Need planning help!

[williamscm3]

We are Disney World veterans who will be going to Universal for one day this August. We have park to park passes but only for the one day. It will be my me, my husband, and our 6 yo boy. The most important rides for us(which I'm sure are most people's most important rides) are:

IOA: Spider-Man and Jurassic Park river adventure

US: Escape from Gringotts, Transformers, Despicable me, and Shrek. (Possibly Men in Black)

I want to have plenty of time to explore Diagon Alley and we will be eating lunch and dinner in the parks. IOA closes at 8 and US closes at 8:30 on our day(August 22). Neither of us have ever been to Universal but we are very excited! I want to make sure we get the most out of our day. My questions are:

1. Which park should we visit first? I'm guessing start with IOA because US closes later?

2. Which rides can be saved until later and which ones should we go straight to? If we start with IOA, would that put is getting to Diagon Alley too late in the day? There are only 2 rides that are priorities for us at IOA but I don't want to have to rush through it either trying to get to Diagon Alley quickly.

3. Size wise would you compare one park to about the size of Magic Kingdom? Bigger? Smaller? Just trying to get a handle on how far apart all these things really are on the map.

4. Where is the best quick service food? Where would you eat lunch and dinner at?

5. What time should we plan on arriving that day? 8:30 for park opening at 9 ok? Is the park still very busy that time of year or manageable? Should we it the express passes? I'd rather avoid that if possible!

I've tried to research as much as I can but this site is by far the best tool I think I can utilize to make a solid plan. I'm a major planner if you can't already tell, so any and all info will be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!!

 

[Southernmiss]

We are Disney World veterans who will be going to Universal for one day this August. We have park to park passes but only for the one day. It will be my me, my husband, and our 6 yo boy. The most important rides for us(which I'm sure are most people's most important rides) are:

IOA: Spider-Man and Jurassic Park river adventure.
'Express Passes are your friend here'

US: Escape from Gringotts, (No express pass) Transformers, (Express Pass)Despicable me (Express Pass needed) and Shrek (Express Pass needed) . (Possibly Men in Black (Express Pass - fun!)

I want to have plenty of time to explore Diagon Alley and we will be eating lunch and dinner in the parks. IOA closes at 8 and US closes at 8:30 on our day(August 22). Neither of us have ever been to Universal but we are very excited! I want to make sure we get the most out of our day. My questions are:

1. Which park should we visit first? I'm guessing start with IOA because US closes later?

2. Which rides can be saved until later and which ones should we go straight to? If we start with IOA, would that put is getting to Diagon Alley too late in the day? There are only 2 rides that are priorities for us at IOA but I don't want to have to rush through it either trying to get to Diagon Alley quickly.

3. Size wise would you compare one park to about the size of Magic Kingdom? Bigger? Smaller? Just trying to get a handle on how far apart all these things really are on the map.

4. Where is the best quick service food? Where would you eat lunch and dinner at?

5. What time should we plan on arriving that day? 8:30 for park opening at 9 ok? Is the park still very busy that time of year or manageable? Should we it the express passes? I'd rather avoid that if possible!

I've tried to research as much as I can but this site is by far the best tool I think I can utilize to make a solid plan. I'm a major planner if you can't already tell, so any and all info will be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!!

We are returning home as I type from Universal/Disney. I would arrive 30 minutes before opening and go right to Diagon Alley. Do all you want there. Then hop the train over to the other HP attractions. Have lunch at either 3 Broomstick or the Leaky Cauldron. Once you've done all you want in HP, move on to your other must dos. The HP areas get much busier as the day goes on.

I would highly recommend getting Express Passes. Really worth it to us (family of 6) to move quickly through the parks. August heat and lines will be a bear- and we live in an area with same weather as Orlando. We left the parks hot and tired yesterday and glad we had Express Pass to bypass 60+ minute waits for Minions and Shrek.

We were able to see/do all we wanted on the first day. The second day, we went back and hit the highlights again. 3rd day, 3 of our teens were pooped (after 5 commando days at Disney and 2 at Universal) and didn't make it to a park at all. Dh, ds21 and I did early entry from 8 until 1:30 and then left yesterday.

See my notes for Express Pass rides in the ops quote. Can't highlight on my phone.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Hit US first. Neither Spiderman nor JP will have nearly the line that Despicable Me or Gringott's will. I would try to be at US right at opening, hit Despicable me first, then off to Gringott's. Ride Gringott's, then double back for Transformers. Men in Black's line is generally short. Shrek is a short line, as well.

 

[williamscm3]

Thank you both! Does it take a long time to ride the train between parks?

 

[DisBuckMan]

The actual ride is only 8 or 10 minutes, I would guess...maybe even less.

 

[williamscm3]

Are the front of the two parks within walking distance? Say we start at US, ride minions and head to Diagon alley as you suggested. Then take the train over to IOA and start at hogsmeade and work our way around to the front of the park, then head back into the front of US to ride Shrek and transformers? Sound good?

 

[Southernmiss]

Are the front of the two parks within walking distance? Say we start at US, ride minions and head to Diagon alley as you suggested. Then take the train over to IOA and start at hogsmeade and work our way around to the front of the park, then head back into the front of US to ride Shrek and transformers? Sound good?

Yes, they are within walking distance.

 

[williamscm3]

I was reading throug some other posts...if we have park to park tickets we need to pay extra for the hogwarts express? How much?

