Surprised w/tickets to Universal. Help!

[Rosanne]

Okay, we are leaving for Disney tomorrow afternoon and my sister just surprised us by letting us know she bought us each a day's ticket for Universal Studios and a separate day of tickets to Islands of Adventure. (I found out about 10 minutes ago. It is me and DDs 11 and 5. This is super exciting to us as my girls have never been and I haven't been since 1993. I don't think they even had IofA back then.

We are driving down in our own car.

So... I would love to search the boards and but I am just starting my packing and cleaning house after a long run at school (teacher). So... please forgive me for asking a few questions that have no doubt been asked and answered before.

We only have half of Monday and all of Tuesday, Wed and Thursday. We could squeeze in a few hours on Friday morning in the Epcot area since we are staying at S/D. We have 5 day PH for Disney and now two tickets each for the Universal park. We are skipping AK and hitting Epcot MK and DHS.

We have been to Disney many times and loooove it. Suddenly I feel excited but nervous because I don't know anything about the Universal parks.


So... my questions are...

1. If we tried to hit both Universal parks in one day and just catch some highlights, I'm guessing I'd have to pay to park at each park. $28?


2. We could try to do one of the parks on a Tues, Wed or Thurs and the other Friday morning on our way out for just a half day. I'm leaning towards this.

3. So, if I hit one park each on two different mornings with girls 5 and 11
what should we prioritize seeing on this visit? We won't have the special FP for staying at a Universal Resort. Neither of the girls have seen anything about HP but I'd like to at least walk through the area.



Thanks so much. It's such a weird, yet exciting feeling to have no clue about what to do. Such a sweet surprise. I know we won't have time to get a lot done but it will give us an idea if we want to return to Universal in the future. Basically, I'm thinking

Monday night... Epcot
Tuesday... MK
Wednesday... Universal Studios
Thursday Epcot a.m. DHS p.m.
Friday morning. IoA

Sorry so long. I appreciate any thoughts.

 

[damo]

Okay, we are leaving for Disney tomorrow afternoon and my sister just surprised us by letting us know she bought us each a day's ticket for Universal Studios and a separate day of tickets to Islands of Adventure. (I found out about 10 minutes ago. It is me and DDs 11 and 5. This is super exciting to us as my girls have never been and I haven't been since 1993. I don't think they even had IofA back then.

We are driving down in our own car.

So... I would love to search the boards and but I am just starting my packing and cleaning house after a long run at school (teacher). So... please forgive me for asking a few questions that have no doubt been asked and answered before.

We only have half of Monday and all of Tuesday, Wed and Thursday. We could squeeze in a few hours on Friday morning in the Epcot area since we are staying at S/D. We have 5 day PH for Disney and now two tickets each for the Universal park. We are skipping AK and hitting Epcot MK and DHS.

We have been to Disney many times and loooove it. Suddenly I feel excited but nervous because I don't know anything about the Universal parks.


So... my questions are...

1. If we tried to hit both Universal parks in one day and just catch some highlights, I'm guessing I'd have to pay to park at each park. $28?
There is only one parking garage. The parks are right beside each other, so you wouldn't be moving the vehicle. Take a look at the map on www.universalorlando.com to get a better idea of how close they are.


2. We could try to do one of the parks on a Tues, Wed or Thurs and the other Friday morning on our way out for just a half day. I'm leaning towards this.
That sounds good. Monday is probably the busiest day. Tuesday would be best.

3. So, if I hit one park each on two different mornings with girls 5 and 11
what should we prioritize seeing on this visit? We won't have the special FP for staying at a Universal Resort. Neither of the girls have seen anything about HP but I'd like to at least walk through the area.
Get to the park early. It will open at least 15 minutes before advertised time. You want to be in the parking garage at least 30 minutes before you expect to be at the gate---so give yourself 45 minutes for parking and getting to the gate and another 30 minutes if you are travelling from Disney. If the crowds are crazy, you may want to leave Wizarding World until the evening. It is really magical at night.



Thanks so much. It's such a weird, yet exciting feeling to have no clue about what to do. Such a sweet surprise. I know we won't have time to get a lot done but it will give us an idea if we want to return to Universal in the future. Basically, I'm thinking

Monday night... Epcot
Tuesday... MK
Wednesday... Universal Studios
Thursday Epcot a.m. DHS p.m.
Friday morning. IoA

Sorry so long. I appreciate any thoughts.

Remember, that you can always upgrade your tickets to a two day/two park, so you can flip between the parks during the day. The parks are less than a five minute walk from each other.

 

[JenSinMA]

I haven't been there yet myself, but I can answer #1. You park once (and pay once, $15 I think) no matter where you go at Universal for the day. The parking garages are central to the 2 parks and Citywalk dining & shopping area. If you wanted to do both parks in one day, you'd park in the morning, walk through Citywalk to the first park of your choice, and when you're done there, exit that park and walk back through Citywalk to the other park for the remainder of your day.

Having said that, I don't recommend trying to do both in one day next week without Express Passes, as it will be very busy with long lines. I like your idea of breaking it up with a full day Weds and half day Friday. Even if you want to just walk through the Wizarding World of Harry Potter to see the area, do that first thing or in the last 2 hours before park closing. From my research I've gleaned that this area is very small and fills with people early making it hard to move around appreciate all the incredible details that went into it.

Have a great trip!!

 

[Planogirl]

You could visit a Universal park and then if you have the stamina, go to a Disney park on the same day. We often do this. We might go to the Studios in the morning and then to Epcot that evening.

 

[christophfam]

I might spend your full day at IOA and the 1/2 day at the Studios. We seem to spend more time at IOA, but that just might be us. You'd have to do it this way if you want to hit WWOHP at night which is truly magical.

IOA Tips-

IOA has two body drenching rides so bring a change of clothes if you plan to do those.

Make sure to stop at camp Jurassic and let your girls run around in the caves. My kids adored that area for many, many years.

A nice afternoon break would be a delicious lunch at Mythos.

Make sure to try the frozen butterbeer at the Hogs Head - another nice place to take a break.

Even if you decide not to ride FJ, do the castle tour. It is really fun to walk through and look at. --- and if you have time, get the first HP book for your oldest to read on the way down! They are great books!!

 

[Rosanne]

Thanks so much for all the answers! You have all been so helpful . We'll pick up some brochures from the Florida welcome center to get the kids revved up.