Never been to US/IOA. I only have 1 day. HELP!!!

[Paula S.]

I have never been to US or IOA and I am only going to have 1 day to experience the adventures. I am a die hard Disney fan and go every year but plans changed this year so I now have 1 free day while I am in Orlando for another reason. Now I need your help. What do I do? There will be 2 female adults going. No children. We are both daredevils but we also love to act like kids. We don't want to miss a thing. I only was able to get a 1 day 1 park pass so i can not even see both. I will be there Sunday, 1/29/06. Guidance, Please????? Where to eat? What not to miss?
I also am a big Disney scrapbooker and I am wondering if I should just leave the camera at the hotel and enjoy without wondering about scrapbooking it. What do my fellow scrapbookers think??
Paula

 

[ChrisFL]

If you're daredevils, go to IOA...really it would be much better if you were able to change it to a 1-day 2 park pass because that's a very slow time of year and you could probably get the big attractions of both parks in that day.

You'll want to take pictures at IOA though, I think, there is some stunning and beautiful architecture there.

Eat at Mythos, excellent sit down restaurant, rated the #1 restaurant in a theme park for a few years running.

Don't miss Spiderman, whatever you do!

 

[Paula S.]

Chris, Thanks for your imput. If I am able to get the 1 day 2 park tickets am I going to be wasting a lot of time going back and forth like you do when going to Disney parks.
I have heard about Spiderman and the Dueling Dragon. Other's have said not to miss them.
Thanks, Paula

 

[phamton]

You can only get the one day/two park at the gate. You can buy a one day/one park and do everything you want in one park and then go to guest service and upgrade to the two park for an extra $10.

My suggestion:

Arrive at Universal Studios gate 15 minutes before opening. Hit Shrek,then Mummy, next Men in Black, Back to the Future, ET, Terminator. If you have some time before lunch do Earthquake and Twister and Jaws if it is open. Go to Guest Service and upgrade to the two park. Grab lunch and walk over to Islands of Adventure. Then do Hulk, Spiderman, Ripsaw Falls (if it is back up from refurbishment), Bluto's and Popeyes (Ripsaw and Popeye's are water rides and you will get very wet--so skip if you don't want to get wet), next Jurassic Park, Dueling Dragons, and finally Cat in the Hat. Spend any time you have left re-riding your favorite rides at either park. Go to Margaritaville in Citywalk to grab a "Cheeseburger in Paradise" or Nachos and relax.

The plan I have outlined in Universal does have a little backtracking but only because Shrek, Mummy, and Men in Black are the ones that get the longest lines as the day goes on so you need to do them first. The plan for IoA does not require any backtracking just following the flow around the park. The rides at IoA that have the longest waits are Hulk and Spiderman so do them using the single rider line. MIB and Mummy also have single rider lines which are faster.

 

[ChrisFL]

Chris, Thanks for your imput. If I am able to get the 1 day 2 park tickets am I going to be wasting a lot of time going back and forth like you do when going to Disney parks.
I have heard about Spiderman and the Dueling Dragon. Other's have said not to miss them.
Thanks, Paula

The great part about these 2 parks is unlike Disney, they're literally right next to each other, you can walk between them in about 5 mins, only passing the Hard Rock Cafe and NBA cafe between them.

And I'd still reccomend Mythos at IOA, even though Margaritaville is good also