Budget Related - is IoA worth it for one day?

[hapandpam]

It is definitely worth a trip if you are HP fans. We spent 2 days at US/IoA and I would go back again.

 

[Minnie Momma]

The kids and I went to WDW this past January and took one day to see Harry. My oldest was 21 at the time and she is a die hard Potter fan. She went to all the midnight releases and read all the books in record time.

The HP section was phenomenal. You feel like you have walked into Hogsmeade. All the details were quite enjoyable and it thrilled all of us to be part of the world. It was crowded and a bit claustrophobic at times. The Forbidden Journey was very exciting and the Dragon coasters were a blast. But wall to wall people. And we went in early January - supposedly a lower crowd time.

The rest of the park? A concrete jungle. It is not like Disney with trees and atmosphere. We enjoyed some other rides in the IOA, but we were happy to get back on Disney property.

Would we do it again? Yes. Every year? No.

Should you do it? Yes. If it is within your means your HP fans will LOVE it!

 

[rflorek]

I am not a HP fan at all, so the fact that they added that doesn't make US or IoA any more enticing to me. I've done both parks in way less than 1 day (pre-HP) during non-peak season with barely any waits on the major rides. If I didn't have greatly discounted tixx, I would've been mad about the admission price spent as I didn't feel it was worth it.

Only thing I enjoy about US/IoA are the Halloween Horror Nights - that attraction is worth the money to me

 

[FayeW]

That's funny, I asked my husband the very same question when we went to Orlando for the 2nd time. You see, we had gone a couple of years earlier on what we assumed would be a "once in a lifetime" trip and wanted to see a little bit of everything Orlando had to offer. We went to SeaWorld twice (2nd visit was free if you went back within 7 days of the first visit), one full day at MK, plus a second visit to MK for MVMCP, and 5 days at US/IOA because those tickets were so much less expensive than the comparable Disney tickets.

The 2nd trip we were going with friends, and it really was their "once in a lifetime" trip. We wanted to see all 4 WDW parks this time and they wanted US/IOA as well. That was the year they introduced the 10 day MYW tickets and I asked my husband "How can I justify paying nearly $400 in additional costs, when it would only cost $13 to add the extra days to our Disney tickets?" His answer was "very easy, because if we're going to Orlando, I'm going to Universal!"

I was thrilled because the truth of the matter is that we love, love, love Universal and Islands of Adventure. Our happiest day of vacation is always at Universal, and our worst always seems to be a DHS. The area that is now WWOHP used to be Island of the Lost Continents and I thought there was more "magic" in that area than in all of WDW.

When we go in February, we are only doing one WDW day, and that is only because we happen to have one day left on the 10 day MYW PH Plus tickets we bought in 2006. It will be a full day of hopping from park to park to try to do our favourites...something that is easily done at Universal Parks because they are a 10 min walk apart, and there is only two of them. However, they manage to have within those two parks a ride or attraction that matches the WDW equivalent. US/IoA's version, however, is bigger, faster, edgier and more thrilling. For our family, US/IoA wins, hands down.

Now, Tower of Tower, Soarin', and the Safari do not have similar attractions, and I do have a preference for Mickey's Philharmagic over Shrek, so we still do some WDW stuff when we make the trip to Orlando.

 

[taymorel]

We went to IOA last year and loved it. My son was only 6 and I thought he might be too young, but he loved it, so we are going back to both Universal parks this year and will stay in a Universal hotel for a few days. My son LOVED the Spiderman ride and still talks about it. Worth the $ to us.

 

[MineMail]

We went to Universal for two days this past summer, first time there since 1988. We usually do WDW for our entire stay, but I really wanted to see HP. (We're huge HP fans - both book and movie - did the midnight premieres and gawked outside Radio City at the premieres.) We did spend one day at Epcot with family who live in Kissimmee, but that was a last-minute schedule change.

I am glad we went to Universal, even though I don't do roller coasters. There were many things to see and do - not at the level of Disney's theming, but far more than a Six Flags park, imo. I loved the Hollywood Street with the tribute to Lucille Ball. (The kids went on some massive rollercoaster.)

The HP section of IA was great - there were tons of inside jokes from the books and even the restaurant was pretty good. I remember thinking that I was glad we went while everything was still new-ish and in good repair.

If Universal doesn't keep up the maintenance, HP won't be as charming, so see it now while it's still their star attraction.

The Jurassic Park section is a good example. The raft ride was running but the queue was closed for some inexplicable reason; the Visitors Center was closed; and other attractions looked run-down. It was very disappointing.

I loved the Suess area - I don't remember it being that big the last time we went. Men in Black was a great ride that we went on several times. At the main park, we rode Minion Mayhem several times. It was a new ride being guest-tested so everything was clean and (mostly) working, plus the crew was enthusiastic about playing their roles.

I will say that we didn't need two days, but we had the Costco park-hopper tickets and the time. It wasn't terribly crowded in early June, but if the lines had been longer, two days would have been about right for both parks. (We didn't have fast-passes.) We'll use the third day sometime next year, probably with a day trip to WDW.

So, I say that the OP should do one day, especially since it's in the budget.

 

[surfgirl]

We've done it the last 2 years and the kids love it! We did buy the 3 day tix at Costco, so we've used those.

One side note: if you stay on property at Hard Rock, or Portofino Bay or Royal Pacific, you get an hour of early entry into WWOHP and front of the line access (FOTL) for both parks all day (unlimited). (except for a few rides... FJ, RipRideRockit, Ollivander's, and 1 other I think).

We typically schedule Universal as our first or last day - so we can stay in Portofino Bay - one of my favorite hotels. You can use the FOTL for 2 days - the day you check in, the day you check out.

If you use the early entry for WWOHP, there will be a gaggle of hotel guests lined up waiting for the gates to open at 7:45 - when it opens, everyone walks straight to WWOHP since that is the only land open early. Ride FJ multiple time, do Ollivander's, and be ready to hit the rest of the park when it opens at 9am and the main crowds are streaming to WWOHP. It makes a *huge* difference!

Last year, we then ate breakfast at Three Broomsticks at 9:30 (pancakes... yum!) and then used our FOTL for everything else. We even walked over to Universal Studios for some rides there and used FOTL there (the Costco tickets are both parks - "hopping" allowed).

If you will be there at Spring Break, it may be worth trying to stay at one of the hotels. The pool at Hard Rock is a big favorite with teens!

Just for reference, the "Express pass" can only be used one time for each ride, whereas the hotel key can be used multiple times. You want to ride Hulk 5 times in a row... go for it! (just don't take me, because after 3 I will throw up.)

I know it feels like a 'budget buster' but it sounds like your girls are at a great age for it. It is a fun different way to enjoy Orlando, too!