Universal - one day with front of line or two mornings in August?

[lizzywoods]

We are going to LA in August and have 2 free days to fit in Universal Studios, either Sunday 11th August or Monday 12th August 2013.

I am wondering whther to do a one day with front of line passes so we can get it all done in a day.

Or would it be better, in view of the heat, to buy a two day ticket (which is not much more expensive than a one day ticket) and do two early mornings there, staying til early afternoon?

If we do do it all in a day, would it matter if we chose Sunday or Monday? I know Sundays are meant to be busier, but does this matter if we buy the front of line passes anyway?

Any advice much appreciated!

 

[helenb]

It depends how many times you want to do the rides, and how much you like running around the park.

USH is laid out in a strange way, and part of it is on top of a hill. So there is an upper lot and lower lot. The new Transformers ride, the Mummy ride and Jurassic Park are in the lower lot alllll the way at the back. The Simpsons ride and the studio tour are in the upper lot. If you want to avoid crowds you may be going up and down that hill quite a bit. There are escalators as well as stairs, but it is time-consuming and tedious.

We did FOTL/VIP passes last summer. We arrived early and hoofed it back to Transformers, only to find that area completely empty. We spent the next 45 minutes going on the rides in that area multiple times. Then we went up and used our passes to get on Simpsons, then did the Studio tour and the Shrek movie (both with the passes). By then it was lunchtime. After lunch we did the other attractions with the pass, including re-riding the now-crowded rides in the Lower Lot.

If you had 2 mornings, I'd say to run to the Lower Lot, do those rides, then come back up and line up for the Simpsons, then see what else you'd like to try.

The biggest advantage with the FOTL pass was for the shows. Instead of lining up for ages in the heat, we were able to walk up shortly before showtime and have a nice, shaded view. If you're into the shows, this alone may be worth the cost. Many of the shows don't run until about lunchtime, so if you're interested in shows, mornings are not a good time. If you're all about the rides, then mornings may be better for you.

So... I guess I'm saying I'd do the one day FOTL pass. Sigh... why couldn't I have just said that up front?

Incidentally, we spent our second day touring Hollywood, including the Warner Brothers VIP Studio tour. That one is awesome, and makes a good contrast/addition to the Universal Studio tour.