Can you do US in one day?

[damo]

After the expansion is open I am not sure if this will hold true.... but my girlfriend and I did Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in one day. We rode 85-90% of the rides and had time to sit around.

Here is how we did it...

We got there about 30 minutes after they opened
Went straight to the Harry Potter and the forbidden journey.
Picked up an express pass
Road every ride in IoA
Ate lunch and had a beer in IoA
Walked over to US (take the entrance that is closer to Rip Ride Rocket to avoid line)
Road every ride and left once the sun set


With the new expansion you will be dealing with another long ride line possibly and a heavier crowd. I think if you did it correctly you could still knock it out in one very long day.

Just want to clarify that there are no express passes for Forbidden Journey so people don't get confused.

 

[Tramp68]

If you are good at commando and have an onsite hotel reservation you can do both parks in 1 day (skipping the shows). I think this will be doable even with Diagon Alley.

Plan:

waiting at the turnstile 60 minutes before you can get in which is an hour earlier than park admission with hotel stay. (so 2 hours before posted opening) head straight to Diagon Alley and do Gringotts. Take the train over to Hogsmeade and do HPFJ. You MUST do these first!

Then spend a little time looking around the shops in Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade if it interests you. If not, get right to the rides...

Use the Express pass to ride everything. Skip what doesn't interest you and you will have no problem riding everything once and you should be able to go back and do your favorites once or twice more.

My daughter and her friend did this during Christmas week and were done with 90% of the rides by 5:00 (skipping what they didnt want to do) (and there was no Diagon Alley yet)

Do not bring a bag or you will be slowed down by lockers on RotM, MIB, and RRR.

Unless there is a ride breakdown, EP works way better than FP+ I have never waited more than 10 minutes for a ride even during the busiest days of the year.

We have Premium Passes (1 time express pass per ride after 4PM) and have come in and done 1 full park by arriving at 3:30 and hitting every ride before close. so we usually do Disney until 1 and then head to Universal for the evening...