Well, my first suggestion will be to get park-to-park tickets! Unlike Disney, both Universal parks are about a 3-5 minutes walk from each other. This will allow you to switch between the parks whenever you want to make sure you can see/do everything. Locking yourself into one park is never fun because if the park is just insanely busy for some reason, you can switch to the other and go back later in the day.
Now, both Universal parks are connected by Citywalk. You will park what feels like miles away from Citywalk and follow the LONG pathway to the main entrance to Citywalk. Once in Citywalk, you can go either left or right to go to the different parks. There are signs all over telling you where to go, but it is really easy to get around. Citywalk is like a big shopping center like Downtown Disney with lots of places to eat. At the end of the month, they will be opening two HIGHLY themed mini-golf courses which look really fun!
So, because of this long walk to the parks, I suggest getting to the parks early. You will want two FULL days at the parks to make sure you can see it all. So, if the parks open at 9am, I suggest getting to the parking lot no later than 8am. This will allow you time to park, walk to the parks, explore Citywalk a little if you have some time, and arrive at the gates around 20-25 minutes early to pick up the tickets and get in line. They normally open the park early as well up to a point, so you can start exploring a little early.
As far as the Express passes go, you can wait and purchase them at the parks if you feel like you need them. Your time should not be that bad since most schools are not done yet and spring break will have been over for awhile.
A lot of the Universal rides have a single rider line. These can REALLY help cut down wait times. You can stay together as a party in the line up until you board at which point they will most likely split all of you up onto different cars. At time, they will allow two single riders together if there are no parties of two in line, but this is rare. Anyways, you will all be exiting the ride at roughly right behind each other. I would suggest doing the single rider line for any ride that has a really long line. Send one adult first, followed by the kids, and then the 2nd adult.
As far as planning goes for Universal, don't spend to much time worrying about it. Universal is a much more relaxing trip because it does not require planning. The best thing to do would be to print out the park maps. Get a feel for the layout of the parks (they are both somewhat circles) and pick the rides you want to ride.
For Studios, you will want to ride Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit first thing. It is a very slow morning line and the single rider line closes all the time. After that, I would head to Mummy. From there, just follow the path around the park riding the stuff you want to do. Keep in mind that the new nighttime show might be taking place during your visit, so make sure to grab a times guide to see if it is.
For Islands of Adventure, your first goal will be to do HP right away! From there, you can go to either Dr. Suess or Jurrasic Park. The park is a giant circle, so just follow it around riding everything you want to do. Keep in mind Islands of Adventure has THREE water rides (two that get you soaked, and one that just gets you wet). You might want to bring a change of cloths and store them in a locker, or do these rides in the afternoon so you can dry quickly. They are a lot of fun to ride so I suggest not skipping them. In fact, if the line is not bad, ride them more than once. Your already wet, so it can't get much worse, lol.
Now, like I said, don't just stick to one park per day. If the nighttime show is not taking place, I really suggest heading over to Islands to see HP in the evening! The area looks really amazing with the lighting effects they use. Not to mention, as the evening goes on, the park starts to clear out and it might not be to busy.
If you want to save time, eat a lunch later in the day and have a big dinner on Citywalk. While you should have time to eat two quick service meals each day, if you can hold off on dinner until after the park closes, you can enjoy a great meal on Citywalk.
If you have any other questions, just ask! You will love Universal, and over time your Disney trip will just start getting shorter and shorter until your like me and you do seven days at Universal and rarely touch Disney
It will just be my husband,myself and the boys at Universal.
