Both parks in one day

[nicknamy1996]

Good morning! We are headed to US in about a month. Right now I plan on doing one day at each park (2 days no 'hopping')... but I could save $500 if I cut it down to a 1 day 2 park ticket (for the 8 of us).

We've been to US before and It seemed like we were out of the park pretty early. I'm just looking for some expert advice/input.

Thanks in advance!
Nick

 

[DoryGirl1963]

If your group is mainly ride all the rides as top priority folks, you could probably get those in at both parks in one day assuming no weather issues with the current low crowds, but be aware that both parks close early & IOA doesn't open 'til 10:00 right now.

My husband & I are more whole park experience people especially me....I need LOTS of of "gawk, awe & absorb" time, LOL, so that wouldn't work for us. We stayed onsite last year (split with WDW) & had 3 full park days & still felt like we missed so much. We're back again onsite for 5 nights all at UO this time the week after next & CANNOT wait!

 

[Polyonmymind]

Well it sure was a lot easier to do 6 months ago..

In September the parks are opened 8 hours a day each, updated hours are USF 9-5 and IOA 10-6. $500 is a lot of money so I think you have to ask yourself, can you accomplish everything your family would like to do in each park in 4 hours or less?

As @DoryGirl1963 said above, that's 4 hours each park with out any hiccups. Say you want to ride Hogwarts Express to the other park. You get in line and wind up waiting 45 minutes, you just lost an hour of an already short day, and etc.....

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you have a great trip!

 

[nicknamy1996]

Thanks to both of you! I think I'm going to stick with 2 days, I just know when I do we'll knock out each park in 4 hours.

BUT I'm going to continue to think on it for a bit more! It would actually give us a "free" day on our trip which would be super rare. And I'm sure I could find something fun to do for $500 on that day!

 

[andieb0602]

Something to consider is when you'll be there. Weekends are busier than weekdays. The Sunday we were in the parks the wait time for HE was 45 minutes standby and around 20 with EPs but during the week almost everything was a walk on. Also, consider who you'll be visiting with. 8 people in their 20s or a variety of ages? Keep in mind anyone older/younger/not as in shape as others could slow you down, as well as how hot it will be when you go, plus the mask requirement. We felt like our family handled wearing the masks really well but it made us tire easier than without. The daily thunderstorms also slowed us down. A stop for Starbucks took 15 minutes to get our order.

I think you *could* do it but, with the reduced hours, you would only be able to hit the "big" attractions. If you have any HP fans in your group they' probably would not get to explore those areas much. Like PP we're also "gawkers" and tend to spend a lot of time in the HP areas. We were there for 3 full days (and 2 partials) and still didn't get to do everything we wanted. I think it boils down to what you want to accomplish the most.

 

[KittyKitty]

Not an expert on Universal, but can you buy the 1day/2park, then if you didn't see all you wanted, buy a 2nd day?

 

[nicknamy1996]

Something to consider is when you'll be there. Weekends are busier than weekdays. The Sunday we were in the parks the wait time for HE was 45 minutes standby and around 20 with EPs but during the week almost everything was a walk on. Also, consider who you'll be visiting with. 8 people in their 20s or a variety of ages? Keep in mind anyone older/younger/not as in shape as others could slow you down, as well as how hot it will be when you go, plus the mask requirement. We felt like our family handled wearing the masks really well but it made us tire easier than without. The daily thunderstorms also slowed us down. A stop for Starbucks took 15 minutes to get our order.

I think you *could* do it but, with the reduced hours, you would only be able to hit the "big" attractions. If you have any HP fans in your group they' probably would not get to explore those areas much. Like PP we're also "gawkers" and tend to spend a lot of time in the HP areas. We were there for 3 full days (and 2 partials) and still didn't get to do everything we wanted. I think it boils down to what you want to accomplish the most.

We have us (mom and dad, mid 40s) and 6 "kids" aged 19 to 21. If anyone is slowing them down it will be us : ) My open days on my planner are Sunday, Friday and Saturday. I think I'm going to go for Sunday and hope for the best.

I have a list of all of the attractions and have pretty much narrowed it down to 9 'must dos' 4 at each park and HE. Then another 8 that are 'if we have time' SO I have flip-flopped from an hour ago and now I plan on getting 1 day tickets and saving the $500.

I'm glad vacations are so much fun because the planning can be just the opposite!!

 

[nicknamy1996]

Not an expert on Universal, but can you buy the 1day/2park, then if you didn't see all you wanted, buy a 2nd day?

I'll have to see if that is an option. Thanks

 

[andieb0602]

If anyone is slowing them down it will be us

Lol I feel your pain! I think with older "kids" who can mentally power through being tired you'll be good. For us, the crowds didn't built until after lunch so get there at open if you can and try to eat at an "off" time. Have a great time!

 

[Alynw]

For me, it would depend on if everyone has already been before and experienced everything already or if there some new folks. I guess if everyone is a repeat and u have something planned somewhere else that would be better than UO, then yea try and cram both parks in 1 day. Eating alone will take at least a solid hour or longer to feed 8 people and then all the bathroom breaks start. Keep us informed, curious to know what u decide and how it turns out. Best of luck to ya.

 

[NicoleLarson]

I'm just throwing this out there....the masks will slow you down. We live in FL so we are well accustomed to heat and humidity. This past weekend WITH EPs mind you, we only were able to do the studios on Sunday. (Gringotts, MIB, Simpsons, ET, Bourne, transformers, mummy, minions) We did also stop for a late breakfast at Leaky Cauldron and ended our day at 4pm because we were just hot and miserable but that was a lot less than normal for us. We just noticed how much slower everyone seemed to be moving and given, we weren't on a mission to get things done but we still constantly moved for the most part.

It sounds like you are putting a lot of planning into this trip so I'm sure you'll have a great plan but I just wanted to give you an example of what this past Sunday was like for us

 

[fredandkell]

We were there in February before the whole pandemic debacle. We had early entry and an express pass. We got there at 7:45 AM and left at 8 PM so literally opening to closing. We did about 15 rides plus had a sit down dinner at Mythos. There were at least a dozen rides we did not get to do. With the shorter hours and it being your first time, I would stick with the two days. We really wish we had more time but the way our schedule worked at the time we could only do one day. And we are “blitzkrieg” kind of people with older kids. I also think with your party of eight, you run the risk of moving slower than a smaller party.

 

[fredandkell]

Also I will add we are huge, huge Harry Potter fan and I don’t think that the Hogwarts express was all that it’s cracked up to be. So if that’s the main reason you were buying the park to park pass, it’s cool but it’s not like it’s so cool that it’s the highlight of the day.