Has anyone done BOTH parks in ONE day?

[Steffiesunshine]

It seems to me we may miss some attractions if the crowds are large due to the limited January hours of 9-6.

Has anyone done both parks and did you miss much, or were you able to see everything? Did you have an express pass to cut down on waiting time?

All help is greatly appreciated. I'm trying to make this a really special vacation for my 11 yr old nephew who lost his mom last year.

 

[PlutoLuvr]

I've done a few rides/attractions from each park in one day when the parks were empty, but I've never successfully "done" both parks in one day (and I'm excluding the roller coasters as the trip I'm speaking of was just my mother & I and neither of us do coasters/intense thrill rides). It would be like trying to get Magic Kingdom and MGM "done" in one day. You can pick and choose a few favorite rides/attractions from each and get those done.

I think if you're trying to make this special for the child, I would say to pick one park to concentrate on if you only have one day, or go two days and do one park per day.

Hope you enjoy yourself!

 

[ky07]

If you are going to do both parks in one day I would suggest that you go to universalorlando.com and look at all the rides in both parks and figure out which rides you think you and the child would enjoy and try to do only those cause as the previous post said there isn't really anyway to take your time and do everything in one day.
hope you have a great time and so sorry to hear about the loss of your nephews mom and bless you for just wanting to take the time and give him a special day.

 

[stwyatt]

we easily did both parks in one day last week. we had fotl, crowds were light, and since its the cooler season, we didn't do some of the water rides at ioa--ripsaw falls was closed anyway. it seems that the longest waits even with fotl are the shows like shrek4d, and jimmy neutron, so we started out at universal before we switched to ioa. the only ride at ioa that you have to catch early is pt. flyers which has no fotl and is notoriously long lined.

 

[Jason71]

Last Summer, with my friend and his family, managed to do most everything with FOTL passes. All adults so skipped so kid stuff (ET, Jimmy Neutron), skipped the shows, but managed to hit all the "must-see" rides. Still, would be more relaxing with two days.

 

[starseed]

This past January was our first time at UO and due to our stupid flight being rescheduled to arrive MUCH later in the day, we were only left with one day to check out both parks.

We did it - but we were EXTREMELY wiped (for a good couple of days later) and we still missed some of the major attractions (Jimmy Neutron and Shrek 4D) and most of the wet rides. Doing both parks in one day also didn't allow us to hit some of the attractions we really liked a second time. The one day thing was hard for us first-timers, that's for sure.

We definitely could not have done it without the FOTL (we stayed at PBH). It UBER ROCKS!

BUT - it whetted our appetite enough that we're planning a return trip this upcoming February!

 

[keishashadow]

we'll have 6 hours or less this Saturday

DS is determined to hit all the "goodies" @ both parks, may just pull it off thanx to FOTL (and if we don't eat)

To the OP, i'd def. pass for the express pass

 

[Katy Belle]

If you can add a 2nd day, do it. If not...prioritize and hit just your top favorites. FOTL will make it much easier to get more in. At US a lot of the attractions are shows and they start at certain times. So it takes a lot of time just to hit them right.

You can have a great day, full of fun fantastic memories, but you won't be able to see/do it all.

Have a great time with your nephew!
Katy

 

[Puncek]

We are spending one day at Universal this coming January, and we hope to see all of the new attractions since the last time we were there (about 4 or 5 years ago), as well as the ones we missed last time. With FOTL I hope to be able to do 'almost everything.'

 

[Tissa]

Back in October we got there at 9 and managed to do all the rollercoasters, Shrek 4D,-MIB, Spiderman, Cat in the Hat, Jurassic Park, stopped to see Marilyn & Lucy, Scooby and Shaggy, and ate lunch at Margaritaville and were in the parking lot to leave by 2pm.

We are going back in July and staying 4 days to really do everything.