One day at Universal…

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Hi all,

My husband and I are both big Disney World people and we have never been to Universal. Is it crazy to just do one day at Universal when going to Disney World? A friend of mine says it could definitely be done, but I’m wondering how you all feel. Also, if I don’t buy a package and just buy theme park tickets how is the policy? Like with WDW if I just buy the tickets separate from the resort? Same with Universal?

Thank you all as always!

 

[rwdavis2]

You can buy just park tickets for Universal. I would recommend Park-to-Park tickets so you can see both parks. IMHO, Universal equals Disney in many attractions but lacks in overall theming.

Go to the Universal Orlando site and look at what's available and see if it appeals to you.

 

[Southernmiss]

We always like park to park 2 day tickets

There's a Universal Sub Forum here

https://www.disboards.com/forums/universal-studios-islands-of-adventure-forums.30/

and trip reports here

https://www.disboards.com/forums/universal-studios-trip-reports.31/

 

[CynBeth]

If you can I would stay on Universal property for a few nights. We were at Portofino before Disney in November 21 and loved it! Due to travel we only had a day and a half to spend in the 2 parks and wish we had more time. I believe with any of their resorts you get early entry but only for the premiere ones you also have the unlimited express pass. No matter what you decide get park to park tickets.

 

[Christine]

I'm not a huge fan of Universal so there's that, but I do generally go every few years. I buy a one-day Park-to-Park ticket and mainly spend time in Harry Potter but then just hit up the things I want to do. I probably couldn't truly do the WHOLE two parks in one day but I do what I want.

If you have time, it might be worthwhile to stay at one of their resorts that offer the express pass. That's all on my bucket list "one day."

 

[PollyannaMom]

Hi all,

My husband and I are both big Disney World people and we have never been to Universal. Is it crazy to just do one day at Universal when going to Disney World? A friend of mine says it could definitely be done, but I’m wondering how you all feel. Also, if I don’t buy a package and just buy theme park tickets how is the policy? Like with WDW if I just buy the tickets separate from the resort? Same with Universal?

Thank you all as always!

It's not crazy, especially if you're Harry Potter fans. - I'd do two days if you have a lot of time, but one is definitely better than none.

I agree with park-to-park tickets. (The two parks are a lot closer together than the WDW parks, so you can walk between them or take the Hogwarts Express ride.)

If left to my own devices, I'd probably spend almost the whole day in the HP sections (one in each park). The rides are great and the details are amazing!

There is a ton more besides those sections, though. Our personal favorites in "the rest" of Universal are probably:
Me - Jurassic Park river adventure (IOA side) and the Mummy (US side)
DH - the Hulk and Transformers
DS - Spiderman and ??
All of us - Velocicoaster!!

 

[RamblingMad]

I go for three days. One day isn’t enough.

 

[sam_gordon]

It's definitely doable. We did one day at Universal when we were staying at a VRBO by Disney. In order to "get the most" out of our day, we spent one night (five of us) at one of the "Premiere" Universal resort in order to get the free "Express Pass". It was definitely worth it. We did rope drop and hit 95%+ of the rides we wanted to do (and some we didn't plan on).

I will say the "motion simulator" rides started messing with my head by the end of the day.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

1 day for both parks means you're just hitting your highlights without much room for other attractions. It's doable logistically with a park-to-park but that doesn't mean it's advisable IF you're looking to actually get a feel for what USO has to offer.

I tend to see disgruntled comments from people talking about the value at USO but they only went one day. Of course a 1-day (especially adding park-to-park) is going to be very pricey but just like any other theme park out there it's hard to really get it all done in that day. You're sacrificing something. That doesn't mean that's bad, wrong, etc just means you're going to be hard pressed to really see the park in its entirety.

IMO the biggest way a 1-day park-to-park ticket at USO can be a win is if you're only concerned about HP because you can just focus on those parts of the park and with the ability to ride Hogwarts Express which connects the two parks (and requires a park-to-park ticket) you don't have to do too much moving outside of those areas of the parks (although I'd still visit just outside of Diagon Alley as there are theming to those parts). Conversely if you're only looking to do things but not HP it's possible to at least get a good amount done at both parks in 1 day. However, having Express Pass (EP) aids in this.

I agree with going to the website, take some time to explore the rides, shows, etc there. IME most that do 1 day tend to choose IOA (Islands of Adventure) due to the rides it has.

My personal advice however is to allow 2 or more days with park-to-park to give USO a fair shot. The parks are located next to each other and really don't require much effort on your part to get to the other side but depending on wait times it gives more flexibility to see a show or ride a ride and then hop back over to the other park. Also personally speaking I prefer 3 days park-to-park with a 3rd day used for repeats and taking it easy. With Epic Universe coming I'll need to add more days lol.

