Which park first

[MinnieAnnQC]

We will be staying at HRH for 2 nights in February after a Disney cruise. We will be arriving at the hotel on Saturday morning around 11am. We will leave right after for parks. Which park should we go first : Universal or Island of Adventure ? Which one takes the most time to visit ? We have 2 children 11 and 8 and we like roller coasters and big rides but my daughter is only 50inches so she can't go on some of the rides. What should we do first to make sure that we do the most in 2 days.

Thanks

 

[Kellydelly]

I would start with IOA. Your daughter is tall enough to ride many things there (my tallest kid is about 45 inches tall and she rode a lot at that park !). It's not a very big park and you can work your way around it pretty quickly and then head over to US for a few hours to finish up your day. That's what we do, anyway. I would start the second day at US and finish what you didn't ride there (which you actually will probably ride most everything the first day, unless you are going on the weekend or during a peak time and it's crowded) and then head back to IOA for more fun.

 

[bubba's mom]

i agree.....IOA is more "outdoor" and for a nice day, whereas US has more "indoor" queues and shows and such. i think it takes longer to go thru US than IOA

 

[Stinasmom]

The two parks are really quite different. We did US before IOA and I think I prefered this. It is along the same lines of going to Epcot before Magic Kingdom so as to work up in excitement level. (although, I like Epcot more than MK, personally!) We did go back a third day to pick up some extra things at both parks.
US is lower key--- the attractions are more just that... attractions and shows, not so much "rides." But the super coasters and rides at IOA are something else! Plus the decor and theming at IOA is better, US might seem a disappointment after seeing it. JMHO!

 

[t-and-a]

The two parks are really quite different. We did US before IOA and I think I prefered this. It is along the same lines of going to Epcot before Magic Kingdom so as to work up in excitement level. (although, I like Epcot more than MK, personally!) We did go back a third day to pick up some extra things at both parks.
US is lower key--- the attractions are more just that... attractions and shows, not so much "rides." But the super coasters and rides at IOA are something else! Plus the decor and theming at IOA is better, US might seem a disappointment after seeing it. JMHO!

I'm with Stinasmom on this one! It could be a "WOW" factor type of thing. I love both parks, but yes, IOA is such a COOL park, that US, may not be "all that" after visiting IOA first. I'm not saying that IOA is really better than US, but a different experience that might be best saved for last.

 

[dr&momto2boys]

I agree with the last two posts. Save IOA for last. Last time we went we went to IOA first and the whole time we were at US I was just comparing the two and wanted to hurry up and get back to IOA! Both are great but IOA is just cooler, IMO. Especially since the kids like roller coasters.

 

[robvia]

This thread has come up before, seems we have many people doing the Disney cruise then checking into an onsite hotel. It's not going to matter that much. February is a great time to visit because crowds are light. You'll have the FOTL magic keys. You can do both parks each day. People get brainwashed into thinking they will do 1 park a day, but that's not ture. You do one park in the morning, go back to the hotel to rest, then do another in the afternoon. The only thing you need to be aware of, is that the parks will close at 6pm. So you go in the morning from 9am to noon, rest for a couple hours, then tour another park from 3pm to 6pm. After that you eat dinner at Margaritaville or The Kitchen at HRH.

I'd actually recommend USF on your first day because it's closest to the HRH, only a 5 minute walk. The entire family can go on The Mummy, MIB, and ET.

You want to visit IOA first thing in the morning so you can get front seat rides on Hulk and Dueling Dragons. So even with the magic keys, there is an advantage to arriving the gate at 08:15am. You could visit USF for a few hours, then walk over to IOA and go on a few rides. You could even do the water rides, get soaked, then go back to your room.

 

[kirbsam]

i kind of like the idea of doing ioa on the warmest day. that kind of sounds like the wet park to me. if you are going in winter months, that makes sense.