Hooray!  You are going to Universal Studios!  Now to plan out your day!  If your time is limited, but you want to see it all, check out the tips below.

If you have early park admission:  When we were there in February, only Universal Studios opened one hour early at 8am while the normal park opening time of 9am held for Islands of Adventure.  The best way to hit the attractions is to arrive ~15-20 min prior to the early admission time and wait at the gate.

1. Note that although the park opens early, not everything (rides, restaurants, areas of the park) may actually be open. When we were there, only the Minions ride, Simpsons rides and Diagon Alley were open for that extra morning hour prior.
2. If the Harry Potter activities are your goal, once the gate opens walk directly to the back of the park where the entrance to Diagon Alley is.  Check out the Escape from Gringott’s ride once or twice (or more!) and then check out the shops (Olivander’s wand experience, etc.).
3. Next (if you have a park to park pass) – Take the Hogwart’s Express to Islands of Adventure!  It should still be pretty early so you will get to Hogsmeade just as it opens and can ride the Escape from Gringott’s ride and check out the shops before it gets to crowded – because believe me, the Harry Potter attractions/areas get crazy crowded.
   • Come back at night to ride it again and check out the outdoor light show on the castle!  Crowds line up about an hour before it even starts.
4. If you do not have the park to park pass or decide to stay in Universal Studios: Next, head to Simpson’s Land (Springfield, USA) and do the Simpson’s ride.  Then grab a big donut from Lard Lad’s for breakfast!  It’s big enough to split, but they also have a variety of regular size donuts to choose from.
5. Check out Alien Attack! and then start heading back to the entrance (see #6 below) and hitting the other rides, next.  (Most people entering are now going to be heading to Diagon Alley.).
6. There are daily parades – so check the times and try to hit one sometime during your stay.
7. Or(if you have a park to park pass) – Take the Hogwart’s Express to Islands of Adventure!  It should still be pretty early so you will get to Hogsmeade just as it opens and can ride the Escape from Gringott’s ride and check out the shops before it gets to crowded – because believe me, the Harry Potter attractions/areas get crazy crowded.
8. Next, start heading back to the entrance of Island’s for Adventure and hit the Jurrassic Park ride, King Kong, Spiderman, etc. and then come back around the park through Dr. Seuss’s Landing.  Check out Poseidon’s Revenge and the interactive fountain.
9. Then head back to Universal Studios and head toward the entrance checking out the rides and sites either walking through Simpson’s area, Woody Woodpecker and Curious George areas to get back (if you have smaller kids) or through San Francisco to the Transformers ride, the Fast and the Furious, the Mummy (awesome ride), Minions (my favorite!), Transformers, Shrek and others.

If you do not have early park admission…

1. … but you get there as soon as the park opens, do things in the order above.
2. If you get there a little later (~11am), save the Harry Potter attractions for the evening (after 5pm) and check out all of the other rides and areas.  The Universal App gives an approximation of wait times, so you can deduce which rides are best to check out and when, as you go through the day.

Looking to hit the Water Park?

1. There is direct transportation (bus) to/from the onsite hotels to Volcano Bay.  You can also catch a bus from the City Walk.  It is quite a walk from Universal Studios to where the Volcano Bay bus pick up is just past the City Walk.  All in all it takes about 30 – 40 minutes to get from the Universal Parks to Volcano Bay (including getting your Tapu).
2. If the mornings are a bit too cool for you to want to go directly to the water park, or if it opens later (it opened at 10am while we were there), then you can go to the park for an hour or two and then hop on a bus at the City Walk and take it over to the water park.  Hit all of the water slides first, then grab lunch, check out the lazy river and the wild river and hang out around the pool.
3. Super Tip:  Bring your own towels.  Volcano Bay charges $6 to rent a towel (normal hotel towel) and $25 to buy a towel.