Planning a day trip to Universal Orlando

[Theunknown87]

So I’m going the first or second weekend of August and I’m curious if it’s possible to do two parks in one day if I’m planning on just doing the following

I am going alone so I’d be doing single rider for whatever I can. Except water rides. I’m not staying at a resort but I am planning on being there from open to close.

Revenge of the Mummy

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Transformers (maybe)

Island of adventure

VelociCoaster

Hagrid's

Hulk Coaster

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

Kong (maybe).

These are literally the only rides that peak my interest. Otherwise I’ll just walk through the two Harry Potter areas of both parks and browse and hit up shops and places to eat lunch and dinner either in the park or city walk. I’ve figure since I’ve never been to universal so it’ll be fun either way.

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

This is not only entirely feasible but probably even easy for you to accomplish as a single rider for most of the things you mentioned. Where this gets spotty and unpredictable is WEATHER in the Summer. Things like those 3 outdoor coasters at IoA pose risk of being missed if the weather is bad and no one will be able to help you there. You might find yourself hunkering down on an indoor attraction while you wait for things to blow over. Might delay you some.

I'd say rope-drop IoA and do Hagrids > Forbidden > Velocicoaster in whatever order is easiest for you. Hagrids and Velocicoaster are relatively close to one another so the wait times could be easier for one as opposed to the other and that might effect your order while there but Forbidden is back corner so do it between OR after those two, if anything. Then do Kong then Hulk on the way out as I don't imagine you'll want to wait at Hogwarts Express for the ride over and can save time walking to the other park. Do Mummy upon entrance, Transformers on the way to Gringotts.

Honestly, shouldn't be hard. Best of luck to ya!

 

[Theunknown87]

This is not only entirely feasible but probably even easy for you to accomplish as a single rider for most of the things you mentioned. Where this gets spotty and unpredictable is WEATHER in the Summer. Things like those 3 outdoor coasters at IoA pose risk of being missed if the weather is bad and no one will be able to help you there. You might find yourself hunkering down on an indoor attraction while you wait for things to blow over. Might delay you some.

I'd say rope-drop IoA and do Hagrids > Forbidden > Velocicoaster in whatever order is easiest for you. Hagrids and Velocicoaster are relatively close to one another but Forbidden is back corner so do it between those two OR after, if anything. Then do Kong then Hulk on the way out as I don't imagine you'll want to wait at Hogwarts Express for the ride over and can save time walking to the other park. Do Mummy upon entrance, Transformers on the way to Gringotts.

Honestly, shouldn't be hard. Best of luck to ya!

This is really good to know. Makes me feel better haha. Yeah hopefully the weather is good. I have bad luck so I won’t be surprised if there is a hurricane lol.

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

This is really good to know. Makes me feel better haha. Yeah hopefully the weather is good. I have bad luck so I won’t be surprised if there is a hurricane lol.

Hey, i'm going down from 8/7 - 8/10 - so don't wish that on the both of us lol
Toss salt over your shoulder and start praying for sunny days!


In order from entering and going to your right you have Hagrids - Forbidden - Velocicoaster - Kong - Hulk
If you want to skip Kong, there is the bridge between Velocicoaster and Lost Continent you can backtrack to go back to park entrance and go left to Hulk right there.

US is much easier and much more straightforward with Mummy being basically a straight shot down from entrance, Transformers between Mummy and the lake, and walking the same lakefront to Diagon Alley.

 

[Theunknown87]

Hey, i'm going down from 8/7 - 8/10 - so don't wish that on the both of us lol
Toss salt over your shoulder and start praying for sunny days!

View attachment 26745
In order from entering and going to your right you have Hagrids - Forbidden - Velocicoaster - Kong - Hulk
If you want to skip Kong, there is the bridge between Velocicoaster and Lost Continent you can backtrack to go back to park entrance and go left to Hulk right there.
View attachment 26746
US is much easier and much more straightforward with Mummy being basically a straight shot down from entrance, Transformers between Mummy and the lake, and walking the same lakefront to Diagon Alley.

This is very good to know. I wouldn’t have known that.

The last time I was at universal I was 1996 and I was a toddler lol. I’m sure so much has can changed.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

DO NOT rope drop Hagrid's unless you have early park admission. Not staying on site it means you probably do not.
Especially with Express open now, you will be dealing with EPA masses plus all the express people right at open.

 

[Theunknown87]

DO NOT rope drop Hagrid's unless you have early park admission. Not staying on site it means you probably do not.
Especially with Express open now, you will be dealing with EPA masses plus all the express people right at open.

Should I just go there whenever then?

Even being a single rider, would I be able to buy an express pass or would it not be worth it?

