Do we really need 2 days to do Universal Studios/IOA?

[fifidanon]

We are going to Disney next week June 9-16 (touring days June 10-15) so we have six days to tour. We are staying at FW cabins (family of 6) so four days minimum is slated for Disney parks and we are still unsure how to plan Universal/IOA.

DH and I went to Universal Studios on our honeymoon (1996) and have not been back since so it is a whole new world from back then. I have been reading and researching the two parks but can't really get a handle on what to expect and how much time to allot.

Had we thought it out better we might have tried a split stay, but it is too late for that and we have 2 teens and 2 toddlers so staying put in one place has its obvious advantages. But we won't be able to have early entry perks at Universal and we will have to commute there (we are driving so we will have a vehicle).

Can anyone out there with experience at the Universal parks give me some advice on how to make this work out best? Is it feasible to tackle both parks in one day or is that completely unrealistic? If we had to pick one park over the other, I am assuming the obvious choice is IOA? (My teens naturally are dying to experience WWOHP.) However, I am concerned about June crowd levels and wait times, etc.

Any advice on making this work to our best advantage (and money's worth) would be greatly appreciated!

 

[damo]

If you are just planning on doing the major rides, then one day may be enough. If you want to do most things, two days are needed. With teens, I think you will appreciate two days.

 

[goofyintoronto]

I've never done two days for both parks. I always do one day 2 parks. Every year. Its cause i refuse to spend more than one day at Universal....but I go cause my son likes it. Lol.

Its totally doable. But then again, we get the VIP passes (to by-pass the line). That helps!

 

[RMulieri]

I agree with damo. If you want to see just certain things/ major rides, you can probably squeeze it into one day.To get the most of both parks, 2 days is best.Especially at the studios.Alot of the shows run only at certain times, and very often you will have shows running at the same time.So having a full day there helps.

 

[mesaboy2]

I agree with damo. If you want to see just certain things/ major rides, you can probably squeeze it into one day.To get the most of both parks, 2 days is best.Especially at the studios.Alot of the shows run only at certain times, and very often you will have shows running at the same time.So having a full day there helps.

I agree, again.

 

[fifidanon]

I've never done two days for both parks. I always do one day 2 parks. Every year. Its cause i refuse to spend more than one day at Universal....but I go cause my son likes it. Lol.

Its totally doable. But then again, we get the VIP passes (to by-pass the line). That helps!

Thanks for the input. I know nothing about the VIP passes so I will have to look that up and see what that entails. Can anyone get them or only Universal hotel guests? If I can get them I am guessing it comes down to a money/time comparison? The cost of one day with VIP passes to two parks allowing more to be accomplished in less time vs. the cost of two days without passes to accommodate longer wait times?

 

[goofyintoronto]

Thanks for the input. I know nothing about the VIP passes so I will have to look that up and see what that entails. Can anyone get them or only Universal hotel guests? If I can get them I am guessing it comes down to a money/time comparison? The cost of one day with VIP passes to two parks allowing more to be accomplished in less time vs. the cost of two days without passes to accommodate longer wait times?

The price of the VIP (which anyone can buy) depends on the time of year youre going. If you go at peak time (July or xmas for example) then of course it will cost more. Its not ridiculously expensive IMO. You can price it out yourself on the universal orlando website.

One year i went in september and got the VIP pass, what a waste of money! The park was empty!!!

I personally could never do two days at Universal. I just dont care for that park cause a lot of the motion simulator rides make me nauseous.

 

[fifidanon]

I agree with damo. If you want to see just certain things/ major rides, you can probably squeeze it into one day.To get the most of both parks, 2 days is best.Especially at the studios.Alot of the shows run only at certain times, and very often you will have shows running at the same time.So having a full day there helps.

Yes, I think that is the key consideration. My teens are primarily interested in the major rides and attractions as opposed to the shows. We are also leaning quite heavily towards DH staying behind at the cabin with the twin toddlers while my teen daughters and I go to Universal. Especially since there will be no chance to do mid-day lunch/nap/rest at the resort the day we go there which is certainly our plan of attack on the Disney days.

