First time to Universal, which park should I start with?

[Llama mama]

New to Universal. Love reading the trip reports!
Which park should we explore first? We have plenty of days and EP. Just wondering if it’s better to start with a specific park.
Also, the details in some of these pictures of buildings and sections have me excited.
It seems you could easily spend a few days in each park exploring and still not see everything.

 

[DisneyLifePapioNe]

New to Universal. Love reading the trip reports!
Which park should we explore first? We have plenty of days and EP. Just wondering if it’s better to start with a specific park.
Also, the details in some of these pictures of buildings and sections have me excited.
It seems you could easily spend a few days in each park exploring and still not see everything.

Each day one park opens up an hour early for resort guests, if you’re not there for EE then either park is fabulous, yes Universal and Islands and VB and Citywalk is much more than a one or two day place, there really is so much to take in and experience.

 

[smiths02]

We had to do the Harry Potter journey, so we started in Diagon Alley and moved to Hogwarts on our first day. We had 4 days in the parks, so our 2nd and 3rd we just concentrated on one park (based on park hours and our schedule) while the last day we went and re-did favorite attractions (both parks).

 

[Bibbidy Bobbidy Boo]

Definitely do Hagrids’s the first day, to make sure you get to ride it. It closes/gets delayed, A LOT! This way you’ll have other days to catch it if it is down. We were told by a castmember that there is a certain feature of the ride (I won’t say what, so as not to spoil any surprises), which tends to malfunction frequently.

 

[Raul_Duke1981]

Definitely do Hagrids’s the first day, to make sure you get to ride it. It closes/gets delayed, A LOT! This way you’ll have other days to catch it if it is down. We were told by a castmember that there is a certain feature of the ride (I won’t say what, so as not to spoil any surprises), which tends to malfunction frequently.

I agree with Bibbidy... having just been in these parks 2 weeks ago, the new Hagrid ride is outstanding but has a LOT of delays/issues. I would suggest a rope drop to Hagrid followed immediately by a ride on Forbidden Journey. The exit off Hagrid sends you right toward Hogwarts. Now that you’ve ridden the 2 best rides in the park (in my opinion), everything else is bonus. Head through Jurassic (a bit if construction here, so outside of the picture with the Raptor and 1 ride on the Pteranodon Flyers with my little guy, we just walked right through. Head toward the Marvel area and there are several more excellent rides to hit. Spider-Man, Dr Doom, & the Hulk are all quality rides. Unless you are into water rides (it was a bit too cool while we were there), you’ve hit all the “thrill rides” in IOA. Head back and try to hit Hagrid again or take in all of Hogsmeade. Both Harry Potter areas are incredibly well done and don’t forget to try some of the HP fare available in the snack kiosks & restaurants. We LOVE the Butterbeer ice cream!