Universal/SeaWorld Orlando questions

Do you mean 2 days at BG or you only have 2 days for this trip?

Sea world (I always visit in the summer, so I'm going to base my experience on that), I generally try to get the big rides done early in the morning. Atlantis and manta have single rider lines, but I dunno how often they are open especially for the spring. Sea world, I think if you aren't going for like 5 rides on each attraction, shouldn't take more than half a day unless you are staying around for the shows like the one ocean at shamu stadium.

Ioa-universal, it is possible to finish that in 1day. I always start with ioa and head for the Hp island. Ride the dragons first and if you don't mind splitting up, go on the single rider line for the hp journey. Also it helps if one of you stays outside to hold the bags as there's a long line for the lockers so even more of a better reason for the single rider line. After that go counter clockwise with Jurassic park and eventually to the marvel superhero island. The hulk by that time will be the main wait. Spider-Man should have a single rider line, but waits can be very long for that as well. I dunno if you care to visit the dr Seuss island, but that would be last IMO. Cat in the hat would also be a long wait, but I've rode it a lot in the past so, it isn't a big priority for me anymore,

Then head over along the hard rock restaurant side to get to universal studios for the rip ride rock it coaster. Single rider line can be a hit or miss, so it's up to you of you want to split up and ride that. The ride is soso and IMO, if the line is over 30min long, I'd just skip it. Mummy has a single rider line and that is the best as you are almost always right at the station entrance. From there I can't say which one to go to next, but I guess try and see if the line for the Simpsons ride isn't too long and then go to the mib ride (I believe should also have a single rider line). And that's pretty much what I remember for now.

I Hope it helps.

The trip will be 7 days, I'm planning to spend part of the day I arrive and part of the day I leave at BG. I've seen everything "flat" in the park but I was sick last visit and only rode one side of Gwazi.

With the single rider lines, do they care if people go in those together, as long as they are willing to split up? I haven't been anywhere that had those in years. BGE used to have them back in the day.

How long is the wait usually for Hulk? That's the only ride I was considering I'd want to reride.

For BG, I'd start with cheetah hunt first, then take the sky ride (if open) towards the jungala/Congo area for kumba. If you get to kumba early enough you can get a few front row rides with minimal waits. I rode kumba like 8 times before there were significant crowds. I would then walk to Sheikra and later go to the pathway that connects to the seasame place part of the park (pass by, don't need to go thru it), then keep following the way to gwazi. After that, head over to montu.
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It depends but by the time I finished the hp island and worked my way back to the marvel island (around 12pm, but I had at least several rerides on the dragons, hp journey, jp), the wait for hulk was maybe 45 Min to an hour. But if you want to, I guess you could ride the hulk first in the morning and try to race everyone over to hp island and take a chance with the lines there.

Single ride lines pretty much splits both of you up, if they can't find another single rider to go with you, you may luck out and ride together. I've seen some groups going together because there were so many pairs in the regular line that they had to move the single rider line along.

* This post was modified at 3/3/13 8:40:59 PM *

I assume this is still true...
The Busch platinum pass gets you a reride on almost all of the coasters at BGT and SeaWorld Orlando. One exception being Cheetah Hunt, IIRC.

You just show your pass to the ride op as you board for the first ride, then just stay seated when you return to the station.

Montu and kumba, if both aren't too busy allow rerides for those that don't have any special passes. I haven't been to ioa in a few years, but do they allow rerides on the dragons?

If all you are interested in doing at Sea World is the coasters and Journey to Atlantis then you can probably be in and out in 2 or 3 hours. This is assuming that you are there when the park opens and that everything opens on time. As mentioned, your platinum pass should get a free reride on some of those (I know it does on Kraken, not sure about Manta). Journey will get you soaked, so be prepared for that.

BGT does give rerides on most of the coasters with the platinum as well.

There are no rerides for anything as I recall at Universal/ IOA. I know that even when I was at IOA on a completely dead day, and knew several of the ride ops personally, I still had to get off and walk around (through a shortcut thankfully) in order to ride again on dragons.

Good to know the shortcut is still there. I don't think I can run as fast as I used to for the coaster. I could have made it just in time before the train left the station after just getting off one side.

For sure in my recent visit to sea world, they don't allow rerides on kraken unless you have the platinum pass. Even with no lines, it was the long walk down the ramp and then back to the station. So pointless IMO.

