USF and IOA in one day

My family will be going to DisneyWorld from this Saturday, the 26th to next Sunday, the 3rd. We'll be staying at the Wilderness Lodge. I talked my parents in to going to Universal during our trip, but they will only allow us to go for one day. We are planning to go on Tuesday, because I've read that is the best day to go.

We already bought our tickets, which are one day-two park passes. I just have a few questions:

Which park should we go to first since we have only one day?

What rides are not worth more than a 45 minute wait?

What is the best resturant at CityWalk?

How wet do you get on Jurassic Park?

Thanks in advance for your opinions, even though some of you may think these are stupid questions. I did a search on this topic though and I didn't see it.

BBll24

When there in August we never waited more than 10 minutes for anything except for some attractions at usf, although we stayed at the resort so we got front of the line passes. Didnt seem like we needed them though.

I loved Bob Marley's.

You dont get that wet on Jurasic Park.

As far as restaurants go, I'd make reservations at Emeril's Tchoup Chop at the Royal Pacific Hotel. You can drive there or take the boat from CityWalk.

It's one of a kind.

DUDE, you could so do EVERYTHING more than once in a day, and I'm talking BOTH parks. I went during President's Day Weekend, and wait times were MINIMAL...Only ride I had to wait for was The Incredible Hulk and Spiderman. But I went to Islands of Adventure on a Saturday, and went to Universal Studios on the Friday, and wait times NEVER exceded 15 minutes, Mummy will be re-rideable, but not power ride-able, as you do have to wait some, but still not a long wait, and interesting walk through. All other attractions same thing. You will be able to do more than enough in both parks in one day. As far as Jurassic Park, not MAJOR wet, at least I thought it wasn't, the ride u WILL get soaked on is Popeye's Bilge Rat Barges. AWESOME ride, but will be soaked for a LONG time, hahaha, kinda refreshing if the sun is beaming too high. Anyways, HAVE FUN!!! I have some coupons I didn't get to use for restaurants and gift shops if you want, just PM me, and hopefully I'll send em out on time.

I just returned from a 4 day vacation from USF. March 13th thru the 17th. I can safely say that if you get the universal express pass added onto your park ticket, which you can upgrade right as you walk in then you will be fine. WE did not have a long wait at all.

The longest lines when I was their were for spiderman and dueling dragons. I can also say that the Mummy is worth the wait. I rode it 35 times in 4 days and it was great everytime.

I think back to the Future is worth skipping simply because the ride has not aged well and the simulation just makes you want to puke now.

The Vanhelsing exhibit at the Monster Makeup show is also a good bet to see. You can just walk in and see those exhibits and they stay for the show.

Shreck, Jaws, MIB, T23D, Jimmy Neutron all had short lines no longer than 20 minutes.

As always with USF the first ride that everyone goes to is the Mummy. At Islands of Adventure it is Hulk or Spiderman, so plan accordingly.

Most of all have fun!!!!!

Everything is worth a 45 min wait at IoA (minus Doctor Doom's Fearfall - it's a great ride, but not fullfilling enough to wait that long in my opinion)...

Universal gets a lot more crowded than IoA mainly because of all of the kids attractions, movie stuff, and indoor rides. If the weather sucks, there is still tons to do on the Universal side.

The best thing to do, from past experience when going during peak times like spring break, is to go to IoA and first go to Spiderman and get an express pass, ride hulk (if the line isnt already long) and then go around the park counter-clockwise through the kids (Seuss) section first. Most of the crowd takes an immediate left to Hulk and Spiderman in the morning so those rides get ridiculously long lines.

By the time you make it around the park and back to Spiderman, the crowds should be more dispersed. Don't worry about hitting the exact timeframe for your express pass - you can use it any time after the beginning of your time segment. And remember, you can get a new express pass at any ride once your first one expires, even if you didnt use it yet (or maybe after the beginning time, im not sure) - this would be good to do for either Duddley or Bluto since they get long lines in warm weather. Jurassic is a people-eater so I wouldn't get an express for it - and you get misted and little drops of water on that ride most of the time so no worries about getting wet.

Personally, if I were bringing anyone who hadn't been to either park, I would do what I suggested for IoA, then go to Universal afterwards and hit as much as I could there.

A great way to end the day would be to ride Mummy - you can get in line up until the park closes but be sure not to miss it, it is a must ride. But I love the ride so much I would need two rides AT LEAST :).

Good luck!

Don't eat in Citywalk, eat at Mythos ;).

MMMmmm, I can just taste that Cedar Plank Bay of Fundy Salmon...

*** Edited 3/22/2005 12:57:50 AM UTC by Chris the Coaster Freak***

I did both parks on a Saturday in August last year. Very busy but lines weren't too bad. Got to do all that I wanted to do. Take advantage of the single rider line for Mummy.

There is one catch to the Express Pass when doing both parks in one day. They charge you a separate Express Pass fee for each park. No discount for combining the two.

Prepare to be exhausted at the end of the day.

Thanks for your suggestions, they helped me greatly. I'm sure well have a great time. :)