Universal Stuidos

[peterbiltchic2000]

How many days does it take to do the whole park. We are two adults with no childeren so would we even enjoy it? Thanks for any help!

[NJGIRL]

We always take two days, one at each park. Others may tell you it will only take you 1/2 a day but I don't find that to be true unless you only plan on doing half the attractions.

We love Universal parks and do them each time we go to FL.

[thrillme]

Two days...one at each park is probably enough...HOWEVER...

1. If going in the summer...it may be crowded. The wait in line may be long

2. Going at another time of the year...probably no big problem

3. For the most RELAXING way to visit these parks I recommend a Universal Studios Hotel. They're rather "pricey" but that "fast pass" is awesome.. Of course this may be something that's more important in the summer (when we go) than other times of the year.

Insider tip. Keep an eye open for "street shows". These can be really cool. (dancers, comedy acts etc)

[Mfarquar]

Universal Studios can easily be done in a half a day. We have arrived on Fridays in the summer 30 mins. prior to opening and done the entire park by lunchtime. Same goes for Islands of Adventure.

I've found, regardless of the time of year, the park is fairly empty prior to 11:00AM. By 12:00PM, it's filled up. The key is getting there early. The Universal crowd is a bunch of late sleepers.

There is plenty to do for adults (The Mummy, Men in Black, Jaws, etc.). There are no serious thrill rides at Universal Studios (although there is a major rollercoaster in the works for the future). The major thrill rides (The Hulk, Dueling Dragons, etc.) are at Islands of Adventure (with the exception of Seuss Island).

Regardless of the park you choose, both have a limited number of major attractions and you can easily do everything in a day or less. If you devote a day per Universal Park, you won't feel rushed and probably enjoy it more if it's your first time.

Staying at a Universal Hotel (Royal Pacific, Hard Rock or Portofino Bay) will afford you the luxury of skipping all the lines by flashing your room key. As someone who has stayed at these hotels, I think it's worth it if you can get a good rate. Without a discount, I think these hotels are grossly overpriced for what you get(you can stay at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando for less most of the time). But, if you can get a deal, it's worth it. Watch out for package deals through the hotels though - most of the time their room and ticket packages cost more than buying the tickets separately and using a room-only discount like AAA (and you'll still get all the benefits).

[brogan54]

2 days are fine 1 day for each park. we are also 2 adults and no kids. we really enjoyed it and will go again next year. its a different experience from disney. we are looking forward to next year.

[Crow]

Im thinking of visiting Universal again. its been yrs since i was at the original and a few since IOA
i think 1 at each is more than enough. IOA has SPidey which is great, but the others can be done rather quickly i think.
IOA i will probly skip mostly.

[BriarRose]

IoA is the most Disney-like non-Disney park I have ever been to. I read somewhere that it was designed by former Imagineers. For my husband and I (who do not have children), we like IoA better than US and since our first trip in 2001, found little to do at US worth repeating than Men In Black. But with the addition of the Mummy (which is incredible!) and the Simpson's ride (which we will ride this fall) US is really getting to be worth spending more time in. I agree with the other posters that you should take two days, but get a park hopper ticket so you can bounce back and forth.

[Aurora]

We did Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios with three kids in one day. No, we didn't see everything, but we saw all the big attractions because we bought express passes which saved us tons of time on the bigger rides. When the Harry Potter land opens up I would definitely schedule two days.

We went last week and found that the Universal parks closed much earlier than the Disney parks. (Closing time at both Universal parks was 8 p.m. -- only Animal Kingdom closed this early, and with Extra Magic Hours the other Disney parks closed at midnight and later.)

[scoot241]

You should be able to see most of each park in one day. The last time I was at IoA, we got to do everything we wanted with no trouble.

I haven't ridden the Simpsons ride (which replaced Back to the Future), but it's basically the same ride with a Simpsons theme from what I read.

The Mummy ride is lots of fun, and the Hulk rollercoaster is great.

Overall there's a good amount of things to see in Universal, especially if you haven't been before.

[JRocker]

When we go to those two parks we open them up. And like a previous post stated, you can be done with a park by noon if you open it up. Seriously, done with it, all the attractions. The last time we were there we did it all in both parks and left before closing.

However, I still set aside two days for the place. We enjoy doing a lot of the attractions multiple times. The Mummy and Spiderman are two of our favorites.

Wierd though. We have been there for every trip and NEVER closed down the park. I can't remember a time when we didn't close down a Disney park.......

[Crystal]

We were just there last month & we had two kids with us (4&6) and we needed about 2 1/2 days to do EVERYTHING. We did lots of things multiple times, etc.

We are going again in Sept - just the two of us, and we are planning on having about 2 1/2 days there again.

