Best day of week to do Universal

[BalooLibLady]

WE are planning a trip to Disney August 11 to 19, 2015. Staying at Shades of Green. Plan to rent a car for one day to go to Universal. Will do both parks in one day. Really concentrating on the HP attractions. What might be the best day to go? Don't want to buy the express pass as it it way too expensive.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. And which park should we start in?

 

[damo]

I would push it as far into August as possible to hope people go home, lol. Avoid Fridays, Saturdays and Mondays.

 

[CPanther95]

According to this:
https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/august-2015/#calendar

the 15th would be your best bet - but I'll say what everyone else is going to say ....trying to do both parks, especially without front of the line access is going to be rough. You'll just get to skim the highlights.

But I'd try to go later in your trip. The last Disney trip we went on with a day scheduled for Universal was many years ago and we made the mistake of hitting Universal early in the trip. Every day at Disney we were kicking ourselves for not having more time at Universal. The next year we went a week at Universal with 1 day at MK and MGM (just for Tower of Terror). We've gone about 8 or 9 years since then and haven't set foot back in WDW. If you ever stay on site and get the front of the line access, it'll ruin Disney forever - so be warned.

 

[CAL2]

we always go on a Wednesday. Our last trip was in May 2011, and even with a lot of rides being walk on's we still wouldn't have been able to do both parks in one day.
Cal

 

[RMulieri]

We have been in both August and Jan ( including this last week) and we found Wed to be the least of the crowds...HOWEVER>>>>>> The HP areas were still the MOST crowded, longest waits in the parks .

 

[Schmeck]

According to this:
https://www.undercovertourist.com/orlando/crowd-calendar/august-2015/#calendar

the 15th would be your best bet - but I'll say what everyone else is going to say ....trying to do both parks, especially without front of the line access is going to be rough. You'll just get to skim the highlights.

But I'd try to go later in your trip. The last Disney trip we went on with a day scheduled for Universal was many years ago and we made the mistake of hitting Universal early in the trip. Every day at Disney we were kicking ourselves for not having more time at Universal. The next year we went a week at Universal with 1 day at MK and MGM (just for Tower of Terror). We've gone about 8 or 9 years since then and haven't set foot back in WDW. If you ever stay on site and get the front of the line access, it'll ruin Disney forever - so be warned.

But what do you do for the rest of your trip? Or do you go for just a couple of days? IOA takes us half a day, but thinking with the new HP stuff at US it will be a full day and then maybe another half day for US. Since we have to buy a park-to-park ticket we'll be doing at least one full day. We can spend 5 days doing everything once at WDW, but haven't been able to find enough to do at IOA for a whole day, nevermind for the commitment to stay onsite, or pay for an access pass. Do people really spend more than 2 days at Universal? What do you do?

 

[schumigirl]

But what do you do for the rest of your trip? Or do you go for just a couple of days? IOA takes us half a day, but thinking with the new HP stuff at US it will be a full day and then maybe another half day for US. Since we have to buy a park-to-park ticket we'll be doing at least one full day. We can spend 5 days doing everything once at WDW, but haven't been able to find enough to do at IOA for a whole day, nevermind for the commitment to stay onsite, or pay for an access pass. Do people really spend more than 2 days at Universal? What do you do?

Of course people spend more than 2 days at Universal. But I think you know that already.

If I remember your previous posts correctly you are bored by Universal and it's trashy six flags appearance. So maybe you don't quite appreciate how much some people enjoy it there.


OP......have alook at the universalorlando.com website and see what attractions your family will enjoy most and plan around them with regards to which park first. They're both amazing and I'm sure you'll be blown away by both HP areas

 

[RMulieri]

But what do you do for the rest of your trip? Or do you go for just a couple of days? IOA takes us half a day, but thinking with the new HP stuff at US it will be a full day and then maybe another half day for US. Since we have to buy a park-to-park ticket we'll be doing at least one full day. We can spend 5 days doing everything once at WDW, but haven't been able to find enough to do at IOA for a whole day, nevermind for the commitment to stay onsite, or pay for an access pass. Do people really spend more than 2 days at Universal? What do you do?

We just spent 5 days onsite, 4 full park days..We STILL did not get to everything..We spent plenty of time at the pool and evenings at citywalk just dining and relaxing.We did parks from open till about 1pm and then headed back to enjoy downtime, kind of like what we did at Disney when it was only MK and EPCOT

 

[EvilQueenLiz]

Do people really spend more than 2 days at Universal? What do you do?

