My Universal in a Day Post

[5thGenTexan]

Is Universal doable in 1 day with 2 parks?

We want to definitely do the Harry Potter stuff.
I think we are interested in the Jurassic Park River Adventure and the Minions ride. Absolutely no interest in the big coasters. Everyone is too old for Dr Suess stuff.

Can we easily get the Harry Potter areas taken care of and maybe a few other rides in one day?

Toying with the idea of staying at a Universal hotel one night so we can get in on the early entry. Not sure if its worth it.

We are otherwise staying at POR-FQ June 10 - 18.

 

[Figgy1]

Can it be done, yes. That said even skipping the "big' coasters imho 2 days would be better. if you can do Everest you can do Mummy and you should! Just be warned if you have Potterheads in your family you can spend an entire day checking out all the details and catching all the Potter shows which imho are well worth catching. That said if you're only going to do one day do it at the beginning of your trip so you'll be done before the schools in the NY metro area let out and yes one night on property will get you early entry on both check in and check out days. UNI hotels are cheaper than Disney hotels so you'll also save money by staying there

 

[Rush]

Universal hotels are great value! Even the premier tier which is the most expensive offers Unlimited Express Pass to everyone in the room. Now, you can certainly have a fantastic single day in UOR. Just be aware that you'll be missing out on a lot of what the resort has to offer.

Here's the experiences I would prioritize in each park:

USF:
- Explore Diagon Alley
- Harry Potter and The Escape from Gringotts
- Go on Olivanders
- Watch a show (The Bourne Stuntacular or Universal Orlando's Horror Makeup Show)
- Take the Hogwarts Express to park hop.

IoA:
- Explore Hogsmeade
- Ride Harry Potter and The Forbidden Journey
- Dine at The Three Broomsticks
- The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man
- Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure
- Watch the Nighttime Lights at Hogwarts



That's already a VERY tight schedule, but if you end up staying at a premier hotel and had the time to squeeze in a couple rides, go on Revenge of The Mummy and/or Men in Black: Alien Attack. I would suggest missing out on Minion Mayhem as it's gone down in quality when they removed it's 3D.

 

[5thGenTexan]

Can it be done, yes. That said even skipping the "big' coasters imho 2 days would be better. if you can do Everest you can do Mummy and you should! Just be warned if you have Potterheads in your family you can spend an entire day checking out all the details and catching all the Potter shows which imho are well worth catching. That said if you're only going to do one day do it at the beginning of your trip so you'll be done before the schools in the NY metro area let out and yes one night on property will get you early entry on both check in and check out days. UNI hotels are cheaper than Disney hotels so you'll also save money by staying there

I already have my park reservations set with dining reservations for the Disney side. Not going to go through the hassle of switching all that around. Disney parks are more important to me than the Universal day. IF we were to stay one night at the Universal hotel it would in addtion to our room at FQ. It would just be to get the early access. So it would be an extra cost.

 

[Figgy1]

I already have my park reservations set with dining reservations for the Disney side. Not going to go through the hassle of switching all that around. Disney parks are more important to me than the Universal day. IF we were to stay one night at the Universal hotel it would in addtion to our room at FQ. It would just be to get the early access. So it would be an extra cost.

IMHO it really would be worth getting up and getting to UNI as early in the day as you could. Try and be there for rope drop emh, book 2 nights at one of the value resorts that way you have 2 park days and don't have to rush, have 2 park days and can really decide if you want to split future trips. My kids older actually enjoy their UNI days more

 

[sg1]

We did both parks in 1 day during our August 2021 Disney World trip. I think we had a successful day, although we obviously didn't get to do everything. We had 1 day Express Pass, although we only really needed it for a few things. We arrived before park entry and they (surprisingly to us) let us in early. We went straight to Mummy and rode it, then waited until official park open (9am as I recall) and went into Diagon Alley. We rode Gringotts immediately, then did the Ollivander's show, got some butterbeer, and explored Diagon Alley a bit. We then left Diagon Alley and did Men in Black and ET. Went back to Diagon Alley, rode Hogwarts Express to Hogsmeade, and got virtual queue for Hagrids. Did a little exploring around Hogsmeade but the park was getting pretty packed by that time. Had lunch at Burger Digs. Rode Hogwarts Express back to Diagon Alley, did Fast the Furious, and watched the Bourne Stuntacular while it rained/stormed. Back to IoA for dinner at Mythos, then rode Jurassic Park and Dudley's on our way out of the park.

 

[5thGenTexan]

IMHO it really would be worth getting up and getting to UNI as early in the day as you could. Try and be there for rope drop emh, book 2 nights at one of the value resorts that way you have 2 park days and don't have to rush, have 2 park days and can really decide if you want to split future trips. My kids older actually enjoy their UNI days more

I dont have two days. The Disney part is booked and paid for. I have one day, and its Thursday for Universal.

 

[Figgy1]

I dont have two days. The Disney part is booked and paid for. I have one day, and its Thursday for Universal.

Then make sure to be there at least 30 minutes before rope drop

 

[5thGenTexan]

Talked to our travel agent this weekend and if we buy our Universal tickets through her, we get the early entry perk. Something I was not clear on.

 

[5thGenTexan]

Update: I didn't get to go at all. I was up at 3 am sick. So wife and kids went and left me at POFQ for the day. It was just a 12 hour thing. Oh well.. maybe next time.

 

[andysol]

Update: I didn't get to go at all. I was up at 3 am sick. So wife and kids went and left me at POFQ for the day. It was just a 12 hour thing. Oh well.. maybe next time.

Consider it a blessing so now you can do a UOR exclusive trip. Go three nights. Do volcano bay. Do it right.

 

[5thGenTexan]

Consider it a blessing so now you can do a UOR exclusive trip. Go three nights. Do volcano bay. Do it right.

Yeah, I have been looking into that At least stay at one for a couple of days and a few days at Disney, My wife said they got all the Harry Potter stuff done as well as some other attractions and they were done by 4 or 5. I think a full 2 days would do it.