 

[Molyneuxd]

2 days! 1 park per day!

 

[SamRocks]

YES

you should spend 2 days there. there is so much to see and do and while i can appreciate that some people do not want to spend more money. In my opinion what a waste of money if you do not try and see and experience as much as possible! both parks are fantastic and well worth spending a day at each to enjoy all of the rides and the shows and not to rush it all!

 

[DCTooTall]

Another possibility for you even if you don't switch resorts might be to price out a single day onsite at Universal anyways. With that one night reservation on-site you'll gain the unlimted express perk and early entry for 2 days. For the Toddlers, it'd also give you a place closeby that would allow for a mid-day break/nap without having to trek all the way back to the Disney resort.


There are a lot of people who actually book a room just for the on-site perks even if they are actually staying offsite. (Such as people staying in timeshare condo's who don't like the space limitations of a hotel room)

 

[Skitheboat]

Two days would be ideal, but it's very doable in 1 day if you have an express pass. I did both parks in one day with 2 elementary aged children. I bought express passes for us & we took on the parks. Think: "Release the Hounds!" We did everything from the Hulk & FJ to ET & the Suessland attractions.

Two days might be a stretch with toddlers, however, as many of the rides are for 48" & taller. The teenagers will be in heaven at Universal.

My kids are now 9 & 11. They love rides & much prefer Universal to Disney. I really love the Universal parks too. The rides are truly phenomenal & WWoHP is amazing.

If your budget allows, I would highly recommend the express pass, it will make for a much more enjoyable park visit, especially in June when I imagine the parks will be busy.

Have a wonderful trip!

 

[fifidanon]

YES

you should spend 2 days there. there is so much to see and do and while i can appreciate that some people do not want to spend more money. In my opinion what a waste of money if you do not try and see and experience as much as possible! both parks are fantastic and well worth spending a day at each to enjoy all of the rides and the shows and not to rush it all!

In the best case scenario I would absolutely choose not to rush it all or feel like we are in a race against time! The heart of the conflict is not wanting to drag nearly-3-year-old twins to the Universal parks.

First, no opportunity then to retire back at the hotel for an afternoon break unless we all drive together in the morning and then DH takes the little guys back to Disney for the rest of the day and my teens and I stay and take a shuttle back at the end of the evening. (Sort of a waste of money paying for DH to be there for only a few hours as well.)

Second, I really have no desire, nor does DH, to bring the twins to Universal/IOA in the first place. When we went to Disney 7 years ago, we skipped Universal altogether since our DDs were 6 & 7 and we didn't think they were old enough to do much there or enjoy that much being so young. (Had we thought this whole trip out better, a split stay might have solved a lot of the issues, but we didn't and we aren't so it's a moot point.)

Third, DH has already agreed (and actually prefers) to stay behind with the twins at the cabin for the day the teens and I do a Universal trip. Doing that for one day seems okay, but adding a second day away all day and evening seems unfair to him and the twins. (And believe me, we went back and forth for a couple of months trying to decide if the ENTIRE trip to Florida should be a special time for just the teen girls and mom while DH stays behind at home with the toddlers, but we just couldn't do that! A few days maybe, but 10 days away was just too much time to be apart! They would be bereft without mommy and their big sisters for all that time, and it is our Family Vacation.)

So, considering our family's particular circumstances, I am leaning toward the one-day plan, but am unsure whether to rush it through two parks or choose between the two and focus enjoyment on only one park this time around. So many considerations and I am making myself crazy with only a week left before we go!

 

[fifidanon]

Another possibility for you even if you don't switch resorts might be to price out a single day onsite at Universal anyways. With that one night reservation on-site you'll gain the unlimted express perk and early entry for 2 days. For the Toddlers, it'd also give you a place closeby that would allow for a mid-day break/nap without having to trek all the way back to the Disney resort.


