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4th of July @ Universal Studios or IOA?

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4th of July @ Universal Studios or IOA?

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Old Mar 28th, 2018, 01:58 PM
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4th of July @ Universal Studios or IOA?

Our trip will include 4th of July in Orlando. Which park would be better to celebrate 4th of July at? I want to purchase express passes for that specific day for the specific park we will be at so the choice is important. Any particular spot that is best to see everything? Which has better entertainment? Will it be impossible to get out of the park afterwards? Our hotel is only a couple of miles from the park but not walkable. Is there a good place to "decompress" after the festivities to wait out the traffic? Thanks in advance!
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Old Mar 29th, 2018, 03:30 AM
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Fireworks are normally at Universal Studios and they are usually open later than IOA so that would probably be your best bet. IOA is more rides than entertainment. US has the big stage if any big name musical acts are performing that'[s where they will be. Afterwards there are plenty of restaurants and bars in City Walk to wait out the traffic. Of course it will be crazy crowded and finding a spot to decompress will be a challenge. You could always make reservations at Emerils (or one of the other restaurants, there are many) way ahead of time or work your way to the bar at Margarittaville. You can also buy a two park pass and take the Harry Potter train between the parks.
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Old Mar 29th, 2018, 12:47 PM
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That’s good info about US with more entertainment. Thanks. I’ve changed our reservations to stay at one of the universal hotels to take advantage of the express pass and walking distance to parks so not as stressed about the traffic afterward now. Whew. Will look into reservations also—great idea to lessen some of the lines ahead of time.
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Old Apr 3rd, 2018, 04:45 AM
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Great idea to stay on site. I don't know when you plan to arrive, but we stayed at Cabana Bay in March, arrived at the hotel at noon and got our key immediately (though the check in was 4:00 p.m.). That left us the rest of the day to relax at the lazy river and then visit Universal City Walk in the evening for dinner and to explore.
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Old Apr 3rd, 2018, 01:43 PM
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Can't tell where you are located, but just make sure you know how hot and humid it will be in Orlando on 7/4. The longest weekend I ever had was at the Memorial Day opening of (then called) MGM studios Disney.

If you know, hope you have a great time, and the hotel change was a great choice.
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Old Apr 4th, 2018, 04:43 AM
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Staying on site is great, but not all the on site hotels offer the express access. Just Hard Rock Hotel , Portofino Bay and Royal Pacific offer the all day express access to attractions. They are all great hotels and the express access is fantastic. Just know it isn't applied on several of the Harry Potter attractions.
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