Would someone be able to help me make a touring plan?

[mrsannb]

We have plans to go to IOA on Saturday, May 25. Our tickets would also allow us to get into Universal. We have never been. Our main goal is to see Harry Potter but we need to know who should do what, and what else we should do while we are there. We'll also be eating lunch there, so a suggestion for that would be great too.


We have 4 kids
ds 11-likes harry potter, transformers but NOT fast rides/roller coasters, and loud noises can bother him
dd 8-likes harry potter and everything, loves roller coasters, 48"
dd 5- easygoing, likes Dora and Spongebob, 44"
ds 2 1/2 - loves Dora.

ETA: See post #9 and let me know what needs tweaking!

 

[damo]

It is going to be a very busy weekend. Is there any way that you could go during the week instead?

 

[mrsannb]

It is going to be a very busy weekend. Is there any way that you could go during the week instead?

Undercover tourist gave IOA a green light that day. They do not give it a green any other day of our trip.

 

[damo]

Saturdays are always busy at the parks. Fridays in May can also be very bad. I'd try Thursday.

Sounds like Transformers may also be in soft openings by the rumours I am hearing. Is it very important that you ride that since that will change around the touring plans? Transformers being open for softs may make the parks even busier than normal. We'll know more by the middle of next week if that is going to happen.

You really just need to choose which park you want to go to first and get there about 45 minutes before opening. Head to the area that is most important to ride and then just loop around after that.

Many of the rides at Universal/IOA are fast and loud. You might want to do some research on youtube before going.

 

[mrsannb]

Harry Potter is our reason for going and our only must-see. My question wasn't about what day to go. I'm wondering what else we should see.

 

[damo]

Harry Potter is our reason for going and our only must-see. My question wasn't about what day to go. I'm wondering what else we should see.

The day you go will change what you are able to see. A touring plan for Thursday will be different than a touring plan for Saturday.

Also, Forbidden Journey is a relatively fast, dark, scary and at times noisy ride. The two other rides in the Wizarding World are roller coasters. Since your son, who loves Harry Potter, is not a fan of these types of rides, perhaps you should re-evaluate which rides your family would be interested in. The website, www.universalorlando.com gives good descriptions and some videos of the rides. Youtube has onride videos of pretty much everything.

On a normal day, I would head straight for Ollivanders. Then do Forbidden Journey and FLight of the Hippogriff. Then head to Jurassic Park River Adventure and then Spiderman, Dr. Doom and Hulk. I'd then head to Seuss Landing and do all the rides there. I'd finish off with rides on Dragon Challenge. If your family likes water rides, Popeyes is fantastic.

Then I'd head over the Studios and do Transformers, Despicable Me, Shrek, Mummy, ET and Men in Black. There is a kiddie area there as well that the little ones can play at.

If you go on a busy Saturday, you may not make it over to the Studios. If you go on the Thursday, you should be able to get the highlights of both parks done.

If you want to avoid rides, there are some cute shows and other attractions. Sinbad might be fun for your crew as well as the Jurassic Park Playground and Discovery Centre. Storm Force Acceletron might also be a thing the entire family can do.

At Universal, The Animal Actors show is also cute for kids. There is a Spongebob meet and greet as well as one with Dora and Diego.

Rides that are loud and scary or dark or fast.... Forbidden Journey, Dragon Challenge, Jurassic Park River Adventure Spiderman, Poseidan's Fury, Hulk, Dr. Doom, Rip Ride Rockit, Mummy, Terminator.

Touring Plans aren't really used at IOA/Universal but you need to be familiar with which rides you want to ride and which rides are suitable for your family.

 

[mrsannb]

I'm thinking Harry Potter first, then the Seuss stuff. Is there anything else we can take the 5 and 2 year olds on? I made reservations for lunch at 11. And after that maybe head over to Universal to try to see Dora, ET, MIB, Shreck, Barney, Animal Actors, Simpsons, Dispicable me and the 5pm parade.

 

[christophfam]

Don't miss the play area in Jurassic Park. Your 8 and 11 year olds will LOVE it. Not sure about the younger ones as mine were older when we first started going to Universal. There is a younger kid play area in Seuss. The Curious George play area at the Studios is also great fun.

 

[mrsannb]

Ok, does this look do-able? Or do I have way too much planned? Miss any must sees? We plan to get there at 8:15 (via taxi) for 9am opening. good?
I didn't look at the map to see how stuff was laid out. Suggestions for improving this general flow welcome!!
I notice there are a few water things. Is there a need for swim suits here? Otherwise we don't like having wet clothes and will skip wet rides.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Flight of the Hippogriff
get butterbeers/ any other shops & stuff anyone wants to see
Seuss trolley train ride
Cat in the Hat
One Fish Two Fish
Caro-Suess-el (*^might not fit this all in before the show/lunch*)
Oh the Stories You'll hear show at 10:30
Lunch at 11
Camp Jurassic (if time allows)
head to Universal
ET
MIB
Despicable me
A Day in the Park with Barney (2:00 Take little kids)
Simpsons
Animal actors (3:30 arrive 30 min early)
Curious George playground
Shreck 4-D (if time allows)
meet Dora (if time allows, otherwise see her in parade)
call taxi to pick us up at 6:00
5pm superstar parade
6:45 dinner reservations in downtown disney

 

[macraven]

Ok, does this look do-able? Or do I have way too much planned? Miss any must sees? We plan to get there at 8:15 (via taxi) for 9am opening. good?
I didn't look at the map to see how stuff was laid out. Suggestions for improving this general flow welcome!!
I notice there are a few water things. Is there a need for swim suits here? Otherwise we don't like having wet clothes and will skip wet rides.

Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
Olivander's (Is there a show in Olivander's? My kids have wands already.)
Flight of the Hippogriff (Is this jerky?)
get butterbeers/ any other shops & stuff anyone wants to see
Seuss trolley train ride
Cat in the Hat
One Fish Two Fish
Caro-Suess-el (might not fit this all in before the show/lunch)
Oh the Stories You'll hear show at 10:30

on that saturday you are going, don't think you will be able to hit all the above rides in 1.5 hours.
Lunch at 11
Camp Jurassic/Pteranodon flyers
head to Universal
ET
MIB
Despicable me
A Day in the Park with Barney (2:00)
Simpsons
Animal actors (3:30 arrive 15 min early)
Curious George playground
Shreck 4-D
meet Dora (?? I don't see anything about how to do this)
if you spend one hour for lunch (11-12:00) then hit JP, that could take up to an hour.
if you are at universal around 1:15, plan your afternoon around the animal actor show.
do give yourself more than 15 minutes to arrive there prior to the show.
if there are soft openings for transformers, the studios will have more crowds.
call taxi to pick us up at 6:00
5pm superstar parade
6:45 dinner reservations in downtown disney

if you will be going directly to dtd from the darkside parks, you might want to give yourself an hour in case you run into traffic getting there.

hope you all enjoy your day at the darkside!

 

[CPanther95]

That's really pushing it - especially without early entry.

It'd be like someone trying to hit the highlights of Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in a single (busy) day. You might be able to catch a few things from both parks, but you won't appreciate much of anything.

Much better to pick one park to do and wait for another trip to do Universal so you can really enjoy both parks.

 

[MDer2FL]

I'm just a newbie, but have you tried touringplans.com? You can get personalized plans there based on time of arrival, rides/shows you want to do, ages of your group, lunch breaks, etc.

We used them for our prior 2 visits to DW and never waited in line for ANY ride more than about 20 minutes. So of course we're using them again for our Universal/Disney trip for the 4th of July week!

 

[mrsannb]

I'm just a newbie, but have you tried touringplans.com? You can get personalized plans there based on time of arrival, rides/shows you want to do, ages of your group, lunch breaks, etc.

We used them for our prior 2 visits to DW and never waited in line for ANY ride more than about 20 minutes. So of course we're using them again for our Universal/Disney trip for the 4th of July week!

I want to say I did sign up for our last trip. I'll check my emails and see if I am still subscribed. ETA: it expired and I never used it last time.

 

[macraven]

OP, check out the website so you can get a feel for the park layout.
that way if you run into crowds or long lines, you can go to Plan B for another way to reach the ride you have scheduled.
or to be able to switch the time you have for a ride for another if lines are long.

that way you won't waste time waiting in lines.


when you do enter the park, pick up the guide map for the parks.
you will find show times, greet and meet times, the marvel character parade by spidermand time, etc.

any ride/show closings for that day will be listed by the ticket booths.
be sure to check that out.


i'm just trying to think of some basic ways that will help you conserve the time you have for each park in order to hit the places on your list.

 

[mrsannb]

That's really pushing it - especially without early entry.

It'd be like someone trying to hit the highlights of Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios in a single (busy) day. You might be able to catch a few things from both parks, but you won't appreciate much of anything.

Much better to pick one park to do and wait for another trip to do Universal so you can really enjoy both parks.

If all we do is IOA, we are fine with that. I just don't want to feel stuck there if there isn't enough to keep my kids' interest. Touring a park with many height restrictions is difficult with kids of various ages.

 

[mrsannb]

I think I can switch us to going the 21st, but we might miss out on O'Hana this trip.

 

[christophfam]

Oh, good grief! Definitely go on the 21st! This is your first time at Universal, you're not familiar with the parks and you have a lot you'd like to see. Don't go on a busy holiday weekend Saturday if it can be avoided! You will have a much better experience if you go tomorrow. A way we judge crowds here is by the price of express. It is $45.99 on Tuesday and goes up to $69.99 (two tiers) for Saturday.

Water rides are great fun, but definitely require swimsuits or change of clothes. You'll be drenched.

Don't worry about a set time schedule. Enjoy where you are then move on. If you don't get to see everything that's a reason to plan another trip. It's not like Disney where you have to constantly rush to the next ride. Take your time and enjoy what you can.

 

[TheAviator]

I see you have several suggestions, I would suggest what I consider the "must dos" since it seems you will have very limited time.

At IOA-Harry Potter area first to skip the major parts of the lines.

Jurassic Park next and the RIver Adventure ride.

Stroll through JP and through Toon Lagoon to Marvel Super Hero Island and do Spiderman, (one of the best theme park rides around.) You may also do the Hulk coaster if the line is not to bad.

Come out and stroll back through Suess Landing and on to Lost Continent, and eat lunch at Mythos (what I consider to be the only not to be missed restaurant)

After lunch head out onto the Universal side. You would want to find Spongebob and Dora.

Must rides at Universal are The Mummy, Men In Black and ET and the Terminator if you can fit them in. If you still have time after all this, you can go back to IOA and try to do Harry Potter at night until you leave.

 

[Akwafunk]

This is what we do - I have a very tall 8-year-old and a very short 4-year-old...

We split up - not all the time - we usually start out together and then my husband heads off with the big kid and the little one and I would head off to Seuss. (This was when he was 2 and 3. Now he is tall enough to do quite a few more rides, and he's the fearless one )

There is a waterplay area in Seuss that is GREAT. One of you could be there with the littles, while the other does Spidey and such with the bigger kids. If there's time - switch out.

Spidey is pretty loud though. I second Damo's suggestion to check out some youtube vids.

DId anyone mention Storm Acceletron (teacups)? That could work for everyone...