Just back with my observations - any questions?

damo · Nov 27, 2015

TommyJK said:
Question. When only 1 park has EE (like IOA in your case for the whole week), how early does the Hogwarts express start running to hop over to Diagon Alley? Would it have been feasible to get over there prior to UO's opening?

It gets you over to the other park just around opening. Won't make a big difference.

dixonsontour · Nov 27, 2015

Yes the ride doesn't start running until the other park opens but if you get in line and are on the first train you will be maybe 5-10 mins ahead of the guests coming from the gates.

We did it one day, had some time again in diagon alley (7am opening) then train to Islands of Adventure for it's 9am opening.

Cinderella822 · Nov 30, 2015

TommyJK said:
Question. When only 1 park has EE (like IOA in your case for the whole week), how early does the Hogwarts express start running to hop over to Diagon Alley? Would it have been feasible to get over there prior to UO's opening?

I think it starts running at 9:00 but I felt like it got us there just in time to beat the majority of the crowds entering through the front gate. One morning, we rode Gringotts twice in a row once we arrived via Hogwarts Express before the line got too long.

386chad · Dec 2, 2015

Thank you for posting this. I was considering doing a full week stay at UO for our 2016 trip. However, we are a family of Disney die hards, so I keep waffling back and forth as to whether to commit to the full week or do a split stay. We're the type that once we get settled on vacation, we don't like to uproot again in the middle. A lot of advice I am getting is to just find some transportation from Disney over to Universal for a day or two.

I still think I would like to get the full UO experience by committing to it for a week. We just got back from a week at the Fort Wilderness Cabins. The stay was completely transporting and wonderful; my wife does not expect UO to live up to that.

Any advice for a complete UO noob? I've not visited the park in about 30 years. Our girls are 7 and 9 and were able to ride all rides at WDW this year. Plus I am a huge HP fan.

kip0992 · Dec 2, 2015

If you are staying at one of the Deluxe UO hotels that have the Express Passes you won't need a full week to do everything at the parks... You could do them in 2-3 days. So it would depend on how much pool time / resort time you want. The 3 top end UO hotels (Portofino, Hard Rock, Royal Pacific) are really nice, and all have well themed pool areas...and UO still encourages you to pool hop. With young kids I doubt you'd be spending much time at City Walk.

386chad · Dec 2, 2015

kip0992 said:
If you are staying at one of the Deluxe UO hotels that have the Express Passes you won't need a full week to do everything at the parks... You could do them in 2-3 days. So it would depend on how much pool time / resort time you want. The 3 top end UO hotels (Portofino, Hard Rock, Royal Pacific) are really nice, and all have well themed pool areas...and UO still encourages you to pool hop. With young kids I doubt you'd be spending much time at City Walk.

Thank you for that. We would be ok staying there for a full week to break it up and get some pure relaxation time.

Do you have a favorite of the hotels you mentioned?

kip0992 · Dec 2, 2015

I've stayed at all 4 UO hotels at one point or another over the years. Portofino is the most "adult" / classy, Hard Rock is best for teens / young adults, Royal Pacific is the most relaxing, Cabana Bay best for families with kids (and it has the best pool area...but no EP's). My personal pick would be Royal Pacific (very similar to the Poly at Disney), but you really can't go wrong with any of them.

schumigirl · Dec 2, 2015

386chad said:
Thank you for that. We would be ok staying there for a full week to break it up and get some pure relaxation time.

Absolutely!!!

We stay for 18 nights at Royal Pacific every year........plenty of park time, resort time, Citywalk and around Orlando.......no Disney or Seaworld.........never get bored.

With a week, you will have the best of both worlds.......there are things like dance competitions for kids in Citywalk at night, it is very family oriented.........pools have good family activities at all pools too.......

Would definitely recommend you stay the week solely at one of the Universal resorts.......you won't regret it especially since you haven't been in so long :thumbsup2

dixonsontour · Dec 2, 2015

I'd have a look at a cabana bay suite. With a week you will be fine with no express pass unless you are at a peak time of year. We have done a 7 night stay at cabana 2014 and 10 night stay 2015. We enjoy parks plus downtime. My 9 year old DD loves it.
Lazy river, movies by the pool, s'mores at the firepit, bowling. We also enjoy the minigolf at citywalk, 2 fun courses. Oh and we all enjoyed blue man group.
Rates are much cheaper for a longer stay. I'd go for it and have a week at universal especially if you are potter fans. My DD can spend hours doing spells with her interactive wand.
I did a trip report on here last year show me the minions if you want to take a look - my DD was 8 that trip.
http://www.disboards.com/threads/sh...october-2014-universal-food-complete.3418576/

Musicman20 · Dec 3, 2015

Hi all. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. We went Oct 2015 - it was pretty damn busy for the 3-4 days we spent at Universal and IOA.

I must say, the HP worlds for me make a good half day AT LEAST. That is if you want to really immerse yourself in it, relax, go in all the shops, ride the rides (especially the main two a few times). I could quite happily spend all day in the HP worlds and on Hogwarts Express.

I really like Universal. Both parks have had HUGE changes since my first visit as a young kid, and in fact they are MASSIVELY different from when I last went in 2005....so 10 years.

The wait times weren't terrible, but some of the waits for the houses for Halloween Horror Nights were quite long.

That is it now. WDW/Universal/Orlando addict. We are booked for 2016.

Cinderella822 · Dec 3, 2015

The first 2 times we did USO, we stayed a whole week and loved it! Our favorite hotel is Portofino. I think each onsite hotel has its own appeal though. You can get lost in the theming of the resort there as well. I know Disney has the land to really help you immerse yourself, but it always amazes me how Universal does it with such a small property.

We enjoy taking our time and relaxing, so a week is just right for us. We would do the parks in the morning, have a nice lunch, go swimming and relax by the pool in the afternoon, then have a nice dinner and go back to the parks (if open) in the evening or head to City Walk. Lots of great places to eat at the hotels, parks, and City Walk. See Blue Man Group or see if there's a show at Hard Rock while you're there. Just take time to take it all in and enjoy!

lilaclily · Dec 11, 2015

I wish all parks had to show how many people they were accepting into the park. I think a lot of over booking goes on sometimes.

keishashadow · Dec 11, 2015

OP we were there same time frame, it was busier than i expected too. My guess was combo of overflow from those avoiding the disney race the 1st weekend and Jersey week. I was really glad to have the FOTL

Just back with my observations - any questions?

damo

Proud Redhead

dixonsontour

DIS Veteran

Cinderella822

DIS Veteran

386chad

Earning My Ears

kip0992

Mouseketeer

386chad

Earning My Ears

kip0992

Mouseketeer

schumigirl

It's a bit of a roodie doodie word for lady parts

dixonsontour

DIS Veteran

Musicman20

Earning My Ears

Cinderella822

DIS Veteran

lilaclily

Earning My Ears

keishashadow

Proud Redhead...yes, I have some bananas!

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