How would you work "other parks" into your trip?

We did 2 days on our last trip and we probably could have fit it all into one day except for the fact that was incredibly crowded which we were pretty shocked about because it was October and we had almost no wait for anything in Disney but a lot of the rides had a 40 min+ wait at Universal. That coupled with the fact that the expansion of WWOHP will have just recently opened, I would probably suggest 2 days if you're wanting to hit all the big attractions. If you're not worried about missing stuff then you can probably condense your top picks into 1 day.

I would say whether or not you go for 2 days to Univ. & IoA, depends on how big of a Harry Potter fan you are.DH and I are HUGE fans of HP and when we went to WWoHP for the first time a few years ago, we spent about 6 hours just in the very small Hogsmeade section of IoA. But that's because we looked at every single detail, in every shop, toured Hogwarts a few times, and rode the rides a few times each.
When Diagon Alley opens, we are going to go back to Univ. & IoA and we will spend a full 2 days exploring the new expansion, Hogsmeade again, and then the rest of the parks afterwards. We haven't been there since 2011, so there are several new things to see, but if it weren't for HP, I would say one full day is enough for us to do both parks.

I personally don't think it's too much, but if you're tired after a day at Discovery Cove or Aquatica, just skip the evening at a Disney park. You'll be there twelve days, you aren't going to miss all that much by skipping a couple of evenings.

As for Universal, I could easily do both parks in one day because I can't ride most of their rides due to motion sickness issues. You probably don't have that problem. So, if you want to do everything, you might need two days. If you're okay with hitting the major attractions only, one day should be enough.

In 2012, we booked our Disney trip first, then decided to add on IOA kinda last minute. We ended leaving two days early (from Disney check in) and stayed at a hotel across the street, literally walking distance, from Universal. We spent one day at IOA and rode everything. We got there at park opening and left at 4PM. It did take us all day to complete everything, but we did have an hour long lunch at Mythos, which I totally recommend! This was in May and wait times were between 25 and 45 minutes. We waited 35 min for HP. Haven't been to Universal park since I was about 12 so I don't have any info about that park.

Just a little advice that I wish I knew before going: Most rides in IOA will not allow you carry ANYTHING on the ride that doesn't fit in your pocket. It was so annoying we had to get one of those lockers for every single thrill ride. It's only free for like the first 45 min, then you begin to pay. If I would've known, I would not have taken anything because it was not worth it.

Glad you have another trip on the books!

Hey Karlipants!!

Two trips ago. . . We wanted to see Harry Potter, but nothing else at Universal really interested us. It was Kim's birthday treat, so we were going to go early to be in the front of the crowd, spend the morning at the Wizarding World, get lunch, and see what there was to see. We are not big 'ride' people, so it wasn't clear we'd find things to engage us, but we were willing to try. But it was Harry Potter that got us there.

So we arranged for a taxi; it was pricey, but we budgeted for it. We travel quite a bit and have discovered that shared shuttles just aren't our cup of tea- sorry Magical Express.

We'd pre-purchased one day passes, so got to wander through the Citywalk to wait at their version of The Rope Drop, then hustled back with the crowd to Hogsmeade, etc. We saw everything we wanted to see, rode the rides, drank the butter beer, waved wands (watched wands being waved, actually!), mailed postcards, bought trinkets, snacks and candy. . . We really enjoyed our morning - Really Enjoyed It. . . But it got quite crowded - WW is a small area that LOTS of people want to see. So we eventually made our way back through the park, checking everything out, trying to decide on a good lunch stop. We found a bench, got a cool beverage and weighed our options. . .

And taxied to DTD for lunch at Puck Express. Even though we had a wonderful morning at IoE. . . We were suddenly much happier back in the Magic. So. . . I am all for a bit of fun outside The World, but for us, it will always be a day, or part of a day. We just like Disney too much.

We are Planning on going to Universal/IOA and we are scheduling 2 Days - 1 for each park I think but we wont be there for rope drop and we arent planning on staying until it shuts as we have ADR's back in the world!

In past years we always schedule 2 days but in 2012 we had everything done in a day and even though we did go back we didn't really need to - however that was when they had shut the whole jaws area so there was a lot of construction and not a lot to do so I am expecting we will need the 2 days!!!

Hope this helps!

we do 2 days, a pro tip is that the express pass is a trap. the queues for those rides are huge and you can't use it for harry potter. When we tour my advice is head straight to spider man in IOA and then hit all the other rides but bypass harry potter.
then head over to US by this time I would imagine everybody will have left the park as the majority of people are going to head straight to US first thing to ride the new harry potter stuff and then take the train over to IOA and spend the rest of the day there, then head back to US at night. I personally would do the opposite of this.

We always take a day at Uni and one at IOA.WE both like to not rush these parks (travelling from the UK we want to see as much as possible)
Seaworld also rates a whole day as we love taking in all the shows and watching all the animals.We are looking at the VIP tour as SW as it offers FOL access to rides and priority seating at shows plus a behind the scenes element.

We usually take 2 days at IoA and at least 1 at US and another at Bush Gardens (we really love the thrill!), every year. The only time we had Express Passes was at New Year's week in 2012/2013, as we stayed at Portofino Bay and got complimentary EP.

Last year we went to Seeworld " 1st and only. I really had a bad impression about how they confine the animals. Have you seen how small and crowded the dolphin pool is? I almost started crying...
And that penguin ride? Awfull!

We also enjoy spending time at Disney's WP. This year we're saving 2 whole days at BB and TL.

I heard about Blackfish...but I'm too coward to watch it " I think I'd be devastated! (

Since the release of Escape from Gringotts, I'm considering to add another day at IoA, and maybe with a park to park option.
I really love HP, although not a big fan of IoA.

Do you have your tickets to Discovery Cove already? The last I checked, the wait was about 9-12 months out. ;/

I went to Discovery Cove about eleven years ago... I loved it and it is something I fondly
Remember.....I hope its still this way and you have as much fun as I did!

We went to Sea World as part of a music group trip about 6 yrs ago and thought it was wonderful, but no more than a day, tops. I know about the controversy surrounding it, but I also have heard conflicting reactions that indicate none of it is 100% unbiased.

That being said, we only get 6 days so we spend as much of it as possible under the bubble!