1 day at Universal, HP fans

[boxergal]

We are a family of six - 3 adults, 3 kids (12, 10, 9) who are big Harry Potter fans. We're going to Universal for one day the last week of October. The balance of our trip Oct 27-30 will be spent at Disney World.

Initially we were going to get a 1 day 2 park pass for Universal, but I'm wondering if we're better off to just get the 1 day 1 park pass, given that a lot of our time may be spent waiting for FJ and exploring the shops, Ollivanders, etc.

Is there anything must-do for kids ages 12-9 at Universal Studios or should we just concentrate our time/energy on IOA?

Also, we're staying at Pop Century and wondered how early we should have the Sears van pick us up in order to get there for IOA opening.

 

[Purseval]

You can easily spend an entire day at IOA and if HP is your main focus that's what I would do. Dreamsunlimited was running a special that includes transportation and a 1-day 2-park ticket that might make it cheaper than buying tickets and transportation separately. I would check their site to see if it is still available. That way you have Universal as a backup in case you finish up in IOA faster than you expected. And yes, not only are there must-do things for your kids at Universal there are enough must-do things to keep them occupied for another full day. At that age Universal/IOA is far more interesting than anything you will find at WDW. You may find a ride or 2 in each park but nothing concentrated into one area so you would spend more time park hopping at WDW than actually riding anything.

If you wanted to be somewhere near the front for HP I would have the van pick you up no later than 6:45am

 

[KINGBOBOFTHENORTH]

With kids back in school, I would expect that the lines for FJ should be very reasonable the last week of October. The ride had wait times as little as 20 minutes this afternoon.

I'd also recommend the 2-park pass. A bunch of rides at IOA are water rides and no one may be in the mood to get soaked the day you're there. Universal Studios has a lot of awesome things that you and the family should not miss. Jaws, Men In Black, Revenge of the Mummy, Disaster, even ET, are all excellent. At that time of the year you may be able to get on many of the rides with waits of 10 minutes or less.

BobK/Orlando

 

[Worfiedoodles]

My ds is 12 and his favorite ride (barring FJ, which we have yet to experience) at USO is the Simpsons in US. I would definitely get the 2-park pass. The parks are very close together, you will not lose much time moving from one to the other, and I think you will be glad you have the flexibility. As a PP said, if you have a rainy day, US is much better-suited for enjoyment. It's also definitely worth it for tweens -- my ds also loves the Mummy, and MIB, and don't forget Terminator, Disaster, Jaws, the Horror Makeup Show, the Animal Actors Show, Beetlejuice's Graveyard Review, and of course Rip, Ride, Rockit! The only things they might groan about are Jimmy Neutron, Shrek, ET and Woody's Coaster. Obviously I would skip A Day in the Park with Barney!

Maria