Universal/Islands of Adventure Questions?

Cinderella1976

New Member
Hi everyone :wave: During our next 9 day trip to the World in December I was thinking about going to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure for one of those days. My 11 yr old daughter has been begging us to take her. My questions are . . How do we get there from our resort (GF) without renting a car for the week? On previous trips we never left Disney property so I have no idea how to. Also do you guys think we can do both Universal/Islands of Adventure in one day? And do you think it is worth the money to take a 6 yr old and a 4 yr old, is there much for them to do there? Thanks in advance!
 

slappy magoo

Well-Known Member
1: you can hire a cab.
2: you can rent a car for the day. There's a Car Care Center near the MK entrance with a National/Alamo rental center, and either the Swan or Dolphin has a car rental kiosk. Guest serives at any of the resorts might be able to help you, too, maybe. Depending on the time of year and traffic, it mighy cost the same to rent a car as it would to get a cab both ways.

3: I'd give yourself at least 2 days. You can potentially burn through the highlights of both parks in 1 day, but you'd appreciate them more if you take some time. Not as well-themed as WDW parks, but better than just about anywhere else. They currently have a deal where 80 bucks gets you access for the week. If you nly want 1 day there , you can spend extra $$$ to get Express Pass Plus, giving you Fastpass-like access to each attraction with no wait-time window. Dpending on the time of week/year, the lines might not be bad enough to warrant the expense.
 
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Cinderella1976

New Member
Original Poster
Thank you for your quick response. I like the idea of the Express Pass we are going in early December so I am not really sure what the crowds will be like. I guess it looks like we will have to rent a cab. I don't think it will be worth going through the trouble or renting a car for just one day. My husband really has no desire to go to those theme parks so he might just take the little ones to the MK for the day so I can take my oldest to Universal/IOA.
 
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shoppingnut

Active Member
Thank you for your quick response. I like the idea of the Express Pass we are going in early December so I am not really sure what the crowds will be like. I guess it looks like we will have to rent a cab. I don't think it will be worth going through the trouble or renting a car for just one day. My husband really has no desire to go to those theme parks so he might just take the little ones to the MK for the day so I can take my oldest to Universal/IOA.

Early December isn't very crowded at UO and IOA. However, I do think it would be a good idea for hubby to take the little ones to MK for the day and you take the older one to UO, since there is very little for them to do and would definitely be a waste of money for them. The cost of hiring a cab will probably be the same as renting a car, gas & the $12 or so it will cost you to park at UO.
 
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eroyee

Active Member
:wave: We had Mears transportation take us there from CBR once. wasnt any problem at all. cant remember the fare, though. maybe $15 each. sorry.
 
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pacochran

Active Member
We just did UO/IOA this past November/December 1st 4days at WDW then three at Universal. We stayed on Universal property so had the express pass. But to tell you the truth you didn't need it the days we were there. Most rides were just walk on.

As to getting there I agree with the earlier post of either a cab or just renting a car, though if you rent a car you may have to pay for parking.

As to the parks and your kids, depends on how adventuresome your kids are. Univerisal Studios has more stuff I think related to younger children. One whole area (we didn't even venture into as my kids are 11 and 9), that is for little kids. I think IOA is more geared towards the older kids, though there is a section that is Dr. Suess and has rides for the younger set. If you buy the two park ticket for one day, you might want to consider one parent staying with the younger kids at Universal while the other one does IOA with the older kids. The only other thing that IOA has that the younger kids might like is that the action heroes are out at IOA for pictures like Spiderman, Wolverine, Storm, Jane Grey, and Captain America.

Have fun.
 
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peters

Member
I would go with Mears. We go to Universal for a 1 day "off Disney" adventure everytime we stay at Disney. Mears will pick you up at your resort and at Universal at the end of the day. It's unusally WAY cheaper than a cab. A cab will most likely cost you approx. 40 each way, while the Mears shuttle will cost about 12-15 a person roundtrip. You do get to pick the times also with the shuttle, so it's not like you're on their schedule. Saying that, we did have a problem with them picking us up from Universal one time... but they quickly got someone out there once we called.
As for 1 day vs. 2 days, with age of your children, I would think you could do it in 1. We always do and we're able to hit all the rides we want. Hope that helps!
 
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dandaman

Well-Known Member
Do you guys think we can do both Universal/Islands of Adventure in one day?

Universal Studios is definitely under a one-day park, if you experience all the major attractions. If you have kids, your day would be that much shorter. So, yes, I guess it would be possible to do both in a day. (Note that Toon Lagoon at IOA and KidZone at USF could be more than enough to keep your kids happy. :lol: )
 
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Cinderella1976

New Member
Original Poster
Wow! I didn't realize a cab would cost that much (I never used one - lol). How do I make arrangements with Mears? Will they pick me up at the GF? Also where do they drop you off at when you arrive at Universal?
 
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nicnic

Member
Hi, We stayed at DTD last year and our guest services was able to book mears shuttle for about $15 per person return. You give them the time you want picked up ( booking a few days in advance helps) then when at the park you call mears 2 hours before you want picked up, We did this for both US/IOA and Sea World and will be doing it again this year as we are onsite and do not drive. As for the kids, it depends on how they fair with big rides. Hulk is great but my 4yo will not go on, she just about goes on Spiderman and that is great too, she loves the kiddie area in IOA (seuss landing?!), she found more to do at that park than the actual studios, but Barney was at the studios so we had to do both parks. Hope it helps and enjoy.
 
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nicnic

Member
they will pick you up at GF and drop you off at the main drop off area, then you go up the stairs, along the walkway and decide if you want to go straight on to IOA or right to the studios. they will pick you up from the same drop off and take you back to GF, you may have to share the shuttle with other hotels.
 
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shoppingnut

Active Member
If the entire family is going you might want to look into using Quicksilver as it might be cheaper, because the price is roundtrip no matter how many you have in the car, not priced per head. The price is $70 rt and if five of you were going, the price for Mears would be much more. They are a sponsor of this board and I know folks that have used them and been quite happy.
http://www.quicksilver-tours.com/ratesquotes.asp
 
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