Universal and IOA in one day?

[Dream'nDisney]

Is it possible to do Universal and IOA in one day the day after Memorial Day? We have 2 teenagers, so we won't need to see/do the attractions geared for younger children. We thought about staying at Hard Rock again and getting the front of the line access, but it doesn't look like Universal hotels offer discounts on a one-night stay anymore. We only have one day planned for being off-site WDW.

[EeyoresBestFriend]

Anything is possible. How much fun would it be is another story.

Most of the rides at Universal are geared to older kids and there are definitely more rides geared at teens in IOA than Studios. If your kids are the "do it again type" it will just make it long day, but it's possible.

Have Fun!

[Melanie]

We did both in a day a few years back, but it was a very slow January day. The day after Memorial Day might be tricky. Having the front of the line access would be very smart.

[MNNHFLTX]

You can definitely get it done, but if it were me I'd bite the bullet and pay for one night at Hard Rock (or Royal Pacific--it's cheaper) to get the front of the line access and early entry to WWoHP. That would it so much easier to do everything you want to do without having to keep an eye on your watch.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I'd listen to Beth... Bite the bullet and stay at Hard Rock for the night... Especially since they want Transformers opened by that time... Will bring crowds into Universal... Stay over night, get the front of the line access, and use it on the rides which accept it... That way any wait you have on the others will equal everything out...

[Melanie]

Or you can purchase the front of the line access. Although at that time, since they do tiered pricing depending on anticipated crowds, it probably is cheaper to spring for the hotel room.

[bruin1344]

I think its possible as long as you stay onsite and get the unlimited fast pass. Also, the parks are within walking distance of the hotel so you cut down transportation time.

[Dream'nDisney]

I am really leaning towards everyone's advice here. I think it will be worth it to stay on-site and have the flexibility of walking over and most importantly skipping the lines. Thank you!

[NJGIRL]

I personally never recommend doing both parks in one day. There is too much to do and I don't like rushing around just to get everything done. Plus my group always does the favorites multiple times.

[wantthreewishes]

We did both parks in one day in February, but really felt rushed and hurried all day.

[MargaretMessler]

In a slower time, you could hit the highlights of both in one day. But I second (and third, and fourth) what others have said. Memorial Day weekend....would be worth the hotel bill. Or stick with one park.

[Kenny1113]

We did both parks in one day. It was in nov and very busy because they had an event with the release of one of Harry potter movies


I should add we did have front of the line passes.

[joonyer]

Possible to do both in one day? Yes.
But it's more fun if you take two days, or more.
Our goal is not just to ride every (or most) attraction(s) and then leave. We like experiencing the best attractions over and over again, so we prefer taking our time. We have more fun that way, and we don't have to worry about rushing to get everything done before we run out of time.

[Dream'nDisney]

Okay. We've decided to book a couple nights at Hard Rock. We may cancel one of the nights, but at least we have the option. I'm a little sad that we won't be arriving WDW via ME. We will start our trip off at Hard Rock so we will rent a car at MCO, drive to Hard Rock, then to WDW, returning the car at the Dolphin. I guess we could stay at Hard Rock just one night as long as we arrive early enough to do Universal Studios the day of arrival and then do IoA the next day.

[Tekneek]

Depending on park hours, crowd levels, and if you make it park opening, you could do it. If you aren't expecting to do everything and have identified specific attractions as "must do" and all the rest are just extra, then you can definitely make it work. We've been there before and were duplicating attractions on the second day, having already done everything we wanted to do. It did take us slightly more than one day at the parks to reach that point, but it can be done with modest goals and/or lots of time.

[NJGIRL]

Okay. We've decided to book a couple nights at Hard Rock. We may cancel one of the nights, but at least we have the option. I'm a little sad that we won't be arriving WDW via ME. We will start our trip off at Hard Rock so we will rent a car at MCO, drive to Hard Rock, then to WDW, returning the car at the Dolphin. I guess we could stay at Hard Rock just one night as long as we arrive early enough to do Universal Studios the day of arrival and then do IoA the next day.

I have been looking at car rentals for our Oct trip and the prices so far have been crazy.
I am not sure how much you are paying for the rental but it will probably be cheaper, by the time you factor in the cost of parking, to take a taxi to the Hard Rock. From the airport for the 4 of us it costs between $40 - $50. You can then take a taxi to your Disney Hotel, which if I remember correctly, is about another $50.

If you really want to rent the car for you drive from the Hard Rock to WDW, Hertz has a desk in the HRH lobby. That will save you two days of parking fees, plus the one day rental.

[DizneyFreak2002]

I have been looking at car rentals for our Oct trip and the prices so far have been crazy.
I am not sure how much you are paying for the rental but it will probably be cheaper, by the time you factor in the cost of parking, to take a taxi to the Hard Rock. From the airport for the 4 of us it costs between $40 - $50. You can then take a taxi to your Disney Hotel, which if I remember correctly, is about another $50.

If you really want to rent the car for you drive from the Hard Rock to WDW, Hertz has a desk in the HRH lobby. That will save you two days of parking fees, plus the one day rental.

Look at Dollar, picking up the car at Wyndham on Hotel Plaza Blvd... Was pricing cars last night for October and for 1 week, I was getting quotes for under $200... which I do not consider bad at all for a tourist area...

[NJGIRL]

My problem is that I want to pick it up at the hotel and drop it off at the airport, which we have done many many times before. They usually charge maybe an extra 25 to 50 dollars. This time they are charging us over $200 more !!! That's crazy.

I did look at Dollar and their prices for our dates were just as high.

[Dream'nDisney]

Wow! If we cant get a rental for under $150, we will be taking a cab from MCO to HR and then to YC and use ME to get us back to MCO

[VWL Mom]

Wow! If we cant get a rental for under $150, we will be taking a cab from MCO to HR and then to YC and use ME to get us back to MCO

I was down in March and needed a car for 3 days and the rates were very high. I ended up with Alamo (signed up for insider club), picking up at MCO and dropping off at Care Center brought my rate from almost $200 to $87.34. Midsize car, not too bad.