Is this possible???

[horse11]

We will be staying at Disney he second week of May. Would have loved to do a split stay at Universal but just can not swing it so we will be attempting to do the two parks in one day while using Mears Transportation system to Universal from Disney and then back. Our Date would be Sunday May 15th. not sure what the opening or closing time would be. We would purchase the regular express pass would get there right at opening and be able to stay until closing as long as we can arrange that with Mears. The rides and shows we would like to see is are:
IOA: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Popye and Bluto Bilge Rat Barges, The Amazing Spiderman and possibly Sinbads adventure, or Posedian's Fury

At Universal Studios: Harry potter and the Escape from Gringotts, Despicable minon mayham, Et, Men in Black, Revenage of the Mummy, The Simpson's, Transformer the ride and possibly Beetle Juice.

We would be doing two quick service meals. So what should our plan of action be? what order should we do this? I am use to Disney were just about every step needs to be planned. So is this possible?

 

[macraven]

only issue on doing the darkside on fridays in May can be the local schools doing field trips to the parks.
it is common that month on fridays.

dont know this far out when the grad bash and grad adventures will be held.

 

[horse11]

only issue on doing the darkside on fridays in May can be the local schools doing field trips to the parks.
it is common that month on fridays.

dont know this far out when the grad bash and grad adventures will be held.

We would be going on a Sunday not a Friday. Would that work? Are Sundays a good day? What pattern should we follow?

 

[macraven]

sundays are good days.
many are leaving vacation to return home on sundays.

 

[horse11]

sundays are good days.
many are leaving vacation to return home on sundays.

Great!!! Thanks!!! Is there a plan of action we should take? so far it is sounding as if Minions will be more crowded then any of the Harry Potter rides. Would it be best to hit it first or would last park hour be better? Remember we will not have EE. would like to try to fit everything mentioned in but hoping we won't have to back track.

 

[macraven]

if i were going for the first time to the darkside, i would hit DE first and then DA area second.
many of the potheads go to DA first and spread out in that area once they do the main ride.

check the park guide map when you enter the park for show times of animal actor show.

by the time you are done with DE, the gringotts line might be less of a wait.

the rides you listed above are in the studios.
after gringotts, hit MIB, and the other rides.
return to DA and when done there, take the HE to the other potterville at ioa.

 

[Not My Fault!]

You're going to get insanely wet on the bilge rat barge ride, and I mean wet like you just jumped in a pool with your clothes on. Plan accordingly.

I think it's an ambitious plan; what you really need is a time machine like Doctor Who's wibbly wobbly timey wimey, which if I recall correctly could slow time.

Whichever park you choose first, I'd go directly to the potter area quickly and then take it from there.

 

[nat8199]

I did one day at IOA/US last April during the weekend. My ride priorities weren't the same as yours (I was going for thrills and Harry Potter), but I got a lot done even though was only there opening to 4pm.

From memory I did Gringot's, walked around, Hogwarts Express, Forbidden Journey (2x), Dragon Challenge (waited for front row), Hulk, Spiderman, Lunch at Three Broomsticks, Hogwarts Express, Mummy (2x), Rip It, and Transformers. I also took a lot of pictures and ate some snacks.

I think that you will have a lot of fun and get a lot done, just not everything that is offered. Have your priorities and a good touring plan to make sure you aren't criss-crossing the park too much.

 

[horse11]

Ok so I have really been working hard on my touring plan and have revised it a bit. Please tell me if this could be possible. We would purchase the express pass so hoping that will help us since we will not have early arrival. We also plan on going the third Sunday in May
Rope Drop: Despicable me
ET
Gringoths
MIB
Simpsons
Back to Diagon Alley to look around
Ride Hogwarts Express to IOA
Lunch at Three broomsticks
HP & The Forbidden Journey
Jurassic park River Adventure
The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman
Posedians or Sinbad show
Dinner at Mythos
Ride Hogwarts Express back to Unersal
Revenge of the Mummy
Beetle Juice
Transformers

 

[macraven]

check the hours of mythos a month prior to going.
not sure of park hours for May next year.
mythos does not stay open in the evening usually.
sometimes they close 4:30 or have that as the last seating.
better to book a reservation for the lunch hour period or right after say about 1:30.

do the 3 B's for dinner if you can switch mythos with that.

beetle juice is rumored to be moved.
hopefully, not closed.

i've done both posedian and sinbad show.
i only hit them every other year when i have long stays onsite.
i enjoy them but they are not on many others lists for the "must do" shows.
i'm fine with sinbad.

the JP river adventure, well, you can get very wet on it.
especially if it is a full boat.
put your cell in a baggy in case you do get splashed.

try to look at the park maps and work your way thru the parks based on the order you come across rides.
it will save you time.

having the EP will be beneficial.
DA and FJ don't have express lines.

