One day to spend at IOA or Universal

[jwiess11]

Hi,

I have three children, 3, 7 and 8 and we have 1 day to goto either IOA or Universal. I am leaning towards IOA for Dr Seuss, Harry Potter and Spiderman.

-Is IOA appropriate for my young family?

-Is there enough to do to spend the entire day there for my family?

I'm apprehensive to buy a park-to-park pass since I think that's too much to conquer in one day.

Thanks much!

PS. We plan on going Dec 18th to IOA or Universal.

 

[macraven]

december 15th, wednesday should be a good day in the parks.

tough question to answer though.

depends on the kid's height, usage of child swap and personal interests in what is in the parks, etc.


if you are staying offiste, get to the park early if you want to do parry hotter section.
that area gets crowded around 10:00 am usually.

there are shops there but i don't know if that would be an interest for the kids unless they are into the books and movies of parry hotter.

seuss doesn't take a lot of time.
if there are lines, you could easily do cat/hat, blue/red fish, carolseuss, exploration kid area, and the trolley ride and stores within a 2 hour period.

with the kids being young, the studios side would be great for them.
more shows there, rides that they would understand and a wonderful barney show and play area.

check out the website and see what rides/shows at each park would be of interest for the entire family.
www.universalorlando.com


hth!

 

[jwiess11]

Thanks for the reply. Maybe I should spend the extra money for 2 parks in 1 day. Anybody have any experience with a family of three kids aged 3, 7 and 8 doing both parks in one day? Would it be too much for them? Thanks!

 

[TheAviator]

Its hard to pick, but I would also highly recommend IOA. I just think its the superior park and think its really the best park in the world. The Jurassic Park section, the Lost Continent, Suess and Harry Potter alone are phenomenal. But it is better if you have 2 days to do both. But IOA if you are stuck with a single day.

I have done both parks in a single day, but you may not get to see everything.

 

[reddfrogg]

Both parks can easily be done, if you are staying onsite, otherwise with 3 small children, almost impossible!! Shrek, Despicable Me, Simpsons rode, and Fivels playland, are really the only thing for kids in US side

 

[jwiess11]

Thank you for the information. We are not staying on-site

 

[tajz90]

Both parks can be done without staying onsite, but not a lot of dawdling

Look at ride height restrictions. That would be the clincher as to what park I'd visit

 

[Blessedw/boys]

I'm interested in what you decided and what you thought. We are going this month with 3 kids, ages 5, 8 & 12. All are adventurous riders and I'm having a time deciding which park. Week is way too full to do both. No one is a Harry Potter fan, although they might be if we watched the movies (none of us have)

 

[reddfrogg]

How tall are your boys?? Look at Universal Orlando web site and decide which rides they might like!! Both sides have coasters and great rides, with 3 boys let them decide which they want to do!!

 

[Planogirl]

I'm interested in what you decided and what you thought. We are going this month with 3 kids, ages 5, 8 & 12. All are adventurous riders and I'm having a time deciding which park. Week is way too full to do both. No one is a Harry Potter fan, although they might be if we watched the movies (none of us have)

I bet that they would like castles and dragons and such things though.

There is a lot for adventurous kids in both parks so checking out the website is a great idea.

 

[Blessedw/boys]

My youngest is right at 48 inches, the other 2 are tall enough for everything. There are things at both parks I know they'd love. I've just about decided to do both in 1 day if that's not too crazy, just skipping the things I know they won't care for.

 

[reddfrogg]

If you get the front of line access passes, you can easily do both parks and they can do thier favorites Twice!!

 

[macraven]

If you get the front of line access passes, you can easily do both parks and they can do thier favorites Twice!!

i think only the WISH children get that.

hotel guests can have unlimited use in the express lines which really helps in not spending a lot of time waiting in lines.

 

[Metro West]

Just want to say again...there is no such thing as "front of the line" passes at Universal Orlando.

 

[tajz90]

I call the express pass front of the line pass. only because I have a hard time remembering.

It's a great thing to have. We never visit Universal without staying onsite because of it.

 

[hsmamato2]

IOA, my kids feel that the other park is fairly dull. They like IOA better.

 

[Metro West]

Hopefully the OP visited on 12/18 as planned and had a great time.