Anyone ever done Universal in a day while on a cruise?

[Kcags]

Hi everybody. My family is planning a cruise next March and one of the stops is Port Canavral, Fl. We are thinking about taking a taxi to Universal since we've never been there. Has anyone done this before? If so, how long of a taxi ride is this and what kind of game plan should we have? I am not sure the boat will dock in time for us to make park opening, but we should have about 8 hours there. Which park should we go to and what shouldn't we miss? Since it will be late March and near spring break, I am assuming we will need some sort of plan of attack with higher crowd levels. We have a rather large group (7 adults and 2 kids under age 3) so we may have to split up. Any advice would be awesome!

Thanks,
Kara

 

[BrerMama]

45 minutes to an hour for the trip to/from Port. If you really want to do it, I'd look at hiring a shuttle service with a 14 passenger van (because a mini van won't fit 9 + driver so you'll need to go up to the bigger van) and then, of course, you'd need to make sure they have car seats for the little ones. I've read everything from 45 minutes to 90 minutes for the trip, so it would probably depend on traffic.

 

[keishashadow]

OP did you check out your cruiseline's excursion offerings?

You'd probably be better off renting 2 vehicles at the port. Several offer free shuttles from the various piers @ Port Canaveral.

 

[AshleeH]

I've never done it while on a cruise, but we did Universal Studios in one day on our first trip and IOA last year for one day. The crowd levels were low, but we finished with each park by late afternoon and left before sundown. We didn't dwell in WWOHP for long (I wanted to, but the crowds were heavier back there and it was raining that day) but we did walk through and take in the sights. The Universal Studios side is VERY easy to do in a day!

 

[LoveToDisney]

Be sure to check the hours on the Universal website. Uni parks do not stay open late like Disney so most weeknights that time of year are 8 or 9pm at the latest and 10pm on Sat. Of course City Walk is open until 2am for dining, etc.

 

[Donnask8pro]

We are planning it also but I have been many times and know how to bust a move through the parks. I am bringing newbies with me in Sept. We will do the park Wed and rent to go to Cape Canaveral and cruise on Thursday