboo]

You might want to price out the park to park option so you can do Studios side too. They are right next to each other and in same security zone so it’s easy to treat it as one big park unlike the Disney parks.

In IoA, Seuss Landing is basically kiddie rides so that leaves Hogwarts with Hagrid’s & Forbidden Journey (in Hogwarts Castle, Jurassic Park area, Kong ride, Super Hero Island with Hulk & Spiderman as main rides with 2 water rides in Toon Lagoon area that soak you fully.

Studios gives you Diagon Alley with Gringotts ride, Mummy, Minions, Simpsons, Men in Black, 3 shows and a movie parade, Rip Ride Rocket coaster and a nighttime lagoon show.

 

[mikewdw]

Also, extra question.
Would anyone recommend Universal Studios instead of IoA for a first visit?

 

[Skywalker3]

Also, extra question.
Would anyone recommend Universal Studios instead of IoA for a first visit?

We love both, so that's hard, but I was also going to suggest to try and work in time at Universal if at all possible. Diagon Alley is just spectacular.
Are y'all big thrill riders? Velocicoaster is my favorite coaster in Orlando, and a must do on our trips, but it's intense! Disney doesn't have anything comparable. Ditto Hulk.
Are y'all big Harry Potter fans? if so, in either park, you could always spend time doing wand spells, and that sort of thing, catching the short, but good, HP themed shows. The queue for Forbidden Journey is so awesome too. I can't ride that ride any more, due to motion sickness, but I still love just doing the queue.
Agree w the others on getting 100% completely soaked on Bluto's and Dudley's. We love the JP river adventure, and don't get too wet, no more than Tiana's front row, but like TBA, depends on seating.
Spider Man is a such a great ride, my nostalgic favorite there. Marvel is very well themed, and can take a little time looking for Easter eggs in there, if you're into that, and there are some meet/greets.
All that said, I LOVE Universal and Diagon Alley, (and Knockturn Alley) Gringotts, Men in Black, and the Mummy......so it would be hard to pass those up. Bourne stunt show is good, and the Minions area is fun! I haven't seen the new Dreamworks kiddie area, but looks cute.
it's so hard to pick just one park, haha. But I do understand time limitations, just wanting to get a feel.
We stayed at Surfside once, and it was very good. Probably comparable to Pop Century. Great room, for budget price, comfortable, but we kinda prefer hotels in walking distance, so we opt for closer options. We've also used the buses at several Universal hotels, and they are much more frequent than Disney buses. No issues.
Have a fabulous trip!!!
I am ETA that I think it's a good thing going in to know and recognize that Universal is not Disney, They have different vibes in a lot of ways, and that's all good. We love both, but they are different.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

For 1 day on a holiday, to get a feel for the parks, I would stick with one park. It's pretty expensive to add park-to-park, and at that point you will feel more rushed to just skim the highlights.

Both parks have their pros, can't go wrong with either. Studios side has no water rides and more shows. Islands has the biggest coasters (Hulk & Velocicoaster are far and away the most intense rides).

If the weather is junky on your day, Studios would give you lots more to do - more indoor rides & shows, less closures in rain/lightening. You can always plan for Islands and switch to Studios if the weather is expected to be crumby.