Pleasehelp - one day at Universal

[VbChristy]

I have a short trip to Disney planned for the end of the month. I just got my hands on a one day pass for my DH and myself for Universal- we have a park to park (?) pass. It's been forever since I was at Universal. DH will LOVE it. We are expecting so I will not be riding much, but again, he will LOVE it! So, please help me. We will get there as close as we can to rope drop, on an upcoming Sunday. Advice please!!! Plus someone want to give me directions to the park from the Contemporary resort. I am surprising him with the tickets for his birthday, so he won't have much time to prep for it either... Oh, any recommendations for where to eat lunch? THANK YOU!!!!

 

[QueenGuinevere]

Not sure about directions, but if u are Harry Potter fans, you must eat at Three Broomsticks. Food is very good, I just ate there today

 

[Steph&katie]

How are you travelling b car or public transport?
And also there are low of restaurants things like bob Marley a tribute to freedom, bubba gump restaurant, in the parks you have in universal studios - lousies Italian pizza counter service which is great for a nice lunch
In islands of adventure there a loads!
You have blondes, green eggs and ham, three broomsticks, Jurassic park restaurant there all my favourites

If you want to do both parks get there early and stay as long as you can I understand your expecting congrats! But take breaks often as it's tiring attempting two parks in one day even though you guys aren't doing all the rides.

Hope this helped

 

[VbChristy]

How are you travelling b car or public transport?
And also there are low of restaurants things like bob Marley a tribute to freedom, bubba gump restaurant, in the parks you have in universal studios - lousies Italian pizza counter service which is great for a nice lunch
In islands of adventure there a loads!
You have blondes, green eggs and ham, three broomsticks, Jurassic park restaurant there all my favourites

If you want to do both parks get there early and stay as long as you can I understand your expecting congrats! But take breaks often as it's tiring attempting two parks in one day even though you guys aren't doing all the rides.

Hope this helped

Thanks! We will have a car.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Thanks! We will have a car.

There are a few ways you can go, but I would recommend either taking I-4 (eastbound), or leaving Disney from Hotel Plaza Blvd, turn left onto Apopka-Vineland Rd. and then take a right onto Palm Parkway, which will eventually turn into Turkey Lake Rd. Universal will be a few miles down on the right.

 

[VbChristy]

Thanks for the directions. Now I just need to know how to handle the parks in a day.

 

[damo]

He won't be able to ride everything, so you should probably decide what you really really must do and go from there. There are quite a few water rides at IOA that might be something that you want to leave out.

 

[Metro West]

You might want to check YouTube for ride videos if you are concerned about any attractions. My favorite place in IOA is Thunder Falls Terrace and at the Studios it's Louie's.

 

[Lemonademouth]

I don't think US or IOA had much pregnant friendly rides. You may be able to ride et, twister(if you're ok to stand for long periods of time) possibly disaster(but doubt it) and at IOA probably everything is out sans the rides at the Suess themed area. All the water rides are pretty harsh. The Italian restaurant at the Suess place called Circus Mcgurkis, real good from what I can remember. Haven't done quick service at US, but have eaten at Margaritaville up at City walk and it is decent. If you will be staying away from city walk, and staying within the parks ALL day I would recommend getting their meal deal for $24.99-29.99. The more expensive one lets you eat all day long at any of the express restaurants. This is probably wrong of me to put, but when a bunch of us went only half of us got the bands for this and would hit up different restaurants around the park until we were all full.

 

[Feckless]

We did IOA and US in a day, from about 9:30 until about 5 p.m., and we pretty much did everything. We missed Jurassic Park and Spiderman, and it was before the Minions attraction opened, but we did everything else and weren't running either. We started in WWOHP and went from there. Unfortunately, the Dueling Dragons ride caused some severe motion sickness for both me and DH, which put a crimp on the day. If your DH gets any kind of motion sickness you may want to take some Bonine or Gravol BEFORE you start! We then headed for Rip Ride Rocket because DD was on a mission, and rode Hulk a couple of times on the way. After RRR, we just wandered and finished the rest of the attractions at US, then headed back to IOA and did more stuff there. I couldn't believe how much we did! I know your DH will have fun...

 

[Seeker615]

The good thing is he can do the single rider lines and get through a lot of the attractions quicker.

Do Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. The castle theming is incredible. You can walk with him through the castle and enjoy it and then duck out when he gets to the ride. The shops in the Harry Potter section are awesome as well.

At the studios side go to the Horror Make Up show. This is still one of my favorite shows at Universal. In fact last year we did it twice. It's that good!

We at lunch at Mytho's at IOA. Great food!

The walk between the two parks is easy and quick. We went back and forth between them a few times in one day.

Have a great time!

 

[Steph&katie]

Don't forget to hit beetle juices graveyard revenue either!! It's so much fun dancing and singing it's a great show I never miss it, thing is try not to go to Harry potter world straight away the second you guys get into the park as that's what everyone goes for straight away and it's way to over crowded even more than it normally is,

I hope you guys really enjoy it!!

 

[VbChristy]

Thanks for the tips, any others?

 

[VbChristy]

Good morning- any more tips from you experts?

 

[Batesl49]

WWoHP:
Watch the Hippogriff ride to see if you can ride also.
Sit in the Owlery and people watch (theme music and look up in the rafters)
Across from the Owlery is a Ladies Bathroom(Moaning Myrtle can be heard in here)
Ollivanders is crowded but way cool
Triwizard Spirit Rally (ask park people for times)
Frog Choir (same as above)
Take the castle tour that is for non-riders of Forbidden Journey, you can take your time to see everything. Do this after your DH has ridden the ride which has a single line.
See the Weasley's car at the whomping willow on the path to the Dragon Challenge (you take this and not have to ride) he can go on and ride if he wants
Tour and eat at the Three Broomsticks, visit The Tavern next to it, go around back and sit at the tables on the patio with a great view of the river and castle. It is so worth the time to eat here.
Visit all of the stores

Other rides for your DH:
Spiderman
Hulk
Jurrasic Park water ride

Rides & things for the two of you:
High in the Sky Trolley Ride in Suess Landing
Watch the Sinbad Show (if it is still on)
Take the boats to the Hotels, very nice and relaxing (anyone can ride)

If you go to Universal Studios park (right next door to IOA):
See the Beetle Juice Review show (way fun)
The MIB (men in black) might not be too bad for you to ride)
The Horror show might be a bit much if seeing somethings make you sick (fake blood)
DH will have to ride The Mummy (single rider line), meet him in their gift shop and see the pictures of the riders in the screens
Shrek is fun and is seating so you can enjoy it as well
See the Blues Brothers
Lots of characters walking around for pics

I always go to WWoHP first, i find the crowds worse in the afternoon. If you can come back in few hours before close you will get to see WWoHP in all its glory with the lights and so on. It is not to be missed.

Ok, go and have fun. What ever you decide to do for DH's b-day will be fantastic.

Third trip to WWoHP November 28-December 7, 2012

Laurie

 

[VbChristy]

Laurie Thank you for all the great advice!

 

[Batesl49]

Your welcome.

Laurie