Universal or Island of Adventure

[crim1978]

Ladies and Gentlemen - Your advice please.

If you only had one day to spend at a Universal park, would you go Universal or IOA.

Or as an alternative are the two good enough not to miss and to drop a shopping day or a rest day for.

Your advise is, as ever, appreicated greatly.

Crim

 

[fizz13]

Hi there! Do you have kids in your party and how old are they? the reason I ask is because of all the height restrictions at IOA. If they are under 48"(at the min.) then you may want to think about Universal Studios instead.

If everyone is of a suitable height, then my next question would be: what are you looking for, thrill rides or shows/ ride experiences? These parks are quite different in what they try to achieve so you may want to think about what appeals to you.

For me, I prefer Universal Studios. There is more of a variety of things to do, shows, theme rides, simulators, street entertainers etc. At IOA, there seems to be a line for everything (although this can be got around with express pass) and you are trying to get from one ride to the next to get around, The rides are first class though. I have never seen anything like Spiderman before, Hulk rollercoaster is astounding and you will get thoroughly soaked at Toon Lagoon.

My suggestion is: if everyone is tall enough and rides are your thing, go for IOA. if you want a more relaxed varied day, go for the Studios.

Hope this helps and sorry about the rambling,
Claire xx

 

[disneyholic family]

you can do both in one day...(but we hate both of them so that might explain it)..

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

I would drop a day at WDW to get another day at US

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Both parks are great, and forget the myth about them not being suitable for children - just not true.

The real advantage of both parks is they are right next door to each other , so you can just walk quickly from one to the other.
They are totally different, imagine US as similar to MGM Studios only much better, attractions such as Shrek (different class from any Disney 3d show) are not to be missed.

My little lad loves Woody Woodpeckers coaster, Jaws , ET plus Barney's playground.

IOA is mainly suitable for coaster lovers but there are other not to be missed rides, Spiderman/Popeye's barges/Jurassic Park being possibly the best...there are children's attractions too although I try to miss out Cat In The Hat which our son loves, because it makes me and my wife feel ill!!

The only Disney park that can beat them is Magic Kingdom, in my opinion anyway - we all have our preferences.

Either way they are worth a try.

 

[Madjock]

Personally, we’re happy to miss both these parks but if we were going to visit one for us it would be IOA. It has more of a mixture of thrill rides for me and tamer rides for the rest of the family!

As said, they are both quite different but if you read up about the attractions at both parks you might get a good idea of which one would appeal to you more.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Also,
for the little 'uns they have meet and greets with Spiderman, Dora the Explorer, Scooby Doo and Shaggy and the latest is Alex and the Penguines from Madagascar

 

[Lisash]

Mmm that's a hard question. IOA has some fantastic rides Spiderman is unmissable you'll never have ridden anything like it & pop across to the store opposite to meet him personally if you get a chance. I took DS early one morning while DH & DD rode Hulk. He was amazing. He was Spiderman!... no really... he talked to DS for ages about his crime fighting adventures who was mesmerised. My family also love Hulk and Duelling Dragons. The Bilge Barges and Ripsaw falls are great fun but you will get SOAKED. I couldn't have been any wetter if I'd have jumped out of the boat and into the rapids. So just mind your cameras etc are well protected. Universal has a nice slightly quieter atmosphere again Shrek & The Mummy are unmissable. Men in Black is worth it for the queue (which runs through MIB HQ) if nothing else and Jaws is a classic 'oldie'. I'd probably drop a shopping day and do both

 

[JohnnySharp2]

. I couldn't have been any wetter if I'd have jumped out of the boat and into the rapids.

Very true, in fact thats exactly what I said in August , and my little lad and I went on it 3 times in succession - still love the ride though.

 

[pixiepower1971]

I would drop a shopping day and go to both parks. I always have a great time there. So do my kids. You should be able to do each park and be done by late afternoon and still have the rest of the day for shopping.
Cindy

 

[Shooby doo]

I'd drop a shopping day,of the 2 depending on time of year,IOA takes less time than US so you could possibly go shopping after.You don't mention if you have visited them both before? US is our fave but there are a couple of rides that are unmissable at IOA-well most of the biggies actually! Hulk,Spiderman,Dudley's,Popeye,Jurassic,DD,Posiedon,.......
HTH SD aw:

 

[burt]

Also,
for the little 'uns they have meet and greets with Spiderman, Dora the Explorer, Scooby Doo and Shaggy and the latest is Alex and the Penguines from Madagascar

Is this universal studios or IOA - Our DS12 loves scooby doo and as this will be our first visit we didnt realise there was anything to do with Scooby he will be over the moon

 

[Soprano]

IOA has the edge for me, but I really think you should do both as they are both GREAT! Get there early then some shopping in the evening. I'd skip Animal Kingdom and EPCOT for the Universal parks.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi Burt - me again.

There are no Scooby Doo rides at US or IOA , however, you do see the characters - they normally hang out near the Woody Woodpecker store at US - that's where we usually see them anyway.
And you can buy merchandise etc from the stores.

 

[Aceman88888]

Why not go a day to each park, get there early and do shopping afterwards. Even Mall at Millenia is only 5 mins or so drive away and Belz is virtually next door!....That's what we did and it was great despite getting strange looks for trampling about soaking through Belz as our last ride had been Popeye!!!!!

 

[emmaness]

*waves* Popping into the DIS UK forums for the first time in ages!

That would be a really hard decision for me. If it is at all possible I would spend two days there, as each of the parks easily merits a full day - imo at least. Even though other people have said IoA is for thrillseekers only, I personally think that everyone would enjoy it - there are plenty of tamer rides and besides, the theming is just fantastic in the Islands, especially Seuss Landing.

If it came right down to it, I personally would go with IoA, simply because I am a coaster addict AND it has the gorgeous theming!

 

[Red-Snapper]

See both if you can - they are both a good day out - we usually get a 2 day hopper and get there early the 2nd day, ride the best bits again and then go into the 2nd park after that.

 

[juliebro]

I would definitely have a day at each (and I love shopping!)- and have to agree with a previous poster - we would choose them over EPCOT & Animal Kingdom. We love the theming, the thrills, restaurants, etc etc etc

Julie

 

[Mrs Dazzle]

As a "serious" shopper, I wouldn't think twice about dropping a shopping day and going to both Universal Parks. Maybe that's because they are our favourite, but we'd prefer Universal over Disney any day ( running for cover now).

There's just so much to do and look at in both parks - especially so if it's your first time.

You can do IOA in half a day, but you'd need to know what rides you want to go and see what the lines are like first.

Universal rocks

 

[crim1978]

Thanks for all the advise.

Our party is mixed, myself and DW are 27 and 25.
Then DS 38 and BIL 40 plus three kids 12, 9, 7.
Then Mum and DAD 61 and 64.

So I'm thinking we will all probably do US and maybe DW and I (more thrill seekers) will do IOA on our own why the rest do a repeat of one of the disney parks (probably MK for the kids).