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Old 02-28-2011, 12:22 PM   #1
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Can we see everything in one day?

Now that we live in Florida, I have been talking to dh about driving up to Orlando for a day visit to see the Harry Potter part of the park at Universal.
We really don't want to spend the night....so we would be driving a little over 3 hours each way.
My question is, do you think we can see everything there is in a day? If we get there around 9 or 9:30 and leave around 6:00 - would that give us enough time?
Thanks!
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Old 02-28-2011, 01:59 PM   #2
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When we were there in Nov, people arriving at 9:30 couldn't even enter WWoHP until later in the day. They were given timed re-entry tickets and sent to other parts of the park.
Have you looked into the inexpensive partner hotels for one night to see if you could get early entry?
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Old 02-28-2011, 02:26 PM   #3
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Carousel96 is right. You can pick up a cheap hotel right outside the gates and get early entry into the park.

Either way, get to IOA way before park opening and go directly to WWofHP (Forbidden Journey especially). If possible, go during the week or a Sunday. You might consider picking up Express Passes if you want to get on every ride in one day. FYI, when we went in October, Express wasn't available for HP rides but it still make a difference on everything else.

Another side note, the shops in WWofHP form lines as well (Olivander's, Honeydukes, the Butterbeer cart) since they are very small. If it's HP souviners you want, pick them up at the big store near the park exit. This saved us a long wait in a very crowded shop!

All that being said, we went to IOA on a Saturday (during October) and we did not get to see everything. In fact we didn't get to ride Hulk, Spiderman, Dudley Do Right, Jurassic Park or Flight of the Hippogriff. We did get to walk around the park and take in all the sights. We went to US the next day and practically walked on everything!
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Old 03-01-2011, 02:05 PM   #4
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We will be going to WDW and also doing Universal during the week before Christmas 2011. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to plan which parks we see which days?
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Old 03-01-2011, 06:35 PM   #5
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You can definitely do IOA and Harry Potter in one day. We did half of IOA and half of Universal in one day on our most recent trip. Now, if you are big into the thrill rides (Which we skipped) You may need 2 days to see and do everything. But if the main reason for the trip is WWoHP and IOA, you should be fine. Good luck!
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Old 04-16-2011, 06:36 AM   #6
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hi there

my DH and i are planning on going in September on a wed or Thursday, does anyone know where i could find a crowd calendar for IOA/US...
My DH doesn't do any rides, so we plan to do both parks in one day, as he really wants to see Harry potter and i want to visit the studios....is it possible and anyone have any touring suggestions????

ta
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Old 04-16-2011, 10:04 AM   #7
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hi there

my DH and i are planning on going in September on a wed or Thursday, does anyone know where i could find a crowd calendar for IOA/US...
My DH doesn't do any rides, so we plan to do both parks in one day, as he really wants to see Harry potter and i want to visit the studios....is it possible and anyone have any touring suggestions????

ta

During the week is your best bet since locals go on the weekends. I don't know of any crowd calendar and if you don't do rides you should be able to fly through the parks! I you want to see HP, get to the parks before opening and head to Hogsmeade straight away. Other than HP, IOA is mostly rides so take your time exploring all the shops in HP, they are definitely worth seeing even if you don't plan on buying anything!

As for the Studios (which I prefer except for HP) there are less rides and more shows (Shrek 4D, Horror show, etc.) we just started at Shrek and went clockwise around the park.
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Old 04-16-2011, 11:24 AM   #8
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I don't think you can do Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios in one day and really enjoy yourself. It would be a mad rush the whole day. If you just wanted to sample bits of both parks, not expecting to see and do everything, then your day would probably be more enjoyable.
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Old 04-19-2011, 02:17 PM   #9
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Yes, it really just depends on how crowded it is. When we went at the beginning of March the crowds were really low. And the morning rain helped keep people away too. During the summer you might have more trouble seeing everything because of the crowds. But it would probably be doable.
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Old 04-19-2011, 05:37 PM   #10
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Someone commented that IOA would be best on a Sunday - is that a common experience that other people have had? We will be going in March next year and our 3 days for the parks are Fri, Sat, Sun, so we are gearing up for crowds, but it would help if there is a pattern to the crowds.
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Old 04-19-2011, 05:42 PM   #11
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You can definitely do IOA and Harry Potter in one day. We did half of IOA and half of Universal in one day on our most recent trip. Now, if you are big into the thrill rides (Which we skipped) You may need 2 days to see and do everything. But if the main reason for the trip is WWoHP and IOA, you should be fine. Good luck!
I agree! I was at IOA/US last month - we got to the park at opening and completed all the rides in the HP area within 3 hours. We were able to do a lot of the other rides in both parks before we left at 5:30PM.
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Old 04-26-2011, 01:14 PM   #12
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So what do you think my odds are of hitting low crowds on a Monday in the beginning of December?
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Old 04-27-2011, 09:30 AM   #13
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I think the odds are good Amy. We went the week before Christmas in 2006, and the crowds weren't bad at all. This was somewhere around Dec. 16-18.
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