Christmas Day at Islands of Adventure

[eulanda001]

We've never been to Orlando before. My family of 6 is planning to be at Islands of Adventure on Christmas Day. I heard that Disney is unbearable this day, so I thought this is a better alternative. Should I get express passes for this day? Is it really worth the money? If so, the one park or two park option? For six people it is $120 for one park or $180 for two parks. I figure that this park will be pretty crowded, too. Just not as bad as Disney. Any help on going to Universal Studios during the holidays would be greatly appreciated.

 

[F-L-A]

I'd get Express, personally. The holidays are the busiest time of the year for all the parks.

 

[macraven]

if you go on that date and plan to buy the epp, you might as well book a room on site. that $180 you plan to spend for the passes could be best used towards a room.

don't know the room rates for that dec date but if you applied the amount you would have spent for epp, your cost would be minimum in the end when you booked the room.

if you stay on site you have unlimited front of the line perks. ( fotl)

and the fotl carries over to the day you check out. that's two days of fotl perks. can't beat that !

 

[Danny729]

Really the Holidays are the busiest? I thought the Holidays were the most emptiest since everyone goes to see family around that time...

 

[Metro West]

Really the Holidays are the busiest? I thought the Holidays were the most emptiest since everyone goes to see family around that time...

Just the opposite. The week between Christmas and New Years is the busiest time of the year for all the local parks. In addition to the tourists wanting to spend Christmas here, we also have two bowl games with four teams and their fans who are also in the mix. I went to IOA on December 27th two years ago...never again. Every ride had at least a 90 minute wait. We had to wait for the LSU football team to ride the Hulk before we could ride. During holiday periods, I avoid the parks like the plague.

 

[the Dark Marauder]

Really the Holidays are the busiest? I thought the Holidays were the most emptiest since everyone goes to see family around that time...

You'd be amazed how many people to to the parks on Black Friday (day after Turkey Day) and wonder why everything has a 60 minute wait.

12/26-12/31 is the busiest week of the year. Always has been, always will be. The hours of 11a-6p are notoriously the heaviest.

 

[Ub_Iwerks]

Really the Holidays are the busiest? I thought the Holidays were the most emptiest since everyone goes to see family around that time...

You are kidding, aren't you???

To original poster: Are you sure Universal is going to be that much worse than ALL of the Disney parks on 12/25? MK will definitely be a zoo, but I'm not sure about all the others. We are doing Disney Dec. 23 to Dec. 26 and Universal Dec. 27 or 28th to Dec. 31, back to MK on Jan. 1. We are planning on Epcot Christmas Day. It seems to be the least hectic of the Disney Parks. I would think AK would be fairly decent too. We are staying onsite at Universal for two nights so we can get three days of Express Passes.

 

[MulanMom]

You are kidding, aren't you???

To original poster: Are you sure Universal is going to be that much worse than ALL of the Disney parks on 12/25? MK will definitely be a zoo, but I'm not sure about all the others. We are doing Disney Dec. 23 to Dec. 26 and Universal Dec. 27 or 28th to Dec. 31, back to MK on Jan. 1. We are planning on Epcot Christmas Day. It seems to be the least hectic of the Disney Parks. I would think AK would be fairly decent too. We are staying onsite at Universal for two nights so we can get three days of Express Passes.

You might want to check out some of the threads discussing Thanksgiving Week crowds on the Disney Themepark board. AK surprised everyone with the wait times and crowds. With Expedition Everest and the new Nemo show, it appears to be attracting lots of folks.

 

[WATERFORDGIRL]

We went to Disney on Dec. 26th and 27th and would never do it again.
The crowds were something else. My 4 year was nearly trampled by a large lady who was trying to climb over one of those rope thingies that keeps the crowds in check. The lady tripped and fell on top of my daughter!