[Sunshine1010]

My family and I are staying at one of the on-site Universal resorts and we are staying 1 week. Yep, 1 week. (March 2009)

We plan on sleeping late EVERY day, and we plan on just coming-and-going at a VERY slow pace. Enjoying the restaurants. Doing all the rides MORE than 1 time. We'll probably go to the pools a few times. Go to the Luau. We're not in a rush, and we will be the ones walking slow and looking at everything. If we get bored, we'll go to Sea World (but I doubt it). We are also going to see the Blue Man Group as well as a movie. Going to bed at a decent time too.

We'll experience everything....and we'll be able to enjoy it.

[IamBelle]

We have only been to the studios park, and we finished that in a day (we being mom, dad, me and 3 siblings) As for IOA, my friends have done that in 1 day as well.

[thrillme]

My family and I are staying at one of the on-site Universal resorts and we are staying 1 week. Yep, 1 week. (March 2009)

We plan on sleeping late EVERY day, and we plan on just coming-and-going at a VERY slow pace. Enjoying the restaurants. Doing all the rides MORE than 1 time. We'll probably go to the pools a few times. Go to the Luau. We're not in a rush, and we will be the ones walking slow and looking at everything. If we get bored, we'll go to Sea World (but I doubt it). We are also going to see the Blue Man Group as well as a movie. Going to bed at a decent time too.

We'll experience everything....and we'll be able to enjoy it.

Whoa baby...that's the way to do it. We usually only get 4 days but...They were the most "relaxing" part of the whole vacation. Since we had the key card we didn't have to rush through the parks and we got to ride things like the Mummy 9 times. We saw shows...street shows...it was very NICE. I wouldn't mind seeing Blue Man group if we had at least one extra day.

[Sunshine1010]

Thanks thrillme.....

Yeah, we are SO excited. We know that lines won't be a problem...no matter how the crowds are.

Dinners will include Mythos, Tchoup Chop, Margaritaville, Bubba Gump, The sushi place.....we can't wait.

We plan on getting the Meal Deal only 1 time to see how we like it. Then, we plan on getting the drink cup one time to see how that goes also (probably on the hottest day).

Blue Man Group is a must on our list. I've done the Luau, but we're wanting to see the Universal one. I'm sure it can't be THAT different....but it's still 'something different'.

We plan on swimming.....a lot. We plan on sleeping late.....a lot. All this will be possible because we are taking it soooooo slow.

My husband is so excited. In fact, last night...he told me that he is more excited about our Universal trip than the Disney trip. He says he knows we'll be more relaxed at the Universal trip.

[thrillme]

We just got back from Universal and had a great time. Hope ya'll do too.

My son talked me into trying out for "fear factor". I was shocked but I actually got in. My "sizeable" keester was stuffed into spandex and I climbed up the catwalk.

You really just don't realize how high up those people are when they're hanging up there. Whoo. I was able to have a "little" pride in dropping "second"...The four guys that competed with us two girls had a lot more upper body strength (that's my story ).

My evil son and evil hubby who talked me into it ran off on me when I made the "second" cut. They told me to give them a call when I was done or else they'd see me at the show. Yeah right! None of us thought I'd be up there. They got worried when I didn't call and came looking for me. You should have seen the looks on their faces when they saw me walk up to that little bar. ACK!

I guess I'm glad I did drop after all. The squid toss was very stinky. The guys that did that part of the show came back smelling quite "fragrant".

[RAIDER]

We are in the same postion as yourselves and a park can be easily done in a day ( however we have always gone off peak when the parks are at its quietest

[Jen C.]

Dh and I trveled to Universal in Jan. We stayed on property, so we didn't wait in any lines. We EASILY did both parksin 1 1/2 days. We has such a lovely time. So laid back and non rushed. It was quite enjoyable. We still talk about The Mummy ride. That was truly the best ride we've ever been on. So fun! Enjoy~

[imvicky1999]

I agree with almost everyone, 2 days to do both parks. However when we go we do 3 days. The 3rd day is spent going through both parks and doing only are favorites. This is nice if you have never been there before. If you have been there and know what you want to skip than 2 days is plenty. Plus some times you can get a special when you buy a 2 day ticket addmission you get the 3rd day free. 3 days at universal versus 1 day at Disney, we are going in Nov. to visit my father and are going to hit Universal for 3 days while we are there. Since funds are limited this trip we are just going to Universal. Hopefully in a few years we can make the trip again and hit Disney.

[JasonH]

Anytime I've ever gone to Universal, whether it was solo or with the extended fam(5 adults, which includes me also, and 2 children), we've only really needed 2 days total for both parks. Each one is doable in a day and sometimes with time to spare depending on the crowds. I've been fortunate when having gone as that the crowds are pretty low considering it's just after Thanksgiving time. So most everything had been no wait or no longer than 15 minutes wait.