There are a lot of people who actually book a room just for the on-site perks even if they are actually staying offsite. (Such as people staying in timeshare condo's who don't like the space limitations of a hotel room)

Hmmm . . . now here's something I never considered. So use the room as a "crash pad" for the toddlers and dad while DDs and I enjoy the parks! Sounds promising, but what about the cost? Adding a hotel room, plus admission for four adults (if only the room came with the entry fee to the parks! lol), and DH would most likely be spending very limited time in the actual parks and most of the time off-site with the twins. (And just for the record, DH is on board with this, he likes the parks but only in limited doses. He hits "the wall" pretty early on in any amusement park-type of situation!)

Very intriguing idea, but not sure if it is cost-effective for us (family of 6 on fairly tight vacation budget!).

 

[fifidanon]

Two days would be ideal, but it's very doable in 1 day if you have an express pass. I did both parks in one day with 2 elementary aged children. I bought express passes for us & we took on the parks. Think: "Release the Hounds!" We did everything from the Hulk & FJ to ET & the Suessland attractions.

Two days might be a stretch with toddlers, however, as many of the rides are for 48" & taller. The teenagers will be in heaven at Universal.

My kids are now 9 & 11. They love rides & much prefer Universal to Disney. I really love the Universal parks too. The rides are truly phenomenal & WWoHP is amazing.

If your budget allows, I would highly recommend the express pass, it will make for a much more enjoyable park visit, especially in June when I imagine the parks will be busy.

Have a wonderful trip!

This might be the most practical solution, considering our circumstances. Another poster mentioned VIP passes in an earlier post. Is that the same thing as express passes?

 

[DCTooTall]

Hmmm . . . now here's something I never considered. So use the room as a "crash pad" for the toddlers and dad while DDs and I enjoy the parks! Sounds promising, but what about the cost? Adding a hotel room, plus admission for four adults (if only the room came with the entry fee to the parks! lol), and DH would most likely be spending very limited time in the actual parks and most of the time off-site with the twins. (And just for the record, DH is on board with this, he likes the parks but only in limited doses. He hits "the wall" pretty early on in any amusement park-type of situation!)

Very intriguing idea, but not sure if it is cost-effective for us (family of 6 on fairly tight vacation budget!).

There are some great tricks you can use to help save some $$.... but again, it all depends upon what you want to do.

You might want to look into the cost of a single Annual Pass. You can often get a decent discount on the room rate, on top of discounts on the park tickets for the rest of the family. (As well as food and merch discounts). This could help you save some $$$.

With the free Express access you'd have for your group, It would then be MUCH easier for you and the girls (and the husband too) to hit most of the highlights of the park since you wouldn't be spending most of your day in lines. While you can purchase a one-time-per-attraction use Express seperately if you are offsite, the cost for even just 3 of you in June might actually cover the cost of the room by itself.

Some other nice perks of the room beyond just a crash pad.... You could enjoy the pools at the resort if you wanted (Maybe the young ones would enjoy a swim in the afternoon? or the older ones one before heading back to Disney?).... or even use it to store a change of clothes if you guys are thinking about hitting some of the wet rides like Popeye or Dudley.

 

[DCTooTall]

This might be the most practical solution, considering our circumstances. Another poster mentioned VIP passes in an earlier post. Is that the same thing as express passes?

Maybe. There are a couple different types of tickets/Express available.

Onsite guests get Unlimited Express as a onsite perk. (Included for every registered guest in the room for no additional charge).

At the parks, You'll see advertisements for Express passes for sale. The difference between the purchased Express Pass and the Onsite Express is that the purchased pass is only good once per attraction. (so no riding hulk 5 times in a row using express). The cost of the express pass will vary based off how busy the parks are. They can be as low at $20 per person per day....at which level you probably wouldn't need it anyways... up to over $60 per person per day. This is in addition to you Park admission.

Then there is the VIP Ticket. This is a ticket that includes BOTH your park admission and UNLIMITED express. For most of June, the "standard" timeframe, costs start around $200 per person for an adult 1 day ticket.

 

[fifidanon]

Thanks, DCTooTall for all the really helpful suggestions! I will have to investigate the various cost considerations involved but you certainly have some very creative solutions to help save $$$.

For me this also begs the question: What if we just go for the 2-park 1-day or 1-park admission (if we choose only one) without Express/VIP anything? Will the crowds be that insane during the week of our visit (June 10-15)? On another thread someone suggested checking crowd levels on Orlando Informer and that site indicated only moderate crowds for that particular week (which actually surprised me, quite frankly).

