Is it possible to do 2 parks in 1 day?

[Disny'er]

Doing 8 days at Disney World in November 2017. Was thinking of trying to surprise my family with going to Universal for a day. I haven't been to Universal in over 23 years so I don't remember it. Is it possible to do both parks in one day? Or should we just stick to 1 Park? There's 7 of us going. My mother-in-law would need a wheelchair (she can't walk all day) but I assume that's easily taken care of like at Disney, right? Any suggestions on which Park is your favorite and why? We have a 16 yr old, 13 yr old, and a 9 yr old. Like Harry Potter but not super huge fans.

Thanks!!!

 

[schumigirl]

You could do the highlights of both parks, but not everything comfortably in both parks in one day.

I suggest you check out the website since it's been a while since you've been

www.universalorlando.com

Go to park layouts. There will you see what both parks have to offer and where everything is. You can then decide what suits your family best. You may decide there's only a few things in one park you would want to see. Then you'd choose the other.

Park to park tickets will enable you to ride the Hogwarts Express if you wanted to. We aren't the biggest Potter fans, however both areas in both parks are truly spectacular! Not to be missed.

You know your family best and what they'd enjoy.

 

[macraven]

What date will you be at the darkside?

 

[kip0992]

As long as you aren't going at Thanksgiving, November should have fairly low crowds. You could get a good chunk of both parks done in one day with some planning (get there early, do one park's HP land first thing, etc.)

 

[hdnwaters]

We just did a great 1 day trip in January but we were there a little over a year ago for a 2 day trip so we did our favorite things and did a lot more looking around. Just depends on the crowds how much you can do in 1 day. Your kids will love US/IOA...take 2 days! We found WDW a little boring after visiting the "darkside".

 

[bchbetha]

If you can spring for 2 days, that'd be great. You wouldn't be rushing from ride to ride trying to fit it all in. I bet you could comfortably steal another day from Disney to do that.

 

[DisPhanatic]

It's totally possible. We went for one day in November 2015. If you can pick mid-week, that would work best for a visit without the Express Pass. We had 2 adults and two boys (7 and 9). We got there at park opening and were able to do the following. Left the park at 5 pm.
- Spiderman x2
- Storm Force Acceleration
- Jurassic Park River Adventure
- Camp Jurassic play area
- Flight of the Hippogriff x4
- Forbidden Journey x3
- Hogwarts Express
- Minions
- Transformers x2
- Mummy x2
- Simpsons
- Men in Black
- Escape from Gringott's
Plus we wandered around WWoHP - ate at Three Broomsticks, enjoyed butterbeer, bought some candy, and cast some spells. It was a great day. Honestly, it was so easy and not crowded that my kids didn't want to go back to Disney. We are planning an all Universal trip in May. Have fun!

 

[macraven]

Lots of peeps were able to hit all the highlights of the parks back in 2015

Not as easy now with higher park crowds and promo tickets out here and there

Op going in ten months and hope no crowds for their day in the parks

If someone has limited time to do a one day only, always wish them them the best with good weather and no ride breakdowns

Without knowing a date when they go, can't guess if it could have light or heavy crowds

 

[Hobbes]

Doing 8 days at Disney World in November 2017. Was thinking of trying to surprise my family with going to Universal for a day. I haven't been to Universal in over 23 years so I don't remember it. Is it possible to do both parks in one day? Or should we just stick to 1 Park? There's 7 of us going. My mother-in-law would need a wheelchair (she can't walk all day) but I assume that's easily taken care of like at Disney, right? Any suggestions on which Park is your favorite and why? We have a 16 yr old, 13 yr old, and a 9 yr old. Like Harry Potter but not super huge fans.

Thanks!!!

Same here-we are also going in November and want to try Universal for a day-we have already agreed that if we like it, we will look at a split stay at both the time after. Take a look at this website-it includes a 1 day itinerary to see the best of both parks. Obviously some parts won't suit your family but its a good starting point. Last week me and DH spent about 3 hours just watching videos on Youtube of people walking around the parks-gave us a feel of what there is to see.


https://cache3.undercovertourist.com/plan_media/universal-1-day-park-to-park-9304-16.pdf

 

[macraven]

I'm using my iPhone and not able to rush thru the suggested plan you posted

Can read it on the iMac later and give it more thought

All I can say now is you can hit highlights of parks quite easily
But for those who are regulars will say you miss a lot of what the parks have to offer

If I said I can do Epcot or the MK in one day, which I did this month, will say I have missed great things offered in those parks

(Been doing wdw regularly since 1973 so I know what I can't miss on a single park day)

The SRL are not always opened
If someone is planning on using them, they might be falling behind that day in covering rides

If rides go down, that will interfere in your plans

Crowd level can change due to weather or tour groups in the parks

Once I look at the suggested plan you included, I'll be back


But if you only have one day in the park I know you will be scouring the web to find info that will guide you

If you pull up the UO map, you can make use of that and make a plan with limited back tracking

UO site can give you show times for street activities
Mini parades, characters location etc

If you want character info meet and greets look at the sticky characters in the park
Read page 1 and 7 to save time

 

[bchbetha]

I don't really like that plan but it's a start. I think what you need to do is make your own must ride list and hit those ASAP. You don't want to wait to do a ride you have your heart set on to find it closed due to weather or maintenance. Also, Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade are SO much better in the AM or after 4pm. Middle of the day can be uncomfortably crowded. i think any HP fan should leave time at the end of their night to hang out on Diagon Alley as it's super magical then.

 

[wilkeliza]

We haven't tried in November but went in September with express pass. We were able to do everything in one day. There were some things we skipped but not out of lack of ability to get on them in one day just really didn't want to do them. Some in the group actually did pretty much everything in both parks (except shows) because they went head while many of us stayed back to relax in the shade.