One day & two parks with kiddos

[vicarrieous]

We have one day to conquer a bit of Universal. I realize there is NO way to do it all, and that is not our plan.

We have two timid kids and would arrive about 9/9:30am and stay until about 3ish.

Would you start at IA and go to Seuss Landing and then Jurrassic and Hogsmead? Followed by taking the train to Universal Studios doing Diagon Alley and finishing up by doing Minions. Or would you do that in reverse??

We also plan to have lunch around 11:30/12 but are coming up short where we may want to eat. We did Leaky Cauldron last time and was on the fence. We thought about leaving and hitting up something on City Walk and not using the train to transfer.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[kohlby]

We usually start at IOA because we find it takes less time than the other side for us. Also, there are more indoor attractions on the other side which is nice if it gets too hot or rainy.

Starting at IOA gets us to lunch early enough too. A favorite of my kids is the chicken and ribs at Three Broomsticks. We can get three platters for the five of us. We used to be able to get just two but the kids getting older changed that. (One is a teen boy). They also have the feast for "four." But that really easily feeds six so we only get that if we have others with us.

 

[bchbetha]

Is there anyway you can adjust your hours? You’re not just trying to accomplish 2 parks in a day but you’re arriving late and leaving early. My crew can spend hours in Diagon Alley and Camp Jurassic alone. So many great rides, shows and play areas. iF you can rearrange your day so you can be there for sure by 8:30-9am and stay all day, you can have a great time. Don’t cut it short.

 

[bchbetha]

Oh, and without Express Passes you have to be at the park by opening if Minions are a priority. It’s a long, boring line that is never shorter than at opening. It gets long and stays long.

 

[vicarrieous]

Is there anyway you can adjust your hours? You’re not just trying to accomplish 2 parks in a day but you’re arriving late and leaving early. My crew can spend hours in Diagon Alley and Camp Jurassic alone. So many great rides, shows and play areas. iF you can rearrange your day so you can be there for sure by 8:30-9am and stay all day, you can have a great time. Don’t cut it short.

Our plan is to arrive about 9am and we won't stay later than 4:30. Thats a long day for a 4 & 7 year old and we are ok if we have to miss things. Last time we did about the same (maybe left about 3) and found we were ready to go. We need a break and open to close just won't happen with our kids.