Park advice

[Lorelai71]

Need some advice. Going to Disney and Vero Beach this summer: 8-3 thru 8-18 and since we will have a rental car because of Vero, we plan to visit Universal and IOA.

Here's our itinerary. I need some help figuring out what day to go to each park. We will arrive at the BWV on Friday 8-3. On Thur, 8-9 we will pick up the rental car from the Dolphin hotel at 8:00 am and head to either Universal or IOA. We will leave the next day, Friday to go to Vero Beach. We return to the BWV on Sunday, 8-12. We don't have to return the rental car until Tuesday, 8-14 at 8:00 am so we can head to either Universal or IOA on Monday, 8-13.

Sooooooooo, which park should we visit on Thursday, 8-9 and on Monday, 8-12? Universal or IOA?

Also, could someone please give me driving directions from the Boardwalk/Dolphin hotel at Disney to Universal and IOA.


Thanks, any advice and comments would be appreciated.

 

[macraven]

if it was me, i would do IOA on the thursday and the studios on the monday


try to use mapquest.com for directions. rand mcnally also has a site.
i tend to get lost when i turn around outside.

 

[yaytezIOA]

I can tell you how to get to Vero. Universal Blvd to 528 East. 528 East to I-95 South. I-95 South to the Sebastian exit and directly East to the beach. Turn right on A1A.....head south, and look on the left. Cant miss it.

 

[Lorelai71]

thanks!

Which park is bigger? US or IOA

 

[yaytezIOA]

Both parks are pretty equal in size. There is equal amounts of stuff to do, but depends on what you want to do. There are some coasters and scary stuff in both parks.

 

[Lorelai71]

We are three adults: me-36; brother-29; mother 55

My brother and I will do most of the riding because my mother is scared to death to get on anything.

On Thursday, I won't be able to pick up the rental car until 8am so that means the earliest I could leave Disney probably won't be until 8:30am. I know this is not ideal but it is the best I would be able to do.

On Monday, I will be able to leave Disney earlier since I would already have the car. So I was thinking I should to do the bigger park on Monday. Or at least the park I want to spend the most time in on Monday.

What do you think? Would really welcome all advice

 

[HannaBelle]

You might consider renting a GPS if your car rental company offers it.

You can program the address of where you want to go and the one you are leaving from and the system will map it out for you. It is kinda like mapquest in your car with you. (Most are DVD driven.)

I have no idea what it costs to rent, but both my Ddad, Dmom Dbro have them...they are awesome...especially if you are not in an area you are familar with. (Theirs even have audio, not sure if rentals will have that though!)

 

[robvia]

I have pictures of what it looks like on my page here
Disney to IOA

Use a site like maps.yahoo.com and enter these addresses

2101 Epcot Resorts Blvd
Orlando FL 32830

5800 Universal Blvd
Orlando FL 32819

This will take you to the Hard Rock Hotel, which is right next to the parking garage. You basically take I-4 to Universal Blvd and follow the signs to the parking garage. Maps.yahoo.com has you going north of the main gate for the hotel, you can get off I-4 earlier and follow the signs.

Honestly, I'd flip things around and do USF first if you can't arrive early. Besides The Mummy, MIB, and ET, most attractions are shows that hold a lot of people so the lines won't be that bad since you'll miss out on the early morning start. On Monday leave Disney at 07:15am, You'll arrive the parking garage at about 07:45am, and there will be a line of cars waiting. Wait in line at the gate and go in first. You can do Hulk, Dr. Doom, and Spiderman before the crowd shows up. The rush of people is from 11am to 4pm. I usually tell people to leave and come back later that night.

The parks will stay open until 10pm while you visit, they will be very packed. So it's not out of the question for you to visit early in the morning, drive back to your hotel in the afternoon to rest, then return at night. You'd be surprised at how much you can get done in 3-4 hours, and your mom would probably like to rest in the afternoon.

 

[Lorelai71]

I have pictures of what it looks like on my page here
Disney to IOA

Robvia, thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Those directions were phenomenal. They need to be on a sticky thread.

Actually, my brother loves Spiderman so I know he will want to ride that ride several times. I think I actually saw him trying to shoot a web from his hand one day when he thought I wasn't looking

HannaBelle, I think the gps is about $10 a day and we will have the car for 5 days so I really don't want to pay that much. After looking at Robvia's directions I am feeling very confident.

Thanks for all the great advice