We are taking a very short trip to Orlando and plan to go to Universal one day. Is it possible to do to Universal Studios and the Island of Adventure all in one day?

Can you visit both parks? Sure.

Can you go on every ride/attraction. No way.

If you try to go to both parks, will you really enjoy either? Doubtful.


What is your objective? Squeeze into one day as much as possible? If so, then go for it! Don't let anybody talk you out of it.

If it is to enjoy being present, not stressing about getting on one more ride, or rushing to the other park, and just enjoying the day at one park, then that's ok too.

You'll spend a considerable amount of the day standing in line for rides. I would suggest you do some advance research/planning and decide which rides/attractions you really want to do, and get to those early. Don't waste time in other lines.

Check out the express pass system. http://www.islandsofadventure.com/express.htm

Have fun.

While you could "see" all of Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure in a day, you wouldn't have time to ride many rides, and unless you do a two-day visit, you just can't possible do all of the Harry Potter stuff. You really need to be staying on site and get early access on two mornings to do justice to those areas since the primary rides don't offer the express-pass feature.

If you aren't into theme parks, then I don't think the cost of buying a two-park pass would be worthwhile for a single day. Then I'd say you're better off choosing one. If you're really into theme parks (or Harry Potter), then one day certainly isn't enough. But if, as some have suggested, you do a lot of research and plan your day carefully, I think most people would be surprised at how much ground they can cover in a single day. I think the trade-off is that you just won't be able to ride all the rides.

Staying on site is somewhat more important for Universal than other parks because non-guests have to pay a ridiculous fee for the express pass.

Can you see both in one day? I would say yes, but not without the express pass, and even then it will be a whistle-stop tour, not sure if the "double" park ticket would be justified.


If you were to pick one park only you really need to figure out which rides you will enjoy most, and where they are. For us it was the water rides, which are all in Islands of Adventure

Thank you all!!