touring plan for both Universal Parks

[beachboys]

We will be visiting Universal's parks on December 22nd. We have purchased the Fastpass tickets for 2 parks in 1 day. I have the UG's plans, but I need to fit 2 plans in 1 day. Which park should I do first? Anyone had sucess with this before? Thanks in advance!

 

[damo]

Do you like the bigger rides? Shows? Any motion sickness? What are the ages of the people?

You won't be able to do everything in both parks but you will be able to do the highlights.

 

[Metro West]

We will be visiting Universal's parks on December 22nd. We have purchased the Fastpass tickets for 2 parks in 1 day. I have the UG's plans, but I need to fit 2 plans in 1 day. Which park should I do first? Anyone had sucess with this before? Thanks in advance!

The fact you purchased Express Plus passes for that day was a wise choice. It shouldn't be super busy but you will see a crowd there. I don't think it matters what park you do first as there is holiday stuff at both parks...just take your pick when you arrive.

 

[beachboys]

Hi. Thanks for ya'lls responses! There are 5 of us (3 boys ages 5-9 and 2 adults, 34 and 40). The little one is the least fearful and will ride just about anything. The boys and I won't be doing Hulk, Dr. Doom or Dueling Dragons, but we are trying to get in the other headliners, but DH will do Dragons while we do Jurassic and Hulk while we do Storm Force.
Can you explain exactly how the express tickets work? And typically how long the lines are?
I think we've decided to do Studios first, and save the water rids for last at IoA. It might be chilly in the evening in December, and we have to ride back to the Poly at WDW.
Also, do you think that 30-45 minutes is a safe bet for a cab ride to and from WDW?
TIA!!!!

 

[Metro West]

Hi. Thanks for ya'lls responses! There are 5 of us (3 boys ages 5-9 and 2 adults, 34 and 40). The little one is the least fearful and will ride just about anything. The boys and I won't be doing Hulk, Dr. Doom or Dueling Dragons, but we are trying to get in the other headliners, but DH will do Dragons while we do Jurassic and Hulk while we do Storm Force.
Can you explain exactly how the express tickets work? And typically how long the lines are?
I think we've decided to do Studios first, and save the water rids for last at IoA. It might be chilly in the evening in December, and we have to ride back to the Poly at WDW.
Also, do you think that 30-45 minutes is a safe bet for a cab ride to and from WDW?
TIA!!!!

I would think 30-45 mins would be about right from the Poly to Universal but you might want to check into Mears. They are usually a bit cheaper than a cab...you would need to call 24 hours in advance to make arrangements but that shouldn't be a big deal.

The Express Plus passes are good for one ride per attraction except the P Flyers at IOA...they don't accept the EP's. With Express access during that time period, I would guess the lines would be somewhere in the 15-20 min range...maybe a little longer...it's really hard to tell.

 

[beachboys]

Thanks. Does Mears operate on a schedule or "as you need it"? I had budgeted around 25 minutes per ride, so we might be okay. We actually are not doing PF, so that ride not accepting Express is no big deal.
We have 9 hours in the parks total and we plan on eating at Monster's Cafe in US for lunch before heading to IoA. We have an ADR at Narcosses for a bday dinner at 8pm that night, so we have to head out at 6pm to have the chance to hop in the shower before jumping the monorail to GF for the reservation.
I might post the rides we have on our touring plan and I'd love any feedback.
Thanks again.

 

[macraven]

mears will charge $16 per person for the round trip from your disney hotel to the drop off for universal so that would be $80

here is a link you can put your info in to get the estimated taxi rate.

i put in mk to universal and it was $41.25 / one way.
use the locations you would start from and see if it is different.

mears runs by schedule and you reserve the night before you need them.
the concierge in your hotel lobby can do that for you.

http://www.mearstransportation.com/TaxiFareEstimator.asp


if you start at ioa, you will find more rides open at 8:30 than you would at the studio side.
and, at the studio side, some rides do not open until 10

 

[beachboys]

I did not realize that some US rides did not open when the park opens. Any idea on how I can find out which ones will be operating when the rope drops at official opening (9am)?
Thanks for the transportation info, too.
At US, we want to see or do the following - Jimmy Neutron, Shrek 4D, Mummy, Twister, Jaws, Disaster, The Simpsons, Men in Black, ET, Woddy's Coaster and Terminator 2.
Lunch at Monster's Cafe and head to IoA.
At IoA - Spiderman, Hulk/StormForce(At the same time as we only have 1 Hulk rider), Dudley's Falls, Popeye, JP River Adventure, JP Center and Camp/Dragons (again only 1 rider on Dueling Dragons), 8th Voyage of Sinbad, Poseidon's Fury, Cat in the Hat, If I Ran the Zoo and the Trolley.
It's ambitious.
Any thoughts?

 

[damo]

The rides should be operating at the official time. Some shows such as Horror Make-up show and Animal Actors show don't start until a bit later. Terminator might be a bit later too.

 

[beachboys]

I'll plan on T2 for later in the day. Thanks. Any opinions on our ability to get all of these rides done while using Express Plus? Also, are thre any other rides that we can't use EP on? What about Simpson's?

 

[Metro West]

I'll plan on T2 for later in the day. Thanks. Any opinions on our ability to get all of these rides done while using Express Plus? Also, are thre any other rides that we can't use EP on? What about Simpson's?

The only attraction where Express passes are not accepted is the P Flyers at IOA.

 

[beachboys]

I appreciate your help. This will be our 1st time at Universal, so I had several questions. Thanks for taking the time to answer them!
What do you think about our itenerary? We move pretty quick, but we want to be able to actually "see" things and not be in a momentus rush. Think we can accomplish the plan in 9 hours with Express?

 

[damo]

I would really play a lot of it by ear. Ride what you really, really want and then leave anything that seems to be iffy. The stuff will still be there when you come back!!!

Sometimes it is more fun to reride a few things that you really like than to just jump from attraction to attraction.

 

[beachboys]

If crowds are bad and time proves an issue, which rides would you opt out of? Our group is 3 boys (5,7 and 9 at time of travel) and 2 adults. I was thinking along the lines of leaving out the camp and discovery center in JP and just doing the River ride. In IoA, we might forego Terminator 2. Maybe Mummy or Disater too?
Thanks!