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. :D

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! :thumbsup:

[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.

[Dream'nDisney]

Even paying around $87 for a 3 day rental plus at least two days of parking at The Hard Rock (excluding gas) will add up to more than taking a taxi to Hard Rock from MCO and then from Hard Rock to YC. The only draw back is that we wouldn't be able to go anywhere offsite if we take a taxi.

[MizMissy]

Even paying around $87 for a 3 day rental plus at least two days of parking at The Hard Rock (excluding gas) will add up to more than taking a taxi to Hard Rock from MCO and then from Hard Rock to YC. The only draw back is that we wouldn't be able to go anywhere offsite if we take a taxi.

There is so much to do on-site - at three resorts, two parks and CityWalk - you do not need to head offsite, especially for such a short trip. We had our car and ate dinner off-site one evening, but that was only because my husband had a work errand to run and we joined him. Otherwise, I would have never considered leaving the property.

[Dream'nDisney]

$87 for three days wouldn't be bad, but we would still have to add on the nightly fee for parking the car at HR and then add gas on top of that. Sounds like taking a cab would be about the same, if not a little cheaper. Of course, having a car in case we want to go somewhere else would be more convenient. I will just have to watch rates closer to our trip.

[NJGIRL]

A cab from MCO to the Hard Rock Hotel will be between 45 and 50 dollars including tip.

I agree...there is no need for a car while staying at Universal. There is no reason to leave the property.

[Dream'nDisney]

The kids are teenagers and want to do some off-site shopping this trip. We've never done that before, so we said we would make time this trip.

[Dream'nDisney]

Okay, I am thinking about what everyone has suggested. I think the best thing to do (especially with Memorial Day traffic) is to take a cab to HR from MCO. Then get a rental car the day we leave to head to WDW. We could do our shopping, etc. on our way there. So, what car rental place is close by HR that I could drop off at WDW? I believe Alamo is at the Dolphin (which is right next door to the YC - where we are staying). Is there an Alamo near HR?

[NJGIRL]

Hertz is right in the lobby of the HR. You will need to call Hertz or go on their website to see where you can drop it off.

That is basically what you will have to do with whoever you decide to use. There are so many different pick up and drop off sites with all the car rental places. Plus, some of the companies charge you for picking up one place and dropping off at another, some even pick up for you. In order to get the most accurate price calling would be the best way to do that.

[Dream'nDisney]

I keep going back and forth. I just don't want to have to worry about taking a taxi to go get a rental car or taking a taxi to our WDW resort when we return the rental car. That just sounds like too much effort. We might just rent a car through Alamo/National at MCO and return it at the Dolphin once we finally arrive WDW. I know that we will have to pay the $18 parking fee at HR, but maybe that will be worth the convenience of being able to come and go as we please and will also offset having to pay taxi tips and grocery deliver fees for delivery at WDW since we will be able to stop and get our own. Ugh. Too many options!! :crazy: But I'm enjoying trying to figure it out. :secret::mickey:

[Dream'nDisney]

I have been pricing many car rental companies and the best one I have found so far is National Car (Emerald Club). From MCO for 2 days, returning it at Dolphin (which is perfect because we are staying right next door at the YC) is a total of $156.56 for a midsize car. That is at least $50.00 cheaper than anything else I could find. And, hopefully once our trip is a little closer, I can add a coupon to that rate to bring it down even more. Any other suggestions on a cheaper rate?