2 parks in 1 day?

[ShaneH]

Would it be possible to do both parks in one day? My family has never been to either park and we will be in Tampa for a week and thinking of driving over and visiting Universal for a day, if I buy the 2 park one day ticket with the express pass would we be able to do hit all the major attractions? My daughter is 14 so we don't need to do the little kiddie stuff. We've been to Disney twice for a full week when she was younger and still felt like we didn't see everything, so just trying to get a feel for how big the 2 parks are. If we are there at opening and stay until closing and have the express passes would we be able to get most everything in?

 

[damo]

A lot depends on when you are going.

 

[bchbetha]

Is she a Harry Potter fan at all? If so, Universal isn’t just about rides. One could spend at least half a day exploring WWOHP let alone riding.

 

[schumigirl]

Check out the website which has the park maps laid out........see what you would fancy doing there for the day.......

I couldn’t do both parks in a day........Potter area alone could pass hours.........

It depends when you plan to go and exactly what are essentials for you and your family. Hit the headlines, sure.......but really you won’t touch the surface of everything Universal Orlando has to offer trying to rush it all.

 

[ShaneH]

it'll be the week of thanksgiving, do you still have wait times if you buy the express pass? We are all Harry Potter fans so we certainly want to spend some time there.

 

[schumigirl]

it'll be the week of thanksgiving, do you still have wait times if you buy the express pass? We are all Harry Potter fans so we certainly want to spend some time there.

Minimal. Except on major holidays. You could wait slightly longer.

We’ve seen regular lines of 90-100 minutes and we’ve still walked straight on a ride.

Hulk was 90 minutes a few trips ago, we did 3 rides with EP within 15 minutes........longest we have ever waited was 10-15 minutes for Minions on a very busy day..........

Some folks have waited longer at times, but really you shouldn’t wait longer than 20 minutes “on average”.........for reference we have never waited that long more than once or twice........there’s usually a reason if you do.

We had a wait for Mummy in March and there was a problem with one of the riders......

 

[skylock]

it'll be the week of thanksgiving, do you still have wait times if you buy the express pass? We are all Harry Potter fans so we certainly want to spend some time there.

You could have waits. It is not front of the line passes, it is express passes. If the reg line is 60 min, your wait will be 15 to 30 min maybe with the odd chance of walk right on.

 

[schumigirl]

You could have waits. It is not front of the line passes, it is express passes. If the reg line is 60 min, your wait will be 15 to 30 min maybe with the odd chance of walk right on.

We have walked on to rides many times to rides where the lines are huge..........Minions is one of them, We have never waited 30 minutes unless there has been an issue......even then, 20 minutes was the max.........

As I said unless it is a major holiday like Christmas and Easter EP lines move really well..........

During Mardi Gras apart from Mummy when there was a problem, we never waited longer than 5 minutes for every ride..........lines were long. Minions regular line was 90 minutes and we never stopped till after she scanned our EP........it’s not unusual for that to happen.

Thanksgiving will be busy, but should be manageable with EP.........you’ll be fine.........go on a weekday too.......that’s not actually TG.......

 

[skylock]

I was there last Thanksgiving week and was just posting our experience. The only time we had a straight walk on was things like the minions where we just happened to walk up when the new show was about to start.Most of the other things had at least a small wait.

 

[schumigirl]

Yep, a small wait is usually what you have with EP if any.........

 

[pattyw]

You will be able to do a lot in one day with EP. Get a list of must-dos and then anything else you have time for is icing on the cake! You can always come back again!!

 

[sconnell]

Also price one night at one of the top hotels, Royal Pacific, Hard Rock or Portofino Bay, because they come with the express passes for day of Check-In through day of Check-Out. It there are 3 or more of you, a room at the hotel is nearly free if you were planning to get EPs. You might then decide to add another day...

 

[TexasBee]

We did it. But it was a Friday during the school year when it wasn't terribly crowded. In fact we were done by like 3pm... If you can get in on early admission and get there right as it opens, I think you could do it.

 

[glocon]

I think you could do all the rides with ep, but i don't think that you could really have the time you would want to submerge yourselves in the HP areas. There is lots to see, lots of magical windows to look at in front of the shops, the shows, the food.
If you could just spend one night at one of the resorts that offer free ep and spend two days there, you would definitely have a better time and experience. A visit to UO while staying at one of the resorts with ep is such a different experience than a day trip or staying offsite.