Both parks in 1 day!?

[AussieAngel]

This has probably been asked a squillion times before, and for that I'm sorry!! I had a quick look and couldn't find the answer, so here goes...

DH and I are planning our Disney vacation for January '09, and we want to spend a day at Universal. Now, are we crazy to think we can do both parks in one day?

We're in our late 20's, with no kids, and we could go pretty quickly if we're on a mission! We're mostly "big ride" people - you know, the coasters and the headliner rides.

However... is that just plain silly? Should we just choose one park, and enjoy that, instead of rushing around both?

We're from Australia, so we really want to make the most of our time! We're staying at the Wilderness Lodge for 12 days, and really only want to give up one of our days away from Disney! We love Disney!

(Although we're also going to SeaWorld for a day, and Kennedy Space Center for a day too.)

We visited Universal in LA in 2006, and loved that. So we've done The Mummy, Jurassic Park, and a few others, which means if we needed to, we could skip through them...

So... has anyone done both Universal parks in a day? If so, do you have any great touring tips, of where to head first, etc? I've done a bit of research, but still have lots to go!

Thanks all!

 

[damo]

Jurassic Park and the Mummy are both different rides in Orlando than in LA.

Sure you can buzz through the parks hitting the headliners, but just remember that you will be missing a lot of the less hyped rides. Also, there are some rides, like Men in Black, that really should be experienced several times (to improve your score) to get a true feel for it. Many of the rides are much longer than expected with pre-shows.

But, if you only have one day, it is better than no days!!! Make sure you get to the park before opening because in January the park is only open til 6 or 7.

 

[amberandolly]

I'm pretty sure you could do both in a day if you get there early, we've gone to both in the same day.
I think I'd do IOA first - Spiderman, Hulk, Duelling Dragons, Jurassic park, cat in the hat - it's silly but fun.
Then lunch at the hard rock.
Over to US - terminator, men in black, jaws, disaster,mummy, twister, shrek and you're done.
Express passes should be cheaper in January ( we go next weekend and they are $20 each) so you should see and do everything you want to.

 

[damo]

I'm pretty sure you could do both in a day if you get there early, we've gone to both in the same day.
I think I'd do IOA first - Spiderman, Hulk, Duelling Dragons, Jurassic park, cat in the hat - it's silly but fun.
Then lunch at the hard rock.
Over to US - terminator, men in black, jaws, disaster,mummy, twister, shrek and you're done.
Express passes should be cheaper in January ( we go next weekend and they are $20 each) so you should see and do everything you want to.

Don't forget ET and Simpsons and Jimmy Neutron and Horror Makeup show and Popeye and Dudley and Poseidan's Fury.

Lots to fit in in one day.

I'd eat at Mythos in IOA instead of Hard Rock. Either one is going to add another hour onto your day though.

 

[Metro West]

I'm pretty sure you could do both in a day if you get there early, we've gone to both in the same day.
I think I'd do IOA first - Spiderman, Hulk, Duelling Dragons, Jurassic park, cat in the hat - it's silly but fun.
Then lunch at the hard rock.
Over to US - terminator, men in black, jaws, disaster,mummy, twister, shrek and you're done.
Express passes should be cheaper in January ( we go next weekend and they are $20 each) so you should see and do everything you want to.

I was over today and it wasn't overly crowded but the wait times were anywhere from 20-45 mins for the bigger rides at IOA...so doing everything in both parks in a single day will be a challenge. There's too much to see at both parks to try and cram it all in and if it IS busy, look out.