Cyclone_Phil said:

Good to know the shortcut is still there. I don't think I can run as fast as I used to for the coaster. I could have made it just in time before the train left the station after just getting off one side.

Just a heads up, that shortcut may or may not be open. It's been several years, and the only reason I was able to use it was because the park was pretty empty and I knew the ride ops. I've seen many times that it wasn't open. I don't know if they will allow it to be used now or not, as the last time I was there was before Harry Potter.

I was only pointing out that they've never allowed rerides on Dragons, because if they had I would have been able to get them on those couple of days, and I wasn't allowed to have them at that point either.

I believe part of the problem with rerides there is that Dragons unloads in a different place than they load, and they have to have the trains cleared and empty during the transition from unload to loading.

Well, from going just this past Thanksgiving, the only "shortcut" for Dragons was up the stairs just outside of the castle entrance. Shorter than going back around to the entrance, but not "short" by any other park's standard. There is another path that has been converted for Express pass use that takes you directly from the entrance of the castle to a door at the final loop before the path splits, but you can forget that if you don't have Express passes.

I was able to get 5 rides with no wait in the morning before the crowds showed up, but was only able to get around as quickly as the train I had gotten off returned to the station after being reloaded, cycled and unloaded. And I was walking quite briskly.

Paul

I remember using the shortcut back about ten years ago, but when we were there last year the only shortcut was the stairs you mentioned. I don't know if they still use the doorway anymore.

Yeah, come to think of it, I think the 'shortcut' was the stairs when I was last there a few years ago. It is a shame, the doors made it so much easier to run back and forth from one side to the other. But then again this was when both sides were dueling. Now that they are chasing, I'm afraid the appeal has worn off and I would just take 2 rides each side and go on my way. The only coaster I'll take multiple rides there will be the hulk.

I really want to do Islands of Adventure, but the price is ouchy!
A 1 day pass is $123.00! I think I can get the movie collection And the book collection for less, and it would last more than a day. Its a price which I consider to be "stupid expensive".

A one-day ticket to Universal Islands of Adventure is $88. A one-day, two-park ticket valid at both Universal Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida is $123.

Welcome to the world of Orlando area theme parks, where they charge ridiculously high prices to get in- because they can! Look at their attendance numbers and it's easy to see why there is absolutely no reason or incentive for them to lower the tickets.

You're far better off looking for one of the City Passes (if they still have them) that also include Sea World and maybe Busch Gardens and Wet and Wild for 5 or 7 days. Much cheaper per person, per day, and per park.

I've found the Orlando Flex Ticket is not a very good value unless you're planning to stay for an extended period of time (9 to 14 days). You have to pay close attention to what you're doing.

I also think the Orlando parks have every right to charge what they do and they clearly deliver an experience that justifies the price. These are not Six Flags parks. Universal, Disney and even SeaWorld Orlando are a significant step-up in terms of the quality of the attractions, the environment, operations and the overall experience.

IMO, sea world is only worth it if combined with another park in the same purchase. After the 3 big rides and the shamu one ocean show, there's not much there. (Gonna see how this new penguin attraction is like hopefully in June).

We typically stay in Orlando for two weeks and buy multi-day tickets. Both Disney and Universal charge the highest prices for first two days, so they are the most expensive. After the third day, the incremental cost of each additional add-on day is typically ten dollars or so. I see it as buying a season pass. Each day costs you very little. You can go to the park at your leisure and if it's busy just leave and go somewhere else. I think that's the way a vacation should be.

Cyclone_Phil said:

IMO, sea world is only worth it if combined with another park in the same purchase. After the 3 big rides and the shamu one ocean show, there's not much there. (Gonna see how this new penguin attraction is like hopefully in June).

If you're only after rides, then sure. But the vast majority of people don't go to Sea World for the rides. They go for all of the animal shows and experiences and the rides are a bonus draw. There's aren't a whole lot of people that are only going to do the few rides that are there and little else.

My "go to deal" has been to go to Costco and get their "buy 2 days, get 1 free" for $149. If you don't have a Costco membership, Universal may have the same deal on their website (they did this past Thanksgiving, FWIW)

Three days seem to be the magic number for me. One day at IOA, one at US and one day to hop between the two. Although I have only used it for the 3rd day of my 2 visits the last 2 years, the hopping feature is worth the extra price, especially if you think you may encounter crowds.

Paul