April will be our third trip to Universal. In 2013 we went for two days, 2014 we did three days and in April we'll be doing 4 days and staying on site at Hard Rock Hotel. I feel that between the rides, shows, Citywalk and the hotel amenities we'll have more than enough to fill our 4 days. Maybe next time we'll have to add another day or two on.

That being said, OP I would do midweek. Plan to get there at opening and head straight to WWHP. Have fun!

 

[BalooLibLady]

Thanks for all the advice. I should clarify. We have been to Universal before. We went for a day in 2003 and did both parks. Then we went in 2012, without my oldest son, and just did IOA. The rest of Universal really doesn't appeal to us that much. We really just want to do HP. We only plan to do both parks because HP is now in both. If it wasn't for HP, we wouldn't go at all.

 

[BalooLibLady]

Thanks for all the advice. I should clarify. We have been to Universal before. We went for a day in 2003 and did both parks. Then we went in 2012, without my oldest son, and just did IOA. The rest of Universal really doesn't appeal to us that much. We really just want to do HP. We only plan to do both parks because HP is now in both. If it wasn't for HP, we wouldn't go at all.

 

[RMulieri]

That's fine, just keep in mind that even in LOW crowds, the HP areas are where ALL the crowds are and the busiest sections in both parks.,You should get them done in one day, but there will be waiting in line

 

[Schmeck]

We just spent 5 days onsite, 4 full park days..We STILL did not get to everything..We spent plenty of time at the pool and evenings at citywalk just dining and relaxing.We did parks from open till about 1pm and then headed back to enjoy downtime, kind of like what we did at Disney when it was only MK and EPCOT

Ok, that makes sense to me - half days would take 3 days for us, as we are not into the super-strong roller coaster rides, but have never felt the urge to go to US until DA was built. I guess two nights onsite would work, if we got a good discount. Not sure if we could get into Citywalk though - heard lots about it being all about drinking/partying since it is close to International Drive and the cheaper motels. Is it crazy on a week night, or just the weekends?

 

[schumigirl]

Citywalk is FUN..........I've seen more people drunk at Epcot than I have ever seen at Citywalk.......................

 

[RMulieri]

Citywalk is FUN..........I've seen more people drunk at Epcot than I have ever seen at Citywalk.......................

Same here..it may get worse in the later night hours ( it IS open till 2am), but we are never there that late..

 

[Schmeck]

Same here..it may get worse in the later night hours ( it IS open till 2am), but we are never there that late..

Good to know. My older daughter stayed on International Drive and went to Universal with some college friends. They did not like Citywalk at night, as they were harrassed by guys, a lot. They felt safe (they were all rugby players) but annoyed by the crowds/atmosphere. They were probably there late at night, though.

 

[CPanther95]

Same here..it may get worse in the later night hours ( it IS open till 2am), but we are never there that late..

Even late at night CityWalk isn't bad at all.

If you find yourself constantly finding trouble in the semi-controlled environment of CityWalk, it's either because you're the one or causing it, you're always looking to find it - or you need to stick with "Up With People" concerts for your adult entertainment.

 

[schumigirl]

Even late at night CityWalk isn't bad at all.

If you find yourself constantly finding trouble in the semi-controlled environment of CityWalk, it's either because you're the one or causing it, you're always looking to find it - or you need to stick with "Up With People" concerts for your adult entertainment.

Very true.

 

[glocon]

Depending on how much you want to see and do, one day may be enough.

If you just want to do the Potter rides once, maybe do the coasters twice (those lines are usually pretty short where the FJ and EFG are pretty long so may not be able to repeat with long lines) and walk thru the lands and a few shops, you will be fine.

If you want to see all the shows and eat at both anchor restaurants as well as ice cream at Florean Fortescues, and explore all the stores and interactive wand spots, one day will not be enough. There are three shows at DA, 2 at Hogsmeade, and a few dozen +/- interactive wand spots between the two parks. The Harry Potter worlds are incredibly fascinating to those who enjoy the Potter stories, and those who don't know them will still be immersed in an area the likes of which they have never seen. I hear the Potter areas rival Cars Land in California but have never been there myself.

After spending 5 full days at the UO parks on our last visit, we still did not do everything we wanted. But we are not commando people, we like to explore and immerse ourselves in each experience, both at DW and UO.

So depending on what you want from your day, you might be able to do it. But just a warning- if you love Potter- you probably won't get your fill.