One Day at Universal, What are the “must do’s”?

[Zaptrem2]

Hi,

Will be on a 6 night stay at a Disney Resort in February and have one day planned at Universal (with access to both parks). Since we will have a wide range of ages, what would you say are the best rides for older kids, younger kids, and a few that everyone will like? Also, how many rides do you think we can (reasonably) ride in a day to make the most of our tickets?

 

[bobbie68]

Hi when you go in February will make a difference. Presidents weekend and that week can be busy. If you are going on a slower week you can do quite a bit. I will assume you are not having express pass. If you get there for opening and stay till closing you could do probably everything you want at least once. If you are Harry Potter Fans I would suggest going to Diagon Alley first and ride Gringotts and explore there. The ride is not that high thrill and most people seem to tolerate it. If you are not interested in HP then I would start at the Studios still and start with Minion Mayhem. This ride is consistently busy throughout the day. Everyone usually likes it however, some people might get motion sickness. In the studios Rip Ride Rocket is a high thrill coaster which is very good. The Mummy is an indoor coaster could be a bit intense but very popular. We do E.T. once when we go very nostalgic it is a family ride. We like Transformers and it is a must. It is a motion simulator so motion sickness can come into play. It to me is not an intense ride. If you are HP fans taking the Hogwart's Express is a must. Over in IOA the Hulk is a good high thrill coaster. Spiderman is just like Transformers. Almost everyone can do Kong. The water rides get you very wet. In Hogsmeade Forbidden Journey can be a little nauseating. I would google that one and watch a video. Flight of the Hippogriff is a nice family coaster. HP world's get very crowded from late morning till late afternoon then get a little emptier. I am not that familiar with the kid areas because I have teens so you would have to look into that.

I think you should really research all the rides and see what ones are a must do. Depending on the hours of the parks will depend on how much you can get done. We did both parks in the summer in one day and went on about 12 rides. This was in about 8 hours with Express Pass. We did have lunch in between.

Good luck!

 

[schumigirl]

Hi,

Will be on a 6 night stay at a Disney Resort in February and have one day planned at Universal (with access to both parks). Since we will have a wide range of ages, what would you say are the best rides for older kids, younger kids, and a few that everyone will like? Also, how many rides do you think we can (reasonably) ride in a day to make the most of our tickets?

Have a check of the website.........you can see the rides in both parks and decide what suits you and your family best........some rides will be a priority for you over others.

If you’re going at a very busy time, it’ll be more difficult to do more rides.........but if it’s a quiet time you can do some of each park, but you won’t be able to really do justice to either park with one day for both parks. Potter areas alone are worth spending a decent amount of time in them. You have park to park so you will be ale to utilise the HE......a must for Potter fans.

Minions always has a queue. Regular line is easily up to an hour fairly early in the morning, if that’s a priority do that first.........

There’s a real mix of rides for everyone in both parks........

Hope you have fun!

 

[VacaPlanner2012]

It's sort of like asking "How do you take your coffee?"...but I will give my families opinions. Myself, wife, son age 14, daughter age 10 (all tall enough and willing enough to ride everything) -

I of A - Spiderman, Kong, Seuss Trolley (awesome views), Cat in the Hat (maybe the coldest spot in the park on a hot day), Hogwarts. We would probably add in coasters (Hulk, Dueling Dragons) if queues were reasonable, but we get our coaster fix at Cedar Point as we live nearby.

Uni - Minions, Jimmy Fallon, Mummy (twice), Transformers, ET, MIB (as many as queue will allow - friendly family competition), and Gringott's. We would also make time for Make Up Horror Show. Again, Rip Ride Rocket is fun, but we get better in Ohio.

We appreciate the train as an opportunity to sit and relax to get from park to park, but it is not a must do for us. There are many other family favorites (Islands water rides!!!!!!), but those are for multiple day on site visits, and I am trying to get into the mindset of one day, no Express Pass necessities.

 

[wookiebeck]

One Day at Universal, What are the “must do’s”?

Well, as soon as your vacation is over, you 'must do' another vacation where you spend more time at Universal.

 

[hdnwaters]

We have done 1 day, 2 parks before. My suggestion is that you go mid-week to avoid crowds. Our favorites are:

IOA 1) Forbidden Journey 2) Spiderman 3) Jurassic Park River Ride 4) Kong. Love Ripsaw Falls depending on the weather.

US 1) Gringotts 2) The Mummy 3) Transformers 4) Minions. Have not done Jimmy Fallon but heard it is awesome.

We picked the must dos and then if time permitted, we did random other rides. ET, Cat In the Hat, Shrek, etc. We don't do coasters that go upside down so that give us a little more ride time for others. The raptor encounter is fun and great for a family photo!

Have fun!

 

[only hope]

I second doing Minions first- right at park opening. Second should be Diagon Alley. Next, check wait times for the Forbidden Journey and Flight of the Hippogriff on your phone. If they’re not busy and neither is the train, then take the train to IoA and do those rides. After that head towards Jurrasic and do whichever rides you want until you have completed the circle. Take the train back and finish the Studios. Each direction of the train is a different experience.

You won’t be able to do everything, but if you don’t do many shows, you can do nearly everything if you go on a slow day. I’ve had a pass off and on and most visits I did around twelve rides, some more than once, as well as spend at least thirty non-ride minutes in each HP land- and left before dinner. If you and/or the kids are huge HP fans, plan on spending at least an hour in Diagon Alley/London exploring. It’s the best part of the parks and full of details from the books. For some huge HP fans, exploring the two lands is far more fun than anything else Universal has to offer.

Nearly all the rides except the major coasters are family friendly, unless you have very young/short kids (say under about age seven). You can check height requirements online. The Mummy theming is too intense for some kids; know what your kids can tolerate. If any of your kids are short enough for the Pteranodon Flyers, make sure to do it while they can. Posedion‘s Fury would probably be a waste of time. It’s a long experience that many find to be boring.