 

[johde]

If you're a big HP fan, one thing to remember is the train is a different experience each direction. As far as size, I would say the 2 parks together are about the size of EPCOT. With USF being future world and IOA be world showcase. I'm going to agree with the person that said USF first and straight to Minions. From there, it's a bit of a toss up. If USF has early entry, I would hit a couple of more rides before heading to Diagon Alley Like Transformers and MIB. The lines should be short and it will allow the Early Entry people time to finish up Diagon Alley.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Yes...that would be fine.

I was reading throug some other posts...if we have park to park tickets we need to pay extra for the hogwarts express? How much?

No....no need to pay anything extra to ride HE. Park to park tickets are the only requirement.

 

[williamscm3]

If you're a big HP fan, one thing to remember is the train is a different experience each direction. As far as size, I would say the 2 parks together are about the size of EPCOT. With USF being future world and IOA be world showcase. I'm going to agree with the person that said USF first and straight to Minions. From there, it's a bit of a toss up. If USF has early entry, I would hit a couple of more rides before heading to Diagon Alley Like Transformers and MIB. The lines should be short and it will allow the Early Entry people time to finish up Diagon Alley.

Thank you for the size comparison! That will be a big help! We are all so excited for the transformers ride so it will be hard to walk by it...we may do minions, transformers, and then head on to Diagon alley. Thank you!

 

[williamscm3]

Yes...that would be fine.


No....no need to pay anything extra to ride HE. Park to park tickets are the only requirement.

Thank you for all your help! I'm hoping late August won't have high crowds. Do you think the Hulk and King Kong rides will pull some substantial crowds away from everything else? We won't be attempting those this trip because my son is too small but I'm hoping them being open will benefit us.

 

[gwek]

Good luck! I can't be much direct help, but I wanted to point out a few things:

1) If you decide to pay for Universal Express, check out which rides it applies to first. I don't think it applies to any of the Harry Potter rides, and possibly some of the other things you want, so it would probably be of limited value.

2) The good folks at TouringPlans.com cover Universal, and I know they have 1-day plans that address both parks. For 10 bucks or so, you can put in the rides and events you want, and they'll recommend optimization for your specific date. They also have a book -- the Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando. Although their books are great, I don't think Universal is being updated this year until December, and last year's edition is already pretty out of date. You'll find most of the same material on the site.

I'm a Disney planner and enjoy the planning of the trip almost as much as the trip itself, and am prepping for a trip in October. The lack of need to pre-plan for FastPass and restaurants it's killing me!

 

[macraven]

williamscm3, don't know which direction you are coming from for the one day at the darkside in august.
but, you do need to consider the traffic if you plan on being at the park at 8:30.

if you don't have the regular road traffic, you could hit time waits for parking in the garage at uo.

it is possible that there will be many waiting to enter the parking garage for their car.

give your self an extra bit of time just in case.

 

[crjack]

We just returned from our trip and our group of 6 loved both parks but particularly the HP attractions. Absolutely phenomenal! We had Express Pass and were so happy we did. It allowed us quick access to many rides.

None of the Harry Potter attractions though take Express Pass so each day there we headed for Forbidden Journey or Gringotts first thing. The lines and crowds definitely grew throughout the day.

We used Express on virtually all of our other rides though including Spiderman, Transformers, water rides, etc.

As mentioned, no extra charge for Hogwarts Express but you do need a park to park ticket and you have to actually exit the ride and board it again to go back the other direction. You can take it one way as a means of getting to the other park.

I have to say bag check at the entrance to the park could not have been easier or more efficient. So much faster than Disney.

We loved both parks. Have a great time.

 

[macraven]

Flight of the Hippogriff has express line

 

[DisBuckMan]

I have to say bag check at the entrance to the park could not have been easier or more efficient. So much faster than Disney.

Agree with this. I really can't believe that Disney is just random screening through metal detectors. Seems like they'd do like Universal and screen everyone.

 

[crjack]

Flight of the Hippogriff has express line

Sorry....you're right! Only my children and their friends did this ride. DH and I did not. I know that Forbidden Journey and Gringotts did not take Express but our wait time was not bad by doing it first thing in the morning. Plus the areas leading up to the ride were amazing so we enjoyed our wait!

We really enjoyed Diagon Alley and probably spent about 45 min there. We got ice cream at Fortescue's (so good) and watched the dragon on top of Gringotts.

 

[williamscm3]

Good luck! I can't be much direct help, but I wanted to point out a few things:

1) If you decide to pay for Universal Express, check out which rides it applies to first. I don't think it applies to any of the Harry Potter rides, and possibly some of the other things you want, so it would probably be of limited value.

2) The good folks at TouringPlans.com cover Universal, and I know they have 1-day plans that address both parks. For 10 bucks or so, you can put in the rides and events you want, and they'll recommend optimization for your specific date. They also have a book -- the Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando. Although their books are great, I don't think Universal is being updated this year until December, and last year's edition is already pretty out of date. You'll find most of the same material on the site.

I'm a Disney planner and enjoy the planning of the trip almost as much as the trip itself, and am prepping for a trip in October. The lack of need to pre-plan for FastPass and restaurants it's killing me!

Thanks!! I will check that stuff out! I too enjoy planning just as much as the trip lol

 

[williamscm3]

williamscm3, don't know which direction you are coming from for the one day at the darkside in august.
but, you do need to consider the traffic if you plan on being at the park at 8:30.

if you don't have the regular road traffic, you could hit time waits for parking in the garage at uo.

it is possible that there will be many waiting to enter the parking garage for their car.

give your self an extra bit of time just in case.

We will be coming from the Poly that day so I'm thinking we should get a taxi?? We won't have our own car...