Which park to start with 11:30am Mythos reservation?

[jdmccon7]

So I made an 11:30 Mythos lunch reservation but am now reconsidering. We have 1 day to show some newbies the place. I am not exactly a veteran but have been there before; have only seen Hogsmeade. This time we would like to see both Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade plus more if time permits.

My question is, can I get through Diagon Alley if I start at rope drop and still make that Mythos reservation at 11:30? Or would it be better to start in Hogsmeade?

I am leaning toward Diagon Alley first because A) I doubt I will be able to get my autistic nephew through Dr Suess in a reasonable time frame. We probably need to do that last. and B) Half of us have seen Hogsmeade already. If for some reason we are wiped out by lunch, at least we would have seen the new stuff.

Maybe I should just push back the Mythos reservation? Would appreciate your input. Planning a 10 day trip for 8 people is freaking me out a little.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

Since you asked about doing Diagon Alley first, I am assuming that you do not have early admission. I think an 11:30 reservation at Mythos does not give you much time to experience the parks if you do not get started until 9 am.

We had a 12 pm Mythos reservation, and we hit Hogsmeade with early admission, rode FJ, rode Flight of the Hippogriff, went to Camp Jurassic (9 am), played there for about an hour, rode Jurassic Park River Adventure, went to Seuss Landing and did everything there, then just made it to Mythos for our 12 pm reservation. I thought it was nice to save ourselves some walking by staying in IOA on the day of our Mythos reservation.

If you hit Gringotts and Diagon Alley first thing (9 am) and spend some time in Diagon Alley, then head straight to HE, you may have a little time to explore Hogsmeade before heading to Mythos. Then you could do Seuss Landing and spend as much time as your nephew wants there.

I would still push my lunch reservation to 12 or 12:30 so that you don't feel super rushed in exploring Diagon Alley.

 

[lmf70]

Depends if you want to ride gringotts and if it's operational at the time. I planned to ride it first thing Monday and when we got there it was down and did not come up til around 2pm.
What time of year are you going?

 

[jdmccon7]

No early admission. Staying anywhere without a full kitchen isn't an option for us with the multiple food allergies I have to manage for my son. And Universal has nothing like that last I checked. Wow I wish that would change. I try to do restaurants early or late to minimize the chaos in the hope of a better (safer) experience for him. As long as I can get Diagon Alley in before lunch, I'll be happy. Maybe I will push that reservation back. Thanks for the help thinking through this.

 

[macraven]

No early admission. Staying anywhere without a full kitchen isn't an option for us with the multiple food allergies I have to manage for my son. And Universal has nothing like that last I checked. Wow I wish that would change. I try to do restaurants early or late to minimize the chaos in the hope of a better (safer) experience for him. As long as I can get Diagon Alley in before lunch, I'll be happy. Maybe I will push that reservation back. Thanks for the help thinking through this.

on the UO website, it does state those with dietary restrictions or special diets can contact them for help in advance.
i have placed the name and number to call on a past thread within a few months back.
i'll try to find it and pull it up for you.

but, do contact uo for help with your meals for in the parks.

 

[schumigirl]

No early admission. Staying anywhere without a full kitchen isn't an option for us with the multiple food allergies I have to manage for my son. And Universal has nothing like that last I checked. Wow I wish that would change. I try to do restaurants early or late to minimize the chaos in the hope of a better (safer) experience for him. As long as I can get Diagon Alley in before lunch, I'll be happy. Maybe I will push that reservation back. Thanks for the help thinking through this.

on the UO website, it does state those with dietary restrictions or special diets can contact them for help in advance.
i have placed the name and number to call on a past thread within a few months back.
i'll try to find it and pull it up for you.

but, do contact uo for help with your meals for in the parks.

Universal Orlando were wonderful with friends of ours who have three children, two of which have serious food allergies. They contacted them a few weeks before their Christmas visit in 2013 and found them to be so helpful with advice on everything they needed to know.

Their trip was amazing and had no issues with anything. They were very impressed with UOR.

 

[littlejimmy]

op, to get back to your question. it is doable. head straight to da, ride gringotts. mull around da for a bit. take Hogwarts express to ioa and walk into mythos at 1130. you can do it easily.

 

[jdmccon7]

I am always amazed at the helpful and kind people I get to meet (sort of) on these boards. Thank you very much, all of you.

I completely forgot to inform Mythos of the allergy. I will call them today as well as contact Universal. Thanks for the reminder.

And you convinced me, we'll head straight to da. Oh I can't wait!

 

[johde]

I'm going to be the disagree slightly with the people here. If Despicable me is on your list you'll want to hit that first before heading to Diagon Alley. The line for DM can often time be longer than Gringotts and it's queue isn't as interesting as Gringotts.

 

[jdmccon7]

ah shoot, Despicable is on the list. I forgot about it. So can I do Despicable, Gringotts, limited time in DA, Hogwart's Express then Mythos at 11:30? Figure we can always come back to DA later in the day if they have the energy and I can tear the one away from Dr Suess.

 

[lmf70]

I really would push it back a bit so you're not so rushed then you have a nice relaxing meal time to re-charge. Did you say when you're going that will make a difference too.

 

[schumigirl]

ah shoot, Despicable is on the list. I forgot about it. So can I do Despicable, Gringotts, limited time in DA, Hogwart's Express then Mythos at 11:30? Figure we can always come back to DA later in the day if they have the energy and I can tear the one away from Dr Suess.

I agree with Johde.........do DM first the head to DA.....I was amazed last couple of years the queue for DM........it gets big real quick.

If you can push back your reservation for Mythos that might be a plan, just in case. It does depend on when you're going how busy everything will be though.

 

[jdmccon7]

You convinced me, I pushed back that Mythos reservation. I am going this week so there will be crowds. The last time we went in Dec and it was bliss. Thanks to all for the help.