One day at Universal?

bsmartin2000

Active Member
Will be staying at Pop but would like to take a day and go to Universal. We have never gone to Universal. We don't drive so what would be the best way to get there? Will one day be enough to see Universal?
 

nickys

Premium Member
Will be staying at Pop but would like to take a day and go to Universal. We have never gone to Universal. We don't drive so what would be the best way to get there? Will one day be enough to see Universal?

What do you want to do there?

If you want to ride a lot of the headliners, I would look into getting a front of line pass.

None of us are big coaster fans, we tend to walk under some of them saying “they must be mad”!

Last time we did one day but just went to ET and then Harry Potter, starting at Diagon Alley and then over to Hogsmeade - since we’d seen Hogsmeade the previous trip. That was over New Year, so big crowds, but we managed to fill up 5-6 hours or so. We did walk around IOA but had no plans to ride anything else.

We drove over, but in your case I would just Uber it. Get there early and go to whichever park doesn’t have early entry for their hotel guests p. Be aware you must have park to park tickets if you want to ride the Hogwarts Express. But with only one day, unless you have a front of line pass, or just want to focus on HP, I would maybe do just one park.
 
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Nottamus

Well-Known Member
Yes, for one day get the Express Pass thing...allows you to almost walk on every ride you want to.

We did two days our first time there and found the second day we mostly repeated what we liked the first day.

That being said, we are going back again for 2 days next year.

Uber, as stated above is probably the best way. We drive in so really not that far..
 
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JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
You dont have to take 2 days but you will be avoiding a lot of what Uni has to offer. Whenever weve visited Uni weve taken the 2 days to do everything. It does have a very different feel and atmosphere compared to the Disney parks, so we usually fit it in mid way in our trip. I think our last time taking an Uber took about 30 minutes driving time.
 
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SaltyD

Active Member
You definitely will want a Park-to-Park pass so you can ride the Hogwarts Express. If you're planning just one day, as mentioned by everyone else, definitely do the Express Pass so you can do more rides rather than waiting in longer lines.

Uber is probably your best way to get there and back for a day.
 
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The Pho

Well-Known Member
If you get the express pass, you can essentially do everything in both parks in one day. You should have time to also reride your favorite things a few times, depending on your travel speed between stuff and the order you hit them. If rides aren’t your main interest, than you should be fine without the express pass. This could of course change depending on the day you’re going, due to whether or a breakdown or extra busy crowds. A quick taxi/Uber gets you there easy.
 
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Gaston's gal

Well-Known Member
I agree with getting Express Pass and getting Park to Park tickets if you want to ride Hogwarts Express. I will also add that if you get motion sickness easily--beware! Since Uni has quite a few simulated rides, I can't ride a lot because of motion sickness issues. Otherwise, enjoy Universal Orlando!
 
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Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
I'd suggest an Uber/Lyft to Universal.

As far as doing it in one day, you can hit the highlights but you'll have to skip out on some things (e.g., there probably won't be time for the live shows, Seuss land, the entertainment and shops in Diagon Alley/Hogsmeade, and a few of the "lesser" rides) - and as others said, you're going to need Express Passes to maximize your efficiency. To get you started, here's a good touring plan (you'd have to add in the new Hagrid ride, as desired): https://orlandoinformer.com/universal/studios-islands-adventure-1-day-touring-plan/

(Honestly, if it were me, I'd add a day to my vacation, spend 2 days at Universal - which is enough to see everything you want at a more enjoyable pace - and spend the night in between at a Universal "premium" onsite hotel. The cost of the hotel will probably be less than a single day's worth of the Express Pass ticket upgrade for the family, and would entitle everyone in the room to unlimited express passes the entire day of check-in and check-out, so you wouldn't have to purchase it separately. (Unlimited Express Pass for everyone in the room is an amenity offered by Universal's 3 premium onsite hotels - the Hard Rock Hotel, Portofino Bay and Royal Pacific Resort. For my family of 4, that's well over a $400/day value -- less than the cost of the hotel room itself!) But you may not want to spend that much time, and unpacking/repacking to switch hotels is always a hassle...
 
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