But even if the crowds are somewhat heavier, and we get an early start from our WDW resort and get there nice and early (most likely following Unofficial Guide's touring plan), couldn't it be possible to still have a reasonable chance at a successful day without paying for any extras? (Of course everything I've read suggests WWOHP will be a challenge no matter what we do without express/front-of-line perks but we can hope for the best!)

Just throwing this out there! (And for what it's worth, the day(s) we are considering for Universal/IOA are Sunday 6/10 or Monday 6/11 based on our current/most likely itinerary.)

 

[DCTooTall]

Thanks, DCTooTall for all the really helpful suggestions! I will have to investigate the various cost considerations involved but you certainly have some very creative solutions to help save $$$.

For me this also begs the question: What if we just go for the 2-park 1-day or 1-park admission (if we choose only one) without Express/VIP anything? Will the crowds be that insane during the week of our visit (June 10-15)? On another thread someone suggested checking crowd levels on Orlando Informer and that site indicated only moderate crowds for that particular week (which actually surprised me, quite frankly).

But even if the crowds are somewhat heavier, and we get an early start from our WDW resort and get there nice and early (most likely following Unofficial Guide's touring plan), couldn't it be possible to still have a reasonable chance at a successful day without paying for any extras? (Of course everything I've read suggests WWOHP will be a challenge no matter what we do without express/front-of-line perks but we can hope for the best!)

Just throwing this out there! (And for what it's worth, the day(s) we are considering for Universal/IOA are Sunday 6/10 or Monday 6/11 based on our current/most likely itinerary.)

Honestly, I've never been down there this time of year since HP opened, so I couldn't give you an honest idea of the crowd levels that part of June. From what I've seen here, the best crowd predictor for Universal that you can find is (Believe it or not)... The Express pass purchase site. The more expensive the Express pass, the more Crowded Universal expects the parks to be.

If you didn't do the Express, I can still tell you that you should have no problems getting to almost everything in one park on a single day. You may spend some time in lines, but as long as you are smart (Don't hit HP during the morning when it's still packed with Early entry people and people trying to hit it first thing) and make good use of your time, you should be fine. 2 parks in a single day without Express would be impossible without skipping a LOT of things.

 

[macraven]

So, considering our family's particular circumstances, I am leaning toward the one-day plan, but am unsure whether to rush it through two parks or choose between the two and focus enjoyment on only one park this time around. So many considerations and I am making myself crazy with only a week left before we go!

go to www.universalorlando.com and check out what rides, shows, etc are in the parks and decide what the 3 of you want to do during the day.

plan it out best you can.

buy a one day 2 park pass for the 3 of you.
if you decide you want to do another day, go to guest services before you leave the park and upgrade to the 2 day 2 park passes.

you would pay the difference between the two.

Hmmm . . . now here's something I never considered. So use the room as a "crash pad" for the toddlers and dad while DDs and I enjoy the parks! Sounds promising, but what about the cost? Adding a hotel room, plus admission for four adults (if only the room came with the entry fee to the parks! lol), and DH would most likely be spending very limited time in the actual parks and most of the time off-site with the twins. (And just for the record, DH is on board with this, he likes the parks but only in limited doses. He hits "the wall" pretty early on in any amusement park-type of situation!)

Very intriguing idea, but not sure if it is cost-effective for us (family of 6 on fairly tight vacation budget!).

5 is the limit for each room.
you would need to book 2 rooms for the night you stay onsite.
you can get connecting rooms.
this might be a bit higher than you would want to pay.

This might be the most practical solution, considering our circumstances. Another poster mentioned VIP passes in an earlier post. Is that the same thing as express passes?

VIP pass includes the park ticket and allows you unlimited express line usage.

express passes can be bought in the park and allow the holder to use the express lines for rides and shows one time only.
park tickets not included.

express pass and VIP pass are date and park related.
no refunds.

don't buy the express pass until you are in the park.
in case it rains, lines thin out quickly.