Enough Time to do Universal?

[pandabebe]

We arrived in Port Carnaveral on December 22nd at 6 a.m. and depart at 9 p.m. We really want to go to Universal but we're not sure if it will be worth it given the travel time. Has anyone gone for the day? Would love to hear your experience and whether you felt rushed to make it back onto the ship. TIA!

[BlueHerons]

We arrived in Port Carnaveral on December 22nd at 6 a.m. and depart at 9 p.m. We really want to go to Universal but we're not sure if it will be worth it given the travel time. Has anyone gone for the day? Would love to hear your experience and whether you felt rushed to make it back onto the ship. TIA!

 

That's plenty of time!

[moggin123]

It really depends what day it is and how busy the park will be. also if you want to do both universal and islands. you can get through most of both parks in a day on a slow/moderate day, you will just be really tired. We always just go for a day trip with our annual passes since we only live an hour away. We usually get to do most of what we want to every time we go.

[skrufy]

How do you plan on getting to Universal?

[JohninDC]

We did a port visit to PC on the Pride last year and did one of the parks - not both. Car rental shuttle at about 7:45, rolling in the car shortly after 8:00, parked at Universal about 9:15. We left at 3:45, dropped the car off just before 5:00 and caught the shuttle back to the port.

 

Most of the car rental agencies close by 6:00 -- drop the car later than that and you will need a taxi to get back to the ship.

[Davey Wavey]

Usually a day trip from a cruise stop is rushed and short, but you should have a good 9 hours in the park with that schedule. Dec 22 is a pretty busy time so you may want to buy some fast passes if you want to do lots of rides.

[pandabebe]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I checked online and the cruise tour that provides the shuttle from PC to Universal is only 8 hours; given that it's a little over an hour each way that would leave us with less than 6 hours at the park :(. I also read reviews that December 22 is extremely busy and unfortunately purchasing the fast past is not within our budget ($100 for the ticket + $90 for the fast pass). Maybe Kennedy Space station would be a better option.

[JohninDC]

KSC is a great option.

 

If you think 12/22 will be crowded try going sometime the week between Christmas and New Year! :eek: