Where should we go first?

[dtuleya]

First timers at US/IOA. We'll be getting to RPR about 11:00 AMish. After we check-in, what should we do? We'll be there for 3 days. We'll probably need to eat since we have a very early morning flight. Will we be nuts to try and head to a park at that time of day? We do have the Meal & Movie coupons and was thinking of heading to CityWalk to get our "feet wet". If parks are doable, where should we start?

 

[PlutoLuvr]

This answer, I'm sure, will vary based on personal preference, but when we have a "short" day, we usually do IOA. However, we've been to both parks countless times and know what rides we enjoy. We always do IOA more than once, too, per vacation so we know we'll be back. One thing that factors in to this is us arriving at lunch time. The way we see it, there are two must-dos for lunch for us at IOA and only one at US.

Again, a lot of this is personal preference/priorities for your family. We have found IOA as generally the shorter of the two parks, IMO, but hubby is able to walk on the thrill rides pretty much as a single rider, and I'm able to knock our Marvel shopping out of the way.

Since you'll have a third day, I don't think you'll go wrong either way. On your third day, you'll be able to assess what you might have missed at any of the parks and use your third day for filling in or going back on anything you loved and want to go on again.

Hope you have a blast!

 

[robvia]

You can do both staying onsite. You're not nuts to visit a park after arriving. Take your time, eat lunch on the way over to the hotel, and rest once you get into your room. Many people think they need to do one park a day, but in reality, you can visit both. It's very hot out between noon and 4pm.

On your 2nd morning, you'll want to visit IOA so you can get front seat rides on Hulk and Deuling Dragons. You'll also want to head over to Pteranondon Flyers to get a ride before the kid rule goes into effect. Your magic key doesn't get you a front seat ride, so it's good to show up early one morning.

 

[bubba's mom]

On your 2nd morning, you'll want to visit IOA so you can get front seat rides on Hulk and Deuling Dragons. You'll also want to head over to Pteranondon Flyers to get a ride before the kid rule goes into effect. Your magic key doesn't get you a front seat ride, so it's good to show up early one morning.

Totally agree with this...when you stay onsite, it doesn't matter which park you do first because of your FOTL key..... heck, do both parks the first day (as someone posted "to get your feet wet") and then decide which park you want the next day at and then the next day. But, you do need to be there at opening for robvia's point quoted above!

 

[tarheelmjfan]

We plan to go to IOA on arrival day. We have a , so we can't go to either of the parks until we can get in our room. We choose IOA for arrival day for 2 reasons. Our 1st ride has to be Spidey!!! It is the best ride ever created, after all. Although, our DS says he's going to ride Hulk for the 1st time ever this trip & is really excited about it. Spidey may have to be 2nd. Also, we like having our 1st night dinner at Mythos. It really gets us into a relaxed, vacation mode. From there, we'll probably finish the evening at US watching Universal 360. Can't wait!!!

 

[DrewAlmighty]

We plan to go to IOA on arrival day. We have a , so we can't go to either of the parks until we can get in our room. We choose IOA for arrival day for 2 reasons. Our 1st ride has to be Spidey!!! It is the best ride ever created, after all. Although, our DS says he's going to ride Hulk for the 1st time ever this trip & is really excited about it. Spidey may have to be 2nd. Also, we like having our 1st night dinner at Mythos. It really gets us into a relaxed, vacation mode. From there, we'll probably finish the evening at US watching Universal 360. Can't wait!!!

Sounds like a great time. It doesn't really matter what park you do first if you have Express. I'm more of a Studios-first type of guy. I love MIB.

 

[deany]

Universal 360 must be new since 2000. What is it?

 

[bubba's mom]

Universal 360 must be new since 2000. What is it?

It is a show of a clip of classic movies projected on HUGE spheres (& a building) and the spheres are on the lake at US...lasts appx. 15 min. Here's the thread on it....http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1161209

 

[drogerstn]

When will you visit? When we visit during the summer, we like to do shows during the middle of the day. This way, we spend more time inside during the middle of the day. The "rides" don't last near as long, so we spend more time walking from attraction to attraction if doing the rides. Following this logic, I'd visit US first if I was arriving mid-day. We like to do the shorter rides/attractions in the morning and evening.

Also, we like to do the water rides in IOA late in the morning so that when we are done, we can head back to our hotel room to rest, swim, and change into dry clothes.

With Universal Express, you should be able to get all you want done and more over a 3-day period. We ended up going to the parks for a few hours at a time and going to Citywalk or back to the resort off and on each day.