Universal vs. IOA

[3reds]

Total newbie needs help! We'll go to both parks, but where should we plan to spend the most time? My son is 14 and loves rides of all kinds.
I checked out the official website and made a list of things he would probably like to do and here's how it came out:
Universal: Back to the Future, Men in Black, T-2, Earthquake, Twister, Jaws, ET, plus the movie stuff like the makeup show (he loves movie-making).
At IOA all I really saw was Spiderman, Jurassic Park & Dueling Dragons. (I don't think we want to do the raft rides where you get soaked).
So it looks to me like there's a lot more to do at Universal than at IOA -- but please correct me if I'm wrong!!
We only have one day to split between the parks so I want to make the most of our time. Thanks so much!

 

[robvia]

It's the other way around. A 14 year old who loves rides will like IOA more than Universal.
The key is to arrive at IOA before the gate opens at 08:00am so you are first thru when they open.
This gives you a huge jump on the crowd and the rides are walkons (no wait). It always amazes me how people are late getting to the park. People misjudge how long it will take to get there, and the walk from the parking garage is 15 minutes.

Go clockwise starting at Hulk, Spiderman, Dr. Doom. Go back to Hulk and get an express pass for noon. Go on Rip Saw Falls (shirt gets wet), JPRA, DD. When you get back to the front of the park, go on Hulk one more time using your express pass and Dr. Doom using single rider line.
It will be noon and the big rides will have an hour wait.
Head over to Universal. Get an express pass for ET on the way to MIB and use single rider line. The wait for Jaws can get long, but the other attractions are ok because they hold so many people.

Go back to IOA at night as the tired are leaving and try to get more rides on the coasters.

 

[EUROPA]

Don't forget Poseidon's Furry and the Sinbad Show at IOA both are great.

Plus the Beetlejuice Grave yard Review at the Studios.

 

[dcookies]

And I think you should try to do the Gruesome, Gory Makeup Show! My boys loved it!

 

[3reds]

Thanks, everyone.
Wow, dcookies, you're going in 6 days!!! I'll bet you're excited!
Have a great time.

 

[pegasusEH]

We love both parks but probably spend more time in IOA than Universal.

As for the water rides - don't worry about getting wet, it's just what you need on a hot day - you soon dry out and if you are a little chicken you can always wear a poncho - they are great rides and shouldn't be missed.

 

[jabrown40]

My 14 and 16 yr olds love the Hulk coaster the best. None of us thought Twister was all that great. Definitely see Spiderman and T2. Back to the Future is also good. None of us cared for MIB, but most others on the boards do. The day we were there, the wait was 75 minutes at MIB, thankfully we had FOTL status because we stayed at the HR hotel. We all agreed that waiting 75 minutes would have been a waste of time. Also, dueling dragons roller coasters were a big hit. We were just there this past weekend, and the waits (except for MIB) were less than 15 min at Universal Studios.