IOA or Universal Theme Park - which would you choose?

[i'mgoofy]

We only have one day to do Universal, so we are trying to figure out which park to go to out of the two, since we can't go to both with a one-day pass. Which would you go to? We live in the Chicago area, so we already are familiar with roller coasters and amusement parks because of Six Flags, and can just go to that here at home. Is IOA like that? If it is, I am thinking the other one. Thoughts?

 

[dakota]

IOA is defiantly more thrill based with 3 big coasters (the hulk, fire and ice at Dueling Dragons), log flume (Ripsaw Falls), a white water ride (Bilge Rat Barges) but there are also some really incredible attractions like Spiderman.
USF is based on films. tv and production. These attractions have far more special effects in them and less speed. I can't really say less motion because of Back to the Future and Men In Black.
They're both great parks and you can't really make a bad choice. Have you thought about getting a one day 2 park ticket?

 

[stwyatt]

we found ioa to be more fun. spiderman is the best simulator/thrill ride i have ever been on. usf was fun, prettier, maybe more diverse in what you can do. there are no thrill rides at usf. mostly there are simulator rides,action shows and rides,and some outright rides like men in black. we loved both places but probably preferred ioa a little more.

 

[TJA]

For your situation, I would recommend USF. The attractions are unique and lots of fun at USF and you won't run into coasters or amusement park rides. Not to miss at USF include Jaws, T2-my favorite, Twister, Back to the Future, Men in Black, Earthquake, Kong, and E-T. There are some great shows too. You won't run out of things to do at USF in one day. In fact, be sure you get there early!

 

[suz1414]

hey i think you should chose universal studios. ioa has some neat things you wont find anywhere else but i think universal has more different rides like twister and men in black etc. ioa does have different things to like spiderman jurassic park river ride and the cat in the hat. personly i had more fun at universal only because i am young and had to go on all the coasters and things by myself
hope you have fun whatever park you chose.

cant wait for royal pacific resort!!!!!!!!!

 

[i'mgoofy]

Thanks everyone, this is definitely something to think about! Dakota, you mentioned a one day, 2-park pass. I have never heard of this. Does it cost more, and can I find it at AAA or wherever I buy Universal tix? Would we have enough time to even cover both parks? (It's just me and DH, no kids.)

 

[fervour]

If you are going within the next 2 months, I'd definitely vote USF. Do both parks if you can! To me, IOA only has 2 truly "different" attractions, and those are Spiderman and Posiedon's Fury. Posiedon's Fury is down for about 2 months. The other attractions are just really really well done standards ---coasters, drops, flumes. USF has alot of neat attractions and more of them, IMHO. IOA does have incredible theming.

 

[No11's Mom]

If it is at all possible, try to work in one day for each of the parks. I think if you are older than 7, you will find both US and IOA more entertaining than any of the Disney parks. On our first trip to Orlando we only had one day allocated for US. After that day, we cancelled one of our WDW days to go back. And that was before IOA.

I would be hard pressed to choose which park to go to - I hope I never have to choose between one or the other!

 

[IOAfan]

Definitely USF. Don't let my screen name fool you, I'm more of a USF fan than anything else. You won't have to worry about roller coasters or anything of that nature. I would suggest getting a two day pass or something even though you only have one day at a Universal park because with this kind of pass, you can "park hop," so you can get to experience the best of both parks. Not to miss attractions at IOA are Spiderman, JPRA, Bilge-Rat Barges, and Poseidon's Fury. At USF, Twister, Men in Black, Back to the Future, and many more.

IOAfan

Also an Universal Studios and Disney fan!!!

 

[peppersugar]

We also have only one day for either USF or IOA--I saw someone said you could get a one day-two park ticket--I didn't know there as such a ticket--I thought you had to buy at least a two day pass to park hop--any info would be helpful.

 

[i'mgoofy]

Anyone know what's up with the 1 day - 2 park passes? Any info would be helpful! Thanks guys!

 

[sha_lyn]

I don't know about a one day hopper pass but if you will return to US/IOA in the future buy a 3 day pass and save the other days for future trips. Since IOa stay open a an hour later do US first, hit your "must do attractions" then head to IOA for the remainder of the day. We just returned last night from 3 days in IOA/US. Both are great parks and both have unique attractions. It really depends on what your group likes. For our kids IOA was the best park. DD loved Seuss Landing and did the rides over and over. DS is inot coasters and thrill rides so Hulk, DD and Spiderman were his favorites. For DH and Myself US was probablly our favorite park although I do love thrill rides the themed rides were great.

<font color= red Comic Sans MS> All Star Music-April 2000 </font>
<font color= purple font= Comic Sans MS> Shades of Green- May 2002 </font>

 

[WebmasterBarry]

There is no one day, two park hopper ticket, unless you want to take the one day private two park VIP tour. The tour costs about $2,000 for a group of up to 15 people.

Barry Hom
Moderator, Universal and Sea World Boards

Click HERE for interesting Universal Orlando information!

 

[redfieldmjr]

We love Universal Studios. The back lot streetscapes, the old movie characters, the Lucy exhibit are the magical aspects of this park. The rides are more thematic than thrill, try to get a front seat for ET, the Terminator show is great 3D. If you love the movies you will love USF. There's just a nice feel to it. Sometimes when I'm there I just sit on a bench and think about what it would have been like to sit at the counter at Schwab's Drug Store or to have put on a white satin sheath dress and gone out to the Stork Club.