 

[horse11]

Macraven you are the best!! My plan was to follow the route but thought it might be better to hit Gringotts as early as possible and back track a little to go to Simpsons and MIB should I do these before Gringotts then? Such a shame about Mythos!! Seems strange that a sit down would close early. Changing them up should not be a problem. Thanks for the info on Posedian and Sinbad this may be taken out depending on time. Is the Beetlejuice area were they will be adding Kong? wonder where it would move too? All the reason to check with you DIsers during this process.

 

[horse11]

check the hours of mythos a month prior to going.
not sure of park hours for May next year.
mythos does not stay open in the evening usually.
sometimes they close 4:30 or have that as the last seating.
better to book a reservation for the lunch hour period or right after say about 1:30.

How soon should I make my ADR for Mythos?

 

[macraven]

i can only guess where beetle juice will be moved to.
from reading other sites and these boards, some think it will be moved to Fear Factor area. (studios side)
no official word out yet about all of this yet.
just have to wait and see what will happen.

but, it will be well known before you go next year.

if you use open table for a reservation, or the next table site, probably can do it 30 days out.
if i make a reservation, i ususally do it at the booth in city walk the day before or the morning of.
but, i have many days on my stay and can work the plans around things quite well.
many times i go to mythos on a last minute decision.
i do a walk up around 1:30 and get seated right away if not a 5 minute wait.

it all depends on the number of others that want to do mythos the same day you are.
this is where you can decide in advance to make a ressie in advance to your benefit.

if there are no crowds at the studios, it will take you less than 4 minutes to walk from MIB to the simpsons.
and if you buy the express, little wait for those rides.

i stay on site and get the free ep for the parks.
but on MIB, i use the solo rider line.
i go solo to the parks and find it quicker to get on MIB that way.

you have one group of people that say do gringotts early in the morning.
you have the other group tell you to go at the end of the park day.

if you have never gone on gringotts, try to see it in the morning.
only say that as sometimes the ride breaks down and if it is within the hour before the park closes, it might not go back up at all
you would hate to miss that ride...

you could do gringotts and wait in the morning for it.
when you do the HE and return to DA, go for that ride again.

DE has express lines so your wait won't be awful if you don't do it first thing when you get into the park.

i usually do a search to see the dates for grad adventure and grad bash dates before i suggest things this far out for going next May.
some dates in April and May are involved where the parks will close down early for those yearly events.
don't worry about it now, i can't remember sundays being involved in them.

do a google search and look for those events.
you will get this years info and can see what days of the week are involved.
there are not many of them..

 

[horse11]

i can only guess where beetle juice will be moved to.
from reading other sites and these boards, some think it will be moved to Fear Factor area. (studios side)
no official word out yet about all of this yet.
just have to wait and see what will happen.

but, it will be well known before you go next year.

if you use open table for a reservation, or the next table site, probably can do it 30 days out.
if i make a reservation, i ususally do it at the booth in city walk the day before or the morning of.
but, i have many days on my stay and can work the plans around things quite well.
many times i go to mythos on a last minute decision.
i do a walk up around 1:30 and get seated right away if not a 5 minute wait.

it all depends on the number of others that want to do mythos the same day you are.
this is where you can decide in advance to make a ressie in advance to your benefit.

if there are no crowds at the studios, it will take you less than 4 minutes to walk from MIB to the simpsons.
and if you buy the express, little wait for those rides.

i stay on site and get the free ep for the parks.
but on MIB, i use the solo rider line.
i go solo to the parks and find it quicker to get on MIB that way.

you have one group of people that say do gringotts early in the morning.
you have the other group tell you to go at the end of the park day.

if you have never gone on gringotts, try to see it in the morning.
only say that as sometimes the ride breaks down and if it is within the hour before the park closes, it might not go back up at all
you would hate to miss that ride...

you could do gringotts and wait in the morning for it.
when you do the HE and return to DA, go for that ride again.

DE has express lines so your wait won't be awful if you don't do it first thing when you get into the park.

i usually do a search to see the dates for grad adventure and grad bash dates before i suggest things this far out for going next May.
some dates in April and May are involved where the parks will close down early for those yearly events.
don't worry about it now, i can't remember sundays being involved in them.

do a google search and look for those events.
you will get this years info and can see what days of the week are involved.
there are not many of them..

