Both Universal parks in 1 day?

[Twoboysnmygirl]

We are going to WDW in Jan. 2010 and would really like to go to Universal also while in Orlando, but time is limited. We'll only be doing 1 day each at the WDW parks and I'm not sure we can set aside 2 days for universal too. Can we do both in 1 day? Is that too much?

I wish, wish, wish that Harry Potter would be open by then, but I'm pretty sure that when they say 2010, they don't mean January! It will be a group of 8 of us, but I'm not sure my IL's will even want to come. I will have a 9 year old daredevil daughter and 14 & 15 year old sons that I think would love Universal (although I've never been, what I've heard I think they would like!)

Maybe we should just add the extra day to go 2 days (and the cost? ugh)

 

[macraven]

go 2 days for universal.
it is worth it.

 

[farmfresh]

If it's any help, I have asked the same question for Jan 2009, and was pleased to hear that yes it is possible, but a long day! PLan reccommended wa IOA first, then US.

 

[Metro West]

We are going to WDW in Jan. 2010 and would really like to go to Universal also while in Orlando, but time is limited. We'll only be doing 1 day each at the WDW parks and I'm not sure we can set aside 2 days for universal too. Can we do both in 1 day? Is that too much?

It is possible in January but not recommended. There is too much to see and do to try to cram it all in a single day. But...if you only have the one day, go for it!

 

[Hug the Mouse]

Can it be done in one day? I couldn't imagine seeing and doing all that US/IOA offer in a day without missing too much.

Try to include at least a 2nd day. You'll be glad you did.

We spent 3 days this year and it still wasn't enough for our family.

Enjoy!!!

Edit to add---The cost of Universal is a BARGAIN!!! Think the current offer is 93.99 for a week long pass to both parks.

 

[myladyisatramp]

I just purchased our week long tickets even though we only have 2 days planned for 95.00 thru AAA, but a least we can use it if we want too

 

[SamandJakes Mom]

I would try 2 days. There is alot to see in both parks!

 

[holcomb-mania]

The crowds should be low enough to allow you to do it, but shorter park hours will work against you. We did it in Dec '06, but missed some of the big stuff in UO (we focused on IOA). We had the advantage of knowing that we were going back the following October, when we devoted a full day to each park.

 

[Mouse511]

You can do it....But I would recommend 2 days if you can fit it in. We just did both parks on Monday Oct 27th. We got there 30 mins before opening - we were about 20th in line. As soon as they let us in (about 5 mins early) ....we went straight to The Simpsons rides- then preceded to the following rides...

1- The Simpsons
2 - MIB
3 - The Mummy
4 - Shrek 4D
5 - T2 3D
6 - Disaster

We then headed to IOA - we skipped Twister - becasue we have seen it before and didnt care for it.

At IOA - we did the following...

1 - High in the Sky Trolley (Dont bother)
2- Jurasic Park
3 - SpiderMan
4 - The Hulk Coaster

Then we went back to US and watched the Street performers and then the Animal Show - we were trying to watch the Blue Bros show but our timing wasnt right....so we headed home. We wanted to ride Jaws but The Hulk Coaster really did us both in - we rode it 9 years ago and loved it - but now - it really beat us both up and we left with 'cricks' in our necks....we both said that was the last time we will ever ride that coaster....and this is from a couple the rode Aerosmith RNR 3 times this past trip.

The whole key for you will be how busy the parks are - as you can see from our experience the park was dead - we walked right into every ride we went on.......we had absolutely no wait for any ride.....and the weather was perfect...we couldnt ask for a better day...except for the Hulk !!! LOL.

 

[farmfresh]

that's exactly what i needed to know! It's clear that wo dyas would be better, but we don't have two days, so your suggestions and experiences are ver yhelpful.

 

[Metro West]

that's exactly what i needed to know! It's clear that wo dyas would be better, but we don't have two days, so your suggestions and experiences are ver yhelpful.

Have a great trip!

 

[donaldduck352]

Good luck,and take in what you can in a day..

A little secret,wright beside Jimmy Nuetron is a walkway that will bring you out bye the Blue Man Group entrance or beside Hard Rock..Saves alot of walking to IOA !!

 

[weich1001]

We did both parks in one day in the middle of September. We did get a chance to walk thru the entire parks and see and ride alot. Then made 5:30 reservations for Margaritaville and walked thru Citywalk, after that. While it's not perfect and you do miss some of the rides, sure you can do it in one day.

We are planning our next trip for December, 2009 and plan on leaving two full days for them---though this trip will be different from the first---much more relaxed pace and doing what we want to do vs. just taking the advice of everyone else!

 

[elleherself]

We did this just this past Monday. We already had tickets for Islands of Adventure, we decided at the last moment to add on Universal Studios in order to do a few of the rides there. I was very dubious whether or not this would work. I had not been to Universal Studios in years but remembered it as a "boring" park.

Well, it has certainly changed! I was really glad we added it in. We got there a little after opening, around 9:30 a.m. I wanted to start in Islands because I didn't want to miss anything there, but I was overruled by the others in my party (there were four of us women, aged 38, 36, 23, and 20, there as friends).

At Universal:
1. The Simpsons
2. Men in Black
3. The Mummy
4. Jimmy Neutron
5. E.T.

And we stopped and had a picture with Homer and Marge, and Scooby and Shaggy! These rides were excellent. The longest lines we waited in were for Simpsons and Jimmy Neutron, both about 10 minutes. The others were walk on.

At Islands:
1. Spiderman
2. The Hulk x2
3. Popeye
4. Dudley Do-Right
5. Jurassic Park Pteranodon Flyers (playground was closed )
6. Jurassic Park River Adventure
7. Dueling Dragons x2 (Fire AND Ice!)
8. Seuss Trolley
9. Cat in the Hat
10. Caro-seuss-el
11. The Hulk

We did close to EVERYTHING at Islands and it closed at 6. We easily could have fit in Dr. Doom's and Storm Force Accelatron if we'd been so inclined, but riding the Hulk several times was deemed more important. We skipped all the shows, which is too bad as I really like some of them, but they really eat up time quickly.

Pteranodon Flyers and the Seuss Trolley were two I had never done before, even though I've been to Islands four times, as they were closed or not available to adults in the past. The line for Pteranodon was easily the longest we stood in for the day, 40 minutes, but it was actually really fun, although only a minute long. I was glad to see what it was all about but wouldn't wait 40 minutes again. The Seuss trolley line was also very long, about 30 minutes, and not really worth it. I really liked the caro-seuss-el, which I usually skip. It was so pretty at night!

I think if you go in knowing what you would like to do and see, and with a pretty good schedule, it's easy to get a great experience out of both parks in one day, without feeling too rushed. We had a GREAT day and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We do live in Florida and had all been to both parks before, though, so if you're first timers it might be harder to manage.

 

[terbethk]

not that I would necessarily recommend it, but last november Dh and I did both parks in a half day. We arrived at Universal around 3 PM and did both parks between then and closing (which was like 7 or 8 I think). We did pretty much everything (everything was a walk on), but we did head back there on our last day of vacation (another half day as well) to pick up anything we missed or wanted to re-ride.