Universal Studios and Univeral Islands of Adventure

[Merman]

Family is heading down to Disney World in January. Planning to take one day to go to Universal Studios. Is it worth going to both parks in one day? How long does it take to do both parts. My son will be 21 and my daughter is 17 so no young kids ... just don't know if its worth getting tickets for both parks and if we will have time to do both parks in one day. Sorry if this question has already been asked. Thank you ... looking forward to reading your responses!

 

[kohlby]

I would not attempt both parks in one day unless you know there's a lot in both that you're willing to miss. I'd suggest looking up the attractions and seeing what they want to do. That being said, IOA was my favorite park pre-kids and it's still my favorite park even with kids. IOA easily takes us at least a day. US takes us less.

 

[damo]

If you are going in early January, it will be tough to get both parks done satifactorally. If you are going the end of January, it will be easier to get the highlights of both parks done.

 

[REL1203]

I am in a similar sitution. Planning on going to US on 12/14, renting a car and heading there from the Swan at DW, seeing all of Harry potter first, and trying to determine if if i should rent a car for a 2nd day and come back on the 15th (and then be forced to get 2 day tickets for the wife and I). I am kinda torn as what to do since I have never been to US. My wife wont ride a single Roller Coaster, and I have a feeling I am too big to ride a few of the Universal coasters (I am 6'5, 340lbs), and really just care to see some of the fun rides and just get a sense for the park.

 

[Merman]

We are staying at Port Orleans French Quarter and renting a car on property for our day at Universal. We plan on going Tuesday, January 10. I'm fortunate as we're all roller coaster enthusiasts and big Harry Potter fans! Looking forward to more comments ... keep them coming. Thanks.

 

[Badge]

Well, if you all love rollercoaster, then both parks have two rollercoasters each that are not to be missed! The Mummy is AMAZING!

I would start my day out at Universal bright and early. They open at 9AM the whole month, so I would arrive at the parking lot no latter than 8AM because it is a long walk from the parking area to Citywalk. As you come into Citywalk, Universal will be on your right. Get into the parks and hit the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit first thing! After than head over to the Mummy and ride that as well. Once the two big coasters are done, there are some more rides to still see depending on what you want to do. Men in Black is a must, Jaws is fun, Simpsons (if you like the TV show), and a few others. You would have to decide if you would want to ride stuff like ET or Shrek. I would also pass on Twister simply because of the amount of time it can take for an somewhat boring special effects experince.

No matter what you do, I would start leaving Universal around noon or 1pm at the latest. It will take about 5 minutes to walk to the other park. Once in there, ride Hulk, Spiderman, Jurrasic Park (if its not to cold) and then you will be right next to HP which has another roller coaster and of course the new HP ride which is mind blowing. So awesome!

No matter what you decide to do, you always have the option of purchasing the express passes at the park. DO NOT buy them early. Wait and see if the park is going to be busy and if so, then purchase them inside either park. These allow you to skip the lines at almost every ride in the park without having to wait for a return time like at Disney and normally without merging with any other line, its express all the way to the ride. These passes do not work on the main HP ride, the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, and a ride that you and your party would not even be able to ride because you do not have a child with you.

So should be able to see both parks main rides in one day even without the express as long as the park is not busy. Like another person said, if you are going at the start of the month, it will still be busy but if your going near the end, it should be fairly empty.

 

[Seeker615]

My daughter and I spent three full days at Universal and parked hopped between both of them on all three days. I would say we really accomplished a lot by park hopping.

Our very first afternoon there we started at Universal and took on The Mummy, Men in Black, Simpsons and did some photos with the characters.

We headed to IOA and did Spiderman and then spent a lot of time at Harry Potter. We did the single rider line and then went back and did the castle tour. We then headed out and did a few other rides and went back before closing to the Harry Potter area and rode Forbidden Journey again using the regular line.

This was all from 2pm till park closing.

If you go with a set plan of what you really want to do you should be able to accomplish a lot.

 

[DisneyLoverUSA]

If you are not going to park hop and you have to pick just ONE, go to WWOHP at Island of Adventure. We made the mistake of going to IOA first (loved it) then going to Universal two days later and when I compared the 2 parks I can say I really didn't much like Universal except for the shows. I loved IOA though, so did the kids. If you do go to Universal too try to catch the Horror Make up Show and the Beetlejuice Rock n Roll show. Both amazing and fun. Get a park map when you first go in. It gives a brief description of each ride and tells you the show times for each show. We timed it just right where we went from the Terminator show (didn't really like it) straight to the Horror Make up Show (loved it, so funny) then we left the and crossed the park and went to the Beetlejuice show. Funny and good music. They sing and dance all in costume.