I regularly visit those boards and learn a bit from the lovely ladies there

(I find the ones who know the most about Universal are all ladies as opposed to the men of DIS WDW boards

)
I think it basically is recommended to pack light but there are rides wherein you cannot take anything at all... I think RRR is one of them. Either way, you will be going to lockers once in a while and those are an unavoidable hassle. I don't think I'm going to really plan too much for Universal but probably will look for info on things for my 2 year old. It's pretty laid back there especially with dining. You also have EP (plus it's low season) so except for HP stuff, you're pretty much ok with any wait times.
EDIT: there is a snack thread going slowly over there that has a bit of good info (pink donut and butterbeer ice cream... mmmm...)