Can I finish 2 parks in 1 day?

[pinky4disney]

I know that this question has been asked before, and ideally, I should dedicate 1 day per park, but I only have one day to fit it all in. I haven't been to USF/IOA in about 8 years. We'll be going on a Monday (10/29) and the park hours are short (9am-6pm). But, I do know how to do theme parks on warp speed (I'm a Disney pro....I've squeezed in 3 parks, 2 parades, and 2 fireworks in the same day). So, with that all said, if I plan right, do you think that I can hit all the major attractions at both parks in 1 day? Do you think that I will need UE for that day? Any advice?

 

[Metro West]

I know that this question has been asked before, and ideally, I should dedicate 1 day per park, but I only have one day to fit it all in. I haven't been to USF/IOA in about 8 years. We'll be going on a Monday (10/29) and the park hours are short (9am-6pm). But, I do know how to do theme parks on warp speed (I'm a Disney pro....I've squeezed in 3 parks, 2 parades, and 2 fireworks in the same day). So, with that all said, if I plan right, do you think that I can hit all the major attractions at both parks in 1 day? Do you think that I will need UE for that day? Any advice?

I think you could do both parks in a single day that time of year but it's not recommended. There is too much to do and see to cram everything into one visit. As far as the Express Pass goes, I think you should wait and see. I don't think you'd need it but if the lines start growing, then you could purchase the EP but I would wait.

 

[rositaamado]

I've done both parks in one day, so it can definitely be done. But, of course, your schedule will be very tight and still there will be many things that will be left out. So, my advice would be to research and find particularly what you're most interested in both parks, and make a list of what you want to see, ride, etc, and then go for it. By the end of the day, if you still have some time left, then you can visit anything you missed or just relax and take everything in. You can definitely get a feel of what both parks are about in just one day if you plan right. Make sure to allow some time for lunch, breaks and pictures with Universal characters.

When I did it, I started at Universal, we rode Jimmy Neutron, Shrek 4D, Twister, Terminator, Men In Black, E.T., and Jaws (not exactly in that order). The Mummy was not opened back then. Then we headed for Islands of Adventure, and we rode Spiderman, Hulk, Dudley Do-Right Ripsaw Falls, Jurassic Park and Dueling Dragons, again, not necessarily in that order.

As you can see, you can pack a lot in a day. We couldn't make Earthquake, Back to the Future (now closed) at Universal, and we also missed Dr. Doom's, Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges, Poseidon's Fury at IOA, as well as any of the shows in both parks, but I made sure to add them all in my next visit. Still, I think we made a great schedule the first time, and in my opinion, we managed to ride the best and most popular rides in just a day.


I don't know about the Express Pass, since the Universal version of the Fast Pass was still free in my last visit. But hopefully someone else can help you in that department. Hope this helps.

 

[EMcCool419]

My family and I have done both parks and most attractions without express pass in one day and was still done at about 6:00 p.m. so it is possible! Good Luck!

 

[yxe dad]

I've also done it(twice), but started at IOA. Get there for 20 minutes before park opening, once they let us in 15min early! We did hulk, dr. doom, and spiderman all in the first 20 min. The only things we didn't do at IOA were ripsaw falls and the other water ride, but were planning on going back after US. We left IOA to go to US around 1130ish and we did everything over there with the exeption of Jimmy Neutron, and Back to the Future, we can't do the motion simulators, they make us sick!!! Finished at around 4 and didn't want to go back to get wet so we went for beer instead. Have a plan before you go, you won't enjoy the parks as much if your trying to figure out the next attraction in the current attractions line.