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Go Back   PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums > PassPorter's Florida Destinations Beyond Walt Disney World > Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure
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Old 03-16-2008, 09:50 AM   #1
nconover
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TOURING PLANS

I have been unable to find touring plans for Universal/Islands of Adventure. I am unsure of how long it will take us to complete a day at each park especially being we are going near a holiday. Well June 26th is the date of our first visit to IA. Either way, it's going to be hectic crowds I'm sure. We are early risers so that will be helpful but I've been spoiled by the Disney experts who have the trip reports and what you should do first and how long each ride is and anything you could possibly want to know about Disney and they just don't have the same information that I could find anyway regarding Universal or Islands of Adventure and I'm a planning junkie and I need a fix! It's not that serious but some direction would be great. Do any of you know of any sites that has trip reports and the like for Universal parks?
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Old 03-16-2008, 10:56 AM   #2
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I can relate to your feelings of being unable to find information on US/IOA. I am in the same boat...but my trip is at the beginning of May. I did some research and ended up purchasing Universal Orlando 2008 by Kelly Monaghan. It is awesome! It gives touring plans of sorts...discriptions of all the rides, shows, theming, and food. It has made me feel like I will not be lost when we get there. It is a fabulous resource for the obsessive planner in me...

The other advice I would give you is to read through all the archives on this board. There is a lot of information to be found here.

Good luck on your US/IOA adventure...and I will try to do a quick trip report when we get back so that what I find might help you. Do know, we are only going to get a taste of the two parks, as we are only headed over there for one day. I do not expect, nor are we going to try to see it all! We just want to see how much time we should plan for this park on future visits...as I am sure we are going to love it.
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Old 03-16-2008, 04:53 PM   #3
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That's great. Please post a trip report as I do check often for them in the Universal Studios part of this site but it's all about Disney in here! You get a drop or two of info about Universal but not enough to know what to expect now. Thanks.
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Old 03-16-2008, 05:49 PM   #4
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I don't know of any touring plans out there. I think you won't have to go as "commando" at Universal parks as you might at Disney, so you can plan a more laid back pace. You're right, there's not as much info out there on Universal (one of the reasons Jennifer and Dave added this forum).

We've been in July several times, and went over Labor Day weekend last year, and had no problems. My best advice is to get there early. You didn't mention if you're staying onsite or not. That will help a lot because Universal resort guests get "front of the line" access at the attractions. What that means is when you show your room key to the team member at each attraction entrance, you will be directed into the Express pass line. You can use your room key all day long as often as you like.

If you're not staying onsite, plan to be at the park gate around 30 minutes prior to park opening, because they often open the parks earlier than the posted opening time. If you're staying at Disney, I would leave at least one hour before park opening. Universal has a parking garage where you park. Then you will walk or take several moving elevators to CityWalk. Once you exit the parking structure and enter CityWalk, IOA will be straight ahead, US will be on to the right. You'll probably want to get that photo taken in front of the big Universal globe when you arrive and everyone still looks "fresh", so allow some time for that as well.

Universal crowds tend to arrive later, so take advantange of the short lines first thing in the morning. At IOA, ride Hulk and Spiderman first, then back through Suess Landing to Lost Continent and ride Dueling Dragons. These attractions will have the longest lines during the day. At US, I like to walk straight through to the back of the park and ride Men in Black first. Most people don't go all the way to the back first, so there is usually no one in line at this time. However, MIB has a single rider line which will cut down your wait time any time of the day, so if you don't mind splitting up your party you could wait on MIB. Same thing with Revenge of the Mummy. Do it early, or plan to use the single rider's line. Shrek 4D is a good attraction to hit early in the day.

I think you can see the majority of both parks in two days.

Some Universal sites that I've visited include:

IOACentral.com › The Adventure Lives Online!
Discover Universal Orlando: Guide to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
Welcome To The "NEW" UniversalExcitement.com
Universal Ignited - Your Source for Universal Orlando Resort
Universal Studios Overview at Universal Orlando

The only guidebook I've used for Universal was the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World which had a Universal section. My copy is pretty old, so I don't know if it still has info on Universal. I've heard very good things about Kelly Monaghan's Universal guidebook, and it's available in the Passporter store:

PassPorter.com: Universal Orlando 2007

Have fun!! I think you'll enjoy what Universal has to offer! Just go with an open mind and don't try to compare the Universal parks to Disney, because they're not the same. Both are equally fun and interesting, but in different ways.
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Last edited by Shell_of_the_South; 03-16-2008 at 08:20 PM..
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Old 03-16-2008, 07:40 PM   #5
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Kelly Monaghan's Universal Orlando book is pretty awesome! I have an older edition and I found it invaluable on our first trip to USF.
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Old 03-16-2008, 11:45 PM   #6
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Wow thanks a lot Shell of the South! Lots of great info that definitely will help. We may add a third day since I'm about to purchase the 7 day deal they have online. Depends on how tired we get. We are staying at a condo and will be in orlando for two weeks but have a heavy schedule of Disney as well. I defintiely don't confuse the two parks. I love them both for very different reasons. I can't wait to come see all the changes through the years.
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