have less than 2 days for US/IOA...which one first?

[cepmom]

We are going to US/IOA (staying at RPR) after our Disney Cruise. The 1st day will be 9/1 ~ the day we get off the ship. I'm planning on approx 1 hour drive from Port Canaveral and some time to check in at RPR so I don't think I can get to either park at/before opening (maybe arrive at the park by 10:00?). The 2nd day, we will need to leave the park by 3:00 or so to catch a flight home at 6:00.

We are a family of 5 and it's our 1st time to US/IOA (me, DH, DD15, DD8 and DD5) DH, DD15 and I love the big roller coasters & thrill rides. I was originally planning on going to IOA first for that reason, but will we be okay if we can't get to the park before opening? If we save IOA for the 2nd day (when we can be there at opening) will we have enough time to see/do most everything since we need to leave by 3:00? What itinerary would you experts recommend? TIA!!!!

 

[phamton]

I'd do IOA first like you planned. Sept.1st isn't very crowded so you should be OK not getting there at park opening. With 2 day passes you will have "park hoppers" so you can even head over to Universal if you get done at IOA sooner than expected.

 

[MiniMe]

I agree...the one time I went to IOA in Nov., my group did not get there until late morning and we still were able to ride everything before we left for the day. I would go there first and then come back the next day if you need to before hopping over to US, especially if you really like the thrill rides.

 

[cepmom]

thanks for your help....just what I wanted to hear

 

[dizneefreak29]

We went on a Disney cruise in June...our flight left at 6:50 that day and we decided to go to Universal. We bought a one day two park ticket and the Universal Express Plus pass. We were able to do both parks in one day. Unfortunately we didn't get to see any shows but did all the rides...some of them twice! We started at IOA around 10:00 a.m. and there were no lines for anything! Have fun!

 

[cepmom]

dizneefreak29 ~
that's good to know....I figured we would have time to see most of what we wanted (especially with the FOTL access) but wasn't sure if it was imperative to get there at park opening in order to get to the "big" rides before the lines get too long (I hate waiting in long lines).

About what time were you able to get off the ship? Was the drive about an hour to Universal? Also ~ what time did you leave Universal in order to get to the airport for your flight home?

 

[dizneefreak29]

We decided to skip breakfast and get off as soon as we could. I think we were off by 7:30ish? We caught the shuttle to Budget...rented our car...and were to Universal by 9:00. It was about an hour to Universal. We had to park...buy tickets and all that good stuff which is why we didn't really get started on rides until 10ish.

We left the parks around 3:30 to get to the airport. We had to have the rental back at 4:00. It was so easy and quick!