Can US and IOA be Done in One Day?

[GWS]

Sorry if this has already been posted but I was unable to find something specific for me when searching.

My family and I will be going to US and IOA on Oct 1st and would like to only spend one day see all of it. My wife and son are not big thrill seekers so the big roller coasters are out. We have already been to US in Hollywood a few years back so all the same theater shows can be missed. I am just trying to find out if we would could possible see all the attractions at both parks minus all the same stuff that is in US Hollywood?

Also would it be really worth it to purchase tickets to both parks or just stay in IOA?

 

[2Gma]

I think you can see most everything in one day if you go early and stay late. I think a one day park-to-park admission would be a great way to go because its really not that much more expensive than just "one park only" ticket. That way you can experience the Hogwarts Express too. I say make a plan on what attractions you want to see in each park so that way you are to wasting time crossing back and forth or you may find you don't need to visit US altogether if its just for a few attractions.

 

[macraven]

you only have the big 3 for coasters, hulk, dragons and RRR in the parks.
easy to leave that out of your plans.

check out the park map on www.universalorlando.com and see the layout where the rides are located.
it can cut down time walking in the park to hit the main ones you want to do in both parks for the day you are there.

go and have lots of fun!

 

[alkc71]

We were just there today, park to park tickets, but only accomplished Harry Potter in both lands, and Jurassic park. But it took about 5 hours at Harry potter. So for us it is going to take at least two, it depends how much you want to explore the areas, and ride the coasters. Good thing though no ques were longer than 30 min wait!

 

[RMulieri]

Depending on the time of year , you can see SOME , not ALL...
The parks close earlier than Disney parks( sometimes as early as 5 or 6pm especially if Halloween Horror nights are going on.The studios close to dayguests at 5pm ).Areas like Harry Potter are the HUGE draw in both parks and it crowds up even on days that are lighter crowds.Also express pass isn't good on the major HP rides and those lines can be longer too) .Some of the other rides generate crowds too , like Despicable me.That can have waits of over 60 mins on low crowd days and even express pass people generally have a wait of at least 20 mins.

 

[Hootch]

Our first try at Universal was for one day only. We arrived the day before and hit Citywalk. The next day we had early entry and Express Passes from our room.

We got a lot done that one day. Diagon Alley and the Hogwarts Express was not there yet. We hit most of the attractions in both parks in one day. We really didn't see any shows that time. We visited again this year for two days and we were able to have a more relaxing time.

I don't know what rides are in Universal Hollywood, but you should be able to hit most things with an Express Pass. In my limited experience, Rip Ride Rocket and Despicable Me have long lines after about 10:00 AM even with EP. We had success with hitting the HP attractions later in the evening also.