Don't discount shows..Bourne Stuntacular is a tech amazement and is something like 25-30mins. I'd say it's a worthy replacement for T2. Horror Make Up show neat to see. Listening to the Blues Brothers or other acts that appear engaging and fun as well.

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Thank you all! I appreciate it! Another question, if we get tickets to Mickey’s Halloween party, do you need a theme park ticket as well? I see it says party goers can enter after 4:00pm which is fine for us! Thank you again.

 

[Christine]

Thank you all! I appreciate it! Another question, if we get tickets to Mickey’s Halloween party, do you need a theme park ticket as well? I see it says party goers can enter after 4:00pm which is fine for us! Thank you again.

No you don't. Your party ticket is your entrance.

 

[holden]

This is just my opinion...
One day at Universal (with access to both parks) is all I need. Most of the rides are simulators, which I don't care for. The Harry Potter stuff is amazing! I'd spend most of my time there. It is split between the parks, so you definitely need access to both parks.

We stayed two nights at the Hard Rock to get the free Express Passes. That was worth it. I wouldn't go without the Express Pass, but it's pricey so staying there made sense for my family of 4.

We did two days in the parks. I felt it was overkill. My kids still like Disney better, but had fun. They haven't asked to go back to Universal.

 

[Skippyboo]

When are you planning to go to Universal? Come September, Halloween Horror Nights will be starting up for most nights ( not on Mondays & Tuesdays) . The Studios side closes at 5 pm on HHN nights.

 

[fly girl]

If it were me, this is what I would do.

1. Spend a day and half. Get both park pass, you need it for the train!
2. Have a 1 night stay at Royal Pacific, Hard Rock, or Portofino. Express Pass is 100% worth it!
3. Check in to hotel early. You will get Express Pass then, for not only that day but the next. Enjoy that perk!
4. Go early on next day to hit Hagrid's and/or Velocicoaster. Spend half day there and move back to WDW.

If you are going to MNSSHP, have that be the second half of your Universal day two. If you have Express Pass you'll be able to hit all the rides at both parks in that time.

If you are not big on HP then I think 1 day is absolutely doable. But if you want to relax and not feel rushed the overnight stay at a Deluxe for the Express Pass is the way to go.

 

[WDWJDS]

I did an excursion there from cruise a ship stop, so we were on limited time, but we love US/IOA so it was worth it to us

We purchased one day park-to-park tickets as well as Express Passes and were able to hit six rides and eat lunch, all within about a three and a half hour period. And it was a weekend during the summer

I’d say definitely take the advice of the other posters and get Express Passes in some sort of way (premium hotel stay or just purchase the passes like we did).

Worth is so subjective. I knew that we weren’t going to experience everything there, but that didn’t change its “worth” for me. We had an absolute blast trying to see just how many rides we could fit in during that short period of time. It was a hoot!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Most of the rides are simulators, which I don't care for.

So of the non-simulator rides (because I can't do many of them either) this is what I ride and my tolerance for thrill is much lower than my husband

HP rides:
Hagrid's although that was a one and done for me due to my personal level of intensity
Flight of the Hippogriff and my husband and I laugh the whole time (partially because he's so tall lol)

Non-HP rides between both parks:
Jurassic Park River Adventure
Dudley Do Right's Ripsaw Falls
Popeye and Bluto's Bilge-rat Barges
MIB
E.T.
Cat in the Hat
Suess High in the Sky
Mummy- I can do just haven't in a while and it wasn't open due to refurbishment last May when we went.

My husband can then add:
Hulk
Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket
VeliociCoaster
Dr Doom's Fearfall

Those are the non-simulator attractions we do. That's not all the non-simulator attractions available just the ones we do.

I absolutely agree that USO had a tendency to build attractions with simulators BUT that doesn't mean there aren't options without them. Storm Force for example isn't simulator but not an attraction we're personally interested in going in. For the OP this is where going to the website is going to help them.

We did two days in the parks. I felt it was overkill.

That makes me think it was more about just rides and only rides for you which no biggie but def. more than that to the parks.

Going through the nooks and crannies of Diagon Alley for instance takes some time. So does watching the shows in the HP areas and outside the parks.

We stopped for example to watch this show for a bit (screenshot of the video taken):



While it's now shuttered (and hopefully they are coming up with something else) there was the nighttime water, light, firework show over on the Studios side. HP has a nighttime castle show. We aren't parade people but they did have one going on (I think that one was shuttered though).

Going with EP is going to mean that you're probably getting through the attractions fast but that should allow for time to soak in the rest of the parks and even after going to USO enough I still find things to do and I know I'm missing things as well. One thing to note is that USO is in the process of replacing attractions over by E.T. and Lost Continent is finally closing so Poseidon's Fury walk through attraction (which has lights, projections and minor fire stuff but is not a simulator) is closing as well. But new things will be coming

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

Thank you all for your replies! I would like to experience a Universal resort in the future!