 

[Captain Spaulding]

I'm not sure how express will change waits thru the day, it was usually lower around lunch time and I liked to get in line 5 minutes before close, it would usually be an 50 to 60 minutes then. Express will be pricey, depends how much you want to spend.

 

[LPCaptainDeath]

My strategy was based on the fact that he's a single rider AND getting the BIGGEST thing out of the way first is almost always the best way to attack a park to make your overall day easier AND in an effort to save on walking/going back and forth. Start by going right and you just loop the park in one quick go and i assume he'll be hopping between 2-4PM; Weather withstanding. There is no point in rope-dropping USF as a single rider, so IoA is already the priority. The two biggest things to do there are Hagrid's and Velocicoaster and, in my opinion, the correct choice is Hagrid's cause it will not only start your day off with a bang but once you get it out of the way it's smooth sailing from there(single rider for velocicoaster is a breeze in comparison).

It's the ONE ride he's going to have to wait for longer than the others no matter what time of day; Going with this logic, you might as well do it first or risk losing it if you do it last or run into bad weather.
I stand by my plan *shrug*

EDIT: I also do not think you'll need an express pass to do any of this as a single rider.

 

[Theunknown87]

My strategy was based on the fact that he's a single rider AND getting the BIGGEST thing out of the way first is almost always the best way to attack a park to make your overall day easier AND in an effort to save on walking/going back and forth. Start by going right and you just loop the park in one quick go and i assume he'll be hopping between 2-4PM; Weather withstanding. There is no point in rope-dropping USF as a single rider, so IoA is already the priority. The two biggest things to do there are Hagrid's and Velocicoaster and, in my opinion, the correct choice is Hagrid's cause it will not only start your day off with a bang but once you get it out of the way it's smooth sailing from there(single rider for velocicoaster is a breeze in comparison).

It's the ONE ride he's going to have to wait for longer than the others no matter what time of day; Going with this logic, you might as well do it first or risk losing it if you do it last or run into bad weather.
I stand by my plan *shrug*

EDIT: I also do not think you'll need an express pass to do any of this as a single rider.

I’m gonna do your plan for sure the more I keep thinking about it.

 

[fryoj]

So I’m going the first or second weekend of August and I’m curious if it’s possible to do two parks in one day if I’m planning on just doing the following

I am going alone so I’d be doing single rider for whatever I can. Except water rides. I’m not staying at a resort but I am planning on being there from open to close.

Revenge of the Mummy

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Transformers (maybe)

Island of adventure

VelociCoaster

Hagrid's

Hulk Coaster

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey

Kong (maybe).

These are literally the only rides that peak my interest. Otherwise I’ll just walk through the two Harry Potter areas of both parks and browse and hit up shops and places to eat lunch and dinner either in the park or city walk. I’ve figure since I’ve never been to universal so it’ll be fun either way.

Is there a reason you are skipping spiderman?

 

[Theunknown87]

Is there a reason you are skipping spiderman?

I checked out a YouTube video of it and it doesn’t seem it I would be too interested in it. So would rather skip it to make sure I get to do one of the rides that’s on my list. If the weather is bad, then I’d probably consider it.

 

[Jake S]

I checked out a YouTube video of it and it doesn’t seem it I would be too interested in it. So would rather skip it to make sure I get to do one of the rides that’s on my list. If the weather is bad, then I’d probably consider it.

i’d consider giving it a shot! i’m not as high on it as others here, but it’s a really unique attraction that isn’t easy to capture via video.

 

[Theunknown87]

i’d consider giving it a shot! i’m not as high on it as others here, but it’s a really unique attraction that isn’t easy to capture via video.

I’ll have to debate it closer to the time and check the wait out.

 

[Captain Spaulding]

Single rider has not always been open for Hagrid's, maybe with Express that changes? Either way, single rider is not great on Hagrid's.

 

[UniversalRBLX]

The biggest piece of advice I have is to avoid Hagrid's as your first attraction without Early Park Admission. Because you won't be staying at an onsite resort, the wait-time will instantly become a 60-90 wait for non-resort guests. No reason to waste this valuable time on queuing for Hagrid's.

Rope drop Velocicoaster first. Do Forbidden Journey, Skull Island, Spider-Man, Hulk. Pending any delays, this is easily doable with the first two hours of park operations.

From there, Universal Studios is an easy park to traverse. Revenge of the Mummy has single rider, but often times the queue's posted wait is bloated leading to single rider being a longer wait. Transformers is easy with single rider, same with Gringotts.

Save Hagrid's closer to park close. Not only will you not sacrifice valuable park time, but also get to experience it at night... the best time. (FYI - the wait might be posted at 60-90 minutes, but it's typically half of that once the park closes)

I agree with @Jake S don't skip out on Spider-Man. I understand it's "just another" screen ride, but it's the best use of practical & screen effects.