WOW!!! Thanks for all the info!!! Might be best to wait awhile to make a soild touring plan. Gives me food for thought. Thanks again!!!

 

[macraven]

you're very welcome

hopefully others will give their thoughts also.

what works for me, might not for others that have done the darkside the first time.

we all have different experiences in the parks.

 

[chrystie4141]

If you at getting a EP I would hit Harry Potter first at studios and then go back. The express lines are nothing like Disney. You will not wait but 10 min at the most for anything. For HP in IOA I would do single rider. DH, myself and my 8 year old have been doing single rider for years since the child swap is right when you get off my son just steps off right into there and I am never far behind. The line is 5-10 min tops for a wait for us. Enjoy the rides (I didn't see MUmmy in your list but it is awesome. Also you have to do the water rides they are the best ever. The playgrounds are also great even for adults. One day will be tight but that is how we started 3 years ago. After that my then 6 year said I don't want to go back to Disney and we now are at universal 2 times a year for 5 days each! We stay onsite for the express pass unlimited and don't plan a thing anymore. It is amazing from what I was used to. I plan the taxi to the hotel and home and everything else we just take day by day! Enjoy!

 

[horse11]

you're very welcome

hopefully others will give their thoughts also.

what works for me, might not for others that have done the darkside the first time.

we all have different experiences in the parks.

Ok ok I know but I just can not help myself lol!!! New plan what do you think? Now knowing that Mythos will only be open until 4:30 the new plan would be to try and get an 11:30 ADR so we could be one of the first seating. Reason be that way hopefully we can get our food quickly and also get pictures of the restaurant with less people in our shoot. Sadly it seems we will not have to worry about Beetle Juice since it is now posted that it would be closed permanently. I do realize that heading to Gringotts first thing may save us time but we are also trying not to back track since we will have my mom who is 69 and my dad who is 71 with us. So here it goes:
1st) Despicable me
2nd) Transformers
3rd) Mummy
4th) Gringotts
5th) Hogwarts Express over to IOA
11:30 Lunch at Mythos
6th) Poseidon
7th) Harry Potter
8th) Jurassic Park River Adventure
9th) Spiderman
10th) Sinbad 4:30 show
5:15 Dinner at Three Broomsticks
11th) Hogwarts Express back to Universal
12th)MIB
13th) Simpsons
14th) Transformer ( if any time left)

Since we will be making a full circle after Spiderman I felt the Sinbad 4:30 show might be best since it also seems close to Three Broomsticks where we would like to eat dinner. If not Three Broomsticks also thinking about Leaky Cauldron. Really depending on you guys and your expertise.

 

[horse11]

If you at getting a EP I would hit Harry Potter first at studios and then go back. The express lines are nothing like Disney. You will not wait but 10 min at the most for anything. For HP in IOA I would do single rider. DH, myself and my 8 year old have been doing single rider for years since the child swap is right when you get off my son just steps off right into there and I am never far behind. The line is 5-10 min tops for a wait for us. Enjoy the rides (I didn't see MUmmy in your list but it is awesome. Also you have to do the water rides they are the best ever. The playgrounds are also great even for adults. One day will be tight but that is how we started 3 years ago. After that my then 6 year said I don't want to go back to Disney and we now are at universal 2 times a year for 5 days each! We stay onsite for the express pass unlimited and don't plan a thing anymore. It is amazing from what I was used to. I plan the taxi to the hotel and home and everything else we just take day by day! Enjoy!

Can not tell you how glad I am to hear your comments!!! 10 minute waits for the express line sounds fab!!! I do realize our day will be tight but just can not see how else to do this. been paying around with different plans in my head even with just booking a room for the night but my family would not be happy hauling luggage from Disney to a Universal Hotel before heading to the parks. Believe my I tried convincing them. My parents are going with us and they love Disney otherwise I was really thinking of planning a strictly Universal Vacation. Since our kids are not to old yet I am hoping to give them a taste of Universal if they fall in love it then a possible future Universal only trip may be in the making. I find it interesting that you do not have to plan every moment!!! This could be very refreshing and a really change from Disney!! I am learning that it would normally be best to head straight to Diagon Alley but I try to limit our walking and back tracking since my parents are going with us. Mom is 69 and dad is 71. No worries Mummy is in the new plan!!!

 

[elaine amj]

Depending how many express passes you are buying, it might be worth booking a throwaway onsite room. Something to consider anyway...

 

[damo]

We never, ever do a touring plan at Universal. We don't even preplan which park we're going to first since we go to both each day. We rarely, and I mean twice in 15 years. reserve a restaurant in advance. Universal is definitely a "What do you want to do next?" vacation.