Can we do it all in one day?

[SashaFarce]

We get the Express Pass and do 95% of everything in both parks in one day. Caveat: we don't do shows, and we usually leave at least 1-2 hours before closing. I think you can do it.

 

[bopper]

If the assumption is "I only want to see Harry Potter stuff, will one day be enough?" then Yes. You can see all the Harry Potter stuff to your hearts content in a day.
However, that is like saying "Will one day be enough for Frontierland at MK? Yes, but what about Fantasyland? Tomorrowland? You can start with Harry Potter in the morning, do other stuff at IOA, and then return to Potter in the evening (it looks really cool!)

 

[toonaspie]

It's a real bummer that the Simpsons ride is not in Islands of Adventure. Most of the stuff we're interested in is in IOA but I can't imagine us going all the way down there and NOT doing the Simpsons ride about once or twice. So we might do the whole park-to-park express splurge.

 

[Iforgetmypassword]

We get the Express Pass and do 95% of everything in both parks in one day. Caveat: we don't do shows, and we usually leave at least 1-2 hours before closing. I think you can do it.

This is probably what we'll end up doing.

Going for 2 days is NOT an option. It is NOT POSSIBLE. So, my daughter and I intend to get there before it opens, and just hit the ground running! We will have a plan, and will no doubt miss some things and be exhausted at the end of the day! Can't wait. Thanks.

 

[Iforgetmypassword]

Bumping, with an explanation of what we did, now that we're back!

Quick recap: We only had one day that we could go to Universal. My husband was going to go to the Kennedy Space Center with our oldest daughter and her partner, another daughter and her husband and their 2 toddlers were going to a Disney park, so my youngest, aged 17, and I-both huge Harry Potter fans-went to Universal for ONE DAY, to do both parks.

We did end up buying the Express Option packs for us both. We immediately went to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, and rode the Forbidden Journey first. We also rode Flight of the Hippogriff, and would have also rode the Dragon Challenge too, but it was down. The attendant said it would be back up in "about a half an hour", so we walked around Hogsmeade, then went into The Lost Continent.

We checked out the Mystic Fountain, but none of the other stuff appealed, so we went back to see if the Dragon Challenge was up yet-it had been over 1/2 an hour. No, it wasn't, and the attendant was still saying, "about a half an hour", so we went to Jurassic Park.

Camp Jurassic and the Pteranodon Flyers were not for us, and we didn't want to get wet, so that meant just the Discovery Center. We did enjoy it, and all the picture opportunities throughout this area. Next, Toon Lagoon-nothing for us there, we just enjoyed walking around. Marvel Super Hero Island, now, that was cool!

We both loved the Spider-Man ride. On my daughter's advice, we skipped Dr. Doom's ride, and neither of us wanted to ride the Storm Force ride either. We rode the Hulk coaster. She loved it, I didn't like it. I felt too battered!

We skipped Dr. Suess completely.

On to Universal Studios! We rode/watched/participated in, in order as best as I can recall: Despicable Me, Rip Ride Rockit, Shrek, Twister, Revenge of the Mummy, Disaster!, Men in Black, The Simpsons (twice), Animal Actors on Location, E.T., and Terminator 2. We used the Express Option whenever the line was over 10 minutes, and it usually was. Despicable Me, for instance, was 40 minutes when we used it.

I loved the Express Option. It was worth every penny, and I wish Disney had a similar program-I'd buy it in a heartbeat!

Would we have been able to do all that we did without the Express Option? I doubt it. I wish we could have done the Dragon Challenge. I also would not have minded going on Dr. Doom's ride, but my daughter said it was lame. We missed the parade, and we would have both liked seeing the Blues Brothers, but when we were in the area, the show that was about to start had been cancelled. The next one was much later, so we skipped it, darn. We're both big fans.

So, yes, I suppose it's possible to do both parks in one day...with the Express Option! I don't think we could have done all of them without it.

 

[Metro West]

Glad you had a good time!

 

[englishrose47]

Well I am confident we can do 2 parks in 2 days now , with all I forgot ... managed to do in 1 day !!! I do have a question for you experts.. Where is the best place to buy our 2 day one park tickets , ahead of time or should we just buy them there ???

 

[Metro West]

Well I am confident we can do 2 parks in 2 days now , with all I forgot ... managed to do in 1 day !!! I do have a question for you experts.. Where is the best place to buy our 2 day one park tickets , ahead of time or should we just buy them there ???

Either Undercover Tourist or through Universal directly. It's better to purchase ahead of time so you aren't standing in the ticket lines. It will save you some time.

 

[Iforgetmypassword]

Buy your tickets ahead of time. Why waste time waiting in a line to buy them the day of your arrival?

 

[englishrose47]

Either Undercover Tourist or through Universal directly. It's better to purchase ahead of time so you aren't standing in the ticket lines. It will save you some time.

Which is cheaper!! Do you actually get the tickets or do you get a slip that you have to turn in at the ticket booth to get the actual tickets!!

 

[Iforgetmypassword]

Which is cheaper!! Do you actually get the tickets or do you get a slip that you have to turn in at the ticket booth to get the actual tickets!!

I bought mine at Undercover Tourist, and got actual tickets. I waited until we got to the park to get the Express option, mostly because I couldn't make up my mind about whether or not to get it, plus, I wanted to make sure they were for the day we actually went.

We used our Undercover tickets only to get into the parks, then they went into my pocket. The Express option was on a separate ticket, and I pulled them out only to show the attendant, at each ride entrance. Sometimes, we had to show them again on a ride. The attendants did scan them, each time.

 

[englishrose47]

I bought mine at Undercover Tourist, and got actual tickets. I waited until we got to the park to get the Express option, mostly because I couldn't make up my mind about whether or not to get it, plus, I wanted to make sure they were for the day we actually went.

We used our Undercover tickets only to get into the parks, then they went into my pocket. The Express option was on a separate ticket, and I pulled them out only to show the attendant, at each ride entrance. Sometimes, we had to show them again on a ride. The attendants did scan them, each time.

I think we will go with Under Cover tourist !! I went last September with a group of Dev. Disabled and the pre purchased ones we had we had to go to the ticket booth and it was PAIN!!!!

 

[Metro West]

I think we will go with Under Cover tourist !! I went last September with a group of Dev. Disabled and the pre purchased ones we had we had to go to the ticket booth and it was PAIN!!!!

Having the real tickets in your hands is the way to go.

 

[Sparkly]

We did IOA in about 4 1/2-5 hours yesterday. That's with pretty much everything we wanted to see done.

 

[englishrose47]

Having the real tickets in your hands is the way to go.

I agree !!!

We did IOA in about 4 1/2-5 hours yesterday. That's with pretty much everything we wanted to see done.

We found that IOA was easier to see in 1 day than Universal !! I think I will go with the Undercover Tourist deal\ that is Buy 2 base tickets get a 3rd free and we will use that our first day and the next 2 days and then hit Seaworld on departure day !! We will just hit the highlights there Dolphin Cove , the Dolphin Show and the Whales for sure and then